If you read any part of that draft of W., Oliver Stone's Bush biopic, which hit the net a few months back, you might think it ludicrous for the film to be likened to Shakespeare. But Stone himself has done so, as part of an L.A. Times set visit interview. Lumped in with a quote in which Stone also contrasts the project to the work of Michael Moore, the Oscar-winning director's statement is in response to the film's level of seriousness: "W. isn't an overly serious movie, but it is a serious subject. It's a Shakespearean story. . . . I see it as the strange unfolding of American democracy as I have lived it."

The Times piece, which reports from Shreveport, Louisiana, where Independence Bowl stadium fills in for the Texas Rangers' Arlington Stadium, is very filling for anyone with an appetite for more W. updates. Included are a description of and dialogue from a scene between George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) and George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell), details on a "baseball-oriented fantasy" sequence, Brolin stating that he's not out to do a SNL-style caricature and admitting his initial hesitance to take on the role, a general overview of the project's coming together, and, best of all, a picture (seen, cropped, above) of Brolin as the future Commander in Chief looking like he's just had the crap beaten out of him. Also a fact I'd somehow never known prior to reading the article: Stone was "briefly a Yale classmate of Bush."

You know, sometimes you just want to get your hands on a studio executive and shake them until they see sense. Straight from the 'why bother?' files, Bloody Disgusting has received a tip that Hostel producer Scott Spiegel has been tapped to direct the third installment of the horror series. Not only would Spiegel be behind the camera for the flick, but he would also be in charge of writing the script. Even though I might not be the biggest fan of Eli Roth or Hostel, I do know one thing: if you aren't going to do something right, don't do it at all.

After the release of Hostel II, it became clear that Roth had no plans on torturing tourists again in the near future, and fans of the series were given the bad news that a third film could be a straight-to-DVD affair. At least fans can take solace in the fact that Spiegel produced the first two films, and has solid horror cred, so at least he knows his way around some blood-spatter. Spiegel's deal has not been confirmed yet, so stay tuned to Cinematical for any updates that come our way.

What do you think? Should Hostel continue without Roth? Or, is the series better off as the sole property of Roth's sick imagination?

As someone who's only grown decreasingly fond of the Saw franchise (at least since the second one) and still marvels at the fact that we as a world find ourselves facing the prospect of a fifth (and possibly sixth!) one this coming Halloween and the next, I must attest to being weirdly admirable of how creatively macabre the series' marketing campaigns have been.

Case in point: the first revealed poster for Saw V, included in full after the jump and courtesy of IMP Awards. Following up the magically MPAA-approved acts of amputated limbs, dislodged teeth, and bent fingernails is the face of actor Tobin Bell acting as a mask on another body entirely, in spirit with the films' perpetual acknowledgement that Bell's character, John Kramer/Jigsaw, kinda died at the end of Saw III and sorta went through an autopsy at the beginning of Saw IV.

As Bell remains flaunted and credited in equal measure - as does the similarly deceased Shawnee Smith - I think it's safe to expect A) more flashbacks, a la #4, and B) more exceedingly gruesome demises, a la #1-4. However, at a combined worldwide gross of $553 million to date, it's also safe to say that there are many who'd hope -- who'd pay -- for nothing less.

Two new posters from Punisher: War Zone have surfaced, photographed by Getty at a party thrown for Ray Stevenson. As they are watermarked, you'll have to click on the snipped version to your right to see them. But hey, you also get to see the photos of the party and feel as though you were there.

I like these so much more than last month's teaser poster. I get the love for the Punisher's skull emblem, but he is the kind of character that you just need to put in people's faces. Unless you are Superman or Batman, the emblem is nothing unless it is displayed proudly on your muscular, heroic chest.

First there was Date Movie, and it was ... not good. And then came Epic Movie, and it was ... even worse. Most recently we received Meet the Spartans, and it was ... you get the point: By now we're well aware that sophomoric spoof-merchants Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer are not even remotely interested in making a good film. Their goal is simply to throw as many current* pop culture references onto the screen so that bored 14-year-olds with more allowance money than common sense will line up to chuckle (feebly) at the duo's desperate antics. (* And if the jokes are this bad when they're "current," what the hell will these flicks look like in ten years?)

But you know what? It's almost creepy how well these things do: For a production budget of about $20 million apiece, Date, Epic, and Spartans made about $84 million each. (That's worldwide box-office, and thanks to Mojo for the numerals.) So Fox essentially gave these guys $60 million and three shots, and they virtually quadrupled their budget each time out. (So why does the IMDb rate these films at 2.6, 2.3, and 2.4, respectively? I have no idea. How many times must a person get smacked on the skull before they start avoiding the hammer?)

Anwyay, Friedberg and Seltzer have moved their parody tent over to Lionsgate, and that's who'll be unleashing the aptly-titled Disaster Movie on August 29. (And people call Saw torture. Ha!) Click right here to enjoy the trailer, and by "enjoy" I actually mean "sit there and subject yourself to amazingly half-assed jokes about clumsy superheroes, pregnant teenagers, and tons of other horrific stuff that I can't believe passes for comedy." And yet I bet it will make about $84 million worldwide and we'll all be sitting here next year, bemoaning the impending arrival of Friedberg & Seltzer's Action Movie.

Despite being one of the most beloved characters in the sword and sorcery genre, I can't help thinking that the reboot of Conan the Barbarian might be doomed -- I mean, it has been almost a whole year since news of a bidding war first surfaced, and after endless casting speculation we find out that now the script is suffering through a few growing pains of its own. IGN spoke with Nu Image/Millennium Films and they said that writers Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer have just started their "contractually obligated" rewrite of the script.

There is still no word on a director yet, but IGN reports that "The filmmakers are still talking to some directors but expect to engage more of them once they have a screenplay everyone is happy with." At one point everyone from Rob Zombie to John McTiernan was attached to the project, but nothing ever panned out -- could that have been the sign of a bad script that wasn't getting any better? But, for fans that are eager for the northern barbarian to get a makeover, all is not lost. IGN reports that the studio is planning on getting the production moving "sooner rather than later" in hopes of capitalizing on the popularity of the new MMORPG, Age of Conan - Hyborian Adventures -- that is if they can ever find someone to direct or star in the film.

Conan is expected to arrive in theaters sometime in 2009.

Do you like video games? How about The Running Man? If your answer to both of these questions is yes, then you're in luck because a Gerard Butler fan site has provided a scan of the July issue of Empire magazine, which includes a sneak peek at the video game thriller, Game, starring Butler and Michael C. Hall (Dexter). OK, so they aren't the greatest photos, but they will remind audiences that the film will at least have stuff blowing up. Crank creators Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor wrote the script and also directed, and I can only assume the two will be doing what they do best: ridiculous action set pieces and over the top machismo.

Game centers on a 'not too distant future' where the most popular past time is an online game called Slayers. But this isn't your usual MMORPG; instead, gamers get to control real-life convicts. Butler stars as Kabel, the most popular contestant who has caught the eye of resistance fighters looking to bring down the games creator, Castle (played by Hall). The cast also includes Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes), Alison Lohman (Beowulf), John Leguizamo, and Christopher 'Ludacris' Bridges.

Game is scheduled to arrive in theaters this fall.

I'm hungry for horror. The Strangers was OK, but The Happening was a major disappointment and nothing else is scheduled until August 1. That's when Ryuhei Kitamura's Midnight Meat Train, starring Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones and Leslie Bibb, is now set to open, delayed from May 16. But will you get to see it?

Shock Till You Drop reported last week that Lionsgate planned only a limited, 100-screen release in major cities, followed by a quick release on DVD, thus denying many horror fans the opportunity to see the film on the big screen. Someone suggested a viral campaign to get a wider release, which has now been endorsed by the man who wrote the story on which the movie is based: Clive Barker.

As quoted at The Official Clive Barker Resource, he says: "I am very excited about this possibility and I would passionately encourage everybody who cares about my work to use this chance to change the minds of the folks at Lionsgate. ... I really think, this late in the day, that grassroots support for our movie could significantly improve our chances of reaching a much bigger audience theatrically. The picture is worth the effort, I believe."

With three wide releases already scheduled on August 1 (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, The Rocker, Swing Vote), it's a tough sell, but I'd love to see it happen. A thread at the IMDb boards has contact information.

[ Via Bloody Good Horror ]

The teaser trailer for Punisher: War Zone caught us all by surprise late last week -- even the movie's director, Lexi Alexander. She updated her blog talking about the reaction to the trailer, as well as her own feelings about it. She's surprisingly mixed about the cut of the teaser!

"I'm not sure what kind of impression I would get from this trailer if I didn't actually know the film. I am utterly impressed, though, they managed to find that much PG rated action footage at all. It had to be a challenge to cut a trailer from our action stuff without showing any gore and blood." She is quite keen for us to see the exploding heads that result from Frank Castle's bullets, and hopes that an eventual red band trailer will let us see one.

When Elisabeth Rappe brought us the teaser poster for Punisher: War Zone a couple of weeks back, she correctly supposed that the teaser trailer might be attached to this weekend's Marvel property, The Incredible Hulk.

IGN Movies has the exclusive trailer, and it's all bangs and booms as vengeance-minded Frank Castle - played by Ray Stevenson of 'Rome', in place of Thomas Jane - wreaks more havoc on the criminal and corrupt.

I can't speak for fans of the comic, but I'm really not sure how many of them wanted to see a sequel to the 2004 actioner (which, mind you, barely broke even at the box office), and how many will actually turn out for one sorely lacking in Jane, not to mention the article 'The'. And whether or not it's better left swept under the rug, it's always hard to ignore various signs of a troubled production.

Good, bad, loud or in between, Punisher: War Zone is scheduled to open on December 5. Maybe it's looking to rake in all the fanboy bucks that Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem and Hitman managed around last year's holiday season...

Being one not entirely fond of controversy for controversy's sake, I cannot deny that the prospect of 'Politically Incorrect' host Bill Maher working with Borat director Larry Charles to make a documentary regarding religion in any respect and having it distributed by a studio all too proud to remind you of the hand it had in releasing Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 wasn't one that had me eager to line up around the block for it any time soon.

However, all things considered, while the new trailer for Religulous fails to dilute any notions that this thing is a lightning rod in waiting, I found myself unexpectedly consoled by the fact that Maher and Charles appear to be covering every faith and denomination that they can in making a film about the seemingly ridiculous nature of any one belief to another.

If Ben Stein can both cause an old-fashioned ruckus with his doc on the exclusion of creationist thought in public schools and rake in some relatively decent grosses while doing it, it'll be interesting to see just how much attention this film will inevitably garner come this October 3.

If anyone was still expecting Oliver Stone's W to be a sympathetic, thoughtful treatment of a controversial figure a lá Nixon, you can pretty much toss that out the window. The teaser poster for the rushed-to-production George W. Bush biopic -- a piece of artwork Lionsgate took with them to Cannes -- makes Stone's attitude toward the man pretty clear. Check it out after the jump.

My question is this: does anyone seriously think that people are going to flock to the theater in the middle of election season lured by the promise of... Bushisms? That's your marketing pitch? Bush supporters don't appreciate the jibes, and Democrats have already heard all the jokes.

Look, I don't want a movie that's kind to Bush, or even one that's "even-handed"; I just want one that's thoughtful. Of course it's possible that the poster doesn't match the tone of Stone's film; after all, the Lionsgate marketing department almost certainly had final say. Granted, too, this was a poster produced for Cannes, and may not be representative of the eventual American campaign. But everything I've heard about W -- most notably this -- indicates that the poster has it pretty much right. Bush is a frat boy, a bumbler, "the improbable president." No doubt. But is he anything else?

[

Horror fans are savvy enough to know that when a remake casts stars of teen-skewing TV shows in the leads, that can mean only one thing: the dreaded PG-13. The Hollywood Reporter says that television veteran Kerr Smith has joined the cast of My Bloody Valentine 3-D. He'll be playing Axle Palmer, and THR describes him as married to Sarah (Jaime King) and the nemesis of Tom (Jensen Ackles), which sounds villainous.

Smith was effectively creepy as a real jerk in Final Destination and I assume he'll bring some of that edgy attitude to his role as a nemesis, but he's better known for his roles on Dawson's Creek and Charmed.