George Clooney as the Lone Ranger?

This is a rumor that I almost didn't even bother writing about, but if Johnny Depp can be Tonto and Russell Crowe can play two roles in the same movie, then I guess nothing is too ridiculous to consider.

Yes, George Clooney has thrown his hat in the ring to played the masked cowboy. Remember, this comes from the boys over at Ain't It Cool News, which is only slightly more credible than The Sun. Either way, I love westerns so much that I don't think I would be disappointed if this ended up being true and we saw George saddle up next to Depp on his trusty horse, Silver. And this movie is so far from release (at least a year, if not more) that it's off my radar until we hear some more about it. Until then, keep checking back.

Russell Crowe Locks Down Two Roles - In The Same Movie

"What? Both of them? Sure - why the hell not?"

In "Wow, I seriously didn't see that coming" news, Russell Crowe has been signed to play both the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood in the upcoming Ridley Scott film Nottingham. Previously it was rumored that Christian Bale would play Robin Hood, but that had since been debunked.

A recent quote from Crowe - "[It's] one of those things where we're taking our time...You don't want to be doing Robin Hood unless you're going to be doing it really f*cking well. It's got to be the best one ever done, otherwise you should do something else."

I like his fervor. I'm a Russell Crowe fan and a Robin Hood fan, so I find this news interesting to say the least. As long as this movie turns out better than American Gangster (which in hindsight wasn't THAT bad), I'll be pleased. The movie has been delayed slightly, but filming is expected to resume when the leaves grow back in jolly old England so Sherwood Forest can have that "full" look to it instead of a bunch of scraggly branches.

Love Interest Cast in Sherlock Holmes

Since Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes has become the new movie that everyone has latched onto, more news came yesterday when Rachel McAdams was confirmed for Holmes' love interest, a character named Irene Adler.

I'm glad RayMac is getting back into mainstream movies again, and by that I mean "hopefully good" movies. Total hottie. It's also been reported that Jude Law has been cast as Watson instead of the previously rumored Russell Crowe. I've got no qualms with Jude Law, so I think this whole arrangement could play out nicely.

I Am Legend Prequel Given The Go-Ahead

Warner Brothers has confirmed the prequel to I Am Legend, and Will Smith will definitely return as Robert Neville. Francis Lawrence will also return as the director. The story will follow Neville's last days before and after the virus takes over New York City.

We can debate the necessity of this all you want, but it looks like it's going to happen nonetheless. I can tell you this much - if it's got Will Smith in it, I'll see it.

Roundup 9/25

I've been slacking lately, so let's get to work.

• Michael Caine told MTV that he will be starring alongside Matthew McConaughey and Scarlett Johansson in an upcoming heist film called Brilliance. I've got a soft spot for heist movies, ScarJo is hot, and I don't mind McConaughey when he's not cheesing it up in the newest chick flick, so this whole project sounds cool to me.

• We all knew that Seth Rogen was going to write The Green Hornet with his partner Even Goldberg (the duo wrote Superbad and Pineapple Express), and we also knew that he would star as the titular character. What we didn't know was who was going to direct it, but word is out. Stephen Chow, director of Kung Fu Hustle and Shaolin Soccer, has signed to direct and also star as Kato, Green Hornet's Asian sidekick. Interesting choice - Chow has handled action and comedy before, so I'm sure this will be fine.

• M. Night Shyamalan is considering directing a sequel to Unbreakable. The film was originally intended to be the first in a trilogy, but after the poor marketing and weak critical response to the film after it wasn't The Sixth Sense 2, plans fell apart and Night moved on. I'm inclined to think that a sequel at this point wouldn't be so bad, especially if that was how the whole thing was supposed to go down anyway and even more so if he could lock down stars Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson to return. Come on, Night - you need another good movie, and soon. People are losing faith.

• Laughably, Nic Cage will be starring in Domenic Sena's (Gone in 60 Seconds, Swordfish) newest supernatural thriller, entitled Season of the Witch. Why is that funny? Because Cage will be playing a 14th century knight who is transporting a girl thought to be a witch who started the Black Plague. You've got to be kidding me.

• Timur Bekmambetov, director of Wanted and the Night Watch films, has been signed to direct a reimagining of Moby Dick. The studio wants to bring the stylish look of Wanted to the tale of Moby Dick, yet it's written by the guys who wrote Accepted and New York Minute. I don't know what to say, other than this probably shouldn't happen.

• In Johnny Depp overload news, Disney announced tonight at their trade show that the actor will star in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as the Mad Hatter. No big surprise there. What IS surprising is that Depp will also play Tonto in Jerry Bruckheimer's version of The Lone Ranger! WTF, mate? Also, they all but confirmed another Pirates of the Carribean sequel, leading some to speculate that Depp has signed a multi-picture deal with the House of Mouse. Oh, and at that same show, National Treasure 3 was confirmed. Tonto, though? Really?

• "American Psycho: The Musical" has been given the greenlight for Broadway. Now THAT'S a musical I could get excited for.

• Apparently we'll have to see Quantum of Solace on November 14th without the famous "Bond, James Bond" and "shaken, not stirred" line. Seems the producers have decided to do away with those catchphrases along with the gadgetry that made the series so cheesy during the end of the Brosnan era. Whatever - Casino Royale was really good, and if the trailers are any indication, QOS should be really sweet as well, one-liners or not.
  

Sin City 2 Update

Frank Miller has a lot on his plate right now, trying to turn his new movie The Spirit into something that will please fans instead of have them in an uproar (like they were at Comic Con this summer). But at a recent press conference, the demigod of comics gave an update on Sin City 2, which has been in talks for years.

I can't talk about my projects, because I don't believe a movie is real until I see the title on the screen. There are many things that can go wrong. But I can tell you that I'm very close to begin 'Sin City 2' with Robert Rodriguez. We have to arrange a few things and we'll be back in action.

That's better than nothing. I've heard that Angelina Jolie has been approached to star this time around, and most of the cast would probably return because the storyline will weave through time in flashback mode so even the ones who died in the original would be able to make appearances. Whatever it takes to make this happen - get it done. Hopefully The Spirit (while different in tone but similar in filming style) won't anger people enough to dash Miller's future directing plans.

This Is What It's Come To

The movie will film in South Korea starting next month, marking the first time a Hollywood picture has ever filmed in that country. A writer and producer from the 1997 Chris Farley original has written the script and will direct. And contrary to my own early opinion, this is actually being considered for a theatrical release in June by Sony, who owns the distribution rights. Unbelieveable.

Affleck Gets Back Behind The Camera

As I'm sure most of you know, I thought Affleck's directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, was pretty awesome for a first attempt. So it greatly pleases me to bring you news that Warner Brothers has hired Ben to rewrite, direct, and star in a movie called The Town, which is based on a book called Prince of Thieves (no, not that one).

The plot surrounds a thief who falls in love with the bank manager of a bank he has robbed while an FBI man is close to discovering his operation. The movie is set in Massachusetts, obviously hallowed ground for the man who owns an Oscar for co-writing Good Will Hunting with Matt Damon. Cool - sounds like that George Clooney/Jennifer Lopez joint ten years ago called Out of Sight, but hopefully better. Have faith, Affleck fans.

xXx: Diesel's Back

Vin Diesel has agreed to return to his triumphant role as Xander Cage in the xXx franchise! Rejoice! The third film in the series, titled xXx: The Return of Xander Cage, has no script attached yet, but Diesel and the director of the first film (Rob Cohen) have expressed interest in returning.

Cohen's body of work is pretty hit or miss (The Skulls vs. Stealth, for instance), and Diesel took a big hit with the recent suckage of Babylon A.D. You can't really blame them for making another one of these movies though - if we're stupid enough to pay money to see it, then they deserve our hard earned cash. If we don't see it, maybe that'll be enough to put an end to this series once and for all. For now, I'll leave you with the Vin Diesel soundboard.

Roundup 9/10

You know what time it is.

• After a lackluster summer, 20th Century Fox is considering making some changes to their lineup in the coming years. Properties they're thinking about adding? More X-Men spin-offs, including a possible Deadpool film with Ryan Reynolds. Also, they mention a reinvention of the Daredevil franchise. Jason Statham has expressed interest in the character, but the guys over at Slashfilm think that the property would be better as a show on HBO. I'm actually down for either one.

• DJ Caruso has expressed interest in directing Marvel's Thor movie, and has apparently had a few meetings with the studio about it. There isn't a script yet, but I'll keep you updated on any further announcements. Speaking of Caruso, he also said that Alicia Keys is up for the role of Agent 355 in his Y: The Last Man trilogy because she looked the part, but he'd have to see if she could hold her own on the acting end of things before he would actually cast her.
  

• The Wachowski's could possibly helm the Wonder Woman movie that will inevitably be greenlit by DC in a couple of years.

• As far as we know, Arnold Schwarzenegger will not play any part in the upcoming Terminator film, right? Maybe not. Pictures of Arnie on the set of the movie are leading to rumors about him doing voice-over work and his face being digitally inserted onto some dude's body for the final cut of the flick, which comes out next summer. This would be a way for him to please the fans and not conflict with his gubernatorial duties by "acting" in the traditional sense. Hopefully the end result is cool rather than cheesy.

• The latest rumor on Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes pic is that Colin Farrell is the man to play Watson, Robert Downey, Jr's sidekick. We'll see if that one is debunked in the next couple of days, just like the Will Smith/Captain America and PSH/Penguin (both were reported not true the day after being reported).
  

Batman Casting Rumors

Ever since the record-breaking success of The Dark Knight, fans have wondered what the future of the franchise holds. Will Chris Nolan come back for a third film? Nothing has been confirmed - even the studio people haven't talked to Nolan about it because he's on a much needed vacation - but most speculate yes after the tremendous amount of cash he must have collected. Is Cher going to play Catwoman? No, but that was a real rumor about a month ago - I kid you not. And almost more ridiculous (seemingly) were the rumors about Johnny Depp as The Riddler (or the Mad Hatter, depending on who you asked) and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.

Now Michael Caine tells MTV that he read those rumors in the tabloids like the rest of us, but that he also confirmed them with an executive at Warner Brothers.

“I was with [a Warner Bros.] executive and I said, ‘Are we going to make another one?’ They said yeah. I said, ‘How the hell are we going to top Heath? And he says ‘I’ll tell you how you top Heath — Johnny Depp as The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin.’ I said, ‘S–t, they’ve done it again!’”

How can this be if they haven't even confirmed that the movie is going to be made yet? There's not even a script, so how can they know that these characters are even featured? Don't take this one too seriously, ladies and gents - there seems to be way too much work to be done for casting announcements to be made already. Plus, enjoy The Dark-freaking-Knight instead of worrying about the next one already. We all know it's not going to come out for another four years anyway, and the last one was awesome.

Will Smith as Captain America?

After a couple of early rumors putting Matthew McConaghey, Leo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Titan from American Gladiators in contention for the role, Will Smith is the newest star to potentially suit up as Captain America in Marvel's upcoming blockbuster.

At a press junket for Spike Lee's upcoming Miracle at St. Anna, star Derek Luke said "I heard they offered Will Smith Captain America. It just shows how times have changed."

Of course, this is hearsay and still just a rumor at this point, but I'm not alone in my support for Smith as Captain America. I subconsciously associate Will Smith with America and patriotism anyway thanks to his ownage of the July 4th box office weekend, so why not go the step further and let him wield the shield? It's not like he's an incapable actor or anything - I Am Legend should have proved to his doubters that he's the black Tom Hanks. More on this as it unfolds, but what do you guys think? Could he do it? Should he do it? A black Captain America? Thoughts?

Roundup 9/6

I feel like I should have a short intro video for these Roundups, like "It's Reality Show Clip Time!" on The Soup. That'll be my first project when I get a budget. Let's wrassle up some recent movie news, shall we?

• Russell Crowe, although not attached to the Guy Ritchie Sherlock Holmes film as Watson, is in talks to play the hero's arch-nemesis Moriarty. Cool - sounds like Downey vs. Crowe would be a nice dynamic.

• The rumors of Spider-Man 4 and 5 being shot back to back are apparently true, and one source reports that director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire are both returning for the sequels. No word on the return of The Dunst. Early speculation puts The Lizard as the main villain in the running, but I'll keep you updated with more on this as it arises.

• Denzel Washington has signed on to star in Book of Eli, a movie that sounds remarkably like I Am Legend. "In the not-so-distant future, a lone warrior fights to bring society the truth needed for its redemption." Hmm.

• There have been some legal troubles for Warner Brothers' highly anticipated Watchmen film. Apparently Fox is suing them for the right to distribute the movie, claiming that they have the rights to the movie instead of the other studio. The case is actually going to trial in January, so hopefully they can just settle it out of court and the movie will still be released in March as planned. If anything drastic happens, I'll let you know.

• There's now the possibility that School of Rock 2: School Harder won't actually happen. Fine with me, the first one was good enough without a sequel to ruin it.

• After a lot of hullaballoo, Spike Jonze's Where The Wild Things Are will be released on October 16th, 2009. I can't decide if I want to see it - there have been so many stories about it being cut down and then fixed up again. Hopefully the trailer will be a good indication, although that's not always the case.

• Steven Soderbergh's four hour Che Guevara biopic (called Che together, but The Argentine and Guerilla if separated into 2 two hour films) has been tentatively picked up by Magnolia Pictures for a US release. Benicio del Toro stars, but the only problem is that the entire thing is going to be subtitled. Early reviews say it's supposed to be a great awards contender, but I'm not sure if I can put up with four hours and twenty two minutes of subtitles. That's intense.

• A couple of the writers for "The Office" are writing a script for Ghostbusters 3, hoping to reunite the original cast. There are all kinds of theories about this one (including Judd Apatow and Co. getting involved), but I'm sure hard core fans would just be happy with a worthy story and the original cast.
  

Wow, Nice Response Time

Normally, I don't do these "follow-up" type articles (you can figure out for yourselves whether the casting rumors are true when you actually see the movies in question), but since I just wrote about this last night, I think it's warranted.

Guy Ritchie told Empire online that he has NOT found a Watson for his Sherlock Holmes movie, and it's news to him that Russell Crowe has been courted for the role. What can I say? The Sun just seems to make things up. Can I get a job with them? Sounds like a sweet deal being able to make up anything you want and publish it with no consequences.

RIP Don LaFontaine

Don LaFontaine, the voiceover guy for over 5,000 movie trailers and that one Geico commercial, died yesterday. He was 68. Complications arose from a collapsed lung, causing the death of the man with one of the coolest voices ever. He will be missed.

This year has been awful for Hollywood - Heath Ledger, Bernie Mac, Isaac Hayes, Don LaFontaine (and some more that I'm forgetting). Total downer.

Brothers Bloom Delayed

For those of you who care, some distressing news was announced this evening. The Brothers Bloom, which I've mentioned frequently, has been pushed back from its initial October release to a limited release in December, going wide in January of 2009. Boo.

The reason? A crowded marketplace, and a unique film that presumably would have had trouble finding an audience with the other films around it at that time. Oh well - at least it's not going straight to DVD.

Are You Not Entertained?!

Thank God - finally something worth writing about. It's been a rough couple of weeks.

Although this comes from The Sun, a source with a pretty questionable track record, it's still better than nothing. Russell Crowe is apparently interested in playing Watson in Guy Ritchie's upcoming Sherlock Holmes adaptation. If true, he would partner with Robert Downey, Jr. (starring as the titular detective) to form the Bizarro duo against Sacha Baron Cohen and Will Ferrell as Holmes and Watson in their upcoming comedic take on the same characters.

I don't know anything about Sherlock Holmes and Watson other than what was alluded to in The Great Mouse Detective, but I think it would be pretty funny for Crowe to play a bumbling sidekick (if that description is even accurate for Watson's character).