More great movie news to pass along today … just because Battlestar Galactica ended its series run this year doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the show. As some of you may be well aware, a BSG TV movie titled The Plan is scheduled to air on SyFy later on this year and a prequel series called Caprica will air on the network next year. BUT, the big news is that Battlestar Galactica is coming to the big screen … and it’s going to be directed by Bryan Singer. Meh. That may not be the best news ever but a BSG movie is sure to rule!

Universal Pictures has set Bryan Singer to direct and produce a feature version of “Battlestar Galactica.” It’s not clear whether Ronald Moore, exec producer of the recent series, will be invited to write the screenplay, but Singer will clearly put his own creative stamp on the project, as the studio indicates that the film will be “a complete reimagination.” Glen Larson is aboard to produce. The original version of the series ran for two seasons on ABC beginning in 1978. Singer had long been intrigued with “Galactica” and flirted with relaunching it into a TV series right after he directed the original “X-Men” (Daily Variety, Feb. 22, 2001). At the time, he was teamed to exec produce the series with Tom DeSanto and to direct the pilot of the new version. The director got busy on other projects, but he was prescient, at the time calling the Galactica brand “a sleeping giant.” Moore became the executive producer of the 73-episode series, which had a successful run on the then-Sci Fi Channel starting in 2004.

Woot! This is frakkin’ amazing news. To be honest, I’m surprised that a BSG movie hasn’t been made before now. The series was such a huge hit and it is RIPE for the big screen. It was rumored that Singer was planning to return to the X-Men fold to direct another movie (a spin-off that was to be focused on the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning titled X-Men: First Class) but it looks like he’s decided to take on Battlestar instead. I suppose Bryan Singer is a good director but he’s not my fave. I’d love someone like David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club) to make a BSG movie but … I’ll take what I can get. You know, in a movie … there can be more incidents of nudity than a TV show allows. I’m just puttin’ that out there ;)

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It looks like Hugh Jackman will be growin’ back the mutton chops and will be rockin’ the Adamantium claws for another go ’round as Wolverine. The Hollywood Reporter has announced that a sequel to this year’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine is going to be made with Jackman acting as movie producer as well as lead star. The as-yet-untitled sequel film will be set in Japan and, one hopes, will be much better than the movie we saw earlier this year:

Christopher McQuarrie has signed on to write the script for Fox’s sequel to its “Wolverine” movie. Hugh Jackman is set to return as the Marvel Comics character, a mutant with healing powers and a skeleton laced with the indestructible metal known as adamantium. Jackman is also producing via his Fox-based Seed shingle along with Lauren Shuler Donner. The movie’s story line will take its cue from the early 1980s Chris Claremont/Frank Miller miniseries, which is set in Japan and features Wolverine dealing with ninjas as he struggles whether to follow his animal killer instincts or the life under a samurai’s code of honor and respect. The story line was hinted at in one of the movie’s codas after the credits. (The other teased a spinoff based on Deadpool, the character played by Ryan Reynolds.) The studio put a sequel in development after the movie, titled “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” carved up almost $180 million at the domestic boxoffice and $363 million worldwide. McQuarrie is not unfamiliar with the character. The scribe, who won an Oscar for writing “The Usual Suspects” for Bryan Singer, reteamed with the director to write 2000′s “X-Men.” Though McQuarrie could have received a credit, he voluntarily took his name off the movie when the final version was more in line with David Hayter’s script than his.

Thank Lord Jebus above … securing the guy who wrote the amazing film The Usual Suspects is quite a boon for a movie like this. That film was excellent, so chances are Wolverine 2 will be pretty good … or, at the very least, better than the movie that was released this year. I love Hugh Jackman as Wolverine … even if all the movies suck, he is still deffo worth seeing in theaters ;)

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Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps was involved in a 2-car accident in Baltimore, MD last night (tho People magazine clarifies that a third parked car was also damaged in the crash) … fortunately, Phelpsie was not injured in the accident. Unconfirmed reports have been swirling that Phelps was speeding and may have run a red light … the accident did take place at lighted intersection, so that bit may be true. Police have confirmed that NO ALCOHOL was involved in this smash-up … it was mostly likely caused by someone’s careless driving. Here’s a pic of Phelpside‘s smashed up ride and some deets of the crash:

Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps was not injured when the SUV he was driving collided with another car in Baltimore, but the other driver was taken to a hospital. Police said Friday they had no updates on the woman who was driving the other car. She was described as “shaken up” and taken to a hospital as a precaution after the crash Thursday night. Cindy Rivers, a spokeswoman for the University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, said she could not provide any information without the woman’s name, which has not been released. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Phelps has been interviewed by police and alcohol was not a factor. No citations were issued and the accident was being investigated, with a report perhaps available Friday, Guglielmi said. There is a traffic light at the intersection, but when asked for details about how the crash occurred and whether anyone was at fault, police said they were still investigating. Two passengers in Phelps’ Cadillac Escalade were not injured, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. The other car was a Honda Accord. Phelps’ SUV had a crumpled hood and was on a tow truck. The gray Accord had considerable damage on the front driver side.

I suppose it’s worth noting that Michael Phelps has previously been arrested for drunk driving in 2004 and then he got busted again for blowing thru stop signs … oh yes, and we cannot forget his little incident earlier this year with that big ass marijuana bong. Not that any of his prior behavior has anything necessarily to do with this latest car crash but, well, mebbe Phelps should look into hiring a driver. I’m glad that everyone is OK after this scary incident. People just need to pay better attention when they are behind the wheel.

UPDATE: TMZ is reporting that the accident was caused by a failure to stop at that red light but it was the other driver who was at fault. Here is a photo of Phelpsie at the scene of the accident and the deets from TMZ:

Cops say Phelps — who was wearing the jersey of defensive superstar Ed Reed — was not at fault for the accident. The Ravens beat the Washington Redskins at their pre-season home opener around 7:30 PM. The accident occurred around 9:00 PM. A police spokesman tells TMZ a Honda ran a red light and struck Phelps’ Cadillac Escalade, before bouncing off and hitting a parked car. Law enforcement also says Phelps — who was busted for DUI back in 2004 — was definitely not drunk this time. The police spokesman told us “If he was impaired, you can bet your bottom dollar he would’ve been taken in. We don’t tolerate that.”

Glad to hear that Phelps was neither drunk or at fault. Also very glad that no one was injured in this accident.

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Earlier this week, Victoria Beckham made her way to Denver, CO to do some guest judging on day one of American Idol auditions for the next season of the competitive reality TV show. As you should be well aware, Vicki B. is appearing as guest judge on AI taking over the seat left vacant by Paula Abdul who left the show after contract negotiations broke down last week. At the time, it was made clear that Vicki B. would be only appearing as guest judge on the show once … until she was spotted in Boston, MA yesterday at AI auditions there as well:

It was originally claimed Victoria Beckham was making a one-off appearance as a guest judge on American Idol. But after arriving in Boston yesterday for a second round of auditions, it looks like the 35-year-old is getting comfortable in her latest guise. Her arrival at the auditions was nothing less than dramatic, with the former Spice Girl channelling the spirit – and the over-made up look – of tragic Sunset Boulevard character Norma Desmond. With her short hair backcombed behind a lace hair band and heavy make-up, Victoria did indeed look ‘ready for my close-up’. Her over-the-top look echoed that of Desmond, a delusional silent screen actress played by Gloria Swanson in the 1950 movie. After going for glamorous purple at her first auditions, Victoria looked more business like as she dressed in a red version of her own £2,095 Carmontelle cashmere-blend dress … Victoria disappointed fans when she rushed straight into the venue, leaving her established Idol judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson, Kara DioGuardi and host Ryan Seacrest stopping to greet fans and sign autographs. Despite her second appearance on the talent show following an audition in Denver, Colorado earlier this week, Posh insists she isn’t a permanent replacement of departed judge Paula Abdul. Her representative said: ‘There are no talks of her being a permanent judge. She has (New York) Fashion Week coming up and she is focused on that. They asked her back because it went so well and she was so natural with the judges and the contestants.’ Following her first judging stint, Victoria said she was a huge fan of the show, but admitted she was nervous as a judge. She said: ‘I want to be nice to people. I know how it feels to stand there and be judged… I don’t want to shatter anybody’s dream, but at the same time there’s nothing wrong with constructive criticism.’

LOL! While I don’t necessarily see the Norma Desmond similarity I do agree that she looked tragic … she was wearing way too much bronzing make-up. She’s lookin’ more Lindsay Lohan orange than Norma Desmond dramatic. While I don’t really feel that VB would be a good permanent judge on the show, I have to admit that I am a bit curious to hear what kind of advice she might give to aspiring singers … something along the lines of, Get yourself in a group with much more talented singers than yourself and fly under the radar for as long as you can until you can nab a professional athlete to marry and then become a “fashion designer”. Yeah, that’s some good advice.

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]