Zombies are hot right now–strike that, warm. Zombies are warm right now.

At least, that’s what Summit Entertainment believes, as they’re adapting the very recent book by Isaac Marion titled Warm Bodies, a romantic zombie thriller. The studio is so keen on the idea, that they’re about half way done with the lead casting. From THR:

Teresa Palmer, who received a lot of notice for her breakout work in I Am Number Four, is in talks to star opposite Nicholas Hoult in Summit’s zombie love story Warm Bodies.

Jonathan Levine is directing the project, which, in a tone described as Twilight meets Shaun of the Dead, follows an existentially tormented zombie named R that begins an unlikely friendship with the human girlfriend (Palmer) of one of his victims. The blossoming relationship starts a chain reaction that will transform him, his fellow zombies and maybe the whole lifeless world.

Summit seems to know their romanticized monsters, as they’ve gotten the whole Twilight world locked down inside of two films. What’s next? Werewolves in heat? Only time will tell.

Audiences collectively thumbed their noses at the new box office releases this past weekend, paving the way for a three week old release to top the box office.  Gnomeo and Juliet only dropped 26% in its third week to nab the number one spot with a puny $14.1 million.

That brings its three week total to $75 million; not too shabby for a film featuring garden gnomes. The film was bolstered by a jump of 101% (yep, you read that right) from Friday to Saturday night.  Families seem to be clamoring for something to take the kiddos to.  That bodes very well for Rango, a film that will open next weekend and features the voice talent of Johnny Depp.

Hall Pass was widely predicted to be a slam dunk at the box office, but the newest film from the Farrelly brothers only made $13.4 million. That’s quite a bit short of their best opening weekend back in 2001, when Shallow Hal debuted to $22 million during its opening weekend. Many were hoping this would signal a rebirth of the duo at the box office. A less than stellar B- from cinemascore means this film won’t be in theaters long. Catch it while you can.

Okay, here’s my official take on the Academy Award show this year. The entertainment world is abuzz today with reports of how horrible James Franco and Anne Hathaway were as hosts of the show. I think that they are being unfairly maligned. I found Hathaway charming, beautiful, and eager to please.

On the other hand, Franco seemed like he didn’t give a crap about the show or his performance. He was obviously stoned out of his mind, and I am not one to judge, but that is flat out disrespectful. Do that stuff on your own time, not when you are in front of a billion people. Anne Hathaway didn’t stand a chance when she was saddled with the stoner from hell. I genuinely felt bad for her.

Franco has had an amazing year. I used to dismiss him as a joke, until I saw his performance in 127 Hours. He was astounding. Shortly after I saw the film, I spoke at a public event, and swore that I would never sell him short again. Until now.

Franco has squandered all the good will he has earned in one catastrophic hosting gig. Back in the penalty box you go, Mr. Franco. This time it won’t be so easy to earn your way out. For a very funny take on Franco’s questionable frame of mind, check out this Gawker.com article.

To be fair, I truly didn’t feel that the two were given much to do. Outside of a great film montage at the beginning of the show, they were barely present. Perhaps that was a blessing. Still, Hathaway deserves props.

Franco’s quick little appearance in drag was bizarre, jarring and random. I felt like I was watching an SNL skit.

Liam Neeson continues to enjoy his new status as an action star as his new film Unknown won the box office this weekend. It was just over a year that Taken became an unlikely box office hit, earning over $144 M during its theatrical run. The 58 year-old actor is off to another solid start; Unknown made $21.7 M over the weekend.

Warner Brothers have to be pleased with that, because the film has a modest budget of around $30 M, the film is sure to be profitable. Boding well for the film is the fact that audiences seemed to enjoy the film more than critics.  Warner Brothers reported something highly unusual: over 54% of film goers were over the age of 50.

That seems to point directly to the appeal of Neeson, because typically that age group does not seek out this type of film. Good for him, it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

Coming in at number two was I Am Number Four (insert your own joke here).  Though the movie was critically panned, audiences seemed largely pleased by the film giving it a solid B+. The film earned $19.5, M which was below expectations. Since the target audience (tweens and young adults) usually gets to the theater on opening weekend, this film will have to rely on a lot of repeat business to recoup its estimated $60 M budget.

I Am Number Four is in a virtual tie with Gnomeo and Juliet, which made $19.4 M.  That total is likely to climb when President’s Day numbers are factored in. Lots of moms will be taking their kids to the theater during their day off of school. Gnomeo and Juliet only dropped 23% from last weekend.

The best way I can describe I Am Number 4 is a sort of contemporary update of Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) for the Twilight set. If that sounds appealing, you’ll like the movie. If it doesn’t, skip it.  I have fond memories of Escape to Witch Mountain, so I didn’t mind the shameful ripoff of the the storyline as much as some.

Based on the popular book by Pittacus Lore (actually a pen name for James Fry), the film tells the story of Number Four, one of nine extraterrestrials who live on earth and are being pursued by the Mogadorians, who destroyed their planet. Number Four and his guardian Henri are constantly on the run, barely staying one step ahead of their would-be assassins. The first three have already been killed, and  Number Four is the next one up.

Number Four has been creatively named John Smith by his guardian/protector Henri played by Timothy Olyphant. This moniker is used so that John may blend in and be inconspicuous when he attends high school. Never mind the fact that nowadays anyone actually named John Smith is immediately regarded with suspicion because it is such a cliche.

As it is every week, this week’s episode of The Flickcast is brimming with fun, entertainment, knowledge and all sorts of humor and insightful commentary. Well, it’s sorta funny at least.

Anyway, this week Chris and Matt are joined by Chief Gaming Guru John Carle to talk all things DCU Online, Sony PS2, PSP2, Activision and Toy Fair. In addition, they discuss new trailers for X-Men: First Class and I Am Number Four, Smallville‘s series finale featuring Lex Luthor and a whole lot more.

Chris, Matt and John also make some new picks this week to help guide you and highlight movies, TV shows, games and more that you may not have heard of. What were the picks? Well, you’ll just have to listen to the show to find out. We can’t always give everything away.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques, offers of sponsorship or whatever, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter, at Facebook and MySpace or via email.

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I Am Number Four is a movie based on a young-adult novel written by James Frey (of A Million Little Pieces fame.) It is an action/thriller about a teen (played by Alex Pettyfer) who is running for his life, frequently changing identities and bouncing from town to town to elude his would-be assassins.

Official Synopsis: John (Alex Pettyfer) is an extraordinary teen, masking his true identity and passing as a typical high school student to elude a deadly enemy seeking to destroy him. Three like him have already been killed…he is Number Four.

D.J. Caruso (Disturbia, Eagle Eye) directs the film, which also stars Timothy Olyphont. It is produced by Michael Bay.

The movie I Am Number Four will not be coming out until February, but we have a new featurette from Dreamworks to share with you.

In this clip, Caruso explains how nine children were sent to earth from another planet and hidden amongst the general population. The nine have special powers, but they do not know exactly what those are.  You can see the clip after the jump.

A few months ago, we first got word that director D.J. Caruso, who brought us such sci-fi thrillers as Eagle Eye and Distrubia was working on a brand new film based on the Pittacus Lore (aka James Frey & Jobie Hughes) book I Am Number Four. The film’s script comes from Smallville creators Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and brings together an interesting cast of up and coming actors.

Now, we’re getting the first taste of the film’s look and feel as the very first teaser trailer has hit the web. It definitely looks like something a bit different for Caruso, giving a bit of an Island meets Twilight vibe. Here’s the official synopsis, for those who want it spelled out.

Nine infant aliens, who closely resemble humans, flee their home planet, Lorien, to hide on Earth. An invading species, the Mogadorians, have destroyed their planet, and follow them to Earth to hunt them down. Each of the nine aliens is given a guardian and will develop superhuman powers as they become adults. They are each assigned a number. These last children of Lorien can only be killed in the sequence of their numbers.

Number Four, also named John Smith, moves to Paradise, Ohio, disguised as an American high school student. He makes a friend, Sarah, a sweet Midwestern girl who is a photographer. After being on the run his whole life, Number Four falls in love and now has something to stand up and fight for.

The film joins Beastly star Alex Pettyfer, Glee’s Dianna Agron, Timothy Olyphant, and Legion’s Kevin Durand. Check out the full trailer after the jump, and catch I Am Number 4 in theaters on February 18th, 2011.