RumorMonger »

By: John Gholson

This movie should've happened fifteen years ago, and it should've starred Tim Allen. It didn't, so here we are in 2009 talking about whether or not a live-action movie based on Hanna-Barbera's animated "futuristic" sitcom The Jetsons will ever see the light of day.

Pajiba says yes, and they say that Peter Segal (Get Smart, Tommy Boy) is the director currently circling the long-dormant project. Director Robert Rodriguez (Shorts) was once enthusiastic about taking a crack at the material, but Warner Brothers wants to move on the project soon and Rodriguez keeps a full plate. Unlike Pajiba, though, I don't see this potential shift in directors as a huge step down.

Read the rest over at SciFi Squad

What's happened to all the great movie nudity lately? Billy Crudup started the year off with a bang, so to speak, with his big blue penis in Watchmen, and Marcus Nispel's Friday the 13th reboot featured sweaty sex and generous amounts of naked female flesh, but the summer and fall seasons have been curiosly bereft of talked-about sex scenes or body parts. Jessica Biel's bravely-bared breasts and backside in Powder Blue went direct to video, Hayden Panetierre nonchalantly limited her exposure to 'side boobage' in I Love You, Beth Cooper, and Megan Fox decided to keep her nipples to herself in the proudly feminist relationship drama ('cause it sure wasn't horror) Jennifer's Body.

In my youth, movies educated me about the wonderful diversity of naked bodies. Today, television and the Internet have stolen much of the thunder once claimed exclusively by the theatrical experience. (Case in point: Susan Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri, just made a big splash by going topless in Californication.) No wonder Terminator: Salvation director McG teased the audience at WonderCon earlier this year, bringing actress Moon Bloodgood up on stage and asking: "Who wants to see Moon's boobs in the picture?" She later said: "I'm a woman, I have boobs, it's a beautiful shot." As anyone who saw the movie in a theater knows, though, her toplessness was cut, reportedly as part of Warner Bros.' effort to secure a PG-13 rating.

The unrated director's cut is due out on DVD and Blu-ray on December 1, and the deleted scene has, apparently, hit the Internet (watch it after the jump). The verdict?

You kids today, with your Marvel Studios and your top-notch directors. Many of you are too young to remember just what ugly treatments comic books received in the 1980s and 1990s. Oh sure, there was Tim Burton's Batman, but treatments like David Hasselhoff's Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD were the norm. When a Thor movie was kicked around, the only requirement was muscles and blonde hair. In the 1990s, there was one man that fit that description: Fabio.

A funny little flashback has surfaced on Colleen Doran's blog, which has prompted a delightful trip back in time at Mania. In 1997, Fabio decided that he wanted to play Thor, so he approached animation director Seth Kearsley, and they cooked up a storyline with the help of Henry Gilroy. As Mania points out, this was not a Marvel movie , but it casually borrowed a few elements. The result, pictured to your right, was an unholy blend of Marvel's Thor and Captain Marvel / Shazam where Thor was punished for his arrogance by being shoved into the powerless body of a young boy. Despite its cheese and lack of Hollywood backing, it managed to recruit a lot of comic book talent for its designs, including Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. They were also desperately seeking Charlton Heston to voice Odin, and were in negotiations with Pamela Anderson to voice the Valkyrie Brunhild. But it died off, never to be seen again ... until the Internet could laugh about it.

When word hit that Ridley Scott was on board to direct the long talked about A L I E N prequel, what ran through your mind? Were you thinking lots of alien action? A Giger-iffic closer look at the xenomorphs? If so, you might want to start reeling back those alien expectations. Empire Magazine recently got the scoop from Scott, and he's got something else in mind.

The director was in London for his daughter's debut at the London Film Festival when he told the mag about his ideas for the prequel. He said: "We know what the road map is, and the screenplay is now being put on paper. The prequel will be a while ago. It's very difficult to put a year on A L I E N, but [for example] if A L I E N was towards the end of this century, then the prequel story will take place thirty years prior." Empire takes this to mean a human focus for the film.

I wish that dreaded set of Star Wars prequels hadn't made me recoil at the thought of any ultra-updated FX in prequel stories. However, on the bright side: If Scott tackles things in a similar way -- looking to Giger for inspiration, for example -- it's sure to be a beauty of a film. Are you up for this A L I E N prequel, or do you wish the past just stayed in the uncharted murky depths?

Last March, the trades confirmed that Peter Berg was the latest director brave enough (or foolish enough) to tackle a new adaptation of Frank Herbert's legendary Dune. News has been scarce since, though just last month Berg was assuring MTV that he was still involved, and that he was trying to crunch Josh Zetumer's 200-page script into something manageable "without offending the purists." Other than some intriguing Robert Pattinson casting rumors, there hasn't been much for fans to really discuss or rant about. But an intriguing story has popped up on Pajiba. Their inside source claims that Berg has dropped out of the Dune remake, and that Paramount is scrambling for a new director.

The search is fraught with difficulty for Paramount, according to Pajiba's source. "The search, however, has run into two issues: 1) they're looking for a director who can put the movie together for under $175 million, which sounds manageable, but they don't want anything resembling the crap effects of the '84 film, and 2) they want a director who already has a preexisting passion for the novel and is enthusiastic about the project." But the search has allegedly landed on two splashy newcomers: Neil Marshall and and Neill Blomkamp. Marshall is said to be the frontrunner, championed by producer Kevin Misher. But the studio lukewarm on Marshall's resume and likes Blomkamp, who they feel has the "vision" for the film.

This is all rumor and speculation at this point, and nowhere is it stated why Berg dropped out of the remake. (A schedule conflict would be likely. Berg has one heck of a full plate.) There's also something a little too dreamy about those mentions of Blomkamp and Marshall. I'm very, very curious to see how this little rumor is played out, and if it could lead to a Dune adaptation that's palatable and faithful to Herbert.

Are you ready for another hippie, hippie shake? The New York Post reports that Cocktail is getting turned into a Broadway musical by producer Marty Richards, and Heywood Gould, the pen behind the book and film, will write it. But that's not all. Gould told them: "I am writing it as we speak. Marty Richards is on board and he's working on the score. It's far too early to talk about casting. We haven't approached anybody yet. But I do like Katie Holmes." Yes, original star Tom Cruise's wife. Gould might not be the end-all on decisions, but since he's involved with all the story's incarnations, I bet he has some sway.

The 1998 film focuses on a young guy (Cruise) who drops out of school and becomes a famous bartender. Eager to have his own bar, he heads to Jamaica to earn enough money. While there, he must choose between the girl he falls for, and the rich woman who needs a "drink-mixing stud." Is it terrible to root for the latter? Who wouldn't want their own personal bartender?

If this sucker becomes a reality, I predict Cocktail, Reimagined! -- starring Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise -- coming to the big screen by 2015. Yeah, he's 20 years older as it is, but could he resist returning to his bartending fame alongside Katie? Or maybe he'll leave the love to a young and lucky bloke, and take over Bryan Brown's (Doug) bar vet ways? Or Doug becomes the drink-mixing stud?

Speaking of Hollywood couples -- for a pair so into one another, is it surprising that they haven't co-starred together yet? Maybe Tommy is fearing another Eyes Wide Shut experience.

Remember when Sean Penn decided to back away from Hollywood to tend to his family? Well, that didn't seem to go too well. Only a short time later in August, Robin Wright Penn filed for divorce. So much for finding familial focus. With all that freed time, one might think he'd chill with his kids, or head back to acting. Nope. Why do that when you can hunt down dictators?

TMZ reports that Penn has once again put on his part-time journalist hat and flown to Cuba to hunt down an interview with Fidel Castro for Vanity Fair. He hopped on a plane with Diana Jenkins earlier this week in Las Vegas, headed for Havana. (I'm guessing that there's a stop along the way. As far as I know, flying from the U.S. to Cuba is not exactly okay.) But there's a little he-said, she-said among the sources. Barclays contacts say he's going there to meet Castro and talk about how the Obama administration has affected Cuba. Penn's rep told the site that a meeting is possible, but there's no current appointment or plan to meet with the dictator. Methinks that's just evading the topic. One doesn't go to Cuba, have no plans to meet with Castro, yet say that a meeting is possible.

Penn has entered sticky situations before -- most notably with Hugo Chavez, who he thinks is "much more positive for Venezuela than he is negative." But is that enough to make him the first Western journalist to interview the man in three years, since Castro stepped out of the spotlight?

Frank Sinatra is still what many (if not all) red-blooded man aspire to be. Playing him in a Martin Scorsese biopic is not only a dream job for any actor, it's wish fulfillment on the highest level. Is it any surprise that the some of the biggest names in Hollywood are said to by vying for the role of Old Blue Eyes? The Guardian reports that Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, and George Clooney are in fierce competition to land the part, with Universal executives allegedly pushing hardest for the marketable Depp.

It's a tough thing to cast someone like Sinatra. While I certainly like all three men as actors in their own right, I think their own fame makes it impossible for them to disappear under the skin of an icon. This isn't exactly Howard Hughes or John Dillinger, figures that an actor can shape from facts and bits of footage, but still make their own. This is a man we're all familiar with from countless movies, concerts, albums, and television appearances. How do you portray that honestly with Depp, DiCaprio, or Clooney? If forced to choose from the three, I'd pick DiCaprio purely because of the physical resemblance, and politely suggest Clooney play Dean Martin.

Personally, I hope Scorsese finds a semi-unknown for the part (someone on the level of Tom Hardy -- who might actually be really good now that he's sprung to my mind) and steers clear of the A-List. The actor lucky and brave enough won't have to sing, as Universal and Mandalay spent 2 years clearing the rights to Sinatra's catalog, but he still has to be someone you believe to possess that voice. Would you cast one of the Big Three above? Or do you have someone else in mind?

Last summer, it was reported that Columbia was setting up a remake of My Fair Lady and that Keira Knightley was pursuing the iconic, Cockney role of Eliza Doolittle. While Knightley has been "attached" ever since, The Telegraph reports that Scarlett Johansson was also vying for the role. But Knightley won out, and the Telegraph not only confirms that she's got the role, but that Joe Wright will be directing. Emma Thompson is writing the script.

Knightley has been taking singing lessons ever since the possibility came up (and I actually think she proved she had a good voice in The Edge of Love), and I think she'll be absolutely charming as Doolittle. But then I'm biased towards her. Even if you aren't (and I expect many "too skinny!" comments), I think the combination of Wright and Thompson pushes this into very, very promising territory. Thompson can do no wrong by me.

What will really tip the balance is who they cast as the grumpy, misogynist Professor Henry Higgins. The Telegraph reports that Daniel Craig is being considered, and he'd certainly be ideal as the grim Higgins, probably moreso than the dapper Hugh Jackman. I wouldn't mind seeing Patrick Wilson become a contender, and I half wonder if Gerard Butler's vocal chords were trotted out on Saturday Night Live as an audition. Just you wait, and practice your R's, and we'll see whose face Knightley must become accustomed to.

UPDATE: Screenrush caught up with Joe Wright, who says he never signed on, and is uninterested. Given the shakiness of the initial report, it's unclear whether Knightley's casting is official either.