Every generation has its rebellious teen years, so a remake of 1979's Rock 'n' Roll High School, a movie about school kids fighting back against an oppressive school administration, doesn't seem entirely off the wall. Still, the movie pretty much existed as an excuse to put punk rock pioneers The Ramones on the big screen, so I'm wondering how this will work without them. According to an article in Variety, radio personality Howard Stern (who I always thought shared a common hairdo with The Ramones) will be producing the remake along with Larry Levinson. This makes two projects the pair are jointly working on, the other being a remake of 1982's Porky's.

The new Rock 'n" Roll High School will be scripted by Alex Winter, the same Alex Winter who joined Keanu Reeves for a couple of "excellent adventures" as Bill S. Preston Esq., and got staked by Cory Feldman in The Lost Boys. Winter still works as an actor (he had a recurring role on Adult Swim's Saul of the Mole Men), but he's primarily a writer/director these days, having directed music videos, commercials and the made-for-TV movie Ben 10: Race Against Time as well as a feature about Napster and its creator Shawn Fanning.

The original film was produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush, with additional uncredited direction from Joe Dante and Jerry Zucker. The movie starred P.J. Soles as Riff Randell, the girl who is bound and determined to get The Ramones to play at the school dance. The cast also featured several Corman regulars including Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Dick Miller and Clint Howard. It's been years since I've seen this one, but I remember it as a fun bit of fluff from the drive-in era. What do you say, readers, will this translate well into the twenty-first century?

Attention, Marvel Studios: You forgot to call Jon Favreau about Iron Man 2 when you set the release date and stuff. Please put it on your To Do list. Thanks.

Favreau was on Howard Stern this past Tuesday, and revealed that he has not yet been signed for the sequel. "They haven't offered me anything yet. They're all talking -- they want to do it, they even announced a date."

I want to believe that it means nothing, that things are in such a talky, pat-on-the-back stage that they don't mean anything by it. But still, before you talked to Entertainment Tonight and announced a release date, wouldn't you slap the director on the back and say "I hope you're coming back for the sequel!" Just as a courtesy? A "Good job, Favs!"

After being pressed by Stern, Favreau revealed his director's salary -- $4 million for the first film, with a NET profit deal which will pay a very small percentage once the film begins to turn a profit. But that won't happen for years with the magic of movie bookkeeping. And when a film makes mega bucks, like Iron Man did, all previous contracts are pretty much thrown out the window. That includes those Iron Man actors who have signed on for sequels. "They're all signed for three but it doesn't work that way. That all goes out the window when you make $100 million dollars," said Favreau. "Because people want to have a good relationship with the people they are working with, and if they're making that kind of money, it's an understanding that they're going to negotiate." (Isn't this a fun look into the world of legalities? I thought so.)

So it appears as if Sacha Baron Cohen is still causing quite the mess here in the United States as his alter-ego Brüno; getting kicked out of airports, showing up to an Easter play at a church in Kansas wearing chains, and the list goes on. First off, for those not familiar with Brüno, he's a gay Austrian fashion reporter who's wildly flamboyant in every way. The film, which marks Cohen's follow-up to Borat, will be called (deep breath) ... Brüno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt. Needless to say, I cannot wait to hear my local news coughing up that title when it comes time for the weekend box office figures.

But back to Ben Affleck. Seems Mike Walker from the National Enquirer called into Howard Stern last week saying that Affleck called friend Sarah Silverman following an interview with Brüno. Affleck was told Brüno was a "very famous openly gay fashion journalist," but that didn't stop Ben from admitting it was "the weirdest sit-down he has ever had with a reporter." Eventually, Silverman coughed up his name and only then did Ben realize he'd been had. Part of me doesn't believe this at all, because I can only imagine the hoops one would need to jump through in order to get an actual sit-down interview with Ben Affleck. Then again, perhaps Cohen's crew have perfected their little joke by now. Either way, I'm sure Affleck will be making an appearance in the film.

For more, as well as a brief video of Brüno's crew dancing in an airport, head over to Slashfilm.

So if you look to your right, you'll notice that I chose to take a moment to remember when National Lampoon actually used to be funny. Now you might be asking why, but believe me, after you finish reading about their latest film, you'll be pining for the old days in no time. Variety reports that National Lampoon has purchased the rights to the romantic comedy One, Two, Many. It was written by Tonight Show announcer John Melendez (you might also recognize him as one of Howard Stern's cronies -- better known as Stuttering John). There aren't many details on the story other than the old chestnut about "one man's quest to find the girl of his dreams." Many also stars Bellamy Young (Dirty Sexy Money), Hudson Leick (Nip/Tuck), Jeffrey Ross (Weeds) and Jim Bullock (Kissing Jessica Stein).

Over the years, the reputation of National Lampoon has suffered. After what many consider to be the magazine's heyday in the mid-70's, they hit the movie business with a bang with the now-legendary Animal House. But corporate buyouts hurt the magazine. Since actor Tim Matheson (who played Otter in Animal House) spearheaded a corporate buyout, and then sold it to Dorf video marketers J2 Communications in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy in 1991, there have been some movie high points, but let's face it -- it's pretty much been downhill since 1989. You might think I'm being a little tough on them all, but before you do, just keep in mind that their next two titles are Jake's Booty Call and Electric Apricot: Quest for Festeroo. One, Two, Many is set to hit theaters on April 10th, 2008.

pun·dit
Pronunciation: 'p&n-d&t
Function: noun
Etymology: Hindi pandit, from Sanskrit pandita, from pandita learned
1 : PANDIT
2 : a learned man : TEACHER
3 : a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media : CRITIC
- pun·dit·ry /-d&-trE/ noun

Quick, name the most powerful American pundits you can think of. Bill Maher? Bill O'Reilly? Jon Stewart? According to an article on Forbes, who analyzed data from E-Poll, the most powerful pundit in America is film critic Roger Ebert, who's been reviewing movies for 32 years. Ebert scored top marks for being "intelligent, experienced and articulate," he appealed to 70% of those polled, and he's recognized by well over half the population. Also making the top ten was another critic, Entertainment Tonight's Leonard Maltin, ranked seventh on the list, thanks in part to his Movie and Video Guide. Maltin ranked pretty close to Ebert in terms of appeal (67 out of 100), with an "awareness" level of 24.7%.

Who else made the top ten? You'll find Bill Maher and Bill O'Reilly there, but not Howard Stern or Jon Stewart -- Forbes decided that Stern and Stewart, although they offer opinions, serve the primary purpose of entertaining. Forbes also finds it "troubling" how many young adults get their news from Stewart's The Daily Show (what, but Fox counts as "news" in their book? Please.) Just because it's entertaining doesn't mean it's not informative, Forbes -- Stewart's merciless cutting through the crap and political spin is what draws so many of the younger demographic to trust him over mainstream news media. You will find Fox's Greta Von Susteren on the Forbes list, along with Rosie O'Donnell and Geraldo Rivera (!). Check out the full top ten in pictures or read the full story here.

It's pretty darn impressive for two guys who write and talk about movies to hold two slots on the Top Ten Pundits list, especially at a time when critics are getting canned and consolidated by places like The Village Voice, and the field of film criticism is constantly questioned as to its relevance. The proliferation of individual bloggers writing their thoughts on movies may make it harder for readers to suss out whose opinions to listen to, but at least Ebert and Maltin are still up there. It's interesting to note as well that both Ebert and Maltin are on television; I wonder how print and online critics would rate overall in a poll strictly about the movie biz. Would we see print and online personalities like David Poland, Anne Thompson, Nikki Finke, Mahnola Dargis, and indieWIRE editor Eugune Hernandez on such a list? Who are your favorite film pundits?

Wayyy back in 2005 it was reported that Jimmy Fallon would be starring opposite Jessica Alba in a big-screen version of I Dream of Jeannie, based off the popular television show from 1965. At the time, the thought of Alba running around in a genie outfit was pretty enticing, not to mention Fallon was a pretty popular guy. Well, whether it was because Bewitched bombed or because Fallon is no longer capable of drawing a big crowd, the dude told Howard Stern recently that he's no longer associated with the project. When Stern asked if he was still doing a film with Alba, Fallon said it's not happening and that his name should be removed from IMDb. As of right now, Alba's name is now gone from the IMDb page, which means the project is most definitely spending a lot of time in development hell.

And what is Fallon up to these days? Well, apparently NBC has signed him to replace Conan O'Brien -- only (and here's the kicker) there's no date set for the switch, so Fallon is being paid to simply wait it out. In the meantime, however, his contract does not allow him to host any other shows. Good news: Fallon won't be stumbling over his own words during an opening monologue anytime soon. Bad news: He'll have plenty of time to make up for it once Conan decides to bail. On the film front, Fallon just wrapped an indie flick called Rockett, where he starred opposite Sharon Stone, Tom Arnold and Lucy Liu. Other than that, his slate is completely blank -- which is kind of how my brain feels after watching Fallon perform in anything.

Would you have enjoyed a Howard Stern voice cameo in next month's Transformers flick? Well, apparently it almost happened -- until Mr. Stern's agent got involved. (Personally I think it's a really lame idea, but I guess that's why I'm not currently Vice President of Gimmick Casting over at Paramount.) Stern's fans will just have to be satisfied with the guy's 35 hours of weekly radio time while waiting for his long-discussed Porky's remake to hit the screens.

Slashfilm.com has the transcripts of Stern's radio show, but the gist is basically this: He was allegedly asked if he wanted to provide some words for the character of Soundwave, a little radio that transforms into other things. Stern's first reaction was "hey, cool," but this his agent stepped in and said something like "that's way too skimpy a role for someone of your cultural stature!" (I'm guessing.) No word yet on who they hired to voice poor, unloved Soundwave.

The source does ask one compelling question: Why was Stern contacted in May for a movie that's opening in July? Aha! Some commenters at Slashfilm make an interesting point: It's more likely that Stern was asked if it was OK for his voice to be used when Soundwave kicks on. Like a brief snippet of an old Stern broadcast, most likely. Well, either way, it's not happening.

I found it kind of amusing that this Variety article about filmmaker Bob Clark spent a whole lot of time focusing on the fine work he did on Porky's, but neglected to mention that the man also directed Rhinestone, Turk 182!, From the Hip, Loose Cannons, Karate Dog and BOTH editions of Baby freakin' Geniuses!! Then again the article barely mentions Clark's A Christmas Story, which is such a beautiful little holiday comedy that it helps to erase the memory of all those rotten movies I mentioned a few seconds ago.

Nope, this article focuses on (what else?) remakes. As in: The long-discussed and possibly still-happening Porky's remake that'll be produced by Howard Stern. But wait! There's more! Seemingly discontent with the possibility of helming a Baby Geniuses 3 or Karate Dog 2, Mr. Clark has set his sights on remaking a few of his old horror flicks, namely Deathdream and the amusingly-titled Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things. I suppose the filmmaker's logic is that, hey, if someone can remake his Black Christmas without his involvement, then he sure as hack can remake some of his lesser-known titles and rake in a few extra nickels of his own.

On the other hand, Clark mentions something about "rapping zombies" in this interview, and that's news that certainly doesn't make me all excited for the Children remake.

Howard Stern, working hard to reclaim his status as "King of All Media" (Didn't he sort of crown himself? Can kings even do that?), has announced the creation of his very own film festival. Restricted to pieces by Americans over 18 that run five minutes or less, the Howard Stern Film Festival is aimed at "the next generation of weird but brilliant filmmakers" who don't hate Howard Stern and everything he stands for.

Winners get cash prizes ($15,000 to the winner) and an appearance for their films on Howard TV On Demand, and will also write off any and all rights to their work. According to the official rules, if you win, your film belongs to Howard and his sponsors forever and ever. They can "reproduce, record, alter, amend, edit, publish, publicly perform, use, broadcast and stream the short film (or any part thereof) and any person’s property (physical and personal and indicia) contained therein, in connection with any and all media now or hereafter known throughout the world in perpetuity, without any payment or other consideration of any kind, or permission or notification, to you or any third party." Got that?

If the thought of being in connection to Stern "in perpetuity" doesn't scare you off, you've got until April 11 (That's date received, NOT postmarked. Punk.) to submit as many different films as you can put together.