The date has been set for Warner Bros and Fox to go head to head -- and it should soothe the fearful. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studios will be going before the judge on January 6th. There's plenty of time, even at a snail's pace, for the issue to be resolved before the March 6th opening. (It's like the court is going along with the movie marketing -- we'll get a video journal the same day. There really is no such thing as bad publicity in Tinseltown!)

Furthermore, U.S. District Court Judge Gary Allan Feess says that Fox shouldn't attempt to file a preliminary injunction against Warners to stop the release of the film because the issues surrounding the case were too complex to be solved in an interim basis. Instead, both studios are being ordered to put their cases together, and start expedited discovery and depositions. This thing could get quite big -- as the New York Times pointed out, Paramount, Legendary Pictures, and even Universal could get hauled into it, alongside Lawrence Gordon, who's really the man in question in all this.

And remember, this is if it actually makes it to court. This could easily be settled before Christmas, with Warners handing over a nice chunk of The Dark Knight change just to be done with it. (How appropriate that Bruce Wayne help out other costumed vigilantes.) It depends how fierce the studio is feeling, and how certain they are of their case -- but all signs point to you keeping your March 6th moviegoing plans.

You really have to feel bad for the cast and crew on this one, though. All that happy buzz of ComicCon panels and promo posters squashed under a heap of legalese. Oh well, at least Fox can't take away what we've already been given. Check out our Watchmen gallery below.

All the movie studios are just hellbent on messing with my fall season. Australia is the latest movie to get the old switch-a-roo, as Variety reports that Fox is moving its release date from November 14 down to November 26. I know, it's only a matter of weeks, but it's just the principle of the thing. And it's now pitted against The Road, forcing me to chose which one to see opening day. I don't need that kind of stress, particularly on Thanksgiving which isn't exactly the most relaxing of holidays.

The delay is apparently the result of director Baz Luhrmann needing some extra time to polish the film. He brought everyone back for some pick-up shots, which explains the paparazzi shots I've seen of Hugh Jackman riding around Oz in full drover gear. I thought he just did that sort of thing all the time.

The fact that Australia's delay means it now neatly dodges the release of Quantum of Solace is, I'm sure, mere coincidence. I suspect we'll see more November rearranging -- Variety is reporting that The Time Traveler's Wife is also coming out on the 26th, though IMDB is still showing a Christmas release. If Variety is right (and why wouldn't it be?), I wouldn't be surprised if it ran to the 14th to steer clear of competing with another romance. Plus, I just don't think America could handle Viggo Mortensen, Hugh Jackman, and Eric Bana all having a movie out on the same day -- not when us girls are supposed to be home making pumpkin pies and turkey.

You have to feel bad for the Silver Surfer. Everyone else is getting their own spin-off and franchise, and he can't even get the green-light. J. Michael Straczynski already said that his script was dead, but rumors continued to swirl that Alex Proyas was attached to direct.

But as reported by Slashfilm, Proyas shot that down at ComicCon. He didn't even know where the rumor originated. And while he's very fond of the character, he told MTV this week that he will never even consider directing a Silver Surfer movie. Why? "Because it's a Fox picture. And I'm determined never to work with them ever again because of my experience on I,Robot." Nor is he happy with the way the character was handled in Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer. "It's like the origin of Silver Surfer was in that movie, and I'm going, 'This is such a f–king great story, why throw it away? I think they messed it up ... Silver Surfer would have been something I would have loved to have done. He's one of the last cool ones left, really."

Who knows -- maybe Fox will relinquish the rights to the Fantastic Four characters (it's not like they're using them), and Proyas will not only get to direct a comic book movie, but fans will get a Silver Surfer movie from someone who really gets the character. But with all the studios jealously guarding their franchises, we'll probably see a Fantastic Four reboot before we see the Silver Surfer in the hands of someone that cares.

It seems my favorite superhero is about to enter the land of ugly rumors. According to Hollywood Elsewhere, there's trouble on the set of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. It seems that director Gavin Hood and Fox co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman are butting heads over the look and feel of the film.

Hood, being a smart man who knows his character, wants the film to be dark and gritty. Rothman wants a happier, friendlier, Iron Man sort of film. Apparently, things came to a head at least once on set when Hood came to work to find one of his dingy and somber sets completely repainted into something brighter and more cheerful. (I bet they even put one of those "Hang in there!" kitten posters on the wall.) The set revamp had been done on Rothman's orders, who has a reputation for being stubborn and micromanaging. It's not clear from the second-hand story who won out on this particular battle, but if we see a chirpier set design on opening day, we'll know.

Word around town had production troubled for awhile (it's all anyone talked about prior to the footage screening at ComicCon, though it's all been very hush hush) -- and I'm also under the impression from ComicCon that the film has finally wrapped, so all this set redecoration may be very old and irrelevant news. Perhaps Hood has already won out, as the teaser footage certainly suggested that it was a bit grittier than Iron Man or the previous X-Men films. Please, let that be the case. If I'm disappointed by Wolverine (and I inevitably will be), I don't want it to be because my beloved Logan has a penchant for kitten posters.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine opens May 1st, 2009.

Things rarely go smoothly for costumed adventurers -- and the courtroom, it seems, is no exception. Nikke Finke reports that a federal judge has denied to dismiss 20th Century Fox's legal claim on Watchmen. You may remember that they filed a lawsuit back in February claiming that their rights to the DC property still held. They seek an injunction to prevent Warner Bros' adaptation of Watchmen from being released at all.
And at this point, that federal judge agrees with them.

Warner Bros, obviously, cries foul. They point out that several studios have tried to develop the property for years, with Fox saying nary a word, and passed up the chance to properly reacquire the rights some time back. Their view of the lawsuit is that it's just an opportunistic grab on a movie that has been gaining more and more buzz. You can read the whole legal chronology over on Deadline Hollywood (Finke's done a top-notch job of documenting the ins and outs) and see which side you come down on. It's exhausting -- isn't this what studios have lawyers for? To avoid this kind of last-minute litigation lunacy?

It's unlikely that the movie will really be delayed -- but it is possible that Warner Bros. will have to hand Fox a substantial chunk of change in order to release the film, as they had to do for Dukes of Hazzard some years back. As one of Finke's readers noted, suddenly the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince schedule shift makes a lot more sense. The studio's 2009 budget could be pretty tight.

Watchmen opens (hopefully) March 6th, 2009.

I'm digging the Greek revival in Hollywood -- I know I should sniff at it as an empty trend that cashes in on 300, but I'm just not hard hearted enough. (And I continuously hope that they'll forget about the dumb parts of Troy and greenlight The Odyssey with Sean Bean in the lead.)

According to Variety, the latest Greek myth to be "remade" is Jason and the Argonauts (shortened to the pithier The Argonauts), though I'm skeptical in calling any story that's been around for thousands of years a remake. Jason hasn't sailed on the bigscreen since 1963, when he was assisted so famously by Ray Harryhausen. (There was a television miniseries in 2000 -- that was such a weird era for CGI mythology.) This time, he'll be doing his sailing for 20th Century Fox, and the movie will be written and produced by Zak Penn.

As you likely remember from your school days, this is the story of Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece. Charged with its retrieval by the unpleasant king (and usurper) Pelias, Jason assembles a great group of heroes (including the legendary Heracles) known as the Argonauts. Naturally, they had all kinds of crazy adventures, encountered horrible monsters, and loved a lot of women.

Penn is writing an original take on the Greek epic -- but I imagine all the standbys like the Harpies, the Sirens, and the Symplegades will be present. And I fully expect that it will have a 300 flavor, at least in the costuming and the muscles sported by Jason and company. Just about every studio has a Greek movie they're shoving into production (including that much discussed 300 prequel/sequel/whatever), so they're all going to be vying to outdo each other. At this point, my money is on Anabasis and this one, if only for Penn might bring a bit of X2 goodness to it. What about you?

So, who's going to San Diego Comic Con this year? Are you excited? Pumped up? Mildly interested? Pretending you don't care in order to impress someone of the opposite sex, but deep inside really do care and, as such, are counting down the seconds? It's okay, we're friends -- we can talk. This year, myself, Scott Weinberg and Elisabeth Rappe will be on the ground at Con representing Cinematical, and I think I speak for all of us when I say we're ready to get our geek on.

Aside from the very cool Masters of the Web Panel on Thursday morning (7/24) at 10am (which yours truly will take part in), we've been anxiously waiting to see which studios show up and with what product. Looks like Fox was first out of the gate, as I've been told they'll be there with bells on ... along with panels for Max Payne (Mark Wahlberg, John Moore and Mila Kunis expected to attend so far) and The Day The Earth Stood Still (Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Scott Derickson and Erwin Stoff expected to attend so far). There will also be an advanced screening of The Rocker, with Rainn Wilson in attendance for a Q&A. Of course, this is all tentative until everything is finalized next month.

On the other hand, Anne Thompson brings us the unfortunate news that Paramount will not be hosting a panel or bringing any stars to this year's Con. Apparently, a Paramount spokesman told Thompson that "the timing was off this year." Thus, fans will miss out on potential presentations of G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Transformers 2 and The Last Airbender. Sucks. Though you never know ... plans may change and there could still be a surprise or two. Here's hoping we get something, anything, from one of these highly-anticipated films.

UPDATE: Paramount's fishin' around today, so I don't think they're out just yet. More when we know ...

Cinematical has just received this exclusive teaser poster for City of Ember (click to enlarge), due out this October 10th courtesy of 20th Century Fox and Walden Media. Based on the best-selling novel from Jeanne Duprau, City of Ember was written by Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) and directed by the very talented Gil Kenan (Monster House). Oh, but the talent doesn't stop there -- check out this cast: Bill Murray, Saoirse Ronan, Tim Robbins, Martin Landau, Toby Jones and Harry Treadaway. And did I mention it was produced by Tom Hanks?

And here's a synopsis for ya: "For generations, the people of the City of Ember have flourished in an amazing world of glittering lights - underground. But Ember's once powerful generator is failing . . . and the great lamps that illuminate the city are starting to flicker. Now, two teenagers in a race against time, must search Ember for clues that will unlock the ancient mystery of the city's existence, and help the citizens escape before the lights go out forever."

Early buzz tells us the film looks gorgeous, so that's definitely a good sign. We've also been told that the first trailer for City of Ember will debut in front of Prince Caspian this weekend. (Chalk up another reason to hang with those peeps over in Narnia.) Once again, City of Ember arrives in theaters on October 10th.

So who's excited for this one?

They're claiming that none of their films are ready yet, but is that the real reason 20th Century Fox has decided to pull out of next week's San Diego ComicCon? The studio was previously scheduled to hold a "star-and-filmmaker-studded panel" next Friday in the main hall, featuring exclusive first looks at films like Aliens vs Predator, Jumper, Babylon A.D. and Hitman. While practically every other major studio (Warner Bros., Paramount/Dreamworks, Lionsgate, New Line, Sony Pictures, Universal and Walt Disney) still have plans to appear, Fox has officially pulled out. Or have they? According to The LA Times, the studio was reconsidering that decision yesterday afternoon -- meanwhile, ComicCon organizers were scrambling to fill their much-coveted slot.

This hasn't been the greatest of weeks for Fox. Earlier, there was a whole big stink going on in Chicago over Fox's apparent snub of some film critics when it came to invites for advanced screenings of their films. From what I understand, The Chicago Film Critics Association has instituted a boycott against Fox releases. The boycott won't affect reviews; instead, they'll be staying away from additional coverage like features, interviews, etc ... Personally, I'm a bit peeved as well after finding out yesterday that the only Simpsons Movie screening happening in the New York City area (that I'm aware of) is taking place the night before the film will be released. And, as far as I can tell, the same goes for the rest of the country. So, while I usually like to have a day or so to sit with a film before I review it, I now have a few hours.

Whether or not this ComicCon pull out has anything to do with the aforementioned boycott -- I don't know. I do know, however, that Fox has become a major player when it comes to fighting movie piracy (they're one of the studios who wanted to ban advanced screenings in Canada), and so perhaps it's not a question of whether their footage is ready -- but, instead, has to do with them being afraid that same footage will be on YouTube within the hour. Oh, and I should note that Fox Atomic will still be attendance ... handing out raffles, or something. Yay! Raffles!

Except for a few grumblings of mildly disappointing trailers, it would seem that most of talk surrounding the big-screen version of The Simpson's has been tinged with happy anticipation. But, the Associated Press might have one of the few pieces of bad press for the film. The AP reported that Mexican voice actors for the series were threatening a boycott. Actors had ended a strike in 2005 over hiring practices on the condition that they were promised the film. Gabriel Chavez, who is the voice of Mr. Burns, told the Mexican newspaper the El Universal, "Gentlemen keep their word," and that if the studio does not keep it's word that they will provide the voices for the film, then "there will be a boycott across Latin America of the film."

So far, neither Chavez nor a representative from 20th Century Fox Mexico has commented on the threat of a boycott, but it might set a dangerous precedent. The show airs in over 60 countries, so considering Fox is expecting a worldwide release, that is a lot of possibly disgruntled voice-actors. The real question is, would fans be able to stay away, even if it's not the "d'oh" they are used to? I'm not sure I could.