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Erik Davis already let us know in September that John Krasinski was writing and directing the adaptation of David Foster Wallace's collection of short stories -- Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. Obviously this is a bit of a jump for The Office star, who is known for being the attractive and likable office co-worker, not the man responsible for bringing desperation drama to the big screen. However, as much as he's moulding this assortment of stories about hideousness, he's still got a little cutie added into the mix -- more specifically, frontman Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie.

For those squeeing with glee over the news, I'm not sure how prominent he will be in the feature, but his name is among the top 10 listed. However, since it is a book of character sketches that I have not read, I'm not sure who his character, Harry, is. Are there any Foster Wallace fans out there who would care to elaborate? For those wondering who the hell Gibbard is, I send you to Wikipedia and Amazon to read up and listen. While this is his first acting role, his band's music has been featured in the likes of Wicker Park, Wedding Crashers and Six Feet Under.

Gibbard is actually one of a number of cute people signed on for the hideous roles. Here's a short roll call for the curious: Sex and the City semen taster Bobby Cannavale, Krasinski's Office co-star and daughter of Quincy Jones and Peggy Lipton -- Rashida Jones, SNL alum and Abe Lincoln's clone Will Forte, Threesome's Josh Charles, Kinsey actress Julianne Nicholson and The Anniversary Party's lovely Denis O'Hare -- just to name a few! Their characters must be extremely hideous because their visages are anything but!

If you want your movie to (officially) play in China, don't feature any unfavorable Chinese. Also, don't include scenes that take place in China and definitely don't include any anti-China propaganda. In fact, be safe and don't mention or allude to anything Chinese whatsoever.

Movies right and left are being denied for Chinese distribution, some of which end up censored and eventually released. Mission: Impossible III had to cut out six minutes of China-related footage in order to open in theatres. Miami Vice got rid of 20 minutes! Now The Departed has a chance for distribution ... if it somehow omits scenes depicting a group of Chinese buying military equipment from the mafia.

However, according to Variety, there is no chance of the film being censored or altered. I would hope that this is out of respect to Scorsese and his cut of the film, but it is hard to imagine a studio siding with a filmmaker instead of box office income. But what other reason could Warner Bros. have for not altering the film? It isn't like the characters need to be nationally affiliated with China (Variety's source implies they could be referred to as Iranian or Iraqi, but that wouldn't look quite right).

None of this should upset any Chinese movie fans, of course. The Departed is already available in China in bootleg form.

More on China's distribution issues:

Bond Over the Great Wall: Casino Royale First Ever "Official" Bond Film To Open In China

Warner Brothers Moves Out of China

China Bans Korean Hit

China Pulls Da Vinci Code

You might have heard of Amy Redford. She has a fairly famous Sundance Kid for a father, and she has spent a number of years acting in both theater and cinematic productions. Now, news is out that the younger Redford is gearing up for her directorial debut -- a completely unsurprising and inevitable move. In 2002, while performing for CanStage, Redford talked with Eye.net about fighting the desire to follow in her father's footsteps, which is exactly what she's doing. Although her cinematic roles haven't brought her the same acclaim, she's following them up with an interesting indie directorial stint. The force is strong in this one. Before we know it, she'll have a famous film festival in some surprising locale.

If her directorial debut is any indication, it'll be a refreshing diversion from her father's tastes. The film in question is The Guitar, which has just entered production in New York. The script comes from punk filmmaker Amos Poe, who is seen by some as the father of America's indie cinema. Having worked with the likes of Debbie Harry and Lydia Lunch, its no surprise that the film revolves around a spunky woman with head-bangingly bad luck who yearns to follow musical aspirations. When she is diagnosed with terminal cancer, fired from a crappy job and dumped by her boyfriend, the woman uses her last two months to grab all the money available to her and fulfill her two dreams -- romance and playing the electric guitar. Boney actress Saffron Burrows is a logical pick to head the feature, and she's got Casino Royale's Isaach De Bankolé and indie punk actress Paz de la Huerta to back her up. The next branch on Hollywood's family tree has broken through.

I'm sure you're probably already aware of that online virtual world called Second Life, and how the Sundance Channel has created a little island within Second Life in an attempt to bring indie fanatics from around the world together in one spot for screenings, interviews, parties and extra special exclusives. Recently, the Sundance Island officially opened up shop with a free screening of the buzzed-about flick Four Eyed Monsters, with directors Arin Crumley and Susan Buice on hand to answer questions afterwards.

Since things worked so well, Crumley and Buice have been asked to travel to Sundance to shoot daily videos which will be broadcast through YouTube as part of a collaboration (their first) with the Sundance Channel. Like Cinematical (which should be your first source for all things Sundance), the two filmmakers will skip around town interviewing filmmakers, attending panels, parties and (I imagine) having a blast, all the while providing us with the kind of uninhibited creativity they're known for.

And, for a sneak peak at what they have in store for us, Cinematical exclusively brings you their first official Sundance video -- essentially, an introduction to what lies ahead. Enjoy! (Oh, and if you're heading to Sundance and run into Crumley and Buice along the way, be sure to tell them Cinematical says hi.)

(Thanks to Jeff and Aaron for the tip)

One year ago, the MPAA's film ratings system was exposed for being unfair and inconsistent. This was thanks primarily to the documentary This Film is Not Yet Rated, which screened at Sundance. Now, without acknowledging that film's possible influence on the decision, the MPAA is announcing a change in the ratings process and procedures. A campaign is set to begin at Sundance on Monday, when Dan Glickman will be joined with Classifications & Ratings Administration head Joan Graves to officially go over the revisions.

Variety has the list of changes, which includes the decision to publicly post the standards that must be met to receive a particular rating. Also added to the appeals process is an allowance for a filmmaker to compare his film's content with another lower-rated film's content in order to make a consistency argument. Other parts of the revision include a description of the still-anonymous ratings board members and new rules for the eligibility of those members.

Yes, it's big, explosive rumor day here on Cinematical -- we've already told you about some McConaughey P.I. coolness, and now Cinema Blend is reporting (via some anonymous inside source) that Rachel Weisz is replacing Angelina Jolie as the "Dame to Kill For" in Sin City 2. Granted, Jolie was never officially attached to the role, but based on what we've heard from cast members and the like, she was very interested in hopping onboard the highly-anticipated sequel to Robert Rodriguez's Sin City -- which, of course, was based off Frank Miller's graphic novels.

For those not aware, Sin City 2 will follow the storylines of A Dame to Kill For with Weisz (or Jolie) playing, well, the kind of dame a man would kill for. But here's my question: Is Weisz a better fit than Jolie for a role like this? Hardcore fans of the graphic novels could probably answer that best -- the way I see it, Jolie was perfect for the part. However, Weisz -- um -- she's cute and all, but I wouldn't kill for her ... that's for sure. It's important to stress that this is just a rumor right now -- production isn't set to begin until 2008 (supposedly) -- and so please don't write off the entire film based on what you've read here. Heck, perhaps you'd rather see Weisz take over since Jolie is just too damn Hollywood-ized right now -- gossip, gossip, Brad Pitt, gossip, gossip -- it's kind of hard to take her seriously anymore. Hey, but you be the judge.

With only a week away from announcing the Oscar nominations, and with no apparent need to do so, the Academy has pared down its list of eligible foreign-language films from 61 to nine. This is the first time the Academy has shortlisted the category, but the decision to do so falls in line with a number of other changes pertaining to the category.

Those changes, which I told you about last summer, are a good thing for at least two of the nine films. Water and Black Book each would have been disqualified in previous years, but now their language issues are in full compliance with the rules. Of course, had they not made the cut, there might have been some happier countries in Asia or Australia, the two continents not represented (Antarctica may get some love from Happy Feet's animation nomination). It is too bad that Japan couldn't claim Golden Globe winner Letters From Iwo Jima and also too bad for Oz that Ten Canoes wasn't chosen.

Okay, where in the world did this one come from? Well, we know where the rumor came from (Teletext UK) and who picked it up (our friends from FilmRot), but if it is indeed true then how come there hasn't been an explosion yet here in the States? Wait, let me back up for a minute: According to a story in Teletext UK, it appears as if folks finally found their Magnum P.I. Not only that, but a director is attached, a cast is set and a release date of Summer 2008 has been slapped on to seal the deal!

Um, perhaps I should back up even more: See, Hollywood has been attempting to bring the TV show Magnum P.I. to the big screen for quite awhile now, with folks like Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Vince Vaughn circling the project at one point. Needless to say, none of you liked those choices -- in fact, the Clooney rumor really pissed people off. Shut it down. Turn it off. Months go by ... and, now, here comes Matthew McConaughey to save the day. America's number one stud and the perfect (in my opinion) choice to take over a role owned and originated by the ultra cool Tom Selleck.

Teletext UK also informs us that Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) has been tapped to direct (off his own re-write of the script) with Steve Zahn and William H. Macy returning for a little Sahara reunion to play Rick and Higgins respectively. If that's not enough to whet your Magnum appetite, then I should also tell you that (apparently) Tyrese Gibson has signed on to play the role of T.C. All I can say about that is ... wow. For now, we'll officially chalk this one up as a rumor, but it's the best news I've heard about this project yet. What do you think?

I'm trying not to get too excited about this latest -- let's call it a rumor -- that Edgar Rice Burroughs' other famous character, John Carter of Mars, is finally going to get the big-screen treatment he so richly deserves. As this has almost happened a few times before -- the latest being in 2005 when Iron Man director Jon Favreau was attached -- I'm not going to get my hopes up. Even though, as a huge fan of these works, I would really love to see them make it to the big screen. Various producers, directors and studios have been trying (unsuccessfully) to transform the eleven-book series into a film (or films) for a long time -- heck, the first book of the series, A Princess of Mars, was published in 1917.

So, Hollywood has had quite a few years to work on adapting this fantastic series. But, for whatever reason -- story, budget, casting, bad mojo -- it just never happened. So, fans of the series (including your humble writer) were left to wonder if it would ever happen at all. It didn't look like it, but at least we always had the books to go back to and enjoy, an un-official website for the film and some great paintings by artist Frank Frazetta to keep us inspired. But now, at least according to an article over at TMZ, it looks like some people are going to try to get this project going yet again. This time, according to the article, its the folks at Disney's Buena Vista Pictures.

I sincerely hope they get their collective stuff together and actually make something happen this time around. These venerable novels about civil war vet John Carter and his quest to bring order to the ruling clans of Mars are timeless adventure stories that can appeal to most any age. That's probably why Disney is interested -- I mean, you can only get so much mileage out of the Pirate's franchise. Eventually, you need a new one to hang your studio on. Perhaps Disney is hoping John Carter can fill the void left by Jack Sparrow when he finally sails into oblivion? If so, that's one way to make sure these movies finally get made.

When making movies like the Highlander, filmmakers are faced with immortality's pesky limitations. There is only so long we can suspend disbelief as an actor plays an immortal character and ages. Christopher Lambert spent a whopping 14 years as the immortal ass-kicker Connor MacLeod. Luckily, the powers behind the story brought on a new MacLeod rather than recasting Lambert in 2000's Highlander: Endgame, even if it wasn't met with the best reviews. Bad reviews be damned, Adrian Paul's Duncan MacLeod, the star of the 90's television series (and of the new Highlander: The Source)has got a following.

JAM! Showbiz has reported that there is a trailer on The Source's official website ... and indeed, there is. However, it's not some super-polished, or even semi-polished trailer created to cook up curiosity. Instead, in all of its embedded YouTube glory, it just looks like the beginning of the film, pirated and posted by some fan. I can only assume that the creator's can't be bothered to come up with a flashy version themselves, or at least one that shows more than what seems to be the opening scene equipped with French text. It shows up as even more shoddy surrounded by flashy buzz words like "tremendous," "maverick" and "milestone." Lionsgate -- if you really feel this way, please give fans a real trailer that describes the film and is shown in hi-res, or adequate-res glory! Otherwise, I'm just going to ignore it and sing along with Freddie Mercury.

Note: The actual YouTube link has the trailer a bit larger.