For all the anime fans who hoped that certain titles would remain out of the grasp of Hollywood; I have some bad news for you. According to iFMagazine, Fox has given the green-light for a live-action version of the classic animated series, Cowboy Bebop. During the Television Critics Association press tour, producer Erwin Stoff let it slip that he now has a deal in place with Fox studios to bring the popular series to the big screen. Stoff told journalists, "I'm developing COWBOY BEBOP for Fox, but doing it as a live-action film, so I'm working on that at the moment, I'm really excited to be working on it, and it's in the really early stages. We just signed it the other day."

For the uninitiated; Cowboy Bebop was the story of a group of bounty hunters and their adventures aboard their ship, Bebop, in the year 2071. The series was a huge success in both Japan and in the US, and even spawned an animated film back in 2002.

For fans who might be worried that Cowboy could suffer the same fate as other anime-inspired flicks, there is a silver lining. Stoff promised that, "I have such an enormous admiration for its creators, that our first and foremost concern is going to be a real degree of faithfulness to the tone of the movie, to the mix of genres, and so on and so forth," -- I don't want to sound too cynical, but it's not like we haven't heard that one before.

Now on to the more important question: Who should take over for Jet Black and the gang on the big screen? Sound off below...

This new project sounds so incredibly cheesy that I sort of expect Steven Seagal to show up in mob attire, and Sylvester Stallone to turn up as a terrorist or something and have an epic, muscley battle. Get this -- The Hollywood Reporter has posted that producers Moritz Borman and Peter Graves have scored the film rights to a novel called The Seven Sins: The Tyrant Ascending by Jon Land.

The flick will follow a guy named Michael "The Tyrant" Tiranno (modeled on entrepreneur Fabrizio Boccardi), who was raised by a don from the Sicilian Mafia and becomes a real estate mogul. He builds a Las Vegas casino called Seven Sins that gets targeted, along with three other casinos, by suicidal car bombers believed to be Islamic terrorists. So of course, The Tyrant sets out to find the man responsible, which leads him to antique secrets and nonstop action.

The plan is to make this whole puppy a franchise, and I have to say -- I'm sort of glad. I'd much rather have a new weird action plot than more Rambos or other '80s franchises. But what about you? Are you hungry for The Tyrant?

Virgin Comics is still relatively new to the game, and while the big daddies of the comic book world have been enjoying their time on the big screen; Virgin has been steadily making deals for a little box-office success of their own (especially considering that was what the company was designed to do in the first place). Variety now reports that Virgin has sold the film rights to their latest comic, The Leaves, to Summit Entertainment.

The Leaves was inspired by tales of Naadi fortune-tellers and one man's extraordinary experience. The story centers on Max Mellick, a world-renowned heart surgeon with a beautiful girlfriend and luxurious New York lifestyle. While attending a friend's funeral in India, a fortune-teller tells Max that he will be responsible for bringing about the end of the world. But, Dr. Max isn't the apocalyptic-type, so he goes on the run in the hopes of finding a way to escape his destiny.

Leaves was only released a few days ago, but that hasn't stopped Summit from snapping up the title for a feature film remake. Leaves was written by Kevin J. Walsh and he will also adapt the story into an action thriller for the big screen. Virgin's Creative Director, Gotham Chopra (son to Deepak) will produce the film alongside CEO Sharad Devarajan. I just hope Summit can get Virgin moving a little faster on this project than they have with The Megas.

With The Dark Knight and Watchmen on everyone's mind, we are going to get a lot of dark and edgy "superhero" movies, centered on stories that tear down the myth of the caped crusader and show them to be the flawed individuals they truly are.

Capeshooters is the latest to tear off the Spandex. According to Variety, it's based on an upcoming comic book by Rob Liefield, cofounder of Image Comics, and will be produced by none other than Bryan Singer. After filming so many good superheroes Singer is apparently interested in exploring the "darker side of the subject." The timing, coming so soon after Tony Stark graced the screen, is probably coincidental.

So, what is particularly dark about this deconstruction? The TMZ angle! Capeshooters revolves around two slackers turned paparazzi, who specialize in shooting covert videos of superheroes. (And speaking of Stark, he probably would have loads of those videos. Wolverine, too.) They find themselves on the run after they stumble onto evidence that one particularly beloved hero is, in fact, a villain. (Harvey Dent, say it ain't so!)

It all depends on the upcoming comic book, of course, but it sounds like Watchmen already did this. And better. Still, you can't blame writers for trying to walk a mile in Alan Moore's shoes, can you? Perhaps the book will be more unique than it looks from this angle.

Frankly, the news that a screenwriter had been hired to pen the latest installment in a horror franchise would not normally merit much attention.(Other than from the writer's agent and immediate family.) But when we're talking Wesley Strick and A Nightmare on Elm Street, my curiosity soared.

New Line Cinema has hired Strick to create their new version of Nightmare, according to The Hollywood Reporter. One of his first credits was as co-writer of Arachnophobia, Frank Marshall's clever creature feature, followed by Martin Scorsese's heavy-handed remake of Cape Fear, and later Mike Nichols' post-modern Wolf. His other credits include Final Analysis, The Saint, The Glass House and Doom.

While it's always tricky to assign credit or blame based solely on screen credits, I think it's safe to say that Strick has a distinct track record: complex psychological tension, sarcastic humor, and mucho macho boom boom (to coin a phrase for his uber-male characters). I'm not saying that all of these elements succeed in every movie he's had a hand in writing, but I am hopeful that Strick can come up with a fresh twist on Freddy Krueger.

The new Nightmare will retain the high school setting and "delve deeper in the psychology of nightmares and Krueger himself. The plan is to have a dark tone." If the plan is also to forget about a PG-13 rating, so much the better. New Line aims to release the film in time for the 25th anniversary of the original -- which would be November 2009.

Top Cow is on a roll! I never actually thought a week would come in which I would have two stories about that publishing company -- but here it is. Who thought sexy, weapon wielding chicks were such a draw for the movie business? Not I! (Yes, that's sarcasm.)

The latest book to be optioned is Magdalena. It's rather similar to Witchblade except with a much more distinguished lineage. The Magdalena is descended from Sarah, the daughter of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. She's the supernatural defender of the Catholic Church, and can look into the human heart to show people the error of their ways. And because no heroine is complete without a weapon, she wields the Spear of Destiny (the spear which pierced the side of Jesus at the Crucifixion) against the forces of evil. Luckily, nothing in the Magdalena's Catholic contract stipulates that she dress conservatively, so she's allowed to wear the crop tops of a Top Cow heroine.

And according to The Hollywood Reporter, it's already further along in production than Witchblade. No director has been set, but the leads have been cast. Jenna Dewan is currently in talks to play Patience, the spear-wielding holy heroine. (There's been a few, it looks like they're going with the most recent incarnation.) Luke Goss is set to play Kristof, an agent sent by the secret organization that protects the lineage. In the comic, these are cardinals, but somehow I bet Kristof won't be one because that would require way too much chastity -- and the stars are way too hot. Both actors are going to be at Top Cow's panel at ComicCon this weekend. If you're going, you can ask them all sorts of pressing Magdalena movie questions.

It was a bummer to learn that Franka Potente was backing out of Pope Joan back in May, but it looks like she's found herself another weighty gig to add to her plate. Variety reports that she has signed on to star in a new German drama called Flucht aus Tibet, otherwise known as Escape from Tibet. The film, which is based on a true story, will be the big-screen debut for writer and director Maria Blumencron.

Heading out of Che Guevara territory, Potente is moving over to Tibet to play Judy Cronenberg. The woman was a press photographer who led "a group of refugee Tibetan children over the Himalayas to safety nine years ago." There's nothing more being said about the story, which seems to be surprisingly free from the Internet (anyone know the details?), but it is a big German project. The film has received FFF Bayern's largest film funding -- $1.1 million.

It should be a little bit of time before we get to see Tibet, but in the meantime, of course, we can watch her play Tania in Steven Soderbergh's The Argentine and Guerilla.

When you've made a very modern tale of a troubled man struggling to live with his super powers, what's left but to tackle a mythical yet tormented Greek hero? Peter Berg, who directed Will Smith to box office success in Hancock, will reboot one ot the original superheroes, Hercules, according to Variety.

Hercules: The Thracian Wars, a five-issue comic book series by Steve Moore issued in May by Radical Publishing, will provide the source material. Ryan Condal, recently tapped to adapt Warren Ellis' comic mini-series/graphic novel Ocean, will write the script; Berg will direct and co-produce.

The plot synopsis for the series describes Hercules as a "tormented soul ... neither god nor man." When the King of Thrace hires him "to train his men to become the greatest army of all time," Herc and his buddies are prompted to consider whey they have such a ruthless, bloodthirsty reputation. Berg intends to stay true to the "conflicts and redemption" in Moore's character-driven comic book series.

When another project about Hercules was announced last year, Christopher Campbell questioned if there had ever been a decent Hercules movie. (He ran down most of them.) So, three questions: (1) Is the comic book any good? (2) Is Berg the right director to reboot Herc? (3) Who could play the muscular Greek hero without making people laugh at him?

When Ian Holm chased ambulances, so to speak, as Mitchell Stevens in The Sweet Hereafter, there was a certain amount of class to it. Yes, he was looking for lawsuits, but Holm managed to bring some heart to the role. But what would Sacha Baron Cohen do? I think it's safe to say that he'll have an entirely different technique as a personal injury lawyer; and hopefully one that doesn't put him in a one-piece thong again.

Variety reports that Fox Atomic has picked up a pitch written by Peter Baynham (Cohen's Borat co-writer) called Accidentes, which Baron Cohen will produce and possibly star in. It will focus on "a lawyer of Latin descent who transforms from contingency attorney to hero of the working class when he helps an immigrant win a judgment against his wealthy employer after a landscaping mishap. He also becomes the enemy of L.A.'s power elite."

I'd be surprised if Sacha didn't take on this role, but I imagine it will all come down to timing as he's also got some Sherlock Holmes action on the way and a Dinner for Shmucks. But if he can't do it, who could? Freddie Rodriguez?

Fans of the world's most famous writer-director based in Philadelphia need not fear. Filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is not abandoning his creative work as a writer and director in favor of restricting himself to production duties. He has, however, formed a new partnership to produce one thriller per year for three years, according to Variety.

M. Night "typically generates more movie ideas than he can execute." The terms of his deal with Media Rights Capital (MRC) mean that M. Night will "create the stories and ideas for the films and pick the writers and directors; MRC will finance." This won't affect his next directorial project, The Last Airbender, which is still set for release by Paramount in 2010.

My first thought was that M. Night is following in the footsteps of Steven Spielberg. You might remember that Spielberg created the TV series Amazing Stories in part because he had so many story ideas that he couldn't do himself. He ended up writing or developing 29 stories (out of 45 episodes). Interestingly, Eric Kohn asked M. Night in an interview last month if it wouldn't be easier for him to "go the independent route." Even though the filmmaker said he's "never had an issue with studios," this sounds like a big step in the independent direction.

And here's a quote that might warm the heart of anyone, including myself, who has been cool about his recent work: "Working with the next wave of innovative filmmakers will teach me many things that I can bring to my own writing/directing and give my stories the opportunity to be brought to the screen in a stunning way."