Frank Miller Helming Buck Rogers

Frank Miller and Odd Lot Entertainment, the creator and production company behind upcoming The Spirit are close to teaming again on the classic sci-fi property Buck Rogers, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Odd Lot is in negotiations to option the rights to "Rogers" from Nu Image/Millennium, which obtained those rights this year from the Dille Trust. Millennium is expected to get a credit on the movie but won't be involved in day-to-day production.

Miller will write and direct his own big-screen take on the comic serial; while the creator has only begun to sketch ideas, it's expected to be a darker take, with many of Miller's signature visual elements and themes, such as corruption and redemption.

It's likely to be a priority project for Miller, though he has been mulling a Sin City sequel.

One of the first pop-culture vehicles to tackle the issue of space exploration, the story of Buck Rogers began life as a comic serial in the late 1920's and early '30's and has seen numerous film and television versions over the years.

Hossein Amini Penning New Jack Ryan Movie

Screenwriter Hossein Amini has been hired to pen a new Jack Ryan movie for Paramount Pictures, says The Hollywood Reporter. The character, created by novelist Tom Clancy, has not appeared onscreen since 2002's The Sum of All Fears.

Mace Neufeld and Lorenzo Di Bonaventura are producing the project for Paramount. "Spider-Man" franchise director Sam Raimi was on the hook to direct and produce a new Ryan installment, but his packed schedule made his involvement unworkable.

Amini's new Ryan film is planned as an origin story, not derived from Clancy's novels and ultimately featuring a new, younger star.

Alec Baldwin played Ryan in the first film, The Hunt for Red October, while Harrison Ford starred as the character in both Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger. Ben Affleck also took on Ryan in The Sum of All Fears.

Amini was nominated for an adapted screenplay Oscar in 1998 for The Wings of the Dove. His other credits include Jude and The Four Feathers. He has The Golden Compass sequel adaptation The Subtle Knife in development at Warner Bros. and the Weinstein Co. drama Shanghai in post-production.

Punk Goes Pop 2 Artists and Tracks

Fearless Records has spilled the deets to Buzznet exclusively about the artists on Punk Goes Pop: Volume Two. Come on in and see if your fave band—or favorite guilty pleasure—is featured on the album.

In no particular order, here's the artists and tracks for Punk Goes Pop: Volume Two, which Fearless Records will release on March 10, 2009 (oddly enough, the same day that Nick Baxter from The Morning Light and Craig Calloway from Artist Vs. Poet celebrate their birthdays):

A Day To Remember "Over My Head" (originally performed by The Fray)
A Static Lullaby "Toxic" (originally performed by Britney Spears)
Alesana "What Goes Around" (originally performed by Justin Timberlake)
Attack Attack! "I Kissed a Girl" (originally performed by Katy Perry)
August Burns Red "...Baby One More Time" (originally performed by Britney Spears)
Bayside "Beautiful Girls" (originally performed by Sean Kingston)
Breathe Carolina "See You Again" (originally performed by Miley Cyrus)
The Cab "Disturbia" (originally performed by Rhianna)
Escape the Fate "Smooth" (originally performed by Santana feat. Rob Thomas)
Four Year Strong "Love Song" (originally performed by Sara Bareilles)
Mayday Parade "When I Grow Up" (originally performed by Pussycat Dolls)
Silverstein "Apologize" (originally performed by OneRepublic)
Therefore Tomorrow "Ice Box" (originally performed by Omarion)

Scott Charles Stewart to Direct Priest

Scott Charles Stewart has signed to direct Priest, a horror Western that Michael De Luca and Stars Road Entertainment's Josh Donen are producing for Screen Gems. Mitchell Peck will also produce.

An adaptation of a TokyoPop comic book, the story is set in a world ravaged by centuries of war between man and vampire and follows a warrior priest who turns against the church to track down a murderous band of vampires who have kidnapped his niece.

Cory Goodman (The Brood) wrote the screenplay.

The project almost came together a couple of years ago with Gerard Butler and Steven Strait under the direction of Andrew Douglas but fell apart.

Priest sees Stewart back under Screen Gems' wings, as he is making his directorial debut with the company's biblical apocalyptic thriller Legion. Stewart also wrote the film.

Harrison Ford Joins J.J. Abrams Comedy, Weighs Another Jack Ryan Film

It’s been a rough few years for longtime admirers of Harrison Ford. There was “Hollywood Homicide” and “K19: The Widowmaker” (which had the distinction of actually being worse than it’s horrible title made it sound) and we’re going to take the high road and not even get into “Firewall.” But thankfully maybe the massive box office success of the four “Indiana Jones” this past summer will propel Mr. Ford to bigger and better things once again? Maybe?

Ford told us about the progress of a fifth Indy film the other day but before that one gets off the ground he told us he’s set his sights on one of two projects: “I have a comedy that’s been developed by J.J. Abrams and a drama that I developed that talks about the pharmaceutical industry. We haven’t sorted out which is first yet.”

Some amateur detective work reveals that the drama is the previously announced flick, “Crowley,” about the real-life story of John and Aileen Crowley, whose two children suffered from a rare genetic disorder. Ford would play a medical researcher in this one.

Even more intriguing is the J.J. Abrams project which Ford went on to tell me is being written “by the woman who wrote “The Devil Wears Prada.” This one is clearly “Morning Glory,” a film Ford was rumored to be interested in a year ago. Now we have confirmation from the man himself that he’ll star in this Aline Brosh McKenna script that according to EW.com is about “a struggling female news producer who recruits an iconic, egotistical anchorman to revive a failing network’s morning show.” Reese Witherspoon was the rumored leading lady when the initial rumors surfaced.

So we’ve got a comedy and drama on Mr. Ford’s slate. How about a return to another memorable man of action–Jack Ryan? Ben Affleck of course took over the role in “The Sum of All Fears” and there are constant rumors of other young men potentially signing on to revitilize the franchise but Ford says the character still has appeal to him. “I think it’s a character I could easily play at this point if people were interested in seeing what happens to Jack Ryan as his life progresses,” he said.

Jack Black to Guest Star on The Office

Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda, Tropic Thunder) is set to guest-star in the upcoming post Super Bowl episode of "The Office." The announcement was made by Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC and Universal Media Studios.

In one plot of the special post Super Bowl episode of "The Office," some of the office workers try to secretly watch a bootlegged Hollywood movie during the workday. The movie stars Jack Black and other notable Hollywood actors.

The special hour-long episode titled "Stress Relief" will premiere immediately following "Super Bowl XLIII," Sunday, February 1 (10:30-11:30 p.m. ET; simultaneously to all time zones) on NBC. Season five of the Emmy-Award winning series will continue airing in its regular time slot; Thursdays (9-9:30 p.m. ET/PT) on NBC.

Zombie Confirmed for Halloween Sequel

First reported by ShockTillYouDrop.com two weeks ago, Dimension Films has confirmed that Rob Zombie will direct the Halloween sequel and he's racing to bring the film to theaters in October.

Zombie will write and direct H2, the sequel to his 2007 reinvention of the John Carpenter horror classic. Production will begin in March.

The new film picks up right as the first remake ended, following the aftermath of Michael Myers' murderous rampage through the eyes of the sister he hunted.

Zombie said it won't resemble the original second installment, as the House of 1000 Corpses helmer continues to take the franchise in different directions.

Update: A Sequel to The Phantom in the Works

It looks like the report from The Associated Press above wasn't completely accurate. Tim Doyle says on his official MySpace page that "This fim is NOT a 'Sequel'. It is a 're-launch' or 're-boot' of the comic franchise to the big screen. This film has nothing to do with the 1996 movie."

The film is also not titled "The Phantom Legacy" but rather The Phantom: Legacy. Here's an update from Doyle on the production:

Now that we've sort of got those 'Sequel' rumors under control, I guess I can start talking about what we're doing and where the project is at.

First of all, I've got to say - this is a very exciting time. Being able to bring the first masked comic superhero back to the big screen is an absolute honor. I've been researching The Phantom intensely for the last year or so and I've been working with the support of King Features Syndicate to try and bring you the tightest possible film. Yes, this is a new look at the comic book hero, but rest assured - He wont be 'heavily gadget man' (as that is another comic book hero named Batman) and he wont be an 'angry mob killer' (as 'The Punisher' -Frank Castle has been made into a film 3 times - remember the Dolph Lundgren film - that too was shot in Australia... old skool). He will be, without doubt 'The Phantom'. A man who has sworn an oath to protect - but at what cost?

Andy Samberg's Comedy Team Inks Record Deal

The Lonely Island, the comedy team consisting of "Saturday Night Live" star Andy Samberg and writers Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer, has signed with Universal Republic, which will release its debut album, "Incredibad," on Feb. 10.

The CD/DVD's first single, "J**z in My Pants," premiered as a digital short on last weekend's "Saturday Night Live." The album also includes prior Internet sensations such as "D*ck in a Box" with Timberlake, "Iran So Far" with Maroon 5's Adam Levine and "Lazy Sunday."

Also expected to appear are "I'm on a Boat" with T-Pain, "Sax Man" with Jack Black, "Boombox" with the Strokes' Julian Casablancas, "Dream Girl" with Norah Jones, "Santana DVX" with E-40 and guest-less songs like "Who Said We're Wack," "We Like Sportz" and "Punch You in the Jeans."

A number of other Lonely Island original songs can be obtained from the trio's Web site.

The Fray Sets New Album Track List

The Fray has unveiled the track list for its self-titled sophomore album, arriving Feb. 3 from Epic. Lead single "You Found Me" has already sold 278,000 copies in three weeks of U.S. digital release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

That track stemmed from crises among friends and family that prompted singer Isaac Slade to confront the age-old question of why bad things happen to good people. Another song, "Enough for Now," tackles the fallout from the death of Slade's grandfather.

The sound of "The Fray" -- produced like the debut by Epic VP of A&R Mike Flynn and Aaron Johnson -- is "a little more extreme than the last record," Slade tells Billboard. "The quieter stuff is a little quieter than our last record and the rock stuff is a little rockier. It definitely spreads the spectrum a little bit."

The new album will be previewed with a handful of club dates early next year, beginning Jan. 6 in the Fray's Denver hometown and wrapping Feb. 4 in New York. The latter show will be cybercast on the band's Web site.

The Fray is also playing a free outdoor show Wednesday (Dec. 17) in Los Angeles as part of "Jimmy Kimmel Live." An extensive North American tour is likely to begin in June.

The new album is the follow-up to 2005's "How To Save a Life," which has sold 2.34 million copies in the United States.

Here is the track list for "The Fray":
"Syndicate"
"Absolute"
"You Found Me"
"Say When"
"Never Say Never"
"Where the Story Ends"
"Enough for Now"
"Ungodly Hour"
"We Build Then We Break"
"Happiness"