Bits for the last several days

New reviews are coming, I promise. Look for them over the weekend. In the meantime, permit me to be a complacent arse and catch up on news. There has been a lot, after all.

- John from Cincinnati has indeed been cancelled, a mere day after its finale aired - HBO had obviously made that decision a few weeks before. Milch is clearly still in HBO's good books though - and they in his - as he's already got a new series deal set up there. His next show will be set in the 1970s and follow a Vietnam veteran who becomes a cop, based on the experiences of long-time writing colleague Bill Clark. It's curious that HBO - so reticent about making a cop show before David Simon finally convinced them to make The Wire - is plumbing that well again. I'd wager though that like Deadwood wasn't really a Western, this won't really be a cop show. Just like The Wire too, actually.

What this means for the Deadwood movies is unknown. However, cast member Jim Beaver posted the following earlier this month on alt.tv.deadwood:

"As of a couple of weeks ago, Milch was having talks with HBO about more
Deadwood, in some form or another. I don't know the result of those talks.
I talked to McShane yesterday and he says he keeps HBO constantly updated on
his schedule in order to make sure they know when he's available, and he
said Olyphant does the same thing. Ian said he'd come back "in a
heartbeat." His prediction: It would be very smart of HBO to bring it
back, but who knows?"

It's very encouraging to know that Milch is still interested, and especially that McShane and Olyphant are still passionate about doing more despite their myriad movie work. They're the two key returning players, so let's hope that their interest syncs up with their schedules.

- several new pictures from The Dark Knight leaked today via a Brazillian fan site. Allegedly screencaps from the Wizard World Chicago exclusive trailer (and some quite awkward ones at that), the pictures are fairly interesting but not particularly revealing. We get some good glimpses of Heath Ledger in action, but only footage is going to demonstrate where that performance is going.

At the panel, Gary Oldman piped up by noting that Ledger's performance is extraordinary. Oldman's not the kind of actor to give undeserved kudos, so the word is good. Ledger himself was not there, no doubt to continue to keep the Joker a mystery. Bale, Eckhart, and Christopher Nolan were though, along with writers David Goyer and Christopher Nolan. Bale reportedly received a pandemonium of applause, and the group's efforts clearly made up for their cruddy convention contributions for Begins.

Today's leak, among other things, is evidence of the quite furious hunger fans have to know more about this film. Nolan's take seems to have inspired an unusual kind of passion, even for a comic book film. Plus, Batman seems to be the coolest of the superheroes to younger adults given its darker psychological undertones and greater embrace of the gothic, the bizarre, and the grotesque. And I don't think it's any coincidence that the character has spawned several seminal comic books and graphic novels. For all of Superman's influence, his notable comics have been surprisingly few. Batman, on the other hand, has been built further on further on the strength of individual works rather than the blanket effect of his mere existence.

Anyway, enough of that. Is it me or does Christian Bale look surprisingly thin in these pictures?

- Scarlett Johansson has been cast as the femme fatale in Frank Miller's adaptation of Will Eisner's The Spirit. Combined with Samuel L. Jackson's now-confirmed participation as the villain, this has gone from an esoteric niche project from indie studio Lionsgate to a major Hollywood movie. I'm skeptical about whether the public will embrace such an old-school superhero - The Shadow and The Phantom tanked - but maybe the climate is better for such a film now.

- following their recruitment of Star Trek's George Takei in the first season, Heroes will feature Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) in a recurring role in season two.

- Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard, Underworld) will direct New Line's remake of John Carpenter's Escape from New York, starring 300's Gerard Butler.

- the LA Times has clarified the Comicon implication that Edward Norton has written the Incredible Hulk script. Marvel Films head Kevin Feige explains that writer Zak Penn was unavailable to revise his script when director Louis Leterrier felt it needed more work. Knowing this, Norton offered to do the revisions as part of his deal, no doubt to tailor it more to his sensibilities. Feige claims that Norton is a strong enough writer that he'd work with him in any case. We'll see how it turns out on screen. (The link is to Coming Soon, as LA Times requires registration unavailable outside of America. Credit has been given though, obviously).

- David Slade (Hard Candy, 30 Days of Night) is in talks to direct a new film version of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. Initially announced by MTV as a done deal, Gaiman later clarified on his blog that they are only discussing the project with the director. Still, not a bad choice, if 30 Days of Night ends up delivering the goods.

- and in sad Gaiman news, Stardust has failed at the box office, opening in the fourth spot and being bodyslammed by Rush Hour 3, even when that picture didn't meet expectations either. It may have legs from word of mouth, but general consensus is that Paramount botched the marketing and it didn't have a chance anyway. A real shame, as Stardust looks to be one of the gems of the summer (we have to wait until September in Australia).

I hope this doesn't jeopardise future Gaiman screen adaptations, particularly Death and Me, directed by Gaiman himself from his Death: The High Cost of Living mini-series. With Shia LaBeouf unofficially attached to the co-leading role - he's gone around the studios pitching with Gaiman - it may get greenlit regardless, we hope.

- talking of Stardust, director Matthew Vaughn has been announced as helmer of Marvel Studios' self-financed Thor movie, which has kinda come out of nowhere. Accepted wisdom is that Marvel want to get it shot before the expected Writers' Guild strike next year, with production on Thor beginning at the end of the year from a raved-about script by Mark Protosevich (the upcoming Will Smith vehicle I am Legend).

It would be a shame if, after leaving X-Men 3 because of the insanely rushed schedule, if Vaughn has to endure another one for his next Marvel project. With its vast mythological scope, Thor can't be rushed, although thankfully Protosevich's script is reportedly epic and classy according to AICN's Harry Knowles (although take that with a grain of salt, as Harry is a little unreliable in his tastes these days...)

Shortly thereafter, rumours abounded that Marvel and Vaughn are clashing over casting, with the company wanting wrestler, Blade: Trinity cast member, and frequent fanboy dream pick Triple H in the lead, according to CHUD. Vaughn is understandably reluctant, and IESB reported soon after that new Punisher Ray Stevenson's Rome co-star Kevin McKidd is up for the role. Could this be Vaughn's preferred choice (it's certainly a good one)? Or is the whole thing bollocks? Doesn't Kevin McKidd have a new drama series on next month? With Thor's reported schedule, all should become clear soon enough.

[Hee - in their script review, IESB rates Thor "a Conan the Barbarian out of a possible X-Men 2, or 7 stars out of 10". Sublime.]

- Carla Gugino (Sin City) will play Sally Jupiter, Laurie's mother, in Watchmen. Initially I balked, but then remembered that Sally has quite a few scenes at Gugino's age, so the casting makes sense.

- HBO has ordered a full first season of Alan Ball's vampire drama True Blood, based on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire novel series. It's another odd choice for HBO, given that vampire shows have been done a lot (and continue to be with this year's Moonlight) and they have traditionally offered more offbeat programming. But Alan Ball's name will carry a lot of sway, and it stars Anna Paquin, who I heart, so perhaps this has a shot at non-cancellation. But nothing is safe on HBO anymore.

- in a move that will surprise no-one, a Voltron movie is now in development, although it may not just be due to Transformers. Many fans very tenuously speculated that JJ Abrams' Cloverfield was in fact a Voltron movie, so perhaps this reminded suits about the property. Voltron joins Thundercats and GI Joe as 80s cartoons set for big-screen adaptations. Sigh...

- the remake onslaught continues apace: this time it's Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon. However, this one looks a little bit creative. Shield writer Kurt Sutter will write and direct a modern film noir version of the story called Awaken the Dragon, about a "lone FBI agent who pursues a rogue Shaolin monk into the bloody world of underground martial arts clubs." [Thanks to Coming Soon.]

- Paul Giamatti is thankfully still keen to play Philip K. Dick in the planned biopic, made with the involvement of Dick's children. He says the script is now being written, and he would be absolutely ideal. For the record, Paul Giamatti is one of my absolute favourite actors at the moment. The guy is relatable as all get-out and picks great material.

- The Olive Branch goeth: New Line is back in discussions with Peter Jackson regarding The Hobbit, although things are obviously still far from final. Given New Line's cruddy record post-Rings and head Bob Shaye's shabby reputation in the industry, perhaps he's being pressure to mend fences with Jackson so a potential moneymaking flick isn't scuppered.

- Good God. The Pink Panther 2 not only exists, it's attracted a respectable cast. They've snagged Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Aishwarya Rai, and JOHN BLOODY CLEESE!!! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?!!! JOHN, WHAT THE HELL?!!

- amazing... Jurassic Park IV, with its bizarre gun-toting dinosaur plot, is actually beginning casting from a script by The Departed's William Monahan and indie god John Sayles. Everything about this project is absolutely nuts, with Monahan and Sayles's involvement narrowly taking the prize for most nutty, if only because they came up with that batshit concept in the first place. Laura Dern is rumoured to return, but not Sam Neill.

- after Rosario Dawson was forced to bolt the role written for her in Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Jason Bateman may be in talks for the Zack role. Hopefully the sublime Bateman can restore a bit of wit and charm to Smith's work.

- Unlikely Rumour Alert: Katie Holmes may be pursuing the lead in Wonder Woman because - get this - Tom Cruise is in Germany filming Valkyrie and thus unable to muscle his way into determining her career choices. Groan... Since the project is in the next best thing to turnaround after they booted Joss Whedon, I doubt they'd be thinking about casting just yet, and certainly not a Tabloid Bullshit magnet like Katie Holmes.

- Roland Emmerich will helm a remake (but of course) of 1966 sci-fi cheeseball flick Fantastic Voyage. Wasn't it already remade as Innerspace? But hell, that was the 80s, and as The Hitcher proved, that decade has now had its remake guard rails taken away. Some sanity has prevailed as the 90s thankfully still have theirs.

- there's a rumour going around that Alex Proyas will direct the Doctor Strange movie that Marvel is quietly shopping around. I'm afraid I can't remember the source - my apologies. It does make sense though, as the talented Proyas has no projects on the horizon and was allegedly courted for the Silver Surfer, but refused to work for Fox again after his painful experiences with chief Tom Rothman on I, Robot. But Dr. Strange, if memory serves, is part of Marvel's self-financed stable, so he wouldn't have to worry about Fox or any other major studio. He's a great choice for that particular property too.

- British variant Action Man is being included in the mooted GI Joe film for maximum international interest, and IESB reports that Jason Statham is being mulled to play him, of course. This is in addition to the producers approaching Mark Wahlberg some months back for the main role. Time will tell.

- [Wow, I should read IESB more often, despite accusations that it's just a shill for Fox. They end their script review of Y: The Last Man with the following:

"I give this film a The Stand - missing Blue Oyster Cult's song "Don't Fear the Reaper" out of a possible The Stand with "Don't Fear the Reaper" with more cowbell and no John Landis cameo, or 9 stars out of 10. "

Delightful!!]

- Richard Belzer has achieved something oddly impressive by carrying his John Munch character from Homicide: Life on the Street to a total of nine television series, namely Law and Order, Law and Order: Trial by Jury, The X-Files, The Simpsons, Arrested Development, The Beat, Sesame Street, and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, on which he has been a regular since the show began. Anyway, he's now adding a tenth by appearing in the fifth season of The Wire, back in the Baltimore stomping ground of Munch's first show, which was based on Wire creator David Simon's book Homicide. Full circle.

Nice an' all, but I'm shocked that Simon has agreed to this having been so dedicated to The Wire's separation from TV's frequently commercially motivated intertextuality and self-reflexivity to the point where he's made the gag reel verboten until the final season's DVD. That he would allow a character from myriad other shows to cameo on The Wire's intensively constructed, meticulous world seems baffling, and will appear very jarring even if Munch only appears for a scene. Harmless, but weird.

Whew. That's it for now. I hope you are massively enlightened and otherwise spent. Look for reviews of Inland Empire and Amazing Grace this weekend.