Do you like video games? How about The Running Man? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then you're in luck because a Gerard Butler fan site has provided a scan of the July issue of Empire magazine, which includes a sneak peek at the video game thriller, Game, starring Butler and Michael C. Hall (Dexter). OK, so they aren't the greatest photos, but they will remind audiences that the film will at least have stuff blowing up. Crank creators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor wrote the script and also directed, and I can only assume the two will be doing what they do best: ridiculous action set pieces and over the top machismo.

Game centers on a 'not too distant future' where the most popular past time is an online game called Slayers. But this isn't your usual MMORPG; instead, gamers get to control real-life convicts. Butler stars as Kabel, the most popular contestant who has caught the eye of resistance fighters looking to bring down the games creator, Castle (played by Hall). The cast also includes Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Alison Lohman (Beowulf), John Leguizamo, and Christopher 'Ludacris' Bridges.

Game is scheduled to arrive in theaters this fall.

In the Hollywood variation on a classic proverb, whom the gods would destroy they first make successful. So it's been for writer director M. Night Shyamalan, where the breakout success of The Sixth Sense first suggested he could do no wrong and then his later films suggested, in dribs and drabs, that he in fact could. The minor missteps in the otherwise-watchable Unbreakable, Signs and The Village were one thing; eventually, Shyamalan's status as a unquestionable talent culminated in Lady in the Water, a textbook example of what can happen when a filmmaker becomes so used to proceeding without supervision that they go right off the steep cliffs of self-indulgence with a full head of steam.

However, it seemed that even M. Night knew this, and looked to be retrenching with The Happening, promising us R-rated chills and thrills and goosebumps. And after actually seeing The Happening, it has to be said that the film's a perfectly fine summertime chiller, one that avoids the excesses and errors in judgment that unmade Lady in the Water but also one without the vision and excellence of The Sixth Sense. It's not that The Happening is bad, as such -- although there are a few fairly off moments in it -- it's more that I found myself wishing, on more than one occasion, that Shyamalan could forget about plucking the audience's heartstrings and instead just keep going for the jugular. I wanted The Happening's tension at a higher pitch so that I wasn't puzzling over plot holes and questionable character decisions while actually sitting in the theater; The Happening simmers when you want it to boil, smolders when you want it to burn.

Despite having one of the worst reputations in Hollywood, it would appear that things are starting to look up for M. Night Shyamalan. You can check out the latest trailer Shyamalan's The Happening above, and it already has me sold on the apocalyptic thriller. Even though I was relatively impressed with the first trailer, this one has definitely amped up the creep factor (caused some serious heebie-jeebies when I saw it in front of Iron Man last weekend).

Mark Wahlberg stars as a meek and mild high school science teacher who lands smack dab in the middle of an end of days scenario. And might I add that it will be nice to see Wahlberg play something other than his usual tough guy role -- I mean, it's been too long since he's really had to act. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as his estranged wife and the criminally underused John Leguizamo, Spencer Breslin (brother to Abigail) and Ashlyn Sanchez play fellow survivors.

The Happening is scheduled for release on Friday June 13th, which will put the thriller in direct competition with The Incredible Hulk for opening weekend supremacy. Between the critics who call Shyamalan a one-trick pony, and the bad buzz for the big green guy, it's going to be a tough call for audiences. I know which film I'm going to see first -- how about you?

What I'm about to say might shock you ... ready? I still think M. Night Shyamalan is a pretty good director. Okay, so he may have gone off the rails with Lady in the Water, but everyone is allowed a few stinkers, right? Hopefully things will start to turn around for him with The Happening. JoBlo now has new stills from his M. Night's 'end of the world' drama, and for those of you who like to be surprised, don't worry, they're spoiler-free. In fact, most of them look like they came straight from the trailer.

Most of the details have been kept under lock and key, but we did get some spoilers back in August (read at your own risk). What we do know for sure is that the story centers on an estranged couple (Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel) who band together to save their family during an environmental crisis (remember the news story about the disappearing bees?). That old chestnut even makes an appearance in the narrative. Joining Wahlberg and Deschanel in the cast are John Leguizamo and Spencer Breslin (star of The Shaggy Dog and brother to Abigail) as fellow survivors.

When I was a kid, babysitting meant babysitting -- there were screaming kids, long nights in front of the television, and little pay. Kids today though, they're getting crafty in David Ross' new film, The Babysitters. IGN now has a red band trailer that you can check out, where John Leguizamo helps to corrupt a young woman, turning her into an entrepreneurial, teenage Heidi Fleiss.

Shirley (Katherine Waterston) is a high school senior who comes from a good home (Denis O'Hare plays her dad), and is trying to save money for college. She also happens to have a crush on the dad of some kids she babysits. One night, some of her lusty dreams come true, and she gets to kiss Michael (Leguizamo) -- who happens to be married to Cynthia Nixon's Gail. He gives her a huge tip, and soon, his friend's want similar services and Shirley becomes a madam for all of her sexy, young friends.

Smart as she may be, heading to college and all, Shirley doesn't seem to realize all the dangers of teenage prostitution. One girl wants out, tensions escalate, and you can imagine the sort of thing that's destined to happen. The trailer lays it all out with a lot of quick transitions -- kisses lead way to money, business, secrets let loose, and fear-fueled anger. It doesn't look like the best movie out there, but I imagine it should make for an entertaining moviegoing experience ... especially when the hottie babysitter is back at home watching your kids. The film will be released next month on May 9.

This just comes from a wee little blurb over at Variety, but it should be good news for any of you John Leguizamo fans out there. It seems that three companies -- Willoughby Pictures, Savandra Pictures, and Mission Launch -- have come together to produce an upcoming feature called Tar Beach -- and they're in talks with Leguizamo to helm it. This would mark his second directorial gig, but hopefully one with a better response. His first was 2003's Undefeated, which was a sports drama about a boxer, and didn't go over well with the people who did see it.

Tar Beach, on the other hand, is a drama based on the true story of Carol Boyd -- "a young woman saddled with caring for her alcoholic stepfather and paroled stepsister." There is no word on who wrote the script -- whether it is Ms. Boyd, if she has a book coming out about her story, or if someone else penned the account. (It's not Faith Ringgold's novel.) However, it does seem that Joe Anderson is attached for a role in the film. You might have caught him in one of his 2007 bunch of films -- Across the Universe, Control, and Becoming Jane. Stay tuned -- hopefully we'll have more solid news soon.

This might be slightly off-topic, but if they ever make the life story of Lucille Ball then the top contender has to be Debra Messing. Not only does she kind of resemble the classic comedienne, she even stole a few tricks from Ball's book when it comes to her own comedic style. Variety has announced that Debra Messing (Better known as 1/2 of the famous TV coupling of Will and Grace) has joined the cast of Humboldt Park. The Latin family 'dramedy' was written by Rick Najera, Ted Perkins, and Alison Swan, and the script centers on two brothers who come home for the holidays to their old Chicago neighborhood, Humboldt Park.

The film stars Freddy Rodriguez (Planet Terror) and John Leguizamo as the two brothers. Messing will play the wife of Leguizamo's character and will probably serve as the 'fish out of water' in the mainly Latin cast. Other cast members include Alfred Molina, Jay Hernandez, Mercedes Ruehl, Luis Guzman, Melonie Diaz and Vanessa Ferlito (Death Proof).

Messing is also heading back to the small screen with her new series, The Starter Wife. That show is set to air on USA this summer -- kind of a far cry from 'Must-See TV', but what are you going to do? Messing will also be filming the remake of George Cukor's classic film, The Women. So as much as that news of that particular remake still makes me a little nauseous, I am confident that at least Messing has the style to pull off that particular brand of fast-talking dame. Humboldt Park is set to start production on location in Chicago by next week.

I'm a fence-sitter when it comes to Freddy Rodriguez. He mixes enjoyable stints that are fun to watch with characters that make me want to scratch my eyes out in annoyance over their stupidity and ego. After the crap Frederico pulled on Six Feet Under, and Rodriguez's character in Harsh Times, I never thought I could watch him again. Then came Grindhouse. I begrudgingly accepted that I'd have to watch another Freddy flick, and his El Wray wiped away all of my Rodriguez apprehension with ease. So now, I can only hope that him heading home for a holiday flick will continue the trend.

The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Rodriguez will be heading home to the windy city of Chicago with John Leguizamo for a family ensemble dramedy called Humboldt Park, to be helmed by Alfredo De Villa (Washington Heights). From the pens of Rick Najera, Ted Perkins, and Alison Swan, the film is about a holiday family reunion held in Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood. No further details about the plot have been released yet, but I imagine that it will be some sort of Latin holiday flick, considering the movie's two stars. Since the script was finished before the strike, Overture Films hopes to get production started early next year so they can release the flick next fall. So that means we should have more casting announcements soon. Who would you like to see join their family? Me, I'm happy with anyone as long as it's not J-Lo and Marc Anthony.

One thing you'll probably notice if you watch a lot of festival movies is this: When you dig beneath the big-time, A-list, "gala titles," you come across a lot of medium-sized flicks that come from relative newcomers -- but feature some great work from veteran actors. Renny Harlin's Cleaner is one such example: It's a so-so movie that's probably worth seeing just for the performances of Samuel L. Jackson and Ed Harris. Brad Furman's The Take is another one of those flicks: It's got a passably compelling story, a half-decent screenplay, some nifty touches from a young director ... and a lead performance by John Leguizamo that's really quite excellent.

Written by Josh and Jonas Pate (Deceiver), The Take opens by introducing us to a firmly middle-class (but entirely admirable) nobody: Felix De La Pena (Leguizamo) is an armored truck driver who gets kidnapped and shot in the head during a vicious robbery. Against all odds, Felix survives and (with the help of his devoted wife Marina) slowly starts down the road to recovery. But Felix isn't the same man anymore. Although he's still able to walk, talk, drive and otherwise function pretty reasonably, he's also quite a bit "slower" in the head ... plus he's now fostering one nasty little temper. Meanwhile the brutal crook who led the robbery (Tyrese Gibson) is busy tying up a bunch of loose ends -- and you just know the two men are bound to butt heads again.

First we heard that Robert De Niro and Al Pacino would be teaming up (for the first time since Heat) on a crime thriller called Righteous Kill. And we were intrigued. Then came news that Carla Gugino was also on board. And then we got really excited. Now comes word that a few more names have joined the Jon Avnet film ... most of 'em pretty cool, too.

According to a press release over at ComingSoon.net, the Righteous cast will also include Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Dan Futterman, Trilby Glover (yowza), and professional skateboarder Rob Dyrdek. Written by Inside Man scribe Russell Gewirtz, Righteous Kill is about two veteran detectives who aim to track down a vigilante killer in New York City.

The press release indicates that Leguizamo and Dennehy will play cops; Futterman and Glover will be lawyers; and Dyrdek will be a punk kid who somehow figures into the story. Production on Righteous Kill gets underway this week in Connecticut and New York. Expect more reports soon.