For fans of The Omen series (and really, who isn’t?) there’s good news.  Fox has announced plans to release the original film plus a box set on Blu-ray this September.  Fans will be able to purchase the original film separately, or a box set containing The Omen, Damien: The Omen II, The Final Conflict, and the 2006 remake The Omen: 666.

While the sequels and the remake may not be of the highest quality, the original Omen remains one of the best horror features of the 1970s.  Interestingly, the box set excludes the made-for-TV Omen IV.  One supposes it’s the type of film that may never see a Blu-ray release, and few will likely care.

That’s the casting choice of Mike Judge, at least.  Judge has said he’d loved to a live action version of the couch-dwellers and have it star Johhny Depp and Sean William Scott.  Sound too bizarre to be true?  Scott thought so too, but obviously doesn’t rule out the idea.

In an interview on Ain’t It Cool News, Scott was asked about the potential pairing.  His personal take is that he’d love to work with Judge and thinks Depp would be a fantastic person to team with, though he obviously is doubtful of Depp’s participation.

OFFICE SPACE is a really solid comedy, but I don’t think Johnny Depp is going to want to work with me. [laughs] Not quite yet. But if Mike Judge asked me to work with Johnny Depp, I’d be all over that, even if it was Beavis and Butt-head. I haven’t seen “Beavis and Butt-head” in a long time, but that’s a pretty huge honor. What do you think about that?

Well, there’s always hope, one supposes.  However, the two seem a bit long in the tooth to take on the roles.  Who would you cast in the roles instead?

While it isn’t exactly official yet, there is now word that Back to the Future is coming to Blu-ray.  A recent screening near Orlando surprised fans when produced Bob Gale premiered a new digital remaster of the film.  He said the new print had been struck for the eventual release of a Blu-ray version.

Gale told the audience, “What you’re going to be seeing today is the digital master for the upcoming high-definition Blu-ray version of ‘Back to the Future.”  Gale added that new, never-before-seen special features would accompany the eventual Blu-ray release.  One wonders if it will feature more of the original Eric Stoltz footage, that only briefly appeared in the DVD version.

Well, that’s the verdict from Latino Review, at least.  They’ve reviewed a draft of the Justin Marks (Supermax, Voltron) penned Grayskull: The Masters of the Universe script and their verdict is that it’s fantastic.  Really?  A fantastic script about He-Man?  The cartoon was never all that serious to begin with, so the idea of a serious live-action film version seems a little off to begin with.  However, apparently that’s just what Marks has pulled off.

GRAYSKULL is LORD OF THE RINGS meets THE MATRIX and a little BATMAN BEGINS thrown in for good measure…

GRAYSKULL is the perfect marriage of Sorcery and Science fiction where in Eternia both Fantasy and Technology co-exist.  The character arc of the hero ADAM works for me because like Bruce Wayne in BATMAN BEGINS, Adam has to overcome his selfish need for revenge and realize his destiny for the greater good of his people – the fallen son of Eternia must rise to occasion and become HE-MAN.

Visit Latino Review for the full script analysis, which obviously features plenty of spoilers.  Now, what does one do with such a script?  Who do you hire to direct?  How do you even go about marketing it?  Nostalgia alone won’t sell it, as this summer’s Speed Racer adaptation showed.  The script reviewer compares the film to 300, with the possibility of it becoming a trilogy.  A trilogy of He-Man movies?

Well, certainly any story told well can be entertaining.  Get the right crew together and this film could sell.  The thing is, there isn’t a built-in market so much.  Whatever direction they go with it, the marketing team will likely be left confused on how to sell it.

While for most people making $300,000 a year would be a nice little salary, the cast of The Simpsons wasn’t satisfied with that amount per episode.  Instead, in their recent contract negotiations they asked for a $200,000 per episode raise from $300,000 to $500,000.  Instead, Fox met them halfway.

Also interesting from this development is that the voice of Homer, Dan Castellaneta, will also get a credit as a consulting producer.  The new $400,000 per episode salaries rank them as the highest paid sitcom stars currently on television, barely edging out Charlie Sheen’s $350,000 per episode.  However, it still leaves them far behind the cast of Friends and Ray Romano from Everybody Loves Raymond.