The picture is based on the novel, "The Stepford Wives," by Ira Levin, who also wrote the novels that inspired the films Rosemary's Baby and The Boys from Brazil. The original Stepford Wives was directed by Bryan Forbes and had a cast that included Katharine Ross, Peter Masterson, Paula Prentiss and a post-Gilligan's Island Tina Louise. The quirky low-budget film walked a fine line between horror and comedy, and slickly poked fun at the Women's Liberation Movement and the response to it by American males. The film, which was penned by Oscar-winning scribe William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Princess Bride), was followed by three made-for-TV sequels, the lightly regarded Revenge of the Stepford Wives (1980), starring Don Johnson and Sharon Gless, followed by The Stepford Children (1987) and The Stepford Husbands (1996).

While the original The Stepford Wives was a horror thriller compared to The Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the remake is a stylish black comedy which updates the story to include today's upper-middle-class SUV-driving soccer moms and is more remeniscent of The Witches of Eastwick. Nicole Kidman stated, "It's going to be done as a comedy. And I've wanted to do a comedy. ... I'm in the middle of Cold Mountain now, which is sort of an epic, tragic love story. I just went, 'I've got to do a comedy.' I need to have some lightness." Fans are hoping that she will succeed in her role, which is similar to the one she played in To Die For, where she played a small town seductress intent on reaching the big time. The new film is also features special effects involving the women's transformations.

Supporting Kidman is Bette Midler, who plays Kidman's new friend Bobbie, a hostile, sarcastic, cranky woman fond of drinking who ends up being transformed into a fembot. Roger Bart, who played Leo Bloom in Broadway's The Producers, has signed on for a role as a gay confidant of Nicole Kidman's character. Says Bart, "I play this rather mincing fellow who comes to the community, gets fixed and becomes quite the poncho-wearing, beer-guzzling soccer dad. It's very funny, and allows me a great opportunity to play a rather extreme version of the same person in the movie."

The new film is being made by director Frank Oz whose previous films include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Bowfinger. Oz has made some amazing films, yet his most enduring legacy has been the voices of muppet diva Miss Piggy and Star Wars character Yoda. While Oz is better known for comedy hits, he also helmed the crime drama, The Score, with the trio of Robert De Niro, Marlon Brando and Edward Norton. Director Tim Burton was reportedly interested in directing the Stepford Wives remake, but signed on to direct Big Fish in late April 2002, possibly leaving the job open for Oz. The picture is scripted by Paul Rudnick (In & Out, Addams Family Values), who worked with Oz previously on In & Out.