The Brazilian Job: the follow up to Paramount's US remake of The Italian Job is still on the cards, and it's got a 2009 release date marked. Jason Statham, Mos Def, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron are attached, as is director F Gary Gray.

I, Robot 2: All we know on this one is that it's in the scripting stages still, with a potential 2010 release date planned in. No news on Mr Smith's involvement.

I Am Legend 2: Warner's huge Christmas 2007 hit could also have a follow up, although it'd be interesting to see if Will Smith returned to it. A 2010 release date is also being mooted for this one.

Beverly Hills Cop 4: If Die Hard can still do it at the box office, why can’t Axel Foley? Er, because the third BHC movie was crap, and a flop. Still, it's not stopped development work going ahead on number four. No further news than that, though.

National Treasure 3: Not a huge surprise, but as the Nic Cage Indiana Jones knock off franchise has proved to be quite a juggernaut, you’ll only have to wait until 2011 for the third film in the series.

Cars 2: We spotted this on AintItCool – is Pixar really looking to make a sequel to its weakest film? Apparently so…

Toy Story 3: This one, after lots of umming and ahhing, appears to be a goer. It won't, as was speculated, be a straight-to-DVD affair, and Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are both expected back on voicing duties. It’ll be out in 2010.

Jeepers Creepers 3: MGM is running the rule over a potential third instalment in the horror franchise, with director Victor Salva still attached. Hmmm.

Shrek 5: The fourth film was a no-brainer after the tepid third outing made so much cash. But a fifth instalment has also been confirmed. No wonder Shrek is the same colour as an American dollar…

Night at the Museum 2: Ben Stiller is returning for his most commercially successful role outside of the Meet the Parents franchise. We can wait. No news on the proposed Meet The Little Focker, though

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The New Trailer for Burn After Reading

Here's the new trailer for Burn After Reading, the Coen Brothers next film after No Country for Old Men. The film stars Brad Pitt, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, John Malkovich and Tilda Swinton. It's a dark comedy about a disgruntled former CIA agent (Malkovich) who writes his scandal-laden memoirs. The spy's soon to be ex-wife (Swinton) steals the disk, then accidentally leaves the CD with the manuscript at the gym, where it's found by a trainer and the gym owner (Pitt and McDormand) who want to blackmail the owner of the CD. Madness ensues.



Posted on May 31, 2008
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Lost Season Four Finale:

(Warning: Major Spoilers Ahead!)



The season finale of Lost was just amazing. First off, we spent the entire episode asking "Who's Jeremy Bentham??" remembering the name from Star Trek ("the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few..."). He was the English philosopher (among many other things) who advocated utilitarianism. Basically, it's the ends justify the means. It's all about the community, so to speak. But it turns out that Bentham is just a pseudonym for John Locke! It's Locke in the casket.

So, to sum up: after the Oceanic 6 (plus Desmond) make it off the (now moved) island, they live their lives for three years, some of them more successfully than others (Jack is a basket case, Sun is a power-mad baddie who's joining forces with the evil Charles Widmore, Sayid is an assassin with a good heart, Hurley plays chess with Mr. Ecko, and Walt wants to know why the six are lying.) Locke then shows up and tells Kate, Jack and Walt that terrible things have happened on the island since they left and that they must come back.

And speaking of getting off the island, the most amazing scenes -- and there were many, including Sawyer's incredibly heroic act -- went to Benjamin Linus. How we love us some Benry. He confirms the time travel thing to Locke after telling Locke to "watch this informative video." The video stars the famous Dr. Melvin Candle, who is now calling himself Dr. Halliwax. Here's the clip:



Poor Benry! He loves leading the Others, but the price to moving the island is banishment. He looked miserable as he turned the giant wheel thing (it has to be of alien origin, that's our thinking). Now that the Oceanic Six is off the island, the next season will focus on why and how they must get back to the island. Luckily, Benry has "some ideas" about that. Meanwhile, Penny and Desmond are totally happy -- at least until her father finds them. We can't wait till next season.

Posted on May 30, 2008
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USA Network Expanding Character Arcade

As television producers have become more web-savvy, they now routinely build websites for new shows, with character blogs, plot summaries, photos and message boards. It's smart because it builds fan loyalty and it makes the fans happy because they can easily view episodes they missed, interact with other fans and get the latest scoop on the show. USA Network has gone a step further with the concept, launching Character Arcade, a casual gaming site which features over 25 character-based flash games -- such as Monk-shui and Psych In Training -- and original takes on popular online games like Character Sudoku and Character Solitaire. The site was launched earlier this year and already has over 165,000 users.

The site is now expanding into social networking and will also add more games. When fans sign up, they can create their own gaming profile to play games, make friends with fellow players, track the performance of elite gamers and friends, send direct challenges to rival gamers, and win prizes. It's an interesting concept: the site is for all USA Network shows. And speaking of those, our current favorites are Burn Notice, Psych and Monk which are all returning this summer.

Here's the promo for Character Arcade:



Posted on May 29, 2008
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Joshua Jackson Talks Fringe

Joshua Jackson and Anna Torv, the stars of J.J. Abrams new show Fringe talk about the show and what fans should be watching out for. Anna has a British accent. No doubt they'll make her do an American accent for the show, just like producers do for everyone from Hugh Laurie on House to Alex O'Loughlin on the recently-departed Moonlight. Let them do their own accents, we say. We're tired of Brits playing Americans. But we will be tuning into Fringe, which sounds like Alias meet The X-Files.



Posted on May 28, 2008
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Indiana Jones Tops the Box Office

Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull made box office magic over the Memorial Day weekend, taking in $126,917,373 over four days. We saw it and loved it. And we were shocked at how good Shia LaBeouf was. Really. He was pretty annoying in Transformers, but somehow he's grown up a bit. He's calmer. He's funnier. Or maybe he paid attention to what Harrison Ford was doing and learned a few tricks. In any event, the dialogue is snappy, the action is non-stop and Harrison Ford has still got it. We're ready for Indy 5!

In second place was The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, which pulled in another $29,810,163, putting its cumulative take at $97,855,173. In third place was Iron Man which made another $26,111,130, for a cumulative take so far of $258,278,546. Now that's what we call a comeback for Robert Downey, Jr. The sequel is already being planned. In fourth place was What Happens in Vegas, which made another $11,363,713 for a cumulative take of $56,609,605. That's excellent for a romantic comedy and probably means we'll be seeing more of Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher in the near future.

Here's the trailer for Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull:



Posted on May 27, 2008
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Moonlight Cancelled, Terminator Returns

Even a last-ditch effort to move the show to the CW didn't work: CBS' Moonlight is officially canceled. We are not happy about this at all.

In other, happier tv news, the Fox upfronts were this week. Here are the new show pickups:

Fringe: Supernatural procedural from Lost masterminds J.J. Abrams and Jeff Pinkner and Transformers writers Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, and starring one Mr. Joshua Jackson

Dollhouse: Drama from some guy named Joss Whedon starring Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett, which I'm maybe a little excited about

Do Not Disturb (formerly known as The Inn): Comedy starring the hilarious/awesome Jerry O'Connell and the hilarious/awesome Niecy Nash, of Comedy Central's Reno 911! and Clean House on Style, E!'s sister network

Cleveland: Animated Family Guy spinoff

Class Dismissed: Another animated series, this one written by Mitch Hurwitz of Arrested Development fame and voiced by several AD alums (including Jason Bateman and Will Arnett—boo-yah!)

And in the best news yet, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles has been renewed.

Posted on May 15, 2008
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Jennie Garth Returns to 90210

Jennie Garth is returning to the zipcode that made her famous: 90210. She's joining the cast of the CW's Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off. Jennie will be a recurring character, and will play her same role as before -- Kelly Taylor.

In the new show, Kelly plays a guidance counselor at her alma mater, West Beverly Hills High. Though she is not a regular on the new 90210, her casting brings the new show closer to the traditional formula of a spinoff, featuring a character from the original series.

The 90210 spinoff is considered a lock for a series pickup at the CW and is expected to be the central piece of the network's upfront programming presentation to advertisers in mid-May.

But what about Shannen Doherty? And Tori Spelling? We need controversy, people!

Posted on May 12, 2008
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Lost: Cabin Fever



So, how amazing was Lost last night? We got the story of John Locke's childhood and the parallels to Ben's life were eerie. Being born premature, losing their mothers (Locke's gave him up, Ben's died -- although they were both named Emily), both were chosen by the ageless Richard Alpert as boys because they were "special." But Locke refused his destiny, while Ben embraced his. And what about that incredible scene where Richard place several items in front of young Locke, asking him to choose the items that had belonged to him before. That's just how they choose the next Dalai Lama. Buddhists believe the next Dalai Lama is a reincarnated former Lama so they ask the child to choose which items were his in a former life. When Locke chose the wrong item, Richard was furious and stomped out of the house.

Locke's destiny as the savior of the island appears to be approaching. Or is it? After all, Hurley was able to see the cabin too. Claire turning up in the cabin with Christian Shepard seems to point to the fact that she's dead. But she acted so differently that it didn't seem like her. Spiritual possession by Jacob's minions, anyone?

But our favorite moment was when Ben and Hurley sat outside the Creepy Cabin waiting for Locke to come out with a solution to their problems. Hurley opens a chocolate bar, then thinks a minute and hands half to Ben. Ben, clearly shocked that anyone would voluntarily share something with him out of the goodness of his heart, takes the bar and chews...thoughtfully. Great scene. And the answer to the problems of murderous commando Kearney coming to kill them all? Why, move the island! But of course!

How we love this show.

Posted on May 9, 2008
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Lindsay Lohan to Guest Star on Ugly Betty

Lindsay Lohan will guest star on Ugly Betty's season finale on May 22nd. But that's not all.

No, the big news is that Betty producers are currently talking to LiLo's camp about bringing her back next season for a sizable arc -- and I do mean sizable. We're talking as many as eight freakin' episodes. No doubt ABC is looking at the ratings mileage CBS got out of Britney Spears' How I Met Your Mother cameo and is hoping Lohan can perform the same magic for Betty, which, despite firing on all cylinders creatively this season, has seen its viewership tumble by double digits. Depressing, I know.

Specifics on Lohan's character are still being finalized, but the original idea was to have her play a hapless fast-food worker that Betty befriends. Not sure if that would still be the plan. Now, I know you Betty fans were initially resistant to the prospect of a Lindsay-Betty confab, but in light of the show's recent ratings woes, are you warming to the idea? I certainly am.

We like the idea of a Lindsay guest starring stint on Ugly Betty. But we don't know about her playing some random fast food worker. Still, Lindsay can do comedy quite well -- whatever the writers do, it will most likely be funny.

Posted on May 1, 2008
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Sneak Peeks For Grey's Anatomy

Here are two sneak peeks of the Grey's Anatomy episode that will air tomorrow night on ABC. They're pretty funny.





(Videos via Watch With Kristin).

Posted on April 30, 2008
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The Secrets of Benjamin Linus

Kristin of Watch With Kristin at E! has a fantastic interview with Michael Emerson who plays the complex and utterly fascinating Benjamin Linus on Lost. After Thursday's mind-blowing episode (in which we see Ben in a whole new light, including kicking some serious butt in the desert and being secret agent man in Iraq) the entire show landscape has shifted. The ultimate battle between Charles Widmore and Benjamin Linus for control of the island is on.

Jumping to the end of episode then, Charles Widmore says, I didn't kill your daughter, you did. How much does Ben feel culpable in her death?

Ben is a guy who doesn't take things lightly, and I think he has a long memory. When Charles Widmore says that it's Ben's fault -- that's a kind of sophistry on his part. He's suggesting that everything Ben has ever done has led up to this moment, the idea that who we are makes us guilty across the board. But Ben's not having that explanation.

I think Ben knows that his daughter died for a very particular reason, and that Charles Widmore is the guilty one. Whatever is going on between Ben and Charles Widmore, the ante just got raised about tenfold.

*****

Do you almost feel like after that conversation with Charles we suddenly learned that Ben is the hero of the show, even though we didn't know he existed for the first season or two?

It feels like some kind of shift along those lines is happening, doesn't it? Because each season, it's like the lens of the show steps back a notch and shows the playing field of the show to be a larger one that we had thought at first. I think this battle between Charles Widmore and Benjamin Linus, whatever it is, whatever the stakes are, whatever the game is, I think that's now big. That's a big, important thing.

And I think, I don't know if it's just from familiarity or instinct, but I think we like Ben Linus better than we like Charles Widmore. I think Charles Widmore is a more wicked man.

He's right about that. We do like Ben Linus more than Charles Widmore. In fact, Ben has been growing on us all season, because of Michael Emerson's amazing performance. Charles Widmore is totally evil -- think of how mean he was to Desmond. And we can't believe Widmore had Ben's daughter killed; clearly Widmore and Ben had some kind of "family is off limits" agreement in their war over the island. It's all starting to make sense why Sayid went to work for Ben. We really wouldn't want to be someone on Ben's or Sayid's hit list, that's for sure.

Now we know that many of you think Ben is totally evil and ruthless, but really his mission to save the world is so important that he has to be ruthless. At least that's how we feel about it this week.

Posted on April 26, 2008
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Hopeful News For Moonlight Fans

Some hopeful news for Moonlight fans: executive producer Joel Silver is determined to get the show a second season. Silver told Sci Fi Wire that he and the writers are already working out the story arc for next season. He will pitch the ideas and the proposed renewal to CBS next week.

"We're hopeful," Silver said in a group interview on April 18 while promoting his latest film, Speed Racer. "I mean, the next episode goes on next Friday night, which is a really great episode. It starts out, Mick [Alex O'Loughlin] is still human, but then he has to go back to being a vampire. And I have three more really strong episodes. And I hope that it does come back, because we have a whole plan for next year that's fantastic."

CBS will announce its fall lineup in May at its annual upfront presentation to advertisers in New York. Before then, Silver and the writing staff are planning to meet with the network and make their case for season two for the show, which has earned solid if unspectacular ratings.

"Well, we're going to go in, as a matter of fact, next week for a pitch meeting to tell them what we're going to do next year," Silver said. "And then that, coupled with the ratings, we'll know what happens." Moonlight returns with the first of four new episodes on April 25 in its regular timeslot, Fridays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

We're with you, Joel: knock em out at the pitch meeting!

Posted on April 21, 2008
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Audiences Staying Away From Topical Films

Variety reports that audiences are growing quite tired of topical films, such as those that cover hot-button political issues and the Iraq War.

Filmmakers, mindful that it took more than a decade for Hollywood to effectively tackle the Vietnam War onscreen, were eager to embrace the topicality of Iraq while it was still hot. And both indies and studio speciality divisions jumped in headfirst. In retrospect, it's easy to see why they failed, and why the next round -- yes, there are more on the way -- faces an uphill battle.

First, what was timely at one stage of the Iraq War became more painful as the conflict wore on. The American public grew weary of a 24/7 news cycle that bombarded them with unpleasant war news, so dramas and docs that revealed the war's dark side -- soldiers misbehaving or wounded or victimized -- became most unwelcome.

"People want something cheering and uplifting right now," says press agent Fredell Pogodin. "The economy's bad, and whenever you turn on the news and see this stuff, you feel helpless. People don't know what to make of this situation, and seeing a film about it throws it right back in your face."

Then, a self-perpetuating group-think among the media virtually doomed any movie that was stamped with the toxic Iraq label. As hard as marketers tried to duck and cover, audiences stayed away in droves from one movie after another, from Michael Winterbottom's "A Mighty Heart" to Peter Berg's $70 million Saudi Arabian FBI thriller "The Kingdom."

We enjoyed The Kingdom, although the last scene needed a bigtime edit. But hey, it was Jennifer Garner and Jamie Foxx in an action thriller so that's always good. We think it's too soon to start doing movies about the Iraq War. It's still going on: if we want to read stories about it all we have to do is pick up a newspaper or watch television. It's just too early for all that. We think it's still to early for 9/11 movies: we saw it happen live on TV, after all.

Posted on April 19, 2008
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The Return of Lost

Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof talked about the return of Lost next week in a conference call with reporters. Here's the scoop:

Something big is up for Claire. "I think there is a very compelling event involving Claire's character that will take place between now and the season finale." (Rumors include everything from a kiss to the kiss of death...)

The flash-forwards and flashbacks are a "mosaic," and when the "mosaic" is complete, the story of Lost is complete. Damon explains: "There is the story on the island, which we perceive to be the present, and then there's the story of the Oceanic 6, which is happening off the island in the future. But if we were to switch perspectives at any time and suddenly we were off the island, focusing on the Oceanic 6 trying to get back, that would be the present, and what was happening back on the island would be either a parallel present, possibly a future, possibly a past. Who knows? So when you hear that whoosh noise, the question becomes 'Where does it take you?' Hopefully, if we do our jobs right in the finale, in the eight months in between the finale and the season premiere next year, the audience will once again be asking, 'What the hell are they going to do in the season premiere?' And that means we're keeping people on their toes. And that's our intent."

We've been watching this show way too long, because that paragraph actually made sense to us. Oh, and we think Claire is doomed. Lost returns with the first of five new episodes on Thursday, April 24, 2008 in a new timeslot, Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET. Next week's episode is titled "The Shape of Things to Come." Part one of "There's No Place Like Home" will air on May 15th. The two-hour second part will air on May 29th at 9 p.m ET.

Posted on April 18, 2008
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Stanley Kamel Dead at 65



Stanley Kamel, a veteran actor who is currently playing Dr. Kroger on the hit television show Monk, has died. The L.A. Times reports that he suffered a heart attack in his home; he was 65.

Stanley Kamel, a veteran character actor who appeared most recently in the USA television network series "Monk" as detective Adrian Monk's psychiatrist, has died. He was 65.

Kamel was found dead of a heart attack Tuesday at his Los Angeles home by his longtime agents and friends Donna Massetti and Marilyn Szatmary, publicist Cynthia Snyder said Wednesday in a statement.

Often cast as unsavory characters in TV dramas, Kamel got attention as the suicidal Bruce Teller in the Fox prime-time soap "Melrose Place" in 1994, Dylan McKay's scheming father-in-law Tony Marchette in Fox's "Beverly Hills, 90210" in 1995 and creepy psychiatrist Dr. Graham Lester in the ABC crime series "Murder One" in 1995-96.

We love Monk and Stanley Kamel's portrayal of Monk's psychiatrist Dr. Charles Kroger was always such fun to watch. He will be missed. There's no word yet from USA Network about how they're going to handle the actor's death in the script; right now, no doubt the entire cast and crew is still hearing about the tragedy.

Posted on April 10, 2008
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Friday Night Lights Saved By DirecTV

DirectTV has just saved the show Friday Night Lights. The fans are devoted, but the ratings are low, so the deal that NBC cut with DirecTV should make fans very happy.

For television networks, it is a common quandary: what do you do about a show that critics adore, that has a passionate base of fans, but that consistently gets mediocre ratings? NBC, for one, thinks it has a creative solution. Last week, it announced a deal with DirecTV, a subscription satellite television service, that would keep Friday Night Lights on the air for a third season. DirecTV will help defray NBC's production costs and in exchange will receive the right to show Friday Night Lights first.

Television executives say this model could help keep other sentimental favorites on the air. For instance, CBS Paramount Network Television has held talks with Comcast, the cable provider, about finding new life for Jericho, the low-rated drama canceled by CBS last month, according to two people briefed on the talks who requested anonymity. And Katherine Pope, the president of NBC's production arm, Universal Media Studios, said that other television distributors had also shown interest in licensing the rights to specific shows.

From NBC's perspective, Friday Night Lights did not draw enough of a crowd to be continued. On average, about 6.1 million people tuned in to it this season, but fans were loyal enough to send thousands of mini-footballs to NBC to lobby for the show. NBC knew it needed a partner, and an opportunity arose in January when Eric Shanks, the executive vice president for entertainment at DirecTV, struck up a conversation with his friend Ben Silverman, the co-chairman of NBC Entertainment. DirecTV licensed the rights to the "first window" of the show, meaning that DirecTV subscribers will see the new episodes four months before the broadcast audience.

This is a very interesting development. Will fans subscribe to DirecTV in order to see the shows early? That seems to be the sticking point here. Because surely DirecTV is doing the deal to increase subscribers.

Posted on April 9, 2008
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Heroes and Chuck to Air in Uninterrupted Blocks

Heroes, Medium and Chuck will be returning in lengthy blocks in the fall, according to NBC.

NBC's returning genre shows -- Heroes, Chuck and -- will each air a full complement of original episodes next season, in contrast to this year's strike-truncated season, with Heroes and Chuck set to air without repeats through December. The announcements came at the network's presentation to advertisers in New York on April 2.

"We not only have the biggest star of TV, we have movie stars on NBC," Ben Silverman, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment and Universal Media Studios, said during the presentation. "The talent on NBC are the breakout talent and the cultural, relevant, leading icons of all of television. It's a hallmark of what we do, and as you'll see, ... all of your favorites are coming back."

Heroes will return to the schedule on Sept. 15 with an hourlong clip show premiering at 8 p.m. ET/PT and a two-hour season premiere airing at 9 p.m., its regular timeslot. Chuck, meanwhile, will debut in the fall in its regular Monday 8 p.m. timeslot. Rounding out a night of genre fare, newcomer My Own Worst Enemy--starring Christian Slater as a man with a Mr. Hyde-like alter ego--will air at 10 p.m.

We like the fact that they will air in blocks: when they chop up the shows into four weeks on, three weeks off, it just ruins the continuity. Who remembers what happened weeks ago? We barely remember what happened yesterday.

Posted on April 5, 2008
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