As if I needed another reason to look forward to Speed Racer, it looks like the first teaser trailer for December’s Twilight will ship with the prints of the May 9th film. According to Collider, the trailer will ship “in the can” rather than attached to the print, which works as a strong suggestion to exhibitors that they should show the trailer with the film, but isn’t a mandate. So if you’re considering buying a Speed Racer ticket to get your first glimpse of Twilight, you should know you’d be taking a chance.

I’m quite curious to see the trailer, not because I’m a fan of the novels (which I now feel duty-bound to read) or think that Robert Pattinson is dreamy, but because I’m so fascinated by the singularly bizarre pop culture phenomenon that this movie represents. There’s been a sort of droning hum in the film community about Twilight becoming a Christmastime mega-hit, but no one (save Kim Voynar) can find anything useful to say about it because no one knows what it is. Adults without children of the right age are completely out of the loop on something that — we’re told — is going to absolutely burst out of the gate. This was not the case with Harry Potter, which raises a question: How explosive can Twilight be given its age and gender-specific appeal?

If the Daily Mail is to be believed, Steven Spielberg has found his Tintin. It’s been reported that Thomas Sangster has been cast to play the titular hero.

Sangster is 17 years old, and you’ve seen him in Love, Actually, Tristan and Isolde, Nanny McPhee and The Last Legion. He’s a fine young actor, and like Freddie Highmore, possesses the ability to totally break your heart. Not that Tintin would require him to do that — are there any tragic deaths in any of the books? I think he’s got the right look — and the three movies will be done as performance capture, so it doesn’t matter in the end.

I really hope this is true casting, and not just a rumor born out of an interview where he said “I like Tintin.” Filming is supposed to begin this September, so the timing is certainly right for an announcement. Spielberg will quash it soon enough if it isn’t — although how long did we hear denials that Shia LeBeouf wasn’t in Indiana Jones 4? He’s already been down to L.A. to do some pre-production test sequences, though that could be merely a try out.

I’d love to know your thoughts, Tintin fans. I’m not as familiar with the comic as I should be, so this might be horrible news to you all.

[via SuperheroHype.com]

Even though it wasn’t necessarily my kind of movie, I can’t deny that Enchanted was a huge hit — and not just for the kiddies either. Looking to capitalize on some of that magic, Variety reports that Warner Bros. has hired Enchanted director Kevin Lima to helm the adaptation of the children’s fantasy novel, The Spook’s Apprentice (aka, The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch). Note: Thankfully, Donald Trump is not involved.

The story will be based on the first book from Joseph Delaney’s The Wardstone Chronicles, and it’s centered on a young farm boy named Tom in a fictionalized Ireland known as The County. Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son, which in the world of The County means he is privy to all sorts of info about ghosts and goblins. Most of the story focuses on Tom’s introduction to a mysterious sorcerer known as The Spook, and his time as his apprentice.

Originally conceived as a project for Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, WB already has a script courtesy of Matt Greenberg. Now that Lima has signed to direct, his team of producers will be in charge of re-working the whole thing. In fact, the group has already flown to London to work on the script with Delaney. Lima made his name as an animator for Disney, but has proven that he is just as capable with flesh and blood actors. There is no word on a release date for Apprentice, but judging from the box office returns Lima has been earning for Disney, I doubt WB is going to waste much time.

Poor Disney … They must have been aching at the thought of their High School Musical franchise coming to an end once number 3 hits the big screen. It’s been an insane sensation, and certainly good for both the company and channel. But what do you do when it all comes to an end? You could look for new material, or you could spin it.

Variety reports that Walt Disney Pictures has picked Steven Antin (jerky prep Troy from The Goonies) to write and direct a new musical project for them, which will be produced by Scott Sanders (who recently developed The Color Purple musical). The plot and title are being kept under wraps, but they might as well call it High School Musical 4: The Next Generation. Antin says: “It’s a music-driven movie set in a high school, geared toward a Disney audience.” Gee, how original.

But we just might get a bit of a breather before it comes out. Antin has finished part of the screenplay, and says that this project is “neck and neck” with Burlesque for filming this fall — he had written the script, and Diablo Cody spunked it up with a rewrite. Either way, we’re not out of the musical woods yet. Stay tuned to see who wins the showdown between burlesque and teen singers!