They have no actors, screenwriter, or director attached, but a group of producers has already figured out the budget for their planned remake of a 1973 prison drama: $90 million. The original film, Papillon, starred Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman as criminals trying to escape from Devil's Island, a French penal colony located in South America.

According to Variety, Spanish production company Atlantia Canarias recently closed a deal for the rights to the autobiography of Henri Charriere, whose best-selling book served as the basis for Papillon. The company has teamed up with veteran Los Angeles-based producers Branko Lustig (Gladiator, American Gangster) and John J. Kelly (Into the Wild, The Black Dahlia). Most of the financing has already been arranged through a Canary Islands tax investment vehicle, whereby taxpayers "earmark part of their payments for film and TV investment."

It's been several years since I've seen Papillon, but it felt very low-key and, frankly, drab and unexciting. Writing in 1973, Roger Ebert wasn't very impressed: "You know something has gone wrong when you want the hero to escape simply so that the movie can be over." The original film had an estimated budget of $12 million. Considering the remake's budget, I imagine the producers have set aside a good portion of that for two big male stars, and probably a star director.

Does this remake stir any interest? Who could put on the prison clothes worn by Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman?

Disney has Pixar. Fox has Blue Sky. Paramount has, for now, Dreamworks. As seemingly the last studio to get into animated features, Universal has offered up the trailer for their maiden effort, The Tale of Despereaux, over at Yahoo! Movies.

Based upon the 2003 Newbury Award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo, the film follows the adventurous antics of Despereaux (voiced by Matthew Broderick), a mouse with large ears and - I'm just guessing here - an even bigger heart, as he bucks the status quo of cowardice that seems to have imprisoned his kind to a fearsome existence.

Besides being an animated tale of a brave rodent with a tongue-tricky title and thus fated to merit comparison to those which have recently set lofty standards for similar fare, this project genuinely looks and sounds pleasant enough for all its yay-for-being-yourself familiarity. Besides, there's only more hope to be had when we're looking at a voice cast that includes the likes of Broderick, Kevin Kline, Dustin Hoffman, Sigourney Weaver, Stanley Tucci, William H. Macy, and Tony Hale, not to mention a Harry Potter veteran or two.

With its eye on the year-end holiday season, The Tale of Despereaux is scheduled to hit theaters on December 19th.

I love a surprise, even a small one like finding out that Kung Fu Panda was more likeable and fun than I might have expected. I have a secret mini-crush on Jack Black (okay, maybe not so secret), so I was hoping that Kung Fu Panda wouldn't suck and if nothing else, I'd be able to enjoy his vocal stylings in the Dreamworks animated film. Surprise! I liked the movie for more reasons than Jack Black.

Black voices the title character, Po, who helps in his father's noodle shop but dreams of becoming a kung fu fighter and joining the Furious Five: Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and especially Tigress (Angelina Jolie). He wants to watch the Five compete to be the great Dragon Warrior, and is somehow dragged into the selection process himself. Kung-fu master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman) is irritated that a fat clumsy clown of a panda is joining his elite cadre of students, especially since it's predicted that the supremely evil snow leopard Tai Lung (Ian McShane) may escape from prison and try to steal the Dragon Warrior scroll of power for himself.

Perhaps the best thing about Kung Fu Panda is that it's an action comedy that doesn't skimp on the action. Dreamworks Animation's latest effort may stick out a little on the Red Carpet at Cannes -- where it's screening out of competition -- but it's certainly a well-made kid's film that earns high points for how directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne clearly crafted and contemplated its look and feel with ambition and style. Anyone can make a computer-animated cartoon with fuzzy animals doing kung fu; you have to be at least a little inspired to make a computer-animated cartoon featuring fuzzy animals doing kung fu in widescreen Cinemascope. ...

Kung Fu Panda opens with a rousing, stylish action sequence, as a narrator (Jack Black, in full-on Tenacious D exposition mode) explains how "Legend tells of a legendary kung fu warrior whose kung fu skills were legendary. ..." But then, the heroic panda we've seen unleashing paws of power on the big screen ... wakes up; it was just a dream. Then Po the panda (Black), whose dreams of kung fu glory are the counterpoint to his unsatisfying life, gets ready for his day of helping his father Mr. Ping (James Wong) sell noodles to the people of the Valley of Peace.

A new trailer for Kung Fu Panda has just arrived online. You can either watch it above, or head on over to Moviefone to see it in glorious HD. Starring the voices of Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan and Dustin Hoffman, Kung Fu Panda is the latest animated offering from Dreamworks. From the film's official synopsis: "Enthusiastic, big and a little clumsy, Po is the biggest fan of Kung Fu around...which doesn't exactly come in handy while working every day in his family's noodle shop. Unexpectedly chosen to fulfill an ancient prophecy, Po's dreams become reality when he joins the world of Kung Fu and studies alongside his idols, the legendary Furious Five--Tigress, Crane, Mantis, Viper and Monkey--under the leadership of their guru, Master Shifu. But before they know it, the vengeful and treacherous snow leopard Tai Lung is headed their way, and it's up to Po to defend everyone from the oncoming threat."

The trailer looks pretty cute, and I love the addition of the Kill Bill music at the end, as Po and his master fight over a dumpling. Yum. Kung Fu Panda is set to arrive in theaters on June 6.

On a day like today, when it's cold and hailing in the city, I wish that it was Groundhog Day already. I wish that little Punxsutawney Phil would come out, not see his shadow, and Springtime weather would be imminent. But it's not even technically winter yet, and so I'm just sitting here listening to the ice bricks hitting my porch, glad that I don't have to really leave my apartment today. Now all I need is a good movie to watch, and what better movie to watch when it's icy outside than Groundhog Day? Unfortunately, all we're stuck with currently is the same old special edition DVD version we've had for the last five years. Now I'm at least wishing that it was January 29, 2008, the date that a new 15th Anniversary edition of Groundhog Day comes out on disc.

Never mind that the fact Groundhog Day is 15 years old makes me feel old, this is exciting news. Groundhog Day is one of the best movies of the '90s, let alone best comedies of the '90s, let alone best Bill Murray comedies of the '90s. And this new DVD features some great bonus material, including "newly discovered" deleted scenes. I'm not one for always watching deleted scenes (they're cut out for a reason, right?), but I'll definitely be checking these out -- especially if they feature my beloved Stephen Tobolowsky. Also, director Harold Ramis has supervised a digital remaster of the film and recorded a commentary. And of course, it comes just in time for a marathon viewing (haven't you ever appropriately watched it on repeat for a whole day?) on Groundhog Day.

Ah, Dustin! If you've only been exposed to the latter-day, comic Dustin Hoffman (Meet the Fockers, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium) or the better-known, showy Dustin (Rain Man, Tootsie), then Straight Time will be a pleasant revelation. It's of a piece with his work in All the President's Men, which came a little before this film, and Kramer vs. Kramer, which came a little after, in that he plays a character who feels true to life, someone you might meet on the street and recognize as a kindred soul. Really, his character harkens back to Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate, albeit a Benjamin Braddock who has been shaped for a life in crime rather than a career in plastics.

Hoffman inhabits Max Dembo like a well-worn shoe. Max has been released from prison after six years. He rides a bus to Los Angeles, gets off with his tiny paper bag of possessions, eats a hot dog. It's only the next day, when he visits his parole officer (M. Emmet Walsh), that it's revealed he did something wrong: he didn't report to the halfway house as ordered, which makes him immediately suspect in the eyes of the parole officer. Max's mood changes swiftly from genial respect to rebellious belligerence to resigned subservience as the parole officer questions him. He knows how the game is supposed to be played. He's been in and out of criminal institutions since he was a kid. That doesn't make it any easier for him.

Max reaches an agreement with the parole officer to find a job and rent a room within the week. He promptly heads to an employment agency, where he meets Jenny (Theresa Russell). She is very young and beautiful; she locks eyes with Max and doesn't look away when he tells her that he's a convict. He convinces her that he is desperate for a job, even as he flirts with her. He gets the job in a canning factory and rents a tiny room. So far, so good. Then he makes a big mistake.

Step right up, ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, to one of the few G-rated films released in 2007, Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. Twice the magical effects of the Harry Potter movies, with only a fraction of the depth! See the freakiest hair outside of a John Waters movie! Hear the strangest speech impediment from Dustin Hoffman to date! Marvel at the see-through storyline! You'll certainly be looking for the egress during this attraction.

I fear I'm not being fair, kicking Mr. Magorium like that. As a movie for small children whose film viewing experience is limited, it's not bad at all, especially when you start comparing it to product-oriented kids' entertainment. The problem is that I expected something more appealing to grownups from a movie with Dustin Hoffman, Natalie Portman and Jason Bateman. I thought writer-director Zach Helm might deliver another movie with the occasionally clever humor of Stranger Than Fiction, which he also scripted.

In the time I've been doing this feature I don't think this has ever happened before: last week's number two film is number one this week. None of the new films from last week were up to the challenge of outselling Bee Movie and American Gangster, and the animated Jerry Seinfeld comedy managed to outdo the Denzel Washington/Russell Crowe crime drama and usurp the top spot. Don't believe me? Look for yourself:

1. Bee Movie: $26 million.
2. American Gangster: $24.3 million.
3. Fred Claus: $19.2 million.
4. Lions for Lambs: $6.7 million.
5. Dan in Real Life: $5.9 million.

Escape from modern life seems to be the key to this week's releases with one taking place in the past, another taking place in a contemporary fantasy world and a third in a fantasy version of the 8th century.

Beowulf
What's It All About: The epic poem believed to have been penned around 700 A.D. is adapted for the big screen using an all digital approach with the actors performances being rendered via motion capture.
Why It Might Do Well: The action looks spectacular.
Why It Might Not Do Well: I can't be the only person who thinks that, despite the remarkable technical achievement at work here, it still looks like a video game.
Number of Theaters: 2,800
Prediction: $30 million

Love in the Time of Cholera
What's It All About: The story of a love triangle in South America at the turn of the 20th century from the director of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Why It Might Do Well: Because love and infectious diseases go together like peanut butter and jelly.
Why It Might Not Do Well: Period drama is a tough sell, and the relatively small release will keep it out of the top five.
Number of Theaters: 800
Prediction: $3.5 million

Cinematical is oh-so-happy to have received this exclusive teaser poster for the upcoming Dreamworks animated comedy Kung Fu Panda (click on the image above for a larger version), starring Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Dustin Hoffman, Jackie Chan, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen and Ian McShane. The film follows a fat, lazy Panda named Po (Black) who, while living in ancient China, must somehow learn how to become a Kung Fu Master in order to save the Valley of Peace from an evil snow leopard named Tai Lung (McShane). Kung Fu Panda was directed by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson. Additionally, we have some bonus treats for you: A few days ago, a promo for the film arrived online and folks were calling it the first official trailer for the film. Not so fast -- the first official trailer has just arrived today, in glorious HD, and you can head on over to Moviefone to check that out right now. Prepare your fighting stance people -- Kung Fu Panda shall kick and punch its way into theaters on June 6, 2008.