Above: Rainn Wilson lets his hair down for The Rocker.

Fans of Rainn Wilson's offbeat, hilarious and strangely endearing performance as Dwight Schrute on NBC's The Office might expect him to transition into film work with straightforward comedy, and The Rocker confirms that suspicion. However, they might not realize the serious professional motives behind his choice. In the movie, directed by Peter Cattaneo (The Full Grown Monty), Wilson plays a grown-up dolt named Fish with a scary fixation on classic rock. Abandoned by the band Vesuvius in his teens -- before they became a commercial phenomenon -- Fish spends the next twenty years working deadbeat jobs and wishing things happened differently. Naturally, he gets a second chance: When the opportunity rolls around to drum for his nephew's high school, Fish goes for it. Ageism and slapstick humor ensue.

While not exactly a classic, The Rocker proves Wilson has the charisma to carry a movie. The script could use some polishing, but Wilson manages to play a completely dysfunctional human being without ever becoming an annoyance. It's a testament to his skill as an actor with calculated timing. The humor emerges from the naturalism of his performances, which make you believe in the outlandish characters he portrays. In a conversation with Cinematical recently, Wilson elaborated on his particular strategies as his career advances, reminisced about his days as a New York theater actor, and shed some light on a few upcoming projects.

So after what's felt like a gazillion years, I finally managed to catch Jersey Boys on Broadway last night ... and all I could think about the entire time was why this hasn't been turned into a movie yet. (But in a good way.) In the past few years, we've had Chicago, Rent, Hairspray and The Producers, with Mamma Mia and Nine on the horizon. Where's Jersey Boys? The damn show gets a standing ovation every night, not to mention it's got a great story, great characters and, well, fantastic music. It'd be like Goodfellas: The Musical -- and something like that would probably rake in more cash (from both men and women) than most of these movie-musicals to date.

I haven't had this much fun watching a musical in years; probably since Wicked (which is another one that needs to hit the big screen at some point). But when I sat there, picturing how they could adapt each scene and make it really work on the big screen, one annoying issue kept beating me over the head: Who in the world do you cast? Since Hollywood is all about sticking names in these sorts of roles, you'd need four young guys who not only can sing (Valli gets UP there), but also come with thick Jersey accents. Off the top of my head, I don't know of any young, Hollywood stars who fit the bill. MAYBE Zac Efron, but he might be a tad too young ... and I've never seen him do a tough, Jersey accent (honestly, I don't know if I want to ...)

I really, really love Young Frankenstein, as is obvious from my retro review here. It has always been my favorite Mel Brooks movie, and was one of the first DVDs I ever bought. The film began my love of everything Madeline Kahn; it was one of the few great movies in my youth that wasn't a retro Disney movie or '80s crapfest. It's just damned good. After all the success Brooks had with The Producers on-stage, one would think that the same success could be found with source material like Frankenstein, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

In their Studio Briefing news at IMDb, there's a collection of notes from theatrical reviewers on the Broadway production, and they aren't very positive. In fact, it's looking like this musical is tarnishing all the wonder of the original film. According to Ben Brantley, the production saps the original of its joy, and definitely isn't worth its exorbitant budget and pricey premier seating; Chris Jones called it a "colossal disappointment", while even the nicer reviews still say the magic, spark, and greatness is gone. That's really a shame. On the one hand, at least we'll probably be free of a movie that is based on a musical, which is based on a movie. But it's still sad. Have any of you seen it? Is it as much of a waste as the reviewers describe?

When Pamela Smart was seducing Billy Flynn, I bet she never fathomed not only getting caught, but just how far her life would travel in the realms of the media. In case you somehow missed the whole Smart drama -- she was the older woman who seduced the 15-year-old Flynn, then threatened to leave him unless he killed her husband. He followed her wishes, and now she's got life in prison without parole. The story was made into a television movie, and then a novel by Joyce Maynard that spawned Nicole Kidman's To Die For. Now Playbill says that the producers of the musical Xanadu are looking to adapt To Die For to hit the Broadway stage. The production will be an update of both the novel and the film.

Xanadu producer B. Swibel says: "The message of To Die For is more timely and provocative than ever." Maynard, who is also involved, continues: "If ever there was a larger than life character, destined to belt out her songs on Broadway, it's the character of Suzanne Maretto -- a woman who recognized the power of reality television about twenty years ahead of the rest of America. I feel excited, watching the story I wrote and the characters I created taking shape for the stage." The project is only in the beginning stages, but I'm sure we'll soon here more about the production, see it hit Broadway, and probably then re-hit the big screen with all its singing glory. What do you think? Are you ready for some Broadway Maretto full of songs, seduction, and murder?

Around the same time that Daniel Radcliffe makes fans squee with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is scheduled to come out in November of next year, it looks like he'll send North American girls into a flutter by reprising his Equus role in New York City. Reuters has reported that the actor is hoping to debut the play on Broadway late next year. I would assume that this would be after the film comes out, so he can get all the press tours done before he drops trou again.

His involvement in the UK production created enormous buzz, both for his nudity and his smoking, and the play relished in advanced ticket sales that rose above $4 million. If you remember, the play is about a psychiatrist who is trying to help a young man who has been blinding horses with a metal hoof pick. (It is also based on a true story.) As for a possible run on Broadway, Radcliffe says: "I would be very nervous because I think that [the audiences are] even more discerning than in London. But I know we have a good show, it was a good show when we did it in London and hopefully if we do it again it will still be that good. It has to be better."

Better or not, I bet he could totally mess up, and hordes of girls will still see it for not only a glimpse of Harry in person, but also Daniel in all his glory. I mean, how many fan girls ever get to see that much, especially when the actor is still so young? (He turned 18 in July.) At the very least it will remind audiences once again that he's more than just a princely wizard. I can only imagine what sort of roles he steps into once the franchise is complete... In the meantime, you can check him out in December Boys, which opens later this month.

It was written and announced as a movie back in 2004, but for some reason Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention never made it to the big screen. Instead it premiered this year as a stage play, and following a popular run out in California, it is now coming to Broadway. So, could it again be optioned as a movie? That is what Hollywood Elsewhere is speculating. And the site thinks Steven Spielberg may be the one to return the script to Hollywood. Back in March, Variety reported that Steven Spielberg would be potentially aiding in the play's transition to the Big Apple, though only as a limited partner. Then, last month when the Broadway run was confirmed, Variety only mentioned that Spielberg was expected to be a part of its producing team. Unfortunately, I can't find anywhere that it says the filmmaker is definitely involved.

The Farnsworth Invention tells the story of Philo Farnsworth, who invented the first electronic television then had to fight RCA president David Sarnoff over its patent. Despite the familiar David vs. Goliath premise, the play is supposedly really good. Sorkin, who is better known these days for his television work (The West Wing; Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), was last on Broadway with A Few Good Men, which he also adapted into a movie, which starred Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. Although Sorkin may have felt The Farnsworth Invention was more appropriately told on the stage, I can't imagine why he wouldn't also try to make more money from the story by letting it be made into a film. Regardless of how common-sounding the play's premise is, though, it could be ruined for the screen by the very similar Flash of Genius, an upcoming movie that focuses on the inventor of the intermittent windshield wiper.

Oftentimes Hollywood's lack of originality leads to overexposed trends. Remember when every action movie seemed to be easily defined as 'Die Hard on a ...'? Remember when disaster movies were all the rage? And then twenty years later when they were all the rage again? Remember when there were like a hundred body-swapping comedies? Well, there appear to be fewer trends these days, or maybe it's just that Hollywood turns trends into full-blown practices, as in the case of sequels, comic book movies and fantasy films based on literary franchises. Nowadays even a promised trend, like the one involving religious Passion of the Christ copycats, isn't necessarily going to happen. But despite there being so few here-today-gone-tomorrow film fads, there's at least seven bad ideas currently in vogue in Tinsel Town, and all of them need to disappear soon, lest they too become permanent.

1. Torture Porn

I'm going to start with an easy, surely obvious one. Torture porn is the latest trend in horror, a genre that changes its predominant style every few years, and it may be the most despised -- at least by us non-horror junkies. I miss the days when a friend, an actual junkie, could drag me to a harmless scary movie that provided a few screams, a few laughs and afterward, at the most, a few silly nightmares. Now, with each new horror movie there's promise of a seriously depressing experience. After watching The Hills Have Eyes, I realized I hadn't been frightened at all. Instead I wanted to cry my heart out. I haven't been to a horror flick since, and my friend is going solo. Sure, I hear that Eli Roth's movies are a lot more enjoyable than watching a young woman raped while watching her father burned alive and her mother raped and then shot in the head, but I just haven't been in the mood to find out.

Apparently the torture porn trend is already on its way out. Hostel II performed poorly at the box office and Captivity may have peaked too soon, reaching maximum tastelessness before even opening in theaters. So what will be next? I'm rather looking forward to when slasher movies are in fashion again, when I can delight in seeing sinful human beings killed off quickly and deservedly by an implausible maniac. Which brings me to the next trend ...

It looks like we're getting another big-budget musical from the Weinsteins -- probably not a bad idea, since the last one they made won six Oscars. Variety recently reported that Rob Marshall has signed to direct the film version of the Tony Award winning musical Nine. The musical debuted in 1982 with Raul Julia and beat out Dreamgirls that year for Best Musical. In 2002, Antonio Banderas took on the lead and *won a Tony for Best Male Performance. The story was inspired Federico Fellini's 8½, and centers on an aging director suffering from his romantic entanglements and a creative dry spell. This is the first project for Marshall with the Weinsteins since Chicago, and he was eager for another film after Memoirs of a Geisha, saying, "I began looking intensely at (other projects), including remakes of movies, originals and Broadway musicals." Marshall will also help with the choreography for the film along with John DeLuca.

The project is still looking for a screenwriter, and casting has yet to begin -- there is no word on whether Banderas will return. Marshall warned that "This one needs to be created specifically for the talent involved, to suit their strengths, casting will be a big issue here, and if commitments complicate things, it will be 2009." We're not quite sure what that means since any movie that he started prepping now wouldn't likely arrive in theaters until 2009 anyway, but I'm sure the Weinsteins won't mind waiting, since it seems that their reputation at the box-office could use a little help.

*Correction: Banderas was nominated but the award went to Harvey Fierstein.

Broadway will give High Fidelity the boot after only a tiny ten-day run, as the show will close its theatre doors on Sunday, December 17 after receiving bland reviews and crippling box office sales. The play was adapted from its most original form -- a novel written by Nick Hornby --then turned into a film back in 2000. The film, unlike the musical, received rave reviews and big box office sales that subsequently helped it take home a lot more than its production costs -- especially honorable for being an independent film. High Fidelity (the film, not the musical)stars heavyweights John Cusack and Jack Black; story revolves around a music snob and record store owner who struggles with his life's top five breakups (women, not bands). He spends the film relating periods of his life back to the musical greats and figuring out the universal human crisis of what is love and where is ones place in it.

High Fidelity is probably one of my favorite films of all time -- actually, as you read this, it's sitting in my DVD player. In fact, I may even turn it on for inspiration. When I heard awhile back that they were making a musical about it, I had mixed emotions. First of all -- I hate musicals. I hate them. The only musical that I do enjoy is Cabaret. I'm convinced that in order for me to enjoy a musical the actors have to be in their underwear -- not any underwear, mind you -- but underwear circa the 1930s. Then it also has to involve the Holocaust. I've tried others. I saw Rent. Hated it. I saw Boy from Oz. I don't even want to talk about it. Musicals and I simply do not mix.

The one glimmer of hope for me was the film's already incredible soundtrack. If they were somehow able to incorporate what was already done music-wise in the film to the stage then maybe I would have liked it.

Well, if High Fidelity were to stay open longer then I would have probably made an attempt to see it during my trip back to New York. But Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller -- producers of High Fidelity: The Musical -- saved me from my abusive relationship with such theatre productions. I'll simply have to wait until its revival pops up somewhere in Los Angeles ... where theatre is even better.

Actress Madeline Kahn died on this day in 1999, from ovarian cancer. I intended to post a still from one of her best-known movie roles, looking particularly for something from Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein. I wouldn't have minded finding a good photo of her as Trixie Delight in Paper Moon, either. However, I stumbled upon a lovely tribute site, Madeline-Kahn.com, found this wonderful photo, and could not resist, considering who else is in it.

The above photo was taken as publicity for a Broadway musical, On the Twentieth Century, which was based on the wonderful 1934 screwball comedy Twentieth Century. The musical opened on Broadway in early 1978. That's a rather young Kevin Kline, pre-movie career, standing to the left of Kahn. Kahn played temperamental actress Lily Garland in the musical, and Kline played her current boy-toy, whom she favors over megolamaniacal producer Oscar Jaffe (played by John Cullum). Cy Coleman, who wrote the music, is standing in the middle. And that's Adolph Green and Betty Comden, who wrote the book and lyrics, on the right side of the photo. Since Comden died recently, do you see why I had to share this photo with you? The only problem with this photo is that it makes me wish very hard that I could have seen this production, although I would have been 9 years old at the time and probably would have fallen asleep in the middle.

I could go on and on about Madeline Kahn, but instead I recommend you visit the above-mentioned tribute site to enjoy dozens of great photos from the actress's films, TV appearances, and plays, as well as other information about her.