According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gears of War is on a fast-track to the big screen, thanks to New Line. Len Wiseman (Live Free or Die Hard) has been given the directing job, and will be developing the story alongside Chris Morgan.

Based on the hugely popular video game, Gears of War tells of an elite Delta Squad who are charged with the task of saving the planet Sera from the vicious Locust Horde. Of course, the question on everyone's mind is whether or not this video game adaptation can succeed where so many have failed? Gears of War will probably be even more problematic than most, as the appeal stems from being plunked into the action, not because of the storyline. (Though, to be fair, it has no thinner a plot than Commando.)

Chris Bleszinski, one of the brains behind the video game, is optimistic as long as Hollywood takes it seriously. "Disney made a great movie out of a theme park ride, and somebody is sooner or later going to make a great one out of a video game. Having someone like Len really helps the odds. I think we're going to create something special here."

Sadly, Len Wiseman is only marginally more popular with fanboys and girls than Brett Ratner, so his name alone could sink this project when it comes to the geeks. However, he has a knack for over the top action, so perhaps this could be the ideal film for him. Sound off, Gears fans -- do you think this has potential, or is it destined to be another Doom?

With the exception of Live Free or Die Hard, I can't say I'm all that big of a fan of Len Wiseman's work. However, I know that plenty of people still flock to his movies, so who am I to judge? Variety reports that Wiseman has signed to direct the sci-fi action flick, Shell Game.

The story centers on your prototypical gumshoe type who is investigating the black market for something just a little more valuable than pirated DVDs. In this future, for a price, you can buy yourself immortality. Justin Bondi and Andrew Ludington wrote the screenplay, but it has undergone some rewrites. The most recent draft was written by Wiseman and Chris Morgan.

Wiseman says that he considers Shell to be a passion project and told Variety, "I've been wanting to make this film for the past five years, but it's a huge film and has always been too expensive to make at the level I've wanted to make it at, now I'm finally getting a chance to do it at that level." I guess that means we can count on the film having some expensive special effects.

Also, even though he won't be directing it, Wiseman is still planning to produce the third installment of the Underworld franchise. But it looks like most of his attention is going to be placed firmly on Shell Game instead. Judging by the reaction to his last Underworld flick, I'd say it was probably a good call.

Once again, I'm going to pretend like I made something happen. Two days ago, on this very Cinematical program, I declared that there can be only one Snake Plissken in movieland, and he shall be forever played by Kurt Russell. Well, perhaps Gerard Butler agrees with me, because he's now dropped out of the remake of Escape from New York, according to Variety. The trade says the decision was due to creative differences, which could very well mean that New Line wants to go with the Snake Plissken name, while Butler sided with me in saying that was a bad idea. Of course, I don't want to be responsible for Butler quitting a gig; after all, I implied that it was okay for the 300 star to do the remake, just that he needed another, less-iconic character name. Regardless, though, Butler's departure follows news that Brett Ratner is no longer or was never attached to direct the movie, which had followed news that Len Wiseman was also not involved. And suddenly the project is empty of talent. But for those three of you who are looking forward to it, the remake is not dead yet. New Line has hired Jonathan Mostow to script a rewrite and has apparently offered him the option to direct as well.

Mostow, who interestingly enough directed Russell in Breakdown, will be revising the current script penned by Ken Nolan. Back in July, Aint it Cool News posted a review of the earlier draft; revealing that it was relatively faithful to John Carpenter's original while also being modernized with timely relevance to the Middle East conflicts. The script also was said to feature flashbacks to Snake's military career in order to show background for his imprisonment. We'll have to wait and see if Mostow changes much of the details from that version, but I think we can trust the project in his hands. Sure, he's been known to play with history, substituting Americans for British in significant WWII plots, and he seemed to piss off a lot of fans with his direction of Terminator 3: Rise o the Machines (not me, though; I enjoyed it), but Mostow is a heck of a lot better than Wiseman and Ratner. So, should he direct? Is it like choosing the lesser of evils? Do you wish New Line would just scrap the whole thing altogether (they won't -- they paid too much for it)? And most importantly, who should play Snake, or "guy who isn't called Snake" as I suggested the character to be named, now that Butler is out?

Fire up the flame war, because I'm about to admit to another crazy opinion: John Carpenter's Escape from New York is boring. It's a great concept -- that of Manhattan being a maximum security prison in which a military prisoner must seek and rescue the President of the United States in order to receive a pardon. The movie is even relatively impressive considering its low budget, regardless of how dated it now looks. But it just doesn't have enough going on to garner as much praise as it receives. Maybe if I'd seen it 25 years ago I would have the same fondness that its fans have, but I saw it this year and was seriously disappointed; and yes, I was extremely bored. Because of this crazy opinion, I actually wouldn't mind seeing a well-done remake. Unfortunately, I don't believe I will get to see such a thing considering the directors so far linked to the job. First there was Len Wiseman (I still haven't seen Live Free or Die Hard, so I can't judge him completely). Then there was the much worse news that Brett Ratner was taking the helm. Fortunately, we can count him out too, as Aint it Cool News has relayed an email claiming Ratner himself denied his involvement.

I'll admit one other thing, that may save me from too many flames: Kurt Russell is the only Snake Plissken. No matter who New Line gets to direct the EFNY redo, the studio might as well save themselves some pain by changing the main character's name. Technically there's no reason to do this, but for those of us who associate Russell with Snake, it would be a wonderful, narratively insignificant change (I even have a suggestion for a "new" name: Ben Richards). Yeah, I know I just saw the movie for the first time within twelve months, but even without sitting through the thing, I spent the last 25 years with the image of Russell with the eyepatch in my head. That means he's a part of the pop-cultural consciousness. Giving us a new Snake, at least by name, is like trying to re-introduce Mickey Mouse as a rat. Or Ronald McDonald as a bearded lady. Or Willy Wonka as Michael Jackson. Anyway, that is my invitation for scrutiny for the day, and I'm sticking by it. The Escape from New York remake, hopefully starring Gerard Butler as "some other dude with an eye patch," is due in 2009.

You know how people try and make you feel better by saying things could always be worse? Well, if Ain't it Cool News is right, then things have officially gotten worse with regards to the remake of Escape From New York. According to AICN's Merrick (via one of their ultra hip scoopers), a rumor has been making the rounds that claims Brett Ratner in in talks (or in the running) to take over directing duties on the remake of John Carpenter's classic. Now, to be fair, AICN is not confirming the news to be true, but you could probably already hear the collective groans from fans of the original film at the thought of Ratner ruining a cult favorite. Len Wiseman was officially attached to the project back in August, but according to AICN's source, Wiseman is off the project for good.

Released in 1981, the original film starred Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken; a mercenary soldier turned convict who is forced into service to rescue the daughter of the president in the apocalyptic wasteland formerly known as New York. Ryan had reported back in May that Gerard Butler (300) would be taking over the lead -- much to the dismay of the original Snake Plissken . Changes seem to be the order of the day when it comes to the remake, since there had been talk that the script would be getting an update as well. Since the original film was a comment on Watergate and political corruption, it has been assumed that the new film would be working in some Iraq war commentary. Although if Ratner does take over, this will probably be some pretty ham-fisted discourse. But before anyone gets too upset; just remember that so far this is all just speculation. So keep your fingers crossed that this is all just someone's idea of a cruel joke.

UPDATE: IESB claims this rumor is 100% true, and that Brett Ratner has indeed replaced Len Wiseman as director of the Escape from New York remake.

Len Wiseman did the nearly unthinkable this summer and made me like (not love, mind you, but certainly enjoy) a fourth Die Hard film. I was mighty concerned going in that the guy would dump all over one of the greatest movie series ever made, but instead Wiseman made a solid flick with some very cool action scenes (loved that tunnel "lights out" sequence in particular). Miraculously, the movie didn't make me cringe once. Live Free or Die Hard won't join "The Thrillogy" in my DVD collection, but it impressed me with all the mistakes it didn't make. I never saw Wiseman's Underworld films, but now there's a much greater chance I'll queue the suckers up. And Wiseman must be feeling pretty cocky these days, (being married to Kate Beckinsale probably helps) because he's following up LFODH with another project that could potentially tick off action fans.

The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Wiseman is in negotiations to direct the remake of Escape From New York. 300's abbed-up hero Gerard Butler is attached to star as Snake Plissken, a role memorably played by Kurt Russell in John Carpenter's original film and the dreary sequel Escape From LA. Ken Nolan (writer of Black Hawk Down) wrote the script for the remake, which "will combine an origin story for Plissken merged with the story of the 1981 movie." That story, for those of you who've never seen the Carpenter classic, envisions a futuristic (the original was set in 1997) New York City as one big maximum security prison. When the president's plane crashes, inmate Plissken is sent on a mission to rescue him. Carpenter will executive produce the new film. For some past Escape news, here's a script review, Kurt Russell's angry response to Butler's casting and the project in general, and his later, friendlier response to the film, What say you, Cinematical readers? Wiseman and Butler -- can they pull this thing off?

Dear 20th Century Fox,

I'm writing to request from your offices a reimbursement of funds totaling $11.00, which I believe were obtained from me under false pretenses. As a regular consumer of your products, I rely heavily on the advertising you produce to inform me when I make choices about which films to see and which to avoid, and my reliance on said advertising constitutes a bond of good will between you, the movie studio, and me, the audience member. I believe that bond has been broken in the case of Live Free or Die Hard, a new film that purports to be the continuing adventures of beloved movie character John McClane, but is in reality a film revolving around an entirely new character, who I shall henceforth refer to in this letter as Indestructible Fathead. Before I go on, let me stipulate that I was, in fact, offered a chance by you to see this film for free before its general release, and had I taken you up on that offer, my monetary damages might be lessened. The psychological damages would, I'm afraid, remain.

Like all Die Hard films (or films representing themselves as such) there is a terrorist plot at the center, but despite watching with close attention, I honestly couldn't tell you what it's supposed to be about. We're introduced to a team of cyber-terrorists, led by Timothy Olyphant and Maggie Q, who are attempting to pull off a 'Fire Sale,' which I gather means executing a rapid, simultaneous shutdown of our nation's regional power grids. The simultaneous part is apparently the key, since it has the desired effect of short-circuiting any backup plans and therefore crashes America's infrastructure. Anything run by computer will no longer work. Financial records gone, utilities gone, and so on. In other words, they declare total war on America, from the back of a moving truck. There are so many plot holes here that I won't insult your intelligence by pointing them out. Watching this plot unfold, I was reminded of what Roger Ebert said about Jaws: The Revenge -- that some executive at the studio should have been put in charge of making sure it was at least "a passable thriller."

Although that might not be the name you were hoping for, at least it's not Brett Ratner. In fact, in this latest round of Wolverine rumors, Ratner's name is nowhere to be found -- instead, IESB reports that Fox is currently in talks with D.J Caruso to helm the Wolverine spin-off flick. Caruso, as most of you may know, helmed the box office hit Disturbia and recently appeared as a guest judge on the reality show On the Lot. (Don't even get me started on that show; by the time it's all said and done, it will probably change its format another 20 times. And seeing as Caruso replaced Ratner as a judge during the show's opening episodes, wouldn't it be funny if the same thing happened with Wolverine?). I'm not too familiar with Caruso's comic book background, but he did direct one episode of Smallville. So he's got that going for him, which is nice.

Another name floating around IESB headquarters seems to be that of director Len Wiseman. He, of course, helmed the upcoming Live Free or Die Hard, and if that film kicks a ton of ass at the box office, he may quickly climb to the top of everyone's Wolverine wishlist. He also has two Underworld flicks under his belt, with an Underworld prequel also in the works, so it would probably make more sense, prequel-wise, to have him in there over Caruso. Since the story of this film is set before the X-Men movies, I imagine it will have a completely different look and feel -- one that warrants a new face behind the camera. Frankly, both Caruso and Wiseman would be good choices; one brings mood (Caruso), while the other brings action (Wiseman). What do you think of the two men currently on Fox's plate? Who would you choose?

Cinematical's roving reporter Kevin Kelly made his way out to the junket press conference for Live Free or Die Hard yesterday, and I'm listening to the tapes he sent me right now. It's already hit the web that Bruce Willis says Fox wants another Die Hard movie to follow this one, but I wonder if he's really being serious about that. There was a huge time lapse between the third film and this one, so it would be surprising if the studio decided to immediately put another one into production, even if this one does surprisingly well at the box office. Then again, maybe they sense that Willis really is getting old, so the cow needs to be milked for all its worth now. Here's what Willis had to say on the subject: When asked "will this be the last 'Die Hard' movie," he responded: "No, I don't think so. Fox is already talking about doing another one. I told them I would only do it if Len is involved, and Maggie Q. And Justin, of course. You can't do one without Justin."

Also, when asked if he watched the first three before setting out to make this film, Willis said: "I looked at em' just before we started shooting this. I know I liked the first one. I looked at the second and third one and said 'Can't do that ... can't do that ... can't do that' ... one of the rules we had was that we banned ourselves from being self-referential. The second film, if you go back and look at the second film, there are so many f*ckin' references, referring to the first film. It was such bullshit, I just hated it. It was really just a stupid, stupid thing. I don't know, I mean I liked jumping out of the helicopter onto the wing of that plane. I liked that from the second one. But I'd have to look at it to tell you if there was anything else I liked."

I've been trying desperately to ignore all the bad buzz that keeps following around Live Free or Die Hard and its PG-13 rating. It doesn't matter where I go or who I talk to, someone inevitably heard from some guy who heard from some girl who heard from their cousin that the fourth Die Hard film is so bad that blah blah blah ... "I heard it's not screening for the press." "Oh yeah, well I heard the media aren't allowed to ask Bruce Willis any questions regarding the previous Die Hard films at the press junket." "Yeah, well I heard Erik Davis from Cinematical doesn't give two sh*ts about what all these people are saying because John McClane is back, and he's totally stoked to see him kick a ton of ass one more time on the big screen."

That's right, I don't care. Those folks who find themselves all wrapped up in negative buzz will go into the film almost wanting to hate it. And how is that fun? How is that healthy? Do yourself a favor and check out some of these brand new pics from the film; one of which features a scratched-up (yet still sexy) Maggie Q. tossing a wimpy Justin Long around like a rag doll. I dig the female villain; it was one of the best additions to the franchise when that blonde who had a thing for knives showed up in Die Hard with a Vengeance. My only problem with that film was that the ending was way too weak; hopefully they'll correct that this time around. Some of the other images include director Len Wiseman hard at work and Bruce Willis in a number of wrong situations at the wrong time. Don't listen to the naysayers; Bruce is king. Live Free or Die Hard (or Die Hard 4.0 for our international friends) arrives in theaters on June 27.