I have to admit, the closer we get to the big-screen version of Hitman, the worse it is starting to look. A new international poster for the best-selling Eidos adaptation has just been released (click on the image for a larger version), and even if I put my personal opinion aside, it's still a pretty tacky-looking poster. Granted, I wasn't the biggest fan of a majority of the poster art that has come out of the project, with the exception of the French one, but it's possible that this one is the ugliest in the bunch so far. Starring Timothy Olyphant (Catch and Release) as the unstoppable Agent 47, the story centers on a political conspiracy with a damsel in distress. All the while, our hero tries to uncover his past. The adaptation was written by Skip Woods, and when you consider what happened to his other projects, it's not a stretch to say that the guy seems to be working under a curse lately.

Bad news for Hitman fans started to pile up back in August. First, 20th Century Fox announced that the film's release date was being pushed back, and then there were rumors that director Xavier Gens was being pulled from the project. Talk of the film going for a PG-13 rating seemed like a recipe for disaster -- for goodness sake the movie is called Hitman, what exactly was he supposed to do for two hours? Tend to his tomato plants? Luckily it all turned out be idle gossip and Fox confirmed that Gens was still attached to the project and that the film would be maintaining what they call, "a hard R'. Hitman will arrive in theaters on November 21st.

Old news is still good news. That said ... When Fox made the somewhat disappointing decision to pull out of ComicCon , it put the brakes on our chances of getting another look at the big-screen version of the stealth video game, Hitman . Well, at least Movieweb IGN is hosting the first look at the domestic art for the film (click on the pic for a larger version). Although, I have to admit, it's not quite what I was expecting -- it looks like they decided to keep the iconic pose from the original game art. In fact, it's pretty difficult to distinguish the poster from a video game cover, since we don't even get a look at Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 in this one-sheet. And since they probably want to tap into the game's massive fanbase, I guess that was the point.

The best-selling Eidos game was shopped around as early as 2003, but it wasn't until 2007 that a deal was struck with Fox. And as you probably remember, casting the role of Agent 47 proved to be more difficult than you would have thought. Joining Olyphant are Dougray Scott and Olga Kurylenko (who I would presume plays the damsel in distress). The film was directed by Xavier Gans, with writer Skip Woods in charge of adapting the original story. Shooting began back in March, and the film is still in post-production. It was just over a month ago when France got a teaser poster for the film, and they couldn't be more different. So take a moment to compare; I know which one I prefer, how about you? Hitman is set for release on October 12.

I'm beginning to wonder what exactly I watched as a child. While all of my friends talk excitedly about the big-screen adaptations of Transformers and now G.I. Joe, I find myself completely left out. I was the perfect age for those shows, but never saw an episode. What the hell was I watching -- Gummi Bears? (I do know the entire theme song, which I think answers my question. "Bouncing here and there and everywhere!") Erik just told you about Paramount's plans to move forward with a live-action G.I. Joe film, and also shared Latino Review's extremely unfavorable script review. Fear not, plastic man fans -- according to iesb, that leaked script was a rushed and incomplete first draft by Skip Woods, writer of Swordfish. (And Lord knows that guy couldn't write a bad movie!)

Woods' take was more of an "origin story," but it seems that his is not the only G.I. Joe script out there. A few years ago Paramount hired David Elliot and Paul Lovett (Four Brothers) to write a draft that was more of a straight-up adaptation of the series. That script (read LR's positive review here) included Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Hi-Tech, Heavy Duty, Wild Bill, General Hawk and General Flagg. The villains were Destro, the Baroness, Storm Shadow and Cobra. And now, in an unusual move, Paramount is asking both parties to finish their scripts at the same time. Woods will complete his first draft, Elliot and Lovett will begin a third draft. And then I assume Paramount will either make a choice or combine elements of both. Apparently Hasbro and Paramount are making this move to get the movie into theaters as quickly as possible, and before the possible Writers' Guild strike. Now then, what does a red-blooded American male have to do to get a Jem movie fast-tracked? That would be truly truly truly outrageous!

Variety is reporting that Hasbro is switching agencies -- from CAA to William Morris -- just as Transformers (based on a line of one of Hasbro's most successful toys) gears up to arrive in theaters on July 3. The article, which goes on to say that William Morris will "work on contemporizing" Hasbro brands like Monopoly, Ouija, Candy Land, Clue and Trivial Pursuit, also includes one juicy nugget regarding a live-action G.I. Joe movie. According to Variety, "[WMA] reupped Hasbro's deal with Paramount Pictures to turn G.I. Joe into a live-action feature with Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce. An initial pact had expired."

Based on a recent script review over at Latino Review, it may have been best for all parties to let that sucker expire. The draft they reviewed was apparently one penned by Skip Woods (Swordfish) and, without going into too much detail, lets just say the main villain in the film is a guy named Cool Dude. Seriously. Way back when it was reported that di Bonaventura wanted to make a buddy flick featuring Action Man (based on the British toy) and G.I. Joe -- I believe the reasoning here was to make it so the film appealed to international audiences. We're not sure if this is still the route they're leaning toward, whether or not Woods is still attached, or if an entirely new script (and writer) is currently being sought. Rarely have I seen LR bash a script like this ("I hated what Skip Woods did to G.I. JOE so passionately that I burned the script in my barbecue over the weekend. I am trying to erase the memory that I wasted two hours reading the biggest and most disrespectful piece of sh*t script I have ever reviewed for this column), and so I'm hoping Paramount and di Bonaventura do a little bit more homework before messing with these iconic characters in a way that could completely ruin the brand. Fingers crossed.

Well, we all knew official word was coming eventually (even though the man has been hush hush about his involvement as of late) and, as expected, Timothy Olyphant has replaced Vin Diesel in the role of Agent 47 for 20th Century Fox's planned video game adaptation Hitman. If all goes well (and how many of these video game flicks actually do go well?), there's a possibility Hitman will turn into a franchise and churn out a few more flicks. In fact, Olyphant's deal does allow for sequels -- so he's all set. But are we?

If you're one of the unfortunate who never found the time to check out HBO's Deadwood, then there's a good chance you're not that familiar with Olyphant's work. Yes, he's starred in a number of films (Rock Star, The Safety of Objects, The Girl Next Door and A Man Apart to name a few), but up until recently he's managed to fly pretty low beneath the radar. Personally, I've always loved him as the Santa hat-wearing drug dealer with anger issues in Go -- but, who didn't love him in that film? He can currently be seen in the upcoming Catch and Release, but we'll definitely get a mouthful of edgy from Olyphant when he takes on the role of villain in this summer's Live Free or Die Hard.

As far as Hitman goes, Skip Woods (whose last masterpiece was, ahem, Swordfish) penned the script and Xavier Gens will direct. Folks seem to really dig the video game and its many sequels -- I have one of them (possibly the first), but never sat down to actually play it. Apparently, Olyphant will play a "genetically engineered assassin" with a shaved head and sweet-looking suit. What say you Hitman lovers?

Those sly little devils over at Latino Review have gotten their hands on the Hitman script and, according to them, it looks very cool. Based on the popular video game (which I have, but never played), story focuses on an international assassin dubbed Agent 47 who, from what I understand, makes ass-kicking look extremely cool and sophisticated. We already know Vin Diesel has signed on to play Agent 47 and that Skip Woods (Swordfish) is penning the script, but will it be any good?

According to Latino Review, "Hitman stands on its own merits as a testosterone laced action packed thriller while being faithful to its video game origins. You don't even have to be a fan of the games to dig this." The review itself is fairly light on spoilers (for fear the studio will want to kick some ass of its own), though there is a small plot synopsis, a mildly detailed description of the opening scene and some stuff on the weapons featured -- which I imagine will be important to those who love the video game. Enjoy.