Universal is resurrecting the 1991 movie Drop Dead Fred as a starring vehicle for one trick pony, Russell Brand. Dennis McNicholas, a cowriter on the production company's upcoming Land of the Lost, will write the script based on the original, which starred Phoebe Cates as a woman who loses her job and her husband only to find her world further rocked by the appearance of a rambunctious imaginary friend from her childhood. The original was ridiculous fun, but I feel like maybe I watched it at just the right age to where it hold it somewhere in my heart. I still quote it sometimes...sometimes. What do you guys think?

--Greg MacLennan

So yes, I'm the blockbuster man. I could give a fuck if Tranformers is good just as long as the explosions look awesome in slow motion. I appreciate the indie flicks and other stuff. I even reviewed this summer's indie sci fi semi-masterpiece Moon and am still anxious for it to come out so I can see it again. I'm also pretty excited to see the Rian Johnson delayed Brothers Bloom, which I have on good authority is really finally coming out. But what makes my butt wet this summer? Well I'll tell ya:

Star Trek
May 8th
The origin story of Captain James T. Kirk, Spock and the crew of the USS Enterprise before they had boldly gone where no man had gone before. Trailers for it are awesome, and J.J. Abrams is an evil mad genius. He even made me giddy for watching a Mission Impossible movie, I mean Mission Impossible I and II were okayish, but III was totally awesome. I am super stoked about this reboot.

Funny People
July 31
When seasoned comedian George Simmons (Adam Sandler) learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition his desire to form a genuine friendship inspires him to take a relatively green performer (Seth Rogen) under his wing as his opening act. Judd Apatow, comedic greats, and a solid trailer = summer movie excitement. It looks like it could slide down the slippery slope to sappy-ville, but I got faith in Apatow who always seems know to how to walk that fine line.

Terminator Salvation
May 21
John Connor (Christian "I'm Batman" Bale) is joined in his attempt to defeat Skynet and its army of Terminators by Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a man who apparently has been rescued from the past, though Connor wonders if instead he's been sent from the future as a foil to his plan. As Connor and Wright push deep into the heart of Skynet, they get closer and closer to learning the secret behind the organization's mission to wipe humankind off the planet. I actually had a dream that I saw this movie, and it was totally awesome. So McG is a douche, but c'mon, Christian Bale? Terminators? How can you guys not at least be a little excited?

UP
May 29
By tying thousands of balloon to his home, 78-year-old Carl Fredricksen sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America. Right after lifting off, however, he learns he isn't alone on his journey since Russell, a wilderness explorer 70 years his junior, has inadvertently become a stowaway on the trip. I saw a healthy chunk of this movie back at Butt Numb-a-Thon and I wasn't really excited to see it until I saw that footage. It's heartfelt, funny, and though it's a cartoon it feels completely organic and real. I'm excited about it, even if this movie has few promises of nudity and/or explosions.

500 Days of Summer
August 20
An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman (Zooey Deschanel) who doesn't believe true love exists, and the young man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who falls for her. I already saw it, but I'm so excited for you guys to see it so we can talk about it. I loved it and can't wait to see it again. I'll have my review up shortly. But in the meantime, know it actually tackles relationships in a realistic and so-true-it's-funny angle, and the soundtrack is pretty popping. Let the waiting game begin....

Guilty Pleasure
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
June 24
Decepticon forces return to Earth on a mission to take Sam Witwicky prisoner, after the young hero learns the truth about the ancient origins of the Transformers. Joining the mission to protect humankind is Optimus Prime, who forms an alliance with international armies for a second epic battle. Michael Bay is a genius. That being said, pairing a genius like him, with a movie based on a cartoon that is in turn based on a toy is pure genius. Having said movie revolve, almost exclusively, around robots fighting is also genius. So yeah...I'm pretty excited to witness this summer's greatest spectacle.

--Greg MacLennan

The summer blockbuster season officially kicks off this Friday when Wolverine claws its way into theatres--well, for those of you who haven't downloaded it online already. So, we at The Movie Press thought we'd help you weed through the many, many, many flicks being thrown your way. Since there are so many films this summer we may never see the sun, we each took turns perfecting our top five most anticipated summer films.

THE HANGOVER
June 5
First of all, Old School makes me laugh real hard, so a new flick by Todd Phillips is probably a guaranteed crowd pleaser. Don't believe me? A sequel is already in the works. Secondly: Bradley Cooper. 'Nough said.

AWAY WE GO
June 5
A rom com featuring John Krasinksi and Maya Rudolph directed by Sam Mendes--yes, of American Beauty fame? I think I'm sold on curiosity alone. Check out the trailer. It looks pretty, pretty, pretty good.

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE
July 15
Ummm...I'm a dork, and I'm excited. So sue me. Do I really need to explain this further?

JULIE & JULIA
August 7
Four words: Meryl Streep. Julia Child. Case closed. Oh, wait? Also starring Amy Adams? Well, shit then... Plus, I read the book about a bored Long Island secretary (originally from ATX, woot woot) who decides to cook every recipe in Child's The Art of French Cooking, and it was really amazing, cute, and wonderfully insightful on the life of Child. Cannot wait.

THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
August 14
In keeping with my theme of beloved books becoming movies, I am beyond excited for this film since the book is probably the last to make me openly sob. Don't judge. Add Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana, and you have yourself a fantastical time traveling main character in a wonderful love story. I pray they don't fuck it up.

Guilty Pleasure Pick
THE PROPOSAL
June 19
Sorry to steal this from you, Greg! I have a weird soft spot for Sandra Bullock and her romantic comedy ways. What? She has great comedic timing and is so damn likable. In the mix are Ryan Reynolds and that kooky old lady from Golden Girls (RIP Bea Arthur), which means you got yourself a perfect date movie.

Okay, so I don't have any huge blockbuster films on this list, but this may be the first summer in a long time where actual good shit is being released alongside all the action adventure. Plus, Greg's list will no doubt contain more of the action, explosion-y films, so be on the lookout for that shortly.

What films are you hoping to beat the summer heat with?

--Darcie Duttweiler

Earth - (84% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) Pick of the Week
Narrated by James Earl Jones, this documentary from Disneynature follows the path of the sun as it explores our world. Incredible photography allows EARTH to focus on a trio of animal mothers and...Narrated by James Earl Jones, Earth tells the remarkable story of three animal families and their amazing journeys across the planet we call home. Earth combines rare action, unimaginable scale and impossible locations by capturing the most intimate moments of our planet's wildest and most elusive creature. Directors Alastair Forthergill and Mark Linfield, the acclaimed creative team behind the Emmy Award-winning Planet Earth direct. Critics say that while the film is basically a recycled version of some of Planet Earth's parts it is still spectacular with it's extensive footage, and is still informative and entertaining. That and who wouldn't want to see this on a big screen? Also Disney is planting a tree for every ticket sold during the opening week, so jump on it people!

The Soloist - (56% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Check our our review HERE.

Fighting - (26% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Check our our review HERE.

Obsessed - (0% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Idris Elba stars in this thriller as a man who seems to have a perfect life. He is married to Sharon (Beyoncé Knowles), and he has just earned a promotion at work. But destruction looms when a pretty temp (Ali Larter) grows a little too fond of him. The film was not screened for critics, but those that have seen the film seem to think it's straight out of the direct to video bin.

The Mutant Chronicles - (17% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) Limited Release

Check our our review HERE.

--Greg MacLennan

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are making their way back to the bigscreen. The Mirage Group, which owns the property, is moving forward with a live-action film focusing on the origins of the iconic crime fighters. Project, targeted for release in 2011, would mark the fifth bigscreen outing for the sewer-dwelling heroes Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael as well as their master Splinter.

"The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for," said Scott Mednick, whose exec producing credits include the upcoming Where the Wild Things Are. Peter Laird, co-creator and exec producer who bought out Eastman's share of the property several years ago, said the film will remain true to the spirit of the original comic books. He added that the pic may employ face replacement technology, which would allow the turtles to be much more expressive.

I'm excited, how about you?

--Greg MacLennan

Sure you're excited about Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, heck you've even got two less days to wait now. But I know what you Potter fanatics out there are really looking forward to, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Well news just broke about where the split will take place, you see producers decided to split the last book into two parts, and fans have been left wondering where that split will take place. While specifics aren't mentioned, there is some definite clear cut hints that were dropped in an interview with Empire.

"We've played around with a couple of places," said prodcuer Heyman, "and ultimately settled on a place that we think is very exciting, and I think quite bold, in that it's not necessarily where one might expect. You want to give a sense of completion, on one hand, but a sense that there's another piece, more to come. We tried one and then Steve (Kloves, screenwriter) came up with the idea to try it another way and when we tried that, it felt just right."

In addition to the two films, fan sites have also been chatting up the coda to the end of the seventh book, where it follows the characters to 19 years later.

"I am nervous about that," Daniel Radcliffe said, "because if it's good I'll be really, really pleased; if it's not good and that's what people are left with, that would be awful. If it's a choice between having me, Rupert and Emma looking a bit stupid and it being slightly comical or having other actors play us, I would go for other actors every time. So, we'll see."

So Radcliffe is cool to pass the torch, however it seems Heyman is keen to use Benjamin Button-like technology to age the three main actors to play their older selves. What do you guys think?

--Greg MacLennan

Crank High Voltage - (71% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) Pick of the Week

You thought he was dead...but he got better. Picking up immediately where the first movie left off, Crank High Voltage finds Chev surviving the climactic plunge to his most certain death on the streets of Los Angeles, only to be kidnapped by a mysterious Chinese mobster. Three months later, Chev wakes up to discover his nearly indestructible heart has been surgically removed and replaced with a battery-operated ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity in order to work. Sold. The movie wasn't reviewed for critics, but the few critics that managed to grab midnight screenings are saying its ridiculous, over the top, and 100% fun.

State of Play - (83% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck lead an all-star cast in a blistering thriller about a rising congressman and an investigative journalist embroiled in a case of seemingly unrelated, brutal murders. Critical consensus tells us the film is a taut, well-acted political thriller, State of Play overcomes some unsubtle plot twists with an intelligent script and swift direction.

17 Again - (68% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes)

Check out our review of the newest body swapping comedy to hit theaters.

--Greg MacLennan

"Thanksgiving was the most fun I've ever had shooting anything, and the response to it was the best response to anything I've ever done in my career."  So with that Roth is taking the installed fan base of the faux trailer attached to Grindhouse and pitching as a feature length picture with a five million dollar budget. "I want to make the highest body count slasher film I can."

But Thanksgiving would only be a deal sweetener for whomever Roth can get to finance his $80 million dollar idea, a sci-fi epic. "I don't want to give away the title yet, because I have to make sure I own it 100%, but it's going to be something that is really fun with lots of mass destruction. I wanted to do something along the lines of Transformers or Cloverfield that was a little more science fiction-based, and with lots of chaos and mass destruction." "when people hear it they are going to be like 'That is going to be insane!'" Insane is right.

--Greg MacLennan

We got you're entertainment covered with glimpses of upcoming Michael "Heat" Mann Public Enemies, starring the smartly dressed Johnny Depp, The son of Bowie directed ultra excellent Sam Rockwell starrer Moon (click for our review). Check em all out.

So we here at The Movie Press typically stick to covering movie news we care about. We try and stay out of the gossip or trivial news reporting and sift through the endless amount of crap out there and bring you guys the real meat. But every now and again I come across a trivial something that makes me laugh or I feel like sharing, and well the good folks at MTV's Movie Blog really made me chuckle with this. So yes, this is trivial and stupid, but I hope it brightens your day.

Here's there article:

By now, we’ve all seen the hilarious videos over at “Funny or Die” that have sometimes-good-but-often-bad-moviemaker Denis Leary looking back on the high and low points of his two decades in Hollywood. While breezing through the 47 movies on his resume, Leary came across the 1995 Disney bomb “Operation Dumbo Drop.” “I tell most people it wasn’t me, it was Willem Dafoe,” Leary insisted. “Dafoe denies this, but it’s not me – it’s Willem Dafoe. I never saw it. Why would I see it? I’m not in it. I mean, I like Dafoe, but I’m not gonna see every movie Dafoe makes.”

Well, we here at MTV News are all about getting to the bottom of the story. So, when we recently interviewed Ray Liotta for his new Seth Rogen flick “Observe and Report,” we had to ask the veteran actor: Was it Dafoe or Leary that he remembers being on set with him for that “Dumbo” dud?

“He loved doing it,” Liotta laughed, confirming that it was indeed Mr. Denis Leary. “He’s full of sh-t.”

The flick, which also co-starred Danny Glover and the legendary Doug E. Doug, told the lighthearted story of soldiers during the Vietnam War who were determined to deliver an elephant to a village near Ho Chi Minh so the locals could observe a local ceremony. Although its three lead actors were very hot at the time, the film barely grossed $24 million.

Now, Leary has resurrected himself as the star of the gritty TV show “Rescue Me.” And Liotta teased that his former co-star was only trying to extract himself from “Dumbo” to increase his tough-guy cred.

“Totally,” Liotta laughed when asked if Leary was in the film. “And he loved it. He loved doing it. He’s just too cool for school now, because of his show.”


--Greg MacLennan