Two reasons I'm writing this story: 1) I love screenwriter success stories, and 2) I love New York City screenwriting success stories. (No, I'm not very interested in seeing a sequel to New Jack City ... unless, of course, Chris Rock loses fifty pounds and plays another crack addict.) Over at Yahoo, they have a great story about a NYC tollbooth worker who wrote a crime script last year called Brooklyn's Finest. See, his car was totaled in an accident and so he entered this screenwriting competition with hopes the cash prize would help pay for a new ride. While Michael Martin had studied film in college, he had never written a full screenplay before -- and though his script placed second, it attracted attention from all over the place; landing on the steps of a Warner Bros-based producer who was searching for someone gritty enough to write the sequel to New Jack City.

Dude eventually moved to Los Angeles, wrote for the Showtime series Sleeper Cell, but then got homesick and returned to New York -- where, to this day, he works for the Transit Authority (he was just promoted to construction flagger). In between flagging, he still works on the New Jack City 2 script (which will probably go direct to DVD) on break in the subway tunnels, all while Brooklyn's Finest gears up to go into production this May -- in Brookyln -- with Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Richard Gere and Ellen Barkin starring. Training Day's Antoine Fuqua will direct.

Oh, and he has a new car now.

Great story; you can read the entire thing here. And good luck to you Mr. Martin!

As a general rule, I don't have a problem with sequels. Conventional wisdom usually dictates that the sequel will fail to live up to the original -- and yes, I know Godfather Part 2 and The Empire Strikes Back don't count -- but I'm always game for a re-visit if it's done right (I'm keeping my fingers crossed for Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth sequel, The Golden Age). But direct-to-DVD sequels are another matter.

It now looks like Warner Bros. is out to ruin yet another fond cinematic memory from my youth with a crappy direct-to-DVD sequel. No sooner did we get the announcement that Warner Bros. was making Lost Boys 2, when Moviehole.net reported that a sequel to the 1991 crime flick New Jack City had also been given the go-ahead. Starring Wesley Snipes, Mario Van Peebles, and a pre-SVU Ice-T, the film was a Scarface of the 90's set against the crack epidemic. If you haven't seen it, I recommend picking it up, just for the high-top fades alone. Phillip B. Goldfine (Disturbing Behavior) is producing, but there is no definite word on whether any of the original cast will return. There have been rumors of a sequel before, but nothing has ever materialized until now. Since the film seems destined for the discount bin, I'm thinking Snipes would only come back if his income tax payments get a little too steep.