With DJ Caruso directing Preacher, it becomes the second cult western literary adaptation to be taken on by an averagely talented, workhorse director (although Caruso doesn’t even come close to Ron Howard’s league). This might be the natural evolution of “geek” properties being co-opted by Hollywood. A decade ago, it was Sam Raimi bringing his Evil Dead prowess to a web-slinging comic of note. Now, the grittier material is getting notice, but middling directors will start earning the paycheck. So it goes. The list of directors who could bring the story of a Texas preacher man whose been imbued with the power of pure goodness and pure evil (and the power to command people to do his bidding) to life is a long one. So is the list of directors better suited than DJ Caruso. Here are just seven of them (ranging from the obvious to the not-so), but feel free to brainstorm more:

After the rumors and speculation (and the years of development hell), DJ Caruso has utilized twitter to proclaim that he’ll be directing Preacher. Be waiting for the announcement of their PG-13 shooting goal fairly soon. Was The Salton Sea a good movie? Of course. It wasn’t off the charts, but it was a competent thriller, and Caruso has proven that he can make a movie look like a movie. Especially his action sequences. Unfortunately, his three most recent flicks have all been watered-down, convoluted messes that play out like a sophomore in high school discovered old Twilight Zone episodes. Trix aren’t for kids. DJ Caruso is. Maybe he’s been biding his time with schlock while trying to make a name big enough for himself to land something challenging like Preacher, but that’s difficult to believe. The only optimism here comes in the form of John August. Up to this point, Caruso has only directed scripts from the wet behind the ears and the averagely talented. Now, he has a veteran storyteller crafting a complex story. Who knows. Maybe that’s the key to success here. Maybe if Caruso gets a solid script, he’ll shoot the hell out of it. [Film Stage]

This week, Fat Guy Kevin Carr hit his head and spent the better part of his time wandering around Berlin looking for January Jones. Soon he unlocked the key to his past and realized he was an alien who is hiding among the people of Earth, hunted by big dudes with tattoos and trench coats. Fortunately, he woke up from this terrifying dream to realize the true nightmare… there’s another Big Momma movie with Martin Lawrence and on-screen son Brandon T. Jackson in fat suits. To quote many a movie: “Noooooooooooo!”

D.J. Caruso is bringing another film (ostensibly in his same brand of lightweight intrigue) to theaters this year, and I Am Number Four has a truly intriguing premise. A young man is hiding his amazing powers for fear of being killed by a mysterious entity. It, on the surface, seems like the movie version of Heroes that everyone was clamoring for (or the movie version of The Tomorrow People if you’re cooler). The movie, stars rising actors Alex Pettyfer, Diana Agron, and Teresa Palmer alongside Timothy Olyphant and fan-favorite character actor Kevin Durand. The twenty new images that just hit our inbox show some brooding, some pensive stares, and a building evaporating in a giant fireball while a young bad ass walks away (without looking back!). Check them out for yourself:

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?