Rumors floated around like Slimer that Ghostbusters was being renewed by Seth Rogen and Judd Apatow’s clan. Both Rogen and Apatow denied the story, but turns out there was at least some truth to the matter. Ghostbusters is in fact being revived, just not by funnyman Apatow. Not yet at least.

E! went straight to the source, Dan Aykroyd, to get details:

“Two sharp young writers in Hollywood are reported to be writing the sequel, the third movie now. If I could interest Seth [Rogen] and Judd [Apatow] to be part of it, that would certainly be a dream.”

Awesome. I loved Ghostbusters, but who didn’t? The tough call here is whether or not G3 should be a sequel or a complete reboot that are so popular these days. I’d rather see a sequel with a next-gen team of ghost hunters. There’s just no way you could remake Bill Murray’s Peter Venkman. Not gonna happen.

Update: THR snagged the names of the two anonymous writers Aykroyd referenced:

Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg.

The studio has recruited “The Office” writer-producers to work on a new installment of the 1980s franchise that starred Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson and Harold Ramis as bumbling ghost-hunting scientists.

The original filmmakers, including director Ivan Reitman, and cast are aware of the project and involved in its development. Some original cast members might be involved, but the focus will be on a new cast of Ghostbusters.

Sweet! Just what I wanted to hear about G3.

Check out the video of the interview below:

Source: E! via FSR

I like the mystery of not knowing exactly what’s going into my dinner. Hot dogs? Don’t tell me. Hot Pockets? Don’t tell me. Iron Chef Japan Outrageous Ingredients? Definitely don’t tell me.

Starting Monday (9/8), Iron Chef Japan will become a little more “shocking” by featuring an entire week devoted to sharing some never-before-cooked dishes.

Tune in to the Fine Living Network every day at 8pm and then again at 11pm and watch as the Iron Chefs use unusual ingredients to produce some creative concoctions, including Shark Fin Stew and Cabbage and Eel Salad.

I think I’ll stick to my Hot Pockets, thank you very much!

You can find more details on Iron Chef Japan at Fine Living.

Damon Lindelof, the executive producer of “Lost” and the upcoming reboot of Star Trek, has optioned the rights along with JJ Abrams to Stephen King’s opus, “The Dark Tower”. King gave them the rights for just $19 (nineteen has special significance in the seven novel series) last summer, but little had been heard on the topic since. In an interview with AMC, Lindelof gave an update:

The Dark Tower is to me every bit as daunting an adaptation as the Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been for Peter Jackson, except we’ve got seven books we’re looking at. And the idea of doing that at the same time Carlton and I are bringing Lost to a close is simply not viable. There are always Dark Tower conversations, but the figuring out of what this will look like as a movie has not begun. If The Dark Tower were in the right hands, I would love to see seven movies executed just right. But you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second one.

Not exactly what I was hoping to hear, but on the other hand I’m relieved that he’ll wait until he can focus his energy on Roland and his quest. There are three more partial seasons of Lost remaining so those should be over soon, but what sort of impact will Star Trek’s revival have? I imagine the Enterprise will bring in the big bucks and immediately demand a follow-on project. Hopefully Lindelof and Abrams won’t keep us waiting too many more years.

Source: AMC via /film

Good news for Watchmen fans. Fox was aiming for a court hearing late in the summer to resolve rights to the pending blockbuster which would have delayed Warner Bros.’ planned March 2009 release for Watchmen. Luckily that won’t be the case. Los Angeles federal judge Gary Allen Feess has announced the trial will take place starting January 6, 2009. Here’s to hoping for a quick resolve! We’ll be watching…

Check out this video for some good Watchmen / Team America crossover humor.

I was a big fan of the Ghost Rider comics. Yes, even the original series, not just the refresh. But when it came time for the big screen adaptation I skipped it. Thanks a lot, Nic Cage. Cage was simply the wrong casting for Johnny Blaze and I wasn’t going to have anything to do with it. Looks like enough people made it worth their while though.

In a recent interview with MTV, Cage revealed the ongoing plans for a revival of the hell-rider with Ghost Rider 2. No big steps have been made, such as picking a villain or even narrowing down the plot, but they’ve got some ideas.

“There have been talks and good ones with where to go with the character,” explained Cage. “It looks like it will take place in Europe and the character will work with the [Catholic] Church. It’ll be a completely new experience. It’s exciting.”

The Hell-Rider in cahoots with the Vatican? Seriously? Anyone interested in seeing where Cage will take Blaze next?

Mark Millar, the comic writer who brought you this summer’s Wanted, is doing a bit of “wanting” of his own. This time he’s got his eyes on the alleged Superman reboot now that Warner Bros. plans to kick Superman Returns’ director Bryan Singer to the curb. Millar wouldn’t be directing, but he just might be asked to come in and write the story. According to him, he’s up to he challenge and even has some big ideas:

“I’ve had this plan for like 10 years for a big three-picture Superman thing, like a big Lord of the Rings epic, starting over from scratch again with a seven-hour Superman story. And hopefully release them one year after another,” continued Millar. “If it works out, we’ll have to start shooting next summer.”

I’m all for a whole new Superman story. Superman is the original comic book legend and he deserves a big story to match suit. How Warner Bros. went so wrong in the last reboot is beyond me, but I hated Superman Returns. Everything about it felt wrong. Well, almost everything. I actually didn’t think Brandon Routh was bad at all. I’d be happy to see him return as long as they dropped every other person involved in the original and go with a whole new storyline.

What do you think? Should they get a new Superman to wear the tights?

Source: /film

In a world of movie trailers, there was one voice that could save us all… Don LaFontaine.

Yesterday, Don LaFontaine, 68, passed away leaving millions of movie goers without a guide. The name might not strike you, but you know the voice a hundred times over. He’s that voice. The voice of movie trailers everywhere.

LaFontaine, known as the “King of Voiceovers,” died Monday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. LaFontaine’s agent, Vanessa Gilbert, tells ET that he passed away following complications from Pneumothorax, the presence of air or gas in the pleural cavity, the result of a collapsed lung. The official cause of death has not yet been released.

The video below is a great narrative of how Don fell into his legendary role quite by accident. I had no idea just how much industry experience this man had behind him before moving into voiceovers. Give it a watch:

Source: ET

Now this is disappointing. I love a good sci-fi flick featuring a sleek futuristic landscape. So “Babylon A.D.” made an appealing attraction for me up until this evening. After reading how the director, Kassovitz, hates his own movie so much I was a bit concerned. Then I saw this:

Yes, that’s right. 0% approval rating. Oh well, so much for that idea.

Who didn’t see this coming? The attention starved Denise Richards has lost the show she went to court over the objections of her ex-husband, Charlie Sheen, to secure. “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated” has been canceled. Too bad.

E! has pink-slipped Denise Richards’ reality show. `Richards, who went to court last year to fight ex-husband Charlie Sheen for rights to have their children appear on the show “It’s Complicated,” turned out to be a less-than-stellar reality star.
“The numbers started out pretty good – just over 1.5 million tuned in for the premiere episode,” a source told “The Insider” yesterday. “But the audience has dropped off. “

I guess McHale won’t get all of his chances to make his jokes on The Soup anymore.

After delaying production of “Transformers 2” for days due to his drunk driving mishap, Shia LaBeouf is back on the set and showing off his damage. Michael Bay told us he’d be writing the hand injury into the story and it appears he did just that. Looks like he even went beyond that with a serious set of burns across Shia’s chest. Ouch!

Just Jared has more photos, check ’em out.