One big-budget box office disappointment does not usually signal the end of a movie star's reign. The woeful under performance of Land of the Lost has observers looking for someone to blame, however, and Will Ferrell is under suspicion. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, columnist Patrick Goldstein suggests: "He's in danger of becoming the comedy equivalent of George Clooney, someone who enjoys a great deal of goodwill but who isn't actually a real movie star."

Goldstein doesn't provide his definition of a "real movie star," but in the context of his column, it clearly is all about the ability to open a big tent pole production to big box office numbers. Goldstein claims: "The verdict in Hollywood: Ferrell hasn't done a good job of managing his brand. [Adam] Sandler is the master of dumb hijinks. Eddie Murphy has become a cuddly family star. But who is Will Ferrell? No one knows anymore."

The theory is that Ferrell made his bones playing "the stupid guy" in a string of raunchy comedies (Old School, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby) but hasn't been accepted when it's branched out (Melinda and Melinda, Bewitched, Stranger Than Fiction). Ferrell evidently plays another "stupid guy" in Land of the Lost, but it wasn't sufficiently outrageous for the teen/20s crowd, who flocked to The Hangover, and was too potentially scary for families, who returned to Up.

Why did you skip Land of the Lost? Confused by the marketing? Burned out on Will Ferrell? Do you want to see him return to raunchy, R-rated comedies -- like The Hangover? Are Ferrell and George Clooney "real" movie stars?

It's that time again -- time for you to scrape together an absurd amount of money to go see a summer movie in theaters this weekend, and then report back on its quality by telling us what you thought on a scale of 1-10. We've been doing this all summer long, and so far it looks like Pixar's Up might have stolen a little thunder from Star Trek, as last I checked it was rockin' a perfect 10. But keep in mind it also depends on how many people vote, so Trek definitely still has a shot, as does this weekend's big special effects-laden summer blockbuster: Land of the Lost, starring Will Ferrell as a down-on-his-luck scientist who embarks on what looks like the trippiest alternate dimension vacation ever.

From Todd Gilchrist's review: "If Hunter S. Thompson were to write a story about his trip to a parallel, prehistoric dimension, then Land of the Lost might be the most accurate representation possible of its subsequent film adaptation. Directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, this update on the Sid and Marty Krofft television series from the 1970s is the strangest, filthiest summer movie I think I've ever seen – and it opens against one that features Mike Tyson, a tiger and Zach Galifianakis. But just as strangely, it's also damn entertaining, although it's hard to know whether you should or definitely shouldn't be indoctrinated beforehand to its weirdness."

You know what to do next -- feel free to vote in our poll and share your comments on the film below.

Because of the commercial pressures Hollywood places on filmmakers these days, many directors adopt a sort of "one for them, one for me" career strategy that allows them to exercise their creativity while maintaining a degree of viability at the box office. Brad Silberling, despite an array of films that really do run the gamut from intimate character studies to effects-laden opuses, seems to have effectively synthesized the two more and more effectively with each subsequent effort. Starting with straightforward studio fare like Casper, he quickly graduated to meatier projects, including the semi-autobiographical Moonlight Mile, before tackling an adaptation of the first book in Daniel Handler's Lemony Snicket series.

But he seems to have truly captured both his own creative idiosyncrasies and the demands of a summer blockbuster with Land of the Lost, a sprawling, bizarre big-screen reimagining of the Sid and Marty Krofft TV series from the 1970s. The film stars Will Ferrell as a disgraced scientist trying to rebuild his reputation while dodging aliens, dinosaurs, and oversized crabs, and Silberling brilliantly brings the film's fantastic world to life. Cinematical recently spoke to the director via telephone from the film's Los Angeles press day, where he discussed the prospect of making a madcap, foul-mouthed summer movie, explained how (and why) he managed to include an extended homage to "A Chorus Line," and talked about the summer movie that inspired him to become a filmmaker.

If Hunter S. Thompson were to write a story about his trip to a parallel, prehistoric dimension, then Land of the Lost might be the most accurate representation possible of its subsequent film adaptation. Directed by Brad Silberling and starring Will Ferrell, this update on the Sid and Marty Krofft television series from the 1970s is the strangest, filthiest summer movie I think I've ever seen – and it opens against one that features Mike Tyson, a tiger and Zach Galifianakis. But just as strangely, it's also damn entertaining, although it's hard to know whether you should or definitely shouldn't be indoctrinated beforehand to its weirdness. Regardless, Land of the Lost offers a sobering alternative to the pre-packaged and otherwise conventional blockbuster fare offered by studios this summer, even if its charms would ultimately benefit from (if not require) chemical enhancement of some kind to be properly enjoyed.

Great Odin's beard! It looks like a sequel to Adam McKay and Will Ferrell's comic classic Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy has gotten a little closer to reality. During a press event for Land of the Lost in Australia on Monday, Ferrell told the Aussie radio DJs Jono & Dano that, "he expected to meet with Paul Rudd and Steve Carell "next week" to discuss ideas...and salaries: "[Because] believe me, I'm not taking a pay-cut. No way!" -- It's a long segment, but if you have the time, Ferrell drops the 'Burgundy bomb' around the 8:20 mark.

McKay and Ferrell have been hinting at a sequel as far back as last summer, and they told Entertainment Weekly that they were already developing a script that would fast-forward Ron Burgundy to the 80's. Now, normally the word sequel is a cause for concern when it comes to a favorite flick, but I have to admit; it's an idea that has tons of possibilities. I mean, who wouldn't love to see the Ron in the world of cable news pundits? I wonder if Burgundy would be a Fox News or a MSNBC kind of guy? Nobody can play a lovable blow-hard like Farrell, and as long as the whole thing doesn't become overrun with bad '80s jokes about Rubik's Cubes and Thriller jackets, we should be good, right?

I may have suggested once that Hansel and Gretel head for the big screen, but I never imagined it would be as witch hunters. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Norwegian writer/director Tommy Wirkola is cooking up Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters, for Will Ferrell and Adam McKay's Sanchez Prods. to produce. Set 15 years after the incident at the tasty house, Hansel and Gretel are now "specialized bounty hunters looking to put down the cackling black-hat set."

McKay says: "It's a hybrid sort of old-timey feeling, yet there's pump-action shotguns. Modern technology but in an old style. We heard it and we were just like, 'That's a freakin' franchise! You could make three of those!' " Hansel and Gretel, the franchise. That'd be the day! Hold onto your hats though -- Wirkola is still working on the outline, so we've got a long wait ahead.

Meanwhile, it's time for dueling Paradise Lost features. Two years ago, a feature was in the works that would focus on the war of Milton's epic poem, while leaving in enough religion to appeal to faith audiences. Now THR not only states that the project is still in the works for Warner Bros., but that an indie version is now gearing up. Veteran producer Martin Poll is moving ahead with the feature that he started pitching back in the '60s. Talk about determination!

He wrote a script with the late John Collier, kept renewing the option, and now STV Networks is biting. David Dunham and Patricia Li Bryan are set to play Adam and Eve, and they're currently looking for a star to play Satan, and a director to helm the thing. I know I just wowed over him playing a god in Clash of the Titans, but Danny Huston would make one charismatic devil. Who would you cast?

Forbes has released its Most Valuable Comedians list, and through some intricate calculations I stopped studying after high school, came up with Adam Sandler as Hollywood's most powerful laugh riot, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes.

Sandler is gaining traction not only because of his starring roles in such critic-proof movies as You Don't Mess with the Zohan and I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry, but because he can also occasionally show off some real acting chops as in 2007's Reign Over Me and Punch-Drunk Love. The number of movies he's producing and has in development under Happy Madison Productions are growing in number. And despite its premise, this summer's Funny People, which stars Sandler as a comedian dying of cancer who mentors a younger comedian, has quite a number of big names attached. Judd Apatow wrote, directed, and produced the film; Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill costar. Oscar-winning cinematographer Janusz Kaminski is behind the lens. So even though at first glance, I thought, "Adam Sandler, WTF?" it's clear that even though Sandler doesn't tickle my funny bone, he does have all the criteria for Forbes's list firmly in place.

Will Ferrell, who's #2, is getting more and more into production along with writing and acting, and launching FunnyorDie.com with director and writer Adam McKay was a watershed moment for viral video. HBO's investment in the website led to a deal with Ferrell and his FoD cohorts for a TV show - 10 episodes to be exact - which turned out to be the hit Eastbound and Down.

When a spec script is described as "a grown-up version of The Goonies" you'll either perk up immediately ... or groan because you really hated The Goonies. (You know who you are.)

Kent Alterman is hoping you're one of those who would still go hunting for buried treasure, because according to The Hollywood Reporter, he's just signed on to direct Treehouse Gang for Warner Bros. The grown-up adventure story was written by Role Models' Timothy Dowling, and centers on a group of six childhood friends who, in the spirit of their gold seeking youth, come back together for a treasure hunt. Naturally, they'll dig up a good dose of childhood nostalgia and old grudges along the road to recovering any buried treasure.

Alterman made his directorial debut with Semi-Pro, making a rare jump from a job as an executive producer overseeing big hits at New Line to becoming a full time director. The shift in focus was apparently partially the responsibility of Will Ferrell and a little film Alterman produced called Elf. The two struck up a friendship which resulted in Semi-Pro ... and I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Ferrell showed up somewhere in Gang.

We'll have to see where this goes, but a grown-up version of The Goonies sounds pretty damn appealing to me. Let's just hope that it doesn't stir up plans for an actual grown-up Goonies sequel, as my childhood memories can't take any more abuse.