Quietly developing for a few years now, Mean Moms finally has a director in Horrible Bosses 2's Sean Anders. And he may be about to reteam with one of his stars from the comedy sequel, since Jennifer Aniston is in the frame for the leading role.
Mean Moms is, to some extent, a belated follow-up to Mean Girls, since it's based on the non-fiction, self-help work of the same author, Rosalind Wiseman. Tina Fey adapted the 2004 film from Wiseman’s Queen Bees And Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, And The New Realities Of Girl World. Mark Waters directed, Lindsay Lohan earned some kudos in the lead, and it was a big success for Paramount. There was a straight-to-video sequel in 2011.
The new film takes as its source Wiseman's Queen Bee Moms And King Pin Dads: Dealing With The Parents, Teachers, Coaches, And Counselors Who Can Make — or Break — Your Child’s Future. Last we heard, the film version will follow a family that moves to a new town, and focus on the blissfully married mother’s struggle to adapt to the world of competitive parents in a posh suburb. It won't, it appears, be picking up with the original Plastics becoming moms themselves, so Lohan and Rachel McAdams won't be on the call sheet (although Lohan said last year that she was up for a return).
Aniston's involvement isn't, at this point, a certainty, with her reps hedging that she has "other options" to consider. So watch this space. Anders and his regular honcho John Morris (Horrible Bosses 2, We're The Millers) have written the screenplay this time, and shooting looks set for the summer.