The Addams Family is headed back to the big screen … but in a way it’s for the first time.

Everyone is familiar with the 1960’s television series and the two 1990’s movies, but those weren’t the true Addams Family.  Both properties were based off of cartoons drawn by Charles Addams for The New Yorker, and while the characters were all the same, they were different at the same time.

The original comics were more about an extended nuclear family that just happened to have a morbid and dark bent to them.  They were classic and mesmerizing, and it’s easy to understand how they metamorphosed into the versions we are more familiar with, but nothing has ever quite approached the tone of the originals.

All of that is about to change thanks to film director Tim Burton.

It has been announced that Mr. Burton will be directing a 3-D stop-motion version of the comic strips as one of his upcoming projects.  (Lets get it out of the way, Johnny Depp will be Gomez, Helena Bonham Carter will be Morticia and Danny Elfman will do the music … no, none of this has been announced, but, come on, it’s Burton)  It is not known when this film will be released, but seeing as it is stop-motion it will have a rather lengthy productions schedule.

Mr. Burton has a history with stop motion having done The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride, so he knows what he’s doing, and he creates some amazing looking work.  Will he be able to stick close enough to the source material without infusing too much of his own sensibilities?  True, his concepts are historically close to that of Charles Addams, but it would be preferable to have this stick exactly.  Luckily Mr. Addams’ foundation is listed as an executive producer on the project, so hopefully they will keep it faithful.

Can’t wait to see how this turns out!

Ah, those lovable rapscallions at the Westboro Baptist Church are back for another round, but this time they are taking on someone who won’t just ignore them.

On March 27th Kevin Smith, director of such films as Clerks, Dogma, Cop Out and more, will be giving one of his talks in Kansas City.  You can’t exactly call them “lectures” as they are more just him telling stories about the more insane things that happen in his life.  Well, apparently since he will be in the “neighborhood”, Fred Phelps and his band of loons will be making an appearance at the show … for a whole 45-minutes.

(apologies for the language it contains)

Mr. Smith, never being one to shy away from controversy, has spent most of the day taunting them via his Twitter account.  Or more specifically he has been exchanging barbs with Megan Phelps-Roper, a member of the church who sounds like she is related, but I can’t find the connection on Fred Phelps Wikipedia page.

As I’ve said before when this “church” tried to say that Santa was going to take you to Hell, and they were going off to protest a Lady Gaga concert, I just simply don’t get these people.  Do they honestly crave attention this much?  They know that people view them as idiots, and yet they appear to revel in this fact.  Reading Ms. Phelps-Roper’s Twitter stream, you can tell she is ecstatic that Mr. Smith is mocking her.

If you are a devout follower of the Bible it does say you should spread the word of the Lord, but does it have a passage I missed that said something about “act completely insane while doing it, and make sure to be as offensive as possible”?  I mean, I’ve spent my time in church, I’ve read the Bible, somehow I think I missed that passage.

I suppose to each their own, but I can think of much better things to do with my time than to be a national laughing stock that most people consider to be mentally unstable.

If all of the rumors are to be believed, things could be definitely looking up for Conan O’Brien.

Since Conan O’Brien left The Tonight Show, his future has been looking uncertain.  There has been no word on him getting a new talk show, and the only bright spot for him seemed to be his upcoming stage tour that was announced last week.

Well things have definitely started to swirl around the goofy late night show host.  It seems the rumors that the Fox network was interested in him are proving to be true.  According to the Los Angeles Times, top Fox executives, including network owner Rupert Murdoch, are open to bringing the gunny man to their late night time slot.  There are some hurdles still, such as Mr. O’Brien was working with a $90 million a year budget at NBC, but Fox would like to bring it in under $60 million a year.

There is also some question about where it would film, although NBC is willing to lease his just vacated stage to him, supposedly some of his staff have been scouting other sound stages over the past two weeks.

Apparently Fox would like to wrap this up prior to May 17th when the network will announce its new schedule, but the talks could still fall apart due to the early stages they are in.

As for “The Legally Prohibited From Being Funny On Television Tour”, apparently there is some talk of it being turned in to a concert film.  Media Rights Capital has apparently already come forward to talk about financing it, and it is unclear if film crews would follow the entire 30-city tour, or if it would just be a film of one performance.

It looks like leaving NBC may turn out to be one of the best things Conan has ever done in his career.  Reduced money or not, it sure has built him an even larger legion of fans.

All I can say is that this at least looks better than the two Aliens Vs. Predator movies … course, that isn’t saying much.

The Predator franchise had two good movies (throw rocks if you must, but I did actually enjoy the second film), then it hit the skids with two just absolutely awful Aliens Vs. Predator films.  The concept was a great one, but the scripts were just awful.

Now, Robert Rodriguez, the director of such films as Desperado, Sin City, Planet Terror and many more, has come on board with a totally new film called Predators.  The film doesn’t erase all of the other films from existence, it just doesn’t acknowledge them, and there really is no need to.  The basic concepts are there, so there is really no reason for those other films to have to be talked about.

The concept this time around appears to be that the Predators have been kidnapping dangerous individuals from Earth and taking them to a game preserve planet for hunts.  The cast is a fascinating one with people such as Topher Grace (That 70’s Show), Adrien Brody (Oscar winner for The Pianist), Laurence Fishburne (Matrix series, CSI) and several more.

The film is due for release July 9th, and while the hunter/prey concept is a fairly basic one, the talent involved in this one gives me a lot of hope for this film to be one of the highlights of this summer movie season.

Enjoy your first look and … is that a Predator pet?!?

The first full trailer for Tron Legacy has hit and … things have changed in the digital world.

We’ve already had a teaser trailer that gave us a taste of what to expect from the second Tron film, but this one gives us a bit of insight into the actual plot this time around.  If you’ve been around the Web at all, you already knew the basics, but this footage confirms it.  We still have no idea why Flynn disappeared into the digital world, but I’m not sure any of us really care … just bring on the digital world!

The only thing that worries me?  White-haired guy with a cane?  I believe he is the “night club owner” we’ve heard rumblings about … a night club … in the computer world … why?  I mean, I know it’s supposed to be a world separate from ours, but alike in some ways, but do we really need a night club scene?

Oh well, here it is, enjoy folks.  (we have to wait until December?!?)

The second Iron Man 2 trailer premiered tonight on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and I have to say that with each additional frame of film from this movie, I’m getting more excited.

I really enjoyed the first film, and while I have had some concerns over the number of characters in this second outing, it appears that Jon Favreau, the director of both films, might just be able to make it work.  The film “looks” spectacular, and Robert Downey Jr. just looks like he has so much fun playing this role that it borders on being infectious.

Here’s hoping the usual comic book film jinx of the second film not working as well as the first doesn’t follow this franchise.  If it’s anywhere as good as the first, I’ll anxiously be awaiting the planned third film.

Oh, and the armor at the end?  GEEKGASM!  (I don’t want to spoil it, but it is right out of the comics)

You can see the first Iron Man trailer here.

The  82nd annual Academy Awards have been announced.

The awards aired this evening with hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.

The tally for Oscars for each film:

• Avatar – 3
• The Blind Side – 1
• The Cove – 1
• Crazy Heart – 2
• El Secreto de Sus Ojos – 1
• The Hurt Locker – 6
• Inglourious Basterds – 1
• Logorama – 1
• Music by Prudence – 1
• The New Tenants – 1
• Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire – 2
• Star Trek – 1
• Up – 2
• The Young Victoria – 1

Best Motion Picture of The Year

“The Hurt Locker” A Voltage Pictures Production (Summit Entertainment)

Achievement In Directing

Kathryn Bigelow – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role

Jeff Bridges in “Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance By An Actress In A Leading Role

Sandra Bullock in “The Blind Side” (Warner Bros.)

Performance By An Actor In A Supporting Role

Christoph Waltz in “Inglourious Basterds” (The Weinstein Company)

Performance By An Actress In A Supporting Role

Mo’Nique in “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Best Animated Feature Film Of The Year

“Up” (Walt Disney) Pete Docter

Adapted Screenplay

Geoffrey Fletcher – “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” (Lionsgate)

Original Screenplay

Mark Boal – “The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment)

Achievement In Cinematography

“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Mauro Fiore

Achievement In Costume Design

“The Young Victoria” (Apparition) Sandy Powell

Best Documentary Feature

“The Cove” An Oceanic Preservation Society Production
(Roadside Attractions)

Best Documentary Short Subject

“Music by Prudence” An iThemba Production
Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett

Achievement In Film Editing

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Bob Murawski and Chris Innis

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

“El Secreto de Sus Ojos” A Haddock Films Production Argentina (Sony Pictures Classics)

Achievement In Makeup

“Star Trek” (Paramount and Spyglass Entertainment) Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original score)

“Up” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino

Achievement In Music Written For Motion Pictures (Original song)

“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)”
“Crazy Heart” (Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

Best Animated Short Film

“Logorama” An Autour de Minuit Production
Nicolas Schmerkin
(Autour de Minuit)

Best Live Action Short Film

“The New Tenants” A Park Pictures and M & M Production
Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson

Achievement In Sound Editing

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson

Achievement In Sound Mixing

“The Hurt Locker” (Summit Entertainment) Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett

Achievement In Visual Effects

“Avatar” (20th Century Fox) Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones

Art Direction

“Avatar” Art Direction: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg; Set Decoration: Kim Sinclair

You can look back at all the Oscar Nominations 2010.

Apparently no one has a sense of humor any more.

TMZ is reporting (wow … do those two words belong together?) that some students are failing to find the humor in the Admiral Ackbar for Ole Miss mascot joke.  Apparently some students have proclaimed they will leave the school if the Star Wars character becomes the school mascot, while parents of potential future students are saying they would send their children to the school.

Despite the online support for this, does anyone really think that a university is going to let a copyrighted character they don’t own become the mascot?  There is a very simple reason this will never happen: money.

First, the school would have to pay a licensing fee to Lucasfilm to use the Admiral’s likeness.  Schools don’t typically like giving up money for such things, so it is highly unlikely Ole Miss is going to want to shell out the kind of dough George Lucas would want.

Secondly is the sale of mascot related merchandise.  Ole Miss would have to pay a royalty on every item sold with Ackbar’s likeness on it.  Hoodies, cup holders, shirts, mouse pads, plush toys, all the chotskies that a school normally sells.  Currently schools get all that money, do you think they really will want to split that cash cow with some Hollywood film director?  Nope.

The only positive in all of this is the sales to die-hard fans of the films would suddenly be really interested in the university and everything they sell with the character on it, but would that make up for the royalties and potential lost tuition fees?  Doubtful.

Folks, this is a joke.  No one honestly believes a fish creature from a 1980’s movie is going to become the mascot for Ole Miss.  You are all getting worked up over a student joke.  Back in the 1990’s I worked on an alternative college newspaper, and while the school was taking votes to change its name from Northeast Missouri State University to something else (it eventually became Truman State University), we were pushing for “Missouri State University at Kirksville” … or MSUK.  It amazed me back then how many people took that seriously.  ”Well, we’re trying to get away from sounding regional …” our reply was “How does MSUK sound regional?”, hoping they would finally get the joke … they didn’t.

So, please, everyone just chill out and enjoy the humor for crying out loud.

The next Superman movie just got a hole lot more interesting with the announcement that it will be written by one of the men behind the current Batman films.

According to Variety, David S. Goyer co-writer on The Dark Knight has signed on to script the next Superman film, currently titled, The Man of Steel.

As I reported recently, Christopher Nolan, the director behind Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, has been brought on to the new Superman movie in a “godfather” type role to oversee the production and make sure that there is no repeat of 2006’s Superman Returns.  Apparently Mr. Goyer’s plan is to skip the origin story, and plans to assume the audience is familiar with Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olson Perry White and so on.  I’m thrilled by this decision because the idea of rebooting from step 1 again was going to drive me nuts.

Supposedly there will be two villains this time out: Lex Luthor and Brainiac.  There will also be an establishing a grander Kryptonian mythos, which depending on what version of Brainiac they are working with, it makes total sense.

To me this makes a lot of sense because what the Superman movies have lacked is a credible villain that could trade blow with the Man of Steel.  Brainiac, while a computer essentially, has super strength and can get in a physical fight with Superman.  It’s about time.

There is currently no scheduled release date, but things do appear to be underway, and some people are estimating 2012 for the release.

It’s nice to see DC Comics finally getting their movie act together.  Green Lantern is in pre-production, Batman 3 is being scripted and now Superman.  All we need is Wonder Woman to finish off the mainline DC heroes.

It seems that Ole Miss needs a new mascot, and nothing says “mascot” like a giant walking fish from the Star Wars movies.

In the third Star Wars film, Return of the Jedi, we were introduced to a member of the Mon Calamari race named Admiral Ackbar. He was the supreme commander of the Rebel fleet that was tasked with taking out the second Death Star.  While he had a few lines, the most memorable, and unintentionally hilarious, one was when he yelled, “It’s a trap!” in reference to super laser being operational on the battle station.

Over the years the dear Admiral has risen to cult status and been featured in numerous Internet videos and jokes.  For what amounted to a third rate character in a film, he’s had a good life.

Now Ole Miss university (The University of Mississippi) is need of a new mascot.  In 2006 the school had to get rid of Ole Reb due to outcries over the Confederate implications, and since then the school has been without a mascot.  Yesterday the school held an election to see if the school or the students should name the new mascot, and the students won.

This is where dear ole Fish Face enters the picture.

It seems there is a group of students that have proposed that Admiral Ackbar be the new mascot, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s looking like he’s picking up a lot of support.  There’s even a website at NotATrap.org to promote the movement.  You can also find a Facebook fan page and Twitter account promoting the Admiral to school mascot.

While all of this is cute to be sure, one important factor is missing: Has anyone has contacted Lucasfilm about the rights to using one of its characters in such a way?  I’ve reached out to both Lucasfilm and the students behind the movement about this to see if either had comment.  Lucasfilm did not have a clarification for me by post time, and nothing has been heard from the students as of yet.  I will be following up with both as time permits.

In another entry from the files of “Movie Remakes That Don’t Need To Happen”, it looks like Escape From New York is the next film to get the treatment.

New Line Cinema is moving ahead with its remake of the 1981 cult classic Escape From New York according to New York Magazine.  The original John Carpenter film starred Kurt Russell as a former soldier-turned-criminal named Snake Plissken that has been sentenced to life imprisonment in New York City.  The island of Manhattan had been walled off after the crime rate had jumped 400 percent, the bridges mined and there was one simple rule: once you go in, you never come out.

As luck would have it, just as Snake was to go in, Air Force One was brought down by terrorists, and the President was trapped inside the city when his escape pod landed there.  Snake is given 24 hours to get him out, and if he succeeds he would receive a pardon.  To keep him in line, microscopic bombs are placed in his neck that will detonate if he doesn’t make it back in time.

In short, it was a kick-ass action film.  And fans just try to forget the sequel, Escape From L.A. ever happened.

New Line Cinema has been trying to get a remake  off the ground for some time now, but the script never worked.  Now they have brought in Allan Loeb (21, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) to rework it, and according to the original report’s sources, “Loeb nailed the humor in Plissken without slipping into camp, and he changed Snake’s rescue-mission target from a president to a female senator, thereby upping the banter quotient.”

The other issue was the economic question of making New York City look rundown.  The company has decided to go with a similar look to what was seen in I Am Legend which means a lot less set dressing than was seen in the original.  (Fun Fact: A lot of post-war New York from the original was shot in downtown St. Louis … says a lot for that city)

Apparently before John Carpenter would sign over the rights, he had a couple of stipulations: that Plissken “must be called ‘Snake’”; “must wear an eye patch”; and that he would — and we’re not making this up — “always be a ‘bad-ass.’”

No word yet on who will be playing Snake, nor who will direct it.  Whomever ends up in the title role has some mighty large boots to fill to come close to the coolness factor of Russell in the original.

At long last some official word has come out on the state of Batman 3, and as a bonus, also on a new Superman movie.

Nikki Finke is reporting that Warner Brothers has asked Christopher Nolan, the director of Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, to step into a “godfather” role in regards to what is being dubbed Superman 3.0 (not an official name).  While it is unlikely that Mr. Nolan will direct, he will be taking on a supervisor role with the production to help possible steer it in a direction that will be more palatable to fans than 2006’s Superman Returns was.  (For the record, I enjoyed Superman Returns)  The new film is expected to be a complete reboot of the franchise, which means, yes, we will once again go though his ship crash landing in Kansas.

Warner Brothers is in a bit of a bind as they must start production on a new Superman film by 2011 to retain the rights to the character.  If the company should let them lapse, the heirs of Superman creators Siegel and Shuster can sue for damages for lost income.  And in 2013, all rights to Superman’s origin revert to the estates of the two creators, so both DC Comics and Warner Brothers will be in a position where they must license every aspect of Superman from the families of the original creators.

The other exciting bit of news is that Mr. Nolan’s brother, Jonah Nolan, and David Goyer who co-wrote Batman Begins and penned the story for The Dark Knight have begun scripting the third installment of the current Batman series of films. After the unfortunate death of Heath Ledger, rumors have swirled that Nolan was not interested in doing a third film as apparently his story hinged on the involvement of the Joker. After Ledger’s death, Nolan didn’t even want to think about recasting the part, which Ledger won an Oscar for, but apparently the story has been altered enough to not require the Joker.

Both films are far enough out from production that no possible story lines have yet been mentioned.  Official announcements of both productions are expected within the coming weeks.