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Funny, too, because my friends and I were just discussing Inside Man last night. My good pal has a thing for when Denzel yells, "This ain't no robbery!" -- and for some odd reason, he's always saying it (in Denzel's voice). Everyone has THAT quote-crazy friend, ya know? But anyway, The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Spike Lee is moving forward with a sequel to Inside Man over at Universal -- a project that's been in the works for awhile now, but took a backseat when Lee decided to make Miracle at St. Anna. The director would return to the film in the same role, with Terry George (Hotel Rwanda, Reservation Road) currently in negotiations to write the screenplay.

Universal and Lee made a killing on the first Inside Man, which, in my opinion, was one of the more enjoyable heist flicks of the past few years, and so it's no surprise they're looking to dive in for more. Though they're not signed on yet, both Denzel Washington and Clive Owen are interested in reprising their roles -- and THR says the sequel will "continue the relationship between the two man characters but in a new high-tension situation." Not a big fan of the "it made $175 million so we have to do the sequel" thought process, but if there's a duo I'd like to see reunited on screen, it would be Clive and Denzel. Both were excellent in the first film.

What do you think? Down for more Inside Man? And where could you see them taking these characters?

Only a couple days after his death, the wheels in Hollywood were turning and Spike Lee has been brought on to direct a biopic based on the life of James Brown. Now, it's important to keep in mind that this project has been in development for quite some time -- Jezz and John Henry Butterworth recently turned in a rewrite of Steve Baigelman's original draft, and all three have either met with Brown before he passed away or spent time with his "people." I do feel, however, that they could have waited -- I don't know -- a bit longer than 48 hours to announce the decision. Ya know, that would have been the "normal" thing to do, I suppose.

Nevertheless, Lee will once again team up with Paramount and Imagine Entertainment (who have already tapped the man to direct a feature based on the L.A. Riots, as well as a sequel to Inside Man) and are looking to swing into production sometime during the latter part of 2007. Seeing as the L.A. Riots pic is the main priority, that will come first and will either be followed by Inside Man 2 (I really hope they don't call it that) or the Brown biopic. Since I assume Paramount will want to deliver the Brown biopic will a little bow around it that reads 'Oscar Potential," it's pretty safe to say it will debut in the fall or late summer of 2008.

Spike Lee directing a biopic based on a legendary performer? What do you think about that? Oh, and who do they get to play James Brown?