Dolly Parton and Kelly Clarkson are lending their iconic vocals to an updated recording of Parton’s beloved “9 to 5.” Pairing up with producer, Shane McAnally, Parton and Clarkson’s upcoming duet will be heard in the new documentary, Still Working 9 to 5.
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The forthcoming film will be premiering at the South by Southwest Film Festival this March. The film’s co-director / producer, Gary Lane, tells Variety, “We could do a documentary just on the making of the duet.” He added, “It almost feels like launching two projects in one.” SXSW attendees will be the first to hear the rebooted track.
The new version of the theme song will be different than Dolly’s initial bubbly recording. Co-director/ producer, Camille Hardman said, “the first iteration, Dolly’s original version was very upbeat. There was a lot of hope I would say in the song. And this version is just a little bit melancholic.”
The new Dolly and Kelly duet takes into account “that women are still trying to get equality and it hasn’t happened yet, 42 years after this song was created,” noted Hardman.
Originally, an entirely new song was going to be recorded for the documentary, but McAnally came up with an idea to create a reworked and modern version of “9 to 5.” Throughout November and December, Dolly and Kelly recorded their song and filmed themselves in the studio. The studio footage will be utilized for an upcoming music video.
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Lane shared, “Dolly actually called it ‘9 to 5: The Slow Version.’ It’s definitely slowed down and more haunting. Kelly — you can’t believe how she changes it, too. It’s really mind-blowing.”
The documentary will spotlight original cast members from both the film and the 2009 Broadway adaptation. Interviews from Parton, Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dabney Coleman, Allison Janney, and Megan Hilty are featured throughout the film. As well as interviews from cast members from the 2019 U.K. revival and Rita Moreno, who starred in the 1980s sitcom adaptation.
The actresses from the original film speak on their goals at the time of filming and the issues surrounding women in the workplace. Hardman noted that Parton was the first original 9 to 5 cast member to participate in the documentary, which helped encouraged other actresses to sign on to the project as well.
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