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As far as hustling movie producer archetypes go, I tend to prefer Joel Silver over Harvey Weinstein. Sure, Weinstein played a role in some of the great American independent films from the last decade of the twentieth century, but Silver's production credits have more spice to them -- The Matrix, Predator, 48 Hrs. -- hinting at the zany force behind their existence. The movies he has produced don't always please everyone (consider those last two Matrix movies), and sometimes his productions run into unforeseeable setbacks (Joss Whedon's troublesome Wonder Woman script). But now, Silver's trying a radical maneuver that reaffirms his maverick abilities: He's shopping around Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla, which tells the story of a drama surrounding a stolen painting and stars Gerard Butler, to other studios despite the plan to release it through Warner Bros. in October.

According to Patrick Goldstein in The Los Angeles Times, Silver said he showed the movie to Lionsgate and Sony Pictures to get some advice on how to market the film. However, when Goldstein asked Warner Bros.' top executive Alan Horn about the situation, Horn called the movie "very English," not "broadly commercial," and said the studio "might not be willing to spend the marketing money he wants us to." So it follows that Silver probably wants to sell the movie to somebody else.

This kind of thing has happened before. Jonathan Levine's teen horror flick All the Boys Love Mandy Lane was set for a release through The Weinstein Company, but when it was determined that the distributor might not provide the best home for the film, it went to the more agreeable Senator Films (although Senator has yet to release it). What troubles me is Horn's assertion that RocknRolla is "very English." Yeah ... so?

Last week in this space, I pondered the success of Tyler Perry's latest film, Madea's Family Reunion, which to date has grossed over $62 million (the bulk of that in the first 24 days of its run). Then over the weekend, I listened to a fantastic conversation on Integral Naked between philosopher Ken Wilber and Matrix director Larry Wachowski chatting it up about the heavily Buddhist philosophy and intricate storyline of the Matrix films**, and followed that up with this excellent piece on Zen Buddhism in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill films. Madea's Family Reunion, the Matrix triology, and Kill Bill - a group of films that on the surface appear to have almost no overlap, other than big box office returns - have more in common than you might think.

(Editor's note: As one of our readers pointed out, to access the interview, you have to join Integral Naked, which costs $10 a month - something I didn't realize at the time because my husband has an account, so when he sent me the URL to it, I was able to log right in. If you're into Ken Wilber, it's a bargain; if you're not into deep philosophical discussions that make your brain bleed, then just read the summary of the interview at the link, above, which you should be able to read without paying. It's a pretty thorough summary. Regardless, my apologies for not disclosing that you would have to pay to hear the interview yourself - KV.)