Film Remake of Tony-Nominated Play Same Time, Next Year in the Works

Universal Pictures and producers Walter Mirisch and Scott Rudin are planning a film remake of the 1978 romantic comedy Same Time, Next Year, according to Deadline.com. Writers and directors Mark and Jay Duplass are in talks to pen the script and helm the film. Rudin just earned his ninth Tony Award for producing Death of a Salesman. 

Based on the 1975 play of the same name by Bernard Slade, Same Time, Next Year, starred Ellen Burstyn and Alan Alda. Directed by Robert Mulligan, the film tells the story of 1950’s housewife Doris (Burstyn) and accountant George (Alda), who meet by chance at a diner and engage in a torrid affair. Despite the fact that both are happily married, they agree to meet once a year to rekindle the sparks they experience at their first meeting. The play opened at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson's Theatre on March 14, 1975, starring Burstyn and Charles Grodin, and ran for 1,453 performances. The show earned three Tony nominations including Best Play, with Burstyn taking home a Tony for Best Actress. 

Jay and Mark Duplass collaborated as writers and directors of the recent Jason Segel-Ed Helms comedy Jeff, Who Lives At Home, as well as Cyrus, Baghead and The Puffy Chair. Mark Duplass also stars in the FX series The League.