The above shot is part of a larger picture of Sandra Bullock proposing to Ryan Reynolds in Anne Fletcher's The Proposal, courtesy of Just Jared. The site has a bunch of shots of Bullock and Reynolds preparing for the scene, as well as Sandra viciously wielding a sharp stiletto, and fashion details (oo lala!).

As I said before, this whole project just seems like more of the same -- get Bullock in a romcom, have her flail around in her usual, physically comedic way, and ultimately get the guy and fall in love. But this time around, she does it by forcing her subordinate to marry her so that she doesn't get deported back to Canada. I just hope she gets a little more than that. She has more talent than most of her film choices show, and it'd be nice to see them more often.

If the rumors circulating yesterday about a third Speed movie were true, the glut of Hollywood product would surely have reached a breaking point. It's not that another sequel to this maligned action franchise would necessarily suck. Almost a year ago, Dennis Hopper hinted that he might have some sort of role in an upcoming Speed movie, an appearance that could single-handedly elevate the thing to realm of brilliant camp (it would make a fine relative of Leprechaun 4: In Space). There's a distinction worth making, however, between camp and crap ... and a Speed movie set in space probably falls into the latter category. That's exactly what this placeholder suggests, offering the image of a troubled Sandra Bullock peering out the window of a rocketship above the guffaw-worthy title Speed: Ignition. Right.

Slashfilm did some homework and figured out that the site is a fake, which is a relief--because no studio would be crazy enough to back such a bad idea--but also, in a backwards sort of way, a bit of a letdown. Imagine what a brilliant catastrophe this thing could be. A rocky voyage to the stars where the only means of survival is lightspeed ahead! Keanu Reeves didn't bother showing up for Speed 2: Cruise Control, and you can imagine that he'd bail on this one, too. Somebody get Han Solo on the line.

Chemistry. It's a word tossed around in plenty of movie reviews, generally to diagnose whether two actors have it or not. Chemistry can be in the eye of the beholder: some critics may disagree, but if the chemistry is really there, it will show in the way the film catches on. No one can deny that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan had it in When Harry Met Sally, or that William Powell and Myrna Loy, or Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had it in their many films. But for every hit, there are many, many failed experiments. Here are seven of the most (or least) memorable.

1. Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine in A Damsel in Distress (1937)
For whatever reason, Astaire decided to break up his hit formula with Ginger Rogers and make this movie without her. His new partner? Joan Fontaine, best known for playing mousy, quietly pretty types (Rebecca, Letter from an Unknown Woman, etc.) and definitely not a song-and-dance woman. Poor Joan was taken to the mat for her lack of singing and hoofing, although the film actually isn't that bad. The ultra-witty P.G. Wodehouse adapted his own novel, it won an Oscar for its dance choreography, and it features another great team: George Burns and Gracie Allen.

2. Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Every so often some Hollywood executive gets the idea to team up two big stars, hoping that their massive appeal will translate into screen chemistry; it mostly doesn't. These two romantic comedy masters, who have been wonderful in other films with other people, came together like a dull, wet flint, unable to strike even the most meager spark. Another infamous example of this type of casting came in 1986: recent Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep came together for Mike Nichols' Heartburn. Before it opened, it had lots of buzz. After it opened, it had more of a stench.

I just love those lists that are supposed to represent the fandom of the general public. This is probably because my preferences rarely converge with them. Sure, some of my tastes are a little off the beaten path -- I'd pick Danny Huston over Brad Pitt, or Julie Delpy over Julia Roberts. That being said, I still love me some good mainstream. Yet I still find myself raising my brows when I read these lists, just as I did today when I saw the annual Harris Poll for America's favorite movie stars, which Hollywood.com put up today. The order is surprising, as is the one lone oldie to the group.

Their results, counting down from 10 to 1:

10. Bruce Willis
9. Sandra Bullock
7. (tie) Matt Damon & Sean Connery
6. John Wayne
5. Will Smith
4. Julia Roberts
3. Johnny Depp
2. Tom Hanks
1. Denzel Washington

Yes, that's John Wayne there at number 6. Apparently he is the only actor to nab a spot on the poll every year since its inception in '94. Also, Depp is quickly working his way up the ranks, having moved up four positions from last year. Personally, I find the list surprising, and a bit sad in the realm of women in cinema. What say you?

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.

There should be two lists: Which actress makes the most and which actress deserves the most. The Hollywood Reporter released their annual list of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, and leading the pack is Reese Witherspoon, who commands a whopping $15 to $20 million per film. Since winning an Oscar for her performance in Walk the Line, Witherspoon has starred in Just Like Heaven, Penelope and Rendition -- all of which did poop at the box office (save for Penelope which never opened). Will she still be demanding this much next year? God, I hope not. Geez, friggin' Carrot Top entertains more people than this gal.

Number two on the list, of course, is Angelina Jolie (though she only earned $8 million for lending her voice and body to Beowulf). Next up are Cameron Diaz ($15 million per film), Nicole Kidman ($10-15 million), Renee Zellweger ($10-15 million), Sandra Bullock ($10-15 million) and Julia Roberts ($10-15 million). Drew Barrymore, Jodie Foster and Halle Berry round out the list with around $10 to $12 million each per film. Out of all those names, unfortunately, I believe Jolie was the only one to turn in a great performance this year in A Mighty Heart (we'll see if Kidman redeems herself in both Margot at the Wedding and The Golden Compass come awards time). The rest? Blah. So blah. Might as well take all their photos and slide them next to the word 'overrated' in the dictionary. So, in your opinion, who deserves the most? And feel free to list someone not mentioned here.

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.

When you're reading an interview with Dennis Hopper, you expect him to admit things like the following: that he once sold a priceless Lichtenstein painting for a thousand bucks, attended an orgy with Natalie Wood, and used to drink "half a gallon of rum and 30 beers a day." We're talking about Dennis Hopper, here. In order to surprise us, he's going to have to do a lot better than that -- and so he has. During an interesting interview with the Guardian that went up yesterday, Hopper held forth with some super-cryptic mumblings about his possible appearance in Speed 3 (!)

To back up a bit, it's the inteviewer who first brings up the topic, claiming to have some insider knowledge about it. He tells us, the reader, that the film is "due to include" a performance by Hopper, and that it's his intention to ask Hopper "plenty of questions" about it. I certainly hope so. When he finally gets around to it, however, the only thing Hopper will say is this: "It's a river of shit from which I have tried to extract some gold." Huh? The Speed series is a river of shit? The process of resurrecting your character for a third film when he clearly died in the first film is a river of shit? What are you talking about, druggy?

I personally think what we have here is an over-zealous reporter trying to make some news where none exists. Speed 2 more or less bombed at the box-office, when you consider its sizeable budget and the expectations that everyone had from the previous film. I've certainly heard nothing about a Speed 3, and as far as I know, no one is even thinking about it. So unless the movie is currently being filmed in complete secrecy under the title All About Steve (or Cloverfield), I think we can disregard this.

If there is a woman (other than Julia Roberts, of course) who has traversed most of the romcom actors in the world, it's Sandra Bullock. She's been romantically linked on-screen with men who include Tate Donovan, Keanu Reeves, Bill Pullman, Chris O'Donnell and Benjamin Bratt. If current talks for her upcoming comedy All About Steve continue as planned, her next cinematic interest will be none other than Thomas Haden Church. Erik Davis last told us about Bullock signing to the stalker comedy back in April. The flick follows Bullock who goes nuts stalking a CNN cameraman after one date, positive that he's her true love. She then follows him across the U.S., ultimately failing to lure him in (duh) but finding a "band of misfits who appreciate her for who she is."

Alright, now I get strange attractions. I've been teased a number of times for my taste in leading men. People think I was crazy for always getting distracted by Gary Oldman's screaming Wanted poster in Harry Potter, and very few understand my attraction to Christopher Walken. I get it. But when and how on earth did Thomas Hayden Church become a leading man? Seriously. We're not talking about a case where some people happen to find him attractive, we're talking about his roles that cast him as a luscious piece of meat to the female sex. Just yesterday, I was watching Sideways and I just didn't get it -- especially during the hotel sex scene. So now he's going to be the guy that makes Bullock go crazy with lust and love. Am I missing something?

Romantic comedy superstar Sandra Bullock must be getting sick of the dramas -- Murder by Numbers, Crash, The Lake House, Infamous and Premonition . Beside a stint as Miss Congeniality 2 in 2005, she hasn't done a romcom since Two Weeks Notice in 2002. Have you missed her? Whether you have or not, she's heading back for three good, healthy servings of romance. Man, the atrocity that was Premonition really must have worn her down! First there was talk of crossword puzzles and All About Steve in October, then she thought about being One of the Guys in December and now she's itching for The Proposal.

This stint seems right up Sandy's alley. From a script by Peter Chiarelli (apparently not the sport guy), who used to be the director of development at MGM, Proposal is about a demanding lady boss who is going to be deported to Canada. To stop it, she agrees to her young, male assistant's proposal to get married. I'm sure that means that within the craziness and power plays, she falls for the guy and their romance really does become consummated. I wonder how young her assistant will be? Will they really Mrs. Robinson her? And will the guy remain a lower-tier employee, or will he romance his way to the top? Oh, the possibilities are romantically endless! Without a director attached yet, there's not much more to say, but we can always muse about the young man who will grab her hand in marriage. I guess it really depends on what they're going for -- young and hot or young and geek. With Veronica Mars said and done, maybe Bullock could fall for a little Jason Dohring? If they're looking for more nerd flavor, Justin Long keeps popping in my head.