I'm a fool for old (1940's and such) British "drawing room" comedies and farce. The other night my husband and I rented one from 1947; "The Woman Hater." I'm ashamed to say, I didn't write down the name of the author and we've already returned it to the video store, but suffice it to say, it starred Stewart Granger.

The film was about a young (upper class) man who is opposed to marriage. He spends a great deal of his time dissuading his friends from getting married, and, when a French film star comes to England to get away from men, he sets out to prove that she's really chasing men. When her plans for a private getaway go awry he sends her a letter (can you imagine it getting through to her if it was set in today) stating that his estate is open to her. The only people who will be there are his butler and his estate agent (who is really himself.) Naturally, she accepts. She finds out who he is and what he's trying to prove and so she sets out to make him fall in love with her so she can dump him. You can guess the rest.

It was quite wonderful. And, as we are both in the entertainment business (Bill being an actor, me being a writer/ex-actor) we couldn't help but muse on: "Gee, if they did that movie today, who would they cast?" We spent the better part of an hour talking about it, and then, throughout the next day we'd snap our fingers and say, "Hey, what about Bruce Willis!"

Hmm, sounds ripe for a remake, no?

In addition to being an ex-actress, I'm an ex-belly dancer (yes, I really did earn my living doing that.) Tonight I heard the song "Bolero" and in the midst of traipsing around the apartment I said, "I've always wanted to do a routine to this." I know I'm not the only dancer who has felt that way because I've seen the piece performed in a variety of different styles, from ballet to flamenco.

Wow, all those remakes. No, not remakes, you say? They're not remakes, they're an artist putting their own spin on the piece, like David Lee Roth doing Marlene Dietrich's "Just A Gigolo." Don't kid yourself, it's not coverage, it's a remake.

Okay, okay, yelling "Remake" to a bunch of screenwriters is as deadly as yelling "Garlic Parfait" to a convention of vampires, but the truth is, if you were a young director or producer, wouldn't you LOVE to test your ability by remaking "Citizen Kane?" I know I would.

I'd also love to direct anything by Neil Simon and (from my mouth to God's ear) please let me someday be in a position to direct, be it for stage or for film, a production of "I Remember Mama."

No, as a writer I don't like the idea of remakes. I hate it, I despise it, I loathe it. But, as an ex-actress I fully understand the compelling craving to play Hamlet or, as an ex-dancer, the almost physical pain of desiring to dance to "Bolero."

Nothing new in Film? Oh heck, there's plenty that's new. And it's up to you, as a writer, to create something that every director for the next 100 years will want to remake.