Mr. Peabody and Sherman?

Apparently this is the week to mess with things that made our childhoods fun. Following on the heels of the announcement about "Horton Hears a Who" comes word that Dreamworks will make an animated feature based on Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

This one doesn't fill me with nearly as much dread as "Horton," perhaps because the duo, unlike Horton, haven't already starred in their own flawless film. And also because their globe-trotting adventures were always my favorite thing about "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show."

One last sign of hope is that "Lion King" director Rob Minkoff is being brought on to co-write and direct. Though this will be digitally animated, Minkoff clearly understands that a good story is worth at least much as the latest technology.

But there are, of course, warning signs. "The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle," the live-action "movie" made about our heroes, was simply too awful to describe fully in a blog linked from a family newspaper. And though, as you may have figured out, I see many, many, movies, even I didn't bother with "Dudley Do-Right."

But it's Friday morning, so I'm gonna just stay positive for now and hope for the best. Feel free to let me know what you think.

New project for De Niro

After years now of trying (and often succeeding) to be a funny man, Robert De Niro appears to be headed back to more familiar turf with "The Winter of Frankie Machine."

"Ocean's 13" screenwriters Brian Koppelman and David Levien have been hired to adapt the Don Winslow novel for Paramount Pictures. The project is about a mob hitman who gave up the game for a quiet life as the proprietor of a bait shop. When the son of a mob boss asks for his backup to help resolve a dispute with another Mafioso, he agrees, only to find he's been set up for a hit.

Sounds like a perfect setup for De Niro, but I guess we can't really judge yet; the book doesn't even come out until Sept. 26. So, Mike Judge's apparently-quite-funny "Idiocracy" can only play in about five cities before hitting DVD, but a book nobody's seen yet get's A-list screenwriters and Robert De Niro? Sheesh.

Even so, this could definitely turn out to be great, so keep your eyes on it.

Thanks DBT's

I close today with a hearty word of thanks to the Drive-By-Truckers, who brought the rock show to Macon and brought our often-sleepy town to vibrant life for a few hours last night.

Telegraph music critic Maggie Large will soon be giving the full lowdown in her great blog Amped, but here are just a few impressions from what turned out to be a fantastic night.

I knew it was going to be something special when Patterson Hood opened the show by saying "this song turns 5 years old today" before tearing into "Ronnie and Neil." It turned out it was also Mike "Stroker Ace" Cooley's 40th birthday, so the Jack Daniels was flowing even freer than usual.

If I had written the set list, it would have looked muck like it did for this show at the Capitol Theatre. The highlight, for me, was "Dead, Drunk and Naked" followed rightly and directly by a blistering "Guitar Man Upstairs." Patterson was even more talkative than usual (thanks, Mr. Daniels), and he reminded us that the epic "Southern Rock Opera" came out five years ago this week (on Sept. 12, 2001, oddly enough.) The show was heavy on "SRO" songs both great ("Women Without Whisky") and not-so-great ("Get Your Ass on the Plane.") It was nice to hear so many old favorites again from the band in top form.

In a quieter moment, Jason Isbell delivered the soulful protest "Dress Blues," followed directly by a Tom T. Hall song about Vietnam. A very strong statement and a surprisingly good song by Mr. Isbell.

They closed the opening set with a rousing run through "Buttholeville," which I've decided not to take as a shot at Macon. As we filtered out of the theater at 1 a.m. with the feedback from "Angels and Fuselage" still filling the room, it wouldn't have mattered to me if it was; they brought the rock, and for once Macon responded in kind with a huge turnout.

In DBT news, Patterson announced the guys and gal will be in residence at the fabulous 40 Watt in Athens for two shows Nov. 3 and 4, so mark your calendar and make plans now. I'll see you there.