Total Remake

Sure, we all love to do our Schwarzenegger impressions and what not.

But dammit, the man had quiet a track-record back in the day including Paul Verhoeven's brilliant sci-fi actioner Total Recall - for my money, a film that still holds up to this day.

So of course, it's time to remake it.

This new "contemporary" version of Recall (which itself was an adaptation of a Phillip K. Dick-penned short story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale") is being developed through Columbia Pictures and Original Films.

I can already imagine this new take will be void of the whole "Is this reality or a dream?" question that lingered all throughout Recall, and was rightly never answered.

Samuel L Jackson Will Be Nick Fury Again After All

In a rather surprising move, Samuel L. Jackson and Marvel Films have kissed and made up after a much publicized squalling over money from a month or so back.

Jackson has inked a multi-picture deal (read: nine films) with Marvel to reprise his performance of S.H.I.E.L.D. leader and all-around bad ass Nick Fury from his post-credits cameo in Iron Man.

We'll next see Fury appear in a presumably-beefier role in next summer's Iron Man 2 and Kenneth Branagh's Thor. Then of course, there's Captain America and Avenbers - both currently scheduled for Summer 2011 releases.

Considering how everything worked out for ol Sam, I wonder if we'll be seeing Mickey Rourke show up in Iron Man 2 after all.

Will Gore Verbinski Do to the Board-Game What He Did to Pirates?

When you have film versions of Monopoly and Candy-Land in development, I suppose it was a matter of time before studios got the bright idea of adapting Clue...again.

For all of you non-nerds out there, there was already a film made back in 1985 produced by the late Debra Hill and John Landis and a cast including Tim Curry, Christopher Lloyd, Madeline Kahn and Michael McKean.

Universal has now tapped Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski to develop the Hasbro board-game into a feature-length film.

Anyone else ready to start fantasy-casting? Who should play Colonel Mustard or Mrs. Peacock?

Arrested Development Film Just Got Further Ahead

I must confess that I've been purposefully trying to stay the Hell away from talking about the oft-mentioned Arrested Development film.

Honestly, besides the next Superman installment (whether it's a sequel, reboot, requel, whatever), a feature-length theatrical version of Arrested Development is the one "name" film I've been looking forward to!

The thing is though it's never been a "Sure thing" as much as people would like to believe. Series-creator Mitchell Hurwitz (who will write and direct the film) has said on multiple occasions that he needed commitments from the entire cast before going off and banging out the script.

And for the longest time, Michael Cera has been the lone holdout until now it seems.

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos reports that the Scott Pilgrim vs. the World star has agreed to participate in the film along with fellow cast-members Jason Bateman, Jeffrey Tambor, Will Arnett, Portia de Rossi, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jessica Walter and David Cross.

And if everything works out as planned, filming could commence by the end of this year.

Because I'm pumped by this news, I'm going to re-watch the series to "prepare myself" for the film. Who the Hell am I kidding? That show is so damn good I would have done that regardless!

Warner Brothers Announces Big Release Dates

Everyone seems to agree that Warner Brothers was the most affected by the 2007 Writer's Guide Strike.

A number of high-profile projects the studio was depending on for their Summer 2009 lineup fell apart for various reasons whether it be delays (Clash of the Titans), cold feet (Superman: The Man of Steel) or simply just killing it altogether (Justice League: Mortal)!

This coming summer, they have Terminator: Salvation and Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince. And that's about it.

But they'll be coming back with a vengeance according to ERC Box Office. The studio has announced a number of their major releases for 2010, with a li'l bit of news on 2009 and 2011 as well.

First up, Guy Ritchie's revisionist take on Sherlock Holmes has been moved from its previous November 13 release to Christmas Day 2009 now.

Meanwhile for 2010, the studio is positioning their oft-mentioned remake of Clash of the Titans for a March 26 release. Jonah Hex hits cinemas on August 6, 2010. Christopher Nolan's Inception will bow out on July 16, 2010, and Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch is scheduled for an October 8 release.

In the most interesting bit of news, the studio has opted to put Green Lantern for December 17, 2010 instead of the expected mid-summer release. All I have to say is...smart move, Warner Brothers. That summer is already going to have Iron Man 2, Thor and The Green Hornet (not to mention WB's own Hex) in the "comic-book" film department!

And last but definitely not least, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows - Part II (the final installment of the insanely popular and profitable film series) will grace the silver screens on July 15, 2011 - where it will go head-to-head with Marvel's The Avengers!

Anyone else more convinced than ever that Avengers will be delayed now?!?

Penn 'Fair Game' for Liman ?

Variety reports that Proverbial Oscar baiter Sean Penn is in talks to star in 'Fair Game' for Doug Liman. Naomi Watts is signed to play the lead role of outed CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson, Penn would play her husband Ambassador Joseph Wilson.

Wilson watched his wife's CIA status become compromised after he wrote op-ed columns that accused the Bush Administration of manipulating intelligence about weapons of mass destruction to justify the invasion of Iraq.

The project, based on Plame Wilson's memoir, landed at Pohlad's River Road after Warner Bros. put the project in turnaround.

Plame Wilson left the CIA in 2005 and she and her husband filed a civil suit against Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Cheney's ex-chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby. While Rove and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage admitted they leaked her agency status to journalists, Libby was convicted of lying to a federal grand jury about his role in compromising her covert status.

I remember when this was going to star Nicole Kidman and Russel Crowe was being eyed to play the role Penn is now circling. Both are quality actors and I'm sure they are smelling potential Oscar's which as we know is pretty much why Sean Penn makes movies.

I'm a fan of Doug Liman and this would be a really fresh direction for him after the fun but undercooked 'Jumper'.

Naomi Watts can currently be seen in 'The International' and Sean Penn can be found in possession of Mickey Rourke's Oscar.

Possible Plot for Shrek Goes Fourth Leaked

Apparently getting into the Legendary Pictures official website and obtaining info on the Superman Returns sequel wasn't enough for Alex Litel's Lackluster Emporium.

Now they've stumbled onto a copyright pre-registration for Shrek Goes Fourth with the following plot synopsis:

After challenging an evil dragon, rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws' kingdom, what's an ogre to do? Well, if you're Shrek, you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man. Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek now agrees to autograph pitch forks. What's happened to this ogre's roar? Longing for the days when he felt like a "real ogre," Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumplestiltskin. Shrek suddenly finds himself in a in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumplestiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona have never met. Now, it's up to Shrek to undo all he's done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love.

Well, it's definitely an upgrade from 2007's Shrek the Third when the series was clearly running out of gas (no pun intended!) But then again, that's not saying too much.

From that description, Shrek Goes Fourth has potential to reclaim the charm of the first two films. Yes...I was a fan!

Emily's Been Blunted From Iron Man 2

Sorry, folks.

It looks like you won't be seeing Emily Blunt sporting a sexy Russian-accent as the Black Widow for Iron Man 2 after all.

According to the Playlist, director Jon Favreau confirmed that Blunt is officially off the forthcoming sequel to last summer's smash-hit thanks to 20th Century Fox using their long-standing option on the British actress to appear in their fantasy comedy Guillver's Travels with Jack Black and Jason Segal.

Regarding that other "Will he or won't he appear?" question pertaining to Mickey Rourke, Favreau would only say the Wrestler star "isn't officially cast but that he is a fan."

Hmmm, that's an upgrade from Rourke's "Right now, we're not doing Iron Man 2" response last week to New York Magazine.

Some have speculated that both parties were waiting to see if Rourke would walk away with the "Best Actor" Oscar (which he ultimately didn't) as to bump up the reported $250,000 offered to the actor.

If that's the case, then the ball is clearly in Marvel's court. That said, Rourke would be smart to take the gig nonetheless to further solidify his well-publicized comeback to the general public - who contrary to popular belief haven't gone to see the Wrestler!

TMT's Movie Moan - It's the Oscars, Baby!

On this week's Movie Moan, Phil and Jamie make their crazy-ass predictions going against conventional wisdom - at least in the "Best Actor" race. As well as bemoaning the fact that we won't be hearing Peter Gabriel singing his brilliant song "Down to Earth" from Wall-E as well as the fact that Slumdog Millionaire has all but secured the "Best Picture" and "Best Director" awards.

Meanwhile in film-news, our heroes discuss the latest development in the ever-going Superman drama. It looks like the sequel to Superman Returns is in fact now happening and under the new working title Superman Unleashed. And Phil throws up possible ideas for what the sequel might be about.

Also on docket is Linda Hamilton's voice-work work on Terminator: Salvation, the ever-changing Nottingham..err..Robin Hood and how Ridley Scott can never make up his damn mind. All of that, and Phil and Jamie's not giving a shit about the Twilight sequels or Jonny Quest on this week's Movie Moan!

TMT's Movie Moan - It's the Oscars, Baby!

Will Ghostbusters 3 Be Shooting This Fall?

Dan Aykroyd could cure cancer and end world hunger, but he'd still be asked about the status of Ghostbusters 3.

Granted, there's actually more than just the usual fan-rumblings or Aykroyd talking about how "he's writing the script and waiting for get everyone's approval" ever since Sony officially hired The Office writers/executive producers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsk for screenwriting duties.

The Man who was Elwood Blues was doing a live chat with the Boston Globe for the opening of a new House of Blues last week and as expected the inevitable Ghostbustes 3 question was asked with this answer from Aykroyd:

"Script is commenced early summer. Hope to be in production by late fall 2009"

Mind you, none of the original cast nor director Ivan Reitman have officially signed up to return. So either there's more going on behind the scenes than we're all led to believe (which is certainly possible) or Aykroyd is just theorizing when Ghostbusters 3 gets going.

Either way, I'm just going to wait for Sony to make an official announcement for now.