One of the more interesting-looking films in the SXSW lineup is Second Skin, directed by Juan Carlos Piñeiro Escoriaza. The film is a documentary about people who are utterly obsessed with the virtual worlds of Massively Multiplayer Online games (MMOs). The film follows several folks who spend all or most of their spare time (and perhaps even their time that's not really spare) immersed in virtual worlds in places like World of Warcraft, Everquest, Second Life and other MMOs. Firstshowing.net has the trailer up, and from watching it, it seems the filmmakers handle the subject matter without looking down on or making fun of these folks for whom virtual life is as important as real life.

It looks also like they examine both the dark and light sides of gaming. There's Kevin and Heather, who met online as a knight and a cleric slaying dragons on Norrath in Everquest, fell in love and then met in real life; then there's a guy on the trailer who talks about playing obsessively for 14-16 hours a day, to the point that his addiction to gaming was ruining his life and he became suicidal. I wonder if they'll delve at all into people using Second Life as a virtual space for sexual encounters and affairs (which personally, I find beyond creepy, but whatever gets you off, I guess). I'll be the first to admit that I don't get the whole appeal of virtual worlds and virtual identities; I can grok the concept that people get really into their video games, but the idea of not having much of a life outside of a virtual reality game puzzles the hell out of me.

It was a little over a year ago that a feature film version of the highly successful MMORPG, World of Warcraft was announced. Now, Kotaku is reporting from the Blizzcon 07 that Paul Sams and Chris Metzen from Blizzard Entertainment along with the chief creative officer from Legendary Pictures hosted a panel event to field questions from fans and provide some updates about the film. While details were scarce, there were a few pieces of information for the die-hard fans attending the event.

The fantasy game has been around since 1994, and today counts nine million players worldwide, so you can imagine the pressure is on to please fans; nobody wants to be the guy who screws up one of the most popular game franchises in history. No mention was made of a director, but they did confirm that the film was going to be live action but they had yet to decide just how much CGI was going to be involved. Considering the success Legendary had with 300, you couldn't blame them for wanting to give the green screen another go.

Kotaku also reports Metzen confirmed that "Warcraft is still in the scripting process, but that they have something that they're happy with. Further details were kept under wraps but Metzen told the crowd it would take place about a year before the events of World of Warcraft. Metzen was also quoted as saying that the script will be "principally told from the Alliance perspective." Legendary is still aiming for a 2009 release date, so stay tuned for any updates as they come our way.

I posted earlier today on Joystiq that a new TV commercial for the role-playing game World of Warcraft hit the airwaves on Monday, which of course means it hit YouTube about .0815 seconds later. I'm waiting for the day that things come out on YouTube before they reach TV or the big screen. YouTube will become self-aware and telepathic and rule the world one day. You think Terminator was just a movie? SkyNet is YouTube, silly rabbit.

Oh, look ... we've veered back on-topic. This commercial features footage from Office Space with everyone's favorite cubicle-slacker Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) playing WoW while Bill Lundbergh (Gary Cole) tries to talk to him about TPS reports. Originally in the scene, Peter was playing Tetris, but they've stuck this footage in pretty seamlessly. Look how they've even littered his desk with the Warcraft box and game discs.

The ad works here because Office Space isn't generally considered a "classic", but how long until companies really screw up something that Cinemaniacs will cry sacrilege over? Come to think of it, it's already happened several times. We've had Gene Kelly selling Volkswagens, Steve McQueen pushing Mustangs, and Elton John plugging Diet Coke with Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney, and Louis Armstrong. The recent Gap commercial starring Audrey Hepburn was funky and fun, but I found myself wondering what she'd think about it. It's hard to imagine that she would be thrilled. Will Apple use Citizen Kane to sell iPods? Matthew Broderick hawking new computers in WarGames? Okay, that last one probably wouldn't really bother me, but when does it end? At what point is too much just too much?


Check out these ads after the jump and let us know what you think.

Following back-to-back films in 2005, director Steven Spielberg is taking some time off, or so he says. However, the past few weeks have been filled with rumors surrounding which project the man will take on next. Even with its instability, Indiana Jones 4 is all but a lock to begin filming sometime in 2007, with a projected release date of summer 2008. Okay, so is it safe to say Indy 4 will be his next pic? Can Steven Spielberg really go almost three years without a film in theaters?

If not, then perhaps one of several Spielberg-linked projects currently in development will slide in between now and Harrison Ford riding off into the sunset ... again. Well, that's if you don't count his reality television show, On the Lot. Honestly, Spielberg is just as involved with that project as I am involved with Ryan Seacrest's personal life. And if you've read this blog long enough, then you know exactly how involved that is.

So, if Spielberg does decide to squeeze a film out of his, er, brain sometime in 2007, which one will it be? Seeing as Indy 4 will travel the summer blockbuster route, could Stevie go with a smaller, character driven piece ala Munich? Ooohh, or will he go totally indie on us and spit out some tiny, $3 million festival pic? In case you've missed all of the current possibilities, let me recap:

• First up, we have the untitled Abraham Lincoln biopic that's been on hold for quite sometime now. Pic, which was supposed to star Liam Neeson, might be a nice, quiet film with Oscar potential.
• Next we have this untitled Kip Thorne-inspired sci-fi film in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey. This seems as if it is a bit too ambitious to take on before Indy 4. And, not for nothing, but Spielberg's last two sci-fi films weren't all that spectacular.
• And, last but not least, according to an article in The Hollywood Reporter, there's another film peaking Spielberg's interest. This one is based off a script by Rod Lurie and revolves around the "glitzy New York media world." I have no idea what this is about, but I do enjoy the word 'glitzy' and feel people should use it more often.

So, I ask you: Which project should Steven Spielberg direct next? Indie or blockbuster? Should he focus all his energy on Indy 4 or attempt to squeeze out one of the above mentioned films beforehand?

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Just the other day, I told you about make-up man Stan Winston's new project titled The Deaths of Ian, in which a guy gets murdered, only to wake up and find himself dying a different way each day. Well, now apply that idea to Valentine's Day, add a woman to the mix and cut out all the death. Dreamworks has just picked up a romantic comedy pitch from Don Handfield which centers around a couple who must keep re-living Valentine's Day until they "get it right." Handfield, who also goes by the nickname "Groundhog Day rip-off man" sold the pitch for low to mid-six figures.

• Just when you thought he was taking a year off and settling down with a more independent main course, Steven Spielberg is reportedly taking on directing duties for the film World of Warcraft, based off the popular video game. (Now, before you cut my throat over the use of the words 'video game', I'll just do what Mark did and call it a MMORPG. There. Happy now? Can you tell I have no idea what I'm talking about when it comes to this stuff?) Spielberg adapting a video game? Something doesn't feel right about this. If true, this would mark his fourth planned project, following Indiana Jones 4, some Abraham Lincoln thing and some Kip Thorne-inspired sci-fi thing. (Note: JoBlo says their source here is Variety, though I couldn't find the story anywhere. Hmm, perhaps they're still riding high off that Wonder Woman joke. C'mon boys -- own up.)

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Jonathon at JoBlo very nicely let us know that this whole Spielberg-directing Warcraft thing was a hoax. Thanks for letting us know, Jonathon!)

• After the good folks at Netflix turned down an idea in which they literally had representatives come to your house, decide which movie you should watch, go out and get said movie, put it in your DVD player, push play and control the remote for you, they've instead decide they want to release a set-top box that does the exact same thing. The whole idea is for you to be able to download movies overnight without ever having to do anything except push a button, and the service could launch as soon as later this year. Next up from Netflix: Toilet in a couch. Look it for it sometime in 2008 -- I guarantee it.

With the enormous built in audience I suppose it was only a matter of time ... but do we REALLY need a movie based on the MMORPG World of Warcraft? Warner Brothers, through their Legendary Pictures arm will team up with Blizzard to produce this monstrosity based on the online fantasy world populated by six or so million users. No plot has been announced yet, as far as I can discover. WoW will become the latest in a rush of films trying to break through the negative stigma attached to film projects based on video games -- and it's nearly unrivaled video game audience may go a long way towards helping that goal.

The movie will undoubtedly focus around a grand fantasy adventure (I'm sorry, "quest") of some sort. Heaven only knows the universe is deep enough and rich enough to support any number of interesting/exciting fantasy stories; if a first film is successful the universe could certainly support plenty of sequels. However, I can't help but envision a movie full of cliched fantasy archetypal characters with names like Zathanditir and F'kkh'lyln repeatedly shouting poorly phrased insults at each other or getting "married" to people they've never actually met. Sometimes both simultaneously. If our lead characters ever manage to stop fighting with each other (the official movie announcement refers to this as "forming deep social relationships") they will then go out and kill a bunch of monsters so they can brag about how awesome they are now and tell their friends about the sweet new ring/hat/sword they just obtained.

It's probably a good thing I'm not in charge of making this movie, isn't it?

Disclaimer: Many of my good friends play MMORPGs, and I know they're quite enjoyable games. I do the occasional RPG myself, although I don't get into MMORPGs. I make fun of you because I love you. Really.