The country music icon shared how she plans to lend her talents to the planned remake of the 1980 cult classic.
LOS ANGELES — Country music legend Dolly Parton is supportive of the remake of her classic film “9 to 5,” but she’s not planning to take on a leading role.
In a conversation with HuffPost on Wednesday about her new frozen foods line, Parton mentioned that neither she nor her original “9 to 5” co-stars will appear in Jennifer Aniston’s forthcoming redo of the 1980 workplace comedy. However, she is open to contributing to the project in other capacities.
Parton also revealed that she, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin spent years trying to develop a sequel to the cult classic.
“Jane, Lily and I have been trying for years to try to come up with a ‘9 to 5: Two’ through the years,” Parton told HuffPost. “It never happened.”
The original “9 to 5” became a box office sensation, earning Parton an Academy Award nod for the title song. In this film, she played Doralee Rhodes, together with Tomlin as Violet Newstead and Fonda as Judy Bernly, portraying three secretaries who devise a plan to take vengeance on their chauvinist boss.
While the original trio won’t reunite on screen, Parton said Aniston’s team initially wanted them involved in some capacity.
“In Jennifer’s story, they wanted us to be involved in it somehow,” Parton said. “But we have no plans to be in that.”
The 79-year-old singer cited age as a factor in the decision, joking that the original stars wouldn’t measure up visually against younger actors.
“I think a lot of it is that, you know, we’re all older now,” Parton said. “We’re not gonna look that good on the big screen. All of us up there with all those beautiful, young, fresh people.”
Parton praised the remake’s script and told Aniston she’s welcome to use the original “9 to 5” song. Parton said she offered to write additional music or rework the classic theme song if needed.
“The script I read, I thought, was really good and a new and different take that really brings the office up to date the way that people live now,” Parton said. “I really would love to see the show, and I’d love to be able to write some music, be involved in that way with it.”
No release date has been announced for the remake, which will be written by “Juno” writer Diablo Cody.
The Grammy winner also touched on another remake project she’s connected to: the upcoming “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot. Parton was an uncredited producer on the original 1990s series through her production company, Sandollar Productions, which will again be involved in the new version.
“I will be as involved as I need to be, or as I can be,” she said. “I may come up with some ideas for some of the episodes.”
