Will "Mad Men" really be back this summer?

The Variety piece about this that caught my eye does indeed feature the much more optimistic headline " 'Mad Men' Season 3 set for summer," and I really can't see anyway that AMC would really let its clear franchise show fail.

It was more than a little distressing, however, to hear that executive producer and creator Matthew Weiner, who has said he foresees a five-season arc for what is clearly TV's current best drama (with all apologies to "Friday Night Lights") still hadn't signed a new contract with Liongate. Sign the man up already! Here's what AMC president Charlie Collier had to say Thursday:

"As long as we get the writers' room up and running over the next few months, we're fine (for a summer launch)," Collier told reporters after the sesh, adding that he's optimistic that an agreement with Weiner will be reached soon.

Good news indeed, hopefully, since I just can't wait to see what happens to Sterling Cooper and, of course, to our hero Don Draper. Along with the "Mad Men" return came news about what AMC will be using it to launch, which sounds like it could be pretty cool in its own right.

The cable network is cooking up a six-part remake of the '60s British show "The Prisoner," set to star Jesus (a k a James Caviezel) as "No. Six" and, even better, Sir Ian McKellen as "No. 2," the mysterious official charged with extracting secrets from "No. Six."

A solid two-hour block of summer entertainment. I can only say bring it on.

"Iron Man 2" cast taking shape in great form

Perhaps even better than the news on who will play the villains in "Iron Man 2" is at least the implication that there will only be two of them (at least someone managed to learn something from the excremental "Spider-Man 3"!)

According to multiple sources, Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell are set to sign on as the big baddies who will do battle with Robert Downey Jr's Tony Stark when the second installment hits in summer of 2010.

The Hollywood Reporter has the most details about Rourke's character, who would be called the "Crimson Dynamo" and be: "An evil version of Iron Man who battles the superhero in a nuclear powered suit of armor." Nothing but cool there.

Rockwell will play Justin Hammer, a multibillionaire and business rival of Tony Stark. I just love the possibilities opening up here, especially with the franchise continuing with great actors playing smart villains (following Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane), even if Terrence Howard is out as Rhodey and being replaced by the equally intriguing Don Cheadle.


What's Jean Pierre Jeunet up to?

When I first heard Jean Pierre Jeunet was going to direct a movie based on Yann Martel's "The Life of Pi," I can't say my reaction was much more than meh. I thought the novel, about a character (I'm not kidding) who survives for more than 200 days on a lifeboat with an orangutan, a tiger and various other zoo animals, had its charms, but I also just though Jeunet could do so much better.

Well, apparently so does he. After backing out of "The Life of Pi," he's now apparently well into something called "Micmacs a Tire Larigot" (and though I have a rudimentary knowledge of French, don't ask me what in the world that means.) Here, however, is a rather interesting snippet that falls short of a plot summary, courtesy of Twitchfilm:

Is it better to live with a bullet lodged in your brain, even if it means you might drop dead any time? Or would you rather have the bullet taken out and live the rest of your life as a vegetable? Are zebras white with black stripes or black with white stripes? Is scrap metal worth more than landmines? Can you get drunk from eating waffles? Can a woman fit inside a refrigerator? What’s the human cannonball world record?
Find out answers to these questions and more.
A comedy in the vein of Delicatessen and Amélie.

The IMDB describes it further only as "a satiric comedy set in the world of illegal gun trade," but whatever this turns out to be I only hope I get to see it fairly soon. The photo above is courtesy of Twitchfilm also, and they have plenty of more stills from "Micmacs a Tire Largot" you can view here.

"Amelie" is just one of those movies I return to a couple of times each year when I need a lift, and "City of Lost Children" is even better, so any news about Jeunet is welcome in this little corner of the world.

And, since it's Friday, I'll leave you with this fairly disturbing poster from Tyler Perry's "Madea Goes to Jail," set to drop in February. I'm a big fan of Tyler Perry, so here's hoping probably beyond hope that this turns out to remarkably funny. Peace out.