I'd say it was about time that Woody Allen hired some eye candy that wasn't of the female persuasion. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Henry Cavill (The Tudors) has signed to star in the director's upcoming romantic comedy. The as-yet-to-be-titled film also stars Evan Rachel Wood, Larry David, and Allen. There are very few details about the story, but according to early rumors, Rachel Wood is playing Larry David's love interest. Apparently, Allen originally wrote the starring role for himself, but now feels too old to take it on. Thus, he'll appear in a supporting role.

Cavill is probably best known to most as Charles Brandon, the Duke of Suffolk, but he has also earned the reputation as being one of the unluckiest guys in Hollywood. Cavill was in the final stages of auditions for Batman, Superman and James Bond. Of course, we all know he didn't get those parts, but he did score the lead in Joel Schumacher's upcoming sci-fi thriller, Town Creek. Maybe now that the offers are starting to come in, Cavill can get a reputation for being something other than an 'almost was.' Allen's film is currently in production in his old stomping grounds (aka New York City) and is set for release in 2009.

Moviegoers are about to be up to their (succulent) necks in vampire movies. Currently in theaters is non-mainstream vampire fare like the Russian film Day Watch, the very limited release Rise: Blood Hunter and the short film "Quartier de la Madeleine", which is Vincenzo Natali's lame contribution to the otherwise enjoyable compilation Paris Je T'Aime. But on their way to multiplexes near you are the big-deal vampire pics Castlevania, I Am Legend, 30 Days of Night, Daybreakers, Cirque du Freak, Dracula Year Zero, The Un Dead, Hotel Transylvania, Bloodrayne II: Deliverance, Already Dead, Town Creek and Blood: The Last Vampire. And straight to your rental queue is Lost Boys 2: The Tribe. This isn't even counting a lot of the vampire indies being made right now.

Officially added to the pile now is Sony's adaptation of Elizabeth Kostova's novel The Historian. The movie was announced two years ago when the studio paid seven figures for the rights to the book, which hadn't yet hit stores. Finally, long after watching the novel become a bestseller (it was ranked #28 for 2005 by Nielsen BookScan), the studio is finally moving forward with the movie. Sony has hired former child actor (Starship Troopers) and singer ('Aladdin' in Aladdin) Brad Kane to write the script. According to producer Douglas Wick (Hollow Man), who is overseeing the project with his Red Wagon partner Lucy Fisher, it has taken two years to find just the right person to capture the novel's sexiness and its credibility. Kane has been rising as a screenwriter recently, having scripted an upcoming film titled These City Walls and having done rewrites on the Richard Pryor biopic, Live. The plot of The Historian deals with a young woman searching for her father who is in turn searching for the grave of Vlad the Impaler (the inspiration for Dracula).

Director Joel Schumacher recently spoke with a Canadian news service about the next movie he's filming, the Nazi-horror film Town Creek. First of all, "there is blood in it, but it's not really a vampire movie," he says. Schumacher also said the first part of the film will be set in 1936, at the height of Hitler's power, and the second half will be set during the present day, the theme being 'ghosts of the past rising up to confront today's world.' "It's about Hitler and Himmler and Goebbels' association with the occult -- this is what they based the Master Race on." He continues "the one thing about the Nazis is that they so loved themselves that they documented everything, and there are these great documentaries on Hitler's obsession with the occult. So it's a 'horror' movie based on that by a very intelligent young writer."

The writer in question is Dave Kajganich, whose sole prior credit is writing the Nicole Kidman thriller The Invasion. The film will hopefully have some impressive visuals -- the effects are being handled by Ian Wingrove, who has worked on everything from Alien vs. Predator to Mission: Impossible to The Avengers, so it doesn't sound like this is a Merchant Ivory drama. No solid plot points were discussed in the interview, nor were any further casting announcements made -- the current roster includes Dominic Purcell, Jesse Metcalfe and Joy McBrinn. Schumacher fans might also be interested in the rest of the article, which delves into Car Wash, St. Elmo's Fire and Schumacher's unlikely mentorship from Woody Allen.

Dave Kajganich has had a lot of lucky breaks. Originally a teacher from Ohio, he decided to hone his skills by writing a screenplay. From there, it was one swift jump to Tinsel Town. First, he sold his Town Creek spec to Warner Bros. Then, he penned Nicole Kidman's upcoming film, The Visiting. Christopher Campbell reported that the Wachowski brothers were brought in to re-write its ending, but Kajganich is still going strong. He signed on for a Pet Sematary remake and is working with Sam Raimi on Monkey's Paw. Top all those goodies off with a spot on Variety's "10 Screenwriters to Watch", and the man is flying high.

Now, his favourite script and first sale, Town Creek, is preparing to be filmed next Spring. In September, Erik Davis reported that Joel Schumacher signed on to direct the film. Now the main roles have been cast. Dominic Purcell of Prison Break and Jesse Metcalfe from Desperate Housewives will star as the revenge-filled brothers who find themselves part of an occult experiment. I assume that "occult experiment" is another word for "vampire Nazis," or Kajganich did some script re-jigging.

While I'm interested to see Schumacher's first vampiric film since the eternally entertaining The Lost Boys, I'm also apprehensive. Can he make a film without the leads needing to be nipply? Better yet, will it be able to stand out in the influx of German-themed movies lately? And, is it about vampire Nazis or not?!