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Sci Fi Wire
18 August 2005
Xena Movie Still In Limbo
Lucy Lawless, who starred in six seasons of Xena: Warrior Princess, told SCI FI Wire that a proposed Xena movie remains caught in a legal haggle. "I think a movie would be great, and I'd love to do it," Lawless said in an interivew. "I've been wanting to do it for years." But, she added: "Nobody can agree who owns the rights, and it's a big fat pain in the ass."
Xena ended its syndicated TV run four years ago, and her husband, creator and producer Rob Tapert, is trying to get the rights from Universal Studios. "Rob wants to make it anyway," Lawless said. "He wants to make films. He likes making movies. He's like a shark: You only go forward, and you don't want to bite yourself on the tail with regrets."
Lawless said there is a legal wrangle over who owns the rights to the story. Tapert and John Schulian are listed as creators of the series.
As for a storyline, Lawless said that a few ideas for stories have been kicked around. For her part, Lawless said that she would like to see the campy costume series become more of a comedy on the big screen.
"I know Rob can tell a great story and could come up with a really creative new spin on it, much like David Eick and Ron Moore did with Battlestar Galactica, and make it relevant to today's audience," said Lawless, who will guest-star on Galactica on Sept. 9. "But I think it could be a good comedy, because comedy always works."
Universal is owned by NBC Universal, which also owns SCIFI.COM.