A good comeback is like a great third act in American lives; it's the triumphant return, the end of the story. James Cagney retired in 1961, then made a triumphant comeback in 1981 with Ragtime. But a good movie never deals with the aftermath of the comeback. Just as often as not, the comeback leads to nothing. Cagney died a few years after the hubbub. Though we all love a good comeback, the following is a list of comebacks that weren't the end of the story, and didn't provide the inspiring coda that they could have.

1. Sylvester Stallone in Cop Land (1997)
Stallone's is one of the most fascinating, dramatic careers in cinema. His fame is so huge that his name and face -- or at least his characters -- are known the world over. He had a fairytale rise to fame with Rocky (1976), complete with tales of writing it in a weekend. He has a lot of charisma, and earned an Oscar nomination for acting. He has directed eight feature films and contributed to the screenplays for nearly twenty. People whisper about how smart and savvy he is behind the scenes.

Oh Ari Fleischer -- the David Cross of Press Secretaries. Wait a minute -- why didn't they get David Cross for this role? He'd be perfect. Anyway, MTV tells us that Rob Corddry (The Daily Show, Semi-Pro ... and a bunch of other random comedies) has signed on to play former Press Secretary Ari Fleischer in Oliver Stone's W. Corddry joins a cast that continues to get larger by the minute, and includes Josh Brolin (George W. Bush), Elizabeth Banks (Laura Bush), James Cromwell (George Bush Sr.), Ellen Burstyn (Barbara Bush), Thandie Newton (Condi Rice), Ioan Gruffudd (Tony Blair) and 50 Cent (as Colin Powell).

Yes, I'm kidding about that last one.

Earlier today, we clued you into a script review of W currently circulating the internets. According to some, the film seems to be taking the Bush is a moronic alcoholic fratboy route, which, if you watch, well, The Daily Show, is kinda old news. As Eugene put it, "Most people -- whether or not they accept it -- have already absorbed the meme that Bush is an arrogant, reckless, hard-drinking buffoon, and I'm not sure that this perception merits its own movie." I completely agree -- and I'd much rather have watched Stone return to Vietnam with Pinkville than sit down for a feature-length version of a joke that's way past its prime.

So far, there are only a few actors officially attached to Oliver Stone's W., the epic biopic about our current commander-in-chief. Josh Brolin was cast as President George W. Bush back in January, then recently Elizabeth Banks was chosen as his wife, First Lady Laura Bush, and last week James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn were locked into the roles of former President George H.W. Bush and former first lady Barbara Bush, respectively. Unofficial casting bites, though, include a lot of other big name actors. Jeffrey Wright is reportedly in negotiations to play Colin Powell, Tommy Lee Jones is supposedly being sought for Donald Rumsfeld, Robert Duvall has been rumored to be the choice for Vice President Dick Cheney and now both Paul Giamatti and Toby Jones are being named as potentials for the part of Karl Rove (who Giamatti may have already channeled for his character in Shoot 'Em Up).

Right on the heels of the announcement that Elizabeth Banks would play the First Lady in Oliver Stone's ever-so-timely biopic of President George W. Bush (which is surely, as Erik Davis put it in the above-linked post, "one of the strangest projects in recent years"), Variety reports that James Cromwell and Ellen Burstyn have been cast as George H.W. and Barbara. Josh Brolin is already set to play Dubya himself. The film is called simply W.

Cromwell is an expert at playing United States Presidents. He's portrayed fictional heads of state in The Sum of All Fears and an episode of The West Wing, as well as the extremely non-fictional Lyndon B. Johnson in the 2002 made-for-TV movie RFK. He's also played Senators, high-ranking military officials, and WIlliam Randolph Hearst. If anything, I'm worried that he might be too presidential for the role of the folksy George H.W. As for Burstyn, well -- if she can convincingly paint her face blue and run shrieking through the forest trying to kill Nicolas Cage in a bear suit, Barbara Bush should be a cinch.

Stone hopes to have the film ready before Bush leaves office next January, which is a pretty impressive turnaround as presidential biopics go. And while I usually have some sort of conception of what to expect from an upcoming release, I cannot even begin to imagine what W will be like. Can we expect more hysterical conspiracy-mongering à la JFK? The unexpectedly toned-down empathy of Nixon? The excruciating boredom of Alexander? The mind reels.

The strike is over, the Oscars are going on as planned, and there will be inevitable cries of fury and outrage towards at least some of the winners. The Academy always shocks and disappoints us with at least a few of the picks, and no matter how much I prepare myself to be bummed, I still wind up surprised. Honestly, I usually just watch it masochistically to get my fill of obituary sadness.

There have been 79 Oscar ceremonies, and that's a lot of disappointment and upset. So really, you can just zoom into any year and pick a few really worthy losers that should have scored themselves those coveted trophies. Me, I'm picking a few recent ones. One win was sad, and the other was completely infuriating, but both stick with me because of performances given, the actors who gave them, and the wonder of the films themselves. Instead of adding more glory to the winners, we should give the losers the appreciation they deserve. This week -- Richard Farnsworth in The Straight Story and Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream.

Check both out after the jump ...

Imagine graduating from high school, making a few short films and music videos in Omaha, Nebraska, and then deciding to write a feature. So far, it seems completely plausible. Now, imagine that you write one with Oscar winner Martin Landau in mind for the lead. Still, it can happen, although it's a pretty optimistic endeavor. Top that off by imagining that he actually agrees to do it, and then you score one hell of a cast to go along with him. It sounds like a fanboy fantasy, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, it's come true for one luck Nebraskan filmmaker.

Nik Fackler wrote up Lovely Still, a "holiday fable," about this old man who works as a bagger in a grocery store when he finally finds his first love. He scored himself a meeting with Landau, spent hours convincing him that he was worth it, and things went on from there. Landau got Ellen Burstyn involved, who will play his paramour, and then Elizabeth Banks (the future porno-making Miri) signed on to play her daughter, and Adam Scott (the jerky husband on Tell Me You Love Me) signed on to play the store owner. Fackler is even getting a score from Nathaniel Walcott and Michael Riley Mogis of Bright Eyes. Talk about a killer first-feature gig. Producer Lars Knudsen says: "It's a testament to his talent, that at such a young age he has wooed actors like Martin and Ellen; he's one of those naturals who never went to film school." Knudsen also wonders if Nik will follow in fellow Omaha native Alexander Payne's footsteps. They're currently filming over there in Nebraska.

I'm completely sold. How about you?

First there is Carla Gugino. My appreciation for her comes mainly for her work with Robert Rodriguez -- Sin City and the Spy Kids series, as I'm actually one of those people who was entertained by the latter. Then again, she was also in the super-awesome Troop Beverly Hills, so how could you knock her? Then, there is Ellen Burstyn. She's a flipping acting powerhouse and Oscar winner for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, although she should be a dual winner for Requiem for a Dream. (Robbery!!!) Finally, there's the overly-pensive vamp and spazzy dancer-turned-Bones loving Special Agent David Boreanaz. Wow. This movie could be about drying paint, and I'd still go see it out of curiosity.

Luckily, it's a bit more interesting than that. The trio are starring in the indie sports drama, Our Lady of Victory. Written by the film's director, Tim Chambers, the movie is about the Immaculata College women's basketball team which flew up the rankings to win the National Women's Collegiate Championship in 1972. They were called the Immaculata Mighty Macs, and they won the first three national titles for women's basketball. Just to give some perspective -- this came just on the advent of letting the women play full-court with more than three dribbles. But that's not all -- at the time, a number of teams still played in skirts, which I imagine was all sorts of convenient for between-the-leg dribbling. Gugino is playing the coach and Boreanaz is playing her husband. There's no word on Burstyns role, but I bet it's safe to say that she will not be one of the players. (Although that would be an interesting twist if she was!) Production has just started, and there is no word yet on release dates or player casting.

Whether she's losing roles because she's too busy, because she's done with independents or because she's unreliable, Lindsay Lohan is so known for dropping out of projects that some of us have coined the action as "pulling a La Lohan." It isn't a surprise now to learn that she's being replaced in another film, The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond. You may remember the plot of the Tennessee Williams-penned film, which we told you about in November, as centering on a Southern socialite in 1920s Memphis. Lohan had been cast as that socialite, but now the role is being offered to Bryce Dallas Howard.

As far as reliability goes, Howard may be the better choice, but as for acting talent, I'd honestly rather have Lohan. Howard has so far done awful things for the films she's starred in, and she nearly damaged my faith in one of my favorite filmmakers, Lars von Trier. I'm hoping that Sam Raimi actually gets smart and cuts most of her performance from Spider-Man 3 -- she was almost completely absent from the trailer -- although it might help him to keep her just to make Kirsten Dunst look better. I think for Williams' fans, spoiled with the memories of great actors starring in film versions of A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and The Glass Menagerie, among others, as well as in his previously filmed screenplays like my personal favorite, Baby Doll, Howard will be a horrible addition to Teardrop Diamond's cast.

Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain has been a conundrum for me since I first saw it at the Toronto International Film Festival: How to write about a film which so clearly has its heart in the right place, which the director created with such passion, and which works so well on certain levels, when its flaws keep it from being as great a film as it could have been? I wanted to love this film on every level -- wanted to love it so much, in fact, that I saw it a second time at a Seattle screening, just to give it another chance. And perhaps it's partly a problem of expectation: If I'd gone into the film expecting not to like it, then maybe it would have blown me away.

I love when celebrities speak their minds, because 1) it is interesting to hear what they have to say, and 2) their minds are often filled with controversial statements. Actors especially are given crap for giving their opinions, but really how is it different for them to advertise a cause or point of view than to sell fashion or goods? Is it different because they aren't getting paid for their thoughts? Is it okay for them to support charities and causes through events but not through interviews? And shouldn't Susan Sarandon, who is well known for being one of the more outspoken celebrities in the world today, find another way to attempt communication with more conservative-minded people than by way of her own voice? Here are the latest in celebrity causes and criticisms:

• According to the Daily News, Sarandon is one of a few celebrities trying to get The Ground Truth seen by members of the U.S. Armed Forces, and subsequently one of a few now slamming the military for lack of interest. On Veteran's Day, the actress joined Cher, Paul Haggis, Olivia Wilde and others for a special AOL event, during which they spoke with war veterans and promoted the documentary. Now, apparently Cher has made 5,000 copies of the film's DVD for American soldiers to view, but Army, Navy and Marine Corps bases are not showing any thanks. An Army spokeswoman responded via the newspaper, saying that the film is an activist piece, not a documentary, and says that it, "has a definite point of view," adding that the military isn't encouraging soldiers to boycott the film, but it isn't interested in promoting it to them (what does she find more suitable for the troops? Sahara). While it is obvious that The Ground Truth has a bit of a slant -- it would be impossible for it not to -- I found it mostly unbiased, actually. You can read my review of the film here.
  

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond is a forgotten screenplay* penned by Tennessee Williams. In fact, if you search Wikipedia, it doesn't even come up. It is part of a collection that was found after the playwright's death, and was subsequently published in 1984. It is now coming to the silver screen -- with a headline actress guaranteed to grab people's attention.

Continuing her attraction to almost larger-than-life casts, Lindsay Lohan will star in the feature, which also includes Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, David Strathairn and Ann-Margret. The script tells the story of Fisher Willow (Lohan), a 1920's debutante from Memphis with an allergy to narrow-mindedness and a habit for throwing shocks and insults. She falls for Jimmy (Evans), the poor son of an alcoholic man (Strathairn) who works for her family. Obviously, the class divide causes a strain which is further amplified when Fisher loses a diamond.

The casting seems fitting on all accounts. Lohan has made an image for herself as a shocking socialite, and she is familiar with the pressures of losing high-price jewellery, a mistake that is becoming a trend. Burstyn as the southern matriarch is a no-brainer, as is Ann-Margret as Fisher's spinster aunt. And Strathairn, well, he embodies great, gritty acting.

I see this film going one of two ways. There could be a reason no one knows about the play ... and if it's bad, it could swallow the talents of the cast. Or, it could take the Titus route. Although Titus Andronicus was a surprising choice from Shakespeare's vast collection (although one of my personal favorites), it came together in an intriguing, artsy horror fest.

[via The Hollywood Reporter]

*Thank you, Derek for pointing out that this wasn't a theatrical play, but a screenplay. MB

Screenwriter Robin Swicord loves to adapt books for the screen, and she has shown some great diversity in her choosing of source material (Little Women; Matilda; Practical Magic; Memoirs of a Geisha). Now, according to Production Weekly, she is working on bringing Jane Austen to the big screen. No, not the author, who has been adapted enough already, but the book, The Jane Austen Book Club. Written by Karen Joy Fowler, the novel follows the lives of six members of the title group and the relationships and affairs between them. The film version, which begins shooting in November, is set to star Maria Bello, Jimmy Smits, Emily Blunt, Josh Lucas and Ellen Burstyn. What this means for the status of Swicord's feature directorial debut, The Mermaids Singing, which is also an adaptation, is unknown -- it does have a poster, though, so that's good, I guess?

I haven't read the best selling novel, but I do know that it deals with characters discussing literature, which doesn't sound very cinematic to me. Certainly a book that celebrates reading is an ironically inappropriate source for a film. Even if they changed the name to The Jane Austen Film Club, it wouldn't change the fact, either.

What sounded like one of the year's most ill-fitting and head-scratching projects -- Neil LaBute and Nicolas Cage (of all combos) getting together to remake Robin Hardy's 1973 chiller The Wicker Man (a true cult classic if ever there was one) -- ends up being a half-compelling, half-goofy and half-redundant piece of remake revisionism. (Yes, that's three halves, but it's that weird a movie.) That's not to say you won't find a few really strong components in LaBute's (ultimately pointless) revisit ... but it'll take a straight face and a eagle's eye to find the good stuff. And even then, the only people who should bother with the remake are the ones who simply can't be hassled renting the original because it's old and British.

Cage stars as state cop Ed Malus, a hard-working and noble sort of everyman hero, whose story begins with a mysterious, deadly roadside explosion and the malaise that comes only when a cop loses two civilians ... and the bodies are never found. After stewing around in his misery juices for a few days, Ed receives a letter from an old lover: She needs him to make the trek out to a private and very isolated island off the coast of Washington because her daughter's gone missing and there's nobody on the island who can help.

After bribing a local pilot and mildly butting a few heads upon his arrival, Edward settles in with the meat of the mystery. But the off-kilter community of Summersisle, which is composed almost exclusively of unfriendly females, indentured males and billions of bees, does not take too kindly to Eddie's arrival. (It probably doesn't help that he has the word "male" as part of his last name.) Indeed, most of The Wicker Man consists of Cage flaccidly interrogating a series of very sneaky women before the mystery is laid bare with a finale that (thankfully) hasn't been monkeyed with too much.