Marja-Lewis Ryan is co-writing the script for the Village Roadshow remake of the 1980s cult hit with her 'Generation Q' colleague Allie Romano.

BY BORYS KIT

***Elizabeth Banks, Max Handelman, Marja-Lewis Ryan*** *FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES; MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE; DAVID LIVINGSTON/GETTY IMAGES*

Girls just wanna have fun, no matter what decade it is.

Village Roadshow is producing a modern-day remake of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the cult 1985 romantic comedy dance movie that starred Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt.

Marja-Lewis Ryan, who acted as showrunner of The L Word: Generation Q, is co-writing the script with Allie Romano, who was a staff writer and executive story editor on Generation Q.

Elizabeth Banks is producing with Max Handelman via the duo’s Brownstone Productions.

Girls, made by now-defunct New World Pictures, centers on Army brat Janey (Parker), who settles in Chicago, attends a strict Catholic high school and contends with an even stricter father at home. Janey decides to follow her passion for dance and, with the encouragement of her new best friend (Hunt), auditions for the local TV dance show. Hiding from dad, dealing with competition from a spoiled country club brat, and first kisses and fights with crushes all figure into the growing-up.

In addition to Parker and Hunt, the cast included Lee Montgomery, Jonathan Silverman, Ed Lauter and Shannen Doherty. Alan Metter, who also directed the Rodney Dangerfield hit Back to School, helmed the movie, which was written by Amy Spies. Chuck Russell, who would go on to become an action director with such films as The Mask and The Scorpion King under his belt, produced it.

The movie was inspired by the Cyndi Lauper song but, ironically, the 1980s pop star did not want to be associated with the movie, nor did she allow her version of the song, which was a remake, to be used. Instead, New World picked up the original and used that heavily.

The movie is now part of the vast library controlled by Village Roadshow’s parent company, Vine Alternative Investments.

The remake hopes to keep the celebration of female friendship, the humor and the heart, plus the dance numbers.

Alison Small will executive produce the remake for Brownstone Productions. Jillian Apfelbaum, Tristen Tuckfield and Nic Gordon will oversee for Village Roadshow.

Ryan acted as one of the creators of the revamped L Word, the LGBTQ drama which ran for three seasons on Showtime from 2019 to 2023. She was the series’ showrunner, its main writer and its main director. Ryan also wrote and directed the 2018 Netflix drama 6 Balloons that starred Abbi Jacobson and Dave Franco. Romano, who was also a writer on Netflix’s comedy series The Upshaws, served as an associate producer on the feature.

Ryan is slated to direct You, Again, an upcoming romantic comedy for Searchlight/Hulu that was written by Alison Wong. Ryan is producing alongside Chris Bender and his company, Good Fear.

Banks and Handelman are coming off producing Cocaine Bear, the horror comedy that has grossed over $64.3 million domestically. The company is busy equally in film and TV and has projects set up all over town. The company’s series Pitch Perfect: Bumper in Berlin was Peacock’s biggest-ever comedy launch while an adult take on The Flintstones, the animated series titled Bedrock, is due to debut later this year.

Ryan is repped by UTA and Kapplan/Perrone Entertainment and attorney Tara Kole. Romano is repped by Kaplan/Perrone and attorneys Ryan and Jesse Nord.

‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ Getting Remake Treatment From Elizabeth Banks, ‘L Word: Generation Q’ Boss (Exclusive)