An Australian artist by the name of Josh McMahon has created some very cool fan art for the Batman universe. Above, check out an image of Kristen Bell as Harley Quinn. While I'm not so sure the actress would do wonders with that role, I think this doctored-up photo is damn pretty to look at ... and it kinda puts me in the mood to see Quinn in the next Batman flick. Over on McMahon's gallery (which includes several other fan-inspired images), he says that, originally, he planned to use this image as an April Fools Joke and team with a bunch of websites to trick the world into believing Kristen Bell had a small cameo in The Dark Knight. All I'll say is that would've been a fun couple of days right there ... We've included three images in the gallery below (larger version of Bell, a sample image from Batman 3 with Marion Cotillard as Catwoman and another with Anne Hathaway as Batgirl), then head on over to McMahon's page to see a whole bunch more.

Whaddya think? Kristen Bell as Harley Quinn? Marion Cotillard as Catwoman?



[via Slashfilm]

The Halloween series has its own documentary. As does the Psycho series, the Jaws series ... Hell, even Troll 2 has its own documentary. So it's perfectly OK with me if someone wants to pick up a camera, snag a bunch of interviews, and put together a nice, shiny Friday the 13th documentary. And according to Shock, that's precisely what someone is doing.

That person is Daniel Farrands, editor of Peter Bracke's stellar Crystal Lake Memories tome, screenwriter of Halloween 6 and The Girl Next Door, and producer of a DVD documentary for The Amityville Horror. So obviously this guy has the qualifications to produce a Friday the 13th doco. His Name Was Jason will premiere on the Starz channel next February, just in time for the swanky new remake of Friday the 13th. And you can probably expect the Anchor Bay Jason DVD to hit the shelves right around the time that remake hits digital. Along with a new box set from Paramount. You just watch.

Looks like I should head out to L.A. and give Dan a call. I'm like a Jason encyclopedia.

Time for yet another remake of a movie you only vaguely remember -- if at all. It's one of the biggest successes of the mega-prolific Larry Cohen's career, but It's Alive DID come out in 1974, and that's, like, ancient to horror fans of a certain age. Yes, it's the movie about a homicidal infant, and sure, it already spawned two sequels of its own (It Lives Again in 1978 and Island of the Alive in 1987... so I guess this makes it high time for the remake route.

The new version stars Bijou Philips and is helmed by Josef Rusnak, he of The Thirteenth Floor and the recent Art of War 2. According to the IMDb, Larry Cohen is still on board as a screenwriter, but he may have had no involvement besides saying OK and collecting a check. The release date (video, no doubt) on this Millennium Films title is still uncertain, but Bloody-D has a rather lengthy promo clip that ... doesn't look half-bad! Check it out here and share your thoughts, gorehounds, especially if you know (and enjoy) the original version.

P.S. You can get the whole "Alive" trilogy on DVD for about 14 bucks.

It's a lonely day in the neighborhood ....

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: I'm not sure whether Warner Bros. was prepared for the ridiculous fanboy (and girl) backlash that came with pushing the film's release date back several months to the middle of July, 2009, though it looks like they've re-grouped, dusted themselves off and are preparing to get that marketing machine up and running again. Following a statement from Warners chief Alan Horn (included after the jump) comes word from our friends at Bloghogwarts that Warner Bros. has sent in a new trailer (marked at a minute and a half) to the BBFC for approval. Could this be the studio's version of make-up sex? (PG rated make-up sex, of course.) Only time will tell ...

Inglorious Bastards: These days, when it comes to the cast of Quentin Tarantino's WWII flick Inglorious Bastards, nothing is set in stone (or badass, motherf**king stone, as QT would say). Thus, we want to be real careful about this latest news (via Variety) that Michael Fassbender is "in talks" to join the ensemble cast. Note that he's "in talks", as were a few other guys (Simon Pegg, David Krumholtz, though the latter is still mentioned by the trade) before they dropped out. Though they don't say who he'd be playing, the German-speaking actor would most likely take on the role of badass motherf**king Nazi in charge of total damage ... which sounds about right to me. Fassbender, of course, is best known for his role as Stelios in 300, and is still set to appear opposite Abbie Cornish in Wuthering Heights.

The upcoming Death Race remake may look nothing like the original (nor have any awesome point collections like the original, which you can see above), but maybe that's because it isn't actually based on the classic cult movie?

The Hollywood Reporter posts that writer Adam Stone is determined to stop the release of Death Race, which is scheduled to hit screens this Friday. He's filed a copywright infringement lawsuit claiming that the film is based on a script he pitched to director Paul W. S. Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. He thinks that a copy of the script, Joust, was kept and worked into what seems to be a Death Race 2000 revamp -- one with at least 39 elements that are just like his refused screenplay.

Is this why the film is darker, less campy, and with a lot less reported civilian casualties? Currently, Universal has declined to comment and there's no word on what damages Stone is seeking from the lawsuit.

Were you out there feeling like there were still just too many unanswered questions in The Fast and the Furious franchise? Okay, probably not, because that's like asking for CliffsNotes for an episode of The Hills. But, I guess somebody out there felt there was some explaining to do, because Coming Soon reports that Vin Diesel (who plays muscle car driver extraordinaire, Dominic Torretto) will be directing a 20-minute prequel to the upcoming Fast and Furious.

There aren't many details on the short, but starring alongside Diesel will be Michelle Rodriguez, who will reprise her role as Letty, and Sung Kang will also be returning as Han. Diesel did not provide any details about the story for the short, but for those of you who are well versed in the world of Fast and Furious, you can probably guess that it will act as a tie-in to bring together the events of the second and third films.

I'll admit I was surprised to discover that Diesel has already directed before. Mainly they were other short films, but back in 1997, he wrote, directed, and starred in Strays, a drama about hustlers, and of course, there are still those long-standing rumors about Diesel directing his own Hannibal (not the cannibal) feature. Nobody knows for sure where the Fast and Furious prequel will appear first, but the obvious choice would be online. There is also a chance that to drum up a little business Universal will premiere it on TV, or as an extra on the DVD. One thing is for sure, unless Justin Lin has the running time of Fast and Furious down to 70 minutes, I doubt we'll be seeing it in theaters.

Fast and Furious is scheduled to open on June 5th, 2009.

As you all know, Ben Stiller is taking on the wacky museum world once again for Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian. One of the big casting announcements for this sequel was Amy Adams as Amelia Earhart. Now you can see a glimpse of her as the famous pilot above, then check out one more below (featuring a few old friends) and others at TheBadandtheUgly (note: images possibly contain romantic subplot spoilers, so be warned). How cute is she?

I'm sorry Hilary, but I'm really digging the look of Adams as Earhart much more. I think the big difference between the two is that Adams seems completely natural as Amelia. Adams looks like she walked right out of the same time, whereas Swank's Amelia looks more costumed and much less natural -- at least, based on the images we've seen online.

The showdown of the Amelias will take place next year. Amelia is set to hit theaters some time in 2009, while Night at the Museum will hit screens on May 22, 2009. Which do you prefer?

Above: At the request of director Michael Bay, Transformers 2 star Megan Fox turns her B into a C.

Lord knows what Megan Fox is doing in the above photo (exercising her breasts for an action scene?), though it may have something to do with Michael Bay's main directorial note (mentioned in this earlier post), which is to "just look hot." Regardless of Fox's boob shuffle, her and co-star Shia LaBeouf are back to work on the set of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, and, yes, it certainly looks like they've worked Shia's bandaged hand into the script (based on the photos below). They even added a bunch of badass blood to it! Seeing as folks who get injured in movies never wear any bandages, it should be rather interesting to see how they work this in (ahem, too many nights up late "thinking" about Megan Fox???). Check out a few photos from the set (and Shia's bloody, bandaged hand) in the gallery below, then scope out the rest over at Spoiler TV.

Update: Thanks to Cinematical reader Erik for pointing out the fact that Fox is wearing a ring on a certain finger. Does it mean something? Here, take a closer look at this photo to the right (and click to enlarge). You tell us ...

It seems my favorite superhero is about to enter the land of ugly rumors. According to Hollywood Elsewhere, there's trouble on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It seems that director Gavin Hood and Fox co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman are butting heads over the look and feel of the film.

Hood, being a smart man who knows his character, wants the film to be dark and gritty. Rothman wants a happier, friendlier, Iron Man sort of film. Apparently, things came to a head at least once on set when Hood came to work to find one of his dingy and somber sets completely repainted into something brighter and more cheerful. (I bet they even put one of those "Hang in there!" kitten posters on the wall.) The set revamp had been done on Rothman's orders, who has a reputation for being stubborn and micromanaging. It's not clear from the second-hand story who won out on this particular battle, but if we see a chirpier set design on opening day, we'll know.

Word around town had production troubled for awhile (it's all anyone talked about prior to the footage screening at ComicCon, though it's all been very hush hush) -- and I'm also under the impression from ComicCon that the film has finally wrapped, so all this set redecoration may be very old and irrelevant news. Perhaps Hood has already won out, as the teaser footage certainly suggested that it was a bit grittier than Iron Man or the previous X-Men films. Please, let that be the case. If I'm disappointed by Wolverine (and I inevitably will be), I don't want it to be because my beloved Logan has a penchant for kitten posters.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens May 1st, 2009.

Today will be partly cloudy with a chance of kick ass!

The Hobbit: Not long ago Guillermo Del Toro told fans that his next move was to begin work on The Hobbit script very soon. Well guess what? To our complete shock and surprise, the dude actually followed through on all this "writing script nonsense" and -- wait for it -- started working on the script (along with LOTR partners Frank Walsh and Philippa Boyens). YES! And this is, like, the BIGGEST news online today. "NEWSFLASH: Del Toro is on page 12 and he's already introduced 750 new creatures!" I give up ... call me in 12 years when the film is finally complete and ready to hit theaters.

The Dark Knight: You've watched the movie countless times, followed hundreds of viral sites, read thousands of stories on Heath Ledger and why he deserves to square off against Jesus up in heaven for a chance to be God's new (and much more well-liked) son -- so, what's left? Well, if you still haven't overdosed on The Dark Knight and/or are in desperate need of another Batman fix, feel free to feast your eyes on the film's script. Yes, JoBlo managed to snag a copy of the entire thing (read it here) for you to save, print out and do whatever it is you freaks do with stuff like that. Personally, I enjoyed reading it to see where they trimmed and cut and called Wonder Woman a whore. Kidding! Just wanna make sure you're paying attention.

Poltergeist remake: Because in this one she's watching a reality show, gets pulled into the television and subsequently bores herself to death. [Writes down notes for Poltergeist 2 pitch ...] Anyway, THR tells us that Boogeyman writers Juliet Snowden and Stiles "I wonder how many Teen Wolf jokes he got growing up" White will pen the script for the remake of this classic spooky flick. "Too soon!" yelled a nobody movie blogger, but alas it was too late.