Indecent Proposal, the 1993 thriller about a billionaire who offers a couple $1m to sleep with the wife, is to receive a remake.
Collider reports that Paramount Players is producing a new version of the film, and has hired Girl on the Train and Secretary screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson to write the script.
Directed by British film-maker Adrian Lyne and adapted from Jack Engelhard’s film of the same name, the original Indecent Proposal starred Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore as a financially stricken couple reckoning with the repercussions of a deal made with a powerful businessman (Robert Redford). The film made more than $250m at the global box office.
Despite its commercial success, Indecent Proposal received scathing reviews. The Guardian’s Derek Malcolm described it as “nothing more than a skilfully organised and decorated fantasy, not to be treated seriously for one moment”. The film won Razzie awards for worst picture, worst screenplay and worst supporting actor (for Harrelson).
Any proposed remake of Indecent Proposal will likely have to wrestle with the issues of sexual impropriety and unequal power dynamics raised by the #MeToo and #Time’sUp movements. At the time of its release, the original film was criticised by feminists for continuing a “disturbing trend” in films of showing women being sold for money or as a prize. However, the film’s central storyline may well feel newly relevant at a time when the sexual practices of powerful businessmen and the use of secrecy contracts are coming under increased scrutiny.
