While it seems that a Superman sequel is sadly underway, in the meantime, the new man in tights is keeping busy with other fare. Variety reports that Brandon Routh, along with a slew of others, have signed on for an upcoming ensemble comedy that Starz is putting together, called Table for Three. Along for the ride with Routh are Sophia Bush, Jesse Bradford, Jennifer Morrison, Johnny Galecki, and Liza Lapira.

Routh stars as a suddenly single dude with a bad sense of logic -- he invites a perfect couple, played by Bradford and Bush, to share his big apartment. This seems a bit strange, especially since every guy I know who has had to spend a lot of time with, or share space with, a couple has completely hated it, but I guess the thought of being face-to-face with couples is appealing to this guy's now-single self. But then he finds a new romance and things get tricky as they "disrupt his life when they insert themselves into his new romance."

Michael Samonek will direct from his own script, and the film is set to be released later this year.

Hey all. Tommy here, pinch-hitting for regular box-office soothsayer Patricia, who is off battling near-sub-zero temperatures in Park City, Utah, to attend the Sundance Film Festival this week.

So here's what's happening this weekend at the box office. In the wake of the Golden Globes and in anticipation of this coming Tuesday's Academy Award nominations, a slew of Oscar contenders (most of which were released in 2006) are expanding to more theaters. These include Golden Globe Best Picture winner 'Babel,' the critically acclaimed 'The Queen,' the enthralling adult fairy tale 'Pan's Labyrinth,' Clint Eastwood's other World War II flick 'Letters From Iwo Jima,' the powerful indie 'The Last King of Scotland' and the Edward Norton period drama 'The Painted Veil.' Alas, despite their lofty aspirations and high caliber, these almost-sure-to-be-nominated flicks will get crushed -- and I mean crushed with AUTHORITY -- by this week's only new wide release 'The Hitcher.'

Despite its R-rating, 'The Hitcher' appeals to that primal desire in a large group of moviegoers to watch a beauitful scantily clad woman (in this case Sophia Bush) flee from an eerie-looking -- and clearly deranged -- dude (in this case Sean Bean) who likes to thumb rides in the rain and then end the lives of his car-pool "buddies." Prediction: 'The Hitcher' will be riding solo atop the box office come Sunday.

Prediction deadline: Saturday at noon

1. The Hitcher
2. Stomp the Yard
3. Night at the Museum
4. Dreamgirls
5. Pursuit of Happyness

POST: What's your weekend top five prediction?

POST: What do you think of these movies?

The original The Hitcher (1986) would probably have faded away unnoticed into the land of forgotten horror movies (Monster Dog, anyone?), if not for one thing: Siskel & Ebert reviewed it on their TV show (and we're talking the real guys, not the impostor that's on now). They gave it two thumbs down, to be sure, but on top of that, they were physically repulsed and morally incensed, outraged at the sick sensibility that would make such a piece of filth. Their strong response, naturally, triggered an interest in the film and it became a cult classic. (S&E should have known better; they did the same thing to Meir Zarchi's I Spit on Your Grave eight years earlier.)

Now I know how they felt, because the new remake of The Hitcher left me feeling just as angry, although not on any moral grounds. It left me angry because it's easily the dumbest movie I've seen since The Da Vinci Code. We're not talking a misfire or a disappointment; we're talking droolingly, numbingly stupid.

Yes, we now officially have another name to throw in the Wonder Woman pot -- this time around, it's actress Sophia Bush who seems to be raising more than a few eyebrows. IESB recently sat down with Bush to discuss her role in The Hitcher remake, and decided to bring up a rumor they had heard awhile back but never wrote about. When asked whether she had discussed playing Wonder Woman with the powers that be, Bush simply replied, "Maybe." Oh, and then she smiled.

Bush's name has now been added to a long list of potential actresses up for the role, which includes Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra, Charisma Carpenter, Jessica Biel, American Idol's Katherine McPhee (chalk that one up as the most bizarre), Rachel Bilson and Cinematical's own Kim Voynar. (Keep in mind, Kim has nothing whatsoever to do with Wonder Woman, but I thought it would be fun to toss her name into the mix as well. Go Kim!)

Though we still don't know exactly where Joss Whedon is in the production process (re-writing draft 15, perhaps?), it can't be long before his star is announced. As far as Sophia Bush goes, she fits the perfect age range (unlike back when she was replaced by Claire "Why am I so boring" Danes in Terminator 3 for being "too young"), certainly looks the part (then again, there are thousands of pretty brunettes out there in La La Land) and, according to IESB, she has a kick-ass physique -- one that's capable of, well, kicking ass. So I guess we'll see -- is "maybe" with a smile enough to get excited? Not for me ... but I could care less about a big-screen version of Wonder Woman. Your thoughts?

John Tucker is the kind of boy whose powers of attraction are a mystery to everyone outside his immediate presence. Not smart, blithely fake, and not particularly interesting, he coasts by with a combination of bland good looks and the mysterious draw of Popularity, a phenomenon that feeds on itself -- he's popular, and therefore people like him. Especially girls. As played by Jesse Metcalfe in Betty Thomas' new film, John Tucker Must Die, the movie's title character is nothing more than a pretty picture, almost totally lacking in personality. Much like Metcalfe himself on-screen, Tucker replaces emotions with bright smiles, and soothes all worries with a confident word.

To give the womanizing Tucker his comeuppance, Thomas and screenwriter Jeff Lowell provide a trio of exes who, during an unexpected PE volleyball game (their regular teacher had a heart attack induced by John Tucker's charms), discover that they're all dating him at the same time. Though originally mollified by his ernest insistence that each of them is, in fact, his only secret girlfriend, the three are jarred out of their Tucker-nosis by Kate (Brittany Snow), a newcomer whose mother (Jenny McCarthy) has dated a fleet of her own John Tuckers. Taking Kate on as a sort of teacher-cum-apprentice, the girls resolve to teach the lying, cheating Tucker a lesson. If they can't make him undatable (they can't), they'll break his heart instead.

Whenever a new horror remake begins production, I get this huge dose of inner turmoil that's actually quite sad and geeky. On one hand ... why freakin' remake The Hitcher??? On the other ... it could be good! Plus, truth be told, if a producer came to me and said "Go on, here's a check. Remake a horror flick," you can bet your gills that "Scott Weinberg's Humanoids from the Deep" would be hitting your multiplex next summer. So there's that ...

Anyway, through the magic of a Rogue Pictures press release, we now have the pretty-full skinny on what to expect from Platinum Dunes' re-imaginivisadaptaion of Robert Harmon & Eric Red's The Hitcher. Relative newcomer Zachary Knighton* will be stepping into the C. Thomas Howell role, joining Sophia Bush (in the Jennifer Jason Leigh role, only this time she's a college kid and not a waitress) and Sean Boromir Bean in the villainous role made infamous by the feral Rutger Hauer.

Screenplay by Eric Bernt (Highlander: Endgame) & Jake Wade Wall (When a Stranger Calls); director Dave Meyers is a first-timer, unless you count the 1999 flick Foolish, which Mr. Meyers would probably prefer you didn't.

Plus there have been some rumors that Hauer himself would make an appearance somewhere in the flick, which might be fun. Or it might not. Ah yeah, the *asterisk* ... Zachary Knighton is someone you might recognize from TV's Life on a Stick, Related, or Love, Inc. Or you might not.