'THE WOMEN' FINALLY COMES TOGETHER; RYAN, MENDES, BENING, BERGEN, PINKETT-SMITH TO STAR (VAR)

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The long-gestating remake of �The Women� finally has a solid cast and an August 6 start date, says Variety. Diane English has adapted a new version of the 1939 classic and will also direct.

Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Jada Pinkett Smith, Debra Messing and Candice Bergen have either signed or are near committing to star in an updated version of the George Cukor-directed film. Picturehouse will distribute domestically next year.

The project's less-than-$20 million budget has been financed by Inferno Entertainment, Picturehouse and soapmaker Dove, which will make "The Women" a major cog in a marketing campaign for its female-friendly brand. The financing was pieced together with an assist from the independent division of ICM, the agency that reps English.

Jagged Pictures partners Victoria Pearman and Mick Jagger will produce with English and Inferno's Bill Johnson. Deals were brokered during Cannes in Germany, Italy, Spain and other territories. Johnson's Inferno partner, Jim Seibel, will exec produce.

The project has been in the works for over a decade with numerous remake attempts made at MGM before the title was sold with the MGM library to Ted Turner. The current version took root in 1994 right after Turner bought New Line and set up "The Women" as a star/producing pairing of Julia Roberts and Ryan, with James L. Brooks planning to direct.

Shortly thereafter, English signed on to write the script. At the time, she was the hottest writer on television thanks to "Murphy Brown." Since 2001, English has been attached as director and is now in a position to reteam with �Brown� star Bergen.

The bitchy tone of the Clare Boothe Luce play lent itself perfectly to a 1939 original film that starred Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and others. Even though the property has always been catnip to actresses, skeptics felt the film was locked in its original period and would be difficult to remake. English, who weathered several near starts and watched actresses come and go, simply would not give up.

Her script maintains the arch spirit of the original, and the all-female cast, but the gals aren't as relentlessly catty this time around. Story follows a group of female friends when the one they envied most discovers her husband's cheating on her.