According to Variety, Matthew Fox is in talks to play the title character in Warner Bros' Billy Smoke, an adaptation of Oni Press's newest comic book series. Don't feel bad if you're wondering who the hell Billy Smoke is, and why you can't keep up with comic books these days -- it won't be published until next year. Oni Press doesn't even have a preview of it up, so we can't judge it based on six pages.

However, the story goes a little something like this: Smoke is an elite hit man, who is nearly killed during a botched job. He has a change of heart, and realizes that his only way to find redemption is to rid the world of all assassins. It's waking up the ghost of another film in my brain, but I'll be damned if I can remember what it is. Readers?

The series is being written by by B. Clay Moore, who already has racked up some luck in the movie business. His graphic novel, Leading Man, was recently optioned by Universal. And yes, that too is published by Oni Press. I'm a little worried they are actually taking over Hollywood, as this is the fifth book of theirs to be optioned by a studio. The Last Call was bought just last week. I'm not sure what titles are even left to buy at this point -- may I nominate Polly and the Pirates?

At the Long Beach Grand Prix, the roar of high-powered race car engines fills the air, a deep bass thrum cutting through the smell of exhaust in the early summer heat. Tens of thousands of race fans have gathered to take in the metal-and-rubber reality of racing, but in the Long Beach Convention Center, a small group of journalists have gathered to talk about a big-screen fantasy vision of the spectacle roaring around us, Cinematical was there to speak with the people behind Speed Racer: Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci and Matthew Fox, as well as producer Joel Silver.

Emile Hirsch, relaxed and fairly amused, is asked about embodying a classic character. "It's pretty cool." He laughs; "I was a very big fan of the show growing up ... I would just watch it every morning with cereal ... sometimes soda in the cereal. ..." I then asked Hirsch if, after reading the script, he was worried about being Mark Hamill to Matthew Fox's Harrison Ford, that Speed would be out-cooled by Racer X. "Well, now I am ..." The rest of the sentence is unprintable, but Hirsch then mocked Fox's masked mystery man and spoke sincerely about Speed's virtues: "Yeah, (Racer X) is so cool ... No, no, no; Speed's got the nobility; Speed does the right thing; Speed is ... Speed's cool."

(Hirsch on coolness:)

I don't know a lot about Speed Racer aside from what I've gleaned from the theme song over the years -- apparently, the young man's a demon on wheels -- so, in many ways, I'm the best possible audience for Larry and Andy Wachowski's new big-screen interpretation of the character. Originally a Japanese animation program exported and re-dubbed for the American market in the '60s, Speed Racer has now been revived and revitalized for now. And the Wachowskis have created a blast of pure pop family fun; Speed Racer's a bright, bold visual spectacle designed for kids.

And why shouldn't it be? Or, rather, how could it not? This is a property where one of the supporting characters is, after all, a monkey; any fully-grown individual hoping for an adult action film or racing realism is looking in the wrong place. Speed Racer plays like a car-crazed visual wonder -- it looks and feels like what pop artist Roy Lichtenstein would dream if you locked him in a room full of gas fumes, gave him only candy to eat and showed him nothing but Tron, Indianapolis 500 footage, episodes of the '60s Batman TV show and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. All at the same time. With the volume very, very high.

Here he comes. Here comes Speed Racer. He's a demon on wheels! Good lord, I'm hooked, and I have to admit -- Speed Racer didn't really appeal to me until I saw the trailers. In case the last incarnation wasn't enough to whet your speed racing appetites, two new international trailers have hit the net.

Above, you get more of the usual -- color-infused, wild-arse racing -- one that at least briefly gives me flashbacks to Grease. (Speed Racer fans, I ask you -- which came first -- tire slashers in Speed Racer, or Grease?) That's the trailer you can check out above. After the jump, you can check out the second version. It might seem the same at first, but stick with it. Along with more dialog, you can check out Christina Ricci's pixie-bobbed Trixie. And, most importantly -- Matthew Fox's Racer X.

The film hits theaters on May 9.

Like many recent thrillers, Vantage Point is set against the war on terror, as U.S. President Ashton (William Hurt) arrives in Salamanca, Spain to announce new international treaties and efforts in the fight against freedom's enemies. We open in a news van, as harried, hard-bitten producer Rex Brooks (Sigourney Weaver) is orchestrating her camera team and reporters on scene. When reporter Angie Brooks (Zoe Saldana) breaks from the celebratory mood to talk about the protesters outside the courtyard where the crowd awaits the President's words, Rex is miffed about the departure from the script. "We're here for the summit, not the sideshow." Rex has a very definite plan for the day in her head. As shots ring out, the President goes down and explosions ripple through the courtyard, it's clear someone else does, too. ...

Directed by Pete Travis, Vantage Point's plot unfolds as a series of recollections and first-person stories; we begin with Rex's by-the-books coverage turning into a nightmare of murder and mayhem; we flash back to follow Secret Service veteran Thomas Barnes (Dennis Quaid) as he and partner Kent Taylor (Matthew Fox) transport the President to the location; we follow American tourist Howard Lewis (Forest Whitaker) as he winds up accidentally videotaping what may be the key to the attempt on the President's life; we follow President Ashton as he weighs the security risk of the speech against the importance of what he's going to say. ...

It has been over a year since anything solid has been heard about the political thriller Vantage Point. Plus, most people (myself included) probably missed the casting news about the film the first time around. But, here we are a year later, and Sony Pictures is hosting a full theatrical trailer. And, when I say full trailer, I really mean it, since it manages to give away some pretty crucial plot elements. The story centers on a political conspiracy involving Mexico and the U.S. and it unfolds "Rashomon-style" with the different people present at an assassination attempt, each providing their own version of the events. It looks like the trailer has been up and running on the film's official site for a little while now, but there is not much else on the site other than the chance to register for updates.

The film was directed by newcomer Pete Travis, who until now was working in television, and this is also the first feature for the film's screenwriter, Barry Levy. The all-star cast includes; William Hurt, Dennis Quaid, Forest Whitaker, and Sigourney Weaver. With the film's political subject matter and heavy-hitting cast, it seemed like a prime release for the fall season. Instead, Vantage Point is set for release on February 15th, and will be competing for box-office against the family film, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and the sci-fi teen drama Jumper. But, it's not like they are going to be competing for the same audience anyway, so maybe Point has a shot at ruling the box office after all, at least for that week.

Just when you were starting to worry that Racer X wouldn't have a girlfriend in the Wachowski's Speed Racer ... whew, the role has been cast. Nayo Wallace, previously known only for some scattered television work on The District, Sleeper Cell and a few other shows, has grabbed the role and will be appearing opposite Matthew Fox, who's been previously cast as the enigmatic Racer X. Speed Racer is currently filming in Germany, with Emile Hirsch in the title role, Christina Ricci as his girlfriend Trixie, and Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as his parents. Richard Roundtree is also in there somewhere. As far as I know, all of the film's major roles have now been cast, and we have only to sit back and wait for the Wachowskis to start actually delivering some footage on this thing.

The last thing we heard about the production was that PETA was up in arms about a monkey possibly being smacked around on the set after it bit some people, and that's pretty much it on the Speed Racer news front. As far as the film's ComicCon plans, the list of participants is still unknown since everyone is busy shooting in Germany, but the word is that there may be some production footage and a cast interview reel shown, as well as some of the film's storyboards. We'll have our people at the Warner Bros. presentation, and we'll be live-blogging all Speed Racer unveilings, so stay tuned.

Here comes Speed Racer, he's a demon on wheels. He's a demon, and he's gonna be chasin' after someone. He's gainin' on you so you better look alive. He's busy revvin' up a powerful Mach 5... Go Speed Racer, Go! Okay, although I never got too into the whole Speed Racer thing, as I was more of a He-Man hero fan, this is one of those adaptations I'd go to just to hear the song. And one I will probably be very ticked off about if they relegate the song to the end credits like they did with Spider-Man. But maybe, just maybe Sponge will get some time in the film.

Anyhow, there's one more person to add to the pretty interesting cast of Andy and Larry Wachowski's upcoming live-action remake of Speed Racer. We've already got Emile Hirsch as Speed, Matthew Fox as Racer X, Christina Ricci as Trixie and Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as Ma and Pop Racer. The latest name to add to the parade -- Music and Lyrics' Scott Porter as Rex. Now you Racer fans might be confused since Rex is actually Racer X. It seems that Porter will be the young Rex, before he fakes his death and miraculously becomes the Fox-y X. Assuming that the character has an approximate 13-year span between Rex and X, like the actors' actual ages, that's quite the physical transformation. I'm a bit surprised that they didn't find someone who could pull off the older and younger roles. I just don't see enough of a resemblance between the two -- unless there's something that changed the character's look?! What say you about the two Rex-X'ers? I'll stomach it for that cast and the sweeet, new Mach 5.

We've reported a couple of times on the slow and steady casting process for Columbia's Vantage Point, a thriller that examines an attempted presidential assassination from multiple perspectives, ala Rashomon. So far, the cast consists of President William Hurt, as well as Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox and Forest Whitaker as people who, well, aren't president. According to the trades, though, the movie is no longer a boys' club: Sigourney Weaver is on the scene, apparently hired to reprise her "ambitious woman who is a raging bitch" role from Working Girl. The Hollywood Reporter revealed this morning that Weaver will play "a TV news producer for a CNN-type network who will do anything to get the story."

Even though the movie has yet to get off the ground -- it stars shooting next week -- thanks to our readers (who know more than anyone else on earth), we've already heard a couple of impressions of the movie, based on various drafts of his script: Either it's boring boring boring, or reasonably well-written, with a perfectly-cast Quaid. Anyone else with script access care to weigh in?

Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Marge tells Homer that they saw Rashomon together, and he says "I don't remember it that way"? Ah, foreign film humor. Since the movie is now culturally integrated enough to become a Simpsons joke (and thus press conferences and interviews can contain wise references to Rashomon that people might get) Columbia pictures has decided that it's now completely safe to make their own multiple-views-on-the-same-event movie. Their Rashomon-esque flick is entitled Vantage Point, and will explore an attempted presidential assassination through five sets of eyes.

Currently set to star are Dennis Quaid and Matthew Fox, which means it'll be a while before this one gets off the ground - as soon as he escapes from this season of Lost, Fox will head right into McG's movie about the Marshall football program; Vantage Point has to be on his personal back burner at the moment.