Will Ferrell & Mark Wahlberg Reunite For Football Comedy Turkey Bowl

Will Ferrell will make another comedy that flops and then everyone will claim his career is over. Then his next one will be a hit, and those arguments will be moot. Rinse and repeat. We've heard those claims for the last couple of years, and Ferrell's most recent comedy, the action-themed The Other Guys (another Adam McKay collaboration), did very good business. It was also one of his better films.

"TOLDJA" says Ferrell and his Other Guys co-star Mark Wahlberg will reunite for Turkey Bowl. Warner Brothers just bought the pitch that'll entail the two as jackasses leading their town's perspective teams in an annual game of hardcore football (tackling, trash-talking and the works).

Robert Carlock (show-runner on 30 Rock) and Scott Silveri (who's written and produced on Friends, Joey and Perfect Couples – aka crap I don't watch) will write. Expect cameos galore including the already-committed Alec Baldwin as Marky Mark's old man.

Zookeeper Trailer Promises "Fatty Make Funny" with Talking Animals

Kevin James did "fatty make funny" with Paul Blart: Mall Cop and it wound up being a $150 million+ smash. He repeated that for Adam Sandler in Grown-Ups and that became one of the highest-grossing Sander comedies. Now in a complete about-face, he's taken that formula and added another explosive component: talking animals.

Audiences will eat up Zookeeper. Watch it be this summer’s biggest comedy. Here’s the trailer via Yahoo! Movies. The world will never be the same, and so help me God if they don't deliver on the promise of a Gorilla eating at T.G.I. Fridays.

Tintin Teaser Trailer Devoid of Motion-Capture Creepiness

Robert Zemeckis wastes a decade of his career on 100% motion-capture films that nobody cares about and all the characters look like computerized zombies. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson take one crack and just off this teaser trailer, The Adventures of Tintin already blows all of Zemeckis' efforts outta the water.

I doubt that's because of the advancements in the mo-cap technology. No, I say they have the upper-hand because this teaser pin-points its focus on mystery, adventure and exotic locales. Hell, it took a couple of seconds to realize this isn't a live-action feature. Hence why we barely see any of the characters faces full-on; a smart move.

For as much as J.J. Abrams is trying to ape the Beard with Super 8 next month, this looks and feels like something he would have made during the late 70s to mid 80s. Still cautious (This is merely a teaser and we are talking about mo-cap after all), but I'm suddenly optimistic towards Tintin.

Armie Hammer IS The Lone Ranger - Sigh

I didn't like this news last month and guess what? I still don't now that it's official.

Variety confirms Armie Hammer will grab the gun, holster and black mask to play The Lone Ranger. Gore Verbinski will direct and Jerry Bruckheimer produces. Both will also stand by silently as Johnny Depp "works his magic" trying to steal every damn frame as Tonto with his (what I call) "colorful weirdo crap." Neither will utter a word because "Hey, it worked for Pirates!"

Even though the movie is called The Lone Ranger and one would presume the title character is the focal point of said story.

Akira Mutating Into Messy Development for Warner Brothers

Like Universal and their ridiculously ambitious plans with The Dark Tower, Warner Brothers had been toddling along with Akira. But unlike the former (where I think under some reasonable reconstruction and cutting the fat from their original intentions), I never thought we'd see the day a live-action version of the manga/anime film would see the light of day.

JoBlo reports WB's courting of Keanu Reeves has failed and they're back to square one in search for their lead. Because as we all know, nothing screams "teenage Japanese biker" than the middle-aged American star of The Matrix.

Adding more weight to the troubled times comes word the studio has ceased all pre-viz work on the film and the majority of its staff have been handed pink slips. They must have struck a vein because the studio went as far to send out a formal statement when asked on the matter:

"Production on 'Akira' has not halted or been shut down, as the film has not yet been greenlit and is still very much in the development stage. The exploratory process is crucial to a project of this magnitude, and we will continue to sculpt our approach to making the best possible film."

So everyone is in spin control, I see, stating how Albert Hughes remains attached to direct. One of the sources' behind the article compared it to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity which, to be fair, had great uncertainty towards it as well. But barring someone like Will Smith getting involved and making it a vehicle for one of his kids, I don’t realistically see how a cinematic take on Akira is doable.

Tim Burton’s Shitty Movies Slate Already Full – Drops Out of Directing Maleficent

2012 will be a one-two punch of needless remakes, reboots, "re-imaginings," etc. for Tim Burton with Dark Shadows (a film anticipated by baby-boomers and the Goth crowd) and that stop-motion Frankenweenie remake of his. I shit-talk, but watch both make a fortune.

Hey, Burton is one of the few directors who the general public knows by name – even more so than people like Christopher Nolan or J.J. Abrams. It doesn't matter that we all think he's creatively void. His last movie Alice in Wonderland made over a $1 billion and his BFF is Johnny Depp.

One project he's had on docket (and yet another in the "re-imagining" category) is Maleficent. The revisionist Sleeping Beauty yarn is told from the perspective of the evil witch and has had Angelina Jolie attached since last year if memory serves me correct. Heat Vision says it's off Burton's "To do" list as he dropped out of directing.

Don't worry, kids. He'll find something else that'll keep him in his well-paying rut. God, you guys remember back when he was hailed as a fresh and vibrant voice in filmdom?

Seth MacFarlane to Extend his Brand-Name of Douchebag to The Flintstones

It's not like I consider The Flintstones a pop-culture sacred cow. The original '60s Hanna Barbera cartoon was never a big deal for me as a kid, and there have been animated spin-offs, live-action incarnations and endless Cocoa-Peddles commercials over the decades.

So to hear a new version is in development for 2013 isn't a surprise. It was bound to happen. The "What the Hell?" reaction is the revelation that Seth MacFarlane will be behind this update, reports "TOLDJA."

Which I can't help but immediately think will involve dragging out a single joke over the span of minutes, pointlessly random pop-culture references and literally stopping an episode cold just to shove MacFarlane's politics down our throats. So expect left-wing jackasses like Keith Olbermann and Arianna Huffington as supporting characters.

I don't really think he'll continue his (lazy) style to The Flintstones. The dude seems to genuinely care to make his stamp on the brand-name. Doesn't change the fact that I find him to be a smug douchebag who laughs at his own jokes. So while yes, he'll do fine; no, I won't watch.

I Guess Larry Kubiac Really Didn’t Go Hungry

I just find this both funny and wrong taking into account the great series Parker Lewis Can't Lose.

Variety reports Abraham Benrubi (who was also on ER – wrong TMT writer to ask about that show, go to Peter instead) will headline the thriller Glutton with David Arquette at the helm. Yes, that David Arquette.

He'll play a 1,200 lb. man stricken to a bed who must overcome his own adversities and save the life of his sister. And here's the kicker: it's in 3D.

A buddy of mine knows Benrubi and speaks highly of him. That's easy to see. He comes off like a good guy in real life. But, dude, you have to admit this sounds all kinds of wrong.

Chris Pine Wisely Thinking Past Event-Films; In Talks For Mud

Still hesitant regarding the fate of that Jack Ryan reboot and with Star Trek 2, it's a matter of if they stick with that June 2012 release date or push it back to December. But Chris Pine continues to show how smart he and his representation are by their thinking long-term career-wise instead of cashing-on post Star Trek. Could you imagine if he'd done Green Lantern?

24 Frames says he's in talks to headline the coming-of-age drama Mud from writer/director Jeff Nichols:

"Nichols' new movie will center on two 14-year-boys who come across an adult fugitive of the law, the titular Mud (who would be played by Pine) and must help him escape off an island in the Mississippi. The ambiguity of the story lies with Mud, who is both an unsavory and a redemptive character and who teaches the boys as much as he learns from them"

As I've said before, it's smart to show audiences you can effectively play beyond your signature role while you still have time to avoid type-casting instead of sitting around and doing nothing but your gravy-train franchise until it comes to a screeching halt. Hello, Tom Welling?

Chris Hemsworth Locked for Snow White & the Huntsman

And like that, another high-profile role we spent months and months talking up with all the actors who were in contention (regardless of if it was true or not) is taken.

The deal's been signed, sealed and delivered, reports "TOLDJA."

Chris Hemsworth will star in Snow White & the Huntsman alongside Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. This follows those initial reports last week of his front-runner status. But wisely talks ceased until the solid opening of Thor this past weekend (It's expected to win this weekend as well) with Variety reporting (They were the ones who broke the story of his being a candidate) the offer from Universal's side was formerly sent to the Australian actor earlier this week.

Good for Hemsworth. He comes off like a genuinely good-guy and he and his people are already (wisely) thinking ahead outside of the House of Ideas.