MICHAEL CIDONI
Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton were back on the job, working the arrivals line at a party celebrating the 25th anniversary of their 1980 workplace-comedy smash, "9 to 5."
"Well, it's always fun, this movie, what it's done," Parton told AP Television News at the Thursday night affair. "It's just amazing to me that it's 25 years old, and how long it's lasted, and the fact that it had a good message then, it has a good message now."
It also created strong bonds between its three leads, who have kept in touch over the years.
"Lily was honored at Lincoln Center, the Mark Twain Award - Dolly and I went for that," noted Fonda. "And then Dolly's been honored. And, so, we keep showing up for each other's honors ... We always have a good time."
Clearly, the three had a blast filming "9 to 5."
Held atop the Hollywood and Highland complex, the anniversary event also served as a premiere party for a new DVD version of the film, "'9 to 5': Sexist, Egotistical, Lying, Hypocritical Bigot Edition," due in stores April 4. Among the bonus features are numerous outtakes, with the three stars cracking up and wrecking takes.
While no critical darling, the film did earn some warm reviews. For Tomlin, the most meaningful critic was an uncle in Kentucky.
"He was a pig farmer, he lived way out in the country," she recalled. "And my aunt . . . called me up and said, 'Wallace put on a suit and tie and drove all the way to Paducah last Saturday night to see "9 to 5." And he said he laughed so much that he's going to go back again next Saturday.'"
Other ticket buyers apparently made repeat visits, too, boosting the film's North American gross to over $100 million - an astounding figure for 1980; only "The Empire Strikes Back" grossed more that year. And yet there was never a "9 to 5" sequel.
"We felt we'd said what we needed to say," says producer Bruce Gilbert.
But he also suggested the time may be right for an updated approach. "Now, I think there's a whole new dynamic and you see series like 'The Office' and 'Dilbert' in cartoons and things like that, and with the Internet and everything else, there's a whole new dynamic - outsourcing - there's room for a sequel here that would be interesting to do."
Once the three stars made it to the end of the red carpet, they united onstage for a rendition of Parton's Oscar-nominated "9 to 5" title tune, which still has some life in it after all these years. Expect it to be among the dozen Parton-penned compositions in a "9 to 5" musical, expected to hit Broadway late next year.
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I'LL SEE Y'ALL IN NEW YORK CITY!!!!!
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