This particular Cinematical Seven took awhile to sort out. First, I needed to decide whether I would focus solely on women who play sports in film or if I should open it up to women who play sports and/or appear in sports films. As you can see from the photo above, I went with the latter. Then I needed to decide whether I would only select drop-dead gorgeous women, or if there was room for the girl next door in the list as well. I'm sure you sympathize with the tough choices I had to make this afternoon. Anyway, in honor of Superbowl Sunday (Go Giants!), here are my picks for the hottest sports girls on film (a title which took me all of about an hour to come up with -- after all, there are so many different ways to write it):

Kelly Preston as Avery Bishop in Jerry Maguire -- She's harsh, she's intimidating and she doesn't exactly use those legs to kick a long field goal. Before Jerry (Tom Cruise) had his moral epiphany and wound up wooing the adorable Dorothy (Renee Zellweger), he was attached at the hip to the cunning, yet super sexy Avery. She'd come a long way from Space Camp, and after watching Jerry Maguire, I was extremely jealous that John Travolta got to spend every boot camp with this gal.

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).

With "geek" stuff like comics, sci-fi, and horror taking over the mainstream, ComicCon has become one of the biggest film events of the year. The studios really take it seriously, and this should be an excellent week for major film announcements. Today, the fairly new studio Fox Atomic, an offshoot of Fox targeting the 17-24 demographic, announced what festival goers can expect from them this year. It looks like their biggest push is for the upcoming revenge thriller Death Sentence. There will be an online sweepstakes to win a 1969 Ford Mustang featured in the film, starting when ComicCon opens its doors tomorrow. If you can't make it to the festival you can enter at the official movie website, http://deathsentencemovie.com, up until the film is released on August 31st. Death Sentence stars Kevin Bacon as a man out to avenge his son's death, and co-stars John Goodman and Kelly Preston. James Wan (Saw) directed. Bacon, co-star Garrett Hedlund and Wan will be signing autographs at ComicCon this Saturday at 3PM.

Also, be on the lookout for a contest to win a Fender Stratocaster guitar signed by the cast of the upcoming comedy The Rocker. You can read more about that movie here and here, it tells "the story of a failed, over-the-hill drummer who is given a second chance at fame." Rainn Wilson plays the drummer and Christina Applegate will be his love interest. Only in the movies, folks! Fox Atomic is understandably putting a big focus on their graphic novel publishing arm at ComicCon as well. Signings and giveaways are scheduled for Joe Harris and Stuart Moore's The Nightmare Factory, due out on September 4th, as well as their film-based graphic novels -- 28 Days Later: The Aftermath by Steve Niles and The Hills Have Eyes: The Beginning by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. It looks like just about all of the artists and authors will be in attendance. We've got all sorts of ComicCon news, announcements, and goodness coming your way from San Diego (which, of course, is German for "whale's vagina") all this week and through the weekend, so stick around and stay classy.

Put Seth Green behind the camera (as a writer and/or a voice actor), and I absolutely love him. However, when I have to look at him in front of the camera, part of me wants to punch a part of him (with the exception of Airborne -- I love that movie). Perhaps it's just me, but there's something about Green as a live-action actor that irritates the hell out of me. But maybe he's just choosing the wrong roles (Without a Paddle? Rat Race? Josie and the Pussycats?). That being said, The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Green has joined the cast of Old Dogs -- another comedy about a couple of guys whose "lives turn upside down" when they're put in charge of 7 year-old twins. Oh, the comic potential just oozes from this sucker.

John Travolta and Robin Williams have already signed on to play the male babysitters, while Green will play "an executive with the global marketing firm run by Travolta and Williams' characters as they are closing a big deal with a Japanese conglomerate." HR adds: "He is eager to prepare for his move to Tokyo and show off his Harvard MBA and Japanese cultural skills." Wild Hogs director Walt Becker will helm, with Matt Dillon, Travolta's wife Kelly Preston and daughter Ella Bleu Travolta also starring. (I believe part of Travolta's deal stated that his entire family would get roles too.) Disney will shovel this one out at some point next year (based on the success of Wild Hogs, I'd say we should expect it to be a summer release), while plans are already in the works for a Wild Hogs sequel. Aside from Mr. Mom (which is one of my all-time favorite Michael Keaton roles), I've never been a fan of this concept. I mean, how many diaper-changing gags are there? However, Williams always has the ability to shine when he's given room, and so this film should definitely appeal to the mass audience. But will the critics like it? Something tells me no one gives a crap about what they think.

While Erik Davis might not have gotten his wish to have the Smith family of Will, Jada and super-cutey Jaden slip in to co-star in Walt Becker's next upcoming Disney flick Old Dogs, John Travolta got his wish to have wife Kelly Preston and daughter Ella at his side. (Dogs would be Ella's first feature and jump into her parent's business.) This is not entirely surprising, as there's no real reason not to have the family Travolta all present and accounted for in this buddy comedy. It's also not surprising that Robin Williams has finished his negotiations to co-star with the disco giant-turned-Scientologist.

Along with the main players, we also have word on the plot. According to Variety, the story written by David Diamond and David Weisman is about two business partners and best friends (I presume Travolta and Williams) whose lives are flipped "upside down when they find themselves in the care of 7-year-old twins." I'm finding the wording incredibly interesting, which is why I quoted it. "In the care of" they say... What does this mean? Does something incapacitate the Old Dogs, leaving them in the care of 7-year-old twins? And whose twins are they? Definitely not Travolta's, unless his kid is playing dual roles. Oh, the intrigue that Disney creates! Sure, it sounds goofy, but it's not like Wild Hogs wasn't, so I imagine this flick will continue to rake in the cash and provide light entertainment for the fluff fanatics.

Here's a bit a movie trivia for ya (and before I ask the question, keep in mind I don't even know the answer): When was the last time a novelist adapted their own book and subsequently directed the feature film version of said book? While you won't win anything for answering the question correctly, it should give you something to ponder while I tell you about the following story.

Kelly Preston and Michelle Trachtenberg have signed on to star in The Possibility of Fireflies, based off the book by Dominique Paul. Story revolves around a single mother (Preston) who struggles to raise her two daughters (Trachtenberg will play the older one) alone after her husband abandons the family. Paul will also make her directorial debut on the film, which will begin shooting in South Carolina this January. Preston is hot lately, having also signed on to star opposite Kevin Bacon in the thriller Death Sentence. Speaking of hot, remember her in Jerry Maguire? Yum.

Oh, did you get the answer to that question yet?

Odds and ends from Monday:

• Wouldn't you like to enter a sex club to find Michelle Williams waiting patiently inside? According to the New York Daily News, the actress is set to star alongside Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman in The Tourist, to be directed by Michael Langenegger. Pic, which starts shooting in NYC next month, revolves around an accountant (McGregor) whose lawyer (Jackman) introduces him to a secret sex club where he meets the woman of his dreams. Things look great, until she goes missing and he's implicated in a $20 million theft. Man, talk about getting screwed ... in more ways than one.
• Kelly Preston and Stuart Lafferty have signed on to play Kevin Bacon's wife and son in Death Sentence. And, as much as we wish the full title was actually Footloose 2: Death Sentence, it ain't gonna happen. In the pic, Bacon plays a man who makes it his mission to hunt down the gang who brutally attacked his family ... by dancing on them. Ha, I wish.
• Director Andrzej Bartkowiak has managed to escape the Doom surrounding his last film, and is currently in negotiations to direct the thriller Black and Blue, written by Jimmy Cummings. Pic revolves around a Boston cop who finds himself stuck in the middle of a drug war between the Irish mob and a group of young thugs. However, things become even more complicated when he discovers that some of his own family members might be involved. Dammit Grandma, I told you to stop selling all that smack!

Look out, America: The country music stars are coming! Both Tim McGraw (Flicka) and Toby Keith (Broken Bridges) have movies coming out this fall, and Paramount Classics is planning to sell the hell out of Keith and his film. According to this morning's Variety, Paramount is teaming with Ford Trucks (which is sponsoring the whole thing), Big Screen Concerts and CMT Films for a big fancy world premiere on September 7.

For the small fee of $12.50, fans in about 100 cities (as well as soldiers in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait, who one assumes will get in for free) will get to see a special screening of the film, preceded by a 30-minute feature consisting of "taped performances by Keith and his co-star Lindsey Haun" and red-carpet interviews with Keith, Kelly Preston, Willie Nelson, Burt Reynolds, as well as other cast members. (The red carpet is outside a theater in Tennessee, where I guess the movie is being show. Or maybe they're all going to see a concert -- is Madonna playing Nashville?)

While this fan-friendly premiere successfully targets Keith's current audience, one wonders how necessary it actually is -- won't his fans go see the movie, even without all these bells and whistles?