, 
In the first of many reboots/re-imagining news articles today, Paramount has announced they are resurrecting “Pet Sematary”, the franchise based on the 1983 Stephen King novel of the same name. Matthew Greenberg (“Halloween H20”, “Masters of Horror”, “1408”) is writing the reboot for producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura (“1408”, “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra”, “Transfomers” films). No other cast or crew has been announced yet, although George Clooney has displayed an interest in the project, according to sources. The novel previously was adapted for the big screen in 1989 (with the creepy line by little boy Gage “First I play with Judd, then Mommy came, and I play with Mommy. We play Daddy! We had a awfully good time! Now, I want to play with YOU!”), followed by a sequel in 1992.
‘Police Academy” is now recruiting
New Line has announced they will be bringing back the long running franchise “Police Academy” back to the local cineplex by way of original series producer Paul Maslansky (“Return to Oz”, “Ski Patrol”). The first film, released in 1984, featured a memorable cast in Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith, David Graf, and Michael Winslow (Bobcat Goldthwait didn’t appear until the sequel, 1985’s “Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment”). No crew has been announced. No other detail available at this time.
Dermot Mulroney joins ‘Rockford Files’
Joining the ranks for reboots and re-imaginings is NBC’s “Rockford Files”, based on the original 1974 series that starred James Garner and ran until 1980. Dermot Mulroney (“My Best Friends Wedding”, “Must Love Dogs”, “The Family Stone”) has been cast as the lead. Executive Producer David Shore (“House) stated “the new Rockford character is slightly crumpled, wry humored, cynical, world weary, compassionate when it’s called for and easily irritated by morons.” Original series was about an ex-con-turned-private-investigator named Jim Rockford who would rather run away than fight and would rather go fishing than work.
Blue ‘Smurfs’ are coming to the silver screen
Neil Patrick Harris, Jonathan Winters, George Lopez, Katy Perry and Alan Cumming have been cast in Sony’s live-action/CG film “The Smurfs”, based on the 1980’s cartoon of the same name. Jordan Kerner (“Mighty Ducks”, “Snow Dogs”, “Inspector Gadget”) is producing for director Raja Gosnell (“Scooby Doo”, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, “Never Been Kissed”) from a screenwriting teams David N. Weiss & J. David Stem (“The Rugrats Movie”, “Shrek 2”, “Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius”) and Jay Sherick & David Ronn (“I Spy”, “Guess Who”, “Norbit”).
‘Green Lantern’ in 3D
Warner Bros. has announced they will be releasing comic book movie “Green Lantern”, directed by Martin Campbell (“Mask of Zorro”, “Casino Royale”, “Edge of Darkness”) and starring Ryan Reynolds (“Van Wilder”, “X-Men Origins: Wolverine”, “The Proposal”) in 3D. That actually sounds like it may be fun to see, contrary to other recently announced 3D films.
Oscars shorts online
If you haven’t had a chance to see the nominated Best Short Film - Live Action and Best Short Film - Animation films, they are now available on iTunes. Do check out my pick for best ani, “Logorama”. I don’t think I’ve been as entertained by an animation in my entire adult life. It is definitely worth checking out.
Road to Oscars: Up & Up In The Air
As I’ve noted all week, I’ve created a blog at Creative Saloon. This week I’ll be reviewing the top 10 best picture nominees for the Academy Awards. Yesterday (I still need to post it in a short bit, as I had upload problems yesterday) I wrote about “The Blind Side & Precious”. (Update: Road to Oscars: The Blind Side & Precious now up.) Previous posts were “Avatar & District 9” and “An Education & A Serious Man”, and “Hurt Locker & Inglorious Basterds”. In today’s post I write about “Up & Up in the Air”. Look for that to drop a little later today. I welcome any thoughts that you all have regarding these films. So come on by and give them a read. And let all of us at Creative Saloon know what you think!
Well, as anyone can guess, the top movie to see this weekend will be Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”. And be sure to Netflix any films left to see for Sundays Big Oscar Show. We at Creative Saloon will be recording our reactions immediately following for our next episode of the podcast “Spotlight On: Entertainment”. That will drop later Sunday night/early Monday morning. Look for it wherever you get your podcasts!
Well, that’s it for the week. Have a great weekend.
Stay tuned...