"Friends" Reunion Movie?

Following success of HBO's "Sex and the City" on the big screen, Britain's Daily Mail says the cast of NBC's blockbuster comedy "Friends" is now on board a theatrical reunion project. But can Rachel really pull a Carrie? Plus, Matt LeBlanc's ex-manager wants Joey to show her the money!


According to Mail (whose stories one always needs to take with a grain of salt, I can never underline that enough), people behind one of NBC's biggest comedies ever are so eager to get their peace of 'TV Reunion on Big Screen' pie, that even Jennifer Aniston who's long been reluctant to do the project is finally on board.



Even if this really is an unsubstantiated rumor, would "Friends: The Movie" really fly? "Sex and the City" has! The 65 million movie has already surpassed all studio expectations as its current global box office gross has reached almost $315 million and may still rise somewhat in the weeks to come.



Both of these shows were signature comedies for their respective networks and they incidentally both ended in 2004 reuniting their core couples (Carrie & Big and Rachel % Ross). But I'm certain that simply copying "Sex's" movie plot by depicting complications arising from Rachel and Ross' wedding would draw some criticism.



Plus, despite being a half hour comedy "Sex and the City" was much more cinematic in its original TV format and got easily transferred onto the big screen. Doing the same with "Friends" might pose a bit of a challenge, as it was more of an old-fashioned multi-camera laugh track-laden comedy.



But nothing is impossible. You need to have the entire cast on board, come up with a really good script, and execute the movie well. The buzz will already be there since day one. The movie's basically pre-sold.

And if it worked for a 5-10 million viewer niche series on a premium cable network, why wouldn't it work for a 20-30 million viewer mass market comedy on a major broadcast network?



Besides, what has the cast done since the show ended?

Jennifer Aniston has released 5 movies, 3 of which bombed at the box office (she has another 6 in the pipeline).



Courtney Cox has had modest success with her just-canceled FX paparazzi-bashing drama "Dirt."


Lisa Kudrow works in low-profile indie projects, David Schwimmer is doing some directorial work, while Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc are keeping a low profile following the collapse of their prime-time shows "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" and "Joey."



Speaking of LeBlanc, a judge has decided yesterday, that his ex-manager's lawsuit in which she alleges he owes her a million dollars since 2000 would not be dismissed. The manager (who worked with LeBlanc the year he was cast in 'Friends') argues that she is entitled to 15% of his 'Friends' income.


Given the fact that every cast member was earning $1 million per episode in the show's final 2003-2004 season only, the figure the ex-rep is asking actually seems a bit low to me. The again who would want to throw a mil down the drain when their highly anticipated spin-off got so unceremoniously dumped?

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