Well, now I just feel silly -- thanks a lot, Win Butler. Back in May, rumors began to circulate that Arcade Fire members Butler, Regine Chassagne and Owen Pallet were working on the score for Richard Kelly's The Box, but Butler had insisted there was nothing to those rumors. Now it's eight months later, and as it turns out he was just messing with us. In an interview with Pitchfork, Butler finally fessed up that he had been working with Kelly on the orchestral score for the Twilight Zone-inspired drama. He says, "We didn't really think we were going to do the whole thing, and then it just kind of was easier once we got in. It was like, 'Oh well, we'll just keep going.' It has so much to do with the editing, and your job is just to help the director. It's a very different experience."

Kelly's follow-up to Southland Tales is based on Richard Matheson's short story, Button, Button, and centers on a couple who come into possession of a mysterious box that can make all their financial dreams come true. But there's a catch: if they use the box, an innocent person will die (I can almost hear Rod Serling in the background telling me to "Picture a couple..."). The film stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as the husband and wife with financial woes, and Frank Langella as the box's strange 'delivery man'. It's a pretty creepy premise that would appear to be a perfect fit for the music of Arcade Fire ... and Kelly's own twisted sensibilities.

Back in November, Will brought us the news that the film had been pushed back for a second time from March to November 6, 2009. Hopefully the delays aren't signs of another troubled production for Kelly.

I think its time that John Waters gets a phone tree going, lassos in his worldwide band of freaks and friends, and introduce Adam Shankman to a different sort of life. He needs to get wild. Besides tackling Bye Bye Birdie, there's more Hairspray sequel news, courtesy of MTV, that has its quirky perks and boring pitfalls.

The sequel will be titled Hairspray 2: White Lipstick -- which just so happened to be Waters' original title for the 1988 film (without, of course, the "Hairspray 2" part). And it does have some Waters zaniness, according to Shankman: "[The treatment] is amazing, but it's crazy. There are things in there that I was like 'Can we do that?' It's real John Waters-y stuff, and it was more like a sequel to his movie than to our movie. Which I love, because then that becomes re-interpreted."

But don't expect too much quirk -- this is Shankman, so his crazy scale definitely isn't equivalent to your run of the mill Waters fan. Sadly, one of the things to go is Zac Efron taking acid and having "trippy conversations with acne on his forehead." (Wussy!) Things from the treatment he'll probably keep: Edna's addiction to diet pills, a new villain -- which means that Michelle Pfeiffer and Brittany Snow are most likely out, and lastly, someone (other than Link) will get drafted for Vietnam.

Any guesses? Any hopes for this White sequel?

If you were wondering which film would get remade next, or which musical, look no further! On the heels of Hairspray, and even Fame, The Hollywood Reporter posts that Adam Shankman is gearing up to remake Bye Bye Birdie for Columbia.

The company has been trying to get this remade for ages, under many guises. It was once going to be re-imagined into a hip-hop musical, and both John Chu and Tina Fey (that I'd want to see!) have circled the project. Right now, there's no word on who will be the new writer, nor an indication of how Shankman will handle the film. I would assume, however, that it won't get reimagined, but rather updated with sparkly face and new, sassy dance moves -- if Hairspray is any indication.

But who on earth could fill the shoes ones tapped away by the likes of Dick Van Dyke and Jason Alexander? I would be the opposite of surprised if Zac Efron got tapped for the lead, but it's time Mr. Shankman got a new lead. Any ideas?

Here's the first good news of 2009! Variety reports that Hugh Jackman is now off the official wishlist for Cleo, the Steven Soderbergh musical that will reportedly star Catherine Zeta-Jones as the legendary Egyptian queen, and feature the music penned by Guided by Voices.

Jackman has apparently left talks not because of the concept, but due to a scheduling conflict. (Maybe it's Drive, since everything else has vanished from his IMDB page.) Ray Winstone remains in discussion to play Julius Caesar, and Zeta-Jones is still rumored to be Cleopatra herself.

I may be one of the few celebrating the news. I know Soderbergh is a master of taking preposterous concepts and turning them into cinematic brilliance, but a Cleopatra rock musical just sounds like a spectacularly bad idea. Jackman is a wonderful stage performer, and I've been dying to see him in a movie musical for years. (If you've never seen his pre-Wolverine turn in Oklahoma!, do yourself a favor and rent it now.) But not this one -- Soderbergh or not, it just sounds too campy to be believed.

Since Variety is stumped as to what caused the schedule conflict, I'll make a New Year's wish and hope his production shingle has decided to really get moving on that remake of Carousel. Jackman has had the rights to it for awhile, and to see him singing and dancing in that is ten times better than seeing him as a rocking Mark Antony.

Hey, girls! Get out your biggest, purplest Magic Marker and circle Feb. 17 on your 2009 Zac Efron calendar! That's the day High School Musical 3: Senior Year will be released on DVD and Blu-Ray, thus satiating the squeal-producing needs of the tween set at least until Twilight comes out.

DVD Active has some of the details on the three different ways you can buy the film. The single-disc DVD, for people who call themselves fans but obviously aren't real fans, will have the movie and a featurette of cast members saying goodbye to the trilogy. I don't know why you'd even want that. You might as well throw your money in the bushes and spit on Corbin Bleu. On the other hand, the 2-disc DVD will have an extended cut of the film, more featurettes, deleted scenes, outtakes, a sing-along feature, and a digital copy of the film that you can transfer to your computer or your iPod or your toaster or whatever you kids are putting your movies on nowadays.

But you might want to harass your parents into buying a Blu-Ray player, because the 3-disc Blu-Ray edition is where the real action is. You get all the stuff already mentioned, plus cast profiles, a Senior Awards feature, a BD Live Experience, and a regular ol' DVD copy of the extended version of the movie. The 3-disc edition is the most expensive one, so obviously that's the one you should support.

We have the cover artwork after the jump. You'll note that they were nice enough to include Taylor in the picture even though she's hardly in the movie. Good for her!

We've got another music-themed film on the way, and this time it isn't based on an old movie or musical. Variety reports that Universal and Imagine have tapped Preston Whitmore (This Christmas) to write and direct a new music extravaganza called Zoom. Normally, I'd be happy to hear of a story that's not re-telling, re-vamping, re-imagining, re-whatevering, but this one sounds a bit like another music-themed film on the front-burner. Zoom focuses on "a troubled West Virginia youth who attends a music academy and finds his voice and a place in the world." I'm betting this is aimed to grab some of Fame's buzz.

Meanwhile, Variety also reports that Hollywood is taking another stab at James "Whitey" Bulger -- GK Films has picked up the life rights of John Martorano. He was a killer for the mob, taking the lives of 20 people. "After he discovered his compatriots, including Bulger, were government informants all along, Martorano became a government witness who exposed corruption and collusion between the mob and the Boston office of the FBI."

Now we just have to wait and see how long until Mark Wahlberg signs up. He was part of The Departed, which took cues from Bulger, and he bought the rights to the story of another Whitey associate back in 2006. That one didn't go anywhere, so maybe Martorano is the key to film fruition.

If you died and went to Heaven and asked for a movie trailer to be made just for you, what would it look like? Would it fuse your interest in Bollywood musicals with your love for classic martial arts fight scenes, reflect your appreciation for beautiful women, indulge your affection for cheesy special effects and inability to resist a cheap gag? Would it look something like the insane trailer for Chandni Chowk to China?

Head on over to Apple's trailers page and take a gander, but be forewarned: I found it addictive and as damaging to my nervous system as stuffing myself with a pound of the sweetest of candies. Describing itself as the "first ever Bollywood Kungfu comedy," Chandni Chowk to China follows Sidhu (Akshay Kumar), a lowly worker at a humble food stand in Chandni Chowk, a famous, crowded market in Delhi, India. Sidhu dreams of a better life, chasing futilely after his dreams, until two strangers from China arrive, claiming that he is a reincarnated war hero and take him to their rural village. Along the way he meets the beautiful Sakhi (Deepika Padukone). Deception abounds, however, and Sidhu soon finds himself pitted against a vicious smuggler, played by none other than the legendary Gordon Liu (Executioners From Shaolin, Kill Bill). Are you freakin' kidding me?

The film opens on January 16 across the US at the usual theatrical venues that play Bollywood films, plus a few additional cinemas, depending on the market (check the web site for theater listings). If it delivers on the promise of its delirious trailer, Chandni Chowk to China could conceivably lure an even broader audience to explore Indian cinema.

[Hattip: Twitch and Kaiju Shakedown.]

Eight years ago, Zhang Ziyi soared into public consciousness as the tempestuous heroine in Ang Lee's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She's continued to score in sumptuous epics like Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and The Banquet, as well as off-beat pleasures such as Seijun Suzuki's Princess Raccoon. (Let's all try to forget Memoirs of a Geisha, shall we?) In her latest film, which opened in China last week, she plays a Peking Opera singer.

Forever Enthralled is the English title of Mei Lanfang; the name of a real-life, internationally-recognized opera star well-known for playing female roles over the course of a career that lasted more than 50 years. Leon Lai, a veteran Hong Kong actor and pop singer, takes on the challenging assignment to play the legendary character, while Zhang plays fellow performer Meng Xiaodong, who was known for playing bearded men (?!). The two singers met, married, became parents, and divorced, all between 1925 and 1931.

At a press conference (pictured above, thanks to Ziyifilms), Zhang said: "The hardest thing is walking, wearing these really tall boots ... I practiced that for a very long time." All that practice paid off. Variety Asia Online reports that the film is "on course to quality for a hit," though it probably won't break any records.

Chen Kaige directed; years ago he made Farewell My Concubine, * also set in the opera world. More recently he ventured into epic action territory with the spectacular misfire The Promise. My friend Todd Brown at Twitch posted the Forever Enthralled trailer, which looks like a great match of stars, director, and material. IMDb lists Miramax as having US theatrical rights, though it's not listed on their site. I hope we get to see this one without having to wait forever.

* UPDATE: Title corrected. Thanks to Larry for pointing out my mistake.

Don't worry hardcore Spidey fans, Evan Rachel Wood is not replacing Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane, Peter Parker's girlfriend. However, according to the actress herself, she's signed on to play Mary Jane in Spider-Man: The Musical, which begins rehearsals in June, 2009, and will most likely arrive on Broadway before the next big-screen sequel in early 2010.

We've known for awhile now that the musical's director, Julie Taymor, has been championing her Across the Universe stars for the lead roles in the musical. Now that Wood has nabbed the co-lead, will Jim Sturgess play Spidey? According to Wood, who spoke with IESB at a press junket for The Wrestler, they're "still trying to convince him." It's important to note that both Wood and Sturgess have workshopped the musical with Taymor recently, so chances are good both will open the show in New York. Remember, music and lyrics have been provided by U2's Bono and The Edge -- and with two pretty movie stars in the starring roles, this thing could take off. Whaddya think? Will Spidey ruin his superheroic kickass appeal by deciding to belt out a tune or three on Broadway?

Good news! The Dark Knight is in the running for Best Soundtrack again. You might remember William Goss' story last month that reported it had been disqualified due to it having "too many composers."

According to the Patrick Goldstein on The Big Picture, the Academy reversed the decision last Friday. It's a surprising move, because mere days ago Bruce Davis, executive director of the Academy, was still defending the decision. arguing that the music branch "sees this as an award, like cinematography or directing, where you want to award a single creator. This isn't like visual effects. Except for extraordinary circumstances, it's an award that should go to one person."

Well, you may want to, but that doesn't always mean you should. Shouldn't we honor collaborative effort? Isn't that where the whole "There's no I in team!" phrase comes from? Nothing about a film is created in a vacuum.

While it the decision has yet to be officially confirmed, it will certainly be a pretty nice victory for Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard, since they were also disqualified in 2005 for Batman Begins. While it's a small step for The Dark Knight, let's hope it's a greater one for film in general. The Academy often gets so hung up on their rules and regulations that they forget the point of their existence is to recognize cinematic achievement.

Did you watch Almost Famous and wish that Philip Seymour Hoffman would do a full retro film that has him chatting on the radio? Have you ever wished that you could see Nick Frost lounging lasciviously on a bed? Do you like/love Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, and/or Notting Hill? If you can answer yes to any of the three, watch the clip above.

This is the UK trailer for Richard Curtis' The Boat That Rocked, which follows rogue DJs in the '60s who fuel a pirate radio movement from the most logical and appropriate place -- a ship at sea. (ARR!) The idea itself sounded good, but seeing it ... man, 2009 cannot come fast enough!

However ... this is making me wish for a remake of Pump up the Volume with Hoffman as Hard Harry. He's too old, and it would be ridiculous, but I can't get the image out of my head.

Etta James blasts her way through a sad song, but it's not good enough. Leonard Chess taunts her and claims she's not "woman enough" for such a song. Didn't anyone ever walk out on her and leave her heartbroken? Take that and put it in the song, he suggests. She steps up for another take, and -- although she has tears in her eyes now -- it sounds pretty much the same. The main trouble with Cadillac Records is that no one took aside writer/director Darnell Martin with the same advice. Scene after scene, Cadillac Records is thin, flat and rote.

Like all biopics, the new film skims over years and years of history in a brief fling. All the moments are historical; they describe what happened, but not who they happened to. Sometime in the 1940s -- the movie is rarely very clear as to what year it is -- Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody) runs a junkyard and decides to get into "race music." He moves from a club to a record label and signs Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), a blues guitarist straight off the plantation. There are a few nice, early scenes showing these two men touring together, sharing meals and getting the stink-eye from local rednecks, but the movie shies away from developing this friendship.

Leave it to the folks behind the Grammys (that would be The Recording Academy) to put things right when it comes to movie music. Sure, they have a bazillion categories, but, unlike the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the Oscars), they know a good musical score when they hear it and don't allow outrageous reasons to disqualify it.

Specifically, we're talking about The Dark Knight, whose composers James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer were disqualified for consideration because they listed too many people on the cue sheet, and There Will Be Blood, whose composer Jonny Greenwood was DQed because the Academy thought his score was "diluted by the use of tracked themes or other pre-existing music." Both scores were nominated for a Grammy last night, in the category "Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media." (Bear in mind that their eligibility period is different from the Oscars, which is why they're just now getting around to Blood.) Yay to the Grammy people for getting it right!

The other nominees for best score were John Williams for Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, Ramin Djawada for Iron Man, and Thomas Newman for WALL-E. More cool Grammy movie nominees include the title song from Walk Hard - The Dewey Cox Story (Judd Apatow, Marshall Crenshaw, Jake Kasdan, and John C. Reilly), plus American Gangster and Juno for "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album," alongside August Rush, Mamma Mia!, and Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

You can check out the complete list at the official Grammy site. Do you agree that they got it right, at least as far as the movie nominees are concerned? The awards show airs on February 8, 2009.

Our pal Christopher Campbell has put together a pretty cool top ten list over at Spout Blog. Inspired by the frenzy surrounding Paramore, who has been fortunate enough to land two songs on the Twilight soundtrack, he's put together a list of one hit wonders made by the movies. As memorable (and impossible to eradicate from easy listening stations) as Lookin' For Love, King of Wishful Thinking, and Stay (I Missed You) are, they're really just that one song from that one movie -- you know the one ... yeah, that movie! (By the way, the above three are from Urban Cowboy, Pretty Woman, and Reality Bites, respectively.)

The best thing about these lists is the debate they inspire. I disagree that Chris Isaak's Wicked Game fits the mold, as I think it's associated less with Wild at Heart than with a sandy and sexy Helena Christensen. In coming up with nominations of our own, Scott Weinberg and I immediately disagreed on whether Peter Cetera and Glory of Love from Karate Kid II qualified, or if Cetera being in Chicago was an automatic pass. (I say no, Scott says yes.) But we did manage to nominate Better Than Ezra's Circle of Friends from Empire Records, Gerard McMann's Cry Little Sister from The Lost Boys, and Chris DeBurgh's Lady in Red from Working Girl. Campbell, with his vast knowledge, could veto all three. What about you, readers? Give us some of your nominations, debate the popularity of Chris Isaak, or at least help us decide whether Glory of Love qualifies.

For those of you who spend a great deal of time roaming the halls of indie hipster-ville, you may have noticed that the brief window of empty space prior to awards nominations has been filled with a whole bunch of Prop 8 speech. Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course, since it's an important issue in this country and the very influential "indie community" can help provide a large voice of support against Prop 8. If that's your thing. However, now that awards season is beginning to heat up, Prop 8. is being replaced by "So who got which screener today?", and it's slowly becoming "that thing we got really upset about in November."

Hold on! Funny or Die has come to the rescue with this very funny video called Prop 8 - The Musical, featuring all sorts of comedic talent like Jack Black, John C. Reilly, Craig Robinson, Neil Patrick Harris (who's absolutely hilarious), and many more. Watch as this ensemble cast sings and dances their way through the issue at hand, and maybe you'll learn a bit more about what's at stake here. Enjoy.