Production has been temporarily halted on Joss Whedon's new television show, Dollhouse, because he felt the scripts for some episodes weren't good enough. He's going to oversee re-writes before production begins again. This won't cause a delay for the show, because it isn't going to debut until January. Earlier, he shot a new first episode, deciding to use the previously filmed pilot as the second episode.

Iron Man director Jon Favreau revealed details of Iron Man 2 at a news conference today. The second film will introduce the Mandarin as the villain, and will also see the character of Rhodey become War Machine. Favreau is considering shooting it in IMAX and/or 3-D. Actor turned screenwriter Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunder) is writing the first draft of the screenplay. Iron Man 2 is scheduled for release on April 30, 2010.

After a successful animated spoof of Star Wars last year, Family Guy is at it again with a planned spoof of The Empire Strikes Back, again with the approval of George Lucas.

According to a recent report, Spider-Man 4 is a go with director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire both returning, and a screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac). Vanderbilt should help the franchise get back on track after Raimi and his brother Ivan (Darkman, Army of Darkness) wrote the script for Spider-Man 3 with mixed results. The studio may also shoot Spider-Man 4 and a planned Spider-Man 5 back-to-back. Look for Spider-Man 4 in May 2011.

20th Century Fox is expanding their list of X-Men spinoff films. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is set for release on May 1, 2009, and a film about a young Magneto is still being developed. Now the slate includes development of a Deadpool film (he'll be played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and a film about a team of younger X-Men (New Mutants, perhaps?). The studio might also make a Daredevil sequel.

Campy early 1980s television show The Greatest American Hero is being developed for a big screen remake to be directed by Stephen Herek (Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure). I remember watching that way back when.

I think Doctor Who will see the Eleventh Doctor debut in the fourth special of 2009. Outgoing showrunner Russell T Davies recently said that star David Tennant has made a decision and the BBC knows what it is, but with another report claiming that the BBC is offering Tennant £1.3 million per season to stay on as the Tenth Doctor, it reads to me like he's decided to leave the show and they're trying to bribe him to come back for 2010. That's just my personal speculation, but I think it fits the known facts.

British science fiction drama Primeval will make its US debut on BBC America in August. Two seasons have been shown on Britain's ITV with a third scheduled for next year, but the first two seasons will be combined for US broadcast. One of the second season's episodes was written by Paul Cornell of Doctor Who fame.

MGM has greenlit The Cabin in the Woods, a horror film written by Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon and former Buffy staff writer Drew Goddard (who also wrote Cloverfield), with Goddard set to make his debut as a director. The chairperson of MGM's motion picture group is Mary Parent, a former Universal Studios executive who was instrumental in getting Serenity made.

MGM is also doing a remake of Red Dawn, the "o noes, commies are invading!" action film from the 1980s. Weird choice for a remake, seeing as how the whole Cold War premise is a thing of the past. Unless they present it as an alternative history, I don't see how it'll work.

It looks like Iron Man director Jon Favreau is returning to the director's chair for the 2010 sequel, Iron Man 2. Considering what a good job he did with the first film, it's a positive sign that he's coming back for the next one.

An Elfquest film is under development at Warner Bros. with Rawson Marshall Thurber (Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) set to write and direct. Not exactly the first person I'd think of to adapt Elfquest.

Quote of the day: "We got Jesus and Gandalf!" - AMC network general manager Charlie Collier on the casting of Jim Caviezel (Jesus in The Passion of the Christ) and Ian McKellen (Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings) in the remake of The Prisoner.

I finished re-watching the fifth and final season of Angel last night. I still think its ending is perfect and reflects the themes of the show. I feel the same way I did after re-watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I don't need to read the comic book continuation of the story because it came to the right end on television. Overall, the show wasn't quite as good as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it wasn't very far behind it. Next up: re-watch Firefly.

More details about Joss Whedon's Dollhouse: Angel story editors/staff writers Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft are the showrunners; Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel line producer Kelly A. Manners is working in the same capacity again; and Steven S. DeKnight (story editor/staff writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a staff writer/producer on Angel) and Tim Minear (showrunner on both Angel and Firefly) are consulting producers. The people working with Joss behind the scenes certainly have credentials. The first season is expected to begin airing in January 2009.

As for casting, what I'm most excited about in Dollhouse isn't Eliza Dushku in the lead role of Echo, but Amy Acker in the recurring role of Dr. Claire Saunders. After re-watching Angel, I was reminded of just how good of an actress Acker is. I still can't believe she played both Fred and Illyria. She changed her method of speaking and even her body language so completely. Add in her voice work in Justice League Unlimited as the Huntress, and Acker has demonstrated her ability to be a chameleon. One wonders if perhaps she wouldn't have been better cast as Echo, a character who can have different traits programmed into her each episode.

Nooooo!!!! Moonlight got canceled. I'm not going to defend the show on quality grounds, but once a week I could look forward to cheesy fun with some nice eye candy in the forms of Alex O'Loughlin and Sophia Myles.

However, one of my other favorite new shows from the 2007-08 season received better news. Reaper is coming back for a second season, although the number of episodes will be reduced from the eighteen of the first season to thirteen and they won't air until early in 2009. I like how the show's mythology has developed over the first season and want to see where it goes from here.

Captain America's Shield Found in Iron Man?!. Fascinating.

Speed Racer is turning into one of the biggest box office disasters of the 21st century. Reportedly costing in the area of $300 million to produce and market, it'll be lucky to even make 20% of that back at the US box office. I haven't seen it yet, but most of the reviews I've read haven't been kind.

Lastly, this made me laugh out loud.

Review: Iron Man

The golden age of films derived from comic books continues with a production that immediately vaults into the category of the best superhero films.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is a billionaire playboy and a brilliant engineer. While in Afghanistan to demonstrate his new weapons system to American military brass, including his old friend Lt. Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Terrence Howard), Stark is severely wounded during an attack on his military convoy and is taken hostage by the Ten Rings terrorist group and their leader Raza (Faran Tahir), who wants Stark to build a weapons system for him. Stark and fellow captive Dr. Yinsen (Shaun Toub), who creates a device to keep Stark alive despite his injuries, instead construct a metal battlesuit that Stark uses to stage an escape. Returning home to America, Stark finds himself changed by his experience as a captive and decides to stop manufacturing weapons. His decision puts him in conflict with his mentor and corporate second in command, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), who challenges Stark for control of the company and uses his battlesuit designs to become the villainous Iron Monger. Can Stark save the day as Iron Man?

Director Jon Favreau (Elf, Zathura) completely gets what this film and by extension the superhero genre are all about, injecting high flying action, a sense of humor without getting campy, and a respect for the genre into a thoroughly entertaining two hours of cinematic fun. It's a tightly constructed film that effortlessly succeeds on all intended levels. It doesn't break any new ground, but it's a satisfying and high quality production that ranks among the best of the superhero films. I was initially concerned when Favreau was hired as director because his previous films just seemed to lack a certain spark, but that spark is here in spades.

The screenplay by the writing teams of Mark Fergus & Hawk Ostby (Children of Men) and Art Marcum & Matt Holloway (Shadow of Fear), along with a final polish by the uncredited John August (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride) and some uncredited additional dialog by comic book writer Brian Michael Bendis, is top notch and faithful in tone to the source material. The script was more of a guide for the director and actors, with much of the dialog improvised on set, giving a much more naturalistic feel to many scenes.

Cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) provides a sleek visual style as polished as Iron Man's armor, matched by the sets of production designer J. Michael Riva (Zathura, Spider-Man 3). The three versions of Iron Man armor were created by Stan Winston Studios, with the final form based on designs by artists Adi Granov and Phil Saunders. The score by Ramin Djawadi (Blade: Trinity, Mr. Brooks) is perfectly suited to the story, with just the right amount of bombast befitting of the film's title (the Black Sabbath song of the same name is used over the end credits). The visual effects by Industrial Light & Magic are up to their usual high standard of work, featuring seamless CGI.

Downey is absolutely perfect as Stark/Iron Man. The roguish charm, the ego, the determination, and the transformation into a hero...it's all here, and Downey's presence lends weight and believability not only to his role but to the film as a whole. While Bridges' performance isn't on that level, it's still a solid counterpoint to Downey's as Stark's mentor turned foe. Howard captures the personality of Rhodey. Gwyneth Paltrow has fun with the role of Pepper Potts, Stark's enamored personal assistant.

The rest of the cast is also well chosen for their roles, including Toub as Yinsen, Tahir as Raza, Leslie Bibb as a reporter Stark has a one night stand with, Bill Smitrovich as General Gabriel, Clark Gregg as SHIELD Agent Coulson, and director Favreau as Stark's bodyguard/driver Happy Hogan. Iron Man co-creator Stan Lee has a cameo as a benefit party guest mistaken for Hugh Hefner. Paul Bettany is another nice touch as the voice of JARVIS, an advanced artificial intelligence program that Stark uses (in the comics, Jarvis is a human butler).

The summer film season just got kicked off in a spectacular fashion. Whether you're a comic book fan or just an action movie fan, Iron Man will leave you completely satisfied and then some. Just be sure to stay past the end credits for a special bonus scene that sets up future developments in a fan-thrilling way.

[4.5 out of 5 stars]

Iron Man's opening weekend garnered an impressive $201 million at the box office worldwide ($104.2 million in the US, $96.8 million internationally). Only Spider-Man had a better historical opening among non-sequels. Can you say Iron Man 2? Marvel Studios already has. The sequel is set to be released on April 30, 2010.

Other release dates announced by Marvel: Thor on June 4, 2010, The First Avenger: Captain America on May 6, 2011, and The Avengers later in 2011. That last film will feature Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America.

On the DC side of the fence, although there has been no official announcement, actor Brandon Routh said in a recent interview that he expects Superman: Man of Steel to start shooting next year for release in 2010. Bryan Singer is expected to return as director.

Judging by all the squeeing on my friends list, even from some notoriously hard to please people, Iron Man is good entertainment. I'll find out for myself on Tuesday, but all the reviews I've read have me feeling optimistic.

New Dark Knight Trailer -- does this look good or what?

The Top 100 Comic Book Runs Master List -- I concur with the Top 6.

The Emerald City ComiCon is next weekend. I'm looking forward to it. There are nearly a dozen panels I want to attend over both days. "What It Takes to Make It in Comics" is the one I have the most interest in.

It's official. Guillermo del Toro (Pan's Labyrinth) will direct The Hobbit and its currently untitled sequel. The sequel will be an original story detailing the six decade gap in-between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I'm excited by the news. Short of Peter Jackson directing these films, this is the best possible choice. Jackson will be one of the producers and may also contribute to the screenplays. The Weta design team will be working on the films as well.

In other del Toro news, his latest film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, will be out in July. He said that he's open to making a third and final Hellboy film, but it will be at least 2013 before it could be made now that he has the two Tolkien films to direct.

The first season of Joss Whedon's new television show, Dollhouse, went into production this week. Whedon reunites with actresses Eliza Dushku and Amy Acker, veterans of his previous shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The cast also includes Olivia Williams, Tahmoh Penikett (Helo on Battlestar Galactica) and Harry J. Lennix (who was amazing as Aaron the Moor in Julie Taymor's film, Titus). It's rare that I get excited about a new television show before it actually airs, but I'm excited about this one.

One week to go until Iron Man arrives in cinemas. If it's as good as the previews make it look, it'll be really good.