Ellen DeGeneres to lord it over <I>Oh, God!</I> remake (13480)

Variety reports that out comic and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres will play the title role in an upcoming remake of the 1977 comedy Oh, God! George Burns took on the part of the supreme being for the original. DeGeneres approached producer Jerry Weintraub with an idea for a remake, and the two of them won the approval of the original film's director, Carl Reiner, and writer, Larry Gelbart. "Ellen is a strong comedian, and she has always done material about God and questions about God," Weintraub told Variety. "She will help us with the writing, and using her will allow us to do a proper 2005 view of Oh, God! that is hip and modern." The film is scheduled to shoot during DeGeneres's summer 2005 hiatus, pending the hiring of a writer and director.