Do you like video games? How about The Running Man? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then you're in luck because a Gerard Butler fan site has provided a scan of the July issue of Empire magazine, which includes a sneak peek at the video game thriller, Game, starring Butler and Michael C. Hall (Dexter). OK, so they aren't the greatest photos, but they will remind audiences that the film will at least have stuff blowing up. Crank creators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor wrote the script and also directed, and I can only assume the two will be doing what they do best: ridiculous action set pieces and over the top machismo.

Game centers on a 'not too distant future' where the most popular past time is an online game called Slayers. But this isn't your usual MMORPG; instead, gamers get to control real-life convicts. Butler stars as Kabel, the most popular contestant who has caught the eye of resistance fighters looking to bring down the games creator, Castle (played by Hall). The cast also includes Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Alison Lohman (Beowulf), John Leguizamo, and Christopher 'Ludacris' Bridges.

Game is scheduled to arrive in theaters this fall.

Well, we've been waiting for months to hear who finally landed the gig as a younger version of William Stryker in the upcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it appears JoBlo finally coughed up the answer: Danny Huston. Brian Cox first portrayed the character of Stryker in X2, and served as that film's main villain. A few different actors were reportedly circling the role of a young Stryker; more recently, Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Christian Clark were two names that cropped up. Originally, Liev Schreiber was thought to be playing the role, however it later came out that, instead, Schreiber would be playing Sabretooth.

JoBlo claims to have heard of Huston's casting through a "source close to the production" and say that the actor is already on location in New Zealand prepping for the role. As some of you may recall, Huston recently played the head vampire in 30 Days of Night, and he's also shown up in films like The Kingdom and The Number 23. We're not exactly sure how big the Stryker role will be, but nevertheless this casting sounds pretty good to me. Gavin Hood is directing X-Men Origins: Wolverine off a script by David Benioff, and the recently-released pic of Hugh Jackman in his Wolverine get-up can be viewed here. Those claws will attack theaters on May 1, 2009.

UPDATE: IESB also claims that Lynn Collins has nabbed the part of Silver Fox in the film, after both Maggie Q. and Michelle Monaghan were considered.

ComingSoon got an early look at the first teaser poster and some of the artwork for the new techno-thriller, Game. Written and directed by Crank creators, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the film stars Gerard Butler as the consummate player of a virtual game with some pretty heavy real-life consequences. The story is "set in a dystopian future of implanted nano-devices, where the ultimate online simulation environment is humans remote-controlling other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming. The lead character, played by Butler, is a worldwide sensation, and the top-ranked warrior in a game called "Slayers." With his every move tracked by millions, he battles to regain his identity and bring down the entire system". Joining Butler are Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) and Dexter's Michael C. Hall as the game's evil creator.

Butler has been picking up parts right and left after the success of 300; everything from romantic weepies to crime drama -- and I know which one I'd be more inclined to shell out my hard-earned dollars for, how about you? Butler is going to have one less commitment to worry about this year since it turns out he will not be taking on the role of Snake Plissken in the update of Escape from New York. Christopher brought us the 'good' news recently citing 'creative differences' as the catalyst for Butler leaving the project. So that film is now officially without a director or a star. So I don't think it is just me, but I wouldn't count on seeing Escape any time soon considering the rate people are dropping from the project. As for Game, the film is currently in production and expected to be released in 2009.

UPDATE: It seems the artwork has been taken down; not sure why. Sorry about that folks.

True! -- nervous -- very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am! but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses -- not destroyed -- not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. After dealing with Edgar Allan Poe's literary Tell-Tale Heart, I wonder if the narrator's acute hearing can pick up this piece of news. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Ridley and Tony Scott, through Scott Free Productions, is cooking up a modern-day re-imagining of Poe's classic tale of loud hearts and floorboards.

It's said to be a psychological thriller on the backdrop of modern science, which makes me wonder if they're going the so-hot-right-now repo route and putting that loud, beating heart in the narrator. Then again, they've taken the "heart" part out of the title, so maybe they're going for a different organ/appendage. A stomping foot? A wiggling tongue? Whatever the case, Lisa Wilson, head of worldwide sales for Hyde Park, says: "Ridley and Tony are great storytellers. We feel that Tell-Tale will differentiate itself from other genre fare in its sophistication, quality, and commerciality. It is a thrilling blend of the supernatural and psychological mixed with riveting suspense and action."

So, what sophisticated pen could be behind this? How about Doom screenwriter Dave Callaham? This is where I really start to worry about the project. Sure, he might have written one hell of a script, and it'll be the sort of movie to knock all of our socks off -- but Doom isn't something that gives me confidence. His only other writing credit: the upcoming film called The Horseman. As for director, that honor has gone to Six Feet Under and Dexter director Michael Cuesta. So, what are the chances now that Michael C. Hall jumps on board?

Talk about your super-caffeinated, candy-coated, adrenaline-fueled head trips! Crank was like Speed on speed, an updating / rip-off of D.O.A. brought into the high octane world of hitmen and drug kingpins. Jason Statham starred as Chev Chelios, an assassin poisoned by a criminal overlord. With just an hour to live and revenge on his mind, he quickly discovers that if he doesn't keep his heart rate pumping in overdrive, he'll die even quicker. Extreme, outlandish and often ridiculous, Crank careened around Los Angeles like a drunken Formula One racer.

Critical reaction was divided upon its release last fall. Cinematical's Martha Fischer anticipated its popular success: "it's likely to do huge business with that tantalizing late-teen/early twenties male demographic, who will eat up the naughty, noisy allure of the whole thing, without ever noticing that it's sloppy and unfocused." A few months ago, Jessica Barnes told us about a report that the writing and directing team of Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine were planning a sequel; Scott Weinberg reported a few weeks ago that Taylor and Neveldine had submitted a script that made everyone dance with joy; as further evidence that the sequel was moving forward, Patrick Walsh let us know that Statham expressed his enthusiasm for the script.

Now comes official word: Variety says that Statham is on board for Crank 2: High Voltage, in which his character "faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working." Production will begin after Taylor and Neveldine complete Game, a futuristic thriller starring Gerard Butler and Michael C. Hall that starts shooting next week. No release date is given for Crank 2: High Voltage, but I imagine a fall 2008 release wouldn't be out of the question.