Jennifer Aniston is reportedly worried that her 9 to 5 remake won’t involve Dolly Parton as much as she’s hoping for, sources tell Closer. “Jen wanted Dolly involved in a big way in the 9 to 5 remake but everybody around the project right now, which is currently seeking its director, is preparing for the reality that the only thing the movie might get from Dolly is the right to use her famous classic theme song,” the insider said. “Dolly may have said some nice things about the project in the past but Dolly is old, Dolly still works all the time, and even a small cameo or a brand new song could be asking too much.”
Parton has publicly given her approval for the remake. But Aniston reportedly doesn’t feel the love behind-the-scenes. “Everybody knows that Jen holds grudges and never forgets this kind of thing, but there’s also an upside to this for Jen in that it allows her to put her own very distinct stamp on this movie at a time when Jen is really trying to break back into producing movies thanks to her growing power behind the scenes of The Morning Show,” the source continues. “Jen is looking to get this movie green-lit by January and she’s laser-focused on making this a buzzy, Barbie-like experience, with or without the support of the original trio of 9 to 5 stars.”
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Parton starred in the film as Doralee Rhodes alongside costars Jane Fonda as Judy Bernly and Lily Tomlin as Violet Newstead. The comedy film was released in 1980. The film follows the lives of three working women who live out their fantasies of getting even with and overthrowing their company’s patriarchal ways. A Parton cameo in the remake is reportedly unlikely.
Aniston and Parton became friends after starring in the comedy film Dumplin’ in 2018. Parton recalled the Friends star mentioning her interest in making a 9 to 5 remake when they filmed Dumplin’ together.
“She’d invited me over for lunch and for me to meet her dog – her white dog that she called Dolly Parton,” Parton told the crowd at the CMA Fest. “I’ve been called a dog before, but this is the first time I’ve actually seen it. Anyway, so I said, ‘Don’t you be hollerin’ around the neighborhood saying, ‘Dolly, don’t pee on my carpet! Dolly, don’t do this.’ Don’t you start doing stuff that’s going to embarrass us both.’”
She added, “But [Jennifer] did talk about wanting to [remake 9 to 5] then with younger, newer people and that possible, Jane, Lilly and I might – they might look us up now that we’re older and whatever positions we’re holding, the characters that we played – and that we might get to be in it there. I’m certainly they’ll use my song [‘9 to 5’].”
