In order from most to least coollness:
Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel) announced that he’s almost finished the script for a big screen version of the cancelled before its time TV show Firefly. No studio deal yet, and Whedon is insisting that he will only make the film if the original cast signs on.
Cheech and Chong are coming back. Twenty years older, but they’re going to revive the classic pothead characters that made them so famous back in the 1970s and ’80s. Could be just the entertainment we’ll need after two more years of the GWB posse. Marin and Chong will write the script after making a deal with New Line Cinema based on a storyline proposal and film it next year after Marin finishes production of his upcoming Fox TV series The Ortegas.
In the unnecessary remake category, add a version of the Michael Caine classic Alfie. Nia Long has signed to play opposite Jude Law (who’ll play the womanizing titular role) for director Charles Shyer, whose other credits include the Steve Martin/Diane Keaton remake of Father of the Bride and its sequel.
And in the desecrating our fond memories with remakes category, add The Longest Yard, which Paramount Studios is thinking of updating by partnering with Viacom corporate sibling MTV Studios. Just imagine the Burt Reynolds prison football classic, one of the best films he ever made, remade in the image of Varsity Blues! Sad, just sad.
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