As pleasantly surprised as I was by last summer's musical remake of Hairspray, I can't say that the prospect of sequel potential ever once came to mind. Thankfully, that's why we have Hollywood bean counters and the like, who see the success of that film, Mamma Mia! and High School Musical (including a fair amount of CD and DVD sales for each) as reason enough to have John Waters -- who wrote the 1988 original -- whip up a treatment for a Hairspray sequel.

According to Variety, returning for the project is director Adam Shankman and ... um, no one else at the moment. There isn't a writer attached, nor are any of the original stars lined up to return, although I have little reason to think that most of the young cast wouldn't be down for another one (just what is Nikki Blonsky up to now, anyway?).

Warner Bros. hopes to have Hairspray 2 (Hairspray-ier?) in theaters by July of 2010.

It used to be that the musicians with the beat were the Go Gos. Now the beat is getting manly. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that there's a new indie '80s comedy on the way called We Got the Beat, and Robert Hoffman has just joined the cast. He's been dancing his butt off in a bunch of films and most recently got to groove in the rain with Briana Evigan in Step Up 2.

Written and directed by John Artigo, the film follows "Brad, a high school football player who sets out to prove he's more than just a jock by quitting the team and turning his heavy metal band into a pioneering boy band." But that's not who Hoffman is playing -- he gets to be "Garth, the boy-toy and live-in lover of Brad's mother."

This sounds like one of those films that could be terribly bad, or terribly good. Here's to hoping it's all set to real '80s music and is awesome. The indie begins filming this month.

Whenever a good idea comes along, it doesn't take much time for people to claim they thought it up first. That seems to be the case with Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, the Joss Whedon-created miniseries that streamed online last weekend and is now available on iTunes. Spout reports that legions of commenters calling themselves the Army of Toy Soldiers have been pummeling the site with complaints that Dr. Horrible is a direct rip-off of Dr. Steel, an online show that's several years the senior of Whedon's program. Wired spoke to Dr. Horrible co-writer Mauria Tancharoen, who said they've never heard of Dr. Steel, but don't mind that it exists. The Toy Soldiers, however, appear to be gearing up for a confrontation, possibly one that will go down this week at Comic Con.

Whatever. Dr. Steel offers plenty of entertainment value in its own right, and it does feature a maniacal supervillain with a catchy singing voice (see above). But it also contains more razzle-dazzle weirdness than plot, and Dr. Horrible is pretty much a straightforward narrative. One Toy Soldier member has argued that if they don't speak out, their silence will imply that Dr. Steel stole its concept from Dr. Horrible. That logic holds up -- but either way, we're dealing with two very separate programs here. If anything, the immediate exposure of Dr. Horrible can only help Dr. Steel gain more attention. Once noticed, people should be able to tell the difference.

If you follow any sort of celeb gossip or couply shenanigans, you might have heard that Natalie Portman is dating Venezuelan folk rocker Devendra Banhart. Trying to assist her hunny, she recently helped him whip up a wacky Bollywood style music video called "Carmensita." You can check out the video over on Spinner, and down below we've included a few screenshots of Portman dressed to the nines.

It's a pretty funky song, full of goofiness, vibrant colors, dancing, and very, very strange subtitles. Portman plays a princess who must be saved by a prince (Banhart) who can shoot snakes out of his eyes. But she also has her own slimy, slithering tricks up her sleeve. The moral of this Bollywood story, however, is the best. You never want to forget the alphabet of desire.

Now we just need to get her into more goofy roles. I'm liking the light-hearted Natalie.

Film critics are often criticized themselves for being the wrong audience for a movie they've panned. Whether it's old white guys who aren't the right audience for a Tyler Perry movie or old white guys who can't appreciate a "chick flick," the subjectivity of certain reviewers is sometimes even called out for being too racist, sexist or otherwise prejudiced. We saw a high level of apparent chauvinism going on recently with the release of Sex and the City, and now it's happening again with Mamma Mia! Last Friday, in her his review, New York Sun critic Grady Hendrix* noted that Mamma, "has been getting generally good reviews, but it's also been getting trashed by some critics who all have one thing in common: They're men." And the claim has now been escalated by Liz Smith, who quotes Hendrix in the Page Six section of today's New York Post.

Despite my half-belief that Hendrix has a point about some male critics, I didn't want her his claim to go unchecked. Especially because her his review went out on the same day that most newspaper reviews went out. Meaning, how could she have known the true demographics of all negative and positive reactions? Going through all the Mamma Mia! reviews sampled on Rotten Tomatoes, here is what I discovered:

(Warning: Foul language in the clip, and a helping of gore in the final seconds.)

It didn't seem all that surprising when Fergie (Stacy Ann Ferguson) signed on for a role in Grindhouse. It was a pulp, grindhouse film -- one that suited random cameos. But watching her performance above, did you ever think "Gee, she'd be great acting alongside the likes of Daniel Day-Lewis and Judi Dench"?

Variety reports that the singer and actress is in negotiations for a part in Nine -- the musical re-do of Fellini's 8 1/2. She'll play Saraghina, who "introduces Guido to the world of sexuality." Yes, that means she gets to teach Daniel Day the saucy ways of love. Is this for real? Am I the only one wondering how on earth this came to be?

Shooting starts this October in the UK, and features a wickedly diverse cast that boasts Day-Lewis, Marion Cottilard, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, and Judi Dench.

Further ensuring that the band Pulp should have new fans in the future, front man Jarvis Cocker continues to seek younger listeners. This time, in an interview with Time Out Chicago, he claims to have written a few tracks for Wes Anderson's stop-motion-animated film The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is based on the novel by Roald Dahl. He says there are three or four songs and then some music that could become part of the film's score. Additionally, in response to questions regarding his solo track "Disney Time", he notes that writing music for a kid's movie is his chance to "do better" than Disney films, at least in terms of corrupting young minds.

A few years ago, Cocker contributed to the soundtrack for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and even appeared in the movie as a member of the fictional group The Weird Sisters, performing the songs he composed, "This is the Night", "Do the Hippogriff" and "Magic Works." Pulp has also written songs specifically for movies in the past, including a rejected theme song to the 007 movie Tomorrow Never Dies (both the original version of "Tomorrow Never Dies" and a retitled version called "Tomorrow Never Lies" were later released as a bonus track and a B-Side, respectively). In the interview, he suggests that Quantum of Solace could now use his solo effort "Quantum Theory", to which he'd change the lyrics appropriately.

When QOS arrives in theaters this fall, don't be surprised if Cocker's song isn't heard. As for Fantastic Mr. Fox, we'll have to wait until November 2009 to see if the man's music makes its way to impressionable ears.

[via I Watch Stuff]

We've seen tons of movies about both John Lennon and The Beatles. One focused on the early days of the band; another focused on the killing of Lennon. Documentaries galore displayed the artist's life and/or career, comprehensively or specifically. And, of course, Lennon and his band mates have starred in their own movies. But how about a dramatic telling of little Lennon, the kid who would grow up to be one of the most famous men of the 20th century? Last week, a film titled Nowhere Boy, based on the book "Imagine This: Growing Up With My Brother John Lennon," penned by one of Lennon's half-sisters, Julia Baird, received funding from the UK Film Council, and is therefore on its way to your Beatlemania collection in only a matter of time.

The most exciting thing about Nowhere Boy, the thing that makes it more than just another movie about Lennon, is that it's being scripted by Matt Greenhalgh, writer of the phenomenal Ian Curtis biopic Control, who was attracted to the book's psychological insight into Lennon's character. Baird's telling is not without controversy, mostly due to its portrayal of Mary "Mimi" Smith, the aunt who raised Lennon from the age of 4 (and who Baird did not live with). Because it's about the childhood of a person idolized by millions, there are sure to be other criticisms and controversy once the movie is released. Will it be permitted, though, or even necessary to feature any of Lennon's later music, either from The Beatles or solo?

I have an unfortunate knee-jerk reaction to the title Soul Men. Almost against my will, my mind is flung back to that 1986 C. Thomas Howell atrocity Soul Man, in which rich white kid Howell tried to pass himself off as black man to secure a scholarship. (Excuse me while I try to calm down the tremors shaking through my body.)

Happily for everybody, Malcolm D. Lee's Soul Men bears no relation to that earlier film. Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac star as two feuding back-up singers who reunite for a tribute concert. Jessica Barnes detailed the plot and gave us a look at the first picture from the production a few months ago, a back stage shot with Isaac Hayes, who is playing himself. Cinematical has received the great-looking image above, showing the Soul Men in performance.

Reportedly, Jackson and Mac are doing their own singing and, even though they're playing back-up singers, I'm hoping we get to hear them solo -- or duet. Jackson was mighty impressive as a blues guitar player and singer in Craig Brewer's Black Snake Moan, even if that movie is better remembered for Christina Ricci's naked display of her physical assets than Jackson's musical prowess. I can't remember Bernie Mac singing in any of his roles, but he's such a great stand-up presence that I can really see him excelling in this part.

Are you ready to watch Sam and Bernie as the new Soul Men when the film opens on November 14?

Sometimes it really does seem like Hollywood is out to ruin everything I have ever held dear. I know that's a bit of an overstatement, but every time a piece of news like this crosses my path, I can't help but take it personally. The Hollywood Reporter announced that MGM is developing a musical version of the 1983 romantic comedy, Valley Girl. If you haven't seen the original, then get thee to a Blockbuster because it's pretty damn awesome.

Valley Girl was directed by Martha Coolidge and starred Deborah Foreman and Nicolas Cage as a pair of star-crossed lovers in the San Fernando Valley. Besides being one of the better teen movies to come out of the '80s, Valley Girl also had one of the best soundtracks around. According to THR, MGM is planning on combining the "Romeo and Juliet-style narrative of the original into a musical colored by re-imagined classic '80s tunes." So I guess it just gets worse, because I am not looking forward to a 're-imagined' Melt with You.

The Valley Girl update is just the latest in a series of remakes announced by MGM as they raid their back catalog for anything they can get their hands on. Considering MGM was home of the musical for many years, I understand that it makes sense to carry on the tradition, but why did they have to pick on Valley Girl?

So in honor of all things valley, I'll give my review a little prematurely: Gag me with a spoon.