Old School 2 Tagged Articles at Cinematical

It looks like that collaboration between Jack Black and Todd Phillips won't be happening after all. Black pulled out of Phillips' Man-Witch, reportedly due to doubts about the director's commitment to make the supernatural comedy his next project. The film -- about a man who discovers he's a witch and enrolls in an all-female witch school -- is still in active development, with Phillips and his team looking for an actor to replace Black.

The other movie Phillips is mulling is the much more amusing-sounding Hangover, about a trio of guys who wake up after a rowdy Vegas bachelor party to discover that they've misplaced the groom. That could be legitimately funny with the right cast and a decent script -- though the fact that the writers are the guys behind the Martin Lawrence basketball "comedy" Rebound isn't too promising. Anyway, maybe losing Black will push Phillips toward doing Hangover first.

Meanwhile, all has mostly been quiet on the possibility of a sequel to Old School, the frat-house romp that rocketed Todd Phillips to the A-list. Though not the biggest Old School fan, I feel like that would be a more productive use of his time than what sounds like a half-baked Harry Potter parody -- especially after the relative anonymity of his last effort, School for Scoundrels.

Yes, we're back again with what's becoming a monthly Old School 2 (or Old School Dos) update. Last time we checked in with the highly-anticipated sequel, Will Ferrell was on the fence about whether or not he would return. In some interviews, he was optimistic and wanted to read the script, while at the same time (during other interviews) he denied any and all involvement in the pic. Since the entire film hinges upon Vince Vaughn, Will Ferrell and Luke Wilson participating, writer-director Todd Phillips (and co-writer Scot Armstrong) would have to turn in one helluva script in order to get those three back onboard. Could it be done? Would it be done.

Speaking with Rotten Tomatoes, producer Ivan Reitman felt that script may have just arrived in his lap. He says, "I have in my briefcase a new draft of the screenplay, I got last night. I haven't read it yet. I'm going to read it on the plane. So yeah, we very much want to do it. We hope we can corral the entire cast because it was written by the same writers, will be directed by Todd Phillips as before." Since he uses the words "new draft," I'm thinking Phillips and Armstrong might be having a hard time producing a quality sequel; one that would immediately attract the attention of those very expensive actors. Another potential reason why the sequel is taking so long to come together might be the fact that Phillips' last film, School for Scoundrels, bombed at the box office. If Dreamworks is going to open their deep wallets for Vaughn, Ferrell and Wilson, I imagine they want to make real sure their director is going to produce a quality flick. Then again, the first film wasn't all that special (that's right, I said it!), so who knows ...

Reports of Ron Burgundy's triumphant return to the big screen may have been greatly exaggerated, according to the man who accidentally started said reports. Yes, Will Ferrell is now saying he's not interested in sequel work at the moment, and isn't sure if he ever will be. Essentially, Ferrell told the Toronto Star he'd love to do an Anchorman sequel, and then discussed some possible plot angles with the paper, but the discussion was purely fluff, and Ferrell has no actual, solid plans for such a film. And while he's at it, there is no Old School 2, either. He does have a script for it (titled Old School Dos), but when asked about sequel potential said "Yeah, that's a lie, too."

So no Elf 2, no Anchorman 2, and no Old School Dos. Ferrell really isn't into this sequel thing, is he? Fans probably shouldn't worry, however, it isn't like he doesn't play the exact same character in every one of his films. If you don't pay particularly close attention, you could probably call Talladega Nights an Anchorman sequel and just pretend Ron got himself a bad accent and decided to be a race car driver. ...

Odds and ends from Tuesday:

• No, John Hurt didn't really commit a murder. The actor has signed on to play a leading role in Alex de la Iglesia's Oxford Murders, based on the award-winning novel by Guillermo Martinez. Iglesia and co-writer Jorge Guerricaechevarria (now, if that's not a long last name, I don't know what is) adapted the book which surrounds an Oxford University professor who finds himself wrapped up in a bunch of murders that appear to be linked by mathematical symbols.
• Though the third installment in the franchise is still in production, folks behind the Resident Evil films are wasting no time casting the fourth flick. According to reports, Jensen Ackles (Supernatural, Dark Angel, Smallville) is in talks to play Leon Kennedy in Resident Evil: Afterlife (the fourth pic's current working title). I've never played the games and have no clue who Kennedy is or whether Ackles would be a good choice (hey, I'm just being honest), so I'll need you fans to chime in on this one.
• In an interview with Moviehole, Will Ferrell answered questions about whether or not he would be down for an Elf 2 and an Old School 2. While a sequel to Elf is in the works, Ferrell admitted to rejecting the idea, saying "Elf 2 got killed. I killed Elf 2." (If you'd allow it, I'd like to pause here to give Ferrell a round of applause for that decision.) As far as Old School Dos goes, the ex-elf confirms it's being written and is anxiously awaiting a read-through.

Odds and ends from Wednesday:

• In what's sure to be a powerful follow-up to 2004's Hotel Rwanda, director Terry George is set to take on the story of a different battle. This time, instead of traveling to war torn Rwanda, he's visiting any town USA. George has signed on to direct Reservation Road, an adaptation of Jonathan Burnham Schwartz's novel. Pic, which was also penned by Schwartz, surrounds two families who collide when one father accidentally kills the son of the other father in a horrible hit and run accident. While one father tries to hide from the event, afraid of facing the harsh consequences of his actions, the other makes it his mission to find the unknown man who killed his son.
• Hey look, Ryan Reynolds is still acting! Shouldn't there be a petition online by now preventing him from scarring us any further? If not, can we start one? Universal Pictures have just picked up Adam Brooks' script Definitely, Maybe, lining up Reynolds, Derek Luke and Isla Fisher to star in the romantic comedy. Reynolds will play a soon-to-be divorced political consultant who struggles to answer some hard questions from his 11-year-old daughter about his past relationships. Politics and fatherhood? This one should be easy for Reynolds to screw up.
• While doing press for the upcoming My Super Ex-Girlfriend, director Ivan Reitman talked a bit about his first directorial effort in five years, while also dishing out some info about the highly anticipated Old School 2. That's right, they're back ... and they're even older! While Reitman will once again be producing the sequel, he did say Scott Armstrong and director Todd Phillips were currently working on the script. However, since the three lead actors (Will Ferrell, Vince Vaughn and Luke Wilson) have come a long way since then, substantially increasing their price tag, Reitman said the whole thing comes down to whether Dreamworks can afford it. Personally, I see no need for an Old School 2. The first one was fine, leave it alone. Spend the money on something more original for once. Please. For the sake of comedy, I beg you.