Will Smith Signed On For 2 ID4 Sequels

This news is courtesy of IESB...

20th Century Fox is still bathing in money from James Cameron's Avatar. At this point, we're talking dog toilet-paper bucks they've earned so much. So obviously a sequel is happening, right? Sure, but the waiting time for said follow-up looks to be a minimum of four years. Fox does have their fair share of comic-book properties getting the "Reboot" treatment and other sci-fi films such as the Predator and Alien franchises. But still the studio needs an honest-to-Christ event picture – something huge, something like.....wait for it......Independence Day.

They've made no qualms about wanting an ID4 sequel. Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman told as much to IESB a few years back. The problem is various nails in the road have stopped that from happening. For one, producers/writers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich cooked up a story but at the time decided they weren't ready to return to that world just yet.

More recent, Emmerich told Latino Review Fox just wasn't willing to cut their teeth over the list price for one Will Smith. Being the only movie-star in the world (an actor who guarantees asses in seats), Smith gets $20 million up front plus first dollar gross. That alone has stopped the studio cold from moving forward. Until now it seems.

IESB has received a tip that Will Smith is now locked for not only Independence Day 2, but also a third installment. The plan would be to shoot both films back-to-back. Whether the studio opts to go the Matrix route and release the two films six months apart or do like the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels and split them by a year remains to be seen. According to our sources, if all goes according to plan, the sequel(s) could shoot as early as 2011.

This would be Emmerich's next directorial endeavor after his William Shakespeare thriller Anonymous. This would also come after Will Smith's next (which will be either The City That Sailed or Men in Black 3). So this wouldn't interfere with those projects.

The original ID-4 brought in a total of $817,400,891in worldwide box office receipts and you can easily add another $200 million plus in DVD sales and TV rights.That's right, ID4 is a bona fide billion dollar franchise.

Keep in mind, folks, we're still awaiting confirmation from Fox and other sources - who as of now have not yet been able to confirm or deny our story. Even though this comes via a reliable source, we're going to put this in the "Rumor" catalog for the time being.

So it appears fourteen years after the fact (Yes, it has been that long!), we might finally be getting Independence Day sequels..

The IESB will keep you informed on any updates.

P.S. Memo to MTV....Fuck off for what you are going to post after reading this

Godzilla Will Roar...In A Remake

It seems that Godzilla is getting the remake treatment yet again. Just 10 years after the latest reboot, Variety is confirming the scoop that Bloody-Disgusting had last year...

"Godzilla" is coming back -- this time, with Legendary Pictures taking the lead, co-producing and co-financing with Warner Bros. for release in 2012.

Legendary announced Monday it had obtained rights to the iconic monster character from Japan's Toho Co., which has overseen more than 25 "Godzilla" films. Toho will release the pic in Japan.

Legendary said it's planning to announce a director shortly.

In addition to Legendary, producers on the new film will be Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers. Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will exec produce.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, Chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop-culturally relevant for as long as it has."

Legendary noted the film will fall under its co-production and co-financing deal with Warner Bros. Legendary's productions with Warners have included "The Dark Knight," "300" and "The Hangover."

Speculation about a new "Godzilla" has been active since last summer. The Bloody Disgusting web site reported in August that the project was in development.

Scream 4 Shooting In Michigan

This comes from HorrorBid. Scream 4 is gearing up for a move from California to Michigan. Here's HB's story...

We learned today the studio has decided to shoot the film in Michigan instead of California, the state the 3 earlier films were shot. Why you ask? Are they all the sudden Wolverine fans? No, they simply are taking advantage of the "huge tax incentives" Michigan offers studios to shot their films at. Seems simple enough right? An exact location has yet to be confirmed but we will keep you updated as the latest news breaks

This is the first film in the franchise to be shot outside of California. Even though Scream 2 took place in Ohio, it was filmed in CA.

Will Smith Ponders 'Men in Black 3'

According to Variety, Will Smith is deciding which film will be his next project. There's two choices: Men in Black 3 and The City That Sailed. The choice is obvious to me.

Will Smith is pondering which ship he'll captain next.

It's down to two choices: Sony's "Men in Black III" or 20th Century Fox's fantasy-adventure "The City That Sailed."

Each project has particular appeal for the actor.

Smith's production company Overbrook Films developed "City that Sailed" and brought it to Fox, which embraced the family property.

Penned by Andrew Niccol, "City that Sailed" revolves around a New York street magician who is unhappily separated from his young daughter. The girl, who moves to London, finds magic candles that make her wishes comes true, with unintended consequences: The island of Manhattan separates from the continent and floats toward England, bringing her dad ever closer.

There's no director yet on the project.

The "Men in Black" franchise, of course, has been a box office goldmine for Smith, and Sony. First film, released in 1997, grossed $587.8 million worldwide. The 2002 sequel earned $441.8 million globally.

It's been a while since Smith graced the bigscreen. His last film, Sony's drama "Seven Pounds," was released in December 2008.

Instead, he's been busy producing via Overbrook, including Sony's redo "The Karate Kid," starring Smith's son, Jaden.

Neither Fox nor Sony would comment.

Insiders, however, offered this nugget: One of the two will be Smith's next film.

Laverne And Shirley Movie Scoops

TV Guide is reporting that Valentine's Day co-star Jamie Foxx is writing the script for the Laverne and Shirley movie. Here's the skinny...

Remember all that silly talk during the press junket for the movie Valentine’s Day that Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel would like to play Laverne & Shirley in a big-screen remake? I immediately filed that under the ‘will never happen in a zillion years’ folder. Well, Valentine’s and L&S producer Garry Marshall, who was honored at the 18th Annual Night At Sardi’s Fundraiser for Alzheimer’s (his mother died of the disease), tells me the script is now being written by Valentine’s co-star Jamie Foxx.

“Jamie and I are trying to do it,” Garry confirms. “He’s writing it. It’s a whole different modern day take on how they came up on the streets during difficult times. Laverne would be this very tough girl with a big ‘L’ tattooed on her arm. Jennifer Garner would play Laverne and Jessica Biel would play Shirley.” (Funny... I kinda see it the other way around.)

While Jamie plans to write in roles for the original sitcom stars, Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams, Garry says Jamie asked him not to reveal what those roles would be. As a major L&S fan, might I suggest Cindy as landlady Edna Babish, with Marshall as Laverne nemesis Rosie Greenbaum?

Do you like the idea of Jennifer Garner as Laverne and Jessica Biel as Shirley? Personally, I think we could do better. How about dipping into the Big Love cast with Chloe Sevigny as Laverne and Ginnfer Goodwin as Shirley?

Popeye's Back!

Variety is reporting that Sony is prepping a 3-D Popeye flick. Um. Hell yes!

Sony is bringing an all-CGI "Popeye" to the bigscreen, with the iconic sailor man's muscles set to pop in 3D.

Avi Arad, who teamed with Sony to turn Spider-Man into a powerhouse franchise, is producing. Scribe Mike Jones is in negotiations to adapt.

King Features Syndicate, which is owned by Hearst Entertainment and Syndication, controls the property and decided to bring it to Arad, who worked for years with Hearst president and former Marvel topper Scott Sassa. Popeye hasn't been seen on the bigscreen since 1980 when Robin Williams starred in a live-action version helmed by Robert Altman.

"Scott called me and said, 'I have something for you,'" said Arad, who grew up watching Popeye shorts in movie houses in his native Israel. "I literally started singing the famous Popeye song (after securing the rights). What always blew me away is the level of the animation. It was so beautiful and unbelievably detailed."

Project was a natural fit for Sony, which is bringing a similar project to the bigscreen with "Smurfs." Sony Pictures Digital Prod. topper Bob Osher also has long-standing relationship with Sassa, the former NBC Entertainment topper.

Jones landed the writing gig based on his buzzed-about screenplay "The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break," which is in development at the Gotham Group.

"I'm an unabashed, lifelong Popeye fan," said Jones, who is a Variety alum. "Introducing this squinty-eyed sailor to a new generation also means reintroducing him to those who, like me, grew up with him."

The logline is being kept under wraps, but Popeye's love interest Olive Oyl, nemesis Bluto and adopted child Swee'Pea will be part of the adventure. Arad says the new version will cover the themes of friendship, love, greed and life, and focus on human strengths and human frailties.

"Popeye" will be made by Sony Pictures Animation, with Sony Pictures ImageWorks handling the CG.

"As one of the earliest animated characters ... Popeye has become one of the most enduring and iconic cartoon characters of all time and indelibly linked to the evolution of animation," said Hannah Minghella, president of production for Sony Pictures Animation.

Created by E.C. Segar, Popeye first appeared in the already established "Thimble Theater" comicstrip in 1929. Introduced as a walk-on character, Popeye eventually became the strip's star.

The spinach-loving hero, who spawned the longest-running series of talking animated shorts, is considered a merchandising gold mine, with Popeye toys, books, puzzles and games. Studio says the character, whose likeness is used widely to hawk green veggies, is the world's No. 1 licensing character in food.

"While each generation has discovered him in different incarnations, the fans have continued to embrace him through the years, coming back time and again to that quintessential collection of character traits that has made Popeye beloved around the world," said T.R. "Rocky" Shepard III, president of King Features Syndicate.

Jones is repped by Gersh and Gotham Group.

Transformers 3 Cast Additions

This bit of interesting news comes courtesy of Moviehole...

Michael Bay has roped in John Malkovich, Ken Jeong and Frances McDormand to "Transformers 3", the director announced via official website earlier today.

Malkovich, who had been in advanced talks to play the villain in Sony's now-defunct "Spider-Man 4", will play Shia LaBeouf's "first boss" (says Deadline Hollywood Daily).

McDormand, relatively new to Blockbuster-ville, will play the National Intelligence Director.

No word on who funnyman Jeong, best known for his work in "The Hangover" and "Knocked Up", is playing.

The flick, which will again star Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, kicks off it's pre-shoot next month.

Twilight Saga Eclipse Poster

Here is the official poster for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse for all you Twihards...

Wes Craven Officially On Scream 4

This fantastic bit of news comes from Moviehole. Wes Craven is officially back in the director's chair for Scream 4!

Dimension Films just sent over this juicy nugget of information :

IMMEDIATE RELEASE **

DIMENSION FILMS SET TO RELEASE THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF THE SCREAM SERIES WES CRAVEN TO DIRECT SCREAM 4

New York, NY (March 22, 2010) - Dimension Films is putting the finishing touches on its 2011 slate which focuses on continuing its most successful franchises. The first project to go into production this spring will be SCREAM 4, which Kevin Williamson is writing and Wes Craven has signed on to direct. Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox Arquette will be reprising their roles from the original SCREAM installments. Joining the returning cast members will be a new group of young actors. The SCREAM franchise has grossed more than $500 million at the worldwide box office and ushered in a new wave of horror in the 1990s. SCREAM 4 will be released on April 15, 2011.

"SCREAM has been such an integral part of Dimension's history, and I look forward to continuing the franchise," said Bob Weinstein, co-chairman The Weinstein Company. "I've worked with Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven on so many films at Dimension and hope to continue our successful collaboration."

Wes Craven added, "I am delighted to accept Bob Weinstein's offer to take the reins on a whole new chapter in SCREAM history. Working with Courteney, David and Neve was a blast ten years ago and I'm sure it will be again. And I can't wait to find the talent that will bring new blood to the screen as well. Kevin is right on his game with the new script - the characters and story crackle with energy and originality - to say nothing of some of the most hair-raising scares I've seen in a script since... well, since the original SCREAM series. Let me at it."

Chris Evans Offered Captain America Role

This comes from The Hollywood Reporter. Chris Evans has been offered the role of Captain America.

Chris Evans is one step closer to the role of Captain America.

Sources tell us the actor, who once donned superhero garb in two "Fantastic Four" movies, has been offered the role of Captain America.

Marvel has not confirmed the development and CAA, which reps the actor, declined to comment.

Evans' offer would include starring in up to three "America" movies plus "The Avengers" movies and appearances in several other Marvel movies. While an offer to star in "America" may seem like something you don't have to mull over too long, one possible complication is that Evans is committed to co-starring in the Anna Faris romantic comedy "What's Your Number?" Both are scheduled to shoot this summer.

The role of Captain America and his alter ego Steve Rogers has been one of the most heavily scrutinized parts by the industry, the media and the comic book fandom in recent memory.

Evans wasn’t in the initial round of actors being considered, which for the most part leaned to the newcomer side. Michael Cassidy, Patrick Flueger, Scott Porter, Wilson Blethel and Mike Vogel, on top of John Krasinski and Chace Crawford, were those testing and reading. Garrett Hedlund was also someone Marvel was interested in.

Evans, who did not screen test, already has a relationship with Marvel, having starred as Johnny Storm, the fire-covered superhero in the two “Fantastic Four” movies that Fox released in 2005 and 2007. There is some question whether fans would be accepting of an actor who already played a Marvel superhero just a few years ago, but given that the movies were not well embraced, with no one faulting the actors, Evans might have a clean slate with moviegoers.

Joe Johnston is directing “America,” which shoots in England.

Evans, also repped by 3 Arts Entertainment, has the DC Comics adaptation “The Losers” in the can and also appears in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the popular Oni Press graphic novel series.

Jeepers Creepers 3 Update

B-D has the latest on the long-awaited third film in the Jeepers Creepers franchise. Ray Wise spoke to B-D, and this is how that conversation went...

Last night Bloody Disgusting's Chris Eggertsen visited the set of Infestation director Kyle Rankin's latest, Nuclear Family, a thriller set in the backdrop of the apocalypse. While on set Chris had a chance to speak with star Ray Wise who updated him on the progress of Jeepers Creepers III, Victor Salva's long delayed sequel to his creature feature franchise started back in 2001.

Bloody-Disgusting had the chance to catch up today with actor Ray Wise, star of Jeepers Creepers 2, who updated us on the long-rumored third installment.

"The script for 'Jeepers Creepers 3' is complete," Wise said. "They're in pre-production planning now. I'm hopeful that sometime in the next two or three months we'll get a start date...[MGM] definitely want[s] to do it, and it's just a matter of putting together all the final financing I believe...I think it's gonna be a go in a couple of months."

In addition, he indicated the third chapter in the series would pick up literally right where the second film let off.

"It begins right where the second one ended, right there in that barn with the Creeper on the wall and me the old man waiting there with my harpoon gun."

Of course we've heard this kind of talk before, but it at least keeps hope alive for fans of the series. One thing you can definitely be sure of -- if it ever does happen, no one but Victor Salva will direct. Said Wise: "He wouldn't let anybody touch that. The Creeper is his."

The only question I have is whether or not the MGM auction is affecting the project and if it's going to end up burying it for good.

Burton's Cooky For Addams Family

Now this is something that will most likely interest me: a 3-D spot-motion (claymation) Addams Family movie! Here's what Deadline Hollywood Daily is reporting...

EXCLUSIVE: Alice in Wonderland director Tim Burton has found a new 3D project. He will direct a stop-motion animated film based on Charles Addams' original ghoulish cartoon drawings of The Addams Family. Illumination Entertainment, the Universal-based family film unit headed by Chris Meledandri, has acquired the underlying rights of the Addams drawings, once a staple of The New Yorker magazine.

Other than being inspired by the same source material, the animated feature is unrelated to previous incarnations of Addams’ work, the 60s TV series, the two `90s feature film comedies that Barry Sonnenfeld directed with Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, or the Broadway musical opening this spring with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth in the starring roles.

Meladandri will produce the film. Kevin Miserocchi of the Tee and Charles Addams Foundation will be executive producer. A writer will be hired shortly. Burton, whose visual creations are currently on display at a MOMA exhibit that opened last November, is expected to provide much of the visual look of the film himself.

Burton’s experience in animated film is extensive. He last directed Corpse Bride, and is making a feature version of Frankenweenie, the 1984 30-minute short film Burton made about a boy who reanimates his dead dog. That reportedly got him tossed off the Disney lot for making a film too terrifying for a family audience, but the film has since become a cult favorite. Burton recently produced 9, as well as the delightful stop-motion animated The Nightmare Before Christmas, for which he wrote the story.

His intention is to go back to the litany of Addams illustrations that displayed a sharper wit than could be place into a 60s family TV series.

While there are many post-Green Zone articles speculating how Universal will pull itself out of an extended feature slump, Illumination's upcoming animated slate should be a big help in giving Universal a foothold in the 3D CG family entertainment market. Meledandri left the top post at Fox Animation to form Illumination in 2007, and begins contributing to the Universal pipeline when the studio releases the Steve Carell-voiced Despicable Me on July 9. That’s followed by the April 1, 2011 release of I Hop, with Russell Brand voicing the Easter Bunny, with the Ricky Gervais creation Flanimals coming later 2011. Right behind that is Where’s Waldo and Dr.Seuss’ The Lorax.

Not So Final: Final Destination 5

I think we all seen this coming. Warner Brothers is prepping the fourth sequel in the Final Destination franchise. Will this one, in fact, be final? Here's what Moviehole is saying...

Despite the last one sucking worse than a $2 store vacuum cleaner, Warner Bros are preparing to grease the wheels on a fifth "Final Destination".

Warner Bros. head Alan Horn told attendees of ShoWest, say Bloody Disgusting, that the studio just "couldn't resist" in greenlight sequel number four.

"The Final Destination", the most recent entry in the teen-slasher series, was a big success for the studio when it was released last August.

Update On Police Academy Sequel/Reboot

Producer Paul Maslansky spoke to MTV about the upcoming Police Academy sequel/reboot. This is what he had to say...

While everyone was obsessing over the not-yet-aired Academy Awards show a couple weeks ago, I was running around in circles at the news that "Police Academy" was coming back. Not just that, but series producer Paul Maslansky was leading the charge to bring it back. This is very exciting news for me, as the "Police Academy" series is one that stands out in my formative experiences with film.

I immediately put in a call to Maslansky, not even daring to hope that he would speak with the press at such an early stage. He did though, and we had a lengthy conversation about the past, present and future of "Police Academy." The specific details haven't yet been hammered out, but it's clear from talking to the man that there's a plan which all involved parties are focused on carrying out. There's too much from the interview to contain in a single blog post, so I figured I'd start off with what my fellow fans are most interested in: what's up with the eighth "Police Academy"?

"I have ideas [and] the executives at New Line have ideas and we’re just in the formative stage," Maslansky explained. "My ambition would be to cast... a new class of Academy cadets, because it’s called 'Police Academy' you can’t get them, you know, [fighting crime] right away, they’ve got to be trained to be police."

Of course, the key to those classic "Police Academy" movies are the faces we remember so well. Mahoney. Hightower. Tackleberry. Hooks. "Motor Mouth" Jones. The success of those original films hinged on the colorful cast, which is something that Maslansky recognizes and acknowledges as an issue to be addressed in planning the next movie.

"You’ve got to of course introduce each character as we did in the first one," he explained. "This kind of comedy is a major challenge because you have to write a lot of jokes and you have to write a lot of personalities into it. Each one of these characters has to be separate from the other, they each have to have their own idiosyncratic behavior."

Important as they are, it's not just quirky cast of characters that will make another "Police Academy" work. "I want to recreate that atmosphere that the first [movie] had. I’m going to use the theme obviously from Robert Folk, who wrote the music. Believe me, that theme, probably it was as helpful as anything in that first movie to bring it to life," Maslansky explained. "I’m going to do everything in my power to satisfy an audience that I know will be accepting."

And so we circle around to the biggest question: where are things right now? "New Line as well as agencies have been giving me scripts of their writers, and there are quite a few writers who are really interested in getting involved in ['Police Academy,']" he said. "There’s such an opportunity to bring good fresh comics to it or actors that can perform comedy, which is a terribly difficult thing to do."

As for the other big question, which characters will be returning, Maslansky isn't naming any names. "I haven’t decided which ones. And I don’t want to mention names and others will be disappointed, at this point," he said. "All I know is that I want to bring back some of the older characters to it, and maybe they’ll have principal roles, some of them, and some of them might be just you know [a cameo]."

The one thing that rings clearly in everything that Maslansky says about the coming "Police Academy" is how excited he is, how much he's looking forward to returning to this classic series. "I trust that we’re going to be up to the challenge. I really hope so, because we don’t want to disappoint the audience out there. I really don’t. Just to make another 'Police Academy' is not what I have in mind."

I'm all for another flick!

Pirates 4 Casting Details

This casting call list is from Moviehole...and I found it quite amusing and decided to share...

"Pirates of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides" is inching forward it seems (from the sounds of it, principal photography will commence in May/June) with casting agents desperately trying to hunt down some beauticious extras for a couple of crucial scenes.

The breakdown read :

Beautiful Female Fit Models. Must be 5'7-5'8, Size 4 or 6 - NO BIGGER OR SMALLER. Age 18-25. Must have a lean dancer body. MUST have real breasts. Do not submit if you have implants. This is a show and tell of costumes with the director and the producers. Plan on an entire day of trying on clothes and being photographed.

Professional Dancers who are Swimmers. Females ONLY. Age 18-30. All ethnicities. YOU MUST have an extensive dance/swimming resume. We will be shooting in Hawaii.

The film, directed by Rob Marshall ("Nine"), stars Johnny Depp, Ian McShane, Penelope Cruz and - likely - Geoffrey Rush.

Oh, Hollywood...

Tom Atkins Attached To Halloween 3?

This interesting news is courtesy of our good buddies over at HorrorBid. Could Tom Atkins be attached to Halloween 3 (a sequel to RZ's H2)? Here's what HB had to say...

There are a couple of problems with this story however. Halloween 3D is either not going to happen or more than likely happen with a different script. Rewind to last year when Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 hit the box office. The numbers weren't great and the film was getting panned by the critics. Regardless of that the Weinstein Brothers announced that there would be a third film (minus Zombie this time) and the director and writer of My Bloody Valentine 3D would be coming aboard to pen and direct the new film titled, you guessed it, Halloween 3D or H3D. In a matter of weeks that project got nixed for uncertain reasons and has been up in the air sense.

Fast forward to present day. Atkins is currently shooting a film (which will also be for Farmer and Lussier) titled Drive Angry. During an interview with Fangoria magazine Atkins said he would be playing "a shrink in a mental hospital that Laurie [Scout Taylor-Compton] is in with a bunch of other girls who have been up to no good. I'm trying to help them find a way to the light."

Not exactly a ton to go on but if the mustache one speaks, we listen! So if Halloween 3D does get off the ground and lets be honest it probably will (it will make money) then it appears as if the one and only Tom Atkins may indeed have a part. And who better to be in a Halloween 3 film then the "THRILL ME" star himself considering he was in the original Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.

It would be nice to see Atkins after all these years get a chance to go toe to toe with the Boogeyman himself, Michael Myers. Time will tell. Bidites what do you think? Good idea or better left on the cutting room floor?

Remember, Atkins was in the original Halloween III: Season of the Witch, so this could be something not too short of pure awesomeness (it's a word, Google that shit).

Muppet Sequel With Jason Segel

This amazing news comes from Moviehole...

The script for Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller's "The Greatest Muppet Movie Of All Time" is Gold. It's classic Henson - top tunes, great gags, oodles of cameos (there's even an opportunity for Charles Grodin to reprise his 'Great Muppet Caper' character), and no goddamn literary cross-overs (you know what I mean - a 'Christmas Carol', 'Treasure Island' and so on).

Predators Footage Online

If you head on over to the official website for the new Predators flick, you'll find a cool little featurette on there that show a lot of behind the scenes production footage and a neat quasi-interview with Robert Rodriguez. Click here to check that out now!

Third Chipmunks To Be 3-D

I've sort of been against the whole 3-D movement as of late, but this film I actually want to see in the third dimension! ComingSoon reports that the third film in the Chipmunks franchise will, in fact, be in 3-D. I look forward to it.

20th Century Fox has announced that Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D, the third installment in the franchise, is coming to theaters on December 16, 2011. Combined, the first two films earned an impressive $791 million in theaters worldwide.

Who knew the Chipmunks, a late 80s, early 90s cartoon sensation would be popular in 2010.

Twilight Saga Eclipse trailer

So the trailer for The Twilight Saga: Eclipse has debuted. Yeah, I really don't know what else there is to write. Um. You can watch it if you're into this type of thing...

Nolan confirmed for 3rd Batman

This comes from the LA Times. Christopher Nolan is on board for Batman 3 and is currently working on the latest Superman reboot as we speak...

The topic at the Batcave on Monday night was the future of that other superhero — you know, the one from Metropolis. “It’s very exciting; we have a fantastic story,” Christopher Nolan said while sipping tea in the sleek editing suite that fills the converted garage next to his Hollywood home. “And we feel we can do it right. We know the milieu, if you will, we know the genre and how to get it done right.”

Nolan was standing next to his wife, producer Emma Thomas, his partner in all of his films — including “Batman Begins” and “The Dark Knight,” the grim franchise that pulled in more than $1.3 billion at theaters worldwide — and he was explaining their plan to take on a challenge that has frustrated Hollywood for two decades: getting another Superman film franchise off the ground.

Nolan, speaking about the Superman project for the first time, is pleased with the excitement stirred but, like the magicians in his 2006 film “The Prestige,” sees no value in revealing all of his tricks before the curtain goes up. Still, he wanted to answer some of the early questions about his plans for Superman — as well as his third visit to Gotham City.

There was a spasm of fan excitement when word leaked last month that Nolan, who is now viewed as the Hitchcock of superhero cinema after his two Batman films, would be the “godfather” for a reboot of the Man of Steel, acting as producer and mentor to an as-yet-unnamed-director who will be making a movie based on a story by Nolan and frequent collaborator David S. Goyer.

The Internet flurry included reports that, according to Thomas, might be better described as fan fiction. The dispatches revealing that the film will be called “Man of Steel”? And feature Lex Luthor and Brainiac? Or the one about it being a period piece with something like a low-fi version of the hero?

Superman by Jim Lee “I don’t know where this stuff comes from,” Thomas said with a chuckle, although, as with any good poker player, it’s hard to say where the bluff starts and ends.

This much is certain: The couple are completely focused on the movie-of-the-moment, which is “Inception,” which opens July 16 and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a dream thief of sorts in what may be Hollywood’s first metaphysical heist film. The movie is the most complicated undertaking of Nolan’s career — it was shot in six countries and tells a tale that flips between reality and three levels of dream-time — and, well, all things considered, he’d rather Superman stay in his Fortress of Solitude and off the front page for a while longer since that project is a matter for 2012 or 2013 at best.

But of course Superman, first superhero of them all, is an American pop culture icon on a par with Mickey Mouse and Elvis. But after the close of the Christopher Reeve era with “Superman IV: The Quest for Peace” in 1987, the property became one of the most frustrating in Hollywood. A dozen different reboots were started through the years with names attached such as Nicolas Cage, Kevin Smith, J.J. Abrams, McG and Brett Ratner, and plans were trotted out to kill Superman, strip him of his powers or pit him in battle against Batman.

Finally, director Bryan Singer, who had earned credibility with comic book fans with his two “X-Men” films for Fox, delivered with “Superman Returns” in 2006 starring Brandon Routh. But the finished product was viewed as oddly lifeless by many critics. The $200-million film finished its theatrical run with a respectable $391 million worldwide but it wasn’t heroic enough to earn a sequel.

Nolan said that he admired Singer’s film, especially the way it connected to director Richard Donner’s version of Superman and the first two movies starring Reeve. Nolan added, though, that this new movie will stand on its own.

Batman atop police car “A lot of people have approached Superman in a lot of different ways. I only know the way that has worked for us that’s what I know how to do,” Nolan said, emphasizing the idea that Batman exists in a world where he is the only superhero and a similar approach to the Man of Steel would assure the integrity needed for the film. “Each serves to the internal logic of the story. They have nothing to do with each other.”

Still, it was a frustrating moment in the Batman franchise that led to this new Superman revival. Nolan and Goyer, a key collaborator on both Batman films, were at a story impasse on the third Batman film (which is now picking up steam as well) when, as a distraction, Goyer gave the filmmaker a daydream version of how he would tackle a story about the last son of Krypton.

“He basically told me, ‘I have this thought about how you would approach Superman,’” Nolan recalled. “I immediately got it, loved it and thought: That is a way of approaching the story I’ve never seen before that makes it incredibly exciting. I wanted to get Emma and I involved in shepherding the project right away and getting it to the studio and getting it going in an exciting way.”

Goyer is now writing the screenplay and Nolan is keeping it close to the vest.

It’s interesting where inspirations originate. Nolan put together an especially deep cast for his Batman films — the first one, for instance, featured Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Gary Oldman and Tom Wilkinson in supporting roles. That, he said, was an idea imported from Metropolis.

“I went to the studio with the analogy of ‘I want to cast the way they did in 1978 with 'Superman,”’ where they had [Marlon] Brando and Glenn Ford and Ned Beatty and all these fantastic actors in even small parts, which was an exotic idea for a superhero movie at the time. It really paid off too. As a kid watching ‘Superman,’ it seemed enormous and I realized later by looking at it that a lot of that was actually the casting, just having these incredibly talented people and these characterizations. And Marlon Brando is the first guy up playing Superman’s dad. It’s incredible.”

Christopher Nolan and Aaron Eckhart on set of Drak Knight photo by Stephen Vaughan

Superman, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, was an instant success when he arrived on the publishing scene in June 1938 and he more or less created the American comic book and its signature concept, the superhero. Superman made the leap to radio in 1940 and then to the silver screen in 1948 when Kirk Alyn became the first of many actors to wear the cape. George Reeves was the face of Superman on television for 104 episodes in the 1950s while Reeve and his work in the 1970s and 1980s may be the definitive version of the hero for most fans. But the youngest fans have a view of the hero shaped more by the award-winning animated series in recent years and “Smallville,” the CW series that just got re-upped for a 10th season, making star Tom Welling the Clark Kent with the longest tenure.

Nolan, for the record, also won’t confirm that he is actually directing the third Batman film, but, well, of course he is -- however “Inception” isn’t in the can yet and it’s against his code. He can’t be easily tricked, either. Asked if Superman as a franchise has to overcome a deficiency of truly great villains, unlike, say, Spider-Man and Batman, he won’t bite. “That’s a very sly way of asking a question I’m not going to answer.”

Christopher Reeve Nolan says he has no idea who will direct the Superman film (there has been conjecture that it may be his brother and frequent collaborator, Jonathan Nolan) but his role appears to be comparable to Peter Jackson with “District 9,” which was directed by newcomer Neill Blomkamp but benefited greatly from imprimatur of “The Lord of the Rings” auteur. Jackson is also stepping into a similar role in Middle-earth as Guillermo del Toro takes over as director for “The Hobbit” films.

Nolan established himself as a bold and cerebral filmmaker in 2000 with “Memento,” has made a specialty of rooting stories of the fantastic in a gritty reality with psychological undertones and an emphasis on using practical effects and stunt work as opposed to the magical paintbrushes of the CG era. All of that made him an ideal filmmaker for fight-time in the brutal gutters of Gotham but it doesn’t make the filmmaker the first obvious choice for flight-time amid the gleaming citadels of Metropolis. Warner Bros. executives seem confident that he is -- and they need him to be the right man with the "Harry Potter" franchise -- and perhaps Batman -- nearing an expiration date.

Sitting in his edit bay, which is decorated with posters of Ledger as the Joker and has a skylight that rolls shut with mechanical screeching that adds to the Batcave ambiance, Nolan said he knows about storytelling and it’s difficult to dissect his work beyond that.

Superman by Alex Ross “We’re approaching it in a not dissimilar way in terms of trying to find an incredible story in a way that audiences can engage with it the way they engage with contemporary action films,” Nolan continued. “I think David’s approach is a very good way of doing just that.”

And that third Batman film? Jonathan Nolan is “now doing the hard work” of writing the script based on the story by his sibling and Goyer. “My brother is writing a script for me and we’ll wait to see how it turns out.... He’s struggling to put it together into the epic story that you want it to be.”

“Batman Begins” was the origin and back story of the hero, while “The Dark Knight” found the hero reeling as his Manichean, good vs. evil worldview was upended by a new villain, the Joker, who was a wild-card agent of chaos going up against order, be it a police department or the mob. The second film ends, literally, with Batman on the run, a fugitive.

So what happens next?

“Without getting into specifics, the key thing that makes the third film a great possibility for us is that we want to finish our story,” he said. “And in viewing it as the finishing of a story rather than infinitely blowing up the balloon and expanding the story.”

Nolan said the key surviivng characters from the two first films and the actors who play them will be back. “We have a great ensemble, that’s one of the attractions of doing another film, since we’ve been having a great time for years.”

Christopher Nolan Perhaps. But the great challenge is to find a villain (or villains) who can not only match up with the Caped Crusader but also with Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning portrayal of the scabby, demented Joker. Fans have churned up the rumor mill for months now (Johnny Depp as the Riddler? Angelina Jolie as Catwoman? Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin? Ben Kingsley as Hugo Strange?). But Nolan, no fan of letting cats out of the bag, declined to play along.

His villain choices to date have steered clear of strongly supernatural or super-science characters (no Man-Bat, Mr. Freeze or Poison Ivy, for instance) but he shook his head when asked if that was a trajectory he would continue. He did however concede one tidbit: “It won’t be," he said, "Mr. Freeze.”

Batman has been throwing punches in the pages of DC Comics since 1939 and as the decades passed, much of the core of the character stayed the same even as Bruce Wayne’s sideburns or the profile of the Batmobile changed. Not so with film.

“I’m very excited about the end of the film, the conclusion, and what we’ve done with the characters,” Nolan said.“My brother has come up with some pretty exciting stuff. Unlike the comics, these things don’t go on forever in film and viewing it as a story with an end is useful. Viewing it as an ending, that sets you very much on the right track about the appropriate conclusion and the essence of what tale we’re telling. And it harkens back to that priority of trying to find the reality in these fantastic stories. That’s what we do.”

Rest in peace, Corey Haim

Corey Haim has died at the age of 38 of an accidental drug overdose. So sad. I met Corey at the Horrorhound Weekend of last year, he seemed like he was still battling a drug problem. He will be missed.

Yes, we came out of a hiatus for this.