I may have initially hated Miami Vice, but it might be time to take another look. Especially because it's taking Michael Mann a long time to make a follow-up (though it's normal for him to take a few years between films). Lately he's been concentrating on producing, overseeing such pics as The Kingdom, which is currently in theaters, and the upcoming Hancock, which stars Will Smith. According to Variety, though, Mann has found a project that he's interested in directing next year, and it's to be another vehicle for Smith, who Mann previously directed to an Oscar nom in Ali. The drama, titled Empire, will also reunite Mann with screenwriter John Logan, with whom he worked, as a producer, on The Aviator. The plot involves a "contemporary global media mogul."

Other than that job title for (I'm assuming) Smith's character, little is known. But with such a great team involved, I don't think we need to worry. They're all very talented and respected (even if Logan did write the recent version of The Time Machine), Columbia apparently dished out at least a million bucks for the must-be-amazing pitch and I trust that Mann will not disappoint me again in the future. Something about this project -- perhaps the hint of corporate and media dealings -- makes me think it will be most in line with Mann's The Insider, which I think is his best film, even though it doesn't have a lot of action nor does it have Pacino and DeNiro face to face. Empire also won't feature classic Hollywood icons, like the film noir Mann and Logan were recently said to be making, but with that in mind, I think I'm anticipating this new project on less-kitschy grounds. Meanwhile, I'm also hoping that Smith make this a priority over Seven Pounds, his presumed next film (following Hancock) that returns him to the care of Pursuit of Happyness director Gabriele Muccino. I guess it all could come down to which film Smith thinks offers him a better chance at another Oscar nom for 2009.

The guy who wrote Jesus' Son and Face, Oren Moverman, has fallen off the radar over the last 5 years, only to explode with a slew of new writing projects, including two biopics -- Todd Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There and Interrupted, about Rebel Without a Cause director Nicholas Ray. He's just added one more to the pile to change things up, an adaptation of Orson Scott Card's recent novel -- Empire. The film will be a Joel Silver production under Warner Bros., the second Card adaptation for the company in recent months, as they're also bringing Ender's Game to the big screen.

The story is set in the near future, when the United States has gone into chaos after the assassination of the president and vice president. The former is killed by a rocket launcher that fires into the south wall of the West Wing, and more creatively, the VP dies when a dump truck, of all things, backs up into his limo. The country is flung "into civil war and a team of special forces operatives try to unravel the conspiracy and save the country." Moverman says: "The premise is balanced by an entertaining storyline that is not some dark and foreboding polemic." Considering the death-by-garbage thing, I can only imagine what the rest of the book reads. But truthfully, I'd rather have a flick on Card's family. According to Wikipedia, it's pretty interesting. His ancestors came over on the Mayflower, and his family later became big LDS'ers (Mormons), some of whom fled the U.S. for Canada years ago to keep up their polygamy practices.

These days, Hollywood has taken the much-coveted built-in-audience to new levels, acquiring properties wayyy before they arrive on the streets. A good example would be Joel Silver's latest venture; the famed producer has gone and optioned Empire, an upcoming book and video game series, with hopes to adapt the thing into a feature film (dare I attach the word 'franchise' to the end of that last sentence).

Along with author Orson Scott Card, Donald and Geremy Mustard (of Chair Entertainment Group) worked to develop a video game prototype of Empire, which will first be seen in book form when it's released on November 28. Silver Pictures then snatched up the rights, and will work alongside Warner Bros. in an attempt to turn it into a huge action film. Oh, but not before the comic book. That's right, they're spreading this bad boy all over the place -- first the book, then the comic book, then the movie and, finally, the video game. All will take place within the same universe as the book, but at different points in the story.

Wait, you probably want to know what the story is about, right? Well, in the near future, the President is assassinated, the White House is bombed and the country is on the cusp on civil war. When all the blame is put on this one poor dude, he sets out to clear his name. Think The Fugitive meets the end of the world. I must say, it takes guts to put all your faith in a franchise as big as this before it has a chance to find an audience. What if the book fails? What if it doesn't grab enough attention? Let's keep an eye on this one and see if Silver's gamble pays off.

Sure, some negative, evil people might find Tom Cruise just the slightest bit irritating, particularly when he does things like, in the immortal words of England's The Guardian, "Bouncing around on Oprah's sofa like a hormonal adolescent." But the REAL fans know that he's just an irrepressible genius who keeps it real, and that's why, in an online poll of about 10,000 participants conducted by Empire magazine, Cruise was voted the "biggest star of all time." In taking the top spot, he beat out such minor figures as Robert De Niro (#2), and Marilyn Monroe (#5), among others. Yeah! Take that, all you Tom haters.

I can hear you now. "My life would be complete, if only I could watch all 485 minutes of Andy Warhol's Empire. Preferably outside, perhaps in London." I don't know how many times I've said the same thing myself - and our chance has finally come! (The film, which consists of a single, overnight shot of the Empire State Building, promoted Warhol to announce that he preferred movie-making to painting, because the former was easier.)

Empire will be shown four times in London next month, projected every Friday night onto the facade of the National Theatre (notice the proper spelling). Each screening will begin at dusk, so that night in New York and night in London will coincide. While only the certifiably insane are likely to sit and watch the thing for eight hours, it would be pretty cool to glance over and see the Empire State Building on the banks of the Thames, if only for a few minutes.

[Curious non-Londoners can see a clip here.]