Djimon Hounsou's "dream project" has finally been confirmed in the trades. Variety reports that Hounsou is pairing up with Dynamite Entertainment to star in and produce a movie about Thulsa Doom, nemesis of King Kull and Conan the Barbarian.
The character originally appeared in Robert E. Howard's story Delcardes' Cat, and is getting his own comic book series (courtesy of Dynamite) next year.

You probably remember Thulsa Doom as being played by the incomparable James Earl Jones in the classic Conan the Barbarian movie. But if you're a fan of Howard's work, you know that Jones' character didn't resemble the literary one very much. The original Thulsa Doom is an undead sorcerer with the face of a skull, with eyes of fire, and all kinds of scary powers.

So, unless Hounsou is going to bury his handsome face behind make-up or CGI, the new Thulsa Doom will be more in line with Jones' character, and another departure from Howard's original pulp stories. Already, they are looking to make a demonic villain more inviting, as Hounsou's film will show how the once heroic Doom went all mean and nasty. Just once, wouldn't it cool to have a movie about a demonic sorcerer who happily eschewed the straight and narrow? Thank goodness J.R.R. Tolkien left no such wiggle room with Sauron or Morgoth, eh?

When it comes down to it, Brett Ratner might not be the most hated man in the movie business -- but he's definitely in the top five. In a profile for Ad Age, the director sat down to talk about Brett Ratner Brands, his new consultancy business. But things get interesting right at the end of the article when the journalist dropped the bomb that Ratner might be working on a big-screen version of the best-selling video game, God of War.

For those of you who haven't played it (and I really recommend you do), here is a quick primer: God of War centers on Kratos, a celebrated soldier who is haunted by his past transgressions and his debt to the Gods of Olympus. It could have just been your typical hack and slash game, but the cinematic approach and highly entertaining story line earned it a reputation as one of the best around.

Talk of a feature film surfaced back in 2005, and Universal was the studio named to produce. According to recent reports, the script has already been finished and casting has begun to heat up (some recent buzz has Djimon Hounsou in consideration for the lead). But then fans the world over had to deal with the unpleasant news that Uwe Boll was being considered to direct -- luckily, this never came to be. So I guess Ratner could be considered a step in the right direction. Then again, if you had the misfortune of seeing Rush Hour 3, you would probably disagree.

[via Film Junk]

And the Internet sat up and went, "Seriously?"

CHUD's Devin Faraci is one dedicated researcher. Like a man possessed, he's been determined to unearth Djimon Hounsou's comic book project. (We reported on what it could be earlier this week as well.) It would now seem that he has, and the news is a bit disappointing. One of CHUD's reporters was at the Never Back Down junket and pressed Hounsou further. The actor reluctantly revealed that it was a comic "that used to be part of the Conan comic book."

Faraci spoke to NuImage, the people behind the new Conan movie, and they are only in talks with Hounsou -- and do not even have a director, so the project is far from definite. There are some other Robert E. Howard projects in development, notably Solomon Kane, but it is already filming, and Bran Mak Morn.

It is all a long way from Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's Tintin or the Black Panther. Faraci is still consumed with the story and trying to get a definite answer. Pop on over and read his article, which includes audio of Hounsou's Conan quote.

IESB is excitedly speculating on a coy comment made by actor Djimon Hounsou yesterday during a press junket for Never Back Down. Honsou mentioned that he had just signed on to star in a comic book trilogy, which he called his "dream project." He refused to give any more details.

The most popular guess is that Hounsou is going to be the Black Panther -- but it could just as easily be Luke Cage or Tintin, both of which are in development right now. I honestly think Hounsou is talking about Tintin. It is going to be produced by Steven Spielberg, who has worked with Hounsou before on Amistad. And he specifically mentioned a trilogy of films, which Tintin reportedly will be.

While IESB is skeptical, claiming that Tintin isn't really a comic book movie, I think it is more likely to be Hounsou's dream project than the Black Panther. Tintin is wildly popular in Europe and appeared first in France -- where Hounsou lived during his early years.

Not all comic book movies involve superpowers -- and not everyone's dream is to don skintight Lycra. But who knows -- Hounsou could be the biggest Black Panther (or Luke Cage) fan ever, and I am way out in left field. But I just can't help but think the Internet immediately thought African actor -- must be the Black Panther!

Those pesky U.S. government agencies -- they always have to make things difficult. No, I'm not talking about getting a passport, although that seems to be hellish these days, but about the groups looking to capture or neutralize the "different" people. After watching E.T. and similar films as a kid, I've had a love/hate relationship with special abilities -- I've wanted to read minds, see the future, etcetera, but I also feared that some scary, government agency would then hunt me down and conduct tests and experiments on me. If the government didn't get me, I was sure some corporation would fool me into working for them and fulfilling their evil plans, like Dark Visions. Not fun.

It looks like my fantastical childhood fear is going to be relived on the big screen soon with a supernatural thriller called Push. The film stars Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond), Dakota Fanning (Hounddog), Chris Evans (Fantastic Four) and Camilla Belle (The Chumscrubber) as young American ex-pats who are hiding out in Hong Kong. See, they all have telekinetic and clairvoyant abilities, so they're trying to hide from a government agency. As The Hollywood Reporter describes it: "They must band together and use their different talents to try to escape the control of the division." Where's Magneto and Professor X when you need them?! The film, which was written by David Bourla, will be directed by Paul McGuigan (Lucky Number Slevin).

There's a little film called Get Some gearing up for production that is being called a "teenage Fight Club." Hmm ... A movie about teens beating the crap out of each other ... how uplifting! The film will follow a "rebellious" kid, played by Sean Faris (Yours, Mine and Ours), who is having troubles fitting into his new school. Somehow, he gets lured into an underground fight club along the way. Now, the Palahniuk, adult version of this tale had grown men pummeling each other to find strength, meaning and reason to their lackluster lives -- and for the main guy -- a little mental clarity. If this takes on the same tone, I won't be surprised if some parents get a bit ticked off.

As we learned last month, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane star Amber Heard had signed on to co-star as a girl whose "loyalties are put to the test when her boyfriend severely beats up Faris' character." Now, Variety reports that Djimon Hounsou (recent Oscar nominee for Blood Diamond) is also starring in the drama, although there is no word on his role. Since it's a starring role, I would imagine that he's either going to be a teacher at the school that's instrumental in trying to stop this, or a fight-hungry man instrumental in getting this all together -- or maybe a blending of both. The film will begin shooting in July, directed by Jeff Wadlow, from a script by Chris Hauty and Robert Munic. I, for one, am interested to see what they make of this premise, because it really needs to walk the fine line, unless there is a surprise twist and all the guys are pillow fighting. My question: Fight Club inspired middle-aged men to toughen up with their own underground clubs. Will the same happen in high schools across the country?

Each year the Oscar nominees gather for a fabulous pre-awards luncheon and to bask in each other's glory. A Reuter's story reports such activities as Leonardo DiCaprio giving Abigail Breslin a high-five, Steven Spielberg (nominated for producing Letters from Iwo Jima) murmuring secretively with Peter O'Toole (a future movie project?), and everyone cheering for Martin Scorsese. At a press conference, some of the nominees -- also Academy members -- joked about the option of voting for themselves. Helen Mirren reportedly gave herself devil's horns with her fingers while discussing her vote, and Djimon Hounsou wondered aloud if anyone else present would be voting for him.

In all, it was the most popular Awards luncheon yet, with 140 nominees present. One sound mixer, Kevin O'Connell, holds the record for the most nominations, 19, without winning. This year he's nominated for Apocalypto. "I've saved all my acceptance speeches, all the ones I've written on the backs of napkins and programs," he told reporters. "They are all in a drawer at home. I have my thank-you written. If I win this year, I will thank my mother."

Aside from the hijinks that reporters are allowed to see, we can only imagine what else goes on at such a luncheon. What does everyone eat? Do people ask Scorsese, Spielberg and Clint Eastwood for jobs? Does Ryan Gosling try to hit on Penelope Cruz? Does everyone try to hit on Penelope Cruz? Does Kate Winslet get jealous? Does Abigail Breslin have to sit at the kids' table? Does Jackie Earle Haley creep everyone out? Alas, so few of us will ever know the answers to these questions. Not invited to the luncheon this year were Laura Dern, Jim Broadbent, David Lynch, Clive Owen, Bill Nighy, Sandra Bullock, Rian Johnson, Terry Zwigoff, Daniel Clowes and many other overlooked artists.

Blood Diamond is the feel-bad epic that director Edward Zwick has been prepping for his entire career. The logline: Africa, unglued. We are dropped into Sierra Leone, sometime in the late 90s, near the tail-end of a decade-long civil war. The situation is bad enough that a rabble of child soldiers with names like "Baby Killer" and "Commander Rambo" can march with impunity down streets that are unlit except for the hazy orange glow of a few burning cars. Various factions are engaged in a hut-to-hut struggle for power, and the screen bounces from one horrifying image to another. We see a toddler being needled with heroin and told "It will make the bullets bounce off of you." We see a beachside nightclub up and running one minute, only to become captured ground the next minute. We see brigands and warlords patrolling the roads in expensive but smashed-up vehicles, looking for other vehicles that can be roadblocked and robbed. We see ... Jennifer Connelly? Talk about a diamond in the rough.

Connelly is a fine specimen of that sentimental movie creation -- the do-gooder journalist -- who hangs around sipping beers in Western-friendly cafes and seems to have no real plan at all until she happens upon Leonardo DiCaprio, a white Zimbabwean who addresses everyone as "broo" and "my man" and makes his living helping an international diamond cartel swindle the "blecks" out of the conflict diamonds that abound in the region. He has a number of minor tricks, including false teeth for smuggling diamonds and the ability to speak a bizarre form of pidgin English to the local shopkeepers that sounds exactly like something you'd hear in a Star Wars film. Connelly quickly goes to work on the emotional center she senses in him. "Good things are done every day. Just not by you," she tells him with a smile. DiCaprio and Connelly are both pushy, in-your-face actors and the film could have worked as either a romance or a cruel, McCabe & Mrs. Miller fable, but as Zwick has proven before, directing actors ain't his strong suit.

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• Okay, we've seen stories about young men trying to escape the ghetto to follow their dreams and make something of themselves, but this one definitely takes the cake as far as originality goes. Djimon Hounsou is set to star in The Trunk, a film that finds him playing an aspiring pianist whose jealous friends attempt to keep him from leaving the ghetto for whatever selfish reasons they have. Personally, I feel Hounsou is an underrated actor who always chooses dynamite roles (okay, we'll make believe Biker Boyz never happened), so I'm curious to see what he does playing a ghetto-fabulous pianist.
• Normally I wouldn't pay much attention to Pamela Anderson and the crummy roles she takes on, but according to Hollywood North Report, she's making a movie with, um, Bob Clark. Sure, Clark is the man behind Porky's (so we know he's just a bit perverse), but he's also the dude who directed A Christmas Story, Black Christmas (the original) and Baby Geniuses. Can anyone have a more eclectic career than this guy? I seriously doubt it. Anyway, the name of the film is Blonde and Blonder and, though there's no plot description, I'm going to take a wild guess and say it's kind of like Dumb and Dumber ... but with blondes. [via Moviehole]
• For those of you fanatical Tim Burton fans out there, AICN chief Harry Knowles recently conducted a fantastic interview with the man, and the two talked about everything from Sweeney Todd to Vincent Price. As far as Sweeney Todd goes, Burton didn't rule out using the always fabulous Christopher Lee in a small role, and on whether or not Danny Elfman would be involved, he said, "I've talked to him, but I just don't ... My relationship with Danny now ... I don't think I'd ask him to do that just because it wouldn't be using him to what his great talents are. He's busy at the moment, so I think... I mean, he's very supportive of me and that's great, but it wouldn't utilize his talents very well." There's much much more where that came from, so feel free to head on over there and check it out.

Wayyy back in 2003, Ridley Scott was real keen on directing a sequel to his Oscar-winning flick Gladiator. However, unable to come up with a way to make the film without Russell Crowe (ya know, since his character Maximus died at the end of the first one), Scott quickly abandoned the idea. Then, in 2005, there was word from both Crowe and Djimon Hounsou that a Gladiator 2 script was, indeed, in the works.

One year and a Gladiator musical later, nothing more had been said on the subject ... until now. According to reports (which feel strangely familiar, so feel free to hang us out to dry if this is old news), Ridley Scott will not only be making a sequel to Gladiator, but he also plans to somehow factor Crowe into the whole thing. Says Scott, "I will probably do a sequel to Gladiator. The only problem is Russell Crowe was such a powerful presence and, of course, Maximus dies at the end. We'll have to get Russell back somehow." I don't know about you, but I'd love to see how they plan on resurrecting Maximus without giving it some cheesy soap opera-ish spin. As of now there are no other details, but you bet your ass I'll be on the look out for some. All hail Maximus!