An Arrested Development Movie Development!

While cult classic television series Arrested Development was unceremoniously canned by Fox executives after just three seasons on February 10, 2006, the Internet has been abuzz with rumors about the Bluth family's possible return in the form of a full-length motion picture. The show's stars have been pretty secretive about the project thus far, but Alia Shawkat—who played Maeby Funke—shared some interesting details in a recent Radar interview. Here's an excerpt:

"I got a call from Mitchell Hurwitz, the creator, and he said 'so have you heard about this movie we're supposedly doing?' and I said yes. And he said he was in and it was great. And Jason [Bateman], when he was doing all the Juno press, he basically just talked up [Arrested Development] the movie. He got the publicity going before anything was real. So Mitch talked to Ron Howard, who said he would direct it, and he's down. So I think Mitch was like, 'I guess I'll write it then,' and that's what I think he's doing now. And yes, I'm involved. I think everyone is."

So I guess this confirms that they're maybe, sort of, all agreeing to be involved with the Arrested Development film. Not exactly earth-shattering, I know. But hey, if the movie thing doesn't work out, at least there's always money in the banana stand.

"Come on, genius..."

If you were one of the millions of people who caught Iron Man this weekend, chances are you also caught the brand-new trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. If you're a shut-in and you didn't make it to the multiplex, the video is now available on IndianaJones.com.

Now, I know skepticism is fairly popular amongst Internet movie geeks, it's part of the culture. Head over to any forum at Ain't it Cool News, for example, and you'll be bombarded with some pretty hateful bashing of about each and every upcoming summer blockbuster, with particular venom aimed squarely at Dr. Jones and company. Frankly, I don't get it.

Sure, Harrison Ford hasn't gotten any younger in the 19 years since Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and a lot of fans were let down by Lucasfilm's Star Wars prequels, but I have absolute faith in everyone involved in this project. Ford, director Steven Spielberg and executive producer George Lucas would never agree to a fourth Indy film if it wasn't worth dusting off the whip and the fedora one last time. And this should excite us as moviegoers. After all, aren't adventure films like the Indiana Jones series the reason we all go to the movies each and every summer?

Okay, I Think I'm Back

Hey there Wortmaniacs. I suppose we all burn out every once in a while. Last week, I was pushing myself to finish a piece for my local newspaper, the Westmore News, and after its completion I decided that I needed to take a bit of a breather from any and all side projects to collect myself. The fact that Grand Theft Auto IV came out last week might also have had something to do with my absence from the Report.

Now, I know that it's a tad after the fact, so I'll spare you a long-winded review of the game. Chances are, you already ran out, bought it and have caused enough digital mayhem in Liberty City to give gaming villain Jack Thompson carpal tunnel syndrome from all the hand-wringing. In short, it's an amazing piece of video game that I look forward to playing each and every day after work.

If you weren't too busy stealing cars, blowing up helicopters and engaging in other unsavory shenanigans, you might have noticed that a little film called Iron Man hit theaters this weekend. Did I see it? Do you even know me? I was there Saturday with a packed theater enjoying the hell out of ol' shellhead. For my full review, head on over to Broken Frontier.

Since we're on the topic of Iron Man, which pulled in nearly $100 million this past weekend, the good people at Marvel Entertainment announced earlier today that a sequel is definitely in the works. Reuters reports that an Iron Man sequel will hit theaters in April 2010 followed by a Thor adaptation the following June. Captain America and The Avengers are each scheduled to hit theaters in 2011. If the phenomenal Iron Man is any indication, comic book fans have plenty to look forward to for the next few summers. Excelsior!