Will Quentin Tarantino ever really make another movie?

It appears he indeed might, but by the time he finally does, the more important question might be: Will anyone still care?

Well, despite his rather amazing ego, I think I still will. Though "Grindhouse" was a ton of fun, it was only his half, "Deathproof," that got my DVD bucks (though I would have gladly sprung for the whole bag if I could have), and I thought the second half of "Kill Bill," at least, was QT in nearly top form.

But what in the world has he been doing for the past couple of years or so? Well, the BBC has the answer, and it's apparently "Inglorious Bastards," his take on the World War II epic genre. There's only a script so far, but with the rate at which this guy works I guess we should at least be happy for that.

QT told the BBC it will be a "modern, in-your-face" World War II flick (if that doesn't make you cringe at least a little bit, think about it some more.) What it's more accurately been described as is his version of "The Dirty Dozen," which I actually think could work (if he ever really does get around to it.)

By the way, brace yourself for an onslaught of World War II flicks. I'm extremely confident that Spike Lee will come up with the best one with "Miracle at St. Anna," but sometime early next year we'll also finally (maybe!) get Bryan Singer's "Valkyrie."

And, if QT is still to be believed (and I obviously have my doubts), we might even have "Inglorious Bastards" in time for next year's Cannes Film Festival. Given his track record, I expect he'll show up with maybe half the movie done, but even for that I'd still have to say welcome back.

A "School of Rock 2"? Bring it on

This is only just slightly beyond a rumor (hence its appearance on Defamer), but I'm ready to embrace it and hope this actually happens.

Even after his falling out with the Apatow crew (and he had some legitimate points to make about "40-Year-Old Virgin"), Mike White might be just about the funniest guy on the planet, so every time I hear of him getting work it just makes me smile.

He's already apparently sold a script to Edgar Wright for something to be called "Them." Joining Wright's stable of solid spoofs (not to be confused with anything that has "Movie" in its title), this one focuses on a woman who's convinced that she's unearthed the true force that governs the Earth. In my mind, I'm already there.

But, in possibly even better news, White has also apparently also just finished a script for a "School of Rock 2." It hasn't gotten any farther than that, and I'm not sure if this is a good sign or not, but he told an L.A. Film Festival panel that finishing it made him cry:

"I actually just completed a draft of what's potentially the sequel, and I'm still, like, crying as I'm writing the script," he said. "I try to come at it from a personal place."

No matter how he managed to approach it, I'll definitely be there if this ever comes to fruition. "School of Rock" has found a home on my shelf with those silly little flicks (like "Office Space" and "Super Troopers") that are just the definition of cinematic comfort food.

Roman Polanski's next flick taking shape

Among the many victims of the Screen Actor Guild's strike, the most depressing just might have been Roman Polanski's "Pompeii," which could have made an intriguing thriller set against the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. But now, thankfully, it seems he's finally hard at work on what would be his first feature film since 2005's "Oliver Twist," which I must confess I haven't seen.

The news now from MTV (a shockingly good source of movie info) is that Pierce Brosnan and Nicolas Cage have been cast in "The Ghost," Polanski's flick to be based on the Robert Harris novel about a ghostwriter who uncovers more than he planned on when he's hired to write the memoirs of a former British prime minister (Harris also wrote "Pompeii.")

Now, I can certainly buy Brosnan as the PM, but Cage will have some convincing to do to make me believe he's the writer. I'm not in the camp that just hates Cage across the board, but I'm always at least a bit wary. Even so, it's just good to hear that Roman's back at work on something that sounds this promising.

A secret Chris Carter movie?

Coming in the immediate wake of "The Dark Knight," I still think Chris Carter's second "X-Files" flick could be the sleeper hit of the summer when it opens on July 25 (I've seen that tag applied to the monster haul so far for "Sex and the City," but anyone who didn't expect that to be a huge hit simply doesn't understand the power of women.)

And, as he wrapped up "X-Files: I Want to Believe,"
the Hollywood Reporter reports, Carter was already secretly at work on another flick to be called "Fencewalker." All we know so far is that it stars "I Want to Believe" co-star and sometime rapper Xzibit along with "The Tudors" star Natalie Dormer, Katie Cassidy, Derek Magyar and Meckah Brooks. All's I know beyond that is that it will be "essentially a coming-of-age semiautobiographical character piece with no supernatural elements," so I'll just say cool and leave it that. Besides, when you've got Hayden Panettiere in tight leather, it's really time to just get to it!

Claire-Bear's all grown up!

Remember "Heroes"? To be honest, I'm having a little trouble doing so, partly because it's just been off the air for so long and partly because Vol. 2 was just so uneven. Even so, it ended on a high note, so I'm amped for the show's return when it finally comes this fall, especially (and to be as piggish as possible) if it means seeing Hayden Panettiere's Claire go from her cheerleader's outfit to this leather ensemble. And, in the interest of fair play for the ladies, I've included a shot of "Gilmore Girls" (not "Golden Girls" as I somehow managed to type before being thankfully corrected by an alert reader!) alum Milo Ventamiglia as Peter too from the great celebrity gossip site Gossip Girls, where you can see more of these shots. Enjoy, and have a perfectly bearable Wednesday. Peace out.

Ellen Page is headed to "Hell"

The big news this morning, of course, is that the writers' strike finally appears to be at an end.

Showrunners are back at work today, and writers are expected back Wednesday, but I have to ask: what exactly did they win? WGA west President Patric Verrone said the new deal is "... not all that we hoped for, and it is not all we deserve." Judging from what I see in TV commercials, however, I fear it will be even worse than that.

Why so pessimistic? I was fairly happy that this was all over until, on Sunday night, I saw a commercial for something on NBC with the word "Truth" in it (the full name escapes me, and I really just can't justify the effort to find out what it is). On this rather reprehensible program, a man seemed to be answering questions, while hooked up to a lie detector, with his marriage and, I presume, most of his life in the balance.

Does anyone see the entertainment value in this? And if so, could you please explain it to me? Here's hoping that the labor peace will lead to some actually scripted TV this fall, but I fear the breach will be too much to mend. I'm sure there's blame to go around, but just to pile on NBC a bit more, the network has already announced it is ending the pilot process used to woo advertisers, which can only be a bad sign.

But enough of that. Even if I fear it will be a phyrric victory at best, the writers are indeed headed back to work, and we should at least celebrate that. And, since nothing makes Mondays go down better than good news about beautiful women, that's all I'll have from here on out (at least until the very end.)

No "Heroes" until Fall

One show that will definitely return, but not until Fall, is NBC's "Heroes," which is seriously in need of a good season after the near-disaster that was Volume 2.

Hayden Panettiere, while at the Berlin Film Festival, spilled the beans to an AICN scribe that filming on season three is set to start in April, which would logically mean we wouldn't get anything new until the Fall.

Whenever it comes, I'll be ready for more. Season two was often a maddening one to me (what in the world was the point of adding the wonder twins Maya and Alejandro, for starters?), but the last few episodes really picked up steam and set up well for the next edition, so definitely bring it on.

Ellen Page is headed to "Hell"

And finally we get to the still-fairly-young lady of the moment. Lest anyone get suspicious that I write about Ms. Page so often simply because it leads to more traffic on this site (which it certainly does), you'll have to trust me that that's not it.

I've seen "Juno" twice now, and it's simply a charming little movie, and mostly thanks to Page's work in the lead role. It's not the best movie of 2007, an honor that I'd split between "No Country for Old Men" and "Ratatouille," but I would call it just about the most fun flick of the year, and that's good enough for me.

And now Ellen Page is about to spread some of her good karma to someone who sorely needs it: Sam Raimi. No one (except for maybe M. Night Shymalan) is more in need of a satisfying flick than Raimi after the dour disaster that was "Spider-Man 3," and his next one, "Drag Me to Hell," is rapidly shaping up to be just the ticket.

All I know so far is that Ellen Page has just signed on to star in the horror flick and that it's described simply as "a morality tale about the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse."

Raimi and his brother Ted, the team behind "Spidey 3," wrote the script for this one too, so here's hoping they indeed have a lot more fun when this begins shooting in March.

"Veronica Mars" gets Disney treatment

Speaking of "Heroes," Season 2 semi-regular Kristen Bell has just signed on for a Disney romantic comedy, not at all my cup of tea but noteworthy nonetheless.

In "When in Rome," also set to begin filming in March," Bell will play a successful real estate agent in New York City who can't find a lasting relationship (already more than bit hard to believe.) When her younger sister impulsively marries in Rome, she flies out for the wedding and, after picking up coins from a reputed "fountain of love," finds an overabundance of suitors waiting for her back home.

Like I said, sounds like a whole lot of meh to me, but don't blame the messenger.

"Ratatouille" cleans up at Annies

And speaking of "Ratatouille," Brad Bird's Pixar flick won a leading 11 Annies (by my best estimate) at Friday's ceremony, so a hearty huzzah to that.

Along with best picture, best writing and best directing, it also scored the voice work prize for Ian Holm (though I would have given the honor to either fellow "Ratatouille" nominee Janeane Garofalo or the somehow-snubbed completely Peter O'Toole.) And while we're at it, congrats too to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" vet Seth Green, a winner for best director of a TV show for the sublime "Robot Chicken."

And why not wrap this up with a look at Pixar's next summer offering, "Wall-E"? I still have doubts that this largely dialogue-free flick will work, but just a look at Wall-E's eyes is enough to give me hope. Enjoy the trailer, and have an entirely bearable Monday. Peace out.