Movie News and Views Sept. 23, 2008

- Jon Favreau will be directing the "Iron Man" sequel, after the head of Marvel became upset that he took his "cause" to the Internet.

- Paramount Pictures has created a straight-to-DVD division. Watch for sequels to the films "Road Trip," "Bad News Bears," "Mean Girls," "Grease," and... wait for it... "The Naked Gun" to come to video store shelves soon. They plan on releasing 5-6 titles a year. Why?!?

- Ah-nold, the Governator, will have something to do with the upcoming "Terminator: Salvation" movie. Just what is not known...

- The joint Steven Spielberg/Peter Jackson collaboration, "Tintin," has been refused funding by Universal Pictures who cite that the film would HAVE to make $425 million, and they don't feel it would happen.

- "The Strangers" will have a sequel.

- Aaron Sorkin, screenwriter of such films as "A Few Good Men," and "Charlie Wilson's War," will be writing a movie about Facebook. Is MySpace not good enough? What about Hi5?

- Warner Bros. is planning a "Superman re-boot." Think "Incredible Hulk" vs. "The Incredible Hulk." Geez...

- Bruce Springsteen has written the theme to the upcoming Darren Aronofsky movie, "The Wrestler."

- "Ghostbusters 3," everyone's favorite rumor, is supposedly in the works.

- "Where the Wild Things Are," directed by Spike Jonze, has a release date of Oct. 16, 2009.

- "Spider-Man 4 & 5" are currently in the works, with Tobey Maguire reprising his role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man.

- Spike Lee is moving forward on "Inside Man 2."

- Info on the Coen Bros. next project: "A Serious Man" is the story of an ordinary man's search for clarity in a universe where Jefferson Airplane is on the radio and F-Troop is on TV. It is 1967, and Larry Gopnik, a physics professor at a quiet midwestern university, has just been informed by his wife Judith that she is leaving him. She has fallen in love with one of his more pompous colleagues, Sy Ableman, who seems to her a more substantial person than the feckless Larry. Larry's unemployable brother Arthur is sleeping on the couch, his son Danny is a discipline problem and a shirker at Hebrew school, and his daughter Sarah is filching money from his wallet in order to save up for a nose job. While his wife and Sy Ableman blithely make new domestic arrangements, and his brother becomes more and more of a burden, an anonymous hostile letter-writer is trying to sabotage Larry's chances for tenure at the university. Also, a graduate student seems to be trying to bribe him for a passing grade while at the same time threatening to sue him for defamation. Plus, the beautiful woman next door torments him by sunbathing nude. Struggling for equilibrium, Larry seeks advice from three different rabbis. Can anyone help him cope with his afflictions and become a righteous person - a mensch - a serious man?

Tony Award nominee Michael Stuhlbarg (The Grey Zone) stars as Larry; Fred Melamed (Suspect) plays Sy; Richard Kind (The Visitor) portrays Arthur; and Minnesota actors Aaron Wolf, Sari Wagner, and Jessica McManus are cast as Danny, Judith, and Sarah, respectively. (taken from Worstpreviews.com)

- The makers of "Disturbia" are being sued for ripping-off "Rear Window."

- "Rambo 5" will be coming to theatres. Maybe if we DIDN'T draw First Blood...

- The makers of Guitar Hero are refusing to let Brett Ratner make a Guitar Hero movie. I got nothin' to say...

- David Hasselhoff will be in "Beverly Hills Ninja 2."

- Disney is creating a new movie around their attraction, "Tomorrowland."

- "Rashomon" is being remade.

- A movie is being based on the PC game, "The Sims."