Jessica Simpson is wanted for the lead in a remake of Grease that seems doomed to me just because producers thought it was a good idea to have her star in it. As I was looking over pictures of Jessica and comparing them to scenes from Grease featuring Olivia Newton John, I have to admit though that she really looks the part. If only Nick Lachey could play Danny:

Jessica Simpson has been approached to star as goody-goody Sandy Olsson in a remake of Grease – and even Michelle Pfeiffer, who starred in the campy sequel Grease 2, is on board. “It’s a great idea,” she says. “Jessica Simpson would be good.” Michelle also admits that she’s been approached for a role, too. “I would love to play the school principal,” she adds. “She is fun and has some great put-down lines. I think I would like the part now that I have been asked.”

[From In Touch, print edition, December 10, 2007]

Notice that Pfeiffer said Simpson would be good, not great, and it sounds like she’s responding to a question by a interviewer and isn’t coming up with the idea herself. It’s possible this is only based on some notion that someone thought up with during a quick red carpet interview and that there’s no Grease movie in the works. Still, it seems like something Hollywood would come up with. It’s all remakes and sequels lately and with the ongoing writer’s strike it’s not like we’re about to get an influx of fresh material. Add Jessica Simpson to the mix and it sounds stale like an old bag of marshmallows. They’re still sweet but hardly tasty and they certainly don’t fill you up.

In Touch comes up with a bunch of other current celebrities that could play roles in Grease, including Ryan Seacrest as Vince Fontaine, Kim Kardashian as Cha Cha and Britney Spears as Frenchy. If there isn’t a Grease remake being planned, In Touch might be doing the groundwork for one. There have been worse ideas for remakes, it’s all in the execution. Maybe Scarlet Johansson would be a better choice. She can sing too, right? She has that Tom Waits cover album in the works.