Today's Film News: Back To The Negotiation Table

By Katey Rich

The Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists-- better known as SAG and AFTRA--are heading back to the negotiation table with the studios, hoping to hammer out a new contract before the current one expires June 30. The plan, says Variety, is to get a contract for features and primetime television. The two acting unions have a history of animosity, which is why they have to work things out amongst themselves before they take on the AMPTP. The potential strike, of course, is pretty much a worst-nightmare situation in Hollywood right now, given that we've only just recovered from the months-long TV drought. Keep your fingers crossed.

Warner Bros. has bought the rights to a book proposal with possibly the best title ever written: I Am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President. The young adult book, to be penned by "Daily Show" writer Josh Lieb, is about a geeky 13-year-old who is actually an evil genius and the third-richest person on the planet. Just read this synopsis from The Hollywood Reporter: "The story concerns the boy's attempt to prove himself in the eyes of his do-gooder father by being elected class president. Unfortunately, the tactics he uses to stage coups in Central America prove to be less effective in running a middle-school campaign." This concept seems, in every way, flawless.

3D movies are intense enough as it is-- just the sight of Bono popping out of the screen in U2 3D can make your heart pound. But is the world ready for a 3D slasher movie? That's what Jaime King is assuming, at least, now that she's taken the lead role in My Bloody Valentine 3D, a remake of the 1981 thriller. Presumably because Halloween is too played out, the story takes place around Valentine's Day, when a serial killer targets couples who celebrate the holiday.

And finally, Harvey Weinstein may think he has all the power he needs, but he's no match for legions of Star Wars fans with a cause. The Weinstein Company has been holding off on the release of a dramedy called Fanboys for two years now. The story, about friends trekking to Skywalker Ranch for an early screening of the first Star Wars, was deemed too depressing because of a subplot about a friend with cancer; Weinstein reshot key scenes, using Drillbit Taylor director Stephen Brill, to excise the cancer story. But 40 minutes of the movie had already been shown to Star Wars fans, and they were livid. Now they're threatening to boycott this weekend's Superhero Movie and other TWC releases unless the original, unedited Fanboys is released. The Hollywood Reporter has the whole messy story, as well as one excellent quote from the fans: "It's not going to work, Darth Weinstein." Wait, does that make Michael Eisner Emperor Palpatine?