Deadline reports that Ken Levine has been tapped to write the Logan’s Run remake. Gamers may know Levine better as the writer behind games like System Shock 2, Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite. Those games share a lot in common with Logan’s Run so it seems like a good fit.

What makes all of this an even better fit, however, is that Levine is a trained screenwriter and playwright. In fact, he was initially pursuing a career in Hollywood where he wrote two screenplays. Soon after, he began working at Looking Glass Studios on Thief and then moved on to found Irrational Games where he wrote the critically acclaimed System Shock 2.

Going back to Logan’s Run, it seems that Levine was only recently tapped to write it. He’s doing it because the film is a “passion project” for him. He’s also the best chance the film has at actually being good.

Fans of Levine may be worried that he’s leaving games behind to pursue his original career in Hollywood, but that will not be the case. It’s more like he’s doing this on the side as he continues to work on projects at Irrational Games. His team is currently working on Bioshock Infinite DLC, but his team is undoubtedly already forming a plan for their next game.

First, before we look at what he had to say about that, let’s recall a recent interview Hurwitz recently did with TV Guide. Discussing the current season (season 4), he said, “There’s a lot in this show that not only refers to later episodes but that also refer to a future story. A lot of what we were doing was setting up a future for this world.”

When asked if that means another batch of episodes is to come, Hurwitz said, “It was important to me that I had a story behind this one that we built to. Whether that ever becomes a feature or a puppet show or a graphic novel or a needlepoint pattern, I’m not sure.”

The point is, he’s got some things in mind for where to take the story next, and that could be more show, a movie, or who knows? Netflix has recently indicated that it would like to do more, so it could very well be that we’ll see Arrested Development Season 5 appear on Netflix similar to the latest season.

Now, onto that reddit AMA. Hurwitz was asked: “Do you think that producing the new season as a prequel to the movie took away from its potential?” and “What can you tell us about the movie?”

His responses were as follows:

I’m going to try to interpret that question because it could mean a couple things. One version of that question is “Do I think it will hurt the chances that the movie will get made” – and I would say that I’m more interested in telling the ongoing saga of this family than working out a particular strategy for how to do it. I kind of feel like the form will emerge in a way that I wouldn’t have anticipated – like Netflix a few years ago – so it’s possible that a film studio says “There’s a lot of AD out there. Do we want to invest in more” or it’s possible that a film studio says “Wow, we had no idea there was this kind of a following.” And I think the latter scenario is possible. Just because I didn’t think there was that kind of a following! But if your question is “Does the story we’ve told detract from a movie”, I would say it definitely doesn’t, or wasn’t intended to – it was intended to set up (among other things) a murder-mystery and a family that really now has to come together to save one of their own at a moment when their tensions are the highest.

Well what we’re calling the movie is just the ongoing story – so at the moment, there is nothing really up with it, except that I am gathering up ammunition to try to get the next chapter made.

It’s clear that Hurwitz wants to continue to create more Arrested, regardless of what form it takes. Reviews of the current season have been mixed, but there is surely a big enough audience craving more Bluth family fun. Let’s not forget about this show’s history of turmoil, and its incredible journey back into the living room. As with season 4, no doubt getting the cast together will be the biggest challenge. A movie could be easier to pull off, but they made it work this time, so another season doesn’t seem out of the question.

Hurwitz also had this to say about the Netflix model:

…And one of the burdens that network television implicitly has – they’re not allowed to just respect the cleverest in their audience, they have to please everyone. And I think the Netflix model makes it a little more like publishing – there are different books for different people, and still within that world there are top 10 books that are blockbusters, and then there’s fiction that’s not for everybody.

Netflix was amazing. I’ve become very close to the people over there, and they are all really funny, so if they did have suggestions, they were generally pretty funny, great ones – particularly Ted Sarandos, who runs content for them. And they loved the ambition of the show, and encouraged it.

Update: He just answered another question about a fifth season, in which he said:

For the 5th season, it would DEFINITELY be about the family all together. That was always the design. The idea was originally to have them even together LESS for Season 4 – it really was going to be basically 9 stories (like the Salinger collection) that had nothing to do with one another, and just showed everybody’s life, so that everybody’s life could get to a point of peril, and then the family could truly have no choice but to get back together for the next iteration.
Let me put it back to you- which would YOU prefer? Movie or Season?

Update 2: He just opened up a bit more about where the story is going next:

It will definitely continue where we left off – and also, thank you for that because I think that episode is unlike the others in that it really shows a side of Lindsay we haven’t seen before, and it really takes the idea of her superficiality from being a joke to something she really struggles with, and in many ways I feel like it’s the most honest telling of the life of this family. But yes, we will definitely pick her up – she’s left running as a Republican for office, so she is going to play out some ancient high school agendas.
For Michael and George Michael – I think one of the things that is fun to do and also sometimes generates great material (and sometimes doesn’t) is to “paint yourself into a corner” when you’re writing or performing or doing anything creative. And it reminds me of cutting off Buster’s hand. It’s like, what do you do now? And the answer is – a LOT MORE than you’d do without it. So I wanted to get to an honest point in their relationship that was very uncomfortable, so that there wouldn’t be a pat solution, even for me.

Update 3: And a bit more (regarding Lucille Two falling down the stairs):

“That’s one of the abiding mysteries that Film Studios (or Netflix) will have to find valuable enough to discover to fund more of the show. And what’s YOUR theory? I’m truly curious.”

It’s great because anyone (who signs up) can create their own petition. Couple this with the relatively low signature threshold for petitions to appear on the site and what you get is a hodgepodge of requests – both serious and not-so-serious.

It’s the not-so-serious that grabbed my attention today.

You see, we’ve often highlighted some of the sillier White House petitions to grace the site over the last couple of years. For instance, that time someone petitioned the Obama administration to make R. Kelly’s “Ignition (Remix)” the national anthem. Or that time people wanted the White House to build our own functioning Death Star (they even responded to that one). Remember all of those wacky secession petitions? Classic.

Well, a recent petition is now my new favorite. Ladies and Gents, may I submit for your consideration: “Have Obama re-enact the scene from The Incredibles where Frozone is looking for his supersuit.”

We all like The Incredibles. I’m sure the President does too. The world would be complete by having Barack and Michelle re-enact this famous scene.

Indeed. Is this ridiculous? Absolutely. Just slightly inappropriate? I don’t know, I’m sure it could be construed that way. Would we all like to see it? You bet your sweet ass we would.

The petition only has 5,100 signatures, but it garnered those in just 48 hours. If it can get 100,000 total signatures by July 15th, well, the administration will have to respond.

Is this a poor use of the process? Of course it is. But apparently the people want it. Look – this is from 6 months ago:

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort, a big-shot New York stockbroker who is approached to participate in a giant securities fraud case. It deals with Wall Street excesses, corruption, and organized crime – and all of that is on display in this new trailer.

“The year I turned 26, I made $49 million, which really pissed me off because it was just shy of $1 million a week,” says DiCaprio’s character, Belfort.

Nice. There’s a lot of partying, boats, a monkey, dwarf tossing, and some new Kanye West music – an all around intriguing production, to say the least. Check it out:

The film, based on the memoirs of Belfort himself, is slated for a November 15th release. It also stars Matthew McConaughey and Jonah Hill.

According to Reuters, Man of Steel has set a new record for June opening weekend box office totals. The movie took in $113.1 million on its opening weekend, giving it this year’s second-largest opening weekend haul, right behind Iron Man 3. The previous June opening weekend record belonged to Toy Story 3, which took in over $110 million during its first weekend in 2010.

Man of Steel was written in part by Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan and was directed by Zach Snyder of 300 and Watchmen fame. While some critics have panned the movie as being shallow and too serious for a Superman movie, others have connected with Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent and Amy Adams’ Lois Lane.

Moviegoers, on the other hand, have praised the movie for its special effects and cast, which includes Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent. Fans of Superman have also praised Man of Steel for deferring somewhat to the decades-old lore established by DC Comics.

Ritter has been invited back to play Gia Goodman, the character she brought to life from 2005-2006 during the popular detective show’s run on UPN/The CW. The series focused on Kristen Bell’s title character, who was a high school student who played detective by night. Bell, along with Tina Majorino, Francis Capra, Enrico Colantoni, and Brandon Hillock, among others, has signed on to a film adaptation of the series.

Ritter tweeted the good news last week, saying, “G-G-G-Gia!!!! I’m thrilled to be reprising my role of Gia Goodman in the Veronica Mars movie!!! It’s gonna be very juicy. Veronica Mars has a special place in my heart because it was my first big acting job (!!!!!!) and it was also one of the most lovely on-set experiences you could ever ask for. This will truly be an awesome shoot, not only because we all get to be reunited (can’t WAIT!) but because of the revolutionary way this all was able to come to life!”

It’s been a big month for Ritter; it was also announced in June that she’s signed on to work with Tim Burton in “Big Eyes”, a story about married couple Margaret and Walter Keane, who took the world by storm in the ’50s with their paintings of big-eyed children. Amy Adams will play Margaret–who actually created the paintings–and Christoph Waltz will play Walter, who talked the world into believing he was the artist. Ritter will play DeeAnn, a friend of Margaret’s who gets her to open up about her talent to the world.

Over the moon!! It's been a dream to work with Tim Burton! Dream big kiddies! RT @Deadline: Krysten Ritter Joins Ti… http://t.co/ScjkT43Pdl

— krysten ritter (@Krystenritter) June 11, 2013

“Veronica Mars”–which boasts a rabid cult fanbase–is being funded by a Kickstarter campaign.

Heather Denno says when she heard the actor was shooting his new film, “The Judge”, down the road from her house, she took her 18-month old son, Jaxson, for a walk in the hopes that she’d run into him.

“I said to my son, ‘Hey, here’s Iron Man,’ but he didn’t have the red suit on so Jaxson put his hands over his face and got upset,” Denno said. But Downey Jr. was an old pro and handled the situation beautifully. “He was amazing,” she said. “You could tell he was a father. He was so sweet and nurturing.”

I’m all for comforting a sad child, but someone give Robert a hug! I can’t handle Iron Man giving me that kicked-puppy face!

“The Judge” is still filming in Massachusetts and also stars Vera Farmiga, Robert Duvall, and Billy Bob Thornton.

Image: Heather Denno

Though early movie-goers seem to have enjoyed Superman’s return, critics have weighed in with middling reviews, putting Man of Steel‘s tomatometer rating at a rotten 59% – below even 2006′s Superman Returns.

Critics praised the movie for its good special effects, which Snyder (who directed 300 and Watchmen) is well-known for. However, Man of Steel was criticized for being shallow, while at the same time taking itself too seriously. The reviews sound similar to ones written for Snyder’s last movie, 2011′s Sucker Punch.

Richard Roeper, who recently took over the Chicago Sun-Times’ movie reviews for the late Roger Ebert, stated there was “little humor or joy” in Man of Steel. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers disagreed, saying that Christopher Nolan’s impact in co-writing Man of Steel made the movie “interesting.”

The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday hated the movie, calling Snyder’s Superman “joyless,” and even panned “Hans Zimmer’s turgid, over-produced score…”

From Hornaday’s review:

It takes nearly an hour for Clark to don the iconic red cape and “S”-imprinted chest plate, which turns out to be not even the midpoint in a story that, with its back-and-forths, jump cuts and flashbacks and repetitively percussive action sequences, seems to have been filmed by an easily distracted child or sentient garden hose.

Regardless of what the professional movie watchers think, it seems that fans are on-board for a new era of DC Comics movies. The hashtag #manofsteel is trending on Twitter, and Superman fans are themselves giving out short, mixed reviews:

According to The Independent, Spielberg was speaking at the opening of a new University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts building on Wednesday. He was joined by Star Wars director George Lucas, and the pair discussed just how hard they had found it to have their recent movies released in theaters.

“There’s eventually going to be an implosion, or a big meltdown,” said Spielberg. He went on to predict a time when several high-budget blockbusters fail spectacularly, leading to a “paradigm” shift in the film industry. Spielberg recounted that his latest movie, Lincoln, was almost released on premium cable channel HBO. He predicts that ticket prices will skyrocket, costing around $25 by the time the next Iron Man movie is released.

Lucas backed up Spielberg, stating that Red Tails, which he executive produced, also faced difficulty getting into theaters. Lucas pointed out how ridiculous it is for the two of them not to be able to get their movies into theaters, and predicted that theaters will become more like Broadway theaters, with high ticket prices as high as $150.

Spielberg and Lucas are currently in the early stages of creating a new Indiana Jones movie.

(via The Independent)

It’s a simple story that begins with a fight scene in which Lee is supposed to “hit” Chan across the face with a big pole; he missed his mark, however, and instead of making it movie-real, he made it real-real. The stick hit Chan in the head with brute force and he went down like a rock, and Lee, ever the professional, stayed in character until the director yelled “Cut!”.

But he wasn’t heartless; Lee ran over to Chan to make sure he was okay and fussed over him for the rest of the day like a worried mom. Chan, who was starstruck from working with his hero, milked it for all it was worth.

Listen to the story from Chan himself.