Takashi Miike’s Zebraman is highly regarded as one of the best cult movies to come out from Asia. It’s one of those movies that polarize people but also a great showcase for the wonderful directorial chops of Miike.

With Zebraman’s popularity, it’s not surprising to know that a sequel is already made, after all, there’s a big clamor from fans of the movie for a continuation of the story presented in the first Zebraman.

What’s unusual is having a spin-off that will serve to “complement” the upcoming sequel. But it’s there and it’s real. The straight to DVD spinoff is directed by Miike’s assistant director Nishiumi Kenichiro. The sequel, with the title “Revenge of teh Zebra Miniskirt Police” will feature three pretty women who will be the members of the police squad. Their role in the sequel are bodyguards to the main character . They will all be wearing Zebra miniskirts, which just brings the weirdness factor up a notch.

Conan is one of the most iconic characters in the world of fantasy. the Cimmerian barbarian turned king is the acknowledged fantasy alpha male and one of the toughest fictional protagonists. Of course, Conan is more familiar to film fans as the character that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star.

The star turning power of Conan is the reason why it is such a coveted role. With talks that a Conan remake is already being developed, actors left and right are being touted as the perfect Conan. You would, of course, expect to see familiar names and established stars vying for the role of Conan. But th announcement of Lionsgate and Millennium Films about the new Conan has caught quite a few people by surprise. The role was announced to have been given to Jason Momoa. Yes, I don’t know who he is either.

The 30 year old Momoa is a virtual unknown. His most prominent work before Conan was in the sci-fi TV show Stargate Atlantis. He’s also set to appear in the new HBO mini series, Game of Thrones. I’m not familiar with Momoa’s work but from his pictures, he does look like he could be perfect for the role. I’ll hold off judgement on the guy’s acting skills because a) I haven’t seen his work and b) Conan is not really going to win anyone an Oscar — if you can grunt and look good doing it then you’ll perfect for the role.

Oh, and speaking of grunts and Oscars, Mickey Rourke has been offered the role of Corin, Conan’s father.

Conan will begin filming this March 15.

I’m pretty sure that a lot of people are eagerly anticipating the film adaptation of The Hobbit. Count me in as one of those people. I’m a huge Tolkien fan so It’s already a given but with the adaptation to be directed by Guillermo del Toro, who is one of my favorite directors, my excitement for the movie has doubled.

The initial release schedule for The Hobbit was already pegged for December 2011, and that’s just a little less than two years away. But then, this is Hollywood and schedules are sometimes meant to be broken. According to Warner Bros., it looks like The Hobbit will only be ready by the last quarter of 2012. A full year after the initial 2011 scheduled release.

Where does the movie — two of them, actually — stand in terms of its work schedule? The script for the second film is still being finished by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Del Toro. Only after this has been submitted and approved would a budget for both movies be locked in along with the start of casting.

Looks like we’re in for a longer wait, Tolkien fans.

Director Lee Jun-Ik’s historical film The King and The Clown was a big commercial hit in Korea when it was released in 2005. Critics also raved over the film. It would go on to break box office records in South Korea and also be included in many critics’ lists for that year. Even though his subsequent work has failed to match his creative and financial success with The King and The Clown, his involvement in that movie has ensured that he remains one of Korea’s most highly watched directors.

Almost five years after The King… Lee Jun-Ik is returning to period movies, this time in a more action oriented fashion. Lee’s new movie, entitled Gureumeul Beoseonan Dalcheoreom or roughly “Like The Moon That Escaped the Cloud,” features Cha Seung Won as a revolutionary and Hwang Jun-Min, who will play a “legendary blind swordsman.”

Say what?

Doesn’t “legendary blind swordsman” describe a very famous character in Japanese legend and film? Based on a promo shot of the blind swordsman, it does look like Lee has taken inspiration from the legendary Zatoichi. I won’t be surprised if Lee’s movie will also borrow some elements and plot points from the Zatoichi story.

I still look forward to the movie though.

I’ve mentioned to my friends a few weeks ago that the success of James Cameron’s Avatar would only mean that filmmakers will now consider the 3D format their newest toy and will attempt to find ways to use it. I even believe that, as far as big studios are concerned, it will replace traditional film.

But if there’s one auteur who I would consider as one of the least likely to use 3D, it would be Gaspar Noe. The guy’s ouevre is not something that you would even imagine on 3D. But apparently, I am wrong. There is now talk that Gaspar Noe is working on a “joyful porn melodrama”, and this is going to be shot in 3D. A porn movie in 3D? Now that is outside the box thinking. I can’t even begin to imagine how Noe is going to fully exploit the technology and how 3D will help propel his story. Are penises coming right at you from the screen and copious amounts of bodily fluids splashing about and making you feel that it’s going to bathe you in a sticky mess going to make for good cinema? I’m not really sure. But, one thing I know for sure though, this is going to be an event movie like no other. I bet the guardians of morality are already painting their signs as we speak.

With Paranormal Activity raking in millions — $151 million, to be exact — It’s almost a given that a sequel will be made, never mind that movies like these were not really made to have a sequel.

According to reports, a sequel is already being prepared and Kevin Greutert, the director of Saw VI. Michael Perry will be writing the script.

The sequel looks like it’s also going to be a quickie production with Paramount eyeing October 22 — OF THIS YEAR — to release the movie. Oren Peli, the director of the original movie, will be the producer, along with Jason Blum.

Peli has reassured fans of his movie that the guys who are going to make the movie “get it” and that fans will not be disappointed. We’ll really have to try to take that with a straight face. If you guys remember, another super low budget independent horror movie made with a shoestring budget made millions when it was released, which prompted people to release a sequel that sucked so much it killed the whole “franchise.” That movie was The Blair Witch Project. Good luck on these guys and their delusions.

With Sam Raimi officially out as the director for the new Spider-Man movie, focus is now on what his next project will be.

If last July’s announcement from Blizzard Entertainment and Legendary Pictures will be our basis, then Raimi is going to direct a movie based on the geek-attracting Warcraft universe. Many a geek have lost sleep playing the excellent real time strategy games of Warcraft, and we haven’t even touched on the kind of insane obsession people have on World of Warcraft, the MMORPG that has been the cause of many breakups, divorces, and a growing number of 20 year old virgins.

The Warcraft universe would really be perfect for Raimi, whose vision is perfect for the kind of high fantasy world that Warcraft will absolutely require. Even though a screenwriter has also been announced last October (Robert Rodat, who wrote The Patriot) and the film is in the outline/story phase it looks like Raimi actually hasn’t made a final decision yet. It seems that the Spider-Man announcement took some of the wind off his sails and he’s now reconsidering all of his options before committing fully to a project. Rumblings are that he is leaning towards making a small film first — maybe to take the slimy taste off his mouth after being shafted by a big movie studio — especially since he had a lot of fun making “Drag Me To Hell.” But, again, everything’s still up in the air.

Let me tell you a secret.

I’m on a one-man mission to tell anyone who would listen that GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra sucked. It sucked ass so majestically that I’m using the DVD (Bluray’s too good for this movie) as a pooper scooper for my dog. Seriously. GI Joe was such a major disaster that even my five year old son, who loves his fair share of whiz-bang special effects blockbusters (he adored Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen), would rather tend to his virtual farm in Harvest Moon. It was that bad. And I whimper everytime I say this because Christopher Eccleston — my fave actor — is in this insult to good taste.

I really hoped that Stephen Sommer’s suckfest was the last we’ve seen of it. But apparently, the decent $300 million take GI Joe got was enough to actually merit a sequel (barf bag please).

According to rumors, a scriptwriter was already hired to write the script for the sequel, which signifies Paramount Studio’s serious intent for a sequel. The scriptwriter will be working on what Sommers and his team have already thought up for a sequel, which was already available even before the first movie was released.

I’m pretty sure a lot of people will be excited about news of a GI Joe sequel. Count me out though.

I don’t why I still write about these remakes because I generally hate them — but this one deserves its own space. Seriously.

Apparently, Hollywood has been on a Park Chan Wook feeding frenzy. The Korean director has managed to build a very serious filmography, highlighted by his Vengeance trilogy of movies that should be seen to be believed (it’s that AWESOME!). Hollywood execs are stumbling over each other acquiring remake rights to his films. I’ve heard that someone already got the rights to Old Boy, probably Park’s best movie.

But Warner Bros. just wouldn’t want to be left behind. The studio announced that it has acquired the remake rights to the first movie in Park’s Vengeance trilogy. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance kicks off the Vengeance films with quite a bang. I won’t give you a lame-ass synopsis of the movie because the plot is just too delicious to give away. Rest assured though that it is one hell of a ride and quite gut wrenching.

According to Warner Brian Tucker, who wrote Broken City, has been hired to write the script. No news yet on who will direct this, I’m pretty sure, lame remake.

One thing I hate about Hollywood is its insistence on rehashing the same old tired properties in the hope that the core audience who used to flock to the theaters to see it will still be there. They also hope that rehashing an established property will pull in a new generation of fans who will drool over the battle-hardened characters of these properties much like their parents did.

A case in point is the James Bond series. The James Bond movies is now more than twenty movies old and it’s still the same old grizzled character that Hollywood is trying to milk. Okay, I think the “reboot” of the character with Casino Royale seems a little inspired but really, aside from the more chiseled body of Daniel Craig, we’ve seen it all before, right?

What the James Bond franchise really needs is a change in vision. And if there’s any kind of left-field kind of change happening to the franchise it would be the news that Sam Mendes is in negotiations to direct the next Bond sequel.

The director, who made a mark with American Beauty, and followed it with such works as Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road, is an intriguing choice. Although Mendes directed Jarhead, he hasn’t really made an action movie. I, for one, will eagerly anticipate this new Bond installment if Mendes does get to direct it — the first time I’m actually excited about a Bond movie.