Chrysler!

In further Paul W.S. Anderson news, his remake of the extremely enjoyable 1975 Death Race 2000 - apologies, that should now be Death Race 3000, or more likely just Death Race - is back on after being scrapped some time ago.

In some severely uninspired casting, Jason Statham (evidently the go-to guy for any car-related actiony flick at this point) will have the lead role as Frankenstein; latest word has Djimon Hounsou as Machine Gun Joe, Laurence Fishburne as the coach, and Glenn Close as the warden.

Obligatory sequel mention: Pirates 3 opens today. Is it too long to break the opening record? Is it nonsensical enough to drop 40% next week? Everyone is already talking about Depp wanting to do more, so let's not bother.

William Friedkin's Bug, opening today, is not a remake of the 1975 creepy-crawlers feature written and produced by William Castle.

The Longer, Gooder Friday

Some time ago, rumors circulated on a UK website about a possible sequel to John Mackenzie's 1980 Brit-crime standout The Long Good Friday; the project has appeared now as a US (Miami-based!) remake, courtesy of Paul W.S. Anderson, who will write and direct.
No word on casting yet, but consider this from Hoskins:

"Most dictators were short, fat, middle-aged and hairless. Besides Danny DeVito, there's only me to play them."

Ta-pocketa-pocketa-pocketa

Largely unseen (though not unheard) since that comedy routine he did with Kanye, Mike Myers has reappeared with three or so projects on the agenda, the most dismaying of which is a remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Luckily the other Kaye films haven't been raided yet, but it's a road that could have been left untraveled. At least it's not Jim Carrey, who had previously been considered (as had Owen Wilson).

Storywriter James Thurber reportedly offered Samuel Goldwyn $10,000 not to make the 1947 version - any wealthy benefactors care to step to the plate?

Next up: Professional?

Today's DVD release completes the trifecta of slightly-failed non-simultaneous Bubble-style viewing options (with last Friday's theatrical release and HDNet premiere) of Fay Grim, Hal Hartley's first sequel to his dozen or so films not especially in need of sequels. If 1997's Henry Fool is any indication, you might wish to opt for one of the home-based options so as to remain near your shower, though general chatter seems to indicate a very different direction - and also that Hartley may be planning a third part. This might make Henry Fool - US gross just a bit over $1.3 million - the lowest-grossing film ever to spawn a sequel, let alone a franchise.

Shooting in the air

Speaking of surfing, Peter Iliff (Prayer of the Rollerboys) has confirmed his plans to write and make his directorial debut with a $30 million sequel to his script Johnny Utah, which I believe was eventually released under the title Point Break. Swayze's character will return, but he's not confirmed, though original stars "have been contacted." Maybe Johnathon Schaech will do it. Come to think of it, if we're borrowing cast from Road House 2: Last Call, Jake Busey could pick up where his dad left off in the original...

Should have stayed lost

Shooting starts in a couple weeks on Lost Boys 2: The Tribe (formerly Lost Boys: Devil May Cry), direct-to-video continuation of Joel Schumacher's awful, widely liked 1987 original. Casting not confirmed, but directorial duties will be handled by one P.J. Pesce, whose feature work is now 50% sequel: From Dusk Till Dawn 3, Sniper 3, and now Lost Boys. Despite the admittance in his clearly self-penned IMDB biography that he received an F from De Palma at film school, and without having seen any of his films, I'm going to assume he's at least Schumacher's equal.

Fortunately, the long-discussed Lost Girls sequel no longer appears to be in the works; an IMDb 2009 listing is for an unrelated film. (Rumors a few years ago had listed Rachel Leigh Cook, Tara Reid and Kate Hudson.) Fans will have to make do with the "unrelated" 2005 Lost Girls, about five female aliens mistaken for vampires.

Also, I would be remiss in not mentioning that Lost Boys 2 is about surfing vampires. I was under the impression that vampires tended to avoid water, but then, I'm more of a zombie mythologist myself.

What do you do?

Seemed like a joke, since I only stumbled upon it on IMDB and couldn't find any corroborating rumors, but a very minor bit of sleuthing revealed the photo below.

Hobgoblins 2 coming to DVD 2007.

In 1985, Ghoulies; in 1986, Critters; in 1987, Munchies, but despite the many, many shortcomings of these films, it was the 1988 Hobgoblins that proved to be too much for the Gremlins-theft subgenre (not counting the seven sequels spawned by these franchises).

Well ensconced in the IMDb Bottom 100 (with a boost from MST3k fans), it's largely unwatchable, and it's tough to hold with those who claim that it was intentionally bad, though the line may tend to blur somewhere around Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go To College. Safe bet Hobgoblins 2 will be wildly overcampy, but this may satisfy the only possible target demographic: MSTies who want to make fun of it themselves.

State of the union.

It had seemed appropriate to start off this long-simmering blog with Carpenter news, given the JC joke at its center, but the Escape From New York remake is old news by now. There'll be plenty more on it - as there will be news on Prince of Darkness and They Live remakes, maybe another direct-to-video Vampires sequel - but all in due time.

Also potentially appropriate for an inaugural post: a mission statement, the state of the industry. In lieu of proselytizing, a recounting of the facts.

Today I went out to catch 28 Weeks Later, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's sequel to Danny Boyle's rightfully well-regarded 28 Days Later.
The previews:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hostel Part II
Resident Evil: Extinction
Live Free or Die Hard

Draw conclusions at will.