Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance co-director Brian Taylor is set to write and direct a live action adaptation of the iconic video game Twisted Metal. Sony Pictures has offered Taylor a 7-figure deal to head up the film.

Like the game, the film will revolve around an underground event that pits a number of combatants in a fight to the death. They are outfitted in armored weaponized cars that are pimped out with heavy weaponry that includes missiles and machine guns. Each character is set to have their own specialty weapons and style similar to the game. The sole survivor will get any wish granted.

It is rumored that the film will include such signature contestant characters as Sweet Tooth, a homicidal clown who drives an ice cream truck, and Doll Face, a young woman who is trapped behind a porcelain mask and who drives an 18-wheeler.

This is the first project that Taylor will helm solo. He has always teamed with Mark Neveldine on such films as the Crank series. There have been two so far, and they are talking about making a third, in 3D, as well as a possible future Ghost Rider. The team will continue to write and direct films together.

Jason Statham either has a very specific goal in mind when picking films, or he really just doesn’t care. A lesser action star would feel the need to branch out into kid-friendly flicks to up his revenue stream and become more of a household name (*cough* Vin Diesel *cough*) but Statham takes a different approach.

Between the Crank films, the Transporter films, and anything done with Jet Li or Guy Ritchie, Statham has managed to keep his “badass quota” to a maximum level. The same holds with the trailer for his newest film, Blitz.

With a screenplay from Moon’s Nathan Parker, Blitz tells the story of a cop put on the case of a serial killer who makes it a point to kill police officers. You’ll definitely get the British crime side of Statham over the high-action martial arts in this film.

The very first trailer for the flick has surfaced, which you can check out after the jump. Be sure to catch Blitz in select theaters worldwide starting in February of 2011.

It’s been a Sunny fest all week long. Tuesday, we spoke with the now very pregnant Kaitlin Olson on working her new bundle of joy into the show. Yesterday, Charlie Day discussed how the gang is planning to kick him out this season, and now we come to Glenn Howerton, one of the ringleaders of It’s Always Sunny, to give us some more insight on this season.

Glenn, along with Charlie and Rob McElhenney (Mac) created the show back in 2005 and have only grown bigger and more raunchy since it’s launch. In later seasons, Danny DeVito joined the cast as Glenn and Kaitlin’s on-screen father, who has gone through his own downward spiral since his first appearance on the show.

Now, in it’s sixth season on FX, Sunny is being taken to new and untraveled territories, as the gang finally goes outside of the greater Philadelphia area this season, to “somewhere in Jersey.”

We got to speak with Glenn about the episode, among other things to expect from the coming episodes. Check out the interview after the jump, and catch a new It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia every Thursday night on FX.

In what must surely come as a relief to many of you (especially our own Matt Raub) we will be seeing a sequel to 2007’s Ghost Rider. But wait, there’s more. Nicholas Cage will reprise his role in the film and the directors of Crank and Crank 2, Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, are in early negotiations to direct the new film.

The sequel, known currently as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance and based on the Marvel Comics character, will continue the story of stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze who, in order to save the life of a loved one, makes a deal with the devil. Because of this he becomes half-man, half-demon (complete with flaming skull) and rides his motorcycle delivering justice the old fashioned way.

Plot details for the sequel are currently not known but what we do know is none of the original characters from the first film are probably going to be coming back for the sequel, except Cage’s of course. However, as negotiations go forward, that may change. We also know David S. Goyer is working on a script and that Neveldine and Taylor may also take a crack at a rewrite.

As much as I’m not personally very excited for this movie I do think Neveldine and Taylor are talented guys. Maybe they can do for Nicholas Cage and Ghost Rider what they did for Jason Statham and Crank? Let’s hope so because if the sequel is anything like the first movie, it will be a sad day indeed.

With Warner’s Jonah Hex hitting theaters in just over a month, fans have been tapping their collective feet waiting for a trailer of the film starring Josh Brolin and Megan Fox. So far, we’ve only gotten a few images of Brolin in make up and Fox in tight dresses, but it seems that we’re finally getting the goods with a new trailer.

The film, based on the DC Comic of the same name about a western vigilante who takes down baddies without mercy, has been the subject of lots of controversy since it’s production started a few years back. Crank directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor were allegedly pulled off of the film mid-shoot due to “creative differences” with the studio. Jimmy Hayward, lead animator for many Pixar films such as Monster’s Inc. and Finding Nemo took over and has sole directing credit on the film.

After the controversy, and the fact that we hadn’t seen a trailer for the film yet, it was questionable if Warner would get the film out in time for it’s June release date, but with the new trailer hitting online today, we can now rest assured that they’re back on schedule.

Check out the trailer after the jump, courtesy of Yahoo! Movies, and be sure to catch Brolin and his melted face in Jonah Hex when it hits theaters on June 18th.

2009 has been pretty heavy with blockbusters so far. But when it comes to preposterous action movies, the list begins and ends with Crank 2: High Voltage, the sequel to 2006’s Crank. While this movie may have been pretty ridiculous from start to finish, it was still a fun and entertaining way to spend 85 minutes and $10. There isn’t much to the movie story-wise (it’s no Casablanca), but it certainly did the franchise justice and may not even be the last time we see these characters.

For those not “in the know”, the original Crank was about Jason Statham’s character, Chev Chelios, being injected with a synthetic poison that forced him to keep his adrenaline pumping in order to stay alive. This new film essentially keeps the same premise, but ups the ante by replacing Statham’s heart with an artificial one, and the only way he can stay alive this time is to keep the mechanical heart electrified — by any means necessary. Even for a comic book movie, this premise would seem farfetched. But one of the great things about this film is how it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. This becomes abundantly clear when one of the lines in the movie describes Statham’s character as “the guy from that Transporting movie”.

The movie continues with it’s video game-like action to a point where you feel it could easily be a live-action adaptation of the Grand Theft Auto video game series. Statham defies just about every action movie conceit and would probably make even John McClane cringe. The use of ultra-violence, excessive nudity and more “f*cks” than you can shake a stick at didn’t diminish in this sequel and are, in fact, even more abundant this time around.

Even with all the over-the-top action, violence and nudity, the film does offer a great number of interesting cameos. From Corey Haim to David Carradine, Ginger Spice and John de Lancie (Star Trek: The Next Generation’s Q), the movie pulls no punches when it comes pumping up it’s C-List celebrity quotient.

There isn’t really a whole lot to pick apart in this film. It is what it is. I suppose the worst thing you could say about it is that if it were a Troma movie, I wouldn’t have blinked twice. The ridiculousness of Crank 2: High Voltage had the audience both laughing and cringing at the same time but it is a great movie to run out to on a weekday afternoon if you’ve got nothing better to do. Or, if you want to make it an even better experience, after a few drinks.

After all this, where could they possibly go for a third film? Of course, nobody really knows what’s in the minds of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, the film’s writers and directors. But if I were throwing out ideas for the next one, may I suggest Crank 3: Diabetes?

Verdict: B+