Finally, Peter Jackson's "Hobbit"?

There's news (and speculation) about four of my favorite directors today, so this week is starting out pretty well in my little corner of the world.

First, the big kahuna. It was revealed at Variety.com this morning that MGM CEO Harry Sloan has plans for several tentpole pics, including THE HOBBIT WITH PETER JACKSON! (Also included were much less exciting plans for sequels to "The Pink Panther" and "The Thomas Crown Affair," plus "Terminator 4," but those just pale in comparison.)

The catch? Well, apparently there are several. First of all, according to Aintitcool, where, unlike me, they apparently have Mr. Jackson on speeddial, MGM hasn't even talked to the director about this yet. While he said would of course be interested, with directing "Lovely Bones" and producing "The Dam Busters" (and maybe others), Mr. Jackson's plate would seem to be pretty full at the moment.

Secondly, the rights to "The Hobbit" are a bit jumbled. Though MGM owns the distribution rights, somehow New Line owns the rights to make the film, so any project would have to be a partnership between the two studios (which certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility.)

I get excited just thinking about the possibility of a GOOD "Hobbit" movie. It's definitely my favorite story in Tolkein's canon, probably because I grew up learning to play the piano to those silly Rankin-Bass songs. This seems destined to come together somehow, hopefully sooner rather than later. I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear more.

Spike returning to "NoLa"

Due to the fact I neither bother to pay for HBO nor own a video tape that's less then 5 years old, I have yet to see Spike Lee's documentary about Katrina's devastation of New Orleans. When I asked my good friend Beth MacFadyen to tape it for me, I only got back a mangled tape.

I will see it soon (I'm gonna check after I finish this post and, if I can, move it to the top of my Netflix queue.)

Now, however, comes not-terribly-surprising news that Spike isn't quite done telling the story of what happened to the Crescent City. According to the Hollywood Reporter, he has signed on to develop a scripted drama for NBC set in New Orleans. Titled "NoLa," it will explore the post-Katrina lives of New Orleans residents from different social and economic backgrounds.

"It's a show about the city trying to rebuild itself and the people who are trying to put their lives together," Lee said.

The best news for the city: "NoLa" will be filmed on location in New Orleans.

"We don't have to build sets," Lee said with irony. "Things there still look like the city's been bombed out."

No word yet on when we might actually get to see this, but count me at least as excited to see it happening. Spike invokes strong emotions in everyone, but the one thing you can't call him is boring. I can't wait to see what he does with the many stories still waiting to rise up from N'awlins.


Casting for Tarantino's half of "Grindhouse"

It seems like Quentin and Robert Rodriguez have been working on "Grindhouse" for at least five years now. I'm sure that by the time it's finally ready the hype will be unbearable, but I'm still fairly confident whatever comes out of this mess will be a lot of fun.

Now comes news that the cast for Tarantino's half, "Death Proof," has been finalized with the additions of Michael Bacall ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), horror director Eli Roth and newcomer Omar Doom. Add them to the already announced Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Rose McGowan, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Marley Shelton, Tracie Thoms and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and you've got a pretty cool ensemble (Russell stepped in a while back to replace Mickey Rourke.)

What I've been able to decipher about the story, however, doesn't sound that exciting. All I know is that Russell will apparently have a literally "killer" car, a la Christine.

Details, at least for me, are even sketchier on Mr. Rodriguez's half of this. Titled "Planet Terror," it will star Freddy Rodriguez (wtf!), McGowan, Josh Brolin, Naveen Andrews, Shelton, Michael Biehn, Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas (again, wtf!), Jeff Fahey and Michael Parks. Beyond the cheesily great title of this one, I have no idea what it's about. If anyone knows more than me on either half of this, please feel free to spill the beans.

Tarantino apparently began shooting "Death Proof" in August in Austin, and Rodriguez has already completed principal photography on "Planet Terror." Their take on '70s exploitation films is set to released on Easter weekend - April 6, 2007.

Whatever comes out of this mess should at least be a fun build-up to the summer onslaught. Here's hoping it turns out better than I'm starting to fear it will.