Now that all the studio execs are back in the offices, things are starting to heat up again in the world of Hollywood.  Lots of news coming in this week about various projects.  We’ll do our best to catch you up on what you might have missed.

First off, the DEADPOOL movie (based on the popular Marvel Comics’ characters, and set to star Ryan Reynolds) may have some screenwriters now, in the form of Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.  The two men who penned ZOMBIELAND, one of the big fan-favorite films of 2009, have been hired to write the screenplay, with Lauren Schuler-Donner producing.  Reynolds is currently set to play the DC Comics hero GREEN LANTERN, so will this mean back-to-back competing comic company films with the same actor?  Why not, I guess.  Variety confirmed the hiring of Reese and Wernick, who are promising to stay true to the source material of the comic character, and may be following their storytelling style exhibited in ZOMBIELAND.

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Next up – Mendes… Sam Mendes.  The British director of films like REVOLUTIONARY ROAD and ROAD TO PERDITION is apparently in talks with EON Productions’ Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson to helm the third 007 installment to feature Daniel Craig and James Bond.  There had been recent reports that the 23rd Bond film was to be put on hold as a result of the sale of MGM, but the latest news from Heat Vision Blog says that the film is moving forward, and that production could start as early as June, with a 2011 release.  Neal Purvis and Robert Wade return once again for writing chores, and are joined by Peter Morgan (FROST/NIXON).  Some fans are concerned that Mendes might not be the right man for the job, since his previous films have featured little to no action, with the possible exception of JARHEAD.  I think Sam Mendes is a terrific and talented director, but I cherish my Bond movies, and don’t want there to be ANY chance of wrongdoing.  I think he can handle it, but let’s hope he doesn’t skimp on the action.  We need it.  Incidentally, this would be a reunion for Mendes and Craig, who previously worked together on ROAD TO PERDITION, in which Craig played a rather unsavory individual.

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And finally, Tobey Maguire may have a little longer to delay putting the Spidey suit back on, because SPIDER-MAN 4 may not be coming out in 2011 as originally planned.  It appears Sony Pictures and director Sam Raimi can’t come to terms on who the villains should be, causing a holding pattern on the screenplay, and a delay in the production schedule.  Raimi wants The Vulture to be the baddie, but Sony prefers centering the story around the sexy (and more likely ticket-selling) Black Cat.  Chances are the intended May 6th, 2011 release date will be pushed back, and THOR (the other big Marvel live-action movie for 2011) will get pushed up to take its slot.

Nikki Finke and Variety confirmed the delay, originally reported by IESB, who didn’t receive proper credit.  We’ll hand it to them, they’re on the ball!  The sources at Sony feel it doubtful at this point they can make their intended release schedule work.  Many critics and comic book fanboys were let down by SPIDER-MAN 3, which seemed to have too many villains running around in it, and most noticeably the under-developed and flat-out pointless inclusion of Topher Grace as Venom.  Word was that Venom was put in the film at the request of Sony, no Sammy, since the character was so popular in the comics.  Obviously Sam knew better, but despite his strengths as a director, even he couldn’t sort out the mess that was the third film.  Though I can honestly say The Vulture doesn’t particularly excite me as a villain, I do wish Sony would take a step back and let the true talent here do what he does best.  Raimi turned in two great Spidey films before the third debacle, and I have to believe he has it in him to make up for where the franchise went wrong.

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