Imagine you're a green alien living happily among other green aliens on a tiny planet somewhere. Then one day an astronaut from Earth shows up and starts terrifying everyone. And he has the voice of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson! Except maybe contractual stipulations demand that he not be called "The Rock" anymore. Still! Scary!

That's the premise of Planet 51, a computer-animated comedy that has finally, after some shuffling, been acquired by Sony and scheduled for a Thanksgiving 2009 release. The voice cast includes Johnson, Gary Oldman, Justin Long, Seann William Scott, John Cleese, and Jessica Biel. The directors are a trio of video game programmers named Jorge Blanco, Javier Abad, and Marcos Martinez, and the script is by Joe Stillman, who co-wrote the first two Shrek films.

As we reported last November, Planet 51 was originally picked up by New Line and would have been that studio's first CG release. Then New Line was folded into Warner Bros., so the film became that studio's property, and they planned to release it next summer. But according to Variety, Planet 51's producers wanted it to come out this November instead -- and that didn't work for Warners because they're already releasing a Harry Potter film in that slot. So they let the film go, and now Sony has it. The producers will get their November release date, but it'll be 2009, not 2008. Presumably, everyone's happy now.

But should they be?

During the opening of Get Smart, the new big-screen re-visitation of the '60s spy spoof TV show created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, we're shown a montage detailing the mighty workings of the modern intelligence apparatus; covert microphones, satellite communications intercepts, frantic translation, secretive meetings. As top analyst Maxwell Smart (Steve Carell) walks the streets of Washington to the hidden headquarters of the secret agency where he works, listening to intercepted conversations to better understand the plans and thoughts of America's enemies, his iPod switches over ... to Abba's "Take a Chance on Me." Spies, it seems, are people too.

And pause here to think about the challenges facing any director who wants to make a spy comedy in our modern times. If you depict spies as too competent, the audience unconsciously fears for their civil liberties; depict spies as too incompetent, the audience unconsciously fears for their lives. Make the film's threat to the free world too credible, and the film's more scary than silly; make the threat to the free world too fantastic and foolish (as in the earlier Get Smart big-screen project, 1980's The Nude Bomb) and the film's more goofy than gripping. The makers of the new Get Smart seem to have thought about this, and have transformed the character somewhat from Don Adams's nasal know-nothing in the '60s TV show; as played by Carell, Smart is a bright, dedicated, insightful analyst for the secret agency CONTROL who dreams of being a field agent. And Max learns he's passed the field agent's exam with flying colors; still, his boss The Chief (Alan Arkin) rejects Max's request for transfer to field work because he needs Max behind a desk.

My fellow jurors and I selected our short film winners yesterday, but I can not share any results until the award ceremony next weekend. You likely wouldn't know any of the titles anyway, but I can pretty much guarantee you will see the filmmakers' names again in the coming years -- some big talents in the mix. There's a party every night here, and I've been having a blast. One of my favorite past-times has been playing a game I call "Hooker/Not a Hooker." Pretty self-explanatory, basically you try to decide which gals are on the payroll, and which aren't. Here's a hint: If she's gorgeous, 22- years-old and hanging off the arm of a 400-pound dude with a combover ... she's available.

I checked out Get Smart yesterday, at an event for The Rock, excuse me, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, excuse me, Dwayne Johnson's charity. Johnson introduced the film and told the audience that "Steve Carell has very soft lips," which made a lot more sense once we watched the flick. For the most part, I agree with Eric's review. It was no masterpiece, but it was just funny and entertaining enough to have been worth the time. Steve Carell can elevate just about anything, and Alan Arkin was hilarious. Now that I've got more free time, I hope to pry myself away from the video poker (currently $45 in the red) and the pool (my skin is also "in the red") and check out some of the more indie-leaning films screening here. Abel Ferrara's Go-Go Tales screens tonight, and I don't think I can pass up that title. Right now there's yet another two-hour "happy hour" starting, so ah...talk to you later!

The slick new version of the dusty 1960s television comedy Get Smart is one of the better TV adaptations to come along in recent years. It's faithful to the original without being overly reverential, it modernizes the premise without mocking it, and you can fully enjoy it even if you've never seen the TV series. Oh, and best of all -- it's funny.

Steve Carell deserves much of the credit for that, easily rebounding from the dubious Evan Almighty (which I thought was OK, thanks to him) and reminding us of the 40-year-old virgin we fell in love with. Carell is a master with awkward, inept characters (as he demonstrates week after week on The Office), and Maxwell Smart proves to be a perfect fit for his skills. Or maybe he's just so good that he can make ANY character seem like it was tailor-made for him.

Maxwell Smart, as you may know from the shticky old show created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, is an agent for CONTROL, a secret government organization that's even more under-the-radar than the CIA. The public was told that CONTROL was disbanded when the Cold War ended, but it continues to operate secretly in the customary underground facilities. (Washington D.C. would have to be completely hollow to house all the various fictional government groups whose headquarters are under its streets.)

"Agent 23 is the greatest agent on the planet." -- Dwayne "The Rock' Johnson

Moviefone has debuted an exclusive behind-the-scenes clip from this summer's Get Smart, starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway (is it me, or does she look GOOD in this flick?), Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Alan Arkin. Above, watch as Dwayne (Johnson? Rock?) takes us through the trials and tribulations of his character, Agent 23. As Carrell points out in the video above, "Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is a formidable force. It's very emasculating to even be in a room with him because he sweats testosterone, whereas I sweat estrogen." Nice.

Watch the video above (or over on Moviefone), then head out to the theater to see Get Smart when it arrives on June 20 (trailers available here, here and here).

Why We Can't Wait to See It: Because in pretty much every film he's made -- big, boring, insipid not-quite-sequels excepted -- Steve Carell brings the funny. The trailers look surprisingly solid, and the cast -- including Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin and Terence Stamp -- is top-notch.

Why It Might Do Well: Because people just plain like Carell -- and the film's plot pitch where a secret agency's having their top people exposed forces them to shove unknown agents out into the field is, in fact, a solid story-driven reason for an incompetent like Max to placed in harm's way. ...

Why It Might Not Do Well: We may be a little tired of Baby Boomer-era nostalgia TV getting splashed up on the big screen; anyone else remember how well I Spy turned out?

Fun Fact: Get Smart was created by Buck Henry and Mel Brooks -- yes, the men behind The Graduate and Young Frankenstein.

Trivia:


Answer Key

Cinematical has just received these exclusive wallpapers for Get Smart, starring Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Alan Arkin. Get Smart, of course, is based on the popular '60s television series created by Mel Brooks -- and it features Carell and Hathaway as Agent 86 and Agent 99, respectively; both of whom are placed in charge of stopping those evil geniuses at KAOS from succeeding in their plan to dominate every man, woman and child on Earth. The wallpapers (there are five in total) can be found after the jump, and the dimensions below each denote the size of the wallpaper. To save as your computer's background, you want to click the appropriate size, right-click on the image that appears and click "Set as background." When it's all said and done, you'll be able to stare at Hathaway's beautiful face for as long as you please. And Carell, well, he's pretty hot too (but I didn't just say that). Get Smart arrives in theaters on June 20. Enjoy!

Head after the jump for all five exclusive Get Smart wallpapers, and check out images from the film in our gallery below.

It is a regular Stephen Sommers reunion on G.I. Joe. Latino Review reports that Brendan Fraser has been cast as Gung Ho, the Cajun gunnery sergeant. But don't get too excited to see Fraser sporting that Village People outfit -- word has it that it's a cameo. He's already finished filming his scene, a training sequence at The Pit.

LR says an offer has also been made to Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson to play Hector Delgado, aka Shipwreck. He hasn't yet accepted, but what red-blooded male is going to turn down a role in G.I. Joe? Despite the difference in ethnicities, the Rock would be a good fit for the popular character -- and he has the right humor to have a pet parrot making wisecracks at him.

You know, as I type this, it occurs to me that for most people, The Rock is probably a bigger name than Fraser these days. I think the latter is on the way to a comeback -- but will he actually stay working this time, or vanish off into the private life again? Perhaps he won't have a choice, the Gung Ho costume may force him into seclusion. As we wait for the Rock to commit, let's speculate on which Sommers veteran we will see next. I think Rachel Weisz is a no go, but surely someone from Van Helsing should appear before too long. What's Richard Roxburgh up to? They better nab him soon, G.I. Joe opens August 7th, 2009.

We're now two steps closer to Disney's 're-imagining' of the kid's classic, Escape to Witch Mountain. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Ciarán Hinds (Stop Loss) and Alexander Ludwig (The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising) are signed to star in Race to Witch Mountain, the update of John Hough's 1975 film. Witch Mountain focused on two orphans with paranormal abilities, and was based on the 1968 sci-fi novel by Alexander Key.

For those who didn't come of age wishing to be witchy orphans, the storyline focused on mind-bending siblings Tia and Tony, whose alien origins had them on the run from an evil millionaire. This will mark the second attempt at a remake, with the first being for TV back in 1995. Matt Lopez (She's the Man) was in charge of the re-write and Andy Fickman was signed to direct back in July. Casting for Race to Witch Mountain started back in August, when Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson signed on for a role as a part time cab-driver and protector to the siblings. A little while later, Anna Sophia Robb was hired to play one of the 'spooky kids'. I can only guess that now that Ludwig is on board he will be taking over the part of Tony and Hinds will play the evil millionaire.

When the book was first adapted, there were plenty of complaints that Disney ignored most of the darker elements of the story. But Fickman has promised that this time around he is going to make, "a pretty bad-ass ride." Probably not how I would have described a movie from the man who directed The Game Plan; but you never know. Race to Witch Mountain is scheduled for release March 13th, 2009.