Yes, Zooey Deschanel can charm her way through anything: Watch "The New Girl"

Actually, the poster above, of course, has nothing at all to do with Zooey Deschanel, but like her it is, in its own way, rather beautiful. In case you couldn't guess, it's a teaser poster for David Fincher's take on "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," and though I'm still skeptical that there's any reason at all for that to even be happening, the poster designed by graphic artist Neil Kellerhouse and shot by Jean-Baptist Mondino, at least, is pretty friggin' fantastic.

But the main event here today is indeed the new Fox sitcom "The New Girl," starring Zooey Deschanel and set to premiere Tuesday on Fox after "Glee" but, courtesy of Hulu, also fully embedded here today.

When I first saw the promos for this, my first two thoughts were "what in the world is she doing in this?" and "man, does that look awful." Well, having watched all of the pilot, it turns out to be a heck of a lot better than I was expecting, almost entirely because of Zooey herself and also due to some much-better-than-expected writing.

One definite word of warning: The show really doesn't need a "douche bag jar" (watch it to find out), because the three guys she decides to move in with seem to have that pretty much nailed 24/7. That said, the landscape of new shows looks pretty bleak right now. In fact, the only ones I'm now planning to watch are:

"Up All Night," mostly because it stars Gob Bluth and Kelly Bundy, and because the pilot was indeed pretty wry for broadcast TV.

"Two Broke Girls," because I like Kat Dennings (sensing a trend here?), and because packaged with "How I Met Your Mother" it should make for a perfectly mindless hour block of TV after a Monday workday.

"Ringer," because though it's entirely not anything close to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the pilot was intriguing enough to make me tune in to find out what happens to Sarah Michelle Gellar this time out. And

"Terra Nova," because, well, dinosaurs.

And now, "The New Girl." It's far from perfect, but if you're a fan of Zooey Deschanel, it's also a heck of a lot better than most of what's on TV now. Enjoy the pilot below (which looks great full screen), tune in on Tuesday nights at 9 for more if you do, and stick around here today for some Muppets silliness just to bring the "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" theme full circle.



If Jason Segel's and James Bobin's "The Muppets" somehow sucks, it's gonna mean the waste of an already pretty epic marketing campaign, but I'm betting that's not going to happen. Already, we've been inundated with a number of trailers, a cover album of favorite Muppets tunes and more than a few parodies. But I'm an admitted Muppets addict, so as long as they're funny, as this "Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" clip clearly is, I'll gladly continue to be a cog in the machine. Enjoy the clip, have a great rest of the weekend, and if you somehow haven't yet, go see "Drive" already. Peace out.

Amazing music movie news for Coen brothers' fans, and some Muppety goodness too

Coincidentally enough, I was thinking just the other day, "Man, it's been a long since I've heard of the Coen brothers working on anything" (yes, I really do think things like that, but - yet, at least - not usually out loud.) Well, according to the always reliable 24 Frames blog from the L.A. Times, the wait is apparently over, and judging by what they've come up with, it sounds like it could well be worth it.

Music has always been key to the Coens' movies, especially with my favorite, "O Brother Where Art Thou," and they've never encountered a genre they couldn't conquer (actually, noir is a mixed bag - "Blood Simple" was sensational, but I loathe "The Man Who Wasn't There), so turning now to a music biopic seems like a natural move, especially when the subject definitely sounds odd enough to suit their outlook.

The subject for their next movie will apparently be Greenwich Village blues singer and activist Dave van Ronk. I don't know much about him myself, but that should just make the movie more fun. He died in 2002, and his memoirs, "The Mayor of McDougal Street" (going to the top of my reading list now), were published posthumously and will be used for material in the new film, which will document the Greenwich Village folk and music scene.

That should give them plenty of colorful characters to work with, and in the folk vein Joel Coen says the film will contain musical performances "pretty much all performed live, single instrument. I have to say, the thing we’re doing now, we’re not writing specifically for any of the parts, which is unusual for us."

From that brief description, and given their track record, I'd expect that this approaches "The Big Lebowski" in form much more than any traditional music biopic. Truly amazing news to start off a Monday morning, and though little is known now beyond that, I can only enthusiastically say bring it on!


OK, keeping with music but moving on quickly because I'm somehow already late at 7:08 a.m., the buildup to the release of "The Muppets" this Thanksgiving will continue in August with the release of "Muppets: The Green Album," which will contain Muppet favorites covered by the likes of Weezer, My Morning Jacket and OK Go.

I've always thought the guys from OK Go were pretty much just living their live as Muppets anyway, so it's a natural fit for them to take on the "Muppet Show Theme." As good as this sounds, however, and I can almost guarantee I'll buy it, the one musical thing that would be much better is a re-release of the soundtrack for the original "Muppet Movie."

We wore a hole right through our cassette copy on family trips when I was a kid, and I'd certainly spring for a great CD copy now. Just sayin'. In the meantime, here's the track listing for "Muppets: The Green Album":

01 OK Go: "Muppet Show Theme"
02 Weezer and Paramore's Hayley Williams: "Rainbow Connection"
03 The Fray: "Mahna Mahna"
04 Alkaline Trio: "Moving Right Along"
05 My Morning Jacket: "Our World"
06 Amy Lee: "Halfway Down the Stairs"
07 Sondre Lerche: "Mr. Bassman"
08 The Airborne Toxic Event: "Wishing Song"
09 Atreyu's Brandon Saller and Good Charlotte's Billy Martin: "Night Life"
10 Andrew Bird: "Bein' Green"
11 Matt Nathanson: "I Hope That Something Better Comes Along"
12 Rachael Yamagata: "I'm Going to Go Back There Someday"

And, to close today, though I'm mildly excited about the existence of the season four premiere of "True Blood" on my DVR, which I'll probably watch tonight, much better will the upcoming second season of "Boardwalk Empire," which given HBO's tendencies, will probably unspool just as soon as the new "True Blood" season ends. Below is the teaser trailer for season two, and the best thing you can say about it is it promises more of the same, but when a show's this good, that's very far from a complaint. Enjoy the trailer, and have a perfectly endurable Monday. Peace out.

Season 2 Tease

Michael Mann revving up something that could be really fun

Actually, though I wish it were something more solid (like when exactly we might get to see it again), any news about "Mad Men" in motion is welcome in this little corner of the world, so let's start there.

When we finally do get to see the great show again, which will apparently be some time in march (nards!), Jon Hamm will be directing the season five premiere, following in the footsteps of John Slattery, who directed two episodes from season four. Why? Because he's Jon Hamm, and if he asked to do this, do you really think anyone at "Mad Men" was going to say no?

Still a long time to wait, but at least there is a deal in place now to keep showrunner Matthew Weiner around through a seventh season, when the show is set to end.

And in movie news, one of Michael Mann's great strengths is giving his movies a strong, sometimes suffocating sense of time and place (see "Public Enemies," which I liked a whole lot more than just about anyone I've talked to about it), so he should really have a lot of fun with what Variety says he's about to sign on for.

The director is eyeing "Go Like Hell," which will be based on the book "Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari and their Battle for Speed and Glory at Le Mans" by A.J. Baimes (sounds like what might be next on my reading list, since I'm finishing up Patrick DeWitt's sublimely funny "The Sisters Brothers").

As the book title makes fairly clear, it's about, according to the book's rather minimal official site:

The remarkable story of how Henry Ford II, with the help of a young visionary named Lee Iacocca and a former racing champion turned engineer, Carroll Shelby, concocted a scheme to reinvent the Ford company. They would enter the high-stakes world of European car racing, where an adventurous few threw safety and sanity to the wind. They would design, build, and race a car that could beat Ferrari at his own game at the most prestigious and brutal race in the world, something no American car had ever done.

Sounds like a perfect match for Mann, who hasn't directed a feature film since "Public Enemies," and I love movies about American ingenuity (see "Tucker"), so here's hoping it happens. Stay tuned ...

After that today, I just have a couple of videos, but the first one has Muppets, so bully. There's not much new here at all, but just in case you're planning to skip "The Hangover: Part II," consider me sharing this second teaser for "The Muppets" that both spoofs and will precede it as a public service. Enjoy.

To close today, Zach Galifianakis' "Between Two Ferns" segments for Funny or Die often tend toward to the latter, but he does bring some of the funny in this clip featuring Will Ferrell. And just to bring the "Mad Men" vibe full circle, keep an eye out for Jon Hamm near the end. And with that, I'm off to do some laundry, go swimming, and then probably see "Kung Fu Panda 2" in glorious 2-D. Peace out.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Will Ferrell from Will Ferrell

Want the best job in the world? Sorry, it's taken

Actually, for me, that would probably be librarian at the American Film Institute, but this would have to be a close second.

In one of the already funny developments for the new Muppets movie being cooked up by Jason Segel, it seems that Animal will have to check in to anger management and will be replaced on the skins by none other than Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl (yes, he'll always be the drummer for Nirvana to me).

Think for a second about just how fun that would be. And with that disgustingly brief thought, I'm off, because with a double feature of "The Fighter" and "Black Swan" on the movie menu for me today, with perhaps some Chinese food stuffed in between, it's the very best movie day of the entire year, so I have to get to it. Peace out.

10 truly odd Christmas movies that capture the spirit

I have nothing at all against the traditional holiday favorites when it comes to movies and specials. I tune in every year for "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and always watch one of the 1,000,000 or so times that TBS airs "A Christmas Story."

But as with most categories of movies, I like my Christmas flicks with at least a few drops of odd, so here are my 10 favorite Christmas-related movies that you might not always think of this time of year.

"A Midnight Clear:" Before the two sides inevitably get back to, well, war, this Peter Berg movie has plenty of Christmas spirit as an American intelligence squad comes across a German platoon wishing to surrender in 1944 France, and everyone enjoys a good holiday feast before they get back to battling.

"Bad Santa": Not only easily the funniest Christmas movie (but certainly not one for the kids), I'd also argue that Billy Bob Thornton's mall Santa has his very drunk, extremely foul-mouthed heart still mostly in the right place. After all, all he wants to do is get his new friend a pink elephant (of course) for Christmas.

"Eastern Promises": OK, this gangster movie might only take place between Christmas and New Year's Eve and have little else to do with the holidays, but David Cronenberg's flick is still here because I wouldn't mess with Viggo Mortensen's Nikolai and tell him otherwise, would you?

"Die Hard": What could exemplify the Christmas spirit more than Bruce Willis' dream of spending the holiday with his estranged wife - even if he has to blow up half of Los Angeles to make it happen?

"In Bruges": Talk about a bummer: Not only does Colin Farrell's hit man end up accidentally killing a child, he then has to spend Christmas in the most boring place on Earth, Bruges (having been there, I can tell you it's far from that, but that's just one of the things that make this wickedly funny movie one of my all-time favorites).

"The Nightmare Before Christmas": Though its full title bears the name of Tim Burton and its in fact based on a poem Burton wrote, this tale of what happens when Jack Skellington opens the portal between Halloween Town and Christmas Town is pure Henry Selick, and that's what makes the stop-motion animated tale a timeless treat.

"Trading Places": Though I like presents as much as anyone, what's Christmas if we can't occasionally poke fun at all our excess, as this '80s flick starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd (easily one the best movies either of them ever made) does so well.

"The Muppet Christmas Carol": Of course Michael Caine (as Ebenezer Scrooge) just wants poor Bob Cratchit (Kermit the Frog, naturally) to work on Christmas - does that man ever stop working? Just in time for Christmas next year - or maybe a little earlier - we'll get a great gift, a new Muppets movie. Bully.

"Go!": Another one that's not for the kids, but Christmas is definitely a time to party, as Sarah Polley, Katie Holmes and others do as they rave their way through a chaotic Christmas Eve.

"Life of Brian": Sacrilegious? Most certainly, but the Monty Python take on the life of Jesus Christ is of course extremely funny too. And believe it or not, I really did first see this at an Episcopal youth group gathering when I was a teenager.

Merry Christmas to everyone!

The best thing ever, or at least today ... Weezer and the Muppets!

I have no idea how old this is, but with something this good, isn't it timeless anyway? And with that, I'm off on vacation, to New Orleans until Sunday, about which I'm rather thoroughly stoked. Enjoy the clip, and have a perfect passable Wednesday. Peace out.

For Wednesday, a large cache of clips, plus the Muppets!

I know it should rightly be all about Harry Potter, with part one of the final chapter opening in just over a week, but I've always had a whole lot of time for the "Chronicles of Narnia" movies too, and I'm definitely amped for the third chapter, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader," set to drop Dec. 10. Enjoy what I believe is the final U.S. trailer.

How good was the first "Kung Fu Panda" movie, at least in my opinion? Well, so good that in my book it beat out "Wall-E" to be the best animated movie of 2008. That said, a little Jack Black goes a long way with me, so I don't have terribly high hopes for the "Kaboom of Doom" sequel, set to come out May 27. Enjoy the first teaser trailer.



I'm not going to go see "Skyline," or any other theater movies this weekend, but that's only because I'm heading out tomorrow for the Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, my favorite event of the year. If I weren't, I think I'd go see this, because I like cheese, and as you can see by the alien monsters in this clip, this flick will serve it up in huge portions. And besides, who would have ever imagined that Eric Balfour, a.k.a. Jesse on the two-part premiere of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer," would ever get to star in his own feature film? Enjoy.



Does the world need another "Jane Eyre" adaptation? Of course not, but this one, which by my count would be at least the 22nd movie or TV version, still looks intriguing. Granted, that's mostly because it stars Mia Wasikowska, who has already developed into an actress I'll watch in just about anything, but I also liked Cary Fukunaga's "Sin Nombre" quite a bit, so I'm curious to see what the director will do with this. And for one final random thought before the clip, is there a funnier name in the English language than Imogen Poots? Enjoy the trailer and keep an eye out for this hopefully everywhere March 11.

I really don't know the origin of this next clip, but if you've been here before, you probably know I'd post a Steve Coogan clip every day if possible, because I think he's just about the funniest dude on the planet. As you'll see below, today's offering has Coogan and frequent partner in crime Rob Brydon doing their best impressions of Michael Caine, and it's a hoot. Enjoy.



And finally, what would brighten up a Wednesday better than a visit from the Muppets? Not much I can think of, so here's the picture from the most recent (I think - my subscription ran out) issue of Entertainment Weekly of Jason Segel and his puppet friends - including the newest Muppet, Walter. If I could have any job in the world, I think it would probably be the writer/human star of the next Muppet movie, whatever it's called now, so I guess you could say Segel pretty much has it made. Enjoy the pic, and have a perfectly tolerable Wednesday. Peace out.

Rather than thinking about a workday Wednesday, I've got Lisbeth Salander on the brain

You'll have to forgive me if I have Stieg Larsson and his "Girl" novels just tattooed on my brain at the moment.

You see, since the last Harry Potter novel, I haven't bothered to take on a 700-page novel until now, and Larsson's "The Girl With Who Played With Fire" has drained a lot more out of me than I could have imagined it would, but with the end finally just a tantalizing 15 pages or so away and in sight later today, I can say it's been well worth it, because it's just a first-rate police procedural with the benefit of starring - without exaggeration - one of literature's greatest heroines of all time in the goth hacker extraordinaire Lisbeth Salander.

I don't know how soon I'll have the energy to take on the the final chapter, "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest," but coincidentally enough (and not at all by design), I've managed to finish up "The Girl Who Played With Fire" just as the Swedish movie made from it hits DVD, and I can assure you it will be on my weekend viewing slate in some form. In fact, I just checked, and it's available from Netflix streaming, so right to my brand new Blu Ray player for Saturday night. Huzzah!

I was surprised to find that the first two Swedish movie installments were helmed by different directors, because if you haven't seen Niels Arden Opley's "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," starring the unforgettable Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, it's a thriller so good that it really stands alone as an example of how to flawlessly transfer a great novel into a great movie thriller. Rent them both this weekend for what I guarantee will be a wicked good viewing time.

The sequel coming this week was directed by someone named Daniel Alfredson, who also stuck around to direct the upcoming third and final chapter "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest" (though there are all kinds of rumors swirling about a posthumous Lisbeth Salander coming out - stay tuned for more on that as soon as I hear it.)

And there's news, appropriately enough for Halloween week, about Opley being offered by CBS Films a project that could turn into a super horror movie.

The studio has bought the rights to Jennifer Egan’s 2006 best-seller "The Keep," and is in final negotiations to acquire the adapted screenplay written by "The Skeleton Key" scribe Ehren Kruger.

So, what's it about? Well, according to what I've read, it's "a story within a story about two cousins with a shared secret who reunite to renovate a legendary haunted medieval castle that turns dreams and nightmares into reality."

That could easily turn into high cheese or something truly creepy in all the best ways, and after watching what Opley did with "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," I'm betting on the latter. Definitely stay tuned for more on this as soon as I can find it.

OK, that's really most of what I have time for this morning, but since Zach Galifianakis is now rumored to be one of the humans getting a cameo in Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller and James Bobin's "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made," it made me think of this OK Go video which is pretty easily the funniest Muppet clip I've encountered in recent years. All I'll say is that it's a staring contest between OK go drummer Dan Konopka and Muppets drummer extraordinaire Animal. Who wins? You'll have to find out yourself, and it's well worth watching. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Yes, it looks like there really will be a new Muppets movie

There will surely be more important movies in the next two years or so, and almost certainly better ones too, but I just can't help but getting excited beyond all reason at the idea of a new Muppets movie, and after a couple of years of it being an iffy idea, it finally looks like things are solidly moving forward.

In an interview with Collider.com, for which I was briefly a contributor, "Get Him to the Greek" writer/director Nicholas Stoller talked about what's up with the Muppets movie he and professional partner Jason Segel have written (and some other things I really couldn't possibly care less about), and for the first time he offered some solid evidence that it's really gonna happen. Here's a taste.

The Muppets, Jason [Segel] and I have been working on for a while and James Bobin is attached to direct it and they actually had a table read on Saturday with all the puppets and that’s going to shoot in September. Just really excited about that. It’s kind of a dream-come-true for all three of us so that’s thrilling.

So, what will the movie be about? Well, all signs are the flick, called "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made" will be a genuinely old-fashioned Muppets affair, with all our old friends getting together to perform a show to save a theater from a now-timely foe, an oil company. This will lead, Stoller promised, to all kinds of crazy cameos a la the old TV show and movies. Here's more from Collider:

It’s one of the original movies like The Muppet Movie, Muppets Take Manhattan, The Great Muppet Caper. Those kinds of movies. So that was really important that we hit that tone and those have a lot of cameos in them and so Jason and I started asking people and everyone we asked just wants to do it. Like everyone is either, “I grew up with it,” or “I loved it,” or loved them now.

OK, I'm sold. Stoller said the shoot should take no more than eight weeks, working around Segel's "How I Met Your Mother" schedule, since he gets to be the main human star of this thing. And as for "Get Him to the Greek," I've read a few geek reviews by now that describe it as so completely debauch that it will be exactly the kind of R-rated movie I enjoy in the middle of summer, and I thought (except for that puppet show at the end) Russell Brand's Aldous Snow was easily the funniest thing about "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," so bring it on.

OK, after that, all I have is a couple of nuggets about much more high-minded projects. With "Frozen River," writer/director Courtney Hunt delivered easily one of my favorite movies of 2008 and just an astonishing debut flick, so any news of her return is welcome around here.

This morning, via the Playlist, comes word that she's found her next project in a remake of the Froggy Laurent Cantet flick "Ressources Humaines," which I have not seen (but will soon, assuming I can find it.) And while I'd normally sneer at the need to remake European movies for American audiences, I think this could be a welcome exception to the norm (and by the way, if you haven't seen Cantet's "The Class," rent it immediately.)

Cantet's flick centers on a young man who returns to his hometown to manage a local factory, only to find out he's being brought in to be the hatchet man. Hunt's movie will keep the same structure but move the action to America, where this story will certainly resonate now.

Rent "Frozen River" right away if you haven't seen it both for a remarkable performance from Melissa Leo, who's currently starring on David Simon's sublime HBO ensemble New Orleans series "Treme," and just because it's just a thoroughly entertaining little flick about immigration in America.

I'll close today with a couple of videos. It's been quite a while (well, since 2006, to be exact) since Alejandro González Iñárritu directed a movie, and though I know plenty of people who hate on his "Babel," I really enjoyed it. And besides, it brought Adriana Barraza and Rinko Kikuchi to the world, and what in the world could be wrong with that?

Well, he's back this year at Cannes with "Biutiful," which stars Javier Bardem. Best as I can tell, the movie, which is still in need of a distributor, if you have some scratch burning a hole in your pocket, is about a policeman who runs into a childhood friend who is now involved in drug dealing. Bardem, I think, plays the policeman, and this will hopefully find its way at least kinda near my little corner of the world sometime this year, because you can bet I'll drive a little ways up the road to see it.

Here's a very short production video, again courtesy of the Playlist, to give you just a small taste of what Inarritu has cooking. Enjoy.



And finally, in bad TV news, tonight marks not only the season finales of NBC's Thursday night comedies, but also the last time we'll be able to see them all together (hey, don't kill the messenger.) The real bad news about next season is that "Parks and Recreation," which has developed this year into my favorite of the four, won't be returning until midseason, presumably to accommodate Amy Poehler's new baby. "30 Rock" will also be moving to Friday at 8:30 (I'll watch it at any time, but what the f#@$?) to make room for a hopefully funny new entry, "Outsourced."

Anyways, I'll leave you today with a promo for tonight's "Community" finale, in which Troy finally brings the truth about "jumping the shark." Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Muppets, Wild Things and other news that just makes me smile

Anyone who's been here before (and there are, amazingly, a few of you) knows that I have a serious thing for children's stories meant to equally entertain young-at-heart "adults," and on that front there's two bits of good news to share.

Starting with Spike Jonze and "Where the Wild Things Are," there wasn't a bigger Oscar snub in my mind than the fact his take on the classic children's story by Maurice Sendak didn't get a Best Picture nomination, even with the field this year expanded to 10 flicks.

Heck, I loved the movie so much that I would have also certainly given nominations to James Gandolfini for his voice work as Wild Thing Carol and also to Dave Eggers for his wildly original adapted screenplay (Eggers' novelization of the script, "Wild Things," is also just a great read.)

Now comes word about both the DVD release of "Where the Wild Things Are" and something else fun that's coming with it (and, frankly, hopefully packaged together so I can afford them both.)

First up, if you buy the "Where the Wild Things Are" DVD on March 2, there will be a rather sweet bonus in the form of an animated short based on another Sendak story, "Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life," featuring the voices of Meryl Streep and Wild Thing (the Bull, if I recall correctly) Forest Whitaker. Bully to that, although I didn't really need any more motivation to buy this one.

In even better news, on the same day, Beastie Boy Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories will release the doco "Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak," directed by Lance Bangs and Jonze, on DVD as well. Jonze and Sendak bonded quite a bit on the set of "Where the Wild Things Are," and as you see from the clip below, it became a genuine mutual admiration society. Enjoy.



And in a final bit about Mr. Jonze, a Web site has been just unveiled for his short film "I'm Here," which recently made its debut at Sundance. Best as I can tell, it's a 30-minute movie that's a love story involving two robots (why not?). You can watch the trailer at the site here, and according to the site itself, the movie will be released on it in March. Stay tuned for more on this very soon.

OK, except for that today, everything else will be about another subject that just fascinates me, the new Muppet movie being cooked up by Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller for Disney. Being both a Marylander and a child of the '70s, I of course grew up on the Muppets, and certainly have never outgrown their appeal.

Well, now details about the movie itself are coming out quickly. "Flight of the Conchords" co-creator James Bobin has been officially attached to direct the project (a perfect choice in my book), and now early word about the script has emerged on The Playlist (a daily must-read here.)

According to their source, the movie's name has also changed from "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made" to now "The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made." Even with tongue firmly in cheek, you'd better deliver something solid with a title like that, and here's what the source had to say about the movie's synopsis:

" (The script) is about Gary, Mary, and Walter (a man, his girlfriend, and the man's life-long nondescript, brown puppet best friend) getting the old Muppet gang — now retired entertainers known for the same Muppet show we know them from — together to save the TV studio that the original show was shot in. A villain, Tex Richman (nice name, on par with Doc Hopper), bent on drilling for oil underneath the studio, is due to take over the studio in weeks and the only way to stop him? Putting on a show that draws ten million viewers (see also "Heartbroken: The Conan O'Brien Story").

I'm not sure what that last CoCo bit was all about, but although that synopsis perhaps lacks an original spin on the Muppets story, it at least fits firmly in the tradition of what they're all about, so I'm very confident this is in the right hands. Here's some more of what he or she had to say:

It's a fresh, younger approach. Stoller and Segel have fun with the characters, are aware of what made the Muppet early years so great (winks to the audience, friendly musical numbers, single gag repetition, friendship and togetherness being the answer to everything), and hit the mark 65% of the time.

Again, that all sounds great to me, but the key to any great Muppet movie is the music, none of which The Playlist's mole could get his or her hands on. The only proof we have so far of Segel's and Stoller's skills in that department is that blissfully silly Dracula puppet show at the end of "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" (easily the best thing about that very easily forgettable movie.) Here's a clip of Segel performing "Dracula's Lament" on Craig Ferguson's show (I think) to brighten your day.



Finally today, the world is certainly a better place now that the Muppets have their own YouTube channel (trust me, it's a seriously good time-waster), and here's the newest clip. Beaker sets out to meem his way through Kansas' "Dust in the Wind," but as you can probably imagine, the results are somewhat short of perfect. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

Will the best scripts of 2009 be the best movies of 2010?

The short answer to that question is of course not, because it certainly takes a lot of steps to get a movie from great script to even somewhat good flick.

And though I have to admit I had never heard of it until I stumbled on it yesterday at Collider.com, Franklin Leonard has been releasing "The Black List" (rather unfortunate name, but great idea) since 2004. It's a list of the best scripts that Leonard, now an executive at Universal, has received each year, in 2009 culled from 97 offerings. You can read the whole thing here, but below are a few highlights from the top 10 that caught my eye, with commentary from me.


1. The Muppet Man
By Christopher Weekes
I had no idea that a biopic about Jim Henson was in the works, but I'm just jazzed beyond all reason that it is and may even be coming soon. Like everyone of a certain age, I grew up with the Muppets, and just loved them, especially the thoroughly magical "Muppet Movie." This is listed as being set up at the Jim Henson Co., so may not exactly be an objective view, but who would really want to watch a hatchet job about Jim Henson anyway? With this and (maybe) a new Muppet movie coming from Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller, it truly could be a new golden age for my favorite puppets (who somehow even have their own very fun Youtube channel, too.)

2. The Social Network
By Aaron Sorkin
I just lent out my copy of Sorkin's "Sports Night" to my fellow cubicle slave Randy Waters, and he now shares the minority view with me that it's even better than Sorkin's "The West Wing." Either way, his wit shined again in 2008 with "Charlie Wilson's War," and hopefully will also with this story about the creation of Facebook (which I'm somehow on.) In the words of Leonard, the "fascinating biographical elements of Shattered Glass meets the courtroom drama of Kramer vs. Kramer, without the tears." Namechecking one of my favorite movies ("Shattered Glass") will get my attention every time, and with David Fincher directing this for an October 2010 release starring Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake (a surprisingly good actor), this is definitely one I've got my eyes on.

3. The Voices
By Michael R. Perry
I certainly like twisted movies, and from the right perspective I also don't mind some horrific violence thrown in too, so this sounds right up my alley. According to Leonard, this one's about a schizophrenic worker at a bathtub factory who accidentally kills a beautiful woman from his workplace. While trying to cover his tracks, he starts to hear voices from his foul-mouthed cat and dog. In describing it as like "watching the lovable pig from Babe join forces with American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman," Leonard already had me hooked. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) will apparently direct this if he can find someone crazy enough to take the lead role.

5. Cedar Rapids
By Phil Johnston
You can count Miguel Arteta's "Youth in Revolt" starring Michael Cera as one of the near-future movies I'm really looking forward to, so it's certainly good news to hear that his next one should be a winner too. He's attached to direct this flick starring Ed Helms as a small-town insurance man who hasn't accomplished much of anything until he gets invited to represent his company at the Cedar Rapids insurance convention. Helms is still the funniest guy on "The Office," and with Alia Shawkat, John C. Reilly and even Sigourney Weaver set to co-star, it should be a real hoot.

6. Londongrad
By David Scarpa (The Day The Earth Stood Still and co-wrote The Last Castle)
It seems like forever since I've seen a great spy movie (or at least one without Paul Greengrass' uncontrollably shaky camera), but this one certainly seems to fit the bill. It's an adaptation of Alan Cowell's 2008 book "The Terminal Spy: A True Story of Espionage, Betrayal and Murder," which chronicles the life and death of Alexander Litvinenko. The story itself seems way too good to be true, with Litvinenko allegedly poisoned by radioactive tea, but it really did happen in 2006, and thoroughly fascinated me at the time. Leonard says the script evokes "Born of the Fourth of July, Silkwood, and Robert DeNiro’s history-of-the-CIA saga The Good Shepherd - but in Russia, with spies," which sounds great to me. Warner Bros. has apparently optioned the script, and I somehow think I read Johnny Depp has been attached to star in it, though I read so much about movies that I could be just all wet about that.

And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to see one movie today, but I can't decide between "Invictus" and "The Princess and the Frog." I'll eventually see them both, but I'm leaning with starting with Disney's return to 2D animation. Peace out.

Happy turkey day from me ... and the Muppets!

In honor of America's most gluttonous holiday, I'm taking a break from the best of the decade project - today would have been 2002, so tomorrow will. I can tell you that there were 16 finalists, and only 10 make the final cut, so it was a real competition (although the original "Jack-Ass" movie, as much as I love it, was easily the first finalist to go.)

Instead today, it's all about the Muppets, and really, shouldn't every holiday be? I loved the Muppets more than just about any other pop culture creation when I was a kid, and still do, so it was a real joy to find out that through the power of HD technology and with the help of some enterprising folks, the Muppets now have their own YouTube channel, and this blissfully fun video of them performing "Bohemian Rhapsody" is easily the craziest and best thing on it.

Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller are supposedly still working on a new Muppet movie, though the details on its status are only in the pay section at the IMDB, so I guess it's not too far along. In the meantime, enjoy this clip. There's a lot to take in, but I especially loved Animal and how they avoided using the word "Beelzebub." Enjoy, and have a great turkey day. Peace out.



http://www.youtube.com/user/MuppetsStudio

Five clips from "Whip It" look like nothing but fun

You know, I really have nothing terribly profound to say about the fact that Patrick Swayze has died at the rather young age of 57, so I'll simply share that sad news with anyone who hadn't seen it yet and move on.

In much geekier and less depressing news, it seems that, fresh off his star-making turn in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" (my favorite movie so far this year, read why here), Christoph Waltz has now traded up to join the ranks of superhero flicks.

According to Nicki Finke of Deadline Hollywood, who is right at least slightly more than she's wrong, he's been cast as the villain Chudnofsky in Sony's "The Green Hornet." Up until now I had little interest in this, even though it's somehow being directed by Michel Gondry and starring Seth Rogen as our hero, but I'm now more than slightly intrigued.

Waltz easily stole every scene he got in Tarantino's wild flick with the sheer and sick glee he brought to the role of the Jew hunter Hans Landa. I'm sure he'll have the same zest for this project, and hopefully some more in which he'll get to play more than the bad guy.

In other movie news out there today, it seems that the director of my favorite film of 2008, those being Tomas Alfredson and "Let the Right One In" respectively, has settled on his next flick.

Though he had been attached to a big-screen version of John Le Carre's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," he's apparently got his eye on Nicole Kidman for something else first. Alfredson will next direct "The Danish Girl," starring Kidman as Danish painter Einar Wegener, who in 1931 became the first person to go through a sex-change operation to become a woman. In even wilder news, Charlize Theron had been cast as Wegener's wife, but has since dropped out.

Say what you want to about Nicole Kidman, but she almost always goes out of her way to choose interesting projects, and this certainly fits the bill (I think I'm still the only person in the world who almost unconditionally loved her in Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding.")

And in local "Let the Right One In" news, the Macon Film Guild will be offering a special Halloween screening of this great coming-of-age tale about what happens when your new neighbor just happens to be a vampire Oct. 30 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Douglass Theatre for $5. I'll be at the 7 p.m. show, so maybe I'll see you there.

OK, all I've got left today is two video clips, and before I get to the titular five minutes for this post, here's a glimpse of the Muppets schilling for Disney at the corporation's D23 conference. At the confab, Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller revealed that the title of their upcoming Muppets movie (resounding huzzah!) will be "The Cheapest Muppet Movie Ever Made." That's funny already, and it will apparently be about Gonzo directing a Muppet movie, if I have my facts straight (and I think I do.) Enjoy.



And finally, courtesy of and with full credit to Collider, here are five clips from Drew Barrymore's upcoming directorial debut, "Whip It," set to come out Oct. 2. The roller derby flick stars young Ellen Page, Barrymore, the always funny Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and even Alia Shawkat, who played "Maeby" Fünke on "Arrested Development." It's great to see her again, especially since the chances of an "AD" movie look no more likely now then they did when the show was cancelled. It looks like Barrymore has something thoroughly fun going on here, and I really don't ask for much more than that. Enjoy the clips, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

Epic soundtracks? The 18 or so ones I own and still listen to regularly

I really can't see myself driving a half hour and then paying $15 to see this, but for boxing fans, it's really nothing but good news.

One of the best/worst jobs I ever had was dealing blackjack (yes, really) in the back of a "gentleman's club." Along with the obvious regular "entertainment," the owner of the club's son was a huge fight fan, and he'd order every pay per view boxing offering he could find - which at the time meant a whole lot of Mike Tyson - and turn them into major events (which, if I'm not mistaken, was highly illegal.)

I tell you all that to tell you this: Boxing is returning to movie theaters for the first time in almost three decades with the Sept. 19 welterweight championship bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez and its undercard. Like I said, the only theater in my area that shows "events" like this (concerts, etc.) is about a half hour away in Centerville, so I can't see myself going, but this is still an awfully cool happening in my book (and it's apparently the first boxing event in movie theaters since the "No Mas Fight" between Sugar Ray and Roberto Duran - I remember that one.)

And if you happen to live in or will be visiting New York (which I will for the last week of the year), the Museum of Modern Art has something coming from Oct. 8-18 that will be a delight for fans of Spike Jonze (of which you can certainly count me one.)

The perhaps too cleverly titled "Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years" exhibit covers Jonze’s entire filmmaking and television career. Included are Jonze’s first two feature films, "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation," as well as two films that he co-produced: "Jackass: The Movie" and the documentary "Heavy Metal in Baghdad." I never would have guessed that about the "Jackass" flick, but I will admit I find it to be just about pure comic bliss.

Also featured will be music videos for Björk, Fatboy Slim,his award-winning Weezer, Beastie Boys, Wax, The Notorious B.I.G., and many others, as well as his commercials. Easily best of all, though, on opening night, will be "In Cahoots: Maurice Sendak and Spike Jonze," an evening of short films that Jonze made about, and with, Maurice Sendak during the production of his forthcoming feature, "Where the Wild Things Are" (which you just may have heard me talk about, oh, 290 times by now.) Nothing but cool there, and you New Yorkers, I'm nothing but jealous.

But before all that here today, it was supposed to (and still will) be about the 18 or so soundtracks (and movie-related oddities) that I discovered I own (or used to own) as I was cleaning up my CD collection. I wouldn't go so far to call too many of them among the best soundtracks ever, but I still listen to them all, so they're winners in my book. Here goes:

"Slumdog Millionaire": I hear tell that AR Rahman has done much better film score work than this, but as a representative sample of his sound, it's nothing but fun.

"Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten": Imagine listening to the late Joe Strummer play DJ, as he used to do for the BBC, and you'll come close to just how great the soundtrack for this documentary about him is. Elvis, Nina Simone, Eddie Cochran and, of course, lots of Clash all find a home here.

"Into the Wild": What has grown to become my favorite movie of 2007 has also slowly evolved into the year's best soundtrack in my book too. Eddie Vedder delivers these mostly great tunes with a guttural growl and howl that indeed almost transport you "Into the Wild."

"The Muppet Movie": It hurts me a little to even type this, because I grew up on it but now can not find the cassette tape my family and I burned a hole through when I was a kid. If anyone out there somehow has a copy of this they'd be willing to burn on CD, please let me know, and I'll gladly send you music, money or anything else you might desire in return. Man, do I love the Muppets!

"O Brother Where Art Thou": If the purpose of a movie soundtrack is to allow you to watch the movie unfold in your mind while you're listening to it, none succeeds as well as this one from the Coen Brothers (one of two that will make this list.)

"Avenue Q": OK, I concede that the soundtrack for this Broadway musical starring a bunch of puppets and even Gary Coleman is extremely silly, but it's also just perfect listening for whatever you may be doing around the house on a Sunday afternoon. This show is coming to Macon's Grand Opera House next May, and I highly recommend it.

"Hairspray": This could be either the soundtrack for the utterly addictive Jon Waters original or the Broadway musical, both of which I own, but not for that other movie, which I haven't and won't see. If I had to pick just one, it would probably be the Broadway set, which is just pure fun, but for one single song, I'll take the movie's "Nothing Takes the Place of You" by Toussaint McCall," which just slays me every time I hear it.

"Seu Jorge: The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions": OK, this is the first, but not the last, one on this list that really isn't a movie soundtrack at all. Instead, it's a collection of those David Bowie songs delivered in Brazilian Portuguese by Seu Jorge in director Wes Anderson's "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," easily the best thing about that mostly disappointing film.

"Ladykillers": This second entry from the Coens also comes from a flick that most people find not only disappointing but downright useless. But I kinda like it, and I like the soundtrack, featuring a mix of genuine gospel greats from the likes of the Soul Stirrers and Donnie McClurkin with hip-hop from the Nappy Roots, a whole lot more.

Carole King's "Really Rosie": In the spirit of "Where the Wild Things Are" comes this soundtrack for the '70s (I think) TV special based on the children's collection by the great Maurice Sendak. And yes, I really do still listen to the likes of "Alligators all Around" and "The Ballad of Chicken Soup" and smile every time I do.

"Hedwig and the Angry Inch": Though the straightforward movie soundtrack for this divine oddity from the mind of John Cameron Mitchell is perfectly good in its own right, much better is the "Wig in a Box" collection, which features the Breeders, the Polyphonic Spree, They Might Be Giants and many more offering their takes on the very catchy songs. Pop perfection.

Prince: "Parade": I was so addicted to Prince when I was a teenager that to this day, most of my computer passwords contain some variation on the word (which indeed draws raised eyebrows from my co-workers if I ever have to reveal that.) I've even seen all the Prince movies, and though "Under the Cherry Moon" is pretty darn wretched, the soundtrack stands up very well over time.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Once More With Feeling": Who can't like this one? Buffy's musical episode was not only a ton of fun when it first hit the air, but if you go back and listen to it now - which I still do from time to time - you'll find that little pop gems like that "I'll Never Tell" with Xander and Anya are just pretty much timeless.

"Once": I've probably listened to this soundtrack for the great little Irish movie starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova more often than anything else you might find on my desk at work, and each time it still manages to take me away, no matter how downright rotten my work day just might be.

"Spongebob Squarepants": Yes, that's right, "Spongebob Squarepants." I've seen the movie and I own the soundtrack, and I'm well aware that might mean there's something rather seriously wrong with me, but when it contains Ween, the Flaming Lips and even the delirious delight of "Prince Paul's Bubble Party", how can you resist? If you have kids and want to teach them to listen to good music, I can't recommend this highly enough.

"Office Space": I just tried to check the Web sites for my local multiplexes to see if Mike Judge's "Extract" would indeed play as widely as promised this week, but they haven't put up their Friday listings yet. I can't imagine "Extract" will be as funny or just therapeutic as "Office Space," which features a soundtrack full of gangster rap that just fits the movie perfectly.

"Big Bad Love": I managed to see this biopic of sorts based on the short stories of Southern writer Larry Brown in New York with an introduction by producer and star Debra Winger, and though I liked the movie quite a bit, I'm pretty sure I was one of about 10 people in the entire world who bothered to watch it. The soundtrack, full of a lot of genuine Southern blues and two great tracks by Tom Waits, is well getting your hands on if you can still find it.

"A Tribute to Robert Altman's Nashville": Whew, last one! Instead of what should have been an insufferable bit of hipster irony from Carolyn Mark and her buddies, this is instead a heartfelt tribute to one of American's great movie soundtracks. Robyn Carrigan's "It Don't Worry Me" is particularly just spot on.

OK, there you have it. And anyone who really made it this far deserves a reward, so here goes: If anything on this list strikes your fancy, simply e-mail me your name, address and request to keidem4@gmail.com, and I'll gladly burn you a copy of anything you want. Piracy? Perhaps, but I still spend more than enough money on music that I can make this offer with a clear conscience. Hope you enjoyed this list, and have a perfectly passable Tuesday. Peace out.

A nifty gadget for Muppet lovers ...

and if you're not one of those, really, what the heck is wrong with you? And besides, mighty Mr. Adam Jones had the game-winning RBI for the American League in last night's All-Star game (surely an omen of the Baltimore Orioles surging in the season's second half) and I'm going to see the movie based on my favorite Harry Potter book as early as tomorrow morning, so all is right with the world, right?

Well, not exactly ... there still is evil out there, and in my book almost all of it is embodied in Renee Zellweger. I've just never, ever liked her. And I can't see anything good coming from the news that she'll be starring in a new Bridget Jones flick.

I'll admit that this dude both read and enjoyed both of Helen Fielding's "Bridget Jones" books, the first one much more than the second. As for the movies, the first one was OK and the second was pure rubbish, so I can't even imagine how bad a third one - not based on any book at all - will turn out to be.

In even worse news (remember, there's Muppets coming to lighten things up), Stephen Chow has now completely exited Michel Gondry's "Green Hornet." If you've been following this rather sad saga from the beginning, you know that Chow was originally set to both play the Green Hornet's martial arts expert sidekick AND direct the movie, but a while back he was replaced as director by Michel Gondry.

Fair enough that. I still think Gondry can have a lot of fun with this, with Seth Rogen set to star and a script from Rogen and creative partner Evan Goldberg, but without Chow it's just gonna lose that extra bit of craziness that would have made this remarkable. Is Jackie Chan available? (Hopefully not!)

Oh well, there's got to be some good news out there, right? Actually, yes, especially if you love baseball (and again, if you don't why the heck not?)

Billy Bob Thornton has signed on to be a producer for a flick based on the Buzz Bissinger book "Three Nights in August," which is about a three-game series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs in 2003 - as told from the perspective of Cardinals manager Tony La Russa (no word on this yet, but I could certainly see Billy Bob playing La Russa, too.)

Now I haven't read the source material for this, but I did read another of Bissinger's books, "Friday Night Lights," and it's a simply fantastic look at the obsession with high school football in Texas (and, of course, sort of the inspiration for TV's best drama, soon to enter its fourth season.) And any flick that offers this intense of a look at America's great sport and into the mind of Tony La Russa can only be a good thing in my book.

And finally, as promised, Muppets, Muppets, Muppets ... 101 of them in all. I can't take any credit for this except in the delivery of it, but if you indeed click on the link below, I defy to both not smile or waste at least a minor chunk of your work day. What is it? A guide to the 101 Muppets of Sesame Street. 'Nuff said.

Enjoy.

And with that, have a perfectly passable Wednesday, and if you've seen "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," please feel free to tell me if it's any good or not. Peace out.

Oscar's big gambit: Power to the people?

Before we get into this madness with the expanded Oscars, there's news about two things out there today that will snag a bit of this aging geeks' money, so I thought I'd pass on what I know.

The first is that the Director's Cut for Zack Snyder's "Watchmen" should be a truly wild affair. It's set to come to DVD the third week of July or so, and if you're lucky enough to live in New York, L.A. and maybe a couple of other cities you will be able to see it in a theater for one weekend only right before that.

The flick will clock in at an admittedly rather ridiculous 188 minutes, but if you're like me and loved the movie almost as the funny book by Alan Moore, I think you'll happily sit through it all. No word yet on whether or not there will be a giant squid anywhere to be seen, but I do know that it will restore one scene that was just sorely missing from the theatrical cut: The murder of Hollis Mason. This is a very poignant moment in the comic, so it's about damn time.

Comingsoon.net also had a bit this morning about something from Zack Snyder that I can't say I'm terribly excited about: A sequel to "300."

Now, don't get me wrong, it certainly will look cool. But didn't "300" have a definite ending already? Frank Miller is apparently hard at work on the comic that would precede the movie, but personally, I'd much rather see what Snyder can come up with for "Sucker Punch." Though it sounds a whole lot like "Pan's Labyrinth," I'm betting his tale of a young woman who creates an alternative reality to escape from a mental institution will be nothing but cool.

The second thing that caught my eye this morning may well only appeal to me, but here goes anyway: They're actually making a Fraggle Rock comic book. Things just don't get much odder than that, but I'm definitely in.

It seem that the Jim Henson Company is partnering with Archaia Comics to release a whole bunch of comics, everything from "The Dark Crystal" to "Labyrinth," with "Fraggle Rock" set to start it all off. With Jason Segel and Nicholas Stoller hopefully still working on a new muppet movie, we may be looking at a second golden age for Henson's creations, and that would be just fine with me.

But beyond what interests me, of course, the biggest news of the day is the Oscars' big gambit: To double the number of best picture nominees from five to 10.

The move, which sounds great to me, leads back to a much earlier era; The last the time the academy had 10 Best Picture nominees was from 1931 to 1943. But why now?

Well, both the most obvious and probably the right reason is what happened last year with "The Dark Knight." Many folks, though by only a nose, not me, thought Christopher Nolan's flick should have received a Best Picture nomination. And, to be clear, if I had had a vote and there were 10 slots, I indeed would have given one of them to "The Dark Knight."

But what might it mean for this year? Well, I think it almost certainly means that "Up" will finally break into the Best Picture pack, and given it's rather rapturous reception, could even come very close to winning. Beyond that, if geeks are allowed to dream, could "Star Trek" even make the cut too? Probably not, but you can see how the wider field opens a bunch of possibilities.

My only possible beef with any of this is that it will probably make the already unbearably long Oscar broadcast even longer. My suggestion: Cut, immediately, that extremely morbid bit where the audience offers dead folks varying degrees of applause. That just makes me cringe every time I see it.

But, of course, beyond expanding the field to a wider range of films, there is a bottom-line factor that plays big into this. Though they won't say it publicly, I'd imagine the ability to stamp "Best Picture nominee" on 10 DVDs rather than five each year had to play a big role in this decision.

So, there you have it. Please feel free to chime in with any thoughts you might have on all of this, and have a perfectly pleasant Thursday. Peace out.

Billy Ray's back, so scandal is the order of the day

Just a few quick notes today, because in a moment truly right out of "Office Space," we have to go through 18 hours of training starting today to learn a new program that changes the way we do .. well .. just about everything.

Even if it goes smoothly, a newspaper changing its operating system about three weeks before the election is just as crazy as it seems. But, since that's not really my concern, I'd much rather traffic in the more pleasant realm of movie trivialty.

Billy Ray, who makes his living primarily as a screenwriter, has also managed to direct two of my favorite movies, and now he's back with something that sounds right up his alley.

The two movies that Ray has managed to direct, "Shattered Glass" and "Breach" (easily one of my favorite flicks of 2007), are psychological dramas of the first order that paint very claustrophobic portraits of very troubled people. If you haven't seen the former, starring Hayden Christensen as journalistic fraud Stephen Glass and a stellar Peter SarsGaard as his "New Republic" editor, I can't recommend it highly enough.

Now, Mr. Ray is set to write and direct "How to Rig an Election," based on the memoir of the same name by disgraced G.O.P. political operative Allen Raymond (see a pattern here)? His plot: To jam phone lines at Democratic Party headquarters in an effort to swing a 2002 Senate election in New Hampshire.

"This is the story of Raymond’s rise to power alongside his friend in the party, Jim Tobin, and how their lives intersect in a way that forces Allen to choose between his ambition and his integrity," Ray said. "He makes the wrong choice at first, and by the time he makes the right one, his wife and kids are affected and his life is going up in flames."

Mr. Ray, who specializes in the motivations of petty schemers, should just have a blast with that.

Murderous muppets? I'm there

The big news in Muppet world, of course, is that Jason Segel and writing partner Nicholas Stoller are developing a new - and hopefully very old-fashioned - Muppet movie (though I can't find anything about it on either of their IMDB profiles.)

At the house of Henson, however, they're also now more actively involved in something made just for me: A puppet show for adults.

The Jim Henson Co. has launched development of the feature "Happytime Murders," a puppet comedy in the film noir detective genre (yes, I did make a little geek squeak the first time I read that.) Jim Henson offspring Brian and Lisa Henson will produce the flick, which will mix humans and puppets and center on a puppet detective forced to solve a string of murders around the Happytime Gang, the cast of a popular children's show.

In my mind, I'm already there. Like I said, short report today, since I have to do my actual job along with a half-week's worth of training (though it does mean a lot of overtime, so I really shouldn't complain.) Peace out.

What in the world ever happened to Cameron Crowe?

There are really few movies in the world I loathe more than Cameron Crowe's "Elizabethtown."

Now, obviously, I'm not saying by any objective standard that that semi-autobiographical rom-com is one of the worst movies ever made, because it clearly isn't. But I only reserve the word "hate" for films from directors from whom I expect a whole lot but really let me down. Therefore, you'll probably never hear me use it for a Uwe Boll movie (unless I ever bother to see "Postal"), but there's a very good chance you might hear it this weekend for M. Night Shyamalan if he disappoints again with "The Happening."

(If I can digress just a bit about that, does anyone else find it ominous that the only way they can find to promote "The Happening" in commercials is that it will be Shyamalan's "first R-rated movie"? SFW!?!?)

OK, I'm back. My rather circuitous point here is that I used to have tons of love for Cameron Crowe. I just love movies that make heroes out of possibly the most inappropriately loathed workers in the world - journalists - so I just adore "Almost Famous," probably beyond any rational amount it might deserve. I also have tons of time for "Say Anything," and of course he also wrote the timeless "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." So I certainly welcome any news of a Cameron Crowe comeback to wash away the rather bitter taste of "Elizabethtown," even if the details so far are very scarce.

Now comes word that he's apparently completed the script for an as-yet-untitled romantic comedy and signed on to direct it for Columbia Pictures, with Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller set to star.

I still like Stiller quite a bit when he's not starring in movies for either himself or the Farrelly brothers, and have nothing but love for Reese, so here's hoping this will be a return to top form for the formerly-fairly-great Mr. Crowe. Stay tuned for details as soon as I get them.

What will the new "Muppet Movie" look like?

Although I found Jason Segel's "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" to be a bit of a letdown, there's no denying that that "Dracula" puppet show he put on at the end was a classic. And, luckily, the Henson folks took notice too and have handed him and bud Nick Stoller the rights to make a new "Muppet Movie."

But just what will that mean? Will it be a good, old-fashioned Muppets flick suitable for all audiences? I certainly hope so, and from what Segel recently had to say to IESB.net, he does to. Here's some of what he had to say.

IESB: Is Sam the Eagle in it?

JS: Sam the Eagle is definitely in it. Statler and Waldorf - the whole gang!

IESB: Can you tell us a little bit about the story, which way you are headed with the MUPPETS?

JS: All I can say is that we are trying to bring it back to the early '80s movies where it's not Muppets in the Sahara or Muppets Underwater. It's the Muppets getting back together to put on a show, to save the studio.

IESB: No Pigs in Space?

JS: I can't give that away.

IESB: And the hope is to stay 100% traditional with the Muppets right?

JS: Oh yeah, absolutely.

IESB: No CGI Muppets or some horseshit.

JS: No, no, no. Hopefully it will fall right in the pantheon of The Great Muppet Caper, Muppets Take Manhattan, Muppet Movie, you know, we're trying to make one of those.

IESB: You said you had written something for Charles Grodin?

JS: Yeah, a brief cameo. We'll see if he wants to do it. There are some great cameos in there.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Well, I was already fairly confident this flick was in the right hands, but now I'm sure. Here's hoping Segel - who said he just turned in his first draft of the script to his corporate handlers - is able to follow through on this and get the movie he, and all the rest of us, really want.

A new trailer for "Valkyrie"

If I'm not mistaken (as I definitely sometimes am), Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie" was first set to hit theaters, well, right about now. For whatever reason, and hopefully none of them terribly bad, it's now been pushed back until at least Feb. 13, 2009.

Which has made it fairly easy to forget all about what should be a more-than-fairly-cool flick. Personally, I'm still eager to see it, 'cause I'm always amped for a good World War II flick (especially Spike Lee's "Miracle at St. Anna," set to drop Sept. 26), and one that features a reteaming of the "Usual Suspects" team of Singer and Christopher McQuarrie with a plot to assassinate Hitler is right up my alley.

Anyways, here's the latest trailer, which indeed looks pretty intriguing. Enjoy, and have a perfectly pleasant Tuesday. Peace out.

A "Veronica Mars" reunion? Well, sort of

Just how in the world did Rob Thomas become the hottest property on TV?

I mean, I'm all for second (or third) chances, and I've made clear my devotion to Thomas' way-too-short-lived "Veronica Mars," but three pilots in one season? Sheesh.

Just 'cause I'm in that kind of mood this morning, I'll start with the least interesting and work my way up to the news of the day (just in case you couldn't figure it out from that none-too-cryptic headline.)

The first is some kind of reimagining/update/sequel to "Beverly Hills 90210." Now, I'm an admitted fan of trashy TV, tuning in as I do week after week for the CW's "Gossip Girl" even though I'm at least a few years beyond its target demographic (hey, knock it if you will, but I work 10-hour days and rather enjoy a little mindless entertainment at the end of the day.) Even so, I just can't see any possible way I'll tune in to this one.

The second must give Thomas some solace after his failed attempts to resuscitate "Veronica Mars" in a slightly altered format. For ABC he's getting to revive another of his shows that fans (though I can't say I'm one, since I missed it the first time) would say died too soon, "Cupid." I don't have too-high hopes for this one unless he's able to bring back star Jeremy Piven, which doesn't yet seem to be in the works.

And now, finally, to the big news of the day: Kristen Bell let it slip to E! Entertainment's Kristin Dos Santos here that she is indeed in final negotiations to reunite with Thomas for his third - and by far most interesting - pilot of the season. Also for ABC, he's developing something called "Outrageous Fortune," which is based on an Aussie series and centers on a family of criminals in which moms tries to make everyone go straight after dad gets sent to the big house. In less interesting casting news, Rene Russo is about to sign on as the mom. Sorry, but I've just never cared for her much at all.

Man, even if Mr. Thomas really likes to work, that just seems like a recipe for burnout. If Bell is indeed able to fit it into her schedule - along with a confirmed return engagement on "Heroes" and her continuing narration on "Gossip Girl" - "Outrageous Fortune" at least is one well worth keeping your eyes on this fall.

New "Muppet Movie" clearly in the right hands

For me, the Muppets are just something you don't mess with unless you have the purest of intentions, and it seems that Jason Segel and Nick Stoller indeed have a great, old-fashioned idea for the beloved critters.

According to this report at CHUD, the plotline they're developing in fact sounds like it fits right in the Muppet world. The Muppets will apparently be doing what Muppets do - putting on a show - this time to save their theater from an evil character who wants to tear the place down to get at the oil underneath.

Sounds great to me. Segel next stars with Ms. Bell in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall," which will hopefully be the year's first great comedy when it finally drops April 18, and there's some other pretty cool casting news out about another of his upcoming projects.

"I Love You, Man" will star the very funny Paul Rudd as a man who's about to get married and - realizing he has no friends - goes on a series of man-dates to find a best man, which turns out to be Segel. Rashida Jones is on hand as Rudd's fiancee, and in great news, Jamie Pressly - the funniest gal on TV on "My Name is Earl" - has now joined the cast as her best friend.

Now, this is apparently written and directed by John Hamburg, who made the rather wretched "Along Came Polly," but he also directed some episodes of Judd Apatow's "Undeclared" back in the day, so I'm willing to cut him a break. Besides, if he actually manages to come up with something bad with a cast like that, it will indeed be a rather monumental failure.

Your daily dose of Nazis

What could brighten your day more than a photo of Tom Cruise and, even better, the great Bill Nighy in their best Nazi garb on the set of Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie"? Well, I couldn't think of anything, so here's the best photo from Empire magazine, and you can find a few others here. Peace out.