“Gangster Squad” Makes Offer to Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling

Mobster films are usually a decent bet for Hollywood. Fans of the genre flock to them with hopes that maybe this will be the next Godfather or Goodfellas. With that in mind, Warner Bros. is trying to attract some big names to a new organized crime film, Gangster Squad. Last December, the studio got Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) to sign on to direct the script written by Warren Beall. Now, they are moving on to find some A-List actors to complete the bill.

According to Deadline, a formal offer to play the lead role of boxer-turned-gangster Mickey Cohen has been extended to Sean Penn, and the role of one of the two cops trying to bring him down has been offered to Ryan Gosling. Penn is a silver screen staple, usually good for a great performance and Gosling is one of the hottest actors right now in the business, coming off a solid performance in the critical darling Blue Valentine.

I think this could be a decent effort. I am always in the mood for more mafia films and there hasn’t been a decent one since The Departed, and even that didn’t live up to Scorcese’s best. This sounds more along the vein of The Untouchables, with a better cop actor than Kevin Costner.

Sean Connery ponders shooting Kevin Costner in the back on the set of The Untouchables.

The film will probably hinge more on the performance of Penn more than Gosling though. Penn did show hints of the complex cruelty required to play this type of role in his Oscar Winning turn in Mystic River.

Ruben Fleischer could be a good pick as a director, but the only thing I have seen him direct is Zombieland. Also, Warren Beall, even though his script made the 2010 Black List of best unproduced screenplays, I don’t know much about his writing. Hopefully, this project will deliver on its potential and this relatively new writing and directing talent will bring some refreshment to the genre.

Hollywood Strikes Again: Justin Bieber and Ashton Kutcher Team Up to Cover the Female Box Office Demographic

Most of you already know my stance about Justin Bieber, so i will not beleaguer your eyeballs with what you can find pretty much anywhere on the internet that isn’t patrolled by teenage girls or grandmothers. This has to do with Hollywood, not necessarily Justin Bieber. In Bieber’s mind, he is probably doing the right thing, trying to make the transition from being a teen pop singer to being an actor.

We all know how the last attempt turned out...

Sony Pictures is making a film called What Would Kenny Do?, a film about a high school kid who is visited by a 30-year-old version of his future self to help guide him through high school. The film will also be produced by Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith‘s production company, and already has Bieber and Kutcher signed on to star.

With Will Smith involved, we can be pretty sure this annoying kid will stop by as well.

Apparently, Kenny was drafted up as an R-Rated comedy and made the 2008 Black List, which is a list of the best unproduced scripts. So, it definitely had something going for it, until Hollywood decided that instead of making a better movie, we could make a worse one that would make us some bank in the process. Sony Pictures decided that it needed to tone down the vulgarity, probably to the point of being PG, and then hired two actors that they knew could cover the demographic of the female box office. Bieber would attract the tweens and Kutcher would cover the older crowd.

I think I could’ve just settled that Hollywood was trying to do the smart thing for them, I mean not every movie is going to end up being something that I would want to see. I think what bothers me so much about this is knowing that the movie probably was better and might have been something I would want to see, if placed in the right hands, but instead Hollywood probably (can’t fully judge it if I haven’t seen it) watered it down and made it cutesy just to make a quick buck. Plus, while Kutcher may seem like he will be someone to bring the money in, his last couple of films have been box office disasters, so they are pretty much banking on the teen girls to want to see Bieber. This could end up being a lose-lose all around.

Will Ferrell Not Joining “The Office” Full Time

Several fans’ hopes were lit up when they saw Will Ferrell show up at the end of last week’s episode of The Office. To add to their excitement, Ferrell told US Magazine at the Comedy Central Awards on Saturday that things were “looking good” for him joining the show full time after Steve Carell‘s exit.

Sadly, that is not the case. Paul Lieberstein, the show’s producer, immediately came back to NYMAG and said, “Will was joking — but he commits to his jokes so fully that we’re hoping he’s with us long term, just as a bit that won’t end.”

He essentially just put the audience in a glass cage of emotion.

This is no surprise, since Will Ferrell’s cameo was announced back in January and was touted as a four episode arc. Just days before that, Greg Daniels, the show’s executive producer, had told Pittsburgh’s Post Gazette that Michael Scott‘s replacement would be someone who is a regular (i.e. Darryl, Dwight, Andy, Jim etc.). Plus, it would be really hard to imagine Ferrell sticking to a full time tv character.

No matter how much we would like to see that happen.

So, enjoy Ferrell on The Office while you can. He is next set to appear on the episode airing on Thursday April 14 on NBC.

**TRAILER TIME** Captain America, Dylan Dog

Captain America:The First Avenger

For all the fanboys, including Pac, the first full length trailer for the new Captain America film, coming out this summer, is finally here.  It features either the greatest crash diet since Christian Bale in The Machinist or the same technology that made the Winkelvoss twins in The Social Network. Without further ado here it is:

While I have said this about several superhero films and later regretted it, this film looks pretty awesome for a summer popcorn film and could give Bryan Singer‘s X-Men: First Class a run for its money. Chris Evans, in my humble opinion, is an underrated actor and hopefully this will break him out of his “strictly comedic sidekick” funk.

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

Hollywood continues to delve deeper into the comic book genre, hoping to suck as much money it can out of it before people start losing interest. The newest endeavour in that regard is Dylan Dog, a horror-comedy featuring Brandon Routh as a mediator and investigator for all things supernatural. He keeps the balance between zombies, werewolves, vampires, you name it so that they can live in peace and ensures that they don’t cross over into the realm of the living.

This either has the potential to be the next Shaun of the Dead or flounder around for two hours trying to figure out what kind of movie it is. While the tone is a lot like Hellboy, that at least boasted Guillermo Del Toro at the helm, while director Kevin Munroe is relatively new with only 2007’s TMNT under his belt. I would like to see this film succeed since I do love the horror-comedy genre, but I am very cautious to get my expectations up.

What do you all think? Is Captain America going to live up to the hype? Will Dylan Dog be decent?

A Reboot, A Sequel and an Original: Tomb Raider, The Expendables, and Stoker

I’m glad that I was able to mix in something promising with two seemingly bad ideas, but I will save that for the end. Let’s start off with the stuff that we can complain about:

GK Films Acquires Rights to Tomb Raider and Plans Reboot

The Tomb Raider films had a lot of potential.

Pictured: Potential

But, the films fell short critically by focusing more on Angelina Jolie’s assets rather than a coherent story or anything of actual value. Now, GK Films (The Town, Rango, The Tourist) have acquired the rights to the franchise and are planning a reboot. Graham King, a representative of GK Films, said this in a statement:

“We are very excited to be rebooting what is already a hugely successful film franchise and continuing the Tomb Raider phenomenon.”

I’m not sure I would really call it a phenomenon, a mediocre cash cow at best. I do think that the films could be improved, but I’m not sure that it is worth all the effort. Unfortunately, that is only my opinion, and to Hollywood it is merely a matter of dollars and cents. I do think GK Films has a decent track record, so this might be a film worth checking out. I guess it really hinges on who they can get to play Lara Croft.

Sylvester Stallone Will Not Be Directing The Expendables 2

Again, not entirely bad news. Sylvester Stallone’s directing ability is much like Charlie Sheen‘s ramblings about his lifestyle, so bad that you can’t look away. I promise that will be the only Sheen reference in this article, and for the blog as a whole.

Anyway, the L.A. Times blog 24 Frames is saying that Stallone will not be returning to write or direct the sequel last summer’s tribute to the golden age of cliché action films. The new film will be written by Kevin Kaufman and David Agosto (Space Cowboys) and the director is TBD. This could be good for the franchise to use the same characters, but hopefully with better dialogue. Stallone is known for simplistic dialogue, which worked for him for a while, but perhaps it is time to bring a little bit more intelligence to his films.

If grunting counts as dialogue, Stallone is a master.

 However, I might not be the best person to comment on that. Perhaps the fans of the first film would be, and it could be that they aren’t looking for anything more than a brainless romp through a wonderland of explosions.

Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman to Star in Wentworth Miller‘s Stoker

While this isn’t jump up and down, highly anticipated news, it is still something that is worth mentioning only because it sounds like a new take on the ever-increasing emo tendencies of the vampire film, and it has a great cast to boot. Wentworth Miller, star of Fox’s Prison Break, penned the script for a tale that he described to Yahoo! as a story that’s “got a lot of elements of the Dracula mythology in its story….it’s not a vampire story. It’s not about vampires at least with teeth and the desire to suck your blood, but it is a thriller and it is about an individual who preys on the innocent.”

Herbert heard that description and showed up to audition.

Colin Firth, confirmed in a March 6th article in The Daily Mail, is attached to play a vampire in the project, who visits Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska after the death of Kidman’s husband. I am interested to see how this dynamic plays out, especially after Miller’s vague description of the themes in the film. The name of the family that Firth visits has the name Stoker, in tribute to the famed writer of Dracula, Bram Stoker.

Another bonus that the film has is that 24 Frames released that South Korean director Chan Wook-Park (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) could be directing the film. That is definitely great news if the film were to return some actual horror to the word “vampire”, instead of having it associated with sparkling people frolicking in the fields in the daytime.

What are your thoughts on these tidbits? Are these projects worth pursuing? Do you think Miller’s script will bring anything new to the vampire film?

Blade Runner Prequel & Sequel Possibly in the Works

I guess it was only a matter of time before someone wanted to go back and continue what Ridley Scott started with Blade Runner, the 1982 adaptation of Philip K. Dick’s short story “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. CinemaSpy is reporting that Alcon Entertainment is close to acquiring the rights to the material, but apparently (and thankfully) not the right to do a remake. So, of course the rumors are that they are going to do everything else possible (i.e. prequel, sequel and television series).

Here is the official press release from the studio:

Warner Bros-based financing and production company Alcon Entertainment (“The Blind Side,” “The Book of Eli”) co-founders and co-Chief Executive Officers Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, in the most significant property acquisition negotiations in the Company’s 13-year history, are in final discussions to secure film, television and ancillary franchise rights to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic 1982 science-fiction thriller “Blade Runner.”

Alcon is negotiating to secure the rights from producer-director Bud Yorkin, who will serve as producer on “Blade Runner” along with Kosove and Johnson. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will co-produce. Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble, CEO’s of Thunderbird Films, will serve as executive producers.

Alcon’s franchise rights would be all-inclusive, but exclude rights to remake the original. The Company, however, may produce projects based on situations introduced in the original film. The project would be distributed domestically by Warner Bros. International rights are yet to be determined.

Johnson and Kosove stated: “We are honored and excited to be in business with Bud Yorkin. This is a major acquisition for our company, and a personal favorite film for both of us. We recognize the responsibility we have to do justice to the memory of the original with any prequel or sequel we produce. We have long-term goals for the franchise, and are exploring multi-platform concepts, not just limiting ourselves to one medium only.”

While I might be interested in seeing a sequel if Ridley Scott were involved, there is no mention of him yet. As for a prequel, I really don’t see a need for it.

Let me get down to what I think the crux of the problem is with this announcement: the studio purchasing the rights. Alcon Entertainment has a terrible track record with films. The most highly touted films in their repertoire are Book of Eli and The Blind Side. The former was a mediocre post-apocalyptic film based on a graphic novel, and the second was a mediocre sports film that somehow managed to hide how terrible of an actress Sandra Bullock is by masking her with a Southern accent. Then, you start digging more and find that there is this list of films that they produced:

• The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
• One Missed Call
• 16 Blocks
• P.S. I Love You
• The Wicker Man
• Racing Stripes
• Chasing Liberty

There were a couple of other films, the most important being Christopher Nolan‘s Insomnia, but for the most part there is a consistent level of mediocrity. Maybe this will be the film that puts this production company ahead, but I wish there was a better track record associated with them before they delve into such a weighty project. I’m glad that they acknowledge the responsibility associated with the mission that they are embarking on, and I’m glad that Bud Yorkin is officially involved, but with their track record I am extremely hesitant to get behind this idea.

Plus, it sounds like they are shamelessly trying to exploit the material by converting it into as many platforms as possible. They are already saying that they will try to run the franchise into the ground rather than just saying, “Hey, we’re going to focus on making the sequel true to the material and then see where we go from there.”

Why yes, we fully intend to keep beating this horse after every breath of life has been expended from its body.

This is Hollywood exploitation at its best.

What are your thoughts about all this? Should this sci-fi classic be left alone? Is it fine in the hands of Alcon and Co?

The Unnecessary Remake: Peter Pan Begins & The Fighter 2

The year of the remake continues to leave its mark on Hollywood releases as two “new” films have caused enough discussion by filmmakers to at least warrant themselves newsworthy.  Remake is not necessarily the appropriate word for either of these films as one is a prequel and the other a sequel, but the concept still remains the same – the rehashing of an older concept.

Peter Pan Begins:

The first of these films, the prequel is the more gut wrenching of the two.  Heat Vision is reporting that screenwriter Billy Ray (State of Play) and producer Joe Roth (Alice in Wonderland) are gearing up to create an origins story for Peter Pan.  Other than the title being Peter Pan Begins, taking a cue from Nolan’s Batman franchise, little else is known about the project.  Peter Pan Begins will join a long list of classic literary tales to make their way to live action film, ones that include:

• Alice in Wonderland (2010)
• Oz, the Great and Powerful
• Snow White and the Huntsman
• Jack the Giant Killer
• Red Riding Hood
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame

The first three of the aforementioned films are all Joe Roth produced, making him the leading culprit in this new scheme to ruin childhood stories.  If that wasn’t bad enough, Peter Pan Begins is really twisting the knife by already boasting a lead for the film – Channing Tatum.  Obviously, with this being an origin story, Tatum will not be playing the lead; however, this only leads me to assume he will be playing the infamous Captain Hook instead.  While the concept and the casting of Channing Tatum provide me with no interest in this film, screenwriter Billy Ray has a library of successful screenplays and will hopefully provide this atrocity with some sort of value.  It wouldn’t be the first ridiculous Peter Pan idea that worked…

what if Peter Pan grew up to be Robin Williams

The Fighter 2:

Riding the success The Fighter had both critically and in the box office, Mark Wahlberg is already gearing up to play Micky Ward again in a sequel.  When interviewed at the Academy Awards on Sunday, Wahlberg had this to say about the project:

“Now we’re gonna talk about doing No. 2.  We’re gonna do the Ward /Gatti trilogy and make it real.”

As a boxing fan I can attest to the fact that the Ward/Gatti fights were among boxing’s best but I’m not sure recreating these fights as a sequel to The Fighter is appropriate.  For starters, the original film took place in the mid 90s years prior to 2002 when the first fight between Ward and Gatti.  This doesn’t pose as much of a problem as the first film took place during an accelerated timeline (the film starts prior to 1995 and the final fight against Neary actually took place in August, 2000). 

 

The bigger problem arises with the point of view of the film.  The Gatti fights were the final 3 fights of Micky Ward’s career and were the culmination of his career (and ultimately his story); to have Micky Ward as the protagonist of a film focusing on these fights would be disappointing and anticlimactic.  However, if Mark Wahlberg were willing to take a supporting role as Micky Ward in telling the Arturo Gatti story, the film could prove a lot more success.  Though the fights were the highpoint of Gatti’s career, he fought until 2007 – most notably in a gruesome defeat to Floyd Mayweather Jr.  Not to mention Gatti’s story, and more importantly his life, came to a tragic and mysterious end in 2009 when he was found dead in Brazilian hotel.

 

Ideally, Wahlberg should be satisfied with the success of The Fighter and let it rest without being tarnished by a sequel.  However if he has to scratch the itch, it would be in everyone’s best interest if it were to be the Arturo Gatti story and not the continuation of the Micky Ward story.  I’m sure this would make Christian Bale very happy.

 

Not this again

Hunchback of Notre Dame

Tim Burton is back to put his eccentrically dark spin on another piece of beloved literature!!! The Playlist is reporting that he is cheating on his standby lead actor, Johnny Depp, and that Josh Brolin will star in the upcoming adaptation of Victor Hugo‘s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Let’s hope it turns out better than his last attempt to play a disfigured character.

It won't be that difficult.

On top of that, the scribes for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes sequel, Kieran and Michele Mulroney, will write the screenplay for the film.

Tim Burton will no doubt make a visually arresting film, and I am glad to see him departing from Johnny Depp to go with someone else. His last endeavour, last year’s Alice in Wonderland, lacked a gripping story, so I hope that he can fix that here with his next adaptation. I can’t really comment on the choice in writers since Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows hasn’t come out yet, but if it is anything like the original, I think that they could be a good fit with Burton at the helm.

Farrellys Want More Dumb and Dumber

by Chris Petersen

Right after we wrote the review of Hall Pass, indicating my nostalgia for the Farrelly Brothers days of Something About Mary, Kingpin, and Dumb and Dumber, I started reading rumors that the Farrelly Brothers are amping up for a Dumb and Dumber sequel.

Moviehole reported that Bobby Farrelly said this during a press junket in Sydney:

“[Dumb and Dumber] has run a bunch of times on TV in the states, and kids will come up and they’ll be able to quote lines from that – lines that I’ve long forgotten. If we could get those two guys back together, Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels that might be a worthwhile sequel – and that ball is in motion. We’re starting to think about what those two dimwits would be doing twenty-years later in life, and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something worthy of a sequel.”

Please God, no. When I said I was nostalgic for that film that was not what I meant. I don’t want all that was sacred about that perfect combination of dimwitted one-liners and slapstick humor, tainted by another adventure featuring Harry and Lloyd.

It took me years to recover after the last one.

Also, while Jeff Daniels hasn’t necessarily lost his comedic charm on me, Jim Carrey has. Watching a guy who is almost 50 do the same antics he did in films like The Mask, Ace Ventura, and Dumb and Dumber, just isn’t appealing. Now, I am not claiming that this is what the sequel will feature, but I am guessing they are going to try to return to the same stuff that they used in the first one. If they try to do something new, good for them, and that might just be interesting enough to get me mildly interested in this project, but not really.

Quentin Tarantino’s Western

First the martial arts film, then the exploitation film, now the spaghetti western. According to Ain’t it Cool News (AICN), Quentin Tarantino is going to pay homage to yet another genre with a new film currently in development. While very little is known about the project right now, there is just enough to pique my interest.

Last week, Franco Nero (Django, Die Hard 2), said this to the Italian website Movieplayer which started the whirlwind of rumors:

“The film will be called ‘The Angel, The Bad And The Wise’ and is a tribute to Sergio Leone. It’s a movie that contains humor, lots of action, but also a great plot. We have already been signed by a dozen people who will be part of project. Among the filmmakers involved include Quentin Tarantino , Keith Carradine, Treat Williams, fifteen people in all Americans who want to do this movie and so we are trying to produce it outside of Italy.”

In an update, AICN said that the title for the film wasn’t accurate, or just really poorly translated, but they also added an even more exciting nugget of information, Christoph Waltz is going to be “one of the stars” in the film.

That's a bingo!!!

 The rumor is that filming will start later this year, but that Tarantino is still putting the finishing touches on the script.

I am pretty excited about this development. Westerns are making a comeback in cinema, especially with the box office success of True Grit. While spaghetti westerns ended up being more of a cliche over time, I think Tarantino can add some grit and return the beauty to the genre as well. Plus, his last film, Inglorious Basterds, has slowly started taking the place of Pulp Fiction in my heart as my favorite Tarantino picture, which hints to me that he is maturing and only getting better. I think the Western is the right film at the right time for him, and with the cast listed, especially Christoph Waltz, this shot up high on my list of anticipated films.

What about you? Do you think this is a good project for Tarantino?

Ralph Fiennes Could Play Second Villain for James Bond 23

Sam Mendes seems to be doing everything he can to bring in some serious acting talent to his untitled “James Bond 23” film. Last week, Javier Bardem announced that he is up to play an unspecified “antagonist” role, pending a complete script, and now Ralph Fiennes is in talks to play another villain character.

He does have a lot of practice.

According to Baz Bamigboye at the Daily Mail, Ralph Fiennes is in talks for a “darkly complex” role. Fiennes was apparently interested in the film after he heard how revolutionary Bond 23 would be. Bamigboye’s source also added that, “the part is one of extreme complexity and only an actor of great ability and dexterity can take it on.”

Ralph Fiennes' ability to play an incredibly dark and complex character: Check.

Bond 23 is definitely lining up to be better than Quantum of Solace (not that it was really that bad) and certainly sounds “revolutionary” to the franchise, which is interesting coming off the changes that came with Casino Royale. Bardem also said “they’re changing the whole thing, the whole dynamic…I’d be playing Bond’s nemesis, yes, but it’s not that obvious. Everything is more nuanced it’s very intriguing.”

I hope that Bardem and Fiennes both get picked up, because their names alone lead me to believe the hype of an even more sophisticatedly gritty Bond.

What are your thoughts about this development? Will it be as revolutionary as anticipated? Do you think Fiennes will take the part?

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Will Join “The Dark Knight Rises”

The Man of Steel and The Dark Knight Rises are going toe-to-toe trying to top each other with casting announcements. First, it was confirmed that Anne Hathaway would play Selina Kyle/Catwoman and that Tom Hardy will play Bane in the upcoming Batman flick. Then, Man of Steel came right back announcing its lead, and now, according to Deadline, The Dark Knight Rises is adding Joseph Gordon-Levitt to its cast list in an unknown role.

The fanboy forums were ablaze last summer/fall with rumors that Gordon-Levitt would play the villain in the new film, but then dropped off the radar after Tom Hardy was announced. Now, he is back in talks, but it is unclear as to who he will play. My guess, is that if they haven’t announced a second villain yet, they probably won’t have one. It would seem to be overkill to have three villains and I don’t think Chris Nolan would want to go down that path right now.

If that wasn’t enough to get you even more excited about this film, how about this quote from Wally Pfister, Nolan’s cinematographer on all of his films since 2000, when he was asked about how this script could top The Dark Knight:

“I asked the same question. I read the script two weeks ago, and he’s done it. Plain and simple — he’s done it. It’s a phenomenal script. He’s still in the process of cutting it back because it’s a very long script right now, but it’s really phenomenal. And he actually had me go back and wanted me to watch, in IMAX, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight again. When I watched those I had read the script for The Dark Knight Rises and was like, ‘dude, it is a perfect trilogy.’ I think that was his intent, to work off those two pictures — and they are very different pictures. And it’s funny, we all had different opinions about which picture we like better.”

Next year is definitely lining up to be a stellar year for comic book cinema. Do you think Nolan can top both of his previous installments in the franchise?

Cameron Diaz and Colin Firth to Star in Coen Bros Written “Gambit”

by Chris Petersen

It’s no secret here that both Pac and I have a strong belief that Cameron Diaz ruins almost every film she is in. She even managed to almost bring down my favorite film, Martin Scorcese‘s Gangs of New York. But, now that she has been cast opposite Oscar Nominee Colin Firth in a remake of the 1966 film Gambit, will she be able to ruin the writing of the famous scribes, the Coen Brothers?

Challenge Accepted

The film, which begins shooting in May, will be directed by Michael Hoffman (The Last Station, The Emperor’s Club) is a comedy caper, and revolves around an art curator (Firth), who tries to trick a wealthy collector into buying a fake Monet painting. Diaz will be playing the part of PJ Puznowski, a Texas native who works with the curator by pretending to be a woman whose grandfather liberated the painting during World War II.

Will she do it again? Or will the script by the Coen Brothers and Colin Firth’s acting be able to counteract her black magic?

News from the Rumor Mill: More Batman 3 Villain Rumors, 5 Year Engagement, and Paranormal Activity 3

Yet Another Batman Villain Rumor

Even I am getting a little bit tired of all The Dark Knight Rises rumors, but I feel obligated to tell all of you the latest that has been vomited from the mouth of the web (namely Collider.com got it from an unnamed source) that the villain for the film might now be Hugo Strange. Strange is a super-genius who uses his brilliant mind for crime. He also is one of the villains that uncovers Batman’s true identity.

To me, this is a better option than Killer Croc, just because I think it would be better for Bruce Wayne to battle someone more with his mind than his brawn. Also, even though in previous films he gets his personal life messed with, it might be more interesting to have that be a prolonged story arc to torment him throughout the film. Hugo Strange also has an odd obsession with Batman and his personal life. When I say obsession, I am talking Buffalo Bill puts-on-women’s-skin-to-be-more-like-them crazy obsession. So, that type of story arc might work better for Nolan’s darker side.

That would be one messed up Bat Cave

On the other hand, Strange’s storylines in the comics usually somehow stumble across medical tampering and making Monster Men, or mindless zombie-like creatures. Somehow I just don’t see that working for a Nolan film, but with a strong enough arc from Strange’s obsession with Batman and Bruce Wayne, I would think that he could steer clear of that.

The Five Year Engagement Finds a Partner

Moving on to news in the comedy genre, Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria, The Devil Wears Prada) is in talks with Jason Segel to be his co-star in the upcoming film The Five Year Engagement. The film would also reunite Segel with his Forgetting Sarah Marshall director, Nicholas Stoller. The film covers the trials and tribulations of (you guessed it) a couple’s five year engagement.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is one of my favorite comedies and Segel seems to have a good sense of finding the humor in relationship struggles. I look forward to seeing how this one turns out.

Paranormal Activity 3 Gets a Release Date

Finally, I leave you with this piece of news. Setting its bar just that much lower to try to emulate Saw, Oren Peli and crew will release the third installment in the Paranormal Activity series on Oct 21, 2011, only one year after the last one was released. The second film hasn’t even left theaters yet!

I have to do this again?

Granted, the second film wasn’t that bad, but it was a step down from the original, which leads me to believe that this one, much like Saw in its campaign to release a new film every year, will just continue to decline in quality until the genius of the original is completely forgotten and then just becomes a parody. Just wait, it will probably be Paranormal Activity 3D and feature a preview of Katie reaching out of the screen to grab someone from the audience.

What are your thoughts on all of this? Is Strange a good fit? Is PA 3 going to be worth anything?

A Little Nostaglia Could Give You Goosebumps

Anyone around my age who knows how to read probably honed their skills by reading R. L. Stine’s Goosebumps series.  Additionally, you may have also watched the television show or even played the computer games.  Well in the near future you may even be able to watch Goosebumps on the silver screen.

Carl Ellsworth (Disturbia, Last House on the Left remake, Red Eye) has been tasked with writing the adaptation so the script writing appears to be in good hands.  While these are just rumors so far, and there don’t seem to be any other names attached to the project, I think Goosebumps will see the big screen.  The name provides just enough nostalgia to bring in the 20 something audience while a teen directed horror movie may widen the scope of theatergoers.  Personally I’d like to see Goosebumps go rated R but I doubt that will happen.

The biggest question may be how they plan to execute a Goosebumps movie.  Goosebumps is a series, much like Tales from the Crypt or Are You Afraid of the Dark? and there is no one story or main character to focus the plot around.  Will they create an ensemble of stories for the movie or will they choose a popular and easily adaptable book or series of books for the movie?

What do you think? and if there was one Goosebumps story you’d like to see made into the movie which one would you choose?

~ Pac