Oh, the horror

Really, how hard of a sell could a smart sci-fi movie directed by Alfonso Cuaron be? I'd certainly buy a ticket, especially since his take on "Children of Men" was my second-favorite movie of 2006 (second only to Guillermo del Toro's sublime "Pan's Labyrinth").

His "Gravity," however, has had a heck of a time even getting off the ground. Though Robert Downey Jr. is still solidly attached in a supporting role, the lead role has already been turned down by Angelina Jolie, but now it looks like there might be a new candidate (and a clear case of trading up in my book.)

Natalie Portman, who stars in Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan" this fall, has been offered the role, and is now reading the script, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

So, what's the movie about? Co-written by Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron, the 3D (I guess I should just accept it by now) survival story is about a woman (Portman, if she wants it) stranded on a space station after satellite debris slams into it and wipes out the rest of the crew. Sounds great to me, so here's hoping this actually gets going sometime soon.

OK, after that today it's all about horror and humor (at least until the clips), two things that, when done right, just go so well together.

And one recent movie that got the mix just about perfect was "Zombieland." The director of that flick, Ruben Fleischer, is now shooting "30 Minutes or Less" with Danny McBride, Aziz Ansari and "Zombieland" star Jesse Eisenberg, who shared a juicy tidbit about a possible "Zombieland 2" with Shock Till You Drop.

Eisenberg said a first draft of the script for the sequel has been completed by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (the writers of the first flick) and turned into Sony, although he hasn't read it yet. According to Shock Till You Drop, Fleischer has read the script. Here's what he had to say:

"Yeah, I read it. I mean, it's an early draft and we have plenty more to do to work on it, but I think it's going to be amazing, I'm really excited about it."

I am too, but Fleischer apparently has a lot of options for what comes next. Here's hoping it's "Zombieland 2," because, let's face it, zombies are just a heck of a lot funnier than vampires will ever be.

And speaking of humor and horror, Bruce Campbell knows a lot about both, and at least wants to unleash something on the world that would by force have to be a little bit fun. Though most every one I know loathes "My Name Is Bruce," I kind of liked it for the little humor/horror flick it was without ever attempting to be anything more. Well, he says he's now plotting a sequel of sorts, "Bruce Vs. Frankenstein," for which I suppose the plot would have to be rather obvious. Here's what he had to say about it to the L.A. Times, via Screen Rant:

“Yeah, The Expendables, or more like the It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World of horror. I want to get so many horror movie stars that people can’t possibly not see the movie. I want to give them other stuff to do. I want to have Kane Hodder be very particular about what he eats. I want Robert Englund to be a tough guy, like he knows tae kwon do or something. I want to find out the hidden sides of all these people. Some will play themselves, some will play alternate characters as well. I may approach Kane Hodder to play Frankenstein. He could be Kane Hodder himself fighting himself as Frankenstein. It could be crazy. It’s a silly concocted story that we hope to do maybe in a year or so. My breaks between Burn Notice have been getting tighter because they’ve been adding episodes. They’re trying to trap me like a rat in the TV world, and I might just let them. There’s a script, it just kind of blows right now, so no one’s really seeing it. We gotta work on it. Definitely shoot in Oregon all on a stage. It’s like the 300 of horror comedies. We want to make it a whole world. Someone’s gotta take Frank down for good.”

Sounds like a straight-to-DVD kind of thing, clearly, if it ever happens, but one that will probably make me at least pony up for a rental.

OK, moving into the clips, let's keep the horror streak going a little longer. But first, if you happen to be a fan of "Mad Men," I think many people will agree with me that last Sunday's Don and Peggy episode was just about the show's finest hour. I can't wait to find out if Don has finally hit bottom or if there's further to fall. Just about when "Mad Men" wraps up again or shortly after, AMC will be premiering Frank Darabont's six-episode (so far at least) zombie series "The Walking Dead," which was filmed just up the road from me in Atlanta. Enjoy this latest TV promo, and certainly tune in when the show debuts, naturally, on Halloween.



And to close with something a little different, I can't say I've been particularly interested in the upcoming action-comedy "Red," but that's simply because I'm unfamiliar with the DC Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer. However, when you put together a cast that somehow includes Dame Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker and even the great Brian Cox, you've got my attention. In the flick, Mirren, Malkovich, Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman play top CIA agents who get framed for an assassination and must join forces to break into CIA headquarters and "uncover one of the biggest conspiracies and cover-ups in government history." Sounds like awfully fun stuff if they accent the humor, and judging from this first clip featuring Mirren and Willis, it looks like they will. Enjoy, keep an eye out for the movie Oct. 15, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.