When most films traverse the seas of melodrama, they balance it with either a thick layer of absurdity or a heavy reliance on the desperation for passion and love. While a film like Meet the Parents will take an ordinary situation and make it extraordinary with a series of over-the-top gags and painful to-watch bad luck, another, like any of Sandra Bullock's romcoms, will infuse its quirky protagonist with the burning need for love and a host of romantic ideals. Chaos Theory, however, leaves all of that aside and explores the territory of melodramatic love by focusing on the way each character lives their life and reacts to big moments. It has its share of over-the-top moments and sentimental scenes that would make cynical viewers cringe, yes, but those are only a small portion of the experience.

Ryan Reynolds stars as Frank Allen, a man who has built his life on a carefully organized timetable of index cards. He is so invested in this way of life, in fact, that he has made a career out of it; he has written a successful book about efficiency, and teachers others how to live his carefully constructed index card existence. It works wonderfully for him until the day that his well-meaning wife, Susan (Emily Mortimer), turns the clock back ten minutes and shatters the intricate structure of his day.

To be fair, I haven't read the script for this -- but based on the description, it certainly seems like Disney is about to break Doc Brown's biggest (and most important) time-traveling rule. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Disney has picked up the spec script (yay for spec script surge!) Self-Guided, written by Jared Stern. So maybe we should blame Stern for this one, because his script centers on a man who "magically goes back to high school as a guidance counselor to give advice to his younger self." (I wonder if, while writing this, Stern pictured a slew of BTTF fanboys crying foul?)

Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will produce, and there's currently no word on casting or a potential director. However, Lieberman was prepping the Disney rom-com The Proposal when he read this script, and since that film stars Ryan Reynolds, I wouldn't be surprised if Reynolds' name is first on the list. The actor seems to be heading in a new direction as of late; away from all those raunchy comedies and more toward playing adult characters.

So, are we far enough away from BTTF that this shouldn't present a problem? We're not in Zemeckis' world anymore, so why not ... right? (I'd be lying, though, if I said a part of me wasn't kinda ticked off.)

Several things conspire to make Definitely, Maybe seem a dicey proposition at first glance. There's the rarely-inspiring presence of Ryan Reynolds, whose film career has, up to now, moved between mediocre comedies and mediocre action and horror films and served mostly as a demonstration of the phenomenon of 'failing up.' There's also the gimmicky nature of the pitch giving off warning signs, as divorcing dad Reynolds tells his daughter Abigail Breslin the story of his life before he got married, shielding names and facts so she can't figure out which of the three women (Isla Fisher, Elizabeth Banks or Rachel Weisz) he knew and loved when he was single came to be her mother. "I like it," Breslin says early in the film, appraising Reynolds's efforts. "It's like a love story-mystery." And even that's a somewhat off-putting moment; Gee, kid, thanks for pointing that out for us.

But Definitely, Maybe, written and directed by Adam Brooks, surprised me as it unfolded, and got around my initial reservations with its mix of good humor and grace. Not only is Reynolds an appealing lead here -- possibly because the boyishness that's undercut his other work is an integral part of his character – but Definitely, Maybe also has some grit and gristle under the glib gimmick of the mommy-mystery hook. As Reynolds explains the long and winding road of what happened and when, Brooks's script mostly doesn't shy away from the tough stuff, and it doesn't paint Reynolds as some perfect, hapless everyman undone by random chance; he makes mistakes, and he pays for them, and he tries to set things right. Reynolds is normally light and charming enough on screen, but there's something new in his performance here, as his inner feelings keep coming into view behind his smile.

If snow isn't your thing, but you really like film festivals, you might want to pack your bags quickly and zip over to the Santa Barbara Film Festival, which kicked off its 23rd year tonight. The fest definitely started on the right foot. Or, maybe? No, it was the world premiere of Definitely, Maybe. It's already screened, and according to the fest's blogger, Roger Durling: "I stuck around for half and hour to see how the film played with an audience, and people seem to be loving it! Yay! It's a sweet romantic comedy. I really like it."

That's good news, because the film has been in the works for what seems like eons. Cinematical first posted about the story all the way back in September of 2005, when Ryan Reynolds signed on to star. Since then, a cast was collected that features the likes of Abigail Breslin, Isla Fisher, Derek Luke, Elizabeth Banks, and Rachel Weisz. The film focuses on a Manhattan dad (Reynolds) who has to deal not only with his divorce proceedings, but also questions from his 10-year-old (Breslin) over his pre-marriage life. Trying to stay in PG territory, he discusses three women he had relationships with -- without telling her which one ended up being her mother. Since this is a romcom, you can imagine what happens after such happy reminiscing.

For non-fest-goers, the film will, suitably, hit screens on February 14, and you can check out the trailer over at Moviefone. Man, it's hard to believe Billy Simpson is now playing a dad.

Judging by choreographer/director Anne Fletcher's choice of projects, she must have a thing for weddings. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Fletcher, who directed Katherine Heigl's latest foray into interchangeable romantic comedies (27 Dresses), has signed to direct another rom-com called The Proposal. Proposal stars Sandra Bullock as a publishing executive trying to avoid deportation to Canada by marrying her assistant (played by Ryan Reynolds). So, like most career women in the movies, she is demanding and bullying and pretty much forces her assistant up the aisle -- although if my assistant had abs like Reynolds I might do the same thing.

Peter Chiarelli penned the script and while Reynolds and Bullock have been attached to the project since last May, it took Touchstone some time to find the right director. Fletcher started her career as a dancer and a choreographer, and finally made her directing debut with Step Up (a teen dance flick). Keeping with her strengths, she will. Fletcher told THR, "The Proposal has great physical comedy, which I for one, and I think a lot of other people, love seeing Sandy in. Ryan has great physical comedy skills too, and I always thought, why isn't he doing romantic comedies? So I'm excited to get my fingers into this."

Physical comedy is great and all, but am I the only one who would appreciate a moratorium on wedding comedies for awhile? I know I'm not the only one who thought that 27 Dresses premise was a little, shall we say, 'retrograde' for a modern romantic comedy. Maybe I've just come to expect a little more than tired clichés about bitter career woman and matrimonial fulfillment. The Proposal is scheduled to begin production this spring and will be released in 2009.

It's going to be hard to follow Superbad, but as we've previously learned, Greg Mottola is going to give it a try. He's already working on his third film, Adventureland, which at least has that goofy-cool compound-word title thing going on, just like Superbad. Of course, this seems to be a theme that goes all the way back to Mottola's first feature, The Daytrippers, and so the similarity can't promise that the new movie will be anything like Superbad (not that The Daytrippers was bad; it just wasn't Superbad). Then again, if Mottola really wanted to ride the Superbad train he would have tried to get Adventureland made with Judd Apatow as producer, and he probably would have cast Michael Cera in the lead. Instead, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he's got Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale), who also has a great awkwardly comic manner but is certainly underrated compared to Cera. Joining Eisenberg are two more people who had nothing to do with Superbad: Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder) and Kristen Stewart (Panic Room).

Eisenberg will star as a college graduate who has to take a job working in an amusement park rather than go on a European vacation (he should have worked at Epcott, which could have been a compromise). Stewart is a tomboy (isn't she always?) co-worker who he falls for. Reynolds' role is a bit confusing. He's apparently an aspiring rock star (too old) who is, and I quote both The Hollywood Reporter and Variety here, "the icon of cool to all the kids working at the park." Does he also work there? Is he playing a concert there? Are all the kids working at the park really that uniform? I'm not sure. Mottola wrote the presumably autobiographical script (it's set in 1987, around the time he would have graduated from college) and The Door in the Floor's Ted Hope and Anne Carey are producing. Adventureland begins shooting next month in Pittsburgh (at Kennywood?).

What are The Nines? I have no idea, but I think The Eights are koala bears. That's about as close as you'll get to answers in this film, screenwriter John August's directorial debut, but don't let that deter you -- this is one of the most fun, most brain-twistingly clever films of the year. It's at once a serious meditation on the responsibilities of creators, a light-hearted poke at people in the entertainment industry who apply life-or-death stakes to everything that happens to them, and a metaphysical meditation on exactly what constitutes reality. Is television reality? The characters certainly seem to think so. Who are we to tell them they aren't real? And what about our creator? Do we have one? If so, what would that creator think about what we're up to, and how would they go about inserting themselves into the everyday world to get a closer look? What guise would they use? The Nines is a movie that raises about six million major, thought-provoking questions but then holds back on answering most of them.

The film is structured as a three-part anthology, with three actors -- Ryan Reynolds, Melissa McCarthy, and Hope Davis -- playing different characters in each part. Part 1 has Reynolds playing a capricious Hollywood actor who totals his car and ends up being put under house arrest in his gigantic Hollywood home -- some punishment, right? Going stir-crazy under the watchful eye of his ultra-chipper publicist, played by McCarthy, Reynolds' character becomes enamored with a sultry next-door neighbor, played by Davis, and starts to challenge his house arrest. Part 2 is a more autobiographical section, with Reynolds playing a television executive fighting to keep his pet project in development while also submitting to the demands of a Project Greenlight-style reality show, starring him. Davis plays a cold-hearted network executive in this piece, while McCarthy plays a thinly-disguised version of herself, acting out a version of her own past experiences with August. Part 3 is a self-contained story, starring Reynolds and McCarthy as a couple with a child, lost in the woods -- Davis plays a mysterious jogger. Still with me?

Ryan Reynolds recently responded to a question about whether he was still interested in tackling the role of The Fastest Man Alive in the upcoming Justice League movie or in a solo Flash film. You can check out his response in a quick video over at ign.com. He stumbled a little bit, saying he wasn't sure how much he was supposed to say, which I suppose implies there is something worth telling. Reynolds explains how he's always identified with Wally West and Barry Allen, the two most recent incarnations incarnations of The Flash, though I say how about giving some props to Jay Garrick the original Scarlet Speedster? More to the point, though, he basically says he's interested if the film comes together. Reynolds was linked to the character when David Goyer was going to write and direct a Flash movie, but Reynolds was presumed off the project when Goyer backed out.

As Cinematical's Jessica Barnes posted the other day, the Justice League movie is said to be on the fast track with production beginning as early as February/March 2008 (though the IGN story mentions January), and Mad Max director George Miller is the likely candidate to sit in the director's chair. Personally, I'm hoping this comes together. We've seen lots of superhero movies in recent years, but this would be on a scale unlike anything we've seen before. If, however, we find out that the Wonder Twins have been worked into the script, I'm planning to shoot myself.

We now know just how young Sandra Bullock's co-star will be in the romantic comedy The Proposal. And, in fact, he's not that young at all. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Ryan Reynolds will star alongside Bullock in one of three upcoming romantic comedies for the actress; this one being about a demanding female boss who faces deportation back to Canada, and so she hatches a scheme to marry her young male assistant (Reynolds.) Only thing is the entire thing is a sham ... until about halfway through the second act. Either that, or Reynold's character will help her find her true love -- blah blah blah.

The script was penned by Peter Chiarelli (who sold the thing roughly two years ago under a pseudonym); he used to be the director of development over at MGM and is now president of Kurtzman/Orci Prods. If those names sound familiar, that's because they belong to Transformers scribes Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci; both are sharing exec producing credits on this gem for Touchstone Pictures. Additionally, Mandeville's David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman will tack on producing duties. Although Reynolds has already hit his thirties, I'm sure they'll age him down a tad for this one -- if only to make it seem like the two are that much farther apart in age. Bullock, however, perpetually looks like she's 26, so they'll have to work on her a bit. Look for plenty of 'You're sleeping your way to the top' gags and hilarity to ensue.

First, Chevy Chase considered returning to the iconic role with Kevin Smith, but that turned ugly. Then, it was going to be Smith directing Jason Lee. Then, it was going to be Bill Lawrence directing Zach Braff. Ryan Reynolds was mentioned a lot, and jumped out to me as a perfect choice. The most recent talk had Joshua "Pacey" Jackson stepping into the role, with Steve Pink (Accepted) at the helm. But it seems the role of Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher is still up for grabs. Now The Office's John Krasinski is interested, bringing the total to at least four appealing television actors who have flirted with the update of the 1985 comedy classic, Fletch. Fletch Won has been passed around like a hot potato, and I'm not even sure what script they're working off of at this point. IMDb lists a script by Pink, Eli Jorne and Charlie McDowell, but it also lists a 2007 release date -- and that ain't gonna happen. I don't know what to believe anymore!

"My name was tossed around a little bit for the role, and it's something that [I might consider]," Krasinski tells MTV Movies Blog. "[Negotiating something like this] is a give or take kind of thing. I read the script, and it is hilarious. It's just one of those things that is so terrifying, to step up and be in a role that was done so perfectly," says Krasinski, adding "I mean, Chevy Chase not only created that role, but he did it pretty damn well." I think fans should be happy with this bit of news. The original film was very important to my youth, and I've been surprisingly pleased with every potential Fletch. Krasinski is terrific on The Office, and would be a much better fit for the material than the admittedly talented Joshua Jackson. I'd be happy to see Krasinski take a crack at Fletch, especially if he can keep the "raised eyebrow looks to the camera" at a minimum. Plus, it'd be a great way for him to earn back some cool points after the sure-to-be-sucktacular License to Wed. "Robin Williams as a Zany Preacher?" The only phrase less likely to get me into the theater would be "Ned Beatty as an Exotic Dancer."

There's no more retirement for Julia Roberts. In fact, after lending her voice to both The Ant Bully and Charlotte's Web, she is starting to pile up the live-action film roles. Her political drama, Charlie Wilson's War is in post-production, and she's going to be knitting up a storm in The Friday Night Knitting Club. Apparently hungry for more, she has also signed on to star with Fido's Carrie-Anne Moss, ex-Alanis beau Ryan Reynolds and British actress Emily Watson in the upcoming family drama, Fireflies in the Garden.

The film will be directed by Dennis Lee. Not to be confused with the popular Canadian children's book author, Lee is a screenwriter and director who made his debut with student Academy Award-winning short film, Jesus Henry Christ, in 2003. Fireflies is Lee's partially-autobiographical story -- dealing with the struggle of commitment and love when a family is challenged by an unexpected tragedy. It sounds like the usual fare for Roberts -- love, mounting challenges and two-hankie drama, but I'm curious about Reynolds' involvement. The rest of the cast are no stranger to drama, but the Double-R is the kid from Fifteen who made it big in goofy comedies like Van Wilder. Will this be his Truman Show? It worked for one Canadian. Maybe it can work for another!

The big-screen version of Justice League favorite The Flash seemed to be safely on its way to production; David Goyer was working on a script, and Ryan Reynolds had been attached as a possible lead. But now, it looks like there's been a definite bump in the road. Goyer has officially been removed from the Warner Bros. adaptation and has confirmed it on his MySpace page. Word came shortly after Joss Whedon informed us via a statement to whedonesque.com that he too has left Warner's Wonder Woman project.

Goyer notes: "The God's honest truth is that WB and myself simply couldn't agree on what would make for a cool Flash film. I'm quite proud of the screenplay I turned in. I threw my heart into it and I genuinely think it would've been the basis of a ground-breaking film. But as of now, the studio is heading off in a completely different direction. I expect you'll hear of some new developments on that front shortly."

You would have thought that Warner Bros. would have had some faith in Goyer since he has plenty of experience when it comes to comic book scripts. The man wrote the original treatment for Batman Begins and also provided the outline for Nolan's Batman sequel The Dark Knight . Goyer also has big-screen versions of Thor and Captain America in the pipeline. There's no word on who is replacing Goyer on the project, or whether Reynolds still has a shot at the lead. Since WB hasn't made their announcement yet, fans should speak now or forever hold their peace.

The 2007 Sundance Film Festival is a wrap. I saw some outstanding movies (King of California, Grace Is Gone, Son of Rambow, The Nines) and some not-so-outstanding movies (The Go-Getter, Smiley Face), some A-list celebs (Justin Timberlake, Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci) and some not-so-A-list celebs (Heavyset Girl #1 from Black Snake Moan). All in all, it was a great experience, full of flicks, fun and plenty of Bud Lights. In order to best summarize the things I saw, heard and learned at the festival, I now present Sundance by the Numbers.

1: Number of times I heard Justin Timberlake ask Samuel L. Jackson, "Are there any motherf#&!in snakes in Black Snake Moan?"

1: Number of times I heard Samuel L. Jackson reply "Only trouser snakes."

1: Number of movies about a girl who grows an actual set of teeth in her vagina. The twisted and, yes, crowd-pleasing flick is quite appropriately entitled Teeth, and those dangerous vajay-jay chompers belong to rising star Jess Weixler (Little Manhattan).

1: Number of people who laid down on the floor and went to sleep during the press screening of Heather Graham's Adrift in Manhattan.

1: Number of dudes dancing shirtless at the Sundance Awards after-party.

2: Number of movies in which a character goes off to war in Iraq and gives a loved one a digital wristwatch with an alarm set to beep at the same time as the alarm on his/her wristwatch -- that way they'll know they're thinking about each other at the exact same moment. Justin Timberlake gives one to Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan, and John Cusack's unseen wife gives one to their daughter in Grace Is Gone.

2: Number of movies starring a Fanning -- Dakota headlines the controversial Hounddog and younger sis Elle plays a supporting role in The Nines.

3: Number of times Christina Ricci takes her top off in Black Snake Moan.

4: Number of times Ryan Reynolds takes his shirt off in the first 20 minutes of The Nines.

4: Millions of dollars paid by Harvey Weinstein for distribution rights to Audience Award and Screenwriting Award winner Grace Is Gone.

5: Number of attempts it takes drunken teenager Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson) to throw a cello through the window of the girl who jilted him in the Thumbsucker-esque Rocket Science.

I know, I know. Today's all about Oscar nominations. But I still want to talk about the amazing day I had at the Moviefone house for Unscripted shootings. First, I get there and Heather Graham and Victor Rasuk have just finished taping an episode (for their movie 'Adrift in Manhattan'), and they came back to the greenroom to get their coats. They were both very cool, really friendly and all. And apparently Heather had asked Victor if he'd slept with some girl he'd mentioned as being a "big influence" on him, and he hadn't answered her, so she was like, "well, obviously the answer to that question is yes."

No sooner had Heather and Victor left, than in come Zooey Deschanel and Chris Klein for their Unscripted shoot, for their movie 'The Good Life.' They roll into the house with their entourage --

Your friendly neighborhood geek beat writer would just like to take a moment aside from all the Batman and Wonder Woman talk we've been doing lately to remind you that yes, DC does have other major comic book titles. And no, I'm not talking about Superman here, either. The DC stable, while probably not quite as large as Marvel's when it comes to movie worthy films with instantly recognizable characters, is still a big stable. And at least a few of them are on tap, such as The Flash, attached to noted director David Goyer. Goyer, who is quickly becoming a go-to guy for both Marvel and DC, has The Flash currently slated for some undetermined date in the future.

So who will be the title character (probably Wally West)? Believe it or not, Ryan Reynold's name is still being bandied about for the famous speedster. This makes a fair amount of sense, at least from a purely physical perspective; Reynolds has more or less the correct look for a Wally West type. So will he do it? Reynolds himself still has no clue, according to SuperheroHype, who just had the opportunity to ask him about it. He got a little fan-geeked out about it, and finally admitted: "It's just such a huge undertaking. I'd love to wear a red unitard sometime, but I can do that on my own." Reynolds as Wally West, fans? If not, who do you want in the famous red suit?