JACK REACHER Sequel Unlikely

A friend with whom I watched JACK REACHER, who enjoyed it as I did, sent me this word that a sequel is unlikely.

Though the movie has made a profit on its $60 million production budget, apparently Paramount's sales figure to greenlight a sequel is $250 million. I think that was too much to expect with holiday competition like THE HOBBIT and LES MISERABLES.

Smallville Season 9?

Steve Younis's Superman Homepage relays news from Ask Ausiello that Tom Welling is close to signing on for a ninth season of Smallville. I've been calling for Smallville to wrap for years. At the same time, I have kept up more or less. That may change when Bones moves to Thursdays starting next week.

I think Clark could become Superman on Smallville. Smallville is more than the name of a town; it's also Lois's nickname for Clark, even as he regularly dons the cape and tights.

Then again, Catherine Bell signed on for an eleventh season of JAG that never materialized, so we'll see.

Allison Mack Leaving Smallville?

TV Guide rounds up the rumors.

The show is on its last legs as is. It might be best to let everything end with next week's season finale. I recall that Catherine Bell had signed on for an eleventh season of JAG and Lois & Clark was picked up for a fifth season, neither of which happened.

Selfishly, if the show ended, The CW would have more reason to pick up Reaper.

MacGyver Following Indy Again?

On the heels of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, a childhood friend of MacGyver's roped him into a quest for the Holy Grail ("Legend of the Holy Rose"). With Indy's first film adventure in nineteen years just weeks away, MacGyver creator Lee David Zlotoff lets slip his plans for a film. Join me in calling for the casting of Richard Dean Anderson. There can be only one.

No More Moneypenny?

The Hints & Allegations section of the Winter 2008 Mystery Scene brings word that Q and Moneypenny will no longer appear in the James Bond films. Also, Bond will apparently get married in November's Quantum of Solace.

Quantum of Solace

You've probably heard Quantum of Solace is the title of this year's James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig. You may know that Ian Fleming's story "Quantum of Solace" wasn't a spy story and featured Bond only in the background at a Bahamian dinner party. Wikipedia can give you a synopsis of the movie.

Nowhere else on the Web will you find my friends' parodies on the title:

Harry Potter and the Quantum of Solace (Andrew Carbone)

Star Wars Episode I: The Quantum Solace (John Ricotta)

Spongebob Squarepants II: Quantum of Starfish (Gerald So)


and my projected lyrics to the film's title song:

Tell me, oh please tell me this.
How will I get
a Quantum of Solace?

When you go for the kill,
best not to miss.
I'll never give
a Quantum of Solace.

Have you heard the news, makin' all the headlines

This bit of chorus from "Bit by Bit," featured in the first Fletch movie, leads into news that Steve Pink has replaced Bill Lawrence at the helm of the upcoming Fletch Won, and Joshua Jackson is slated to star. Lawrence's enthusiasm for Fletch had me hoping, but as Crimespree's Jeremy Lynch says, Pink may be able to bring in some Grosse Point Blank flavor. We'll see.

If this sounds like you...

From TVGuide.com's Ausiello Report:

One of my Smallville moles tells me that producers are looking for an "extremely hot" thirtysomething actor to play the new editor of the "Daily Planet" - presumably replacing that slacker Princess Leia, er, Pauline Kahn. He'll appear in six of the first eight episodes and, per my Super spy, will be a love interest for Lois Lane.

Shark Season Finale

Stark has a rematch with Wayne Callison (Billy Campbell), the serial killer who earlier in the season got off on a technicality by driving the prosecution's star witness to hang herself. This time around, Callison seems to have committed another murder just as he's published a book on how he beat Stark in court.

Though his staff finds the timing odd, Sebastian insists that Callison is a creature of habit, with a need to kill. When his seeming vendetta against Callison gets him dismissed from the case, Stark goes to recently-ousted D.A. Jessica Devlin (Jeri Ryan) for an assist.

The surface drama is high, but it's nothing compared to the final reveal that Stark had been orchestrating Callison's downfall since his improbable acquittal—putting the players in place, keeping his staff in the dark, leaving no trail of evidence. And just after we get a glimpse of his old ruthless ways, we get a moving scene between father and daughter in which Stark is completely vulnerable letting Julie go to New York for a summer study program.

It's been rumored that Jeri Ryan is leaving the show, but the finale hinted that her character might team up with Stark. I hope this happens as she deserves more screen time.

The Bloody Sock

Current Baltimore Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne evidently said during a game that the sock soaked in Curt Schilling's blood during his heroic comeback performance in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees was a painted hoax. Thorne said Red Sox catcher Doug Marabelli told him the sock was painted. Mirabelli denies saying anything.

My take as a Yankee fan: So what? We lost.

Studio Briefing: Superman Promises More Action Next Time Around

Brandon Routh, the actor who played Superman in last year's franchise revival Superman Returns, has indicated that the producers of the next sequel were sensitive to audience and critical complaints that the film lacked sufficient action sequences. In an interview with the online edition of Britain's Empire magazine, Routh said that the last man-of-steel movie was formulated so that it would show Superman's love for Lois Lane and villain Lex Luthor using that against him. "I just know that in the next film there will be a lot of action and I'm gonna get to fight something, or someone. An enemy with real physical power might be worked in there, definitely." Routh provided no details, saying only that the sequel was about to begin pre-production "so there's a lot of ideas in the air and a lot of discussion about what's going to happen with it. I promise a lot of excitement."

Excuse me, but Superman Returns had enough action. What it lacked was play on the dilemma of Superman and Clark Kent being the same person. The promise of more action doesn't bode well for what I'd like to see: more of Clark juggling his desire to assimilate into humanity and his duty to serve humanity but, in so doing, stand apart.

McConaughey, P.I.

On Tom Selleck's 62nd birthday I'm glancing at this graphic from EW.com's Popwatch Blog, and McConaughey (left) seems a decent rumored choice to play Magnum. I doubt the rumor because of its casting similarities to Sahara.

"To boldly go...Not so fast."

From WENN:

Abrams Slams 'Star Trek' Rumors

Mission: Impossible III director J.J. Abrams is hitting back at unauthorized reports he is directing the next Star Trek movie. The Alias creator is furious the news was released prematurely and is also upset that key details regarding the storyline were incorrectly reported. He explains to Empire online, "The whole thing was reported entirely without our cooperation. People learned that I was producing a Star Trek film, that I had an option to direct it, they hear rumors of what the thing was going to be and ran with a story that is not entirely accurate." Last week, Hollywood trade paper Variety, reported Abrams was on board and that the film would center on the early days of Captain James T. Kirk and Spock and that Philip Seymour Hoffman was in talks to play the ship's doctor. Abrams won't reveal the true storyline, but hints that it won't feature characters Captain James T. Kirk or Mr. Spock at all, but doesn't rule out bringing some of the original characters back for the new film, adding, "Those characters are so spectacular. I just think that..you know, they could live again."

Bloom, Orlando Bloom?

From IMDb:

Orlando To Bloom As Young 007?

Orlando Bloom's dream of becoming the next James Bond looks set to become reality - but he'll be playing the young 007. The Pirates Of The Caribbean actor has confirmed he has been in negotiations to star in Young 007. He says, "I love the idea, in principle, as he can be far more adventurous and do more stunts. This is as near as I think I will get to playing the grown up James for the next 20 years." The first Young 007 movie will be based on new novel Silverfin and will be set in the 1930s, years before Bond discovered he likes his Martinis shaken, not stirred. The film will follow the young Bond from school at Eton, England, to his uncle's house in the west Highlands.