Russell Brand Headlining The Hauntrepreneur

Some will laugh, but it's true. Russell Brand, under the right dosage, can be good. I know that's hard to imagine factoring in the annoyance of his Katy Perry marriage (now DOA) and all the crappy non-Forgetting Sarah Marshall films he's starred in. We'll see how he fares in Rock of Ages and Diablo Cody's untitled directorial debut.

Variety says someone else is taking a swing with the UK personality-turned-actor. He's attached to star in The Hauntrepreneur for Paramount and Platinum Dunes. The plot centers on "a family that has trouble adjusting to a new town and hires a peculiar man who calls himself the Hauntrepreneur to help them. In an attempt to bring them together, the man creates a haunted house filled with an odd cast of characters."

We're led to assume Brand is the title character. Unless someone had the bold idea of making him the dad in this family. That would be interesting to see if Brand play a role straight. Not the case here obviously.

Steven Spielberg Inching Closer to Helm Moses Epic

Certain filmmakers (whether or not they proclaim to the top of mountain ahead of time) will simply up and retire from making movies. But others like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg have directorial skills so deep within the fabric of their DNA I can't imagine them ever stopping. On the (inevitable) days of their passing, we'll read in their obituaries something to the effect of, "As they were in the midst of preparing their latest film..."

In the case of Spielberg, his filmography goes in spurts. A couple of years, we won't see anything from the man outside of Executive Producer credits on miscellaneous popcorn fluff from Amblin or DreamWorks productions or as the case of last year, suddenly he's unstoppable working behind the camera. This past Christmas, movie-goers were given two very different pictures under the Beard's direction, The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse, he just wrapped filming on Lincoln for release this Christmas and he's preparing another sci-fi spectacle the ill-titled Robopocalypse. And don't think he hasn't planned ahead past that either.

While not a done deal, Spielberg is coming close to signing a deal with Warner Brothers to direct Gods & Kings, reports "TOLDJA." The epic retelling of Moses is envisioned as less Ten Commandments, more Saving Private Ryan. Certainly a different take of the story as seen in years' past and an interesting film for Spielberg to partake in. He's said in various interviews how marriage and the birth of his children helped affirm his Jewish faith. Thus resulting in the confidence and maturity for him to be able to make films like Schindler's List and the underrated (and lest I not forget to add, brilliant) Munich.

The younger Spielberg may have handled this material more as a spectacle, a direction Cecil B. DeMille took with The Ten Commandments. But I'd like to see what the older, veteran Spielberg will do with this.

Three New "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance TV Spots"

In the new film, Johnny (Cage) - still struggling with his curse as the devil's bounty hunter - is hiding out in a remote part of Eastern Europe when he is recruited by a secret sect of the church to save a young boy (Fergus Riordan) from the devil (Hinds). At first, Johnny is reluctant to embrace the power of the Ghost Rider, but it is the only way to protect the boy - and possibly rid himself of his curse forever.

SuperHeroHype

New John Carter TV Spot!

John Carter the newest movie from Academy Award^®–winning filmmaker Andrew Stanton is an action adventure story set on Barsoom, the exotic and mysterious planet we know as Mars. Based on the Edgar Rice Burroughs classic novel, John Carter is the story which inspired many of the most imaginative and well known Hollywood movies, past and present.

The movie tells the tale of war-weary, former military captain John Carter (Taylor Kitsch), who is inexplicably transported to Mars where he becomes reluctantly involved in a conflict of epic proportions between the inhabitants of the planet,
including Tars Tarkas (Willem Dafoe) and the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins).

In a world on the brink of collapse, John Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes that the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands

What to Expect When You're Expecting Character Posters

Via Coming Soon

A screen adaptation of the bestselling book by Heidi Murkoff, the film follows the relationships of seven couples as they experience the thrills, terrors, surprises, aches, and pains of preparing to embark on life's biggest journey: parenthood.

The ensemble film stars Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Brooklyn Decker, Anna Kendrick, Elizabeth Banks, Chase Crawford, Matthew Morrison and Dennis Quaid and is set for release on May 11, 2012.

Wrath Of The Titans TV Spots

The epic battle between the Titans and the gods continues in this sequel set ten years after the events in Clash of the Titans, as Perseus (Sam Worthington) descends into the underworld on a mission to rescue Zeus from the clutches of Hades (Ralph Fiennes), Ares (Edgar Ramirez), and Kronos. In the wake of his decisive victory against the Kraken, Perseus has retreated to a remote fishing village to raise his young son, Helius. Meanwhile, humanity has lost faith in the gods. As a result, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon find their power beginning to slip, a development that could spell disaster for all of humankind should their imprisoned father, Kronos, manage to break free from his underworld prison in Tartarus. When Perseus learns that Zeus' son Ares has teamed with Hades and Kronos to capture Zeus, steal his power, and create hell on earth, the time comes to take action. Now, with Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and Hephaestus (Bill Nighy) by his side, brave Perseus will venture deep into the underworld on a mission to defeat the Titans, deliver Zeus from evil, and prevent the powers of darkness from consuming all of humanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Does That Arrow Come In Green?

A week ago the news dropped of the CW giving the go ahead to a Green Arrow pilot, but with the simple title of Arrow. They didn't look far away from another hero who shares the same color by taking a story from Green Lantern writers, Marc Guggenheim and Greg Berlanti. Fans of Smallville are familiar with Justin Hartley as the character, but its sounding like he isn't being considered for the part.

Fast forward to today where TV Addict released a few casting breakdowns for the proposed show. Check the name Dinah Lance after Oliver Queen's description. For anyone unfamiliar, this is the alias for one of DC's popular woman characters, Black Canary. Will she don some sort of costume and help Oliver on his quest for justice or be used only as a love interest? I wouldn't be surprised if they just go with Canary to keep with the streamlined name of the show. That all remains to be seen, so in the meantime check out the full descriptions in our new TV Section.

"Real Steel" Shows Off Its Oscar-Nominated-ness

Real Steel, last year's robot-boxing movie that audiences going "no, seriously, it's really good!", is not only out on blu-ray and DVD this week, but it has also managed to snag an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.  Seriously!

Now, what goes on in this movie that earned it a Visual Effects nomination that will ultimately (and deservedly) go to Rise of the Planet of the Apes?  Let's let the film's Robotics Supervisor John Rosengrant show off some of their stuff, courtesy of the movie's official YouTube channel:

And you can check out all of the movie's robot stars in action here:

Real Steel is now available on blu-ray and DVD.  And seriously, it's really good.

The "Untold Story" of Spider-Man Points to Daddy Issues?

I think I know why many are against The Amazing Spider-Man.

Sony, Marvel and the filmmakers here are telling the generation of movie-goers who made Spider-Man such a genre-defining hit they're old and out of touch. Now it’s time for the hip, young, new kids to tell you what’s what on the web-slinger. Saddled with the fact that by the time Marc Webb's reboot drops this July, it will have been ten years since Sam Raimi made us believe Tobey Maguire could swing from organic web-shooters.

Then there's that "Untold story" crap that ruined an otherwise cool one-sheet. That goes back to why many in both the nerd and non-nerd sectors view retreading this soon (Once again, it's the age thing. 10 years is a long time but for many of us it feels like it was only yesterday!) as pointless and how different can one really make Spidey's origin?

Time of India (via Screen Rant) has what purports to be the official plot synopsis:

"The Amazing Spider-Man is the story of Peter Parker (Garfield), an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy, leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and Aunt May (Sally Field). Like most teenagers, Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. Peter is also finding his way with his first high school crush, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), and together, they struggle with love, commitment, and secrets.

As Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father, he begins a quest to understand his parents’ disappearance – leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr Curt Connors (Ifans), his father’s former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego, The Lizard, Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero."

Not to be that guy but the story of Peter's lack of a father (only to discover he had one his whole life in Uncle Ben) was already covered in the Raimi films. Swap out the villain and love-interest and I'm failing to see what's so night-and-day with this approach.

The Remake to the Remake of The Hangover Coming Memorial Day 2013

You knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. Only a matter of when they'd let the cat outta the bag and how much dough Warner Brothers would hand over to Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis stuffed in big bags with dollar signs to do The Hangover Part III. In all probability, we were all leaning towards a summer 2013 release based on the franchise's short-life span (This isn't something you can do one every three-four years, people) and WB's desire to fill out their summer slate with something provability bankable. THR is here to confirm just that.

The trades report deals are being wrapped up between the studio and the three lead actors (who jointly demanded $15 million a pop against the backend) for a third Hangover to lens this summer and ready for Memorial Day 2013.

They're also swearing this time it will be different plot-wise from the 2009 original. Yeah, well, Todd Phillips swore that was the case with last May's sequel and look at what we got. I'll speak for my geek brethren when I say I'll believe it when I don't see it.