maverick Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Honestly, by now, I think we've all lost that lovin' feeling.

It wouldn't surprise me in the least to hear that folks were mulling a sequel to the 1986 romantic fighter jet flick. Not only are sequels to older films hot these days (see: Indiana Jones 4, Rocky 6, Die Hard 4), but Tom Cruise could provide a real boost to his rep if he were to revisit the character that kinda made him. Whether or not it would actually turn out to be a good movie is a whole different conversation. First off, according to those extremely reliable cats at The Sun, a script outline for Top Gun 2 is done and "movie bosses" want Cruise to star.

Apparently a source said this about the plot: "The idea is Maverick is at the Top Gun school as an instructor - and this time it is he who has to deal with a cocky new female pilot." Ooohh, original ... and spicy! It's like Karate Kid 4 meets A Really Big Paycheck for Tom Cruise! And yet ... we'd all still see it. Why are we such suckers? We currently have no idea how real this rumor is, so for the time being I wouldn't exactly break out into song and dance. Maybe it'll happen, maybe it won't.

What say you? Could this be the sequel we've subconsciously been waiting for our entire lives?

Start building that MySpace fanbase people, because Madison Road Entertainment and Madonna's Maverick label are preparing to a launch a new internet-based talent competition called Big Shot (think along the lines of a new version of Star Search, except it appears the goal here is to use your online popularity to promote other properties). The show, which will run for 13 weeks and host 91 webisodes, will be dedicated to an assortment of talents which include singing, modeling, stand-up comedy, filmmaking and acting. Each person will be able to upload their profile, as well as a 30-second video showcasing their particular talent, which will then be voted on by a number of people with names like ILoveRyanSeacrest4Eva.

Since most internet surfers have the attention span of a mouse (myself included), there will be a new winner every day. That person will then be flown out to Hollywood and given a chance to audition for a "talent rainmaker" -- basically, that's just a snazzy way of saying you'll be meeting with some agent's assistant. At that time, you'll be given the chance to impress someone live and in person (which, right away, could prove difficult for those who feel more comfortable acting like an ass in the comfort of their own home) and, if your series of cartwheels are enough to get someone to say, "Sure, we can use him/her as an extra on our new FX TV show," then you could be on your way to red carpet stardom. Subsequently, the folks in charge get to promote their other products (like, for example, the Maverick-produced FX drama The Riches) and you get to say that, well, you had more MySpace friends than the dude who sang The National Anthem upside down. Fear not all you aspiring internet celebrities (yes, I'm talking to you lonelygirl90210), you still have time to prepare; Big Shot won't premiere until September 10.

If you expected Mel Gibson to stick firmly behind the camera following his well-known and drunken tirade, guess again. Looks like the statute of limitations has worn off our collective distaste for the actor, and he's planning to celebrate by mounting a sequel to the 1994 flick Maverick. Word is that James Garner is interested in coming back -- but nothing on the participation of Jodie Foster has been offered thus far. (Which is a shame because Jodie, playing it light for a change, was one of the true highlights of Richard Donner's Maverick.)

According to Hollywood.com, Mr. Gibson is overstuffed with nifty new ideas for Maverick 2: "I think audiences will enjoy what we've got in mind. It won't be happening immediately, but I dare say, it'll happen." He then goes on to say that there'll be no more Mad Max or Lethal Weapon sequels because "there's nowhere to move with those characters." Right, but the characters in a sequel to a remake of an old Western series ... tons of latitude there. Kinda funny that he'd deride sequels with one breath while also floating teasers on a different sequel, but hey, Mel's always been a bit eccentric.

(For the record, this (Jewish) writer holds nothing against Mel Gibson for his nasty remarks. The guy said some stupid things, apologized for them, and moved on. Happens to "normal people" every day -- but it's still kinda tough to forget about it completely, you know? Having said that ... Maverick 2? The first one was cute enough, but ... nah.)

Over at our wonderful sister site, TV Squad, there is a feature that should be of interest to our movie-crazy readership as well: The Ten Worst Movies Based on TV Shows. I know what you're thinking, how could you possible limit it to ten, right? Paul Goebel has done a pretty spectacular job. I had tried to block a few of these titles from my memory, but seeing them again gave me some war-like flashbacks of struggling through these trainwrecks. Lost In Space more than lived up to its name and wasted a stellar cast, Car 54, Where Are You? is a question no one would ever ask again, and The Mod Squad with Claire Danes should have been called My So-Called Movie.

Wild Wild West is a great call, I can't believe at no point during filming did someone say, "Really? We're doing this?" It also features one of Will Smith's absolute lamest "Let me tell you the plot of my movie!" raps, including the immortal line: I'm the slickest there is. I'm the quickest there is. Did I say I'm the slickest there is? You didn't have to, Will. You didn't have to. Movies based on television programs are almost always disasters. There are exceptions of course. Off the top of my head, The Fugitive is one of the best thrillers ever made, Maverick rocked, and both Addams Family movies are terrific black comedies. But boy, do they get it wrong most of the time. I shudder to think what they'll try to do to something like my precious Seinfeld down the line! I couldn't agree more with Paul's choice of The Avengers as number one, I would actually rank it near the top of my "Worst Movies Ever Made" list. To quote Get Shorty, I've seen better film on teeth.

Rounding out the TV Squad list are George of the Jungle, McHale's Navy, The Flinstones, Scooby-Doo, and Leave It To Beaver. What would you add to the list? For me, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle would have ranked #2, it was so painful to watch Robert DeNiro take a big poo all over his legacy.