Another Non-Apatow Project for Segel

With the Judd Apatow backlash in full swing after the box-office under-performance of Funny People and the over-exposure of Seth Rogen in the market (saying this 100% as someone whose a huge fan of both), one person whose yet to feel any of its sting is Jason Segel.

I Love You, Man (which contrary to popular belief didn't involve Apatow in any capacity) wound up making more money than his first headlining film, last year's great Forgetting Sarah Marshall. That, and of course How I Met Your Mother is still going strong on telly.

Now the trades report Segel is set to co-star in The Adventurer's Handbook along with fellow Apatow-alumni Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman. Said project centers around life-long friends who go on a global adventure based on the book of the same name.

It's good to see the gang branching out and trying to cross genres with Handbook as well as the forthcoming Green Hornet with Michel Gondry. Speaking of which, what the Hell is going on with that new Muppet movie Segel and Marshall director Nick Stoller are working on?

Lovely Bones Trailer Premieres Tonight

In between "news" detailing what Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt ordered at McDonald's and confirming that Michael Jackson is indeed still dead, Entertainment Tonight will premiere the first trailer for Peter Jackon's The Lovely Bones this evening, afternoon or whenever the Hell your local station airs the damn show.

But knowing ET, they'll focus 100% on the fact that Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg and Susan Sarandon are "the stars." This despite the fact that the actual leads of the piece are Atonement's Saoirse Ronan as a young girl who is brutally murdered and sees what becomes of her loved ones from Heaven and the always great Stanley Tucci as her killer.

Movie Box has supplied the brief preview showcasing footage from tonight's premiere. And of course what's Entertainment Tonight without the oligatory voice-over asswipe talking over the entire trailer. This isn't MST3K so bullshitting the audience with "zingers" intentionally isn't funny.

Tom Arnold Likes Press

Two friends goofing around or make-up tests from Jingle All the Way 2? You Decide!So Tom Arnold is doing the press rounds for Funny People (he cameos in the Apatow/Sandler/Rogen film). So by default, that means we'll get another "Oh yeah, we're totally gonna make True Lies 2!" quote from him. And he didn't disappoint, boys and girls.

Although he didn't specifically say it was the long-rumored True Lies follow-up. And by "long-rumored," I'm referring 100% to Arnold himself as the source for said rumors on the would-be sequel. He explains to the New York Times that, "It's not going to be called 'True Lies II,' but it might as well be."

That, and the project currently has zero plot or script but will start filming in 14 months with James Cameron at the helm and Arnold Schwarzenegger headlining.

Uh, sure. With all due respect, I'll actually buy there's a morsole of truth to this after I hear from Cameron, the Governator and/or the trades.

Movie Moan - Hot Wings Edition

Since it's Phil's birthday, we figured that we'd unveil a new Movie Moan logo (special thanks to our pal dark_b for providing the so-oh-awesome artwork) and have a special extended edition of the show this week. In other words, Phil, Jamie and Ed got really off-topic in between bitching about film franchises!

Among the items up for conversation, our heroes answer fan questions towards our hatred of all things Ben Lyons and give horror stories from past Comic-Con experiences. Regarding the week in news, the guys discuss "Avatar Day" now including the theatrical trailer (Footage being shown to the general public? *Gasp!*), Ridley Scott's return to the Alien franchise, Pirates 4 getting a new director in the form of Rob Marshall, the possiblity of two Star Trek sequels being filmed back-to-back and the next Superman film apparently being fast-tracked.

All of that plus Jamie and Ed review Funny People, first reactions to Steven Spielberg's next film being a remake of Harvey (said story broke in the middle of recording this podcast), their predictions for how G.I. Joe will next weekend and thoughts on the trailers for A Serious Man and The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Movie Moan - Hot Wings Edition

Rob Marshall and Captain Jack Sparrow: Together At Last?

Did my (little-to-none) interest in Pirates of the Caribbean 4 just gain a pulse?

I'd say that's a definite as the trades report Chicago director Rob Marshall is in serious talks to direct the fourth Pirates installment. Although the deal is not 100% signed, sealed and delivered, it's apparently good enough that the studio has started up on casting for new characters. Yeah, that's what this fucking franchise needs: even more characters.

This certainly gels with the news-item from last week where Disney head of production Oren Avi confirmed filming would begin this coming Spring for a Summer 2011 release.

I'll admit that Marshall is an "out there" choice - especially when you consider Bruckheimer and the Mouse could have just as easily gone after a McG or Brett Ratner type for this.

But it's said odd-ball decision that actually *gasp!* has me curious about Pirates 4 now. Who woulda thought that, huh?

Ridley Scott Returns to Alien Franchise

He's made references to the possibility to returning to the franchise that made him famous for God knows how long now. But I never thought I'd live to see the day when it actually happened. Well, boys and girls, it appears that up is down, black is white and dogs & cats are in fact living together.

The trades report that Ridley Scott will direct a prequel to Alien. For a look at my first reaction to this news-item, click here.

If you'll remember, rumblings of a prequel arose months ago with Scott and his brother Tony set to produce where upon they hand-picked relatively-unknown commerical filmmaker Carl Rinsch to direct. I think I can speak for many when I say that if the Brothers Scott had faith in Rinsch, then I was ready and willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

But alas, the young would-be director is now nowhere to be seen from said project and the thought of Scott directing another Alien installment is just too damn cool to pass up.

This despite the fact that I absolutely hate the idea of "prequelizing" a franchise. Not every single little detail needs to be explained. There is such a thing as using one's imagination to fill in the blanks for yourself.

Spielberg Wants to Get His Spy On

Steven Spielberg's attempt to direct a James Bond film is the stuff of legends. He was turned out twice by producer Cubby Broccoli - the first after The Sugarland Express opened and the second after Jaws was declared the highest-grossing film of all-time for its day. As we all know, his disappointment led to him developing on his own action/adventure film with his pal George Lucas called Raiders of the Lost Ark. I hear it worked out well.

Now the trades report that Spielberg is biting at the chance to direct another would-be spy franchise. This time in the form of Matt Helms, based on a series of 60s and 70s era Cold War novels that also served as a film franchise of its own headlined by Dean Martin - albeit campy as Hell.

The problem lies in the fact that the project is set up at Paramount which Spielberg's own studio DreamWorks infamously broke ties from earlier this year. So it won't be as easy for him to take on the gig - especially considering he's now lined up with the Mouse and his upfront salary might be too much for Paramount to swallow just to get him onboard.

Nobody does escpaist entertainment better than the Beard. Hell, his influence on the filmmakers of today is all over the place - just check out Abrams' Star Trek for the most recent example. But at this point in his career, I'd rather see him finally get Lincoln or Interstellar off the ground.

Update: Shit, that was quick. The Beard has opted not to direct Matt Helms, but will oversee the project as a producer while Paramount searches for its director.

Star Trek 2 and 3 Coming?

"I don't wanna hear anything about Back to the Future 3. Just give me Goddamn Back to the Future 2!"

That's how Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale say Syd Sheinberg (then big-cheese at Universal) first reacted to the news that two Back to the Future sequels would be shot concurrently and released six months apart from one another. And that, my friends, is also my first reaction to the news that we might end up with two Star Trek sequels within the next three years.

This past weekend at the San Diego Comic-Con, io9 was able to talk to screenwriter and executive producer Roberto Orci for a brief second about how things were going with Star Trek 2:

"Nothing was decided [at the last meeting]. It was really about, hmmm. You know what, I'll give you a tidbit. [They said to us] 'We thought maybe you could do that as like 2 and 3.'"

Yes, I know I should be open-minded. But history has not been behind the "let's film two sequels back-to-back" logic. That is, ironically enough, with the exception of the Back to the Future sequels - at least, in my opinion. We don't need another Matrix Reloaded and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, folks.

Excalibur Returns

From a technical standpoint (especially in today's age of CG everything up the ass), it's cornball as Hell. But dammit, Excalibur is one fucking great movie. In fact, it continues to be among my favorite films of all-time (along with stuff like Being There, JFK, Marty, Raiders of the Lost Ark and George Romero's Dawn of the Dead!) You'll never find a better King Arthur on screen than Nigel Terry and especially Merlin in the form of Nicol Williamson.

Now comic-book writer Warren Ellis reveals (via his official website) that he's hard at work on a treatment for a new King Arthur film - that happens to be titled Excalibur. So does that mean we're getting a more visually adequate and up-to-date adaptation of Mallory's Le Morte de Arthur?

Not necessarily as Ellis clarifies to Aint-It-Cool-News:

"'Untitled Arthurian Project,' as I call it (just so I can't feel John Boorman's EXCALIBUR looming down at me from my DVD shelf), differs from the prior 751 King Arthur movies in many ways, but perhaps most obviously in that it is very specifically about the gathering of the Knights."

As Ellis accurately puts it, there are plenty of cinematic versions of the Arthurian myth for people to enjoy. So if someone opts to deviate towards their own take, that's perfectly fine.

Let's just hope the one thing these two Excaliburs ultimately have in common are the "blood, guts and all" battle sequences. That, and let's go for unknowns in the lead roles please.

Narnia 3 Begins Voyage Into Production

It looked like the Narnia franchise was as good as dead after Prince Caspian churned out $420 million worldwide (a disappointing gross when you account for the $750 million the first film made) and not-so-hot home-video sales. It didn't help matters that Disney was purposefully dragging their ass in getting the third installment Voyage of the Dawn Treader off the ground. Sure they hired a director (Michael Apted), started constructing sets and had their young leads lined up to return to the world of fantasy-themed Christian allegory once again. But the start-date kept getting delayed with the final straw being the Mouse letting the rights to the franchise expire this past Christmas.

Then came along a savior in the form of 20th Century Fox who were ready, willing and able to spilt the $120+ million costs with Walden Media. A Christmas 2010 theatrical release date was set and all seemed right in the world of Narnia.

Now the studio has announced today (via Coming Soon) that filming has officially commenced on Dawn Treader in Australia. Production is expected to wrap up this coming November for it's "day and date" unveiling next December.

Before this morning's news, I was starting to think that Fox (like Disney a year ago) had cold feet towards bankrolling such an expensive property that basically peaked with The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe back in 2005. I still maintain that had Disney kept Caspian in its original Christmas 2007 release date, we wouldn't be here talking about how a third Narnia film is just now getting made (and with an opposing studio to boot!)

It will nevertheless be interesting to see how the film holds its own (if at all!) against the likes of Disney's Tron Legacy and Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - Part I next year.