• Lorenzo Odone (1978-2008) - ALD Patient - His story inspired the film Lorenzo's Oil, in which he was portrayed by child actor Zack O'Malley Greenburg and others. He died May 30 in Fairfax, Virginia. (Washington Post)

• Cornell Capa (1918-2008) - Photojournalist - Founder and first director of NYC's International Center of Photography. He was also a still photographer on the set of The Misfits. He died of Parkinson's disease May 23, in New York City. (AP)
• Alexander Courage (1919-2008) - Composer - Oscar-nominated for co-scoring Doctor Dolittle and The Pleasure Seekers (both with Lionel Newman) and best known for composing the original Star Trek theme. He also wrote original music for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Arthur Penn's The Left Handed Gun and André de Toth's Day of the Outlaws. As an orchestrator, he worked on Singin' in the Rain, Oklahoma!, Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Guys and Dolls, The Band Wagon, Funny Face, Porgy and Bess, Gigi, The Big Country, Hello, Dolly!, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, The Unsinkable Molly Brown, Legend, Basic Instinct, Jurassic Park, Hook, L.A. Confidential, The Mummy, Mulan and many, many other films. He died May 15 in Pacific Palisades, California. (Variety)
• Bo Diddley (1928-2008) - Singer, Songwriter, Guitarist - Blues and Rock legend whose songs "Who Do You Love?" and "Mannish Boy" have appeared on multiple movie soundtracks. He also appears in Trading Places, Blues Brothers 2000, Rockula, Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! and a number of documentaries, including D.A. Pennebaker's short Keep on Rockin' and Taylor Hackford's Chuck Berry Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. For info on his death, see Monika's full post.

I'm not sure if there are still people who still don't believe that Justice League: Mortal is dead, but here's another nail in the much-hammered coffin for you: Adam Brody talked to Empire, and it may interest you to know that even those on board were no more informed than you or I. I find it more funny than interesting -- scary, too, because directors and producers make way more money than I do, and should be much more organized.

Apparently, none of the actors were ever officially let go or told anything, and Brody has no idea whether or not the film will ever be made. He says, "Actually, I probably shouldn't be commenting on it, but who cares. I don't really know – I still feel like an outsider on that somehow. I know there was a tax credit thing and I know that the strike was a hindrance. Also, you've got Batman coming out and Singer wants to do another Superman. This is only speculation on my part, I have no inside knowledge of this, but, as a fan, I think there's controversy about going off and trying to [show a different Superman and Batman] ... I think maybe it will still happen, but I truly don't know any more than you do".

Rumors have been swirling all week that Justice League: Mortal is dead (making the title so very ironic). Eric Kohn reported last week that Joel Silver was describing the film as "tabled." It sounds as if the final nails are being hammered into the coffin, as the Herald Sun reports that the stars have begun to jump ship.

Reportedly, the entire cast has been let go, but as of now, the only name anyone is really talking about is Megan Gale, who was set to play Wonder Woman. An agent for Gale (and League costar Teresa Palmer) insist that both actresses are still on board and waiting for the start date to be announced. Industry insiders are claiming the film is off the books for good.

As there hasn't been one scrap of positive or definitive news on this movie in some time, I think it is safe to say the film is dead for the time being. I imagine it will resurrect in a year or two, probably with an entirely new cast and director, but I sincerely doubt George Miller's film will see the light of day. I feel bad for the guy, but it is obviously just not meant to be. He didn't respond to the Herald's inquiries, which may say volumes about whether he thinks the project is alive or not.

What will movie blogs the world over do without any casting rumors or excruciating setbacks (or April Fools jokes) to report about George Miller's Justice League? We're about to find out, because producer Joel Silver told CHUD that the adaptation has been "tabled," meaning it's not going to happen any time soon. This ends -- at least for the moment -- breathless speculation about who would play which of the dozens of superhero characters in the cast, how blasphemous the screenplay would turn out to be, and when it would actually start filming.

The production was so embattled, by all accounts, that it sometimes seemed like no one wanted to either make it or see it. So maybe this development is for the best -- though I do hope that George Miller comes back if this project ever gets revived. He has the uncanny ability to turn any genre (including, incredibly, the big-budget animated musical) on its head, and comic book movies could use a shake-up. And maybe the new incarnation, whenever it surfaces, can be something that fans can actually get excited about. If you're making a superhero movie and can't even get the geeks on board, you're probably in trouble.

Take from this what you will, but Cinema Blend is reporting on a tip they received from someone who was hanging with Adam Brody in a bar up in British Columbia. What's Brody doing there? Well, apparently some of the cast is with George Miller scouting locations for Justice League Mortal. (Not sure why they'd be up there with the director scouting, but let's roll with it for now ...) Anyway, Brody, Miller and a few others were in a bar, getting wasted, when this girl (who wrote into CB) asked him what they all were doing there. Naturally he said they were scouting for Justice League Mortal (which recently had to shift production from Australia to Canada). Then it gets interesting.

Here's her full quote: "George is our director. He said he's playing The Flash, Common is playing Green Arrow (or Lantern, one or the other), Armie Hammer (sounded like Arm and Hammer) is Batman, someone from "mad max" is Martian Man-hunter (didn't catch the name) and Hayden Christensen is Superman. Brody also nodded to the woman to his right and said "she (he said her name but I didn't catch it) is in it too". Oh, and they had lots of drinks." While I'm very reluctant to believe this one, on the other hand I could totally buy them wanting Christensen to play Superman. He'd bring some more "celebrity" to the cast, even though the fanboys who hated him Star Wars would hate him again -- even more this time -- for Superman. Should be interesting to see this one play out, as Justice League Mortal is supposed to begin shooting this summer.

What do you think about Hayden Christensen playing Superman?

Cinematical has learned conclusively that actress Shannyn Sossamon (A Knight's Tale, One Missed Call) has auditioned for director George Miller for the upcoming film Justice League of America. Details are scarce, but we know the following: Sossamon did audition for Princess Di and she apparently blew away the writing team of Kieran and Michele Mulroney and has heard back from them since. According to our source, the Mulroneys were so taken with Sossamon that they championed her to director Miller, even going so far as to state that they had envisioned Sossamon in the Amazonian role all along. But now comes the bad news ... our source also tells us that Miller was less than over the moon about Sossamon's audition (or just didn't see her as being the right casting fit), which means that a resulting stalemate will almost certainly break in his favor. The audition apparently took place sometime prior to the recent 'Young Hollywood' open casting call, and that's all we know at this point.

No further details about the project have leaked out in the last couple of days, and all of Hollywood is waiting for word on who will land the coveted roles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman and Green Lantern. Oh, and that Martian Manhunter guy, too. Other actors known to have thrown their tights into the ring include Adam Brody, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Common, and Teresa Palmer, of Wolf Creek, who I think would do a bang-up job. Stay tuned for Cinematical as we continue to try to eek out more details of this and other fabulous pre-strike projects! As a footnote, we can also confirm earlier reports that Warner Bros. is in a tizzy over how the film's title will play worldwide, considering how, you know, the rest of the world hates America.

If you were to ask the 9-year-old version of me what the scariest movie ever made was, he would say it was Twilight Zone: The Movie -- a film so terrifying that I was reduced to tears merely by my father's description of it.

Specifically, he was telling us about the opening sequence, the one that begins with Albert Brooks and Dan Aykroyd listening to "Midnight Special" on a cassette tape and ends with Aykroyd saying, "You wanna see something really scary?" and then making good on his pledge. For some reason, the way my dad retold this story -- which really is a good campfire-type story, when you think about it -- scared the living daylights out of me. I immediately freaked out, sobbing and screaming. The mere idea of the story tormented me, to the extent that I couldn't actually watch the movie for years to come.

(If the preceding anecdote gives you the impression that I was a total pansy as a child, that impression is accurate.)

I did finally watch the film a couple times as a teenager and young adult, and again recently when it was released on DVD for the first time. That prologue with Aykroyd and Brooks? Still pretty great. You don't know it's going to have a scary ending because most of it is just the two men talking about old TV shows and their favorite Twilight Zone episodes. That "You wanna see something really scary?" bit comes as a shock, an abrupt change in tone that exemplifies The Twilight Zone's single best attribute: the ability to surprise us.

Director George Miller has told the AAP two interesting things: Mad Max 4 is going to happen and Mel Gibson won't be the lead. Miller says frankly that Gibson is now too old and too 'focused on his own films' to reprise the role of Rockatansky, so instead he's going to try to recruit a new, young star for the lead. The AAP also notes that Miller began developing Mad Max 4 before production began on Happy Feet, and now that he's finished with that, he's turning his full attention to the project. "I have a few projects in the pipeline including an animation...but I want to do another Mad Max movie and get stuck back into that," Miller said. "It won't be Mel. He was 21 when he made the first one, now he's a lot older and his passion is for filmmaking and directing. I don't think he is into acting and I don't think he would be interested in being involved at all."

The amusing AAP story also has Miller claiming that he received good career advice from his fellow Aussies Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman -- to not get a big head after his Oscar success with Happy Feet. "I was warned not to inhale too much because you can take it a little too seriously," Miller said. "We didn't expect to win, but it was a good excuse to drink, party and to act like teenagers again." No further details were offered as to the timetables and plans for the Mad Max sequel, but my two cents is that Gibson should return if only for a small role. Is it really Mad Max without Mad Mel?