Ah, 1994. I remember it well. Sandra Bullock was America's sweetheart after she drove a bus and flirted with Keanu Reeves in Speed; who could've predicted that the pair would reunite to absolutely zero acclaim 12 years later in The Lake House?

On TV, Friends began its long run on NBC, while on ABC, These Friends of Mine, later re-titled Ellen, featured Ellen DeGeneres as a bookstore owner who had a comically tough time dating men. I think we all know how that ended.

And little me kept repeating, "I’m getting verklemmt!" "You're terrible, Muriel!" and “La Croix, sweetie, La Croix,” to anyone within earshot.

Elsewhere in Hollywood ’94, writer-producer Diane English, who was riding high with Murphy Brown (remember?), was shopping a script for a remake of the 1939 camp classic The Women. Well, 13 years, a couple of directors, multiple casting changes and several false starts later, the movie is finally set to go into production this summer, with a cast that includes Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen — quite a star-studded assemblage.

The original bitchfest starred an array of its era’s best female actresses — including Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Joan Fontaine and many more — as catty high-society ladies. … continue reading