Hollywood trade paper Daily Variety reported in its Thursday issue that Universal Pictures is developing a film about the lip-synching combo, who lost their coveted Grammy for best new artist in 1990 when it emerged that they had never sung on their records.

The project will be written and directed for the General Electric Co.-controlled studio by Jeff Nathanson, who previously wrote the Leonardo DiCaprio crime caper "Catch Me If You Can." He has secured the cooperation of Milli Vanilli alumnus Fabrice Morvan, who has been pursuing a comeback for years, as well as the estate of his colleague, Rob Pilatus, who died of a drug overdose in 1998.

"I've always been fascinated by the notion of fakes and frauds, and in this case, you had guys who pulled off the ultimate con, selling 30 million singles and 11 million albums and then becoming the biggest laughing-stocks of pop entertainment," the paper quoted Nathanson as saying.

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The 2006 Razzie Award Nominations

Everyone is feeling the Oscar buzz these days as the big award night draws closer but for comic relief it is always worth taking a look at the nominations for the Razzies. The Razzies are film awards that go to the very worst films and the very worst acting. The Razzies ceremonies will be held at 7:30pm/PST on Oscar eve, Saturday, February 24 at Hollywood's Ivar Theatre. Here is a list of the nominations in Worst Picture, Worst Actor and Worst Actress.

Worst Picture Nominees:

Jennifer Lopez defended her new movie, "Bordertown," against a screaming group of Festival today, who were not showing the Puerto Rican hottie the proverbial love. The critics were annoyed by her alleged "ludicrous plot turns and wooden dialogue" according to Deborah Cole in Berlin for the Agence France-Presse

The film is directed by Gregory Nava, and features Lopez as a journalist risking her life to report on the savage killings of more than 300 Mexican women since 1993 in the city of Juarez. Most victims were women working in 'maquiladoras', the foreign-owned factories that sprang up on the border post NAFTA free trade agreement. Though noble in subject matter and despite the good intentions of the filmmakers, the reporters at the world premiere "roared at the subtle-as-a-sledgehammer dramaturgy and greeted the ending with loud boos," reported the Agence France-Presse. At a press conference, a tearful Lopez, 37, insisted she "was proud of the movie," which she also produced.

"It's been a very emotional thing for me from the moment that I found out this was going on," she said of the murders. "When Greg came to me with the project I immediately became very passionate about it and said that I would do it and I would help him get it made. I really felt like it came to me for a reason." Lopez said she had worked closely with Nava on the script, one of the many pitfalls of the project. "This isn't free trade, this is the slave trade!" Lopez's character shouts in one of her sloganeering lines.

The critics noted the bilingual dialogue was flawed as one of the poor factory workers suddenly begins speaking perfect American English, and Lopez's character takes over as editor-in-chief of a Mexican newspaper with her admittedly bad Spanish. Agence France-Presse noted that the plot had "crater-sized holes," and savaged the actors including Antonio Banderas, who "hammed it up to the scorn of the notoriously tough Berlinale crowd."

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Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller are The Hardy Men

Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller are teaming up to bring the Hardy Boys to the silver screen.

It only took 80 years, but teenage super-sleuths Frank and Joe Hardy have finally grown up. And apparently it was worth the wait, at least for Hollywood, because they grew into Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise. The box office golden boys have been tapped to play the now-adult brothers in the action comedy The Hardy Men, a reworking of the classic detective series The Hardy Boys, which kicked off in 1927 with The Tower Treasure.

Per Variety, The Hardy Men will feature the siblings, once inseparable but now estranged, reuniting to solve one last case. No word on whether they'll still go by Frank and Joe or if the screenplay will call for more modern monikers. Cruise and Stiller have reportedly been exchanging plot ideas with Night at the Museum director Shawn Levy, who will helm the project for 20th Century Fox.

Meanwhile, the longtime pals -- ever since Stiller nailed his first Cruise impression during his formative years on The Ben Stiller Show -- are also contemplating teaming up for the making-of-a-movie-within-a-movie comedy Tropic Thunder, which Stiller will direct for DreamWorks. (Interestingly, Paramount would distribute the film, placing Cruise back in the industry arena with best bud Sumner Redstone.)

The pair also teamed up in 2000 for the short-form spoof Mission: Improbable, in which Cruise played himself and Stiller played a stuntman subbing for the heartthrob on the set of Mission: Impossible 2. Fox is aiming to start production on The Hardy Men in 2008.

We think this sounds like a great project. Stiller must really like Tom Cruise to allow him to enjoy some of his comedy magic. And Cruise could certainly use a lighter movie to showcase his inner comediean -- remember, he was a great in Risky Business. So long as Cruise doesn't try to convert Stiller to Scientology, all should be fine.

Posted on February 14, 2007
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U.S. Military Critical of Torture Scenes in 24

The Independent Online is reporting that the US military is not happy with the way Fox's hit show 24 is portraying torture.

But while 24 draws millions of viewers, it appears some people are becoming a little squeamish. The US military has appealed to the producers of 24 to tone down the torture scenes because of the impact they are having both on troops in the field and America's reputation abroad. Forget about Abu Ghraib, forget about Guantanamo Bay, forget even that the White House has authorised interrogation techniques that some classify as torture, that damned Jack Bauer is giving us a bad name.

The United States Military Academy at West Point yesterday confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently travelled to California to meet producers of the show, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal behaviour in the series - apparently hugely popular among the US military - was having a damaging effect on young troops.

According to the New Yorker magazine, Gen Finnegan, who teaches a course on the laws of war, said of the producers: "I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires... The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24'?

"The disturbing thing is that although torture may cause Jack Bauer some angst, it is always the patriotic thing to do."

The New Yorker article the Independent Online is referring to can be found here. In an article from TV Week 24 screenwriter David Fury defends the torture scenes by saying that they just don't have enough time on a television show to show Jack Bauer getting information out of a terrorist in a realistic way. Fury says, "It's very hard for us to adjust to a realistic depiction of torture, which usually goes on for weeks and months, when we only have 42 minutes for Jack to get information out of somebody."

(Via Think Progress).

Posted on February 13, 2007
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Norbit Rocks the Box Office

Eddie Murphy's new fat suit extravaganza, Norbit, blew out the box office this past weekend making a mind-boggling $34,195,434. In second place was Hannibal Rising, which made $13,051,650. Both films received scathing reviews, which audiences completely ignored.

In third place was Because I Said So with $9,221,130, with The Messengers in fourth with $7,218,187. Night at the Museum came in fifth with $5,754,359, putting the film's total U.S. gross to date at $232,150,355.

Posted on February 12, 2007
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Russell Crowe Attached to Revisionist Robin Hood Film

Russell Crow is set to star in a remake of Robin Hood. But here's the catch: the Sheriff of Nottingham (Crowe) is the good guy.

Universal Pictures has scored a bull's-eye, winning a heated bidding war for a revisionist take on the legend of Robin Hood with Russell Crowe attached to play the Sheriff of Nottingham. The project hails from Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Voris, creators of Showtime's "Sleeper Cell." Imagine Entertainment is producing.

Reiff and Voris are experiencing what might be the fastest comeback in Hollywood. On Jan. 25, their Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated miniseries was canceled when Showtime decided not to pursue a third season. But Friday, they learned that Crowe had read their spec script -- between TV work, they had worked on it off and on for the past three years -- and quickly attached himself to it. The actor sparked to the idea of playing the sheriff in a tale in which Nottingham is investigating a series of murders in which Robin Hood is the suspect.

"Part of the strength of the script was the simple idea of doing Robin Hood by making the sheriff the good guy," Reiff said. "That's something we didn't talk (about) with anybody all the time we worked on it." After strategizing over the weekend, WMA sent out the package Monday with the instruction that no offers were to be entertained until Tuesday morning. "You get nervous," Voris said. "People are reading it, and you hope they like it. When I heard we got an offer, I was like, 'Thank God somebody wants it.' "

The bidding war came down to Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema, though Regency Enterprises, DreamWorks Pictures and Columbia Pictures were said to be involved as well. About 36 hours after the script had gone out, Universal won. And the writers became part of one the biggest deals in some time. Reiff and Voris' share of the deal is well into seven figures. Sources said the deal for Crowe is $20 million against a 20% backend.

Directors being considered for the role include Sam Raimi, Ridley Scott and Bryan Singer. We're not sure what we think about making the Sheriff of Nottingham the good guy (the cop) and Robin the bad guy (the robber). It's tinkering with a very popular anti-establishment myth. On the other hand, it's an interesting premise. But the Sheriff needs something special: he's the one who's the greatest archer in all the land, or something. And Robin better not be a great-looking scoundrel who steals every scene or it's not going to work.

Posted on February 9, 2007
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Prince's Giant Guitar

Prince's Superbowl halftime performance was excellent. He sounded great. No one had a wardrobe malfunction. He played "Purple Rain" in the rain. He covered a Foo Fighters song in a cool new way. He even sacrificed his hair covering to an adoring fan, while allowing his hair to get wet. It was totally G-rated.... or was it?

It was, except for the giant phallus that was revealed to the crowd in silhouette. Ah, Prince. We knew you hadn't really gone mainstream. Slipped that one right by the censors. Well played.

Posted on February 8, 2007
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The Messengers Tops the Box Office

Super Bowl weekend is traditionally one of the worse box office weekends of the year, and this year was no exception. In first place was The Messengers, a horror flick where little children see awful things, which made $14,713,321. In second place was the Because I Said So starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, which made $13,122,865, despite absolutely devastatingly bad reviews.

In third place was Epic Movie, a spoof of -- you guessed it, epic movies -- which made $8,411,993. In fourth place was the juggernaut Ben Stiller film, Night at the Museum, which made another $6,385,843, putting its domestic gross to date at $225 million. Does this mean that Dick Van Dyke will get offered more film roles? Because we think Ben Stiller should add him to his brat pack, along with Owen Wilson.

Posted on February 6, 2007
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No Wonder Woman For Joss Whedon

We knew it!! We just knew that something was wrong when that weird report came out about Warner Bors. buying up a Wonder Woman spec script. Joss Whedon is no longer attached to the Wonder Woman film project that he was supposed to write and direct. Joss posted on Whedonesque to explain what happened.

SATIN TIGHTS NO LONGER. Joss will not be fighting for our rights after all.

You (hopefully) heard it here first: I'm no longer slated to make Wonder Woman. What? But how? My chest... so tight! Okay, stay calm and I'll explain as best I can. It's pretty complicated, so bear with me. I had a take on the film that, well, nobody liked. Hey, not that complicated.

Let me stress first that everybody at the studio and Silver Pictures were cool and professional. We just saw different movies, and at the price range this kind of movie hangs in, that's never gonna work. Non-sympatico. It happens all the time. I don't think any of us expected it to this time, but it did. Everybody knows how long I was taking, what a struggle that script was, and though I felt good about what I was coming up with, it was never gonna be a simple slam-dunk. I like to think it rolled around the rim a little bit, but others may have differing views.

The worst thing that can happen in this scenario is that the studio just keeps hammering out changes and the writer falls into a horrible limbo of development. These guys had the clarity and grace to skip that part. So I'm a free man.

Well, sorta. There is that "Goners" movie I can finally finish polishing, and plenty of other things in the hopper I've wanted to pursue. I'm as relieved as I am disappointed, and both of those things lead to drink, so that's a plus. Truly, you may be hearing some interesting things brewing in the coming months. But all potential jets therein will be visible.

But most importantly, I never have to answer THAT question again!!!! And you don't have to link to every rumor site! Finally and forever: I never had an actress picked out, or even a consistant front-runner. I didn't have time to waste on casting when I was so busy air-balling on the script. (No! Rim! There was rim!) That's the greatest relief of all. I can do interviews again!

Thanks for your time. You are the people who make the world go 'round. Or, no, science does that.

The producers gave up Joss Whendon to go with a spec script from two unknown guys? Ok, that makes no sense whatsoever. Joss is always polite, but we don't have to be: this stinks. And we're not in the least interested in Wonder Woman anymore. So there.

Posted on February 3, 2007
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Why is Warner Bros. Buying a New Wonder Woman Script?

The Hollywood Reporter has a very strange report that Warner Bros. has bought the film rights to a Wonder Woman spec script from some unknowns. Which makes no sense at all: Joss Whedon is already writing and directing the new Wonder Woman movie.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Silver Pictures are quietly in the process of buying a "Wonder Woman" spec script from newcomers Matthew Jennison and Brent Strickland, sources said. The studio and producer Joel Silver have been developing a big-screen rendition of the DC Comics superhero, with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" creator Joss Whedon writing the script and attached to direct.

So why does the studio want another "Wonder Woman" script? Sources said the purchase is a pre-emptive measure aimed at taking the spec off the market to protect itself against the possibility that any similarities between the scripts could be fodder for future legal action. It is understood that the Jennison-Strickland script is set against the backdrop of World War II, while Whedon's script is set in the present day.

Silver has no interest in making a period "Wonder Woman," sources said. But as the spec script made the rounds, it landed at Silver Pictures, and executives there were impressed by Jennison and Strickland's writing.

This makes no sense to us at all. Is Joss really still on board? And why hasn't there been any casting announcements made? None of this bodes well for the project, in our opinion.

Posted on February 1, 2007
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