I've always thought if you wanted a textbook example on how to ruin a viable movie franchise, then you need not look further than The Mummy Returns. The Mummy was a great summer flick that won audiences over (myself included) with it's enthusiasm and charm. So despite my trepidation when it comes to sequels, I was all for the idea of a second film. That is...until I saw The Mummy Returns. It seemed thrown together, and since the principles involved weren't coming back for another go round it felt like they just crammed everything into those two hours. The situation didn't improve when the third installment, The Scorpion King landed in theaters with a bit of thud. But Universal has always been keen on the idea of resurrecting the franchise.

CinemaBlend.com had posted rumors that the Mummy 3 production was struggling not only with getting Brendan Fraser back into the lead, but also with a script that was dead weight and the issue of director Stephen Sommers being replaced by Stealth's Rob Cohen. Our own Erik Davis pulled Fraser aside on the Inkheart set and tried to wrestle a few more details from him. Now, Universal has responded to all the rumors and confirmed that the principles are all in negotiation to return, and the script will be undergoing a re-write. Universal also went on to say that while Sommers would not return as director, they had every confidence in Cohen's ability to get the franchise back up and rolling. Considering what most critics thought of Stealth, it looks like Universal's faith in Cohen could be a little misguided.

About a month ago Erik informed us that director Rob Cohen was preparing a movie called Rage and Fury, a film that would somehow "feature" the legendary yet still-deceased Bruce Lee. The word "feature" just kinda lingered there vaguely, and we were offered precious little additional news with which to slake our curiosity/incredulity. But in response to a script review posted over at Latino Review, Mr. Cohen has stepped forward to politely volunteer some new information...

They're going to be digitally re-creating Bruce Lee for this movie. Yes, from scratch. Like Gollum and Dobby and Aeon Flux.

Frankly I think it's nasty. I hate it when I see dead actors digitally resurrected for insurance commercials, and I sure as snot think it's kind of gross to do the same thing for a feature film. But then again, I may be asking for too much common sense from the man who directed XXX, Stealth, Daylight and The Skulls -- plus the guy already directed Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, which means that Rob Cohen is a man single-mindedly obsessed with bringing Bruce Lee back to life. Heck, maybe he could program his digital Bruce to make out with him!

For his follow-up, Rob Cohen plans to direct a musical featuring Gene Kelly, River Phoenix, Natalie Wood, Phil Hartman, Madeline Kahn and Heather O'Rourke. Think that joke's in bad taste? So do I.

Rob Cohen, director of Stealth (and numerous previous masterpieces such as XXX and Fast and the Furious), has got a lot to prove to journalists like Rachel Abramowitz, who writes, "In this year of the missing moviegoer, perhaps no genre has proven as perilous as the old stalwart of action, where the failures tend to be colossal, and the red ink runs in rivers." Luckily for those of us who came to laugh at him, Cohen's more than happy to turn up his nose and throw around a lot of big words he learned in college:

"I think there's a love of infamy and heroism that doesn't play into the zeitgeist ... I don't think this generation sources their heroes in this arena. Maybe they'll source their heroes as ... an heiress who does soft-core porn, [but] action films are usually about the male hero, and if you live in a time when you don't believe in heroes, it makes it difficult ... to make action films as they've been traditionally defined."

To paraphrase: the man who once had Vin Diesel as a muse is saying that his movie's failure is Paris Hilton's fault.