Showbits

Perhaps it's old news, but I just recently learned from Game Informer's review of 2006 that Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run has been cancelled.

This film, once to be directed by John Woo, would star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Supposedly the film was cancelled due to its video game counterpart, to which Mr. The Rock also lent his talent, being a steaming heap of unplayability.

This film being cancelled is disappointing in two regards. First, the original Spy Hunter, and its original, modern remake, were both classic examples of genuinely fun and challenging games. The license starting losing its lustre with the remake's sequel; this latest (lack of effort) flushes the franchise down that drain.

Second, The Rock is capable of genuinely entertaining films. The Scorpion King was a silly but fun romp in the tradition of the Hercules television series; The Rundown, with Seann William Scott, was a similar combination of action and humor. Heck, he was even on Star Trek: Voyager. Wrestlers are often stereotyped as having as much potential as actors as actors do politicians; but far from being a snarling animal, this wrestler is capable of greater films than Hulk Hogan's No Holds Barred. At least, I'm hoping The Rock as my castmate makes me look good when our first collaborative effort, The Game Plan, hits theaters later this year. (I'm the only extra to not be one of the film's other thousand extras.)

What's your take on this actor, or others who have attempted a similar transition? (The game-to-movie transition is a whole 'nuther can of worms, to be dissected in another post.)

I recently watched all three original Star Wars films for the first time since seeing them in theaters in 1997 (I bought the DVD set in the fall of 2004). But before watching episodes IV and V, I read the novelizations, as I also did immediately after episode VI. In any such converstion of media, the source material is almost always superior, and this was no exception: the books were vastly dependent on the on-screen action to detail what was happening. The most enjoyable novelization of the three was Return of the Jedi, which offered some useful insight into the characters' thoughts: Han Solo's evolution toward selflessness; Luke's struggle with the Dark Side; Vader's machinations against both his son and emperor. I had hoped for a bit more detail into Vader's final redemptive act, but none was forthcoming.

The only other movie novelization I've ever read was Attack of the Clones, which had numerous exclusive scenes (both deleted from the movie and created by the book's author). I guess I was hoping for a similar treatment from the original trilogy.

In related news, IGN.com recently posted its "Top 25 Movie Franchises of All Time". George Lucas had the winning entry, of course.