It's been a few months since we first told you about the latest amnesia flick to hit Hollywood, Open Grave. It's okay if you don't remember (zing!); seems a bunch of these crop up each year. Variety tells us that Nala Films has brought Eduardo Rodriguez onboard to helm the pic, which marks his second feature directorial effort after also helming the Robert Rodriguez-penned Curandero back in 2005; he scored that gig, as well as a three-picture deal with Dimension, with only one short film (Daughter) under his belt. See kids, dreams can come true! (And if you've seen his short, then my previous sentence might have made you chuckle just a bit.) Nala Films will produce along with Jon Shestack Prods.; currently, no cast has been announced.

Story centers on a man who wakes up in a pit full of dead bodies with no idea who he is or how he he got there. When a group of fellow amnesiacs rescue him, he must figure out if one of them is the killer ... or, could it be that he is the killer all along??? The plot is very similar to that of the previously released 2006 pic Unknown. In that film, a group of guys wake up trapped in a warehouse, beaten and bloody, with no idea who they are, how they got there or if one of them is responsible for keeping them captive. Both premises are very intriguing, though Unknown failed to fully capitalize on its fantastic set-up. As I've said before, it all comes down to script and execution. Seeing as the film will forever be compared to Christopher Nolan's Memento, here's hoping screenwriters Eddie and Chris Borey came up with a unique approach; one that will immediately rise it above the other half-assed amnesia flicks churned out each year.

While the premise is certainly intriguing, I'm getting kind of tired of that whole "guy wakes up in a strange place and doesn't remember anything" storyline. The most recent film to apply this premise was Unknown, and that flick was a prime example of why this is a risky set-up. Basically, it all comes down to the script. Anyone can come up with some bizarre situation to throw their main character in, but if the script gets lazy (and the writer gets afraid), then the film just won't work. Memento worked because the Nolan brothers were sticklers for details, and made sure every piece of that film serviced the plot and moved things forward. Unfortunately, Unknown was so focused on the surprise twists that it botched the details, as well as the characters, leaving us a fantastic set-up with nowhere to go but downhill.

Now, Nala Films is apparently confident that writers Eddie and Chris Borey got things right, and have launched development of their script, Open Grave, with plans to begin shooting next year. Here we go again -- the plot revolves around some dude who wakes up in the middle of the woods in a pit full of dead bodies with no idea who these people are, how they were killed and whether or not he was the one who caused their death. Sure, it sounds like a great set-up -- but what about the rest of the script? I have no idea who the Borey brothers are and there's a good chance this is their first produced script. That's unsettling, however Nolan was fairly new to the game when he wrote Memento -- so you never can tell. No word yet on a cast or director; we'll let you know if any more details pop up.

About a month ago, Nala Films picked up a spec script by first-timer Eric Gravning called Mr. Burnout. Gravning's story focuses on "a small town English teacher who spirals from teacher of the year to a bitter, rude individual after a decade in the classroom." Because this is Hollywood, all it takes to reawaken his passion for teaching is a hot new colleague, a bet and three troubled students who need his help getting into a good college. Reassuringly, however, the story is described as a comedy, so it probably won't turn out to be Mr. Holland's Opus 2, or something. Plus, Variety reported this morning that Nala has hired Paul Dinello -- a man with a finely-honed satire muscle -- to direct the thing, which is another good sign.

Though Mr. Burnout will be Dinello's first directorial effort since Strangers with Candy, he hasn't been just hanging around on the Colbert Report set in his free time. Instead, he's working on a couple of new screenplays, including one about "two hip exorcists" which, personally, I'd much rather seen than a movie about a teacher seeking funny redemption. Sadly, Nala has scheduled Mr. Burnout to start in early 2007, so Dinello will have to put the exorcists aside for the time being.

Odds and ends from I can't believe it's not Friday yet (a/k/a Thursday)

• After watching him sign on for role after role, I was waiting for the day when all of this pimping would catch up to Vin Diesel. Well folks, it appears that day has come. It's now being reported Diesel has dropped out of the film Black Water Transit, forcing filmmakers to hurriedly replace the actor with filming set to begin at the end of July. No word yet on why he skipped out on the pic (perhaps he hates black water and/or the transit system), but if a replacement isn't found soon, look for this one to get pushed back. Also starring in the film are Kevin Bacon, James Franco and Sophie Okonedo.
• While I'm not so sure what's funny about being a grieving widower, apparently NALA films felt there was something comedic behind the idea for Only Ever You. Griffin Dunne has been attached to direct the romantic comedy which will follow a guy who's having a hard time getting over the death of his wife. The description becomes a bit confusing after that, but I'm guessing he eventually moves on from the sadness and finds a new lease on life. Once again, what's funny about that?
• Looks like the Sundance Channel wants to get in on this whole internet thing. It appears the cable channel has struck a deal with two media companies to begin streaming some of its films online. We're not sure what, when and how this will all go down but they did note that all revenues will be shared with the filmmakers. Ain't that special. I'd be curious to see if they somehow work the Sundance Film Festival into this streaming as a way for folks stuck at home to catch a glimpse of the action playing in Park City. For those of us too poor to fly out to Utah, something like that would be very enticing.

The Air I Breathe, co-written and directed by Jieho Lee, is a crime drama that can only be either utterly brilliant or a complete disaster. It's based on a Chinese proverb "that breaks life down into four emotional cornerstones": pleasure, love, happiness and sorrow. Where things get a little crazy is that each of the film's "inextricably linked" characters is identified with one of the cornerstones. Wow. Well, with a concept like this, I really don't think there's much middle ground - like I said, it'll either be magical or just totally incomprehensible.

As of this morning, the film's main cast is set: joining Sarah Michelle Gellar (Sorrow), Kevin Bacon (Love), and Brendan Fraser (Pleasure - nudge, nudge) are Forest Whitaker (Happiness) and Andy Garcia, whose role hasn't been announced. Also reportedly involved are Ken Watanabe and Diego Luna. Shooting begins in Mexico City later this week, so it's good that whole casting thing was worked out. The hope is that the film - the second feature from the independent NALA Films - will be in theaters this December, at which point it will likely either get some minor awards buzz or be mercilessly mocked.