Do you remember how there is somebody out there trying to put together a big screen re-boot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer that doesn’t involve the property’s creator Joss Whedon, or is that a memory that you’ve repressed? Well, it’s happening, at least on some level. Warner Bros. wants the property to live on, and to that goal they hired a screenwriter named Whit Anderson to write a script some time ago. Unfortunately for those hoping for more Buffy, that script was submitted to the studio over the summer and Hero Complex has sources saying that the studio didn’t like it at all. Because of the disappointing words on page, the project has been sent back to square one and executives are looking for a new writer to take a crack at it. Someone Hero Complex describes as a “key player” in the production said of their progress so far, “If you’re going to bring it back, you have to do it right. Anderson came in with some great ideas and she had reinvented some of the lore and it was pretty cool but in the end there just wasn’t enough on the page.” So I guess now that the proposed film has hit a stumbling block the question has to be raised, is this the beginning of the end for a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or is the next writer who gets hired going to be able to do something with the property that the studio finds acceptable?

Back in the late 90s, expert director of schlock Paul Verhoeven took a stab at adapting one of legendary sci-fi novelist Robert Heinlein’s most popular stories, “Starship Troopers”, and the results were something that resembled Heinlein’s far-looking, satirical tale less than it did a B-level genre piece that was far more…well, schlocky. Starship Troopers was all about bad acting, big explosions, disgusting amounts of bug goop, and exploitative co-ed naked shower scenes. It may not have been an adaptation with a tone that was true to its source material, but it had its own kind of charm, you know? And since it was just made in the 90s, and it’s got special effects that actually hold up pretty well, you wouldn’t think there would be any need to revisit the material again. But you would be wrong. Or at least producer Neal Moritz thinks you’re wrong. You may have heard Moritz’s name before, he’s the Sony Pictures bigwig responsible for another recent remake; the upcoming and Colin Farrell-starring Total Recall. The similarities between these two projects are endless. The original Total Recall was also a Paul Verhoeven movie, it was also (very loosely) adapted from a story by a legendary science fiction writer (Philip K. Dick), and it was also something that nobody really thought needed to be remade. That film hasn’t hit theaters yet or anything, but Moritz must be really happy with what he’s seen of it, because with this new take on Starship Troopers he’s pretty clearly [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Roger Corman is probably the best known creator of B-movie cheese and exploitation junk of all time. Between the mid-60s and the early 90s he produced hundreds of cult films and even directed fifty of them himself. Despite the fact that he worked pretty exclusively in the lower brow side of the filmmaking world, he also launched a ton of big careers by giving talented filmmakers their first shot and he became a hugely influential figure in the Hollywood world. Even today, his legacy is starting to thrive through remakes and reboots of his past projects. Things like the new Death Race and the new Piranha 3D are keeping the memories of junk cinema’s past alive. And according to Variety, there is at least one more Corman reboot on the way. Dry County Entertainment has gotten the rights to 80s slasher Chopping Mall, and they’re poised to put their own spin on it. In the original version of Chopping Mall, a group of teenagers get locked inside of a shopping mall and have to fend off robotic security guards that have turned murderous and prove to be very deadly. This proposed new version of the shopping mall slasher wouldn’t be exactly like that, according to Dry County head Robert Hall, who says, “It will retain the basic concept of young people trapped in a mall; however, the story will have a darker, supernatural spin.” I guess that supernatural spin thing could be pretty controversial. Will this piss off some Chopping [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

The sequel to J.J. Abrams’ slick and successful Star Trek reboot was originally supposed to come out on June 29, 2012. That date didn’t really take into consideration that Abrams was a busy guy doing a lot of other things though. Because of his directorial and promotional duties on Super 8, there was no way he was going to hit that date and make it good. Thankfully, instead of forcing Abrams to rush the project out, or flat out firing Abrams and then hiring Brett Ratner to rush the project out, Paramount had the good sense to pull back on their expectations, give Abrams a reprieve, and actually try to make a good movie.

It may be considered old news since it happened a whole week ago, but Disney passing on The Lone Ranger is a remarkably good sign. It’s noteworthy for more than the average news of the day because it hints at a crack in the current foundation of studio thinking. It’s barely ever publicized, since a studio refusing to make a film is hardly newsworthy, but a project this high-profile, featuring talent like Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski, that’s been reported on so thoroughly used to be a done deal. Now, that’s not the case. It’s not like this is the end of the story crisis or anything, but it’s the Hollywood equivalent of a crack addict putting down the pipe, and it should be celebrated.

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as TheManFromWaco andTeenWlf2 in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, the pair questions what separates the wheat from the shit when it comes to reboots, prequels and movies capitalizing on name recognition in order to get ahead in the marketing game. What makes a prequel great? How can a reboot really succeed?

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we talk with stuntman legend Vic Armstrong (who brought to life Indiana Jones, Superman and James Bond). We also chat with camera operator/cinematographer Peter Simonite (Skateland, Tree of Life), and we dig deeper into the monster-making world of effects master Shannon Shea. Plus, Matt Razak from Flixist spars off with Mike Smith from Examiner.com for our Movie News Pop Quiz, and we all learn an important lesson. By that, I mean a lesson about re-imaginings, reboots and re-re-re-makes. Listen Here: Download This Episode

What do you call it when you take a character and remove him from the environment that made him who he is? The new Zorro Reborn project. Set to be directed by pre-viz artist Rpin Suwannath, this new story would take Zorro away from the desert of the southwest during a time where phones and clean water don’t exist and place him in a post-apocalyptic future desert during a time where phones and clean water don’t exist. Zorro will just never get to know the pleasure of watching Golden Girls in an air conditioned room. I’m no purist, but taking a character from the environment that made him is always a dangerous prospect. Then again, that very type of What If? game gave the world “Superman: Red Son” so it can’t be all bad. On the plus side, it might be thrilling to see a masked desperado taking on the likes of irradiated mutants, starving madmen and selfish hoarders in a barren wasteland. On the other, the success of Batman Begins seems to have locked in our fate for reboots of this bleak kind. It’s our fate to see characters thrown into far darker circumstances than we remember them in. On that note, be on the lookout for the announcement that Howdy Doody will soon be rebooted as a vampire hunter stalking the noir-ish streets of 1920s Chicago. [24 Frames]

Anyone, including me, that wrote about the downfall of the comic book trend was just proven dead wrong. Warners president  Jeff Robinov just took anyone curious about the future of comic book movies, asked them where the drugs were, and then shoved them face down into the gutter as rain water poured over their nose and mouth. Announcing a Batman reboot before cameras even start to roll on the current Batman film is a bold move. I’m still trying to wrap my cowl-less head around what it fully means, but there are at least four major shifts that just occurred, and they all affect movie goers.

Remember when X-Men: The Last Stand had to be haphazardly thrown together because Fox and Bryan Singer had some sort of disagreement on the scheduling, so then he left to make Superman Returns instead, and Fox got Brett Ratner to jump in for a quick fix on The Last Stand, and then they both turned out to be pretty lame? Long story, but it happened, swear to God. And even worse, they made another franchise prequel after The Last Stand called X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and it ended up being an even bigger mess, had a bunch of horrible takes on new characters like Deadpool, and seemed sure to be the death knell of the entire X-Men franchise. And this came after they called one of the movies The Last Stand. Remember that? Fox did, because instead of continuing on with that series of films, they totally recast the roles, totally rebooted the story, and have made Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. Probably we’ll have to see if audiences are receptive of this new reboot to see if there will be more X-Men movies, right? Right? Nope, the new issue of Empire Magazine, which sports several X-Men: First Class themed covers, has some quotes about the upcoming direction the franchise is going to take. Apparently I was wrong in thinking The Last Stand needed a reboot, or that it was some sort of last stand, because sequels to that film are in the works. Longtime X-Men producer Lauren Shuler Donner is [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This week, on a very special episode of Reject Radio, we do what Hollywood finds impossible by creating a successful reboot. The show is getting an upgrade (which is why you can hear both drilling and confetti being tossed constantly in the background), and the new format promises to make everyone who listens to the show three inches taller and wildly, wildly wealthy. As in, so wealthy you’ll have to figure out how to buy off politicians. You can check out the show guide below, but the quick and dirt version involves two beloved Rejects battling it out in a game of wits, a teenage director seeing her first SXSW premiere, a visual effects artist arguing on behalf of post-conversion 3D, and 5 myths about production that ensure movies will be crappy. Loosen up your tie and stay a while. Listen Here: Download This Episode

Somewhere hidden away in the mid-1990s, there’s a young man reading a “Star Log” in his bedroom foaming at the mouth at the words on the glossy magazine page. There they are. The words “Watchmen” and “Terry Gilliam” right next to each other like a pair of star cross’d lovers finally exchanging vows. The iconic comic books that he grew up reading are finally going to be seen on the living, breathing, bloody brilliant big screen. Then it doesn’t happen. There are a lot of reasons why it doesn’t happen (too many to dive into right now), but that young man is eternally disappointed when those words he once reveled in start to fade away. With the announcement that Universal has passed on Guillermo Del Toro’s At The Mountains of Madness, a lot of fans might be finding themselves in a similar position, and it’s not just Lovecraft devotees. It’s movie fans of all stripes who see this as another defeat of the auteur in service of the bottom line. Is it Universal’s fault? Sure. Much in the same way that everyone shares a little blame. It does, however, shine its silver lining as a spotlight on the disease of the studio system that’s been picked at and mulled over and puzzled for the past few years. Luckily, it also exposes the solution: Failure.

When do they get started? When some poor schmuck volunteers. Fortunately, that schmuck – in the form of Elite Squad director Jose Padilha – has signed up for the job to direct the reboot of Robocop. Is there a better choice out there? Probably not. For one, Padilha is almost completely unknown to US audiences, and if the studios are going to keep forcing us to revisit the icons of our past, they might as well introduce us to the talent of the future while they’re at it. The project could give some great exposure to a worthy director. For two, Elite Squad and its follow-up are incredible movies that use violent action as less of a plot device and more of a calling card. Essentially, the logic of why MGM chose Padilha (even with names like Robert Rodriguez floating around) is a hell of a lot clearer than why, say, the guy who directed that Justin Bieber concert is now directing G.I. Joe 2. This is optimistic news. Although it will be light years different than Darren Aronofsky’s vision, Padilha is a talent that demands to be seen, and this project is a great way to showcase his particular set of directing skills. Let’s see if they can get this monster to work. [Heat Vision]

Every week, Landon Palmer and Cole Abaius log on to their favorite chat client of 1996 as ArtHouseParty and Jonesin4Indy in order to discuss some topical topic of interest. This week, the two wander into dangerous, job-threatening territory with the question of whether movie websites are helping the boon of remakes, reboots, and otherwise unoriginal flicks hitting theaters. There’s a story crisis in Hollywood. Are movie websites partially to blame?

Hollywood should grow a pair and do a startlingly different take on Superman. Instead of the same old origin story, dare to create something new and phenomenal.

Another 90s video game is being relaunched as a movie franchise following the heels of the 2009 mega-blockbuster “Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.”

We may have taken for granted that Darren Aronofsky was going to end up being the director for Robocop. It’s likely that he’ll still do it, but a new scheduling problem may make it that much harder to pull off.