'X Factor': Behind-the-Scenes of THRs Cover Photoshoot (Video)

While many people know what the "X factor" is, The Hollywood Reporter asked the show's leading men and women to define the term. The X Factor creator Simon Cowell joined judges Nicole Sherzinger, L.A. Reid and Paula Abdul and host Steve Jones for THR's cover shoot at Smashbox studios in Hollywood. "You can't define it by saying it's one thing or another. There are many things. Usually when it's just one thing, that's not the X factor," said Reid. PHOTOS: An 'American Idol' to 'X Factor' Timeline "When somebody has the X Factor, even when you don't like them, deep down in the pit of your stomach, you know you like them," said Jones. In the video, Abdul and Cowell continue their signature back-and-forth that they cultivated on Idol. "If it does well, it's my show. If it bombs it's Paula's. That's the deal," joked Cowell. STORY: 'X Factor's' Simon Cowell Slams Simon Fuller, Admits Anger at 'Idol,' Reveals He and Cheryl Cole No Longer Speaking However they do agree that things need to look right. "I am obsessed with the way things look. I'm practically insane when it comes to that stuff," said Cowell. "I agree, I'm the same way," said Abdul. Simon Cowell spoke to The Hollywood Reporter for this week's cover story about The X Factor. He explained the real reason for Cheryl Cole's dismissal as a judge on the show, and his own surprise at the lawsuit brought against Fox by Idol exec Simon Fuller. Read THR's full cover story here. Paula Abdul Simon Cowell The X Factor

Millennium Accumulates Untitled Supernatural Action Spec From Action Actor (Exclusive)

Moving in the Hyborian Chronilogical age of Conan the Barbarian, Millennium/Nu Image is heading in to the jungles because of its next action project. The organization has closed an offer on the spec from Paul Sloan, fast-monitoring the project hoping of shooting it early the coming year. The untitled supernatural action script is referred to as getting been inspired by pulp heroes Doc Savage and Tarzan, and focuses on a team of mercenaries whose visit a missing part of the jungles of Cambodia turns into a descent in to the heart of darkness because they confront the dark pressure of the vampire. A visit a director is going ahead as the organization seeks to mix into one movie elements for that Expendables and Conan. Frank P Martini and Richard Salvatore are creating. Sloan originates from the field of low-budget action movies where he labored being an actor. His first writing effort was Stiletto, a 2008 action flick by which he also made an appearance alongside Castle star Stana Katic and Tom Berenger. (The 2008 movie includes a tagline of "Revenge Never Looked So Great,Inch that is much like Colombiana's "Revenge Never Looked to Beautiful.") He's repped by Brucks Entertainment. Millennium Films

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy Trailer

Beware: Contains sex jokes & foot crampRude comedies have been on something of a run this year. And while there have been the hits (Bridesmaids, The Hangover 2) and misses (Horrible Bosses, The Change-Up, at least on the box office front), there's clearly an audience for them. The team behind A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, will be hoping the crowds will still turn up and has pumped out a trailer. Take a look below, but be warned that it's a Red Band affair that contains adult themes and bad language, so keep the sensitive, pure eyes and ears of any children away. . Orgy finds Hall Pass' Jason Sudeikis as Eric, one of a group of friends who gather every summer to spend a holiday at a particular cottage. Thinking it might be time to spice up their activities, Eric and pal Mike (Tyler Labine) decide that what will really make the end of the summer go with, er, a bang would be a big ol' orgy featuring all the couples. Naturally, they have very little idea how to go about organising one, but seek out some advice. Oh, and not everyone is happy with the idea, least of all newlyweds Lucy Punch and Will Forte, who are flabbergasted that Eric and co only thought of this now. The comedy features the likes of Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Martin Starr, Lin Shaye, David Koechner, Nick Kroll and even Don Johnson. From the looks of the trailer, it could be silly, if slightly predictable, fun. A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is getting a limited release in the US on September 2, but there's no date listed for over here yet.

Beirut Hotel

A Les Films Pelleas, Maia Cinema, Arte France, DFM, Film i Vast production, in cooperation with Orjouane Prods., in association with Backup Films, Sofica Coficup 5, Cofinova 7. Produced by Philippe Martin, David Thion, Gilles Sandoz. Executive producer, Sabine Sidawi. Directed by Danielle Arbid. Screenplay, Arbid, Zeid Hamdan.With: Darine Hamze, Charles Berling, Fadi Abi Samra, Rodney El Haddad, Colette Abboud-Scatton, Carole Ammoun, Jinane Dagher, Beatrice Harb, Sabine Sidawi Hamdan, Karl Sarafidis, Karim Saleh. (Arabic, French, English dialogue)A French lawyer gets involved with a voluptuous Lebanese chantoosie in Danielle Arbid's wobbly but determined noir, "Beirut Hotel." Designed to keep characters and auds off balance by evoking the often dangerous uncertainties of life in Lebanon, the pic boasts a good concept but requires significantly sharper editing and a finer hand with thesps to successfully play on the nation's rep for mixing complications with contradictions. Arbid's own rep, thanks to previous Directors' Fortnight slots, could help "Beirut Hotel" secure a smattering of fest bookings. From the start, visuals contribute to an atmosphere of unease that perhaps could be taken further than Arbid chooses. Following a singing gig, Zoha (Darine Hamze) meets friend Rabih (Karl Sarafidis) at a bar where she's eyed by Mathieu (Charles Berling). She's wary yet attracted, lingering in his hotel room after Rabih has left. Mathieu is on his way to Syria to negotiate contracts for a French telecom company. Before departing, he's visited by Abbas (Fadi Abi Samra), an acquaintance who helped him out of a sticky situation three years earlier. Now Abbas needs Mathieu to return the favor: He's got information on Lebanese premier Rafik Hariri's assassination and wants to sell what he knows to the French government for a visa out. Mathieu says he doesn't have that kind of embassy contact, but Abbas is convinced he's in danger and needs the visa to escape. Mathieu finds himself followed by competing security services, one headed by Zoha's uncle, while her separated husband, Hicham (Rodney El Haddad), is also on his tail. Zoha, meanwhile, moves between Beirut's chic watering holes and Mathieu's hotel bed, a woman used to living with the sensation that no one can ever completely negotiate the labyrinthine game of loyalties and betrayals that's become a feature of Lebanon's political and social landscape. News reports of a kidnapping are woven into the story's background, reinforcing the sense of a nation coming apart. Toward the pic's end, a character unnecessarily verbalizes the impossibility of truly knowing Lebanon -- a concept Arbid ("A Lost Man") attempts to mirror in her plot, which keeps deliberately unclear not just whose side people are on, but how many sides there are. The device is only marginally successful. Mathieu's character needs filling out, and while Zoha is given more of a personality -- sensual, conflicted, involved and yet marginalized -- she's only intermittently three-dimensional. Editing is a distinct problem, incapable of standing up to a multistrand narrative where suspicions and misconstrued signals are such an integral part of the equation. Lensing captures some of Beirut's contradictions, where glamorous rooftop parties uneasily coexist with crumbling Hezbollah-controlled neighborhoods. Digital projection in Locarno practically eliminated what were likely warm tonalities, making the careful lighting hard-edged. Except for a few songs smoothly delivered by Hamze's rich voice, music is clumsily inserted, especially a repetition of Sibelius' "Valse triste."Camera (color), Pierric Gantelmi d'Ille; editors, Julien Leloup, Anne-Laure Viaud; music, Zeid Hamdan, Vincent Epplay; production designer, Elsie Moukarzel; costume designer, Beatrice Harb; sound (Dolby SRD), Emmanuel Zouki. Reviewed at Locarno Film Festival (competing), Aug. 3, 2011. Running time: 99 MIN. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Roses, O'Brien Cases Prove Krekorian Act Has Teeth

Roses, O'Brien Cases Prove Krekorian Act Has Teeth By Daniel Holloway and Ivan Lopez-Muniz August 10, 2011 When the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act was signed into California law in 2009, supporters hailed it as a way to protect performersspecifically childrenand their families from being taken advantage of by talent representatives. It has been proved to do just that.Since the Krekorian Act went into effect last year, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has used it as a tool to regulate pay-for-play casting workshops, to convince Playboy Enterprises not to charge potential models to audition, and to force Central Casting in Los Angeles to stop charging photo processing fees. In those instances, some grumbled that they were being unfairly targeted for engaging in legitimate business practices. But no charges were filed. The City Attorney's Office reached out to people and institutions it felt had violated or may have been in danger of violating the law and asked them to change the way they operated. Most did, if sometimes begrudgingly.But the last two weeks have brought a new chapter in the enforcement of the Krekorian Act. On July 28, Nicholas Roses, a former manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment, pleaded no contest to operating an advance-fee talent service and failing to file a $50,000 bond with the state. The following week, Patrick W. O'Brien of Pat O'Brien Talent Management also pleaded no contest on similar counts.The Krekorian Act forbids talent representatives from charging fees to clients in exchange for the promise of securing employment. It also requires reps to file a bond with the state labor commissioner. Though the city had already successfully prosecuted two talent listing services under the law, Roses and O'Brien were the first talent managers convicted under it."These convictions send the message to talent managers and talent agents that you will be prosecuted in California if you try selling classes, photos, or websites to your clients," said Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert, who prosecuted both cases. "Hopefully, it will inspire other states to protect their actors by passing their own version of the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act." Lesson Learned When he was charged in April on seven misdemeanor counts related to the Krekorian Act, Roses, 21, was a manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment, well-known for managing young performers. (He is no longer with the firm.) Roses began working in talent management in his preteen years and is by far the highest-profile defendant charged under the Krekorian Act.In January, three parents contacted the City Attorney's Office to complain about a performers boot camp run by Roses and unaffiliated with Luber Roklin. The families claimed that they met Roses at an Ohio talent agency workshop and that he agreed to represent their childrenthen ages 6, 13, and 14after advising them to relocate to Southern California and sign up for his boot camp. The cost of the training service was approximately $3,000 per child. Attempts by Back Stage to contact the complainants were unsuccessful, but according to the City Attorney's Office, the parents said the boot camp was poorly organized, it failed to provide adequate food and water, and many of the children who attended fell illone girl developing swollen lungs, hives, and a rash. None of the charges filed against Roses were related to the health and organizational concerns.Roses was sentenced to three years' probation and either 90 days in jail or 45 days of community labor. He was ordered to pay $10,700 in restitution to the victims and another $2,000 in investigative costs to the city. If he pays the restitution within 11 months, the number of community labor days will be reduced to 20.Roses is also barred from involvement with any talent training, counseling, or listing service within or outside California, as well as any camp, educational, or daycare facility that serves minors. He is, however, allowed to work as an agent or manager. He can also teach, attend showcases, and participate in panel discussions, provided he is not paid for those activities. Just days after his sentencing, Roses opened the downtown Burbank office of his new company, Total Talent Management.In an email to Back Stage, he claimed that more than 40 of his clients have joined him at the new firm. He expressed support for the law he was convicted of violating and asserted that Lambert, his prosecutor, "has the best interests of the community in mind." He contended, however, that his boot camps and showcases "were not a scam" but rather legitimate ventures that the bulk of his clients were satisfied with."At the time, this law was only in effect for eight months," Roses wrote. "I did not know I was violating the law. I do not want to blame my youth for my mistake. However, I will say my lack of knowledge of this new law was the reason I was in violation; further, because of my youth it did not prompt me to look into new laws. I am just hoping that my mistake will be a lesson for any and all the legitimate talent representatives out there to know the current rules on workshops, showcases, etc."The full text of the email Q&A with Roses, and a letter from the City Attorney's Office detailing what work he is permitted to engage in, can be read at BackStage.com.Package Deal In April, an Arizona woman contacted Lambert's office to complain that O'Brien had promised to represent her 15-year-old, then sold her a $3,000 photo shoot and acting class package for the child and convinced her to relocate to the Los Angeles area. After charges were filed, two other mothers contacted Lambert with similar complaints. One of them was Laura Estrada, an L.A. resident from Mexico who speaks limited English. O'Brien agreed to represent her daughter, who was 9 years old at the time. Estrada said O'Brien contacted her after she paid $200 to a talent listing service she found on the Internet. He asked her to bring her daughter in for an audition."He looked like a decent person," Estrada said, speaking in Spanish. My daughter "did not do very well in the audition, and he said she needed more training and photos and that she had the potential to become somebody. And I wanted to help her reach her dreams."Using a credit card, Estrada paid O'Brien $2,799 for acting lessons and photos. Estrada claimed that O'Brien told her he would represent her daughter if she purchased the package, but soon after, he stopped returning her calls and never sent her daughter out on auditions.Nancy West told a similar story. West said O'Brien sold her a $3,000 package of photos and acting classes for her daughter and made it clear that West must purchase the package as part of a representation agreement. She said that O'Brien then had a photographerwhom she later came to believe was the manager's wifeshoot the photos and that he cut short her daughter's acting classes. West was unemployed at the time and borrowed from her line of credit to pay O'Brien."My daughter changed after that," she said. "She doesn't have the drive that she used to have. I think she feels that the same thing is just going to keep happening."Asked if he told West she needed to purchase headshots and acting classes for her daughter in order to secure representation, O'Brien said, "Absolutely not. I'm not an idiot. It's totally separate. I've been in this business for 20 years. I tell them straight up, 'You came to an audition. You're adorable. I saw 300 people. If you're one of the two or three that I want to manage, that would be great. If you have photos, great. Here's a contract.' " He added he has always kept training and photo services separate from his management agreements. "This was all done correctly."O'Brien was sentenced to three years' probation, plus 90 days in jail or 45 days of community labor, and must pay a total of $6,000 in restitution to the three victims who came forward. (The community labor can be shortened to 20 days if the restitution is paid within 11 months.) He is barred from advertising employment opportunities or participating in any talent listing services anywhere within or outside the state. He is not allowed to participate in any seminar, camp, or educational facility, and he may not produce or develop films, television shows, or Web-based entertainment. He was ordered to shutter one of his companies, Talent Marketing and Promotions Inc., but is allowed to continue to manage performers."Even though I'm not taking on new clients anymore, I've got plenty of successful people," O'Brien said. "I may let 90 percent of them go and tell them, 'Good luck.' " In the future, he added, once his probation ends, he intends to return to producing.The successful prosecution of Roses and O'Brien demonstrates that serious consequences come with violation of the Krekorian Act. Paul Krekorian, the former Democratic State Assembly majority leader who shepherded the bill's passage into law and now serves on the Los Angeles City Council, has watched as Lambert has used it to regulate aspects of the talent industry that for years went unchecked. In an email message to Back Stage, he seemed pleased with what he has seen."On the strength of the Talent Scam Prevention Act, the City Attorney's office has successfully brought to justice a pair of fraud artists who preyed on children and others lured by promises of stardom," Krekorian said. "These two convictions prove, once again, that if it is the goal of talent agencies to lie, cheat, and steal from those they've baited with promises of fame, we have the tools to go after them. I hope these convictions deliver at least a small measure of reprieve and hope to those whose dreams were swindled away." Roses, O'Brien Cases Prove Krekorian Act Has Teeth By Daniel Holloway and Ivan Lopez-Muniz August 10, 2011 When the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act was signed into California law in 2009, supporters hailed it as a way to protect performersspecifically childrenand their families from being taken advantage of by talent representatives. It has been proved to do just that.Since the Krekorian Act went into effect last year, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office has used it as a tool to regulate pay-for-play casting workshops, to convince Playboy Enterprises not to charge potential models to audition, and to force Central Casting in Los Angeles to stop charging photo processing fees. In those instances, some grumbled that they were being unfairly targeted for engaging in legitimate business practices. But no charges were filed. The City Attorney's Office reached out to people and institutions it felt had violated or may have been in danger of violating the law and asked them to change the way they operated. Most did, if sometimes begrudgingly.But the last two weeks have brought a new chapter in the enforcement of the Krekorian Act. On July 28, Nicholas Roses, a former manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment, pleaded no contest to operating an advance-fee talent service and failing to file a $50,000 bond with the state. The following week, Patrick W. O'Brien of Pat O'Brien Talent Management also pleaded no contest on similar counts.The Krekorian Act forbids talent representatives from charging fees to clients in exchange for the promise of securing employment. It also requires reps to file a bond with the state labor commissioner. Though the city had already successfully prosecuted two talent listing services under the law, Roses and O'Brien were the first talent managers convicted under it."These convictions send the message to talent managers and talent agents that you will be prosecuted in California if you try selling classes, photos, or websites to your clients," said Deputy City Attorney Mark Lambert, who prosecuted both cases. "Hopefully, it will inspire other states to protect their actors by passing their own version of the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act." Lesson Learned When he was charged in April on seven misdemeanor counts related to the Krekorian Act, Roses, 21, was a manager at Luber Roklin Entertainment, well-known for managing young performers. (He is no longer with the firm.) Roses began working in talent management in his preteen years and is by far the highest-profile defendant charged under the Krekorian Act.In January, three parents contacted the City Attorney's Office to complain about a performers boot camp run by Roses and unaffiliated with Luber Roklin. The families claimed that they met Roses at an Ohio talent agency workshop and that he agreed to represent their childrenthen ages 6, 13, and 14after advising them to relocate to Southern California and sign up for his boot camp. The cost of the training service was approximately $3,000 per child. Attempts by Back Stage to contact the complainants were unsuccessful, but according to the City Attorney's Office, the parents said the boot camp was poorly organized, it failed to provide adequate food and water, and many of the children who attended fell illone girl developing swollen lungs, hives, and a rash. None of the charges filed against Roses were related to the health and organizational concerns.Roses was sentenced to three years' probation and either 90 days in jail or 45 days of community labor. He was ordered to pay $10,700 in restitution to the victims and another $2,000 in investigative costs to the city. If he pays the restitution within 11 months, the number of community labor days will be reduced to 20.Roses is also barred from involvement with any talent training, counseling, or listing service within or outside California, as well as any camp, educational, or daycare facility that serves minors. He is, however, allowed to work as an agent or manager. He can also teach, attend showcases, and participate in panel discussions, provided he is not paid for those activities. Just days after his sentencing, Roses opened the downtown Burbank office of his new company, Total Talent Management.In an email to Back Stage, he claimed that more than 40 of his clients have joined him at the new firm. He expressed support for the law he was convicted of violating and asserted that Lambert, his prosecutor, "has the best interests of the community in mind." He contended, however, that his boot camps and showcases "were not a scam" but rather legitimate ventures that the bulk of his clients were satisfied with."At the time, this law was only in effect for eight months," Roses wrote. "I did not know I was violating the law. I do not want to blame my youth for my mistake. However, I will say my lack of knowledge of this new law was the reason I was in violation; further, because of my youth it did not prompt me to look into new laws. I am just hoping that my mistake will be a lesson for any and all the legitimate talent representatives out there to know the current rules on workshops, showcases, etc."The full text of the email Q&A with Roses, and a letter from the City Attorney's Office detailing what work he is permitted to engage in, can be read at BackStage.com.Package Deal In April, an Arizona woman contacted Lambert's office to complain that O'Brien had promised to represent her 15-year-old, then sold her a $3,000 photo shoot and acting class package for the child and convinced her to relocate to the Los Angeles area. After charges were filed, two other mothers contacted Lambert with similar complaints. One of them was Laura Estrada, an L.A. resident from Mexico who speaks limited English. O'Brien agreed to represent her daughter, who was 9 years old at the time. Estrada said O'Brien contacted her after she paid $200 to a talent listing service she found on the Internet. He asked her to bring her daughter in for an audition."He looked like a decent person," Estrada said, speaking in Spanish. My daughter "did not do very well in the audition, and he said she needed more training and photos and that she had the potential to become somebody. And I wanted to help her reach her dreams."Using a credit card, Estrada paid O'Brien $2,799 for acting lessons and photos. Estrada claimed that O'Brien told her he would represent her daughter if she purchased the package, but soon after, he stopped returning her calls and never sent her daughter out on auditions.Nancy West told a similar story. West said O'Brien sold her a $3,000 package of photos and acting classes for her daughter and made it clear that West must purchase the package as part of a representation agreement. She said that O'Brien then had a photographerwhom she later came to believe was the manager's wifeshoot the photos and that he cut short her daughter's acting classes. West was unemployed at the time and borrowed from her line of credit to pay O'Brien."My daughter changed after that," she said. "She doesn't have the drive that she used to have. I think she feels that the same thing is just going to keep happening."Asked if he told West she needed to purchase headshots and acting classes for her daughter in order to secure representation, O'Brien said, "Absolutely not. I'm not an idiot. It's totally separate. I've been in this business for 20 years. I tell them straight up, 'You came to an audition. You're adorable. I saw 300 people. If you're one of the two or three that I want to manage, that would be great. If you have photos, great. Here's a contract.' " He added he has always kept training and photo services separate from his management agreements. "This was all done correctly."O'Brien was sentenced to three years' probation, plus 90 days in jail or 45 days of community labor, and must pay a total of $6,000 in restitution to the three victims who came forward. (The community labor can be shortened to 20 days if the restitution is paid within 11 months.) He is barred from advertising employment opportunities or participating in any talent listing services anywhere within or outside the state. He is not allowed to participate in any seminar, camp, or educational facility, and he may not produce or develop films, television shows, or Web-based entertainment. He was ordered to shutter one of his companies, Talent Marketing and Promotions Inc., but is allowed to continue to manage performers."Even though I'm not taking on new clients anymore, I've got plenty of successful people," O'Brien said. "I may let 90 percent of them go and tell them, 'Good luck.' " In the future, he added, once his probation ends, he intends to return to producing.The successful prosecution of Roses and O'Brien demonstrates that serious consequences come with violation of the Krekorian Act. Paul Krekorian, the former Democratic State Assembly majority leader who shepherded the bill's passage into law and now serves on the Los Angeles City Council, has watched as Lambert has used it to regulate aspects of the talent industry that for years went unchecked. In an email message to Back Stage, he seemed pleased with what he has seen."On the strength of the Talent Scam Prevention Act, the City Attorney's office has successfully brought to justice a pair of fraud artists who preyed on children and others lured by promises of stardom," Krekorian said. "These two convictions prove, once again, that if it is the goal of talent agencies to lie, cheat, and steal from those they've baited with promises of fame, we have the tools to go after them. I hope these convictions deliver at least a small measure of reprieve and hope to those whose dreams were swindled away."

TCA: ABC's 'Charlie's Angels' To Be "More Grounded, More Real" Than Predecessors

Diane Haithman is contributing to Deadline's coverage of TCA. At this summers TCA, across the networks, there has been more than one panel including earnest, beautiful young women, mostly clad in teeny-tiny skirts and architecturally challenging platform heels, talking about how retro shows about gaggles of girls answering primarily to male bosses are actually all about female empowerment. Network execs and show producers also seem to be repeating the girl-power mantra.The main cases in point: NBCs set-in-the-'60s The Playboy Club, ABCs new Pan Am and the remake of the 1976-81 series Charlies Angels, co-executive produced by Leonard Goldberg with Drew Barrymore (veteran of the Charlies Angels movies) and creators/executive producers Al Gough and Miles Millar (both of Smallville). The show was unveiled at last months Comic-Con with the phrase: "These aint your mamas angels. Following this mornings Charlies Angels panel, I asked Millar the empowerment question: Really?He at first seemed to be addressing the issue by saying that initially, Goughs and Millers wives didnt want them to do the show. Why? Because the original angels were such role models to the producers' spouses, Millar said reverently. They didnt believe we could do it [and maintain] the legacy of Charlies Angels.Millar said during the panel that the idea of the new series was not to make a cynical remake of the original, nor to assume the same tone as the movies, about which Gough said: [They were] superheroes for girls, post-Matrix [the new show will] bring to the table more grounded, more real characters with somewhat dark back stories. You want to have something to come back to every week. Describing the tone of the new show, Gough said: If Jack Bauer and Carrie Bradshaw had a love child, it would be [the new] Charlies Angels. There is as yet no replacement for Robert Wagner, who was originally cast as the voice of Charlie -- he has bowed out due to scheduling issues. What we are looking for in the voice of Charlie is someone who brings a sort of paternal-ness, a certain amount of authority and mystery, Gough said. They confirmed that Wagner is still a part owner of the show. Veteran producer Goldberg was asked to talk about how the original show, which he co-produced with Aaron Spelling, spawned the less-than-empowering terms eye candy and jiggle show. He jokingly blamed both terms on competitor NBC. We were very successful our shows, the other networks were always trying to disparage us, he said. A lot of publications, the New York Times included, gave us negative reviews, but as soon as the show hit, they were quick to put us on the cover of everything they could find.

'Captain America' Star And Albert Hughes Driving Towards 'Motor City'?

In May of this year, Albert Hughes walked away from the live-action adaptation of the legendary manga, Akira, presumably as fed-up with the process just like the rest of us are. His just announced next project, Motor City, is a more straightforward revenge story, but with a substantial twist. Twitch Film reports that Motor City, written by Chad St. John, is a revenge film about a small time crook who is framed and sent to jail only to go after those who put him there upon release. It's a pretty standard plot that becomes much more interesting when you learn that the original 2009 version of the script contained only a single line of dialogue. Producer Joel Silver, who worked with Hughes on The Book of Eli, is committed to the new project despite the lack of witty banter that seems to be de rigueur in contemporary action movies. While Hughes is locked in as director, the production is still casting about for the lead role, though it has reportedly been offered to Chris Evans. If the Captain America: The First Avenger star turns down the part, both Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Renner are also being considered. What do you think about Motor City, would you watch a full movie of a silent Chris Evans? Let us know what you think about the project in the comments section and on Twitter!