Imagine if New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano suddenly became the Mayor of New York City? Variety is reporting that James Gandolfini, best known for his starring role in the long-running HBO series The Sopranos, will be joining The Taking of Pelham 123. Gandolfini is set to play Hizzoner (AKA The Mayor) in Tony Scott's remake of the 1974 thriller.

Gandolfini steps into the role inhabited by Lee Wallace in the original, a politician felled by the flu, stuck in bed, and motivated more by a selfish desire to be reelected than any altruistic concern for his fellow citizens.

Before The Sopranos, Gandolfini established himself as a colorful and versatile character actor (Crimson Tide, Get Shorty, A Civil Action). He was so supremely charismatic and memorably menacing as Tony Soprano, though, that his other recent roles have paled in comparison. Variety says he has other projects in development, based on writer Ernest Hemingway and basketball camp guru Sonny Vaccaro, that may showcase more of his range. Monika Bartyzel also noted recently that he's set to play Marvin Gaye's manager in Sexual Healing.

As Jessica Barnes originally reported, Pelham 123 will star Denzel Washington as a Transit Police officer charged with trying to foil a criminal gang that has hijacked a subway train. John Travolta will play the gang's ruthless leader. Production in New York City evidently began on February 7 and is scheduled to continue through July 4, according to the NYC Mayor's Office of Film Theatre & Broadcasting (PDF document). The film is due for release from Columbia Pictures in 2009.

Let's start off with a little bit of trivia: Did you know that High School Musical and its sequels have had the working titles Grease 3, Grease 4, and Grease 5? That would make it seem as though Zac Efron and his super-cute co-stars were some new generation possibly bred from the loins of Sandy and Danny. Not quite. It's got the whole differing social group angle, and how friends can get in the way of love, but it's definitely not that dirty, classic family movie we all know.

As a tot, I liked Grease, but I loved Grease 2 -- this is probably because Maxwell Caulfield was much easier on the eyes than John Travolta. But after watching the original a few times and devouring the second much more often, there was a long hiatus until a close cousin of mine got a little older and Grease got re-released in theaters. I took her to see it, and my jaw sagged through the entire film. How dirty! How could I not have realized this? I looked over at her; she was smiling, happy, and oblivious, so obviously the "don't-see-the-raunchiness" spell was working all these years later. It skillfully rides that fine line between raunch and respectability.

So, in the sea of a new musicals, equipped with myriads of fangirls, I give you my generation's High School Musicals: Grease and Grease 2.

News of a Welcome Back, Kotter remake first made waves back in March of 2006. Tom Grady was tapped to write and direct, and Ice Cube was cast to take over the role that Gabe Kaplan made famous -- Mr. Kotter, the man who went back to his high school alma mater to teach some challenging remedial students. Kotter also happened to be the show that helped make John Travolta (Vinnie Barbarino) famous -- before Saturday Night Fever or Grease came around. Although it has been a few years since the project started to cook up, Ice Cube recently talked with MTV about the pic, and what is planned for this new version... that is, if the strike wraps up and this feature gets out of development hell.

This remake will go urban, and Cube says: "We've got the same characters, they're just re-vamped to suit the times, totally different. It's like, flipped. With me playing Kotter, how couldn't it be?" This also means none of Kaplan's schtick: "No, I won't be going that far. You know me, I'm gonna flip it. It ain't gonna be no Gabe Kaplan sh-t." What will be the same? Who knows. He also says there's no Barbarino dance, or Epstein's phony letters. "The names are the same" seems to be Cube's mantra for this picture.

Considering the fact that he says it's "more of a Fast Times at Ridgemont High, not so much 'Up your nose with a rubber hose,'" I have to ask: what's the point? WHY keep the names if you're taking all of the things that make each character who they are and change them. I'm sorry, but people don't go see remakes just for the same names. I can't help but wonder why they couldn't use new names, maybe consider it a spin-off, or just giving a "based on" credit. Trying to bank on the fandom of a show doesn't work if you start off by saying that the only thing that remains the same is the basic premise and a handful of names.

Best Supporting Actor

Nominees:

Casey Affleck -- The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Javier Bardem -- No Country for Old Men

Philip Seymour Hoffman -- Charlie Wilson's War

John Travolta -- Hairspray

Tom Wilkinson -- Michael Clayton

Predicted Winner: Javier Bardem

Once in awhile there comes to cinema a character, and a performance that goes with it, that goes on to haunt us for years. Such a timeless villain is played in No Country for Old Men by Javier Bardem. It's the actor's third Golden Globe nomination and will be his first win. How do I know? Here at Cinematical headquarters we were going to toss a coin to find out if Bardem would get the statue. But then we realized that this award isn't about chance (plus we were afraid of getting an air blast to the skull if it came up that he'd lose). Bardem will win because he deserves the award, because his is the most well-developed and most memorable performance of the bunch.

Now it's your turn to vote ...

Yesterday, we unloaded a bunch of movie pics on you from Universal Pictures upcoming 2008 slate (including two new pics from The Incredible Hulk). Today, we have a few more for you, courtesy of Universal once again, as well as a few other studios who have also unveiled their 2008 calendar. The first image (see above) is from 20th Century Fox's upcoming comedy What Happens in Vegas, starring Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz. The photo comes with the caption: "A night of debauchery culminated with impromptu - and soon regretted - nuptials for Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas." Considering these are two of the most annoying actors working today, here's hoping what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Zing!

From Disney's official 2008 preview comes the first image from the animated film Bolt, which you can view below. Bolt stars the voice of John Travolta as a dog who is the star of a hit TV show. However, when Bolt accidentally gets shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York City, he sets out on a cross-country trip through the real world. Here's more from the synopsis: "Armed only with the delusions that all his amazing feats and powers are real, and with the help of two unlikely traveling companions: a jaded, abandoned housecat named Mittens (voice of Susie Essman) and a TV-obsessed hamster in a plastic ball named Rhino, Bolt discovers he doesn't need superpowers to be a hero."

You would have thought that by now 20th Century Fox would have given up on the idea of a Dallas movie. What with casting changes and script overhauls -- not to mention a mediocre fan reaction to the whole idea in the first place. Now it looks like yet another snafu has hit the production. Page Six (the Mecca of gossip) is reporting that John Travolta has been dropped from the cast and replaced by Ben Stiller in the role of J.R. Ewing. According to Page Six's sources, Travolta was "let go about two weeks ago. He had the role of J.R. Ewing taken from him" -- ouch! But don't feel too bad for Travolta; the same sources went on to say that, "John was given a nice seven-figure 'gift' to go away quietly".

So if you are still keeping track, Travolta is officially the last remaining element of the original Dallas film that Fox had planned back in 2006. Originally the film was going to be a big-budget drama with an all star cast including Jennifer Lopez and Shirley Maclaine. Cut to one year later and the budget shrunk from $65 million to what is now described as "much less" and the cast has been scrapped. Also, instead of a drama, Fox changed directors to hire Betty Thomas to make a comedic 'behind-the scenes' version of the series. This would probably explain how Stiller got involved in the film, since he's almost as an unlikely a choice for the role as Travolta was in the first place. Stiller's reps have yet to comment on his involvement, so stay tuned to Cinematical for updates.

I don't believe the hype that 3-D will dominate the movie world in the near future, but it does seem like a lot of movies are using the technology these days. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Disney will release the animated feature Bolt, (once called American Dog) in Digital 3-D next year. Bolt features the voices of John Travolta, Woody Harrelson, and Susie Essman (who had better curb her Curb Your Enthusiasm language!). It tells "the story of a TV star dog named Bolt (Travolta) who is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage to New York, where he begins a cross-country journey through the real world." Chris Williams directs the film.

Disney has been one of the biggest supporters of 3-D. In recent years, Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and the sweet, sweet Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas were all released in the format. Speaking of Nightmare, as Monika told you earlier this month, Tim Burton has signed to produce and direct 3-D versions of Alice in Wonderland and his own terrific short film, Frankenweenie for Disney. On the opposite end of the cool spectrum, Disney's next 3-D release is the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which will play in theaters Feb. 1-7. Start scalping those tickets now!

It's funny, for a movie that probably only ten people are looking forward to seeing in the theater, there's certainly a lot of gossip surrounding it. Cinema Blend is reporting that their sources are telling them James Brolin, Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Diane Ladd, and Julie Bentz are in negotiations to star in the update of the classic 80's soap, Dallas. Brolin would star as Jock Ewing, Ladd would play Ms. Ellie, and Kelly would take over from Victoria Principal in the part of Pamela Ewing.

Last April, word spread that the production had stalled, and I think most of us thought this would be the last anyone would hear about the film. But, this August, Scott brought us the news that the film was not only back on track, but this time it would be made as a comedy with Betty Thomas at the helm. There was was no more talk of Jennifer Lopez and Luke Wilson, but John Travolta is supposedly still on board to play the big kahuna himself; J.R. Ewing.

If Blend's sources can be trusted, then the film has gone back to being a drama and the comedy script has been tossed -- yeesh, can't these people make up their minds? But I would be inclined to believe that the film will be a comedy after all since Thomas has signed on to direct. Dallas is expected to go into production this summer, that is if they can ever make up their minds about what movie they are going to make. Oh, and there's also a little strike that might happen too.

The trailer for The Taking of Pelham One Two Three looked really cool way back in 1974: all barked dialogue, subways slamming down rails, and a distinct New York disdain, as I recall. It was so cool it motivated me to borrow a copy of the book it was based on from the public library. (I was too young to sneak into R-rated movies back then.) John Godey's novel was a rocking good read; it seemed like the smell of the subway emanated from its pages. Of course, that could have been from the previous reader, but the salient point is this: when I finally saw the film, I was more than impressed by the solid craftsmanship displayed by screenwriter Peter Stone and director Joseph Sargent. They effectively translated the insane idea at the heart of the story -- How do you hijack a subway train in the middle of New York City and expect to get away with it? -- and delivered a nail-biting mystery thriller.

Last month, Jessica Barnes told us of a report that Denzel Washington and Tony Scott would be reuniting for a remake of Pelham, with Washington stepping into the scuffed shoes of the jaded Transit Police lieutenant originally played memorably by Walter Matthau. Now Variety is reporting that John Travolta is in negotiations to play the leader of the gang that hijacks a subway train and threatens to kill the passengers unless a ransom is paid. In the original, that role was played by the menacing Robert Shaw.

Travolta was brutish and cool as the lead villain in John Woo's Broken Arrow, so he could do a good job with the part. The script for the remake was written by David Koepp, which is another mark in its favor. But will Tony Scott be able to capture the authentic flavors of New York that helped make the original so distinctive? And will he be smart enough to cast people who actually look and sound like New Yorkers? Here's hoping he can cast the modern-day equivalent of original cast members Dick O'Neill, Kenneth McMillan, James Broderick, Julius Harris and Jerry Stiller (all on the side of the law) and Martin Balsam, Hector Elizondo and Earl Hindman (the other members of the gang, all referred to by colors, which may sound familiar). Production starts early next year.

In the spring of 1999, I had a unique experience. The Roxie Cinema (in San Francisco) was opening a brand-new print of Brian De Palma's Carrie (1976), which I suspect had been struck as a sort of apology for the now-forgotten The Rage: Carrie 2, released just a week before. I attended their press screening -- the very first unfurling of the new print -- but oddly enough, I was the only one to show up. Had the other critics already seen it? Or was there something else? The Roxie guys shrugged, asked if I'd like to go ahead, and I said yes. I sat in the middle, all by myself.

I've seen it again since then, and have become doubly convinced of its excellence. Along with The Untouchables (1987) and Mission: Impossible (1996) it was De Palma's biggest success and yet it's usually left out of diatribes calling De Palma a ripoff artist and a misogynist. Based on the first novel by Stephen King, Carrie uses virtually no Hitchcockian elements, and, actually, only about a half a dozen of De Palma's 28 feature films to date, do. Likewise, it's a fairly perceptive view, not of female sexuality in itself, but of the male fear of it. (And, more importantly, an awareness of this fear.) Moreover, both Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie received Oscar nominations for their performances, a justification for two strong female roles.

"This summer...hold on to your crown...The Queen rules again bitches!" Yes, Variety is reporting that writer Peter Morgan is working on a follow-up to last year's Oscar-winning hit, The Queen. The Queen was a very British story, but this time he's bringing America into the mix, specifically Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. The new film will deal with their relationships to Prime Minster Tony Blair (played wonderfully in The Queen by Michael Sheen, who is expected to return for the sequel). The film "will focus on Blair's reaction to the handover of power between Clinton, a natural liberal ally, and Bush, who came from the other end of the political spectrum." The project will actually be the third in Morgan's series of films about Blair, which began with the Channel 4 telepic The Deal.

The most intriguing aspect of this film might just be its casting. Who can effectively capture the good old boy charisma and charm of Bill Clinton? John Travolta did a very nice job playing a highly Clintonesque character in Primary Colors. I sure wish Phil Hartman was still alive (for a variety of reasons), I don't think anyone's nailed Clinton better, and I always sensed Hartman could have easily handled drama. Who can get across the thick layer of bluster, blind confidence, and -- what's a nice word? -- naivete present in a George W. Bush speech? Something tells me they won't go the Will Ferrell route. My pick for Dubya would be the great William H. Macy, he's got the "shifty dude whose world is crumbling around him" thing down pat. What do you guys think? Assuming they don't go with unknowns, who would you cast as two of the most recognizable figures in politics -- Bush and Clinton?

Well, one thing everyone (at least, reviewers) seems to agree on is the fact that Good Luck Chuck is terrible. No, I'm not talking half-and-half terrible, but almost 100% awful. So far, the flick is sporting (as of noon Friday) 3 out of 36 positive reviews -- and those are more like "hey, it's crap, but the kids will like it." So, in honor of this cinematic assault, MSNBC chatted with industry insiders, journalists, and bloggers to see who they thought were the people least-deserving of the spotlight. (With Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie immediately disqualified, of course.)

Now, you probably won't agree with all of this list. Heck, you might even think they're crazy, but this isn't about being a decent actor, but whether these guys deserve all the hype they are getting. Do they have the goods to back up the mega-stardom, or are they riding the celebrity machine? Their list: the Jessicas (Alba, Biel, Simpson), Adrian Grenier, Elton John, Nicole Kidman, Carlos Mencia, John Travolta, and Renee Zellweger.* Surprisingly, they left off Tom Cruise. I guess they had to pick which Scientologist actor would take the final space.

So yeah, this is all over the place. The Jessicas are definitely aided by the celebrity, but good ol' Elton has the celebrity because of the years of success and experience (although I don't think I'm the only one who would love to see him return to stuff like Tiny Dancer). And what about people like Kirsten Dunst and Scarlett Johansson, or Colin Farrell and Orlando Bloom? What actors and actresses would you put on this list?

*The final name has been added -- she was hiding below one of those pesky ads.

The last time we heard anything about the pointlessly-long-in-development big-screen rendition of Dallas, it was April of 2006 and Ms. Jessica Barnes was saying this: "The flick has been put on hold." Period. And we pretty much hoped figured the project was dead. Well it's back.

Yes, John Travolta will still be playing J.R. Ewing (well, thank GOD), but the director will no longer be Gurinder Chadha. Now think carefully, movie geeks. If you were producing a comedy version of a corny and antiquated ol' prime-time soap opera ... who would you get to direct the thing? Sure, why not the woman who helmed The Brady Bunch Movie and Private Parts? ...and Doctor Dolittle and ... well, I Spy. Yep, according to Variety it's Betty Thomas who'll be directing the inevitably uproarious big-screen version of Dallas. Hot Rod screenwriter Pam Brady will take over on scripting duty.

And yes, they're going for laughs with this version. On purpose, I mean. The original series had to get its chuckles the hard way: unintentionally. But don't go into this new version if you're a fan of the source material. We're told "there is also hope that a comedy about the dysfunctional Ewings will appeal to a younger audience." Makes perfect sense: Take a show that kids have never heard of, make a movie out of it, and gear it towards those kids. Production is scheduled to get underway in January, so expect all sorts of wacky casting announcements real soon.

I think Bernie Mac is a really funny guy (am I the only person who liked Head of State?), so it's always disappointing to see him under-utilized. This summer alone, he was on screen for maybe three minutes in Transformers, and I barely recall him speaking in Ocean's Thirteen. Mac's best work -- from his hilarious-simply-eating-an-orange performance in Bad Santa to his surprisingly effective dramatic turn in Pride -- makes me think the dude might have a few truly great performances ahead. I'm not so sure his latest film will prove my point, but his role in Old Dogs does sound like it could be pretty amusing. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Mac will play "Johnny Lunchbox -- the Elvis, Bono, and Beatles of children's entertainment all wrapped up into one super-charismatic puppeteer."

Mac joins an already pretty stacked supporting cast that includes Matt Dillon, Seth Green, and Mrs. Travolta -- Kelly Preston. In Old Dogs, which we told you about here and here, John Travolta and Robin Williams play "best friends and business partners whose lives are turned upside down when they find themselves taking care of seven year-old twins." Sigh. I can imagine the pitch meeting now -- "It's exactly like Three Men and a Baby..." (The studio executive's face lights up and he claps his hands together) "...but with only two men instead of three..." (studio executive frowns disapprovingly and stops clapping) "...but with two kids instead of one!" (Studio executive jumps to his feet, ecstatic, and asks if there will be poop jokes). "Baby, it's all poop jokes!" (Studio executive pulls a blank over-sized novelty check from behind his desk and hands it over).

Over at Hollywood Elsewhere (a frequent site of heated debates on issues like homosexuality and fatness versus thin-ness) Jeff Wells really pushed some buttons with a post about this New York Times piece on Hairspray star Nikki Blonsky by Monica Corcoran (note: login with a free account required to read it) in which Ms. Corcoran makes observations like, "To see Ms. Blonsky caper through "Hairspray," the musical adaptation of the John Waters camp classic, is to watch a Botero come to life as she wiggles her broad backside and flaps her ample arms." and "When plates of ribs and roast chicken arrived, she dug in with gusto." Golly gee, with those ample arms flapping in the breeze, however did she manage to even hold onto that plate of ribs, much less sign autographs for fans?

Wells doesn't actually weigh in (yeah, pun intended) with an opinion on Blonsky's proportions, but boy, oh, boy do his commenters get into it. This isn't the first time Wells and his readers have gotten into it on the issue of weight, but I find it interesting nonetheless that people are going after Blonsky for her weight (and I love all the concern about the poor girl's health) -- after all, the role of Tracy Turnblad calls for a "fat girl" -- that's kind of the whole point of the story, right? I mean, seriously ... imagine, if you will, if Adam Shankman had cast uber-skinny Keira Knightley as Tracy, and stuck her in a fat suit like they did with John Travolta in the film. Plenty of people are peeved also at the casting of Travolta in a fat suit instead of a real woman of larger proportions playing that role, by the by, even if the casting is a sort of homage to Harvey Fierstein and Divine.

I've not seen Hairspray yet, but by all the accounts I've read of the film, Blonsky's performance is pretty darn good -- how about discussing how she compares to Ricki Lake, or to any of the actresses who played Tracy on stage? Here's what I predict: Within a couple years, Blonsky's agent and PR people are going to convince her that she has to lose weight in order to continue having a career (after all, there are only so many roles for fat girls out there, right?) and we'll see a miraculous transformation ala Ricki Lake -- I can see the tabloid headlines now: "Former Fatty Nikki Blonsky: How I Stopped Eating Ribs With Gusto and Shed 50 Pounds!" Then she can start hanging out with Paris Hilton, get drunk at nightclubs, flash her crotch getting out of limos, and end up in rehab. Maybe then people will talk about her talent, and not her weight.