Thanks in no small part to a certain boy wizard, fantasy movies based on children's book series are hot, hot, hot. The latest to come down the pike, The Spiderwick Chronicles, based on the popular series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi, hits the mark on almost all counts. Like a lot of good fantasy films, this one centers around a spooky old house in the middle of nowhere, and opens with the Grace children and their mother pulling into the drive. The Graces have just moved from New York City to this ominous house, left to the mother by an aunt who's in a mental facility. Dad isn't along for the move, creating some nice underlying tension between the sibs and their mom around their fractured family.

The Grace children are twins Jared (the tough, angry kid) and Simon (the dorky, science-geek kid), a dual role played by Freddie Highmore, and older sister Mallory (Sarah Bolger). Jared is not happy to be there; he blames his mother for his parents' marriage falling apart, and wants to move in with his dad. But it isn't long before Jared becomes a bit intrigued by the house ... he discovers the musty office of his great-uncle Arthur Spiderwick (David Strathairn) -- and Uncle Spiderwick's life work, a Field Guide to the fantasy world. The book is crammed with knowledge of all the races of creatures unknown to most men, but spoken of in lore: faeries, brownies, boggarts, goblins, trolls, and the big meanie of them all, an ogre named Mulgarath.

If you ask me, it's about time that Michael Douglas got the chance to play with his reputation as a lady killer and, frankly, a bit of a hound. ComingSoon recently got the chance to speak with The Spiderwick Chronicles director Mark Waters and managed to score a little casting scoop for his next project, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. According to their sources, Douglas is in talks to appear in the comedy alongside Matthew McConaughey.

The story centers on "a womanizer (McConaughey) who attends the wedding of his younger brother and bride. There, he's haunted by several old flames, including the bride's best friend. Douglas will play "Uncle Wayne, a '70s playboy, who was his mentor and he wears Bob Evans shades and guides him (McConaughey) around the ghost world". The cast also includes Jennifer Garner as one of McConaughey's exes, Lacy Chabert (Black Christmas) as the bride, as well as Anne Archer and Emma Stone (Superbad).

Originally, the film was set to star Ben Affleck with Betty Thomas directing. The production hit a snag when Disney shut the film down and Affleck walked away from the film. Maybe Affleck just wasn't looking forward to all the conversations at home on the subject of previous girlfriends. McConaughey then rode in to save the day and now the film is back on. Plus, I have to agree with Waters when he says that, "There's something great about Matthew. He has an aspect of him that he can get away with murder with women. He's the kind of guy where women are apologizing to him when he breaks up with them, because he's so charming". Girlfriends Past will start shooting February 19th in Boston and will hit theaters sometime in 2009.

I just love really random connections between things, which is why I'm digging the story that popped up over at The Hollywood Reporter. It seems that Paramount Pictures is teaming up with a teen-centric virtual world called Habbo to put together a series of virtual goodies based on three of their films. Habbo will have the merchandising rights to two unsurprising flicks -- Beowulf and The Spiderwick Chronicles. However, the third is a totally left-field addition: Mean Girls. Which of these is not like the others? I mean, yes, it's a teen movie, but it's much older than the other two and a totally different sort of film than its companion flicks. How on earth did it get on the list?

As for this whole "virtual marketing" thing... Habbo is this virtual teen hangout/social networking site where you make avatars and interact with other people in these little faux rooms. The deal will allow the site to include themed clothing and furniture for these little things, so I guess one person can dress up like Grendel and then drool over a mini, virtual Cady Heron. But movie goodness doesn't come free. The site allows the kids to purchase credits to buy virtual products. Ah, there's nothing like paying for fake furniture and clothing.

ComingSoon.net has the latest poster for the big-screen version of The Spiderwick Chronicles, and I'm afraid it is just another installment of one-sheets that I think looks pretty 'blah.' Sure, they all have the same look and feel, but since they aren't exactly the most eye-catching designs in the first place, this is not necessarily a good thing. Directed by Mark Waters, Spiderwick is based on the best-selling fantasy series by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi. This is the third poster release for the film, and there was also a teaser trailer released in July. I'll admit that after watching the teaser, I couldn't help but think the whole thing seemed an awful lot like Pan's Labyrinth -- but without all of the trauma.

Set in the US, the story revolves around three siblings who stumble across a "field guide to faeries" that opens up a parallel world. While the trio are discovering all kinds of benevolent little creatures, they come across some slightly less-friendly ones as well, and the latest poster even works in a little menace by adding 'Beware' to the heading. The family flick stars Sarah Bolger as Mallory Grace and Freddie Highmore as both Jared and Simon Grace. Rounding out the cast is David Strathairn as Arthur Spiderwick and Mary Louise Parker as Helen Grace.

There were over 12 books published as part of the series, including supplementary books, so there is a lot of material if Nickelodeon decides to make a franchise out of the film. Now that The Golden Compass' future is a little less sure, maybe Spiderwick can take the place of the "heir to Harry Potter" for children's fantasy films. The Spiderwick Chronicles opens on February 15th, 2008.

Comingsoon.net has made what seems like a perfectly reasonable assumption to me: that the first trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- I'll never like that title -- may debut during the Super Bowl on February 3rd. Paramount has already declared that the trailer will arrive in February, but it was assumed in some quarters that the premiere would be attached to Paramount's biggest February release, The Spiderwick Chronicles. But really, is that a big enough event? The trailer would be a far bigger deal than the movie it's attached to. Putting the Indy 4 trailer up during the Super Bowl makes infinitely more sense to me, and I can't imagine the marketing department at Paramount isn't thinking the same thing. Additionally, CS also reports that the first trailer for Star Trek XI will most likely play before Cloverfield in January. And The Dark Knight is on schedule to debut its new teaser in front of I Am Legend on December 14.

In other Indy 4 news, fans of Ray Winstone may want to see the film if just to say farewell -- the actor appears to be so exhausted by filming that epic and his other recent projects that he's now actively considering retirement. "I've achieved it [career success] and now I'm finished," he's gone on record as saying. "I'm going to let me girls [his kids] get on with it and they can look after me. No more -- seriously. That's it." Winstone's role in Indy 4 is as Mac, a sidekick character that will presumably pick up the slack of not having Denholm Elliott be part of the script. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull -- nope, still don't like it -- is scheduled to hit theaters on Memorial Day.

There's nothing like the professional desire to get your hands on a lean piece of machinery -- especially if you specialize in repairs. Back in the seventies, the sweet set to have, if the above commercial was to be believed -- a Hitachi Luminar. It was gorgeously encased in wood, and sported a wonderfully-small, square, and curved screen. Perfection! There were even a few buttons on the side -- a total boob-toob addict's wet dream!

Unfortunately, they were also sturdy suckers that never broke. Poor Martin Short. All he wanted to do was learn the television repair business. After two years slaving away at the profession, he just never got his hands on a Hitachi. Now that's a hard life struggle. Luckily, he's had his fair share of success since, which is currently topped off with his self-titled show, being the wrench in Santa's side, and now the upcoming The Spiderwick Chronicles as Thimbletack/Bogart.

And because it's the holiday season, here's some festive dancing for you:

The other day I saw The Kingdom, which features a very significant use of a Tootsie Pop. At first I thought, hey that's some good, functional product placement. Then I thought, hey now I want a Tootsie Pop. Then I thought, hey I should give out Tootsie Pops on Halloween. Then I finally thought, hey I should dress up as Jennifer Garner as "Agent Mayes" when I give out Tootsie Pops, for the added movie connection. But later I realized that nobody would get the reference. So, I thought about some other movie-related candy to hand out on Halloween, and I have paired them up with the recognizable movie character(s) they go with. Because what would be more fun when you have to stay home giving out candy than to dress up in a costume appropriate to the treat you're offering?

1. Wonka Bar

As a kid, I thought the Willy Wonka brand of candies existed prior to the release of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and that Warner Bros. had just worked with the brand as extensive product placement. In a way, the product placement thing was still the case, but actually Willy Wonka was the name of the man and company in Roald Dahl's original book. The brand was founded, by Breaker Confections, which changed its name, in sync with the making of the film in order for some cross-marketing genius. Of course, when Tim Burton's remake, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, came out, it could definitely be thought of as product placement for the well-established Willy Wonka brand, now owned by Nestlé. And around the same time as the film's release, a new kind of Wonka Bar premiered in the U.S.

It would be a great idea to dress as either the Gene Wilder version of Wonka, or the Johnny Depp version if you must, and hand out the bars to the kids. Personally, I don't like Nestlé chocolate and would prefer to give out Everlasting Gobstoppers. Plus, that candy is better related to the first movie. But I think kids these days would get the point more with the Bars.

If you like snakes, creepy goblin people and Freddie Highmore, then you'll love the teaser trailer for The Spiderwick Chronicles. The recently-released trailer gives us a sneak peak into Highmore's -- the magical child from Finding Neverland -- role as the title character in this adaptation of the children's lit favorite. Highmore is joining a more or less all-star cast that includes Mary Louise Parker (one of my favorites), Martin Short and Nick Nolte -- I've missed him, haven't you? The film is being directed by Mike Waters who is responsible for Freaky Friday and the brutally funny Mean Girls.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is a series of stories about a young boy who acquires some great responsibility thanks to his possession of an eerie book found in his new home. The boy, Jared (Highmore), his twin brother Simon (also played by Highmore) and sister Mallory -- played by Sarah Bolger -- set out on a series of adventures with the strange beings who reside at the Spiderwick estate. Those beings, Jared, and his brother and sister all get into a series of mishaps that they have to get themselves out of.

Based on this trailer, the film and its creatures will look incredible and have a visual similarity to Highmore's recent film Arthur and The Invisibles. As for Highmore, he's been showing the kind of talent normally displayed by older, trained actors, which is why he's consistently a joy to watch on screen. The prodigy actor and the rest of the talented cast will be seen in February of 2008 when The Spiderwick Chronicles makes its way to theatres.