It’s that time of the week again - Mid Week Movie News Wrap Up.

This week

It looks like Brett Ratner may have some issues when it comes to directing Conan; Samuel L. Jackson and Jim Caviezel are Blown; DiCaprio talks Akira; we have more news on Simon Pegg’s Paul and Ennio Morricone is a Basterd!

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It was rumored, but many didn’t want to believe it. Now if Ain’t It Cool can be believed it’s fact.

He’s one of the most divisive directors in the fanboy community, and famous for his multiple attachments to possible projects that never see the light of day.

However it now looks like Brett Ratner will be directing Conan!

Moriarty (aka Drew Mc Weeny) got an email from a scooper who apparently made a very persuasive case to suggest that Mr. Ratner would indeed be helming the new Conan film for Lionsgate.

As it stands, Hollywood studios are deadlocked in their contract negotiations with the Screen Actors Guild. That news stirs up foul memories of a year ago, when the Writers Guild of America was at a similar juncture with the studios… Soon after that there were no TV shows for about half a year.

And we all know what that did last year’s TV season.

As we all know, Hollywood is the epicenter of not only fads, but also ripping off copying what works from other studios. We’ve all seen this before many times. One studio puts out a successful movie in some genre and within 6-9 months we see a bunch of movies coming out trying to capitalize on the popularity of the first one.

Earlier this summer, Paramount Pictures officially announced Beverly Hills Cop 4 would grace the silver screen. This despite the fact that they had yet to hire screenwriters and didn’t even have a story in place. They only had Eddie Murphy signed on to return and Brett Ratner was “in negotiations” to direct.

Cut to a few months later, and we now  have screenwriters, ladies and germs!

Michael Brandt and Derek Haas (i.e. the screenwriting duo behind 3:10 to Yuma and Wanted) have been officially hired after submitting an outline/treatment that was given the thumbs up by studio big-wigs, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Ratner and Murphy himself.

I guess this takes Brandt and Haas out of Wanted 2 despite earlier reports.

Beverly Hills Cop 4 will begin filming next year for a Summer 2010 release.

Source: Variety

Word is circulating that after Beverly Cop 4 hits theaters, actor/comedian Eddie Murphy may be done with films for good. Along with that bit of good news, came confirmation from Beverly Hills Cop 4 director Brett Ratner that the film will NOT be rated PG-13 as previously reported, but will indeed carry a very hard R rating, for all those action junkies who need the wet stuff to mess the silver screen before they can get their kicks. (Also known as Rambo Syndrome.) According to Ratner:

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. Believe me, this is going to be a hard core ‘R’ Beverly Hills Cop. I start shooting next year…”

Less than a week ago we talked about the impending addition to the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, which was to once again star Eddie Murphy and will be directed by the much-maligned Brett Ratner.

Personally, I’m not a Ratner hater, but this news is going to be like throwing bloody fish bait into a shark tank for those who do:

It seems that Beverly Hills Cop 4 is being targeted to kids. Specifically, 10-12 year olds.

Says Ratner:

Over the past couple of years we have seen the return of John McClane, Rocky Balboa, John Rambo and Indiana Jones.

Now get ready for the return of Axel Foley.

Yes - Eddie Murphy is set to return to the franchise with Beverly Hills Cop 4.

So who would direct the fourth film in the series and follow in the footsteps of Martin Brest, Tony Scott and John Landis?

Well, fanboy favorite Brett Ratner of course.

There have been rumors of a fourth Axel Foley adventure floating about for years, the main idea being having it set in London. This is strange considering that the Foley character is actually from Detroit and the first three films were set in Beverly Hills. Would that make the film London Cop?

Ratner is in negotiations to direct the film, but no writer has yet been hired or possible plot mentioned. However they do intend to start production in 2009 for a 2010 release.