Susan Sarandon: "It's Dynasty In Space!"
Yes, Sci Fi Channel is scrapping Farscape, but take heart, they've not lost interest in space operas. The Dune lovers have adapted the second and third novels in Frank Herbert's saga for Children of Dune, a soapy six-hour miniseries debuting March 16. And look out! Susan Sarandon heads up the cast as Princess Wensicia, whose big hairdo and bitchy power-mongering remind us of Joan Collins in her '80s heyday as Alexis Carrington.
"I must say," she tells TV Guide Online, "that [our] wardrobes and hats and things are a little OTT — Over The Top!"
Sarandon playfully dubs this drama Dynasty in Space. "I'm not in the habit of watching TV, and I never have," the 57-year-old Oscar winner admits. "But I was doing theater and I came home one night and I found Dynasty. I was like, 'What is this? Whoa, this is like kabuki or something!' And I had to call up my friends and say, 'Turn it on!'"
She compares Dynasty's "heightened reality" — that's putting it mildly — to Children of Dune's, especially delighting in their feminist bent. "The women are the ones that are making most of the decisions," Sarandon smiles, "and the men are like the boy toys. You get that opportunity more in soaps than you do... in filmdom. How many women are the cause and effect of [the action in stories]?"
But back to those evil princess coifs! "There's a lot of 'hair acting' in this," she laughs. "DNA samples are floating around my head. My hairdresser who did all this work, Paul LeBlanc, got an Academy Award for Amadeus. [So did] the costume designer." Sounds like this diva's dressed to thrill.
