I feel like I have this long checklist of cast and crew that we're slowly crossing off for this theoretical film. Now, you can put Bryce Dallas Howard on the "would sign tomorrow" list, thanks to MTV. "I would love to be apart of any continuation of the franchise. But, I also really understand that there's so many different story lines that the fans are really excited to see, and the studio, and the producers, and the filmmakers really need to appease everyone," the actress said. "Whether or not Gwen Stacy comes back, I mean, I wish it was up to me, but it's not. But yes, if they'd call me, I'd be there in a heart beat."

I'm not sure how they can really fit Gwen Stacy in -- is there a point in having a romantic rival when Spider-Man is never ever going to leave Mary Jane onscreen? I remember when we all thought (or maybe it was just my corner of the Internet) that they would reverse comic book history, and kill off Mary Jane and hook Mr. Parker up with Gwen. (If House of M is to be believed, and it probably isn't, that's who he really wanted anyway.) Is there even any emotional impact if they kill off Captain George Stacy in a fourth film, as James Cromwell once said they planned on doing? Is the subplot of "I'm really sorry your dad died, my one-time love interest" really worth exploring? I could probably think more clearly if I could get the breakdancing scene out of my head.

Of course, this is all idle speculation when no official announcements have been made. And as for Sam Raimi he's now playing coy with MTV about returning to the director's chair, and says he wants to wear the Spidey suit instead. That's one way to cut the budget.

I can't help but feel bad for Garth Ennis because it seems like lately, the guy can't catch a break. It was bad enough that the long-awaited adaption of his controversial series Preacher was shelved at HBO; but this is just adding insult to injury. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Columbia Pictures has hired Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay to adapt Ennis' anti-superhero comic, The Boys. Back in February, Elisabeth gave us the heads up that Columbia had picked up the property in the 'spirit' of looking for some titles that could give Watchmen a run for their money on the topic of superhero subversion.

Originally published in 2006, The Boys was created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The story was "set in a contemporary world very much similar to real one, with one notable exception: a number of people have some form of superpower. The series follows a superpowered CIA squad, known informally as "the Boys", whose job it is to keep watch on superheroes and, if necessary, intimidate or kill them."

So you might be wondering why the addition of Manfredi and Hay isn't good news. I mean everyone likes a comic book movie, right? Well, a quick glance at their collective resumes solves that mystery. Between the two of them, they have created some truly awful scripts (notably, The Tuxedo and crazy/beautiful). Hopefully the two have been brushing up on their 'superhero skills' by finishing their adaptation of R.I.P.D. for Universal. If not, I can't imagine that fans of the dark and violent world of The Boys will be pleased.

[Thanks: Comics2Film]

Call me skeptical, but I'm willing to sustain myself entirely on a diet of my own words if writer Aaron Sorkin and producer Scott Rudin can actually manage to make something entertaining out of a film about the formation of social networking site Facebook and the success of its founders, as Variety reports they are working on over at Sony.

Honestly, what can an Oscar-winning producer and an oft-acclaimed scribe do with a rags-to-riches arc and the sight of two guys tapping away at computers and taking meetings? Sure, at least Sorkin and Rudin are two talented guys in their own right, but I'm really missing whatever inherent, original, exceedingly relevant drama they might see in this project. Killing time at work on Facebook is one thing; this is something else.

On the one hand, I'd like to see this fall through, and on the other, I'd only be rewarded with a good flick if proven wrong. Regardless, here's what appears to be the official Facebook group of the whole shebang, and if any of you guys get wind of a Fox-backed MySpace project with a title like Major Tom or something, be a pal and pass it on.

When two guys with a dozen episodes of The Office and an upcoming Judd Apatow project between them (that'd be next summer's biblical comedy Year One), I'd be willing to see what else they've got up their combined sleeve. For Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, that sleeve is home to Bad Teacher, the spec script that Columbia just picked up.

According to Variety, the story concerns "a foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher who's dumped by her sugar-daddy boyfriend and turns her attention toward a colleague. That pits her against a rival who happens to be the school's model teacher." So at the risk of sounding shallow, it sounds like the Bad Santa of all those inspirational teacher movies that Dana Marschz would hold dear -- the prospect of which, by the way, I'm totally down for.

Now, what's going to be most critical here is the casting. At the moment, it's hard for me to not recommend Anna Faris for just about any part, although it'd be interesting to see her take on something a little more crass. What do you guys think? Who would you believe could not only land a job as a teacher, but then keep it in spite of harassing students (in the name of comedy, mind you)?

In what appears to be part of a most thorough campaign to botch Entertainment Weekly's Fall Movie Preview, a recent press release wholly admits that the North American opening of the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, back from November 7th to the 14th marks an effort to capitalize on last week's sudden Harry Potter shift.

Although the removal of the 007th from any coming marketing blitz sure is a shame, it does place this film closer to the release of its predecessor, Casino Royale, which opened on November 17, 2006 to the tune of almost $600 million worldwide. Solace will still premiere in the United Kingdom on October 31.

For those keeping track at home, this now leaves Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and the just now shifted Paul Rudd comedy Role Models on November 7th, and the 14th is now between Bond, Baz Luhrmann's epic drama Australia, and Bernie Mac's final film, Soul Men.

Now, think fast! When does Something of Boris open again?!

Of all the freakin' horror remake outrages, this one might take the cake. Candyman, the freakishly original 'Chicago projects urban legend' flick based on a Clive Barker story, might be remade by Sony with a Caucasian in the title role, according to Shock Til You Drop. The site says that Sony and the unidentified rights holder are in "early talks," with one idea being to change Candyman's skin color from black to white.

I know this is not confirmed, and many stupid ideas are undoubtedly floated in early conversations, but this is wrong on so many levels I'm left speechless. At the most basic level, it begs the question: has anyone contemplating the remake actually watched Bernard Rose's frightening original? In the movie, Candyman (the great Tony Todd) was the son of a slave who "suffered a hideous and unjust death," as Ryan Stewart described in his Retro Cinema appreciation. An urban legend developed around him in the notorious crime-infested Cabrini-Green housing project: say his name multiple times in front of a mirror and he appears. Virginia Madsen, as a sociology grad student, investigates, calls him back to life, and wishes she had stayed in the classroom.

Two sequels, which I haven't seen, followed Candyman to New Orleans and Los Angeles, but Chicago is where he belongs. The Cabrini-Green high-rise projects have been torn down and redevelopment is taking place -- that's your story, the horror of modern redevelopment. If you want to add a political edge, tie in the outcome of the Presidential election. But please, Sony, don't make Candyman a Caucasian.

As far as hustling movie producer archetypes go, I tend to prefer Joel Silver over Harvey Weinstein. Sure, Weinstein played a role in some of the great American independent films from the last decade of the twentieth century, but Silver's production credits have more spice to them -- The Matrix, Predator, 48 Hrs. -- hinting at the zany force behind their existence. The movies he has produced don't always please everyone (consider those last two Matrix movies), and sometimes his productions run into unforeseeable setbacks (Joss Whedon's troublesome Wonder Woman script). But now, Silver's trying a radical maneuver that reaffirms his maverick abilities: He's shopping around Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, which tells the story of a drama surrounding a stolen painting and stars Gerard Butler, to other studios despite the plan to release it through Warner Bros. in October.

According to Patrick Goldstein in The Los Angeles Times, Silver said he showed the movie to Lionsgate and Sony Pictures to get some advice on how to market the film. However, when Goldstein asked Warner Bros.' top executive Alan Horn about the situation, Horn called the movie "very English," not "broadly commercial," and said the studio "might not be willing to spend the marketing money he wants us to." So it follows that Silver probably wants to sell the movie to somebody else.

This kind of thing has happened before. Jonathan Levine's teen horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was set for a release through The Weinstein Company, but when it was determined that the distributor might not provide the best home for the film, it went to the more agreeable Senator Films (although Senator has yet to release it). What troubles me is Horn's assertion that RocknRolla is "very English." Yeah ... so?

Usually when a harebrained idea like remaking Flash Gordon starts to make the rounds, you can usually count on it being at least a few years down the line -- but I guess today I'm just not that lucky. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless have now signed to pen the update of the classic sci-fi tale with Sahara director Breck Eisner at the helm. Eisner signed to direct last May, and with the addition of the screenwriting duo, it could mean the project just entered the fast track. Sazama and Sharpless have had a busy 2008, and were already hard at work on scripting duties for Alex Proya's Dracula Year Zero and Zack Snyder's Cobalt 60 when the Flash deal finalized.

For those of you out there not familiar with the Depression-era hero, Flash Gordon centered on a dashing polo player who is abducted and taken to the faraway planet Mongo. Along with his gal-pal *Gail and scientist Hans Zarkov, Flash lands in the middle of a battle with the dreaded Ming the Merciless (possibly one of the best villain names around). Originally, Universal was holding the rights to the title, but when the project fell through, the rights reverted to King Features Syndicate and eventually found a home at Sony.

This latest incarnation of the adventurer/polo player will mark the third time the classic comic strip has had a home on the big screen (including the original serial). Now that Hollywood is mining the comic book store at a furious pace, the third time could be a charm for Flash.

But it's going to be pretty hard to top Dino DeLaurentiis' psychedelic trip of a film back in 1980 -- don't ya think?

*Correction: Apologies to all the Flash fans out there; Flash's better half was Dale Arden.

Okay, try and stay with me on this: it's a movie about six children who are genetically engineered to fly. Now, what if said kids escaped from those experimenting on them and were subsequently pursued by a pack of human-wolf hybrids?

I know what you're thinking -- that this could either be the best movie ever made or anything but. Variety has reason to think that Columbia is tipping towards the former, as they've picked up the rights to James Patterson's young adult book series, Maximum Ride. It seems like quite the change of pace for Patterson, he of Alex Cross mystery fame, but as far as the adaptation is concerned, perhaps Don Payne can rein things in, what with two straight-up superhero scripts already under his belt. Oh, and did I mention that frequent Marvel movie producer Avi Arad is also on board?

(Dare I make a suggestion, though: the title makes me think of a guide to Jean-Claude Van Damme's all-time favorite rollercoasters more than a mutants-on-the-lam saga. Just sayin'.)

Can any of our trusty readers vouch for the novels, or at least for their offspring who might have picked up at least one of the four published to date? Are those as new to the concept as I am game for this potential franchise in the making? Goodness knows that we'll need something to fill that supernatural-teen gap post-Twilight...

Although I'd seen it twice already, I went ahead and accompanied my father to a showing of Pineapple Express last night, only to be greeted with a surprisingly packed 8:10 showing in the theater's largest auditorium. When we exited, the immediate lobby was fairly lined up with those waiting to catch the next showtime, and when I dashed across the hall to peek in on the 9:30 showing that some of my friends had caught, it was in an auditorium half the size and equally packed, down to people actually sitting on the floor space typically reserved for those in wheelchairs (fire hazard, schmire hazard).

I only say this because, if I hadn't gone last night, I would've been truly taken aback with the film's record-breaking $12.5 million opening yesterday. (In comparison, Superbad opened to $12.3 million last year, but on a Friday.) This bodes better for Pineapple than I had expected in general, what with it only having a week to itself before Tropic Thunder does its best to snatch away its overlapping audience.

Oh, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 also raked in almost $6 million itself, so, um, yay for that.