Roundup 7/2

I check out for a day and a half, and the internet goes bonkers with new movie info. You know what that means - time to catch up.

• A month after the announcement of a Guy Ritchie-helmed version of Sherlock Holmes, there's news of another version in the works already. But this time, Sacha Baron Cohen (Borat) and Will Ferrell have signed to play Holmes and Watson respectively. Produced by Judd Apatow and written by the same dude who wrote the upcoming Tropic Thunder, this project could be either fantastic or nauseating. I'll reserve judgment until I see a trailer, and that's gonna be a while.

• Continuing on my promotion of all things "Lost," Josh Holloway (who plays Sawyer in the show) has joined the cast of Stay Cool, which features Winona Ryder, Chevy Chase, Hilary Duff, and Sean Astin. Mark Polish (?) plays an author who has to face his highschool crush when he returns back to his hometown to give a graduation speech at his old stomping grounds. Holloway will play the ex-jock and old boyfriend of Winona Ryder's character.

• In an effort to battle Marvel's recent surge of good comic book movies, Warner Brothers has picked up the movie rights to a comic called "Hiding in Time." The concept: Witness Protection uses time travel to relocate high-profile witnesses. Kinda cool, if you ask me. By the way, still no word on the release date of this time traveling film.

• After the success of Wanted last weekend, Mark Millar (the writer of the comic book it was based on) has gained considerable clout in the movie industry. Enough to start talking about rebooting Superman in 2011 and kicking Bryan Singer out of the director's chair. "I've been planning this my whole life," he says. "I've already got my director and producer lined up." Millar can't say who his team consists of yet, but teases us by saying that it's a "very well known American action director" with considerable pull at WB. Who could it be? I'm down with whoever it is - Bryan Singer has waited too long, and his opportunity has passed. Let's give it another shot - it worked for The Incredible Hulk.

• Not surprisingly, movie blogs everywhere are going absolutely nuts for The Dark Knight. Selfishly I scoff at them, because I was one of about seven people who actually thought that Heath Ledger would make a good Joker when that news first broke. They were all "meh, I don't know. That's bad casting, etc. etc." And now they can suck it. From all accounts so far (they screened the movie to the press a couple days ago), Heath's performance is Oscar-worthy, even without taking his sudden death into the equation. Hey movie writers - I'll be in my trailer waiting for my apology letters. I'll accept cash gifts if you'd like to send those instead.