Remember watching Zombieland and wondering why School of Rock and Nacho Libre screenwriter Mike White makes a 10 second cameo in the first half of the film? Well, it seems that’s because White is a diehard zombie fan. (Who isn’t?)

That love for zombies is a big reason why White is now at the top of the list to direct the adaptation of the Seth Grahame-Smith book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. For those unaware, the journey to get this film a crew has actually been a trying one. Here’s the breakdown from the LA Times:

The quirky auteur David O. Russell had been on board to direct the movie. But last month the “Flirting with Disaster” filmmaker decamped to make the video game adaptation “Drake’s Fortune.” That created a vacuum behind the camera, and four weeks weeks later, no filmmaker has been selected to replace him (although Lionsgate says a choice is expected soon).

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Roland Emmerich’s epic disaster flick 2012 easily destroyed the competition this weekend. Since there were no other wide new releases, 2012 handily made over $65 Million, which isn’t really all that impressive, but factor in the international box office take ($160 Million) and you get an opening weekend gross of $225 Million. Looks like the film will make back its budget (upwards of $200 Million) and then some. Playing on over 3,400 screens, the per-screen was just over $19,000.

Crowds are beginning to warm up to Disney’s A Christmas Carol, which took in $22.3 Million, and only dropped off  25% from opening weekend. This is a very good sign for the movie, indicating it will stick around a bit, particularly with Christmas coming up.

The Men Who Stared At Goats dropped an even 50%, for $6.2 Million and third place. Precious continues to be a big story. A small expansion put it in 174 theaters, for $6 Million. What’s astonishing is that the per-screen average was $35,000. Compare that to The Men Who Stare at Goats, which only had a per-screen average of $2,500. Precious will roll out a wider opening next weekend.

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About a week ago a colleague of mine asked why in the world I wanted to go see The Box. I explained that I found the premise fascinating. What if you were told that if you pushed a certain button, you would get a million dollars, but there is a catch. When you push the button, somebody you do not know will die. What would you do?

Therein lies the premise of The Box. This is the third film by Richard Kelly, who garnered cult-like status with Donnie Darko (2001), then wide ridicule for his follow up Southland Tales (2006). Lots of movie types were looking toward this movie to determine whether Kelly is a gifted director, or a one hit wonder. I’m sorry to tell you after viewing this convoluted mess, it seems like a case of the director having no clothes. It’s one thing to be a little avant-garde  with your vision, another entirely to just throw weird crap in your movie and hope that it sticks.

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Writer/Director Richard Kelly’s Donnie Darko is one of our favorite movies here at The Flickcast. Its mix of humor, sci-fi, horror, a six foot time travelling rabbit named Frank and Patrick Swayze make it a great movie to watch and ponder. Now, Kelly is back with a new film called The Box, based on the Richard Matheson short story Button, Button.

In case you’re not familier, The Box concerns a couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) visited by a stranger (Frank Langela) with a question for them. Will they take a million dollars to press a button? What’s the catch? If they press the button, they get the money but someone they don’t know will die.

The question and what follows causes the couple to come to terms with their own lives, morals and the very fabric of society. Its a great concept that should be, at the very least, interesting when filtered through the prism of Kelly’s vision.

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump. The Box opens October 30.

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