Remaking old TV shows as movies is a tricky proposition. There are a few angles you can take with it, you could make the movie as direct an adaptation as possible. Or you could embrace the camp nature of the source material and make a farce of it.

Both tactics have failed miserably, but so to have they both worked. This spring’s 21 Jump Street is a prime example of a film that works by embracing the absurdity of the original’s sincere premise. Most indications of Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows might have succeeded in a similar fashion, so word of more classic TV adaptations can be met with some optimism these days.

According to Deadline, Universal has gotten behind their next TV to Big Screen adaptation:

Universal Pictures has set David Levien and Brian Koppelman to write The Rockford Files, a feature adaptation of the memorable series that ran on NBC from 1974-80 and featured James Garner as the down-and-out private eye. The studio will develop the film as a star vehicle for Vince Vaughn to play Rockford, and Vaughn and Victoria Vaughn will produce through their Universal-based Wild West Picture Show Productions banner.

Vaughn is a rather obvious choice, but hopefully it means they are going for a more comic approach. I know that will get fans of the original twisted up, but I think a strait forward adaptation of the show wouldn’t really work today. What could work is a Vince Vaughn staring vehicle using the show’s premise and the core of the main character. So long as it is more 21 Jump Street and less Starsky and Hutch we should be fine.

We told you last month that Harry Potter director David Yates was gearing up to make a Doctor Who feature film. At the time there was some ambiguity as to where it would stand in relation to the current, and extremely popular, British series that just finished up it’s sixth season. Yates seemed to suggest that this would be a new incarnation, with no relation to the current Doctor or his television show.

Current show runner Steven Moffat thankfully provides some more information that should be great news to all the Doctor Who fans out there. He recently tweeted:

“To clarify: any Doctor Who movie would be made by the BBC team, star the current TV Doctor and certainly NOT be a Hollywood reboot.”

Leave it to the Grand Moff to assuage fans the world over in a concise 140 characters or less.

Of course this is far from official, there are still several years before this movie hits the screens, and we are still over a year off from a very big 50th anniversary year for the Doctor, which I am assuming will come with it’s ample share of surprises. Still, it is good to know some one deeply involved with the project has his head screwed on strait.

David Yates has been spending the better part of the last seven years directing the final half of one of the most lucrative franchises in the history of cinema. Now that the plucky “boy who lived” is all done with his misadventures at Hogwarts, Yates is looking to bring his new found clout to another of Britian’s fictional Goliaths, Dr. Who.

Variety is reporting that Yates has teamed up with BBC Worldwide Productions to bring the Doctor to the movies.

“We’re looking at writers now. We’re going to spend two to three years to get it right,” [Yates] said. “It needs quite a radical transformation to take it into the bigger arena.”

Dr. Who is the longest running sci-fi television show of all time. Spanning nearly fifty years, this classic show has gone under several major overhauls and is know for it’s ability to re-shuffle itself on the fly. The most incredible thing about the Dr. Who franchise is that flexibility has been worked into the cannon of the show. The Doctor is always the same guy, he just “regenerates” into a new body, personality and all. Neat huh?

Some might say that this summer’s biggest and best animated film was Toy Story 3, but I beg to differ. Dreamwork’s How To Train Your Dragon brought so much to the table and surprised me in so many ways.

It pulled at my heartstrings, made me smile so wide it almost hurt, and just left me satisfied. Plus, it’s about dragons. Dragons are awesome.

While Pixar reigns supreme with their countless Oscars and widespread critical acclaim, I really feel that Dreamworks, with films released this summer like How to Train Your Dragon and Despicable Me, are slowly sneaking up on them. Which is why I was very excited to hear that How To Train Your Dragon will be soaring from the big screen to your television.

According to Ain’t It Cool News, Cartoon Network has decided to turn How to Train Your Dragon into a television show. No word yet on whether or not any of the cast members of the film, which include Jay Baruschel, Gerard Butler, and Jonah Hill, will reprise their roles for the television show, or when the show will even be released.

This is certainly exciting news that the universe of How To Train Your Dragon will continue on, both on television and in a film sequel slated for 2013.

If, like me, you were a fan of the old school animated series Star Blazers then you’ve probably heard they’re making a live action version of the series called Space Battleship Yamato. In fact, if you’re a regular reader of this site, you’ve already seen the first trailer for the movie and got some info about it.

But if you thought that earlier trailer was cool, you ain’t seen nothing yet. This latest one brings everything you would expect from a movie like this including a glimpse of the show’s signature weapon: The Wave Motion Gun. Plus, it’s got all the action, drama, suspense and characters you remember from the anime series all in a pretty impressive package.

As I mentioned previously, the film doesn’t have an official U.S. release date. However, I’m sure it will eventually make its way here so those of us looking forward to it will be able to see it. Or, if by some chance the filmmakers are reading this article, please feel free to send us a copy. We promise to give it a thorough review. Domo Arigato.

Check out the trailer after the jump.