CHADHA CONFIRMED TO DIRECT DALLAS THE MOVIE


Gurinder Chadha has today confirmed that she will be taking up the role as director for the forthcoming film, Dallas, starring John Travolta as JR Ewing.

Rumours have been rife over the past two weeks, but Chadha today announced that the deal has finally been confirmed with 20th Century Fox.

Chadha says of her appointment: “I am obviously delighted that the deal has been confirmed after so much enthusiastic speculation. Directing a film with stars like John Travolta and J-Lo is fantastic, and shows that the market of Brit-Asian films that both Paul and I have become synonymous with, has huge credibility and respect in Hollywood.”

Gurinder Chadha first shot to fame over 10 years ago, with the release of what was seen as the first Brit-Asian movie, ‘Bhaji on the Beach’, which was followed by the massive box office smash ‘Bend It Like Beckham’. As well as achieving unprecedented commercial and critical success, ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ also launched the careers of stars Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

In 2005, Chadha’s love affair with Brit-Asian cinema continued, with the release of ‘Bride & Prejudice’, which again broke Box Office records, and saw the start of a superb working relationship with Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai.

Chadha, is currently promoting the film ‘Mistress of Spices’, which she has co-written and produced with her husband Paul Mayeda Berges. Berges’ directorial debut releases nationwide across the UK on Friday 21st April and again stars former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, in the lead role alongside Dylan McDermott.

Filming is scheduled to start on Dallas in October, with the remainder of the cast to be finalised in the coming weeks, and the film set for release in late 2007. Stars confirmed to date are John Travolta as the infamous JR and J-Lo as Sue Ellen, with final negotiations with Luke Wilson as Bobby and Shirley Maclaine as Miss Ellie.

Chadha, who was also rumoured to be working on a remake of the classic 60’s show ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ says of her other projects: “Jeannie is still in the pipeline, but there is still some way to go on the script. Paul and I are also working on another film that maintains the path that we have set in terms of the ‘cross-cultural’ themes that we address in our films. We will certainly not stop creating more movies about cultural experiences and issues, and we are still determined to carry on working in the UK, making British movies for an international audience. This was my starting point and will always be a critical part of my career as I move forward.”
Chadha’s current production Mistress of Spices releases nationwide on Friday 21st April.