Although Will Smith plays an emotionally fragile superhero in Hancock, as a movie star he's practically invincible. By industry standards, the last genuine Smith dud was The Legend of Bagger Vance, but the actor's standing among many audiences has remained decidedly rocky. As a result, he occupies a unique corner of the Hollywood marketplace where quality and taste don't necessarily match up. Unlike, say, The Dark Knight, not many people eagerly await the latest Smith offering -- which currently has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- but they'll see it anyway. Hancock is tracking well, thanks to a poster exclusively dominated by Smith's unshaven mug, and that pretty much seals its potent box office fate. Just as Smith's slapdash onscreen persona is bullet-proof, Smith himself is steadfastly critic-proof.

Which places movie in an interesting quagmire: After pulling in waves of cash, it will probably get relegated to the void of forgettable Smith fare, where spectacles offer passing amusement before scampering off forever. Hancock, however, deserves better than a fleeting moment in the limelight and a crash landing in the bargain bin. It's part of a genre that speaks directly to the modern state of blockbuster cinema: The superhero satire.

A couple of people have been griping about Wall-E director Andrew Stanton's refusal to admit that his cute little movie about a robot in love actually contains some pretty upfront green politics, but there's a far more polarizing reference in the film than its harmless pro-environment agenda. It's no major plot spoiler to reveal that, about an hour or so into the story, Fred Willard appears in a recorded message as the mysterious president of Earth's corporate government and orders the ship's captain (Jeff Garlin) to "stay the course." Wait, we've heard this one before: It was the go-to statement used by the Bush administration for about three years or so when describing its modus operandi in Iraq (the term was abandoned when staying the course started to sound like a bad idea). In Wall-E, the context is quite different -- it's an order to not do something, rather than take action -- but hard to ignore nonetheless.

Certain critics with (surprise!) conservative slants have taken issue with this. At Dirty Harry's Place, John Nolte expresses his disappointment in the first paragraph of his review: "Have we lost the wonderful studio who brought us The Incredibles and Ratatouille to Bush Derangement Syndrome?" he asks. New York Post critic Kyle Smith picked up the rant and decided to write his own, even though he hadn't seen the film yet: "This kind of crack, lame as it is, also breaks the spell of the movie by hurling you out of the theater and back into reality."

I don't know why, but I've always been drawn to the big San Francisco Earthquake. (Obviously a curiosity -- not a morbid wish to meet my maker under piles of falling rubble.) This is probably due to the old hardcover that rested amongst my parent's books. Every year or two, I would pick it up and thumb through the pictures of devastation, which probably solidified my determination to never live there. Maybe Brad Bird is equally drawn to the story.

After flicks like the uber-popular The Incredibles and Ratatouille, it has now been confirmed that Brad Bird is making his live-action directorial debut with 1906. The period piece will focus on a college student who is investigating the murder of his father. His digging leads him to "a web of deceit" that has left San Francisco vulnerable to fire -- the kind that erupts when the 1906 earthquake hits. John Logan had penned the original script, and now Bird is rewriting it, so further news should come once Bird completes his stab at the script.

What could be scarier than watching a hijacking movie in a plane? Maybe 1906 in a creaky, old San Francisco building...

While my favorite part of For Your Consideration is Marilyn Hack's plastic surgery, I also love that dreaded morning when the Oscar nominations get announced. Some actors wait anxiously to hear their name announced, while others, thinking they're totally off the Academy's radar, get nods while they're snoozing. Then, to add insult to injury, the losers get tracked down for embarrassing meltdowns and awkwardness on television. It's not quite that bad in real life, but as I read the reactions of those who received Golden Globe nominations, that movie keeps popping up in my head. So, check out these reactions, courtesy of Variety:

Dudes Chewing on Their Nails Hoping to Get Nominations: Jeremy Piven & Focus Features
"I got a call around 5:30, but I was up, believe it or not." -- Piven

"I was sitting here at Focus with about 35 very happy colleagues." -- FF head James Schamus on leading the studio nominations.

Those Who Prepared Speeches: Joe Wright, Atonement & Brad Bird, Ratatouille

"I think we were, as a team, very passionate about the film and story. I don't think we looked up from the little world we created around ourselves." "You need to make all actors feel loved, respected, and supported. That applies to the 12-year-old Saoirse Ronan or a slightly-older Vanessa Redgrave. Acting is an exposing and vulnerable job. You need to make them feel safe." -- Wright -- Extra props given for use of "slightly older."

"One of the messages of the film that most critics understood was that it wasn't anti-critic, but was saying if you're a critic or artist, don't get far away from what you love, and if, as a director, if you're focused on box office or awards and not the film itself, you'll take your eye off the ball." "And most importantly, this nomination shouldn't be taken as an endorsement for rats cooking our meals for us." -- Bird

Lads and Ladies with a Little Bit of Cockiness: Craig Zadan, Hairspray & Julie Taymor, Across the Universe

"It's so interesting that a couple of years ago we were accused of bringing the musical back with Chicago, and now you have this year with Sweeney Todd, Hairspray, and Across the Universe. There was no musical for so many years, and we're so proud of what Chicago has done for the musical." -- Zadan

"It's tremendous as we weren't on the pundits lists and didn't have big ads. I feel, in a way, that we were the engine that could. People vote from their heart, and I feel very gratified." -- Taymor

More About that Damned Strike: Piven, again! & Russ Smith, Juno

"I don't know about whether or not I'll be attending because to be honest with you, I don't know a lot about the rules and limitations of what is happening. I need to look into it. Writers are kind of these unsung heroes... I hope they get what they deserve, and I'll do anything I can to help that." -- Piven

"Our hope is that there's gonna be some sort of dispensation. Every day we're hoping they work something out, but we'll have to see." -- Smith -- In other words: please end the strike, I want my big moment!!

In what seems like a repeat of last year, the 2008 Annie Award nominations include a Pixar movie and a movie about penguins. The top contenders for the 2007 Annies, which recognize the best in animation, were Cars and Happy Feet. The former ended up winning the big award, Best Animated Feature. However, a couple weeks later it was Happy Feet that won the corresponding Oscar, so the Annies can not be looked at to predict the Academy's decision. In 2008, though, the two awards should actually match. The only real contender for both the Annie and the Oscar is Pixar's Ratatouille. There isn't much chance of this year's penguin movie, Surf's Up, winning either award. If there's any minor competition for Pixar, it's from Persepolis. The other two nominees for the Best Animated Feature Annie are Bee Movie and The Simpsons Movie.

Ratatouille was the leader in nominations at 13, while Surf's Up received the second highest amount with 10. In addition to the top award, the two films are competing in the categories for writing (also competing: Simpsons and Persepolis), storyboarding (also competing: TMNT; Meet the Robinsons; Bee Movie), production design (also competing: Beowulf), directing (also competing: Shrek the Third; Simpsons; Persepolis), character design (no other competitors), character animation (no other competitors, but Surf's Up received two mentions here) and animated effects (also competing: Spider-Man 3; Disney short How to Hook Up Your Home Theater; Ratatouille received two mentions here). One category that Bee Movie seriously missed is voice acting, which features three nominations for Ratatouille -- for Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Patton Oswalt.

One thing that is interesting about the Annies is how the awards can be distributed to many different movies. Last year, Over the Hedge won the directing, storyboarding and character design categories, Flushed Away won in writing, voice acting, animated effects, character animation and production design categories and Happy Feet took away no awards. Then again, the year before, Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit picked up ten trophies and then went on to pick up the Academy Award. So, the 2008 Annies could go any number of ways.

After wallowing in production limbo for the last ten years, Empire Online reports that Pixar has finally decided to make not one, but three films about John Carter of Mars by Tarzan creator, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The latest news about the project emerged when Pixar's creative team made a visit to the Burroughs's archives. Pixar's team was comprised of Jim Morris (VP), Andrew Stanton (director), and Mark Andrews (script). Carter was "a Civil War veteran whose retreat into a cave to avoid capture by Apache Indians takes an otherworldly turn as he's transported via time portal to the planet of Barsoom (aka Mars) and taken prisoner by 12-foot-tall green men". First appearing in Princess of Mars back in 1917, the character appeared in over seven novels, so there is plenty of material for the trilogy. According to reports, "All six members at the meeting expressed a deep commitment to the project, acknowledging that they had been inspired by Burroughs' creations from a very early age. This is evidenced in the excitement held for the John Carter property and the plans for a film trilogy faithful to the Burroughs books".

Rights to Carter were finalized back in January for Pixar and Disney. Reportedly, the project has been around since the 90's when Jeffrey Katzenberg had designs on a feature film version while he was still head of Disney. After that, the project made the rounds to Paramount and has had some big names attached to direct over the years, including Robert Rodriguez and Jon Favreau. There is still talk that Pixar will finally be getting into the live-action game with Brad Bird's telling of the San Francisco earthquake, 1906. But, there is plenty of time since they aren't exactly in a rush to get Carter into production. The first film will hit screens sometime in 2012. Talk about planning ahead ...

After months of rumors (the best of which involved Ray Romano and, I believe, Brad Pitt, which appeared briefly on the movie's wikipedia page), Coming Soon has managed to track down the official cast for Pixar's next film, Ratatouille. For those of you who missed the wonderful teaser, the movie is about Remy, a Parisian rat who, quite reasonably, dreams of being a great chef. What with him being a rat and everything, his foodie impulses are not welcomed by his family, particularly when he uproots the lot of them and moves them to Paris, where they take up residence in "a Parisian restaurant made famous by an eccentric French chef."

It has now been confirmed that Remy will be voiced by Patton Oswalt, and the chef by Brad Garrett (look, it's a fiesta of actors from sitcoms built around comedians!). Also appearing in as-yet unrevealed roles will be Brian Dennehy, Janeane Garofalo, Ian Holm and Pixar good luck charm, John Ratzenberger.

The film, which is being directed by Brad Bird and will inevitably be perfect, is due out in June of 2007.

[via Upcoming Pixar]

I don't often sit around thinking about the artistic and financial fate of major media conglomerates (no more than two, three times a day, anyhow), but between The Wild's release last Friday and last weekend's scathing TV Funhouse mockery of all things mouse on SNL, I've been thinking about Disney Animation, their merger with Pixar, and where they're going.

First off, I don't know if The Wild is the last film to come out of Disney Animation before Pixar takes over, but regardless, it's a great demonstration of why that deal seems so necessary. The Wild was, perhaps, the most tired animated film I've seen in a long time; boring, bland, re-hashed and recycled, with a tag-team script that had been bounced between writing pairs for so long that you could see the bruises. Wow, break-dancing lions! Ooh, inter-species romance! Carmen Miranda jokes that no one under the age of 60 is going to get! What's worse than the script is the look of the film -- clumsy, inelegant, bumbling; we're getting to the point where computer-animated films essentially look as cheaply-made and dull as cut-scenes from videogames, and not like works of art.

So, something had to happen to change Disney Animation-- I guess the question is if the Pixar deal is going to be enough to do it. I keep thinking of Hong Kong's transfer to China -- when a solid, inertia-bound object takes on a small, new motor, which gets affected more? Making a change at a movie studio normally is like trying to turn an aircraft carrier by dangling your hand in the water behind it as a rudder; I can't even imagine what it's like at Disney, where the normal long-term development pipeline of a studio is lengthened by the work required to craft animation … and stretched even longer by the years of tradition in the company's past.

Though it's long been assumed that project creator and developer Jan Pinkava (whose Geri's Game won an Oscar for best short film) would direct Ratatouille for Pixar, it was revealed at a Disney shareholders meeting on Friday that Brad Bird will in fact be at the helm. Since Bird is the genius who made The Incredibles, this is fantastic news (sorry, Jan) - the only negative is that it means a delay in the rumored Incredibles sequel.

Ratatouille is the story of "a skinny mouse who lives in a fancy Parisian restaurant run by a famous but eccentric chef." Because of his rather posh home, the rat "fancies himself a gourmand," which gives us possibly the greatest plot summary of all time. The Disney suits got a sneak peek at a completed clip of the film, but so far, no one's talking - hopefully somebody had a camera phone out, and will soon be uploading the footage to YouTube.

The movie, which is due out on June 29, 2007, will be the first Pixar feature wholly owned by the company; the previous seven - including Cars - were all made under their old deal with Disney.

Based on a new article in Time Magazine, it looks as if the people at Pixar are finally talking about their follow-up to this summer's Cars - and the movies they're discussing are so packed with potential (and vague enough to avoid disappointing) that they're going to send fans of the company into a frenzy of anticipation. The films being discussed are Ratatouille (which has been in the IMDB for at least 3 years), about "a rat who lives in a fancy French restaurant"; something noirish from The Incredibles writer/director Brad Bird, possibly based on The Spirit, a 1940s comic; or a return to 2D animation by John Lasseter, maybe in the form of the long-discussed world music Fantasia spin-off.

WHEW. Personally, I'm freaking out at the thought of The Spirit on screen, especially in Bird's hands, but all of those ideas are exciting. It's enough to leave you just thanking to the sweet Lord that Pixar exists.