Indiana Jones -- he's got to be Harrison Ford, doesn't he? Okay, we had young Indiana Jones characters -- River Phoenix in the opening sequence of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and Sean Patrick Flanery in The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles -- but I never really thought of Indy as a character who could be cast in any other way. You know, you figure the part in Raiders of the Lost Ark was practically written for Ford, who'd been in a couple of George Lucas films before that anyway (Star Wars and American Graffiti).

However, that assumption couldn't be more wrong. I've been digging around on that great source of reliable information, the Internet, and reading all kinds of stories about the casting of Indiana Jones. The general gist is that Steven Spielberg was interested in Ford, but Lucas didn't want to be one of those directors who cast the same guy in all his movies. So they tested a bunch of other actors, and were seriously interested in one who had to back out ... and then ended up with Harrison Ford after all. We are all profoundly grateful. But let's take a look at some of those actors allegedly under consideration, and a few more that I threw into the mix just for fun. (I picked only actors who were alive and the right age at the time, which is why you don't see Steve McQueen on the list.)

But now the big question still remains: Will he get to take his shirt off? According to Entertainment Weekly, Matthew McConaughey was offered the leading role of Thomas Magnum in Universal Pictures' adaptation of Magnum P.I. In fact, right this very second (and possibly shirtless) McConaughey is said to be reading over the script from writer-director Rawson Thurber (Dodgeball); trying to decide whether or not he'd be a good fit. For those youngsters in the crowd, Magnum P.I. was a boss '80s TV show about a Navy Seal-turned-detective who liked Hawaiian shirts and big, porn mustaches.

This isn't the first we've heard of McConaughey and Magnum P.I. All the way back in January of 2007, he was rumored to be up for the part -- a role that, at one point, was going to Ben Affleck, George Clooney and Vince Vaughn. And ... what about Tom Selleck? Will he get to play a part? Probably not. Back in 2006 (oh yes, this project has been lingering in the halls of Hollywood detention for quite some time), Selleck called the movie idea "stupid" and said he'd take no part in it. Heck yeah, Tom! Tell it like it is. But if they were to move ahead on this, I like McConaughey out of everyone. Keep in mind, they'll update it to a point where the only traces from the old TV show come in character names and cheesy Hawaiian shirts.

What do you think about a Magnum P.I. movie? Keep it or kill it?

We're not keen on picking up British rumors, but this latest one wouldn't surprise me in the least. According to IGN (via sources like The Daily Express and Star Magazine), none other than Nicolas Cage might be the current frontrunner for the lead role in that long-planned Magnum P.I. film. This one has been circling actors for awhile now, with folks like Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey and George Clooney rumored to be in talks at one point or another. The Daily Express claims that the film sort of fell apart 18 months ago when both Clooney and Ricky Gervais (who was slated to play Magnum's Brit sidekick Higgins) rejected the film as if it were a cute girl at a bar that's had way too many drinks.

If Cage does sign on -- apart from pissing off fans of the original television show starring Tom Selleck -- producers will then look to cast the role of Higgins right away with an eye on a 2009 release. IGN alludes to the notion that folks could be looking to sign its cast and rush into production for fear that a strike might destroy Hollywood and all mankind in the near future. The Daily Express cites that Cage "likes the mix of comedy and crime-solving in the script." Gee, ya think -- that one line practically describes every movie he's in to begin with; why wouldn't he be keen to do it? I just hope they don't make the guy grow a really outlandish mustache. Hey, I liked the way it looked in Raising Arizona, but something tells me the guy can't pull it off anymore. So far the only one signed on to the big-screen Magnum P.I. flick is director Rawson Marshall Thurber, who previously helmed the comedy Dodgeball and is gearing up to release his follow-up flick, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.

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?

The last time we talked about the casting rumors regarding the Magnum, P.I. movie, about 95% of you flipped out at the thought of that evil, Un-American bastard George Clooney taking over a role originated by your Real, Gun-Wielding Man Tom Selleck. (Based on the copious comments we received, it's apparently physically impossible to be a fan of both. As someone who owns Magnum on DVD and adores both Selleck and Clooney, I expect to disappear into thin air any second now.)  And, angry Selleck-lovers it's about to get worse/ Though Clooney has denied that he's tied to the role, another nasty liberal has been thrown into the mix by series producer Charles Floyd Johnson, who claims he's heard Ben Affleck's name associated with the part. Horrors!

Me, I'm troubled more by Affleck's complete inappropriateness for the role than by his politics. Either way, though, I'm guessing that in this case it's going to be hard to find anyone who thinks this casting would be a good idea.

[via Moviehole]

Say it ain't so, Tom? In referring to the planned Magnum, P.I. movie, Tom Selleck told the press he wouldn't have anything to do with it, dashing all hopes the actor would at least make a cameo of some sort. Not only did he reject the idea, but he went as far as to call the it "stupid."  Say what? Stupid? C'mon Tom, what could be stupid about taking a hit television show from the 80's and updating it to create an amazing film?

Ever since the Magnum movie was announced, everyone from George Clooney to Vince Vaughn have been rumored to be competing for the lead role. Sure, this was exciting news for people like Martha who absolutely adore Mr. Clooney and wish he could be cloned so that the actor would have the chance to appear in thousands of films each year, however, the rest of us were really hoping the original P.I. would show up at some point, say something cool and convince us our money was well spent. Well, according to Tom Selleck, we were all extremely stupid for thinking that. You now have my permission to begin pounding your head against the wall.

OK, I'm going to say this up front, so no one goes crazy with glee or fury at the news that's going to follow: This information comes from someone else's unnamed "insider" source, so its veracity is tenuous at best. This "source" could be his crazy Uncle Charlie, for all we know. (Of course, the fact that it could also be someone at Imagine is what makes all of us want so badly to believe these things.) These are RUMORS, not facts. Got it? OK, good. Moving on.

Rumor has it that two names are on the shortlist to star in the still-a-long-way-from-production Magnum PI movie: George Clooney and Vince Vaughn. Now, as you may have noticed, the women at Cinematical are rather huge lovers of the Clooney, so it's sort of a foregone conclusion that I'd be excited about him in pretty much any role. But I'm also a massive Magnum fan, and it seems like, if we can't have the original, Clooney would really be perfect. He can do the whole "cocky, good-looking man" thing in his sleep, but also has a very convincing serious side. Vaughn, on the other hand, would be a different Magnum entirely -- it seems obvious that, if they cast him, the movie will follow in the footsteps of Starsky & Hutch, taking the "We love this dude but man, ain't he silly?" approach.

Really, both men (if, again, they really are being considered) have their merits, it's just a question of what direction Imagine wants to go with their film: Hire Clooney if it's going to follow the tone of the series, and Vaughn if they prefer to mock the show (with love, of course).

Entertainment reporter/photographer Nick Douglas killed himself on December 8, after a series of events involving Tom Selleck, a handful of unopened beers, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the organization that puts on the Golden Globes. Douglas was a reporter for for a tabloid called Big Buzz, based out of Ireland, and according to today's New York Times, he was suspended by the HFPA after removing a few unopened bottles of beer from a reception and lying about selling a photo of the sometime Magnum P.I. last year. Soon, he lost his entertainment world connections, and eventually, lost his Big Buzz column. His friends and supporters say his self-hanging happened as a direct consequence of HFPA's disciplinary action. That impossible-to-prove claim aside, Sharon Waxman does a typically hysterical job of half-assedly deconstructing the secret club, which will accept reporters from obscure South Korean papers but not La Ronde, and which has a notorious history of banning its members for minor transgressions. Still, worth a read, if only for the tales of various HFPA suspensions – apparently, foreign reporters REALLY like to drink.