In a multi-part series, Comic Book Film Editor William Gatevackes will be tracing the history of comic book movies from the earliest days of the film serials to today’s big blockbusters and beyond. Along with the history lesson, Bill will be covering some of the most prominent comic book films over the years and why they were so special. This time, we come to the dark ages of the Batman franchise—Batman Forever and Batman and Robin.

I can trace the moment I knew the Batman franchise was in trouble to one particular scene in Batman Forever.  Batman, now played by Val Kilmer, had just finished a heart to heart with Dr. Chase Meridian (Nicole Kidman) and as he leaves, Meridian tells him to be careful out there. Batman, whose back is to Meridian yet facing the camera, flashes the goofiest grin you would ever see. No, not a subtle smile or a acerbic smirk, but the type of grin the school bookworm in an ABC Family telefilm would grin if she was just asked out by the star quarterback. You can see the grin around the 1:47 mark on the trailer.

I don’t know if this was a particular director’s note from new franchise director Joel Schumacher or a sly bit of sabotage by Kilmer (who’s combative relationship with Schumacher doing filming was legendary), but the smile was so glaringly out of character that it made me fear for the franchise’s future.

Warner Brothers was not happy with Batman Returns’ $266,822,354 box office take, and put the blame for what they felt was a lackluster performance on the dark tone Tim Burton gave to the film. Warners convinced Burton to move to producer and brought in Schumacher with an eye on making a more kid-friendly (and toy generating) flick. Michael Keaton bailed on the franchise once he found out the direction it was going in. Smart man.

Schumacher replaced Burton’s dark moodiness with a garish, neon soaked cyberpunk look. Batman Forever was a loud assault on the senses. We begin to see more campy elements make their way into the film, including, but not limited to, the Batmobile being driven up a wall, the over-the-top performances of Jim Carrey as the Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones, who stepped in for Billy Dee Williams as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, and a painful, self-referential gag about “holey rusted metal” at the bad guy’s hideout. Schumacher also added nipples to the batsuit and an uncomfortable focus on generous codpieces and vinyl clad buttocks of Batman and Robin during the inevitable “suiting up” montages—a bit too hyper sexualized for what was supposed to be a kid’s film, in my opinion.

Batman Forever was a success, making $336,529,844 at the box office. A sequel was put on the fast track, with George Clooney replacing the contentious Kilmer as Bruce Wayne/Batman.  And, thusly, Batman & Robin was unleashed onto an unsuspecting world.

Batman & Robin was unabashedly, unapologetically campy. It was also horrible. Those of you, the lucky few who didn’t see the movie, might be asking a few questions. How campy was it? How bad could it really be? Let me show you:

I wonder what he does when he tries to use it at places that require a form of ID to verify the card. Does he toss a batarang on the counter? A typewritten list of all his daddy issues?

Clooney often speaks in a self-deprecating way about his performance in the film, like he’s solely to blame for how awful it is. He’s not. His portrayal of Bruce Wayne is a bright spot in the film. And his performance as Batman is hampered by the horrible screenwriting of Akiva Goldsman, who unbelievably would later win an Oscar for writing 2002’s A Beautiful Mind.

What did Goldsman and Schumacher get wrong this time around? Well, are you sitting down? You have to start with lame gags like the Bat-Credit Card. Then the lame puns spouted by all the characters, especially Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Mr. Freeze (it’s like Goldsman took all the “ice” related puns he could think of and put them all, good or bad, into the film).

Then you had Chris O’Donnell, who gave the worst performance by a grown man (he would turn 27 six days after the film opened) pretending to be a teenager overacting his way through an immature, crybaby tantrum (he’d hold the title until Hayden Christensen’s performance in 2002’s Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones). The film also introduced Batgirl in the personage of Alicia Silverstone, who played Bruce Wayne’s British butler Alfred’s niece, who came directly from her studies in London to visit her uncle, leaving all traces of any kind of British accent behind. She did have nipples on her batsuit and a lingering shot or two of her curves during her suiting up montage, proving that Schumacher is an equal opportunity fetishist.

There were also too many characters this time around. In addition to those already mentioned, you had Uma Thurman playing Poison Ivy as the second major villain (because you had to have two major villains in a Batman film). Plus, you had Bane, a character who broke Batman’s back in the comic books, a character that Christopher Nolan felt strong enough about to make a main villain in The Dark Knight Rises, relegated to a mindless, brutal lackey of Poison Ivy. An even bigger waste was the character of Jason Woodrue, who was an awesome character in the comics by the name of Floronic Man and was portrayed by the excellent actor John Glover. His only purpose was to establish Poison Ivy’s origin by being the mad scientist who gives her superpowers as a result of trying to kill her. He is killed off after only five minutes of screen time.

The film was critically lambasted and while it earned $238,207,122, it was the lowest grossing Batfilm to date and, therefore, a failure. Positive response to the rushes put a third Schumacher sequel titled Batman Triumphant into pre-production with Clooney and O’Donnell reprising their roles and the Scarecrow as the main villain. The disappointing response cancelled that film and caused Warners to look towards rebooting the franchise. It also garnered an apology from Schumacher himself.

The Scarecrow would become the villain of the next Batman film, one which would come closest to capturing the comic book feel on the big screen. But before that, a legendary comic book arc almost made it to movie theaters. We’ll tell you which one next time.

Dick Clark, the man who gained fame for his youthful appearance as the host of the popular American Bandstand telvevision program, has died of a massive heart attack following a medical procedure. He was 82.

Clark started as a disc jockey at a variety of stations in Upstate New York before relocating to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was here where he grew to prominence when his disc jockey job led to a role as the fill-in host on a local dance program called Bob Horn’s Bandstand starting in 1952. Clark would replace Horn several years later when Horn was fired. ABC television picked up the local TV Show in 1957, renamed it American Bandstand, and began airing it nationally. The rest is history.

American Bandstand aired daily from 1957 to 1963, before shifting to a weekly Saturday program until the end of its network run in 1987. During this time, Clark grew in fame and prominence, eventually amassing an entertainment empire under his name. He became known as a producer, primarily of TV shows such as TV’s Bloopers & Practical Jokes, The Weird Al Show and American Dreams, but he also dabbled in film production, typically with shlock explotaition films such as Psyche-Out, The Savage Seven, The Power, and Catchfire. He also produced the underrated Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins in 1985.

Clark also appeared in front of the camera on the big screen, appearing in films such as Because They’re Young, The Young Doctors, Wild in The Streets, Killers Three (which he also produced), and Spy Kids. His last major film work took place appearing as himself in two very different movies in 2002. He is ambushed by documentarian Michael Moore in Bowling for Columbine in regards to hiring practices in his restaurant chain. He also appears as himself the same year in George Clooney’s Chuck Barris biopic, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, interviewed in regards to his relations with Barris when the Gong Show creator worked in Standards and Practices at ABC.

In the days leading up to the 84th Academy Awards, FilmBuffOnline will be offering profiles on all the nominees in the major categories. Some may be well know, others might be new to you, but if you need a refresher on these talented nominees, here it is.

Demián Bichir

Nominated for: playing Carlos Galindo, an immigrant gardener who is trying to give his son A Better Life.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Male Lead, 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards..

Where you might know him from:

Bichir played Fidel Castro in Steven Soderbergh’s Che and Ernesto Reyes in the TV Show Weeds.

History with Oscar:

This is Demián Bichir’s first Oscar nomination.

George Clooney

Nominated for: playing Matt King, a man who must reconnect with his estranged children after his wife suffers a life-threatening accident in The Descendants.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Actor, National Board of Review.

Won, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Do I really have to write anything here? Everytime he changes girlfriends, it’s front page news.

After a career doing a number of small roles in unsuccessful films and TV show, Clooney got his big break playing Dr. Doug Ross on the TV series ER. He made the jump to films, and has starred in a number successful ones, and has directed quite a number of them as well. He is a frequent collaborator with fellow nominee Brad Pitt, having shared the screen with him in Ocean’s Eleven, Ocean’s Twelve, Ocean’s Thirteen, Burn After Reading and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which Clooney also directed.

History with Oscar:

George Clooney has been nominated for an Oscar five times in the past, winning once, and is nominated for another award this year–with Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published, The Ides of March.

2006: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Syriana (Won).

2006: Best Achievement in Directing, Good Night, and Good Luck (lost to Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain).

2006: Best Writing, Original Screenplay, Good Night, and Good Luck (with Grant Heslov) (lost to Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco, Crash).

2008: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Michael Clayton (lost to Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood).

2010: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, Up in the Air (lost to Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart).

Jean Dujardin

Nominated for: playing George Valentin, a silent movie superstar whose career goes into decline with the advent of sound recording in The Artist.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Won, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Won, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Won, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Nominated, Best Male Lead, 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Unless you’ve lived in Europe, you might not know him. But he has starred in the OSS 117 and Lucky Luke franchises, which savvy fans in the U.S. might have seen.

History with Oscar:

This is Jean Dujardin’s first Oscar nomination.

Gary Oldman

Nominated for: playing George Smiley, a retired British spy who is brought back in the fold to weed out a traitor in the highest levels of British intelligence in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Other honors for this role:

Won, Best Actor, San Francisco Film Critics Circle.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Some of his most famous roles were Sid Vicious in Sid and Nancy, Lee Harvey Oswald in JFK, Sirius Black in the Harry Potter franchise, and Jim Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Batman films.

History with Oscar:

Surprisingly, this is Gary Oldman’s first Oscar nomination.

Brad Pitt

Nominated for: playing Billy Beane, who revolutionizes Major League Baseball by using computer statistical analysis to hire players in Moneyball.

Other honors for this role:

Nominated, Best Actor, Washington DC Film Critics Association.

Won, Best Actor, New York Film Critics Circle (honored for Moneyball and The Tree of Life).

Won, Best Actor, Boston Society of Film Critics.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 Critics’ Choice Awards.

Nominated, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama , The 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

Nominated, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role , 2012 Screen Actors Guild Award.

Nominated, Best Actor, 2012 BAFTA Awards.

Where you might know him from:

Again, do I really have to write anything here? Everytime he goes out for coffee with his family, it’s front page news.

If you need reminding as to who Brad Pitt is, he was the star of Se7en, Fight Club and Troy. In addition to all the films he co-starred in with George Clooney, Pitt also co-starred in True Romance with Gary Oldman.

History with Oscar:

Brad Pitt has been nominated for an Oscar two times in the past,  and, like Clooney, is nominated for another award this year– for Best Motion Picture of the Year, Moneyball, which Pitt co-produced with Michael De Luca and Rachel Horovitz.

1996: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role, Twelve Monkeys (Lost to Kevin Spacey, The Usual Suspects).

2009: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (lost to Sean Penn, Milk).

Convential wisdom states that whoever wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards has the best chance to take home an Oscar. If so, three “sure things” have gotten a little more sure and one toss-up category has become just a little more clearer.

The “sure things” are Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for The Help and Christopher Plummer for Beginnings, all who were odds on favorites for an Oscar before the SAGs, each won in their respective categories. Their SAG wins are pretty much confirming what everyone already expected.

However, Jean Dujardin winning the prize for Best Actor does tell us something new. He has been an award year favorite, yet behind Academy favorite George Clooney in the odds to win an Oscar.  His win here throws that paradigm out the window and slingshots Dujardin into being the odds on favorite to take home a statue on February 26th.

The Help taking home the big award for the night has cause the Internet to ask “Did The Help Sink The Artist‘s Oscar Chances……?” and “Did “The Help” Change The Oscar Game?,” meaning that the Best Picture race has just got a little bit more interesting. It hasn’t. These writers just failed to notice that The Help won for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, not Best Picture. With Davis, Spencer and Jessica Chastain’s names appearing on many an awards ballot this year and with a cast that also features actresses the caliber of Sissy Spacey, Allison Janney, Cicely Tyson and Mary Steenburgen–just to name a few–the film NOT winning for best ensemble would be a shock. But the SAG’s don’t have a Best Picture and great ensembles do not necessarily equate to great pictures. So, the film’s win here does nothing to help its chances on Oscar night.

Here are a list of the nominees for the awards, with the winners in bold.

Films

Ensemble

The Artist

Bridesmaids

The Descendants

WINNER: The Help

Midnight in Paris

Lead actress

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

WINNER: Viola Davis, The Help

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

Lead actor

Demián Bichir, A Better Life

George Clooney, The Descendants

Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar

WINNER: Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Supporting actor

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

Armie Hammer, J. Edgar

Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Nick Nolte, Warrior

WINNER: Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Supporting actress

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist

Jessica Chastain, The Help

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

WINNER: Octavia Spencer, The Help

It’s that time of year again. Tomorrow, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will announce the nominees for the 84st Annual Academy Awards.

Every year there are snubs and surprises, thrills and controversies. There is no way of knowing who will be nominated, especially in a year when the Best Picture nominees could be 5 films, or ten films, or any number in between.  We here at FilmBuffOnLine, who believe the day nominations are announced should be a National holiday, are going to try and handicap the process for you.

We will try to tell you, in the most non-committal way possible, who we think are Almost Certain to get a nomination, who Definite May Be nominated, and whose nomination is a Outside Shot in the major categories (the four acting categories, Best Director, and Best Picture). We are trying to cover all bases, but don’t come to us if you lose money on your Oscar Nomination pool.

Best Actor:

Almost Certain:

George Clooney, The Descendants; Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Definite Maybe:

Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method or Shame; Leonardo DiCaprio, J Edgar; Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outside Shot:

Demián Bichir, A Better Life; Ryan Gosling, Crazy, Stupid Love, Drive, or The Ides of March; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Clooney and Dujardin have won the most hardware this year, which not only make them a lock to be nominated, but also likely one of them will be taking home the award.

Fassbender has been great in a lot of films (listing X-Men: First Class was a bit of a joke, he’ll most likely get the nod for Shame, but I think he gave an Oscar worthy performance in that film) so he is practically a lock for a nomination. The next two are about 50/50 of getting in. The Academy seems to have something against DiCaprio, and his performance as J. Edgar Hoover while not horrible (he got a lot of nods for other awards for it), was not amazing enough to overcome that film’s lackluster performance critically or financially. Brad Pitt eked out a couple of wins along the way (most notably, the New York and Boston critics), and while Moneyball was well received, I don’t see it as 100% Oscar material.

If DiCaprio and Pitt don’t get nominated, there are worthy choices waiting to take a spot. Bichir was great in a small film with a limited release that opened over the summer. These all work against him, but he is deserving of a nod. Gosling, like Fassbender, was great in a lot of films this year, and has been nominated before, but none of the films he was in seem to pass Oscar muster. Oldman was flat out amazing in Tinker Tailor, but his subtle performance might be lost on Oscar voters.

Best Actress

Almost Certain:

Viola Davis, The Help;  Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady; Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin; Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Definite Maybe:

Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Outside Shot:

Bérénice Bejo, The Artist; Elizabeth Olsen, Martha Marcy May Marlene; Charlize Theron, Young Adult

On paper, this seems to be the category that seems to have the least wiggle room. Davis, Streep, Close, Swinton and Williams are all in the type of roles that Oscar voters seem to trip over giving nominations to. But in every round of nominations, there are bound to be surprises, and this category is ripe for one.

Bejo and Olsen have the best chance of breaking in, in my opinion. But Bejo is getting pushed for Best Supporting Actress instead of Lead, even though she essentially had a lead role. Olsen got good notices in her role, but suffers from the same “too early/too small handicap” that Bichir has. Theron has received nods for Best Actress in the Golden Globes (where there are nominations for comedy and drama) and the Critic’ Choice Awards (where there are six nominees). She has an Oscar pedigree, but Young Adult could very well be seen as less than Oscar worthy.

Best Supporting Actor:

Almost Certain:

Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn; Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Definite Maybe:

Albert Brooks, Drive; Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Outside Shot:

Nick Nolte, Warrior; Viggo Mortensen, A Dangerous Method; Andy Serkis, Rise of the Planet of the Apes or The Adventures of Tintin; Armie Hammer, J Edgar; Tom Hardy, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Plummer has won the Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice award Supporting Actor, making him a lock for an  Oscar nomination, if not the actual award. Branagh has been consistently nominated for his apt portrayal of Laurence Olivier, so he could get the nod as well. Slightly less certain but highly possible are nomination of two actors best known for comedy, Brooks and Hill, for playing against type. After that, place your bets. Will Nolte’s “sports mentor” role make the grade? Will Mortensen’s change of pace role as Sigmund Freud catch the Academy’s attention? Will the Academy make a statement and move towards the future by giving Serkis the nod for his superior motion-capture work? Does the Academy like J Edgar more than the critics and the general public do, thereby swing the nod to Hammer? Will Hardy represent Tinker Tailor‘s stellar cast with a nomination? Will it be another cast member? Or will the film be ignored?

Best Supporting Actress

Almost Certain:

Octavia Spencer, The Help; Bérénice Bejo, The Artist

Definite Maybe:

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Outside Shot:

Jessica Chastain, The Help or Take Shelter; Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs; Carey Mulligan, Shame; Shailene Woodley, The Descendants

What I said for Christopher Plummer above also applies to Spencer. The only chance Bejo doesn’t get nominated here is if she gets nominated for Best Actress. But that race is crowded so I think she’ll land here. She is deserving.

The only thing keeping me from making McCarthy almost certain is the Academy’s apparent hatred of the comedy. They do not like to give nominations from comedies, no matter how good the role or film is. This time, though, I think they’ll make an exception.

After that, pick two. Chastain and Woodley might have a slight advantage, but McTeer has a good chance and Mulligan could sneak in.

Best Director:

Almost Certain:

Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Definite Maybe:

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris;  Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Outside Shot:

David Fincher, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life; Bennett Miller, Moneyball; Steven Spielberg, War Horse or The Adventures of Tintin; Tate Taylor, The Help

Hazanavicius is definitely most deserving and Scorsese won the Golden Globe, so they should both be nominated. After that, Payne is almost a lock, as is Allen, due to the number of nominations they received. After that, well, ot depends. Fincher got a Directors Guild nomination, Malick has been on a lot of west coast critics awards list, which might be a barometer of how the Academy will go. Miller might ride the surprising accolades Moneyball is getting this award season with a nomination. And months ago, it looked like it wouldn’t be a question if Spielberg would be nominated, but for which film. Now, here he is, a long shot for any nomination at all. Weird. And Taylor has to be consider taking into account the number of great performance that came from that film.

Best Picture:

Almost Certain:

The Artist; The Descendants

Definite Maybe:

Hugo; The Help ; Midnight in Paris

Outside Chance:

The Tree of Life; War Horse; Moneyball; The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Adventures of Tintin; Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy or just about any other film out there that has a miniscule amount of buzz.

Not having a definite number of nominees beforehand really plays havoc with the prognosticating business. I tried to pick out the five most likely films to get nominated, but with the possibility of five more, well, it could be any film of a certain stature.

So, what do you think? Am I on to something, or totally wrong? I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

A film about the Smothers Brothers, the music comedy act whose variety show on CBS became one of the first programs to bring the 1960s counterculture revolution into Americans’ living rooms, is currently in development. The film will be based on David Bianculli’s critically acclaimed book on the pair and their television show Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story Of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.

George Clooney and his producing partner Grant Heslov have optioned the book and have hired Brian Hecker and Craig Sherman to turn it into a screenplay. As of now, Clooney has no plans to either direct or act in the film, but that could very well change with the muli-hyphenate.

For those not that versed on comedy history, the Smothers Brothers show often featured acts that were part of the emerging counterculture movement including Donovan and Joan Baez, while the Brothers own routines often made jokes about then hot button political topics. It got to the point where folk singer Pete Seeger’s performance of the anti-Vietnam War song “Knee Deep In The Big Muddy” was pulled from an episode right before broadcast rather than cause a huge controversy.

It was also the place where comics such as Pat Paulsen, Don Novello, Rob Reiner, Albert Brooks and Steve Martin got their start on the writing staff.

Ultimately, the show was cancelled after three seasons, with rumors that network CBS brought the ax down under pressure from the Nixon administration. But the show’s importance and impact can still be felt four decades later in shows such as The Daily Show and Saturday Night Live.

Warner Brothers has not been having much luck lately with their big screen adaption of the 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E. The last several months have seen them go through a number of potential actors  for the lead role either outright passing on the project or walking away from negotiations. And now it seems that the project’s director Steven Soderbergh has dropped out of the project as well.

The Playlist is reporting that Soderbergh’s departure comes in the wake of a meeting he held with studio executives last night where the two parties once again clashed over the issues of casting and budget. Apparently the studio was only willing to front $60 million for the production, a number that Soderbergh considered too low for a globe-trotting, 1960s era-set action film. With a production start date of March looming, Soderbergh had decided that there wasn’t enough time to iron out their differences and still prep for the shoot.

The director and the studio had been going back and forth on the film’s casting for months. At first, Soderbergh’s frequent on-screen collaborator George Clooney was attached to star, but withdrew in August. Playlist reports that the director then suggested Michael Fassbender and “The Killing” star Joel Kinnaman as two possible replacements. The studio passed, but then put them into other projects, which did not sit well with Soderbergh. A number of other actors were discussed but none were ever approached with firm offers. Playlist states that the reports that Bradley Cooper was in discussions last month with the studio was actually a story put out by the actor’s agents in order to get the studio to make an offer.

As of this morning, the studio has not made any statement on the matter, though I would expect they would before the end of the day.

With the ball now back in Warner Brorthers’ court, what happens now?

Well, that probably depends on Warners’s flexibility over the March start date. If they are willing to push that back in order to accommodate whomever they hire to take over the film, then that’s fine. However, if they are committed to starting filming in the spring in order to meet an intractable release date, things could be in trouble before they’ve even started. Remember that Universal’s The Wolfman and Twentieth Century Fox’s X-Men 3 both had directors brought in at the last minute to take over troubled projects and look how well both of them turned.

Of course, Warners was ready to move the film’s start date if Matt Damon had signed onto the film, as it conflicted with the shooting of the actor’s directorial debut. However, Soderbergh was committed to film his Liberace biopic Behind The Candelabra to the newly proposed dates.

My guess is that the studio will scrap all the work done by Soderbergh and his screenwriting collaborator on this project Scott Z. Burns and look for someone to start the whole development process over again. However, if they do that, whomever takes on the project will already have one strike against them. Before Soderbergh signed on to The Man From U.N.C.L.E. the project had already racked up somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million in development costs from the previous attempts that the studio made at getting it in front of the cameras. that amount is now undoubtedly much higher and that only increases the pressure on the next person to step up to try and make the movie.

1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (Part One) (Summitt Entertainment, 4,061 Theaters, 117 Minutes, Rated PG): There will be millions of people in this world who will greet this film with cries of how are global nightmare is now at an end. No, the cry isn’t coming from Twilight fans, grateful that the next installment has finally arrived (although that’s only because its the next to the last installment, then there will be no more).

No, those cries will be coming from the Twilight haters, who have been waiting for the day that the franchise would slip out of national consciousness. There has seldom been a franchise that garnered this much teeth gnashing and vitrol as this one did.

I have to say that you can count me in this number. I have not read the books but I have watched enough of the films (they are in contant rotation on the Showtime networks) to know that the plot is weak, the acting bad, and the changes they meade to the accepted vampire and werewolf mythoses were achingly inane (sparkly vampires who can walk about in the daytime aren’t vampires).

But the plot point that is introduced in this segment where Jacob, who lost out on Bella to Edward, sorry Team Jacobites, finds himself irresistably drawn to Edward and Bella’s daughter. With the Penn State scandal still fresh in the air, that is creepy enough as it is. But what jacks up the creep factor even more is that this attraction starts when the spawn is still in Bella’s womb. I’m sure there are people who are calling for Joe Paterno and anybody even distantly related to Penn State to be thrown in jail who think that negative-May/December romance is so, well, romantic. And that’s just wrong.

2. Happy Feet Two (Warner Brothers,  3,606 Theaters, 100 Minutes, Rated PG): The first Happy Feet was a charming surprise, with a lot of heart that made up for the slightly heavy handed ecological message. I liked it a lot in that it was a kids movie that wasn’t afraid to have a bit of a dark side to it.

Part of the charm of the first movie is gone. Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, whose best Elvis Presley/Marilyn Monroe impersonation since Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern Wild at Heart one, was a high point of the original, are missing from the credits in this one. Instead, we focus on a grown up Mumbles (Elijah Wood) who faces an opposite problem than his father has with him, his child with Gloria (voiced by P!nk, taking over for the late Brittany Murphy) who will not dance.

Regardless, if this film is a half as good as the original, it should be a great success.

Of the majors, Happy Feet Two has a shot not only at a Best Animated nomination, but, if it’s good, picking up a statue. Cars 2 was  a weaker than normal effort from Pixar, so the award is up for grabs. And the first Happy Feet waddled off with the award in 2007.

And there is no way The Twilight “Saga” pulls a Lord of the Rings and gets nominated on its final go round. So give it up, Twi-hards.

In the smaller releases, the biggest Oscar contender has to be The Descendants. It is written and directed by Academy favorite Alexander Payne (winner for his script for Sideways, for which he also got a directing nod, and was also nominated for writing Election) and stars someone the Academy loves, George Clooney. Bonus: points, it adapted from a novel about a man who reconnects with his estranged daughters after his wife suffers a horrible boating accident. It opened in Los Angeles and New York on Wednesday, and will be bumped up to 27 theaters nationwide today.

1. Real Steel (Touchstone Pictures, 3,440 Theaters, 127 Minutes, Rated PG-13): This will either turn out to be one of the silliest misfires in film history or start a trend where tired old tropes are freshened by adding robots to the mix. Personally, I hope it’s the latter because I can’t wait for the first all-robot romantic comedy.

The film takes place in the near future where robot boxing has replace human boxing in popularity (no word on how MMA is faring in this future). A struggling promoter (Hugh Jackman) finds a robot that might just turn his business around.  At the same time, if that wasn’t enough, the promoter reestablishes a connection with his 11-year old son.

I am conflicted about this film. It seems utterly mock-worthy, but I can’t help but feel that there might be some potential here. It could be completely stupid, and odds are good that it will be, but I have a feeling it might be a little bit more.

2. The Ides of March (Sony/Columbia, 2,199 Theaters, 101 Minutes, Rated R):  On paper, it’s hard to see where this could go wrong. It’s a heavy political drama being released just on the cusp of Oscar season and when politics is all over the news, it has an all-star cast including a lead with a whole lot of buzz, and an actor/director who has made the most of the intriguing choices he has made.

The film focuses on an idealistic young campaign worker (Ryan Gosling) working for a charismatic Democratic presidential candidate (director George Clooney). During the course of his job, he uncovers some incredibly damaging information about his boss. This rocks his faith in his employer, the political system and might have more damaging personal effects than he anticipates.

George Clooney has closed Channel D.

It is being reported that the actor is in the process of bowing out of participating in Steven Soderberg’s big-screen adaptation of the 1960s spy series The Man From U.N.C.L.E.

The reasons are unclear in the report from Deadline, who broke the story, but Clooney will no longer be playing ace spy Napoleon Solo, the role that Robert Vaughn filled for four years on NBC. It seems odd though, considering that Clooney and Sonderberg have teamed as actor and director for six films – the three Ocean’s pictures, Out of Sight, Solaris and The Good German.

Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns has recently finished the script for the film which reportedly keeps the show’s original 1960s setting.

Reportedly, Warner Brothers still wants the film to begin production next spring, so Soderberg has a bit of time to find a replacement. Will he he perhaps cast another actor whom he has worked with before, like Brad Pitt or Matt Damon? Or perhaps someone fresh. I think John Hamm might make a good fit with the part.