Absolutely Fabulous – the MOVIE is filming!

The BBC hit sitcom Absolutely Fabulous has started its march to the silver screen. Maybe it is more of a drunken swagger! The show, so well-known to the UK, and still so foreign to many others is now in production and filming in the South of France. It will be produced by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and yet again, we will be mesmerized by the comical and enabling duo of Edina Monsoon, played by Jennifer Saunders, and Patsy Stone played by Joanna Lumley.

Saunders wrote the film, and is thrilled to be on location, finally.

The film will be the next installment of the adventures of the lively vodka-soaked duo. Saunders has brought back all of the characters that were on the show in the past, and quips “We are all taking our medication and hoping for the best.“

The sitcom, which first aired in 1992 on the BBC, rose to cult-like stardom, but had a bumpy ride.  There were a total of an intermittent 7 years of production. They filmed 3 more specials for the 20^th anniversary in 2011-12.  Interestingly enough, the show needed a little buffering before it could be shown in the U.S. There was an hour-long special entitled “Gay”, which had to be changed to “Absolutely Fabulous in New York.” For the anniversary specials to air on LOGO in the U.S., scenes required deletion before reaching the questionably more conservative American audience.

Nonetheless, the film is in production, and fans on either side of the pond await the release to once again get a dose of AbFab.  The movie will have cameos aplenty, with One Direction’s Harry Styles, Kate Moss, and Victoria Beckham to name a few.  There was also an interesting casting call, as Saunders asked the scouts to find 96 drag queens or “draggy camp fantastic looking queers.” Say that again ten times.

So the anticipation grows for the silver screen dose of the show whose pilot was rated as TV Guide’s number 47 of “100 Greatest Episodes of All-Time.” AbFab was also ranked as the 17^th greatest British show of all time by the British Film Institute.

Where will you be on opening night?