It's official: David Simon hits New Orleans, and, yes, the X-men will go on forever

Actually, before we get into all that, there are two bits of news out there that offer varying degrees of promise.

First of all, there was apparently a screening last night for movie executives of Terry Gilliam's "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" in an attempt to finally find Heath Ledger's last flick an American distributor even before it screens out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival. This is easily bordering on pathetic, but at this point, whatever it takes to get this into a theater anywhere near my little corner of the world will be welcome. Stay tuned ...

And in great TV news, Mindy Kaling, a k a Kelly on "The Office," has signed her own deal with NBC. Kaling, who along with playing Kelly has been writing for "The Office" for years now, will continue to work on that show next season as she simultaneously develops a new comedy in which she would also star.

Among the episodes she's responsible for is the one that's still my single favorite, "Diwali," a k a the "Hindu Halloween." Here's hoping this leads to something seriously funny, because TV could certainly use it.

But here today it's mostly about the return of David Simon to HBO, which has been kicked around for awhile but is now official as it has picked up his pilot for "Treme" and will be taking it to series.

Though Simon has stressed this won't be making " 'The Wire' twice," it's clear that what he's cooking up with fellow "Homicide" scribe Eric Overmyer will be just as political and probably just as often maddeningly entertaining as that scarring portrait of Charm City was. Per Simon:

"It will be uplifting at points, and may make viewers a little angry at points," Simon said. "And at another point it will make viewers a little depressed."

And best of all, the cast will prominently feature two vets of "The Wire" and even a former "Homicide" beat cop. New Orleans native Wendell Pierce, a k a Bunk Moreland, will play a struggling trombonist and Khandi Alexander - who starred on Simon's "The Corner" - will play his ex-wife, who owns a bar. Amazingly enough, Clarke Peters - a k a Lester Freamon - will play the leader of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe. And rounding out the cast will be Steve Zahn as a DJ with "anger management issues," and even Melissa Leo as a civil rights lawyer.

So, now that it's going to series, when will we get to see any of this? Well, in a uniquely New Orleans twist, though the pilot has been shot, work on other episodes can't begin until after hurricane season, meaning the show probably won't hit the air until next spring.

Here's hoping it's not delayed any more than that (though that at least puts off the date I have to start paying for HBO again), since as anyone who watched "The Wire" - easily the best cop show ever - knows, Simon and company will have a lot to say, and about more than the Crescent City itself. Again, per Simon:

"Look at what happened down there after Katrina. A lot of things in which New Orleans depended on and trusted turned out to be wholly undependable and untrustworthy. The governing institutions were supposed to monitor things of actual construct like the levees and the pumping stations. That could be an allegory for what we Americans presumed about our financial institutions, and the governing bodies that were supposed to monitor them."

Amen, brother.

"X-Men Origins: Deadpool"? Yawn

Given how much mad cash "Wolverine" scooped up in its opening weekend, I guess the question really wasn't whether or not Twentieth Century Fox would make another "Origins" spinoff, but which mutant?

Well, the answer is in, and unfortunately it isn't Taylor Kitsch's "Gambit." Instead, Ryan Reynolds will get to be the star as the company has greenlit a "Deadpool" movie instead.

Now, I have no problem at all with the concept of a Deadpool flick. The character, a mercenary who submits himself to the Weapon X genetic alteration experiment as he's dying of cancer, is certainly a worthy movie subject. My only beef is with Reynolds himself.

And it's not really just that he can't act, but instead that to me he's pretty much a "nonpresence," if that's even anything resembling an actual word. Floating through good movies like "Adventureland" and simply wretched ones like "Smokin' Aces," he usually just makes no impression at all, though I have to concede he was very funny in the underrated Watergate spoof "Dick."

And just in case you doubt that the "X-Men" will continue to rule the universe, along with "Deadpool" there's also already a Japan-set "Wolverine" sequel, a "Magneto" movie starring Sir Ian McKellen, and Josh Schwartz's sure-to-be-cheeky "X-Men: First Class" all in varying stages of development. Sheesh.


Several looks at "Ponyo"

Though we won't get to see Hayao Miyazaki's "Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea" in the U.S. until at least August 14 (and with its heavily Disney voice cast, hopefully EVERYWHERE), the picture above and several other stills you can find here just make me - and hopefully someone else - smile. You can tell from all the vibrant colors that this one is clearly intended for the kids, and that's just fine with me. Bring it on already!

And finally, in sticking loosely with the theme of the day and just because I like it, I'll leave you with this clip of the Treme Brass Band performing "I'll Fly Away" in a jazz funeral procession through the streets of New Orleans. Peace out.

A behind-the-scenes look at AMC's take on "The Prisoner"

It would be good enough that AMC is simply ponying up for a third (and presumably fourth and fifth) season of "Mad Men" for this summer, but I'm also becoming more and more confident that what's coming with it - a six-episode remake of "The Prisoner" - will also far from completely suck.

On its surface, the idea hardly seems like a good one. The original series, starring and co-created by the recently late Patrick McGoohan as Number Six, was, well, extremely British (so is "Absolutely Fabulous" in a more than slightly different way, but that one's coming to U.S. TV next fall too, unfortunately.)

For anyone who's never seen it, McGoohan played a former secret agent working for the British during the Cold War who resigns on the first episode and is then kidnapped and held hostage in an isolated spot known only as the Village. In the original series, he's grilled by a series of interrogators known collectively as Number Two, even though they were played by a different person for each episode.

And therein comes the first big change for AMC's model: Number Two will be played for all six episodes by Sir Ian McKellen (coincidentally enough, I was just watching Sir Ian's explanation of his acting technique last night on "Extras": "How did I know where to stand? They told me." Exceptionally funny.) Number Six will be played by none other than Jesus himself, a k a Jim Caveizel.

Despite these modifications, I'm still fairly confident this will be good after watching this video from AMC, which shows that Namibia serves as the setting for The Village and then the crew moved onto Cape Town (rough life!) for the rest of the shoot. As long as this doesn't turn into an exercise in torture (why is seeing someone getting tortured considered entertaining? I'll never understand it, but I digress ...), this should make for a fantastic summertime diversion. Enjoy the video, and to watch all 17 episodes of the original series, courtesy of AMC, click here (though every time I have tried so far it has crashed my Firefox.)



David Simon's "Treme" rapidly taking shape

I probably should have led with this news about "Treme," the new HBO pilot from "The Wire" creator David Simon, especially since it is now set to star one of my favorite actors.

The series about musicians in New Orleans had already attracted two members of "The Law" from "The Wire" (more on that in a second), and now Steve Zahn and Kim Dickens have also signed on. Zahn (who will always be known to me as Glenn Michaels) will play Davis Rogan, a street dancer, local radio DJ, band member and New Orleans native with "anger issues" ( I can see that in my mind already). Dickens (Matt Saracen's mom on the current [and still sensational] season of "Friday Night Lights" but also Jeanie Stubbs on "Deadwood") will play a chef who has opened her own restaurant.

Joining this duo will be easily two of my favorite "Wire" vets, "Bunk" Moreland and Lester Freamon. Wendell Pierce, a New Orleans native, will play a jazz musician who's fallen on hard times after Katrina and who still has a soft spot for his ex-wife, played by "CSI Miami" star Khandi Alexander. Even better, Clarke Peters will be playing a Mardi Gras Indian chief who's trying to bring the members of his tribe back to the city.

So far this is only being put together as a pilot, but I can't imagine HBO wouldn't take anything short of at least a full season from Simon, especially with this cast behind it. I cancelled my HBO after the end of the first season of "True Blood," but I'll definitely re-up if and when this ever really comes together. Peace out.

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.