Tyler Perry's ready to cross the color line

The big news out there today, of course, is the Directors Guild of America has reached a contract deal with the studios that averts any possibly labor action that could have come in June. In it, the helmers got much of what their writing brethren have been on the picket lines for for about six months: A new way of being reimbursed for digital downloads of their work.

I don't fully know the details of this, which is really above my pay grade (which is zero), but it can't be anything but good news. I have to assume the writers will come into the fold soon if they're given a similar deal, and maybe TV will be saved after all (and David Milch, as you'll find out below, will have a lot to do with that.)

The only question I had yesterday was this: Were the studios so quick to deal with directors but not writers because of a serious lack of respect for the written word? Given the unscripted excrement that the TV networks quickly scooped up to fill the void I have to believe this is the case, and if so the wounds may well fester long after the strike has ended.

But enough of that. There are three potentially good movies, "Atonement," "Cloverfield" and "Honeydripper," opening in Macon this weekend, and lots of other news to talk about, starting out with, thankfully, Tyler Perry.

His next flick, "Meet the Browns," sounds like standard Tyler Perry fare, not an insult just an observation. In it, Angela Bassett (huzzah!) plays a single mother who takes her clan back to her Southern hometown for the funeral of the father she never knew, where she will surely meet a lot of colorful characters (including Madea.) Tyler Perry movies were just made for reunions like this.

It's with his next project, however, that things could really get interesting. Jennifer Hudson is about to sign on to star in "Tyler Perry's the Family that Preys," which will make his sixth flick for the Lionsgate studio. Sanaa Lathan, Kathy Bates, Alfre Woodard and Rockmond Dunbar have already signed on.

And now, for our SAT style question of the day: Which of those names doesn't fit? I you guessed Kathy Bates, take your gold star. The flick is described as being about "two families from different sides of the tracks that become intimately involved in love and business."

That would be one black family and one white family, along with being one rich and one poor. I sincerely wish that weren't such a revolutionary concept, but how many white directors can say they've directed a drama in which up to half of the characters are black? Tyler Perry certainly didn't have to cross the color line, but he's shown himself to be nothing but savvy about business so far, and this just makes sense, but why it doesn't for a lot more people will always be just a bit beyond me.


"Deadwood" fans rejoice: Milch is officially back on HBO

In spite of the one-season-only run of "John from Cincinnati," David Milch, the creator of "Deadwood," is definitely now ready to move on with HBO (which I now pay for to watch "The Wire," so huzzah!)

Milch, one of the main masterminds behind "NYPD Blue," will return to familiar territory for "Last of the Ninth," a gritty drama set in the New York Police Department in 1972.

"It is about an older detective's mentoring of a young detective returned from Vietnam in a department fiscally crippled, under attack by revolutionaries, and which has been brought by allegations of systemic corruption into public disrepute," Milch told the Hollywood Reporter.

So, when will we ever get to see this goodness? Production will begin when the writers' strike ends, so please folks, settle this thing soon.

I know the kids rule the world, but ...

I was ready to skip over this one entirely because, of course, I'm far too old to concern myself with what Zac Efron may or may not be doing. I had to read to just about the bottom of this story, however, to get to the actual good part: The return of Richard Linklater.

Efron will indeed star in and Linklater will direct "Me and Orson Welles," what actually sounds like a pretty cool story from the novel by Robert Kaplow. Set in 1937, it's about a high school student (Efron, natch) who happens upon the yet-to-open Mercury Theatre and lands a bit part in "Julius Caesar," the production that would bring international acclaim to Mr. Welles, who will be played by newcomer Christian McKay.

Making this a Linklater family affair, the script was penned by Holly Gent Palmo, a production coordinator on "Dazed and Confused," and Vince Palmo, first assistant director for many of Linklater's flicks.

There's some other cool stuff out there today, but I have to wrap this up now if I'm gonna make it to the movie theater in time to watch "Atonement" before I have to go to work. Peace out.

Gondry getting animated? Bring it on!

I'm embarrassed to say that I have yet to see Michel Gondry's "The Science of Sleep." It's just one of those movies that has sat in my Netflix queue for a long time now, just below the mailing line.

That admission aside, Gondry has crafted easily two of my favorite movies with "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" (even if you don't like rap music, just trust me and watch this one as soon as you can if you haven't already.) So, it's easy to get jazzed about any bit of Gondry news, especially when it's this good.

According to the MTV Movies Blog, which has become a surprising daily stop in my reading list, he's teaming up with his son, Paul Gondry, to make an animated flick about their life together. Since Gondry's flicks often take on the dream-like feel of the best animated movies, this can only be a good thing.

I tried to Google Paul Gondry and see what his work might look like, and this still from a comic he did for Filter magazine was all I could find. From what I can tell, he's a teenager who is already following solidly in his father's footsteps, having already directed a music video for the Willowz' "Take a Look Around."

Here's how Michel describe their new project to MTV: “We’re translating our relationship into a futuristic story with a dictator and a rebel. He’s the dictator in the story [and] it will be based on [his] art. - It’s going to be quite amazing.”

Sounds great to me, and of course come January we'll finally get to see Michel's next flick, the guaranteed-to-be-fun "Be Kind Rewind." Sometimes, life really is good.

"Deadwood" not completely dead?

I hesitate to tease people about the possible revival of this great show in the form of movies, but this piece on David Milch's new HBO project did offer one tantalizing tidbit.

Now, I'm only just about to embark on season 3, with the first episode on the viewing menu today, so if this was something that "Deadwood" diehards knew already please forgive me. In James Hibberd's column at TVWeek.com, you'll find this tidbit: The pair of two-hour movies take place after the town of Deadwood is destroyed by fire and floods, thus the sets are unnecessary.

That should read would take place, because the piece goes on to make clear that, even if striking the sets doesn't necessarily mean the end of "Deadwood," HBO has no plans at this time to revive it. And Milch, of course, would have his hands tied with his new HBO project, which sounds pretty friggin' cool itself.

The new series, assuming it gets picked up by HBO, will be set in the New York Police Department in the 1970s and involve the Knapp Commission investigations. The Knapp-era gave rise to the story of patrolman Frank Serpico, whose revelations about corruption within the department were made into the book and flick. If memory serves me correctly, it will be semiautobiographical, and the main character will be a Vietnam vet now serving as a NYPD cop.

As much as I'd love to see the two "Deadwood" flicks, this new work sounds just perfect for Milch, who back in the day was a co-creator of "NYPD Blue" and a major writer for "Hill Street Blues." Here's hoping he works quickly!

Andy Griffith, ladies man?

Even though we moved out of the great republic of Virginia when I was very young, I still consider myself a Southerner of sorts, especially since I've lived down here in Macon for seven years or so now. And with this Southernness, I suppose, comes a required appreciation for the great Andy Griffith.

Seeing him again in earlier this year in "Waitress" just made me smile, and now he's getting involved in a little indie flick that could be hilarious. In "Play the Game," Paul Campbell of "Battlestar Galactica" will school his grandfather, Mr. Griffith, in the fine art of picking up women.

I really have nothing else to say about this, but I thought it might make at least one person laugh.

"Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains" trailer

Another Southerner who should get nothing but love is former President Jimmy Carter. If you can really watch him riding his bicycle in this trailer for Jonathan Demme's new doco "Jimmy Carter Man From Plains" and still have venomous thoughts about the man, there's nothing I can probably say to change your mind.

Enjoy this trailer I found on YouTube, and if this movie somehow makes it to your little corner of the world, go see this doco about a man who may have been a fairly awful president but is still a great American. Enough said.

Can David Milch save the TV cop show?

I gave up on watching cop shows several years ago because, like Emily Gilmore, I "simply don't find forensic work as fascinating as the rest of the world." I'm really not knocking the 42 varieties of CSI or anything else that's on the air now, but it's just not my thing.

Earlier this year, however, I found out just what I had been missing when I caught up with the first three seasons of "The Wire" on DVD. Anyone who used to love "Homicide" needs to watch these as soon as possible. The arc of season three in particular, if I may use a truly cringeworthy term, is downright Shakespearian.

Since then, my cubicle mate (and occasional Reel Fanatic guest reviewer) Rodney Manley and I have treadmilled our way through the first season of David Milch's "Deadwood" and are now embarking on season two. Those old (or maybe they still use them) commercials that said "It's not TV, it's HBO"? Well, you really can't call it arrogant when it's true. Milch's "Deadwood" is possibly the most profane show I've ever seen (and therefore rather hard to watch at work), but also simply one of the best TV Westerns ever made.

I tell you all that (in an admittedly rather long lead) to tell you this: With Milch's "John from Cincinnati" (which I didn't watch) flaming out after one season, he's now back with HBO on a singular mission: To save the TV cop show.

What he's pitching is familiar, NY cops on the beat, but I'm sure he'll still have something new to say. The project will apparently be about a Vietnam veteran who returns to the U.S. in the early 1970s and joins the New York City police force. The story is loosely based on the experience of former "NYPD Blue" exec producer Bill Clark, who is developing the show with Milch.

The things I don't know could easily fill a rather mundane book, but you can add to that long list this: I had no idea that Milch was one of the co-creators of "Blue," a show my parents and I used to watch religiously, and also a writer for "Hill Street Blues." Now that's a pedigree.

This probably means the other possible Milch project I had hoped for, a pair of "Deadwood" movies, is dead for now, but I'll take whatever I can get and, given its slump of late, surely so will HBO.

Raimi to direct "The Hobbit"?

I would have lead with this, but I'm not sure I'm ready to believe it yet.

According to the usually very reliable IESB.net, its "sources" are saying that though Peter Jackson and New Line's Bob Shaye are in the first stage of kissing and making up, Jackson won't be coming back to direct "The Hobbit." Instead, according to IESB, he would sign on as a producer and hand the reins over to Sam Raimi.

Now, after the disaster that was "Spidey 3," no director is in greater need of a new franchise than Raimi, and I'd much rather see him do this than any remake of "Clash of the Titans," but why would Jackson want to do this? I find it hard to believe he would get back in bed with New Line and not want to be the director on this, but I've been wrong at least once before. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

As for Raimi, I do have faith he could pull this off. With the last "Spider-Man" flick he just seemed to be bored, but before that he did manage to craft my single favorite superhero flick in "Spider-Man 2," so I know he can bounce back again. Maybe "The Hobbit" would be just what he needs.

Michael Cera to 'Revolt'

Michael Cera, a k a the funniest guy on the Internet, has set up his next project, "Youth in Revolt," an adaptation of the C.D. Payne novel (which I haven't yet read.)

Mr. Cera, of course, is one of the stars of a little movie called "Superbad" I may have mentioned here a few times before. And, in case you're wondering what makes him the funniest man on the 'Net, just watch a few episodes of Clark and Michael and try not to get hooked.

Payne's self-published novel apparently caught on with the youths (who, it's becoming more clear to me everyday, I know nothing about) and led to a series of books featuring a teenager named Nick Twisp. The conceit of the novels is that Twisp strives to balance out his budding sexual urges while remaining an intellectual teenager in a world of moronic adults.

In the first novel, Twisp meets the girl of his dreams while on a family vacation and he turns his life and the lives of all those around him upside down in order to be with her. Gustin Nash wrote the screenplay.

Cera told the Hollywood Reporter that he's a huge fan of the book, having read it four times. "I have a copy signed by C.D. Payne. It's my most prized possession."

Well, anything that Michael Cera's read four times is certainly one I can bother to read once, so I soon will.

Actually, there's another Cera project that I'm more jazzed about (and have mentioned here before.) It's the next movie from Jason Reitman, "Juno," which was penned by Minneapolis City Pages scribe and blogger Diablo Cody. The coming-of-age story about a young lady who finds herself pregnant may actually have the best cast yet (a title I admittedly throw around rather loosely): Cera, Ellen Page (huzzah!), Jason Bateman, Jennifer Garner, Rainn Wilson, Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons (huzzah again!) I'm not sure when this will finally come out, but it's got to be soon, so keep your eyes out.

A Tyler Perry trailer

For a dude who keeps things so positive, Tyler Perry certainly does seem to generate a lot of hate, but it will never come from me. I really like his movies for what they essentially are, fairy tales, and apparently some other people do too.

His latest admittedly doesn't have a terribly thrilling premise, but his movies rarely do. This one, "Why Did I Get Married?", follows couples on a winter retreat on a mission to save their marriages (as best as I can tell). It's set to star Mr. Perry (not as Madea), Janet Jackson and Jill Scott, and come out, I believe, in November. Enjoy, and have an entirely suck-free Wednesday. Peace out.