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 Cage and Vampires, so hot right now. Cage as a Vampire? Priceless
In Hollywood, for one reason or another, a certain genre can just catch fire. A few recent examples of this phenomenon include Scream spawning a number of copycat slashers in the late 90s, Training Day ushering in a handful of ‘beyond the law cop’ flicks in the mid 2000s – see Dark Blue and Harsh Times - and Apatow single handedly creating the ‘doughy dude snags hot lady’ series of movies that pop up every other month.
 The alternate title of 'Dangerous Minds' was 'My Posse Don't Do Homework'....no joke
The Vampire: I don’t know why, but the general public just can’t get enough. We like them sexy, ugly, young, old, terrifying, charming, funny, serious, smart, dumb, in books, on the radio, in movies, on the small screen - anyway you can cook them, we will eat them. You want to get a movie made? Just add a vampire. ‘I want to make a Western about the first years of the gold rush.’ ‘No.’ ‘And how they fought vampires.’ ‘Bingo.’ And with Priest and Elevator Man, the latest two stories about bloodsuckers and those that fight them to be put into production, the Vampire genre has emerged to be, ironically, immortal.
The Brooding Superhero: Outside of a handsome Nosferatu, no one is more popular right now than the angsty, revenge-driven comic book hero. Couple this with LA’s recent fetish for dark graphic novels, and you have yourself a handful of metaphysical masked men that aren’t going anywhere. Though this genre didn’t begin with the Dark Knight – believe it or not, big budget movies have taken themselves seriously before – the success of Christopher Nolan’s two Batman films has changed the way, for the most part, audiences digest comic-themed movies. For example, the producers of both Spider Man 4 and the next Superman have said that their respective studio will be taking the franchises in a much ‘darker direction.’
The Toy Line: When scrapped for ideas, sift through the toy chest; it worked for Michael Bay. And now, with G.I Joe bowing in August, studios are turning to toy stores for inspiration. How else can you explain Tom Hanks’ next project, Major Matt Mason? This inevitable money-maker is based on Mattel’s 70s-era Matt Mason Collection, a series of astronaut toys that were released in correspondence with the U.S space race. There’s also rumors that a Stretch Amrstrong movie is currently in development. Seriously. Expect Hollywood to pilfer Toys R Us’ archives for future tentpoles.
The Clue-to-Clue Mystery: The Da Vinci Code’s ‘one-puzzle-piece-at-a-time’ style narrative bred two National Treasures and a prequel. Now Spielberg has acquired the movie rights to the multi-platform adventure series ‘The 39 Clues.’ The picture’s about a supernatural family whose powers can only be ‘unraveled by assembling 39 clues hidden around the world throughout history.’ Several books and a series of trading cards will precede the film. Unlike most traditional mysteries, these movies marry an adventurous globe-trotting pace with a ‘who-dunnit’ core. As long as Nic Cage is involved, we’re all winners.
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