Here's a movie that's getting stranger and stranger the more details we get -- and I'm loving it. First, Mike Judge's Extract was simply a movie that "explores what it's like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you." Then it became about a guy who owns an industrial flower-extract plant and has to deal with workplace issues and a cheating wife. Now, it turns out that one of the "workplace issues" is an employee who loses a body part in a freak accident, and that the wife is cheating on the protagonist with a gigolo. Awesome.

Jason Bateman plays the factory owner -- that, we already knew. We also knew that the amazing Kristen Wiig is playing the wife, and Mila Kunis another employee. The new info is that Clifton Collins, Jr. has joined the cast as the maiming victim, and Ben Affleck as an ambulance-chasing lawyer who, I'd imagine, wants to milk Bateman's character for all he's worth. No word on who's playing the gigolo.

I got pelted with poop for praising Mike Judge's last movie, the largely direct-to-DVD Idiocracy, the first time I wrote about this project, but I stand by comments. It would have been easy for Judge to do Office Space 2, but it's been gratifying to watch him go in some even more offbeat directions instead.

Well here's something you don't see every day: A big, flashy summertime "tentpole" movie that A) takes chances, B) bucks convention, and C) takes some real risks with its subject material. Obviously the safe approach is for Will Smith to do (yet another) easily-digestible (if somewhat mindless) blockbuster like I, Robot or I Am Legend or Independence Day -- but this time the endlessly profitable Will Smith is working with a rather distinctive director who refuses to cater to formula. That director would be Peter Berg, and this guy has yet to make a bad film.

Unfortunately the production history on Hancock is not a fantastic one. There was a revolving door of directors and script polishers before Columbia finally started production -- but there were still marketing issues, last-minute reshoots, and MPAA miseries to deal with. And yet, despite all that, Hancock arrives like a breath of weirdly fresh air for moviegoers who like a little heart and soul mixed in with their hyper-kinetic action mayhem. Toss some sharp wit and an impressive display of edge into the mix, and I think you may have one of my favorite movies of the summer. (Although one can plainly tell that there was some late cutting done to the flick, all in the name of the almighty PG-13 rating, of course.)

After years of Beavis and Butt-Head, there was Office Space. But after red Swingline staplers and the need for flair, Mike Judge took a number of years off from directing -- until the largely ignored Idiocracy. This time around, however, we don't have to wait as long (as Eugene pointed out in April). Extract is on the way, and now EW's Hollywood Insider has shared more of the plot, and who's in talks to co-star alongside Jason Bateman.

The film will focus on a guy who owns a flower-extract plant -- the industrial sort, not the leafy sort. In typical, professional Judge fashion, the guy is having a bunch of bad luck, which includes "workplace issues and a cheating wife." EW sources say that Kristen Wiig is looking into playing the wife, while Mila Kunis might grab a role as a plant employee. That sounds like a set up for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, revisited -- the man can choose between his crappy partner and the wonderful nice girl right in front of him.

Between the possible murk of an actors' strike and Wiig's SNL schedule, the film is slated to start production in August.

I wanted to go into Hancock knowing as little as possible, so I deliberately avoided reading anything about it -- at least, as much as that was possible given the amount of movie blog reading I do on a daily basis. Nonetheless, it was hard to miss that early reviews trickling in from places like Variety and Hollywood Reporter were not, shall we say, overly positive. On the other hand, several of those reviews were written by people who often seem to have cinematic tastes directly opposite mine, so I wasn't too dissuaded.

And I'm glad I wasn't, because I'm here to tell you Hancock is both an enjoyable film and one of Will Smith's best performances ever, even if it is a bit schizophrenic in its execution. The film starts out as one thing -- all we know is we're getting a film about a grumpy, alcoholic guy with super powers who's awfully deficient in the social skills department. The film opens on a scene right out of COPS: three bad guys leading police on a chase down an LA freeway, firing away on police and other cars. In between shots of the action, we see a disheveled guy snoozing drunkenly on a park bench.

Although Will Smith plays an emotionally fragile superhero in Hancock, as a movie star he's practically invincible. By industry standards, the last genuine Smith dud was The Legend of Bagger Vance, but the actor's standing among many audiences has remained decidedly rocky. As a result, he occupies a unique corner of the Hollywood marketplace where quality and taste don't necessarily match up. Unlike, say, The Dark Knight, not many people eagerly await the latest Smith offering -- which currently has a 32% rating on Rotten Tomatoes -- but they'll see it anyway. Hancock is tracking well, thanks to a poster exclusively dominated by Smith's unshaven mug, and that pretty much seals its potent box office fate. Just as Smith's slapdash onscreen persona is bullet-proof, Smith himself is steadfastly critic-proof.

Which places movie in an interesting quagmire: After pulling in waves of cash, it will probably get relegated to the void of forgettable Smith fare, where spectacles offer passing amusement before scampering off forever. Hancock, however, deserves better than a fleeting moment in the limelight and a crash landing in the bargain bin. It's part of a genre that speaks directly to the modern state of blockbuster cinema: The superhero satire.

Who is Hancock, where is he from ... and does he know how to get jiggy wit it? (Also, why does Jason Bateman have sparkles on his face?) Yes, it's that time again -- Moviefone has unveiled another one of their fabulous Unscripted chats, and it's a tasty one. In support of their new film Hancock, watch Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman interview each other using your questions and some of their own. Usually these Unscripted sessions come with only two people, so when they've got the whole ménage à trois thing going on, you definitely want to watch. Additionally, above you will find a clip that was left on the cutting room floor and then somehow swiped up by us janitors here at Cinematical. Watch as Smith and Theron discuss kissing one another, while Bateman chimes in with his own quirky two cents.

I won't spoil the rest for you because I'm cool like that (and smooth like that, and dope like that, and chill like that) -- so head on over to Moviefone to see the rest. Hancock hits theaters on July 2.

While promoting Hancock over in the UK, Jason Bateman spoke a bit more about that planned Arrested Development movie. Not much has been said about the film in the past couple of months; last we heard, both Michael Cera and David Cross knew nothing about it. But Bateman (who's pretty damn good in Hancock) still seems confident it will happen -- and with the success of Sex and the City on the big screen, why wouldn't he be?

In an interview with The Times (who claim "a big-screen version of Arrested Development is planned for next year"), Bateman says of the transition from small to big screen: "When it was on TV, if you missed one word the whole third act could be blown for you. And TV is a different experience. You come home and you've got to finish a call so you miss the first ten minutes or you get snacky and you go to the fridge and you miss another two minutes, so it's a different experience to film." Bateman is currently making the press rounds, so hopefully someone will nail down something a bit more concrete. I mean, if a movie is planned for next year, don't ya think we'd know about it?

The interview itself is worth a read, and Bateman seems like a fun guy to talk to. On the cult-like TV show, he adds: "Arrested Development played late at night in England, so I got a lot of coke addicts and meth freaks. Great. So you've seen me but you just don't remember me."

With most of the cast a lot more popular now, would Arrested Development work as a movie? Or would it lose some of its -- I dunno -- smaller, quieter charm?

P.S. I should also mention that Bateman will be at the Sony Store in NYC (550 Madison) tonight at 6PM for a Hancock Q&A, and to show off some clips from the film. It's a free event and first come, first served. Get there early!

Oh, this is going to be huge. There's a new 3-minute trailer for Will Smith's Hancock available here and ... well, go see for yourself. I recommend the Quicktime version.

I know the all-too-common criticism that "all the good parts are in the trailer" makes this less meaningful, but: Every frame of that thing is gold. The first minute or so, with Will Smith as a sarcastic, rude, drunken superhero, is simply brilliant; I've watched the five-second exchange between Hancock and the indignant bystander ("I can smell that liquor on your breath!" "'Cause I been drinkin'!") a half-dozen times now and giggled every time. Smith deserves an Oscar just for his delivery of that line, and we don't even get to hear the whole thing (I'm guessing the next word is "b*tch"). The second half of the trailer, giving us a glimpse of Hancock's attempted PR comeback with the help of an opportunistic publicist (Jason Bateman) isn't as incredible, but I love the focus on what it's like to be a superhero not in a universe where you can do whatever you want, but in the American bureaucratic state. Hancock's canned press conference apology is priceless.

The special effects look seamless, and I'm particularly curious to see a full-on summer blockbuster done in director Peter Berg's signature volatile shaky-cam style. From what I can tell, it's a bit toned down but still unmistakably present; look at the SUV scene in the opening seconds, and the introduction of Jason Bateman about a minute in.

This looks like a summer movie made by a bunch of very smart, very talented people. And that's something to look forward to.

Mike Judge made a lot of friends and Fox made a lot of enemies when Judge's last live-action feature, Idiocracy, was dumped into a couple of theaters (it made a whopping $438,000) and then ushered to DVD. Those who saw it (myself among them) raved, making the movie a minor cult hit, but it certainly got a lot less exposure than anything from the creator of Office Space should have.

Judge will attempt to remedy that with his next movie, which will be called Extract, and which its distributor (Miramax) will hopefully actually distribute. Jason Bateman, rightly adored by everyone, is attached to star. Variety, which broke the story, provides only a very cryptic plot description: "Extract explores what it's like to be the boss when everything seems to be shifting around you." No word on what the protagonist is the boss of or exactly what is shifting around him.

What can I say? It's hard to be anything less than enthusiastic about something in which both Judge and Bateman are prominently involved, even if I did miss the boat on Office Space when it first came out. I do hope that Bateman will still have time for that Arrested Development movie we've been sort-of promised. The thought of that actually happening makes me cry happy tears.

A brand new trailer-ish preview for Hancock debuted on American Idol last night (see video above), and I'm still in the camp of people who are really looking forward to this one. I've spoken to some people who've seen a good amount of Hancock, and they say the flick is very heavy on special effects. Based on the original trailer and this preview, I'd say they're absolutely right. But this is a July 4th weekend movie -- am I the only one who expects a film that comes out over the July 4th weekend to be absolutely stocked with an unhealthy amount of special effects? Plus it's nice to see an original character sandwiched between a handful of established characters, not to mention the fact that Will Smith plays him.

Shouldn't have to say too much about the plot as the video above does a good job laying it our for us; the only thing I'm interested in seeing now is Charlize Theron's role in all of this. She's the only one who's been kinda absent in these previews. We know she's married to Jason Bateman's character, and, according to early script reviews, her and Hancock were supposed to have a little unspoken "thing" going on. Not sure if that's been removed or what, but here's hoping the next trailer shows us a little more of The Theron.

Hancock hits theaters on July 2.

Why We Can't Wait to See It: For the first time in his career, Mr. Fresh Prince himself dons the superhero costume and will fly off to save the day. Sure, his superhero is a bit washed-up and drunk half the time, but if any man can bring the BIG budget and get nominated for an Oscar in the same year, it's our homeboy from Philly, Will Smith.

Why It Might Do Well: Is there anything more alluring than a combo that includes Will Smith, superheroes and the high stylings of director Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom)? Additionally, you want the funny, there's Jason Bateman. You want the hotness, there's Charlize Theron. You want my opinion? I'm sold.

Why It Might Not Do Well: Will Smith always draws big numbers, but when people become so used to seeing a sequel or a film based on a familiar property (like last year's Transformers), it might be somewhat difficult to convince them that it's still okay to support an original idea.

Fun Fact: On its way to theaters, Hancock went through three different directors (Michael Mann, Jonathan Mostow and Gabriele Muccino), as well as two different titles (Tonight, He Comes and John Hancock) before settling on Hancock, directed by Peter Berg.

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In a summer full of old and new superheroes, one guy has been kinda flying under the radar. The big film arriving this year for Fourth of July weekend doesn't involve any giant f**king robots and it's one we haven't heard much about. USA Today just posted a sneak peek at Hancock; the new Will Smith flick directed by the very talented Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights, The Kingdom). Above you will see the brand new image that went along with their story which adds to the other bits and pieces floating around the net (check out our full Hancock gallery below). A bunch of set photos hit awhile back, there was a teaser trailer and a poster, but that's been about it as far as Hancock goes. It's sorta like the huge summer film no one is talking about.

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So I've spent the past couple days holed up in Shreveport, Louisiana (of all places) visiting the set of The Year One, directed by Harold Ramis, produced by Judd Apatow and starring Jack Black, Michael Cera, David Cross ... and a whole bunch of nutty lunatics. Unfortunately, I cannot talk about how insane that film is going to be just yet (but I will, eventually, because there's soooo much to talk about), however I am allowed to dish on a few of the interviews we conducted -- two of which were with Michael Cera and David Cross. We already know there's been talk of an Arrested Development movie taking place at some point in the near future, and Jason Bateman recently chatted up the flick on the Oscar's red carpet saying it was all but a done deal and the script was being written. But was he biting off a bit more than he could chew?

Seems so, because both Cera and Cross haven't heard a peep about the film. When Cera was told they were supposedly working on a script, he looked stunned -- spitting out an "Is this true? Really? Well [Jason Bateman] would probably know more about it than I would." Would he want to do it? "Um, yeah, I think so. Yeah, I would love to do it ... it'd be fun." Says Cross, "I've been hearing about this since the day [the show] got canceled. Nobody's talked to me. I know nothing. Zero. The only thing I've seen is what's on the Entertainment Weekly website ... which I've never seen." On whether he'd be interested in reprising his role as Tobias, Cross said, "As long as I don't have to paint myself blue or wear a fatsuit, I'd love to. I would do that in a heartbeat. That was a really fun character to do, and it'd be great to work with all those guys again. I'd do it in a second."

So the good news is the guys desperately want to make an Arrested Development film -- now all that's left is for someone to actually call them and ask.

Cinematical is live at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards! Our own Patrick Walsh will report back throughout the afternoon.

Just saw Forest Whitaker and his gorgeous wife, Jason Bateman and his gorgeous hair, and Julian Schnabel in what appeared to be pajamas. Now Illeana Douglas is telling Jiminy Glick how she "blew Lew Wasserman at age thirteen" to make it in the business. It's that kind of day. The crowd is screaming at a limo, it might be Angelina Jolie time, unless they're smuggling her in by underground tunnel. Oh snap, Steve Buscemi is here. That dude is one of my all time favorites, I'm going to go grab a photo or two.

Alright, now Glick is telling Mr. Pink how he'd "like to mount" Sienna Miller, a nominee today for Buscemi's Interview. Buscemi is talking about his heroes ("Robert Altman and John Cassavetes") and a production company he's starting with Stanley Tucci so they can make movies with their friends. He's been interrupted by the crowd chanting "Meg! Meg! Meg!" Yes, it's Meg Ryan. Not sure how she's involved with independent film, but always nice to see familiar face-lifts. Sorry, Jiminy's rubbing off on me. It's getting cold, and the skies remain foreboding. The Santa Monica pier amusement park rises bold and stark. Kids are huddled on the beach in the mist. I want to die with you Wendy on the street tonight in an everlasting kiss...

For more photos and coverage, head on over to Moviefone.

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