When Michel Gondry met ... "The Green Hornet"?

Actually, the best news I found out there today is that Andy Richter and Conan O'Brien are going to be reunited again when Conan takes over "The Tonight Show" on June 1.

Though it was purely by coincidence, when Richter left "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" in 2000 was just about the same time I stopped tuning in loyally almost every night (having nothing to do with him, but instead because increasingly grumpy, clearly middle-aged men simply shouldn't be up that late.)

In his new role, Richter will serve as announcer but also, thankfully, participate in a lot of the sketches too. I'd much rather see him back as a traditional on-the-couch sidekick a la Ed McMahon or, well, Andy Richter, but this still will be enough to make me stay up a little later for at least the beginning to see what Conan cooks up in his new time slot.

And the weirdest thing is easily that the Humane Society gives out movie awards, including Best Picture, for flicks that it thinks address animal issues well. And the nominees (none of which I've seen) are:

"Bolt"
"Marley & Me"
"Red"
"Saving Luna"

Actually, that "Red" is one I'd like to see, and will instantly watch on Netflix soon, because I like Brian Cox in just about anything. And for one that they missed, though it just moved way too slow for my tastes, no 2008 movie better addressed the perils of dog ownership when you don't have a home for yourself than "Wendy and Lucy," which starred Michelle Williams.

But easily the coolest news out there is that Michel Gondry is now attached to direct "The Green Hornet." Take a minute to let that sink in.

It may seem odd that the director of such mind-bending flicks as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "The Science of Sleep" would take on something as silly as a superhero flick, but I think this could really work well, because if you look at two other recent flicks from Mr. Gondry, he clearly also just likes to have fun.

I own a copy of "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" on DVD, and that Gondry flick delivers just what its title promises (with some sensational music to boot.) And anyone who's seen "Be Kind Rewind" (and if you haven't, why not?) knows that he can be just as goofy as anyone when he wants to be.

So, what's up with "The Green Hornet"? Well, amazingly enough, it's set to star Seth Rogen as the titular hero (yes, really) and - even better - Stephen Chow as his loyal sidekick Kato (the role made famous by one Bruce Lee.) Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the team behind "Superbad," wrote the script. Chow was attached to direct at one point, which would have been even more bizarrely entertaining, before pulling out over "creative differences."

I know that's a lot about a movie that isn't even set to come out until June 25, 2010, so I'll just wrap this up with a clip from the "Block Party" featuring probably my favorite rap act of all, Dead Prez. If you like hip-hop, R&B (Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Kanye West, the Roots and even the Fugees all show up to perform here) or the humor of Dave Chappelle, I can't recommend a rental higher than I can this great little concert flick. Enjoy, and have a perfectly passable Wednesday. Peace out.

Well, it's not an "Arrested Development" movie, but ...

Mitch Hurwitz, already at work on an animated offering as a midseason replacement for Fox, has now also signed on with CBS for something that sounds right up the "Arrested Development" creator's alley (even if it will star Jason Biggs.)

Biggs would topline what's being described as a comedy about a family that "loves too much," revolving around adult siblings and their parents who are "over-involved in one another's lives."

If that sounds an awful lot like "Arrested Development" itself, well, here's hoping. In another encouraging sign for the show, James Vallely, who wrote 15 episodes of "Arrested Development," is on board as Hurwitz's co-writer for at least the pilot. It has so far received a put pilot commitment and an order for six additional scripts.

Now, about that casting, and since it's the political season, here goes ... Mr. Biggs, I've met Jason Bateman (well, not really, but you know what I mean), and you sir are no Jason Bateman. OK, that didn't even really make me laugh, so I apologize if it just made everyone else groan too. I do hope I'm wrong and he and this as-yet untitled show thrive (or at least actually make it onto the air.)

And as for the other Hurwitz project, Wikipedia has quite a bit of information about it, which I'll shamelessly cut and paste here. It's based on a short-lived New Zealand (not Australian, as an anonymous poster corrected me on) sitcom called "Sit Down, Shut Up." Now called "Class Dismissed," it revolves around a group of "unconventional" educators at a northwestern U.S. high school. And, best of all, here's the rather "Arrested Development"-heavy voice cast:

Will Arnett as bodybuilder Ennis Hofftard
Maria Bamford as Miracle Grohe, a religious science teacher.
Jason Bateman as Larry Slimp, the gym teacher and only staff member that can teach.
Will Forte as Vice Principal Stuart Prozackian.
Tom Kenny as Happy, the secretive custodian.
Nick Kroll as Andrew Sapian, the flamboyant drama teacher
Cheri Oteri as Helen Klench, the unappreciated librarian.
Kenan Thompson as Principal Sue Sezno.
Henry Winkler as Willard Deutschebog, a suicidal German teacher.

Sounds great to me, and for anyone who may not know, Tom Kenny is also the voice of "SpongeBob SquarePants." And now, before I end this prattling on about a show that won't even hit the airwaves until next Spring (at 8:30 Sundays, right after "The Simpsons"), I'll end this with a publicity shot from the show.


Are the Hughes Brothers really going to make another movie?

Does anyone remember Allen and Albert Hughes, much better known as the Hughes Brothers?

I can't blame if you don't, but before pretty much disappearing from the film world, they managed to make four pretty darn entertaining flicks between 1993 and 2001: "Menace II Society," "Dead Presidents" (a seriously underrated movie), "American Pimp" and "From Hell."

Since then they've pretty much toiled in TV and advertising, but now that a rather large star named Denzel Washington is on board their latest attempt to return to the big screen, I have to believe it's gonna happen.

Washington has signed on to star in "Book of Eli" as "a lone hero in a not-too-distant apocalyptic future who must fight across America to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption," according to Variety.

That sounds a bit meh to me, but the Hughes Brothers, who will direct this for producer Joel Silver, have a real style that I've been missing in movies for a long time now. Here's hoping this actually happens! And, since it's a Friday and my mind is moving all over the place, I'll close with the video for one of my favorite Dead Prez songs, simply and aptly titled "Hip-Hop," and, of course, go see a movie.