This past Sunday, after I watched in disgust as the Giants blew a 21-point lead, I searched for a film on cable to ease the pain. Though I had already watched it over a hundred times, Beverly Hills Cop II seemed like the right fit for the mood I was in. I picked it up about 25 minutes into the film, as Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) was attempting to sneak into the gun club by convincing the receptionist he was carrying some sort of nuclear explosives that would detonate if their voices rose above a whisper. I love that scene. I love this movie. Some of Murphy's greatest improv is found in Beverly Hills Cop and Beverly Hills Cop II -- however, the franchise took a high-dive into an empty pool when it attempted to re-visit Foley's antics in Beverly Hills Cop III.

While Murphy has always been attached to star in a fourth installment, after the third one bombed -- $44 million at the box office, whereas the first two grossed $234 million and $153 million (domestically) -- folks were a wee bit weary. However, Paramount now wants to bring back The Foley, and are currently out to writers -- Beverly Hills Cop IV is officially a go. Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Constantine, Transformers) will come on as producer, with Murphy heavily involved in all the decision making. Personally (and Axel Foley is one of my favorite characters of all time, so this certainly hits home pretty damn hard), I'm game for another sequel -- I just wish Jerry Bruckheimer was involved. His participation was critical during the first two films and, after bailing on the third, it definitely showed.

What do you think about reviving the character and making a fourth film? If they could do it with Die Hard, why not Beverly Hills Cop, right?

The Dust Bowl was one of the worst catastrophes in American history; dust storms wiped out entire sections of the mid-west causing hundreds of thousands of people to lose their homes and livelihoods. Variety announced that Tagline has purchased the film rights to the Timothy Egan book, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl. Egan's book tells the story of the Dust Bowl ecological crisis through more personal stories of the survivors. The book focuses on the farm families who tried to ride out the crisis, usually due to bad advice that they could make their land suitable for farming again. Tagline has only produced television projects in the past, so this will be their first foray into feature world. Kirk Ellis, who wrote the TNT series Into The West, is attached to write the script.

For their first time out of the gate, this sounds like a pretty ambitious project for Tagline. The book is a National Book Award winner and there is a lot of information to fit into one film. No other casting announcements have been made yet, so we'll have to wait and see if Tagline can pull it off. If they don't, it's back to TV they go.

[via Empire Online]

Seth Rogen. My earliest memory of Rogen had been his scene-stealing performance in The 40 Year-Old Virgin, until I looked at his resume -- he's had a lot of work over the years. There are roles in two great, yet ill-fated television shows, a stint as a bully in Donnie Darko, and time as the eager cameraman in Anchorman. Behind the scenes, Rogen even received an Emmy nod as part of the staff of Da Ali G Show.

Since then, the man has been up to his eyeballs as an executive producer, screenplay collaborator and actor. Now, Variety has announced that Columbia Pictures has attained the rights and recruited David Gordon Green to direct The Pineapple Express, written by Rogen and oft-writing partner Evan Goldberg. The comedy, which is about a pair of friends who get involved in a drug gang, will star Rogen, along with his old geek-co-star-turned-goblin, James Franco. Joined by Judd Apatow and Shauna Robertson as producers, the film is set to enter production next year. According to Green, the project will give him a chance to "plant an absurd buddy comedy in a rough-and-tumble action movie."

It seems like these days, post-SNL collaborations are out, and post-Freaks and Geeks and Ali G collaborations are in. Rogen teamed with Apatow in Freaks, followed him to Undeclared, then teamed up with Goldberg on Ali G, acted with Apatow in Anchorman before again following him to Virgin. Now all three have teamed up in Superbad and Pineapple -- you get the picture. I can only hope that they continue to go strong, and don't beat themes to death until we wish they would fade away.

*EDIT: Thanks go to Chris for noticing and pointing out that it isn't "Rogan," but "Rogen"!

Though he's a busy man as of late, director Todd Phillips still hasn't committed to his next helming gig. Supposedly, he's been working on a script for Old School Dos, a sequel to the hit 2003 comedy, but recent rumors suggest his all-star cast might not be interested in reprising their roles. His last two pics, School for Scoundrels and Starsky & Hutch, weren't all that great, even though the latter wound up taking in a hefty $88 million at the box office. However, that flick was based on a familiar property and had Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson to help beef up interest. Scoundrels, well, tanked. Badly. Real badly.

Yet, Phillips still intends to hang onto his roots and, according to Variety, wants to continue to make silly buddy flicks until something finally clicks. Unfortunately, that something clicked awhile ago and now it seems as if he's firing empty rounds toward an audience who's somewhat tired of random Ben Stiller cameos. Phillips has just attached himself as producer to The Fix Up, a comedy he might also direct. Could The Fix Up, um, fix up his career and get it back on track? Only time will tell. Story follows some average dude who is falsely accused of a crime, and when a government agent vows to correct the situation, the two embark on some sort of road adventure.

Script was originally written by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas (the duo behind the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother) and bought by Warner Bros. two years ago. Now, the studio has brought on Michael Colton and John Aboud to fix The Fix Up and transform it into the greatest comedy ever created. Right on!

It is no secret for regular readers that I wasn't particularly impressed with Ang Lee's version of The Hulk. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate the flick -- far from it, actually. I found it to be a decent effort with truly inspired moments; I just thought it was lackluster overall. The character of The Hulk has a lot of movie potential, and you've got to credit Ang Lee for trying to go beyond the basic "Hulk Smash!" mentality, but there's only so much character study we want to see on The Hulk before we get antsy for him to start breaking things in cheesy action-movie fashion. Why did we invent action movies if not to showcase characters like Hulk?

Apparently, current Marvel favorite Zak Penn was at one point asked to write up a script treatment for the film which was eventually handed to Lee. Penn's initial draft was rejected in favor of a more introspective piece, but when Marvel realized fans seemed to want more action, they went knocking on Penn's door again. Penn, who has since proved his worth to Marvel by putting together other successful movie scripts, was willing and eager to give it another try. According to Penn, Marvel went back to his original script and said "this is more of the tone we wanted," so he'll be lifting some of his original ideas for his second try.

I'll admit to being initially skeptical of a remake this quickly after an original, but at this point I'm one hundred percent fanboy geeked for a new Hulk film. What are your thoughts on going back to the Zak Penn well?

Geek news I found while pausing from Marvel: Ultimate Alliance:

• Want to see Spider-Man 3 before all of your friends? Swing by Charity Folks and be the envy of your entire neighborhood by bidding on two tickets to the world premiere of the third Spidey flick. You'll also get your photo taken with Tobey Mcguire, which you can hang on your wall to make all your friends swoon. That's worth a few thousand dollars, right? (via Comic Book Movie)
• Curious about what Neil Gamain's doing about his Stardust movie? Ask him yourself, at Questions@Stardustmovie.com. He'll answer a whopping five questions a month, so you'd better be persistent if you want to get a response. I recommend sending at least 100 emails per day with the exact same question. He'll love it, I promise.
• Captain Jack is huge in Britain!
• Marvel has a lot to show you in anticipation of the DVD release of The Invincible Iron Man, their direct-to-DVD animated feature. Is it cartoon? Yes. Is it Marvel? Yes. This probably means it'll be fun to watch.
• Alien Experience shares a bit of an update on Alien Versus Predator 2. Here's to hoping it is a vast improvement over the first attempt. But honestly, how can it not be? We could film plush dolls of the various characters in silent black and white and put together a better flick.

Though their contract isn't set to expire until October 31 of 2007, the WGA (Writers Guild of America) are downloading the word 'strike' onto their iPods and shoving it into the face of anyone who will listen, most notably the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers. While studios would like negotiations to begin between the two parties this January, the WGA doesn't like that idea and would rather postpone talks till September, leaving only two months before the end of the world as we know it. Wait, writers aren't that important, right? I mean, what's the worst that can happen? It's not like the entire industry will fumble about before being brought to its knees. Right?

This stalling technique is nothing new for the WGA; their current contract wasn't finalized until five months after the previous one expired -- and, with online streaming and movie downloading bombarding the industry, serving as yet another medium for which studios can use to screw writers, expect this one to go right down to the wire ... as per usual. What does this mean for film? Well, folks will begin stockpiling scripts as if they were canned food and production will kick into high gear -- followed by a "de facto strike" this summer, which will halt production on films unable to wrap things up by October 31.

Why won't the WGA just succumb and begin negotiations early to avoid all of these complications? Sure, it seems logical, but then they don't have the threat of a strike to throw on the bargaining table. Besides, the extra time will allow them to calculate just how many pennies they should expect to get their writers for this whole downloading/streaming stuff. In the end, we're the only ones who will suffer -- look for this battle to play itself out in the trades over the course of the next year. Hooray, we now have something besides Spider-Man 3 to look forward to!

It's no surprise that relationship comedies are huge box office money-makers for Hollywood, assuming the right talent is attached. Now, folks at Lionsgate are looking to capitalize on the success of films like The Break-Up and Hitch by picking up The Escape Artist, a script written by newbies (and brothers) Jim and Brian Kehoe. It's an idea I've personally heard floating around for quite some time now, but it seems the Kehoe boys have produced the best product -- one that will hopefully attract a decent director and cast.

Here's how I assume the pitch was presented: Imagine yourself involved in a relationship that you desperately want to escape. For whatever reason, the thing isn't working and you need to find a way out ... fast. Only problem is, you're too much of a wimp to simply break-up with your significant other, and so you search for some much-needed help. Enter: The opposite of Hitch -- a consultant you hire to help with the break-up. Someone who gets paid to dissolve relationships. Of course, if this goes the Hitch route, expect our friendly consultant to have relationship problems of his (or her) own.

Todd Garner helped develop the project and will produce through his Broken Road Prods. Currently, there's no cast -- but, as always, that won't stop us from throwing out names. Assuming this escape artist is a guy, I like Robert Downey Jr. in the role. Hey, he was already a Pick-Up Artist, why not turn it around, add 20 years and make him a break-up artist? C'mon, you know you were thinking the same exact thing.

Before we get started today, I want to mention the passing of Dave Cockrum this past weekend. Dave was a talented, familiar comic book artist who spent some time working with Superboy and The Legion of Superheroes at DC, and did amazing work on Uncanny and Giant Sized for Marvel. The family asks you not to call, but provides the following email address for those of you who wish to offer condolences: magnetorampant@yahoo.com.

It has been, well, years really, since I last picked up and read any of the Star Wars Extended Universe novels. Admittedly, I'm more than a touch behind, as I stopped reading somewhere in NJO and haven't caught up to anything new since my sophomore year of college. However, when standing in the middle of my study surveying my bookcases for something to occupy my lunch break a week or so back, I found myself picking up the first of Michael J. Stackpole's X-Wing series. As always, I enjoyed it tremendously; perhaps more so because it had been a number of years since I'd last visited. Currently, I'm in the middle of Aaron Allston's Wraith Squadron, and am planning to hit a selection of other New Republic era novels to get my space legs going before diving back into the NJO from Vector Prime. Honestly, the past several years of new Star Wars movies had soured me to the point I'd almost forgotten how much I love this universe. (Please note, there is also a lot of abject crap in the Extended Universe, and probably as many books which should be ignored as there are which should be read. I should know, I own most of them.) so all this rekindled geek literature love, combined with my insane desire for a Jedi game on the Wii, has driven my thoughts towards a galaxy far, far away. As George Lucas and company gear up for their TV series set between eps three and four, I find myself wishing I could control the direction of the franchise. What do I want?

We're not going to spend a lot of time rehashing the basic points of this argument, because we've been over it many times before. Essentially, it boils down to one simple argument: Marvel makes a lot of money on their big title movies, and wants to continue doing so, while actors and studios eventually tire of the increasing commitments. While everyone from Hugh Jackman and Sam Raimi to the parking attendant guy at the Fox Studios lot may think they know for certain the future of their franchises, we all know the truth is very basic: if they feel the monetary benefits are great enough, they will roll out more movies. If they don't, then the movies are done.

So what do Marvel, Fox Studios, and Sony Pictures think about the monetary prospects of more films? Well, according to X-Men Film News, the opinion is different depending on who you ask. Marvel, of course, is hot to sell as much superhero as they possibly can. Times are very good for the company, and their properties are as hot as ever. Nobody knows when the hero movie trend will die down again, and Marvel needs to strike while the iron is hot. Sony, it seems, is in complete agreement, and thoroughly expects to make bazillions of dollars on the third installment of the successful Spider-Man film franchise. This naturally leaves them very open to the possibility of more movies, because hey ... who doesn't like making a bazillion dollars? Fox, on the other hand, wasn't so confident in their third installment, hence the "this is the last film ever" talk from the studio. But then the movie raked in some serious cash, and suddenly Fox might want to reconsider.

Even should Fox decide they are done with Professor X and his gifted youngsters, this won't necessarily mean the end of the X-Men on film. A Marvel insider reminds X-Men Film News that Marvel is aggressively pursuing their own business interests these days, and certainly has plans in place for the team if Fox bails. Tipster says to expect a "pleasant surprise," but what else would an employee say?

Geek news I found while vicariously enjoying video games:

• Tobey Maguire, loved by all. See him dressed in black on the new cover of Empire Magazine. Is the Venom suit starting to win support among Spider-fans?
  
• The talented Adam Hughes is apparently in some sort of deal to do costume design work for Watchmen. When exactly this is happening, I'm not sure, but it seems like a good bit of news. Credit SHH for the tipster news.
• Eragon's Ed Speelers loves friendship, says Sci Fi Wire.
• Want your 300 fix? Swing by the New York Times, waste some time registering for an account, and read their write-up on all the gore that'll be showcased in the film. As are most things associated with 300, it is well worth your time.
  
• BOF always has some news. Today, they tell us The Dark Knight is being prepped at the Leavesden Film Studios near London. Warner Brothers, Batman's daddy, loves this location.
• Our very own Chris Ullrich is all over the Superman pizza news. And really, who can blame him? The man loves his pizza.

It can sometimes be a battle to get a book onto the big screen -- if you want to see just how ugly it can get, I highly recommend The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco. Juan Chang's Wild Swans: Three Daughters Of China was published over 14 years ago, but is finally making the transition to film.

Variety announced that Portobello Pictures have purchased the film rights to Juan Chang's award winning book. Chang chronicles the political and social changes in China through the personal stories of her mother, grandmother, and herself. Portobello Pictures' Eric Abraham acquired the rights with Christopher Hampton on board to write the screenplay. In the book, Chang's family stories are part of some of the most violent moments in China before, during, and after Mao Zedong.

Abraham plans to make the film in Chinese -- which can sometimes scare off North American audiences, even though the book was written in English. Chang has a personal connection to Abraham, which might explain why after all of these years she was finally willing to sell the rights. It's a dense book full of detail and history that might be hard to fit into one film. Abraham promises that while the film might be epic in scale, he would like to have the film ready for a 2008 release. We've already waited 14 years, what's one more?

Very little surprises me when it comes to the world of cinema. It isn't that I'm a particularly well-connected fellow, or even particularly aware of the industry outside of my little geek bubble; it is simply that I more or less expect everything to be possible when it comes to this industry. When you realize nothing is off-limits and everything is in-play, it is hard to be caught off guard, right? But every now and then something pokes through my defenses and makes me mutter a serious "what the...?" So bemused was I by this information, I immediately shared it with the only geek friend of mine who was online at the moment, simply to take in his reaction, and it was exactly the same as my own. Ready for this?

Warner Bros. is apparently considering a sequel to V For Vendetta. Weird, right? Without any of the principle cast/crew, they're talking direct-to-DVD. Somehow or another, the studio thinks the world wants a sequel to a movie which features the title character's prominent death scene as a major final plot point. Maybe we can follow the adventures of Evey as she heads off to the next stage in life, or perhaps the plot's events inspired a new man to take up the mask! Or maybe we can have a prequel! Everyone loves prequels, right? Seriously, how on earth is Warners going to spin this one to pull out a fresh plot?

The story of Eddie Mongon is perfect for the movies; he spent 10 years robbing trains with high-tech gadgets and creative street smarts. Leading a gang with the catchy name of The Conrail Boyz, Mongon became known as a real-life Robin Hood, a man who lavished the proceeds of his robberies onto his impoverished neighborhood in Hoboken, New Jersey. New Line had already purchased the rights in 2004, but a new announcement in Variety reports that they have now signed writer-director Ericson Core (Invincible) to direct Conrail, the life story of the "benevolent" career criminal.

The movie, which is being marketed as half coming-of-age story and half heist flick, follows Mongon through his criminal education to his eventual arrest in 2004. Mongon ran a gang of dozens of teens who robbed freight trains and transport trucks for profits that ran up into the millions. Police never caught him, but when his girlfriend and mother were charged with money laundering, he turned himself over to authorities. New Line already had a working script with Chris Murphey, but Core will be pulling double duty overseeing a re-write of the story. Core seems to have a flair for biography, as he will also be at the helm for the biopic Liberty, an action- thriller about the winner of the 1946 Boston Marathon who fled the Nazi occupation of Greece. No casting announcements have been made for Conrail, but there should be plenty of spots up for grabs for those assorted Hollywood "It" boys.

I don't care how well-known you are or how many scripts you've written, for a writer to be offered $4 million -- heck, that's pretty damn impressive. And it's great for screenwriting in general. No, you're not reading that wrong (though, trust me, I had to read it more than once myself before it became believable) -- apparently, Akiva Goldsman has been hired to write a $4million script: Angels & Demons.

As most of you are well aware, Angels & Demons is a book that was written by Dan Brown, author of The Da Vinci Code. Demons follows the same main character as Da Vinci, Robert Langdon (as played by Tom Hanks in the film), as he once again finds himself all wrapped up in a bizarre life-altering mystery that involves the church. Pic is currently on target to be released at some point in 2008, and in order to make that date, Sony is willing to throw an enormous amount of dough (the most ever offered to a screenwriter for a script) at Akiva Goldsman. And for a script based on a book, no less. (You think Goldsman wore his Superman costume to Thanksgiving dinner, or what?)

What does this mean for screenwriting? Well, writers now have a new bargaining chip. Up until this point, the most amount of money offered for a script (usually an original piece of work) has been between $2-2.5 million. Sure, you have to be a writer with a hefty set of balls (and be represented by an agent with an even heftier set) to demand that kind of moolah. But the stakes have been raised, and it's nice to see people realizing just how valuable the writer really is.