Variety’s article about Karen Allen’s return to “Indiana Jones” franchise by David S. Cohen is quite charming, warm and entertaining. It’s hard to believe that 19 years has gone by since the last “Indiana Jones” movie.  Karen Allen was in the first, “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” creating a Tracy-Hepburn feel to the serial genre of Lucas and Spielberg.  At the time, no one was aware of the huge impact of the film, looking back, its quite magical.

With the May 22nd opening of “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” I recommend reading this article to reflect on the formative years of “Indiana” and the new and more wise renewal of “Indiana” today.

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Okay, Transformers 2, that makes sense. Iron Man 2 does as well. But Donnie Darko 2?!?

For those who haven’t seen it, Donnie Darko is a strange little indie film, written and directed by newcomer Richard Kelly, and starring Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal. It was a mix of sci-fi and teen drama, about a teenager who is visited by a giant rabbit-creature who guides him out of his house before a jet crashes into it. It didn’t particularly do well in theatres, but it became quite the success story on DVD, making it a cult classic. And for some reason, the powers that be see fit to make a sequel.

Screen Daily reported that S. Darko is already in production. It follows Donnie’s younger sister, Samantha (played by Daviegh Chase in both films), 7 years after the events of the first film. On a road trip to LA she starts having bizarre visions.

It doesn’t help that the sequel is being directed by Chris Fisher, whose three films, Nightstalker, Dirty, and Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders, were neither critical nor commercial successes. In fact, they were quite the opposite.

Richard Kelly is reported to have no participation in the film, and I can understand why. Donnie Darko was a nice little self-enclosed film about coming to terms with one’s place in life, and death. It’s not the kind of film that warrents more. Indeed, Kelly went on to make a director’s cut of the film, which to me felt inferior to the original, adding unnecessary elements to the enigmatic tale. So in light of that, here’s a few other pointless sequels we’ree probably be hearing about shortly:

No Country for Hit Men- If you thought No Country for Old Men was about the omnipresence of violence in human society, as a force that is beyond our control or comprehension, think again. Sherrif Bell is back on the job, for one last case. Chigurrh is back, and this time Bell’s gonna settle the score.

There Will Be No More Blood- A moving melodrama about Daniel Plainview’s attempt to deal with his problems, and try to get through each day without killing someone.

Control 2: The Eternal- If you thought the biopic of Ian Curtis ended with his suicide, think again. Raised from the dead, Curtis infiltrates the seedy world of New Wave by posing as New Order’s roadie, in an attempt to save the world from drugs and hair-spray. The villain is played Martin Kemp.

United 94- The terrorists are back. But this time, The Rock is ready for them….

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It looks like Tom Cruise and Sumner Redstone are in agreement for the next installment of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, which Cruise will star in the fourth movie.

According to Variety, Redstone said, “I consider Tom Cruise a great actor and a good friend. And if Paramount decides to move ahead with him, I will not object.” He added that the decision was “up to Brad Grey, who runs Paramount.” Redstone was seen dining with Cruise in Beverly Hills in March.Tom Cruise just celebrated 25 years since starring in his first movie, “Risky Business.”  He also was on the Oprah Winfrey show discussing everything and has a, first time ever, official web site at Tom Cruise. 

The web site is awesome and very much Cruise’s persona.

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With Marvel’s Iron Man already in theaters it’s no surprise that the company is already looking towards future endeavors. Generating a hefty $201 million dollars globally to day and securing titles such as ’second-best non-sequel film debut ever’, Iron Man’s launch was a successful one to say the least.

Well, to capitalize on the first movies success, Marvel has announced that there will in fact be a ‘Iron Man 2‘ and it is currently planned to hit the big screen on April 30th, 2010. Also having said that the success ‘firmly establishes Iron Man as a major new film franchise’, which means that we are likely to see an Iron Man 3, 4 , 5 etc etc a la Spiderman.

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Ron Howard who is directing “Angels & Demons” has signed Israeli actress Ayelet Zurer as the female lead opposite Tom Hanks’ Robert Langdon character.

Ewan McGregor is considering a role in the movie as well. He’s in talks to join the thriller, which is based on the Dan Brown best-seller.

McGregor is interested in the role of a powerful Vatican insider who assists Langdon.

Any fan of the Brown books knows story centers on religious art scholar Robert Langdon (Hanks), who once again finds himself entangled with powerful forces with ancient roots: the Illuminati — the most powerful underground organization in history — and the Catholic Church. Zurer will play Vittoria Vetra, an Italian scientist who joins forces with Langdon.

Zurer came to the U.S. by HBO.  Her U.S. film credits include “Munich” and “Vantage Point.” She’s starring next in “Fugitive Pieces.”

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 Associate Press just reported the title for the next “X-File” movie saying, “The truth is finally out there about the new ‘X-Files’ movie title.”

This is the second big-screen, paranormal adventure for one of the most popular shows of the 90’s. 

The title is … “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” Chris Carter, the series’ creator and the movie’s director and co-writer, told The Associated Press.

If you think that is a familiar phrase for fans of the series that starred David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents chasing after aliens and supernatural happenings. “I Want to Believe” was the slogan on a poster Duchovny’s UFO-obsessed agent Fox Mulder had hanging in the cluttered basement office where he and Anderson’s Dana Scully worked.

“It’s a natural title,” Carter said in a telephone interview Tuesday during a break from editing the film. “It’s a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. `I Want to Believe.’ It really does suggest Mulder’s struggle with his faith.”

“I Want to Believe” comes 10 years after the first film and six years after the finale of the series, whose opening credits for much of its nine-year run featured the catch-phrase “the truth is out there.”

Due in theaters July 25, the movie will not deal with aliens or the intricate mythology about interaction between humans and extraterrestrials that the show built up over the years, Carter said.

Check out the complete new story, which offers some insightful information: Associated Press

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From World Entertainment News Network,  the powers-that-be at Warner Brothers have chosen not to alter the final cut of the new BATMAN film, despite one disturbing scene that features the late Heath Ledger pretending to be dead.

Early screenings of “The Dark Knight” left some film fans reeling after they saw footage of Ledger, as The Joker, hiding out in a body bag.

That prompted internet speculation about whether studio heads would cut the scene to avoid upsetting sensitive Ledger fans.

But a source close to the production tells website MovieHole.net, “The film remains intact - and nothing of Ledger’s will be cut from the movie, including the body bag scene.”

The source adds, “I know for a fact that that scene is in the film. I also know that WB has made no such mandate and that (director) Chris Nolan is honest when saying that he will not change what was intended with The Joker.”

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I just visited Ain’t It Cool News where it’s reported that “Cars” sequel is in the works for 2012!  Most boys who love cars now will be onto something else then. Like driving their own cars.  

Also, Disney and Pixar, they produced “Cars,” reported this week that all their animation movies are to be in 3-D.  So, it looks like “Cars” sequel will also be in 3-D. 

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According to UPI News, Australian actor and “Star Trek” fan Eric Bana said he couldn’t resist the opportunity to play a villain in the new installment of the sci-fi franchise.

“I couldn’t resist. I read it and I know (director J.J. Abrams) pretty well and there was just no way to say no; it’s just too much fun,” Bana told reporters in New York recently.

“I liked the original (show) as a kid. I loved it. I haven’t seen a lot of the movies since, but I was a fan of the original series,” the actor replied when asked if he was a “Trekkie.” “But even if I was crazy about the original series, it wouldn’t have been enough to make me sign on to a film I didn’t want to do. I just read the script and I just went, ‘That is an awesome script,’ and it’s J.J. and it’d be a good time to play a character like that. It was a very easy decision.”

Bana can now be seen playing Henry VIII in the big screen period drama “The Other Boleyn Girl.” Two sister vie for him. Oh, man.

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Opening date set for “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” starring Christian Bale. Memorial Day May 22, 2009 be ready for the action pack adventure of John Conner (Bale) fighting the machines.  

“T4″ starts filming in New Mexico for two months on May 5. The state has become a favorite locale for producers because of its production tax incentives – learn from that other states.

Storyline is a secret. However, the plot includes three-picture arc that begins after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust. A group of survivors led by John Connor (Bale) struggles to stop the machines.  

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