NEW YORK - Villainous oilman J.R. Ewing is about to get shot again.

Regency Enterprises, a production company based at Twentieth Century Fox, is striking a seven figure deal to turn the primetime soap opera "Dallas" into a feature film.

"I like the idea of doing it for the 21st century, with a new cast," series creator Dave Jacobs told Daily Variety.

"We've got a new take on it. It's a much bigger canvas today and it belongs up on the big screen. Before people would have been interested in who is screwing each other. Now it's the national crimes that are affecting everyone. The conflict is still about family conflicts, but the stakes are higher now. That's the thing that excites me about it."

"So few of the great TV titles actually have a good enough story to work as a stand alone movie," added Michael Costigan, a former Sony Pictures executive who will produce with Jacobs. "I believe 'Dallas' is the jewel in the crown."

At Sony, Costigan oversaw production on "Charlie's Angels," the successful adaptation of the TV series of the same name. Costigan quit last year to form his own production shingle.

No writer is yet attached to the "Dallas" remake.

"Dallas," which ran on CBS from 1978 to 1992, was ranked either first or second for five straight years in the early 1980s. The famous "Who Shot J.R.?" episode garnered one of the highest ratings for a series in history of TV. The show, which is still running in syndication in many countries, has revenues of more than $1.3 billion.

Jacobs, who also created "Knot's Landing," added that, despite its new themes and storyline, the picture will retain the spirit of the original "Dallas."

"Dallas" revolved around the machinations of the wealthy. It starred Larry Hagman as J.R. Ewing. "Dallas" the film will be populated by the characters who turned the series into a hit: Bobby and Pam, Jock and Miss Ellie, Lucy and Ray, Sue Ellen and Cliff Barnes and, of course, the devilish J.R. Ewing. It will be set at Southfork Ranch, as well.