De Palma and Capone, together again

One of my favorite movie sites in the world is the Frenchie Cinempire.com. This morning they had an intriguing tidbit, which I'll do my best to translate (though I haven't spoken French regularly for more than 15 years.)

If I have this right, Brian De Palma is cooking up a prequel of sorts to "The Untouchables," to be called "The Untouchables: Capone Rising." It will be written by Brian Koppelman and David Levien and, as the title implies, it will be about the arrival of Capone in Chicago and his rise to power, plus the beginning of his relationship with copper Jimmy Malone (played with relish by Sean Connery in the first flick.)

De Palma definitely has his detractors (including me; I couldn't even bring myself to watch "The Black Dahlia.") As popcorn flicks go, however, I thought "The Untouchables" was a lot of fun, and this certainly could be too.

Shooting is scheduled to start in june 2007, so this is definitely one to keep your eyes on.

Hughes brothers are back

Allen and Albert Hughes accomplished a singular feat in my book, before disappearing completely for the last five years: They managed to make four good movies in a row.

Arriving in style with "Menace II Society," they got even better through "Dead Presidents" and "American Pimp," then stumbled a bit with their still-entertaining take on Jack the Ripper, "From Hell." And then, for whatever reason, they just stopped.

What does it take to bring them back? The chance to bring the 1970s TV show "Kung Fu" to be big screen, of course. They apparently lobbied for the job for more than two years, and I for one am glad they got it.

Why? While I've railed fairly consistently against remakes in this space, "Kung Fu" is ripe for updating. Though I watch it when it's on, it's hardly a classic. It's a good concept that could use a dose of style from these two talented directors.

Shooting for Legendary Pictures is scheduled to start next year, and the brothers have apparently already reached out to the Shaolin Temple outside Beijing where nonviolent monks who train in martial arts were the inspiration for the series protagonist, Caine.

I'm sure many will disagree, but I don't see how this can turn out to be anything but fun. Welcome back, Mssrs. Hughes.

Huzzah to Emory

While I wish they would have made this stand on cinematic rather than moral ground, the end result can only be a good thing.

McG has been hatching a remake of "Revenge of the Nerds" (stop a minute to digest that excremental concept), but Emory University, just up from the road from me in Atlanta, has thankfully blocked his path.

Balking at the raunchy nature of the project, Emory has backed out of its agreement to allow the film to be shot there, forcing it to at least temporarily shut down and fly all the actors back to L.A.

Fox Atomic was alerted to the issue four days before the shoot was planned to start on Oct. 9. After attempting to shoot at other colleges in Atlanta, the decision was made to call it quits and figure out a new plan.

Production is now officially on hiatus, with the clock ticking, considering that winter (and snow) is approaching, and much of the film is set outdoors in autumn, back-to-school weather.

A Fox Atomic rep said that Fox was still hoping to release the film in August and that all of the cast and crew remain intact.

I love Emory already for a completely personal reason: Dr. Wojna from its hospital removed a cyst from one of my tear ducts, and did a bang-up job. (In an example of the kind of humor I appreciate only when it happens to someone else, he waited until the operation was over to say "I'm sure glad we didn't find any cancer in there." Sheesh.)

Anyways, for whatever reason Emory did this, it has to be commended. McG must be stopped, by any means necessary.