Just as I mentioned in last week’s “Ad Watch,” we’re going to keep things a little simple for the time being and gradually grow these columns into more robust creatures. For now the return of news updates to the site will consist of the “Midnight Roundups,” the first of which you are now reading. This will be mostly things from around the Net that interest me and fit in with the general aim of the site: coverage of all forms of storytelling and communication. This week we’ll be focusing solely on movies, but don’t be surprised if completely random items slip into place in the following weeks.

Enjoy and thank you for reading!

In the Grave

While chatting with Wizard Magazine, Shia LaBeouf argued that his “Transformers” character is too similar to that of Yorick Brown, the male protagonist in the all-female world of “Y: The Last Man” and what was set to be one of LaBeouf’s next film roles. As transcribed by Coming Soon, he no longer wants to play the “ordinary guy in an extraordinary situation.” But fear not, the excellent comic book series can always be found online no matter the movie’s status.

Back From the Dead

Last year I had the great fortune of being able to watch “Trick ‘r Treat” on the big screen. This film may not sound familiar to you because for whatever reason Warner Bros. has refused to release it for going on several years now. But finally this perfect movie will see the light of day. According to Fangoria, September will bring the soundtrack and October will have both the graphic novel and the DVD/Blu-ray release! But the best part by far is the traveling road show from July to October. “Trick ‘r Treat” will finally be seen on the big screen at these locations:

• FANTASIA FILM FESTIVAL, Montreal, Canada July 9-27
• TORONTO AFTER DARK, Toronto, Canada August 14-21
• MORBIDO FEST, Mexico City, Mexico
• FANTASY FILM FESTIVAL – Berlin, Hamburg, Koln, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Stuggart, and Munich Germany – August 18-September 9, 2009
• FANTASTIC FEST, Austin Texas, September 24-October 1
• SCREAMFEST, Los Angeles, California – October 16-25
• London, UK

The film is equal parts scary, fun, and funny and I highly suggest you seek it out.

Meanwhile, Collider reports that Comedy Central has ordered 13 new episodes of “Futurama” and director Wes Craven might be open to doing “Scream 4,” depending on if he likes Kevin Williamson’s first screenplay for a new trilogy of sequels. Digital Spy spoke with Craven, who also said that the deals with Courteney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette are “virtually set,” but don’t expect any of the rest of the cast to return. The screenplay should arrive on Craven’s doorstep come August

(Un)original Content

Richard Linklater’s screenplay “That’s What I’m Talking About,” which has been described as a “spiritual sequel” to his hit “Dazed and Confused,” but heavier on the drama than comedy, will have to be put on hold. The whole chicken and egg conundrum has popped up as financiers refuse to pick up the tab unless a distributor is on board and the distribution companies won’t touch it until it’s past the script stage. Everyone is becoming more and more scared about original, untested stories, defaulting instead to easily quantified, previously packaged materials. Which brings us to our next section, “(Un)original Content.”

Book Adaptations of the Week – Universal has finally found “Waldo” and news about Disney’s (with the help of Pixar talent) “John Carter of Mars” is starting to heat up. The film, based on Edgar Rice Burrough’s “A Princess of Mars,” was written by Andrew Stanton and Mark Andrews, with Stanton directing. A radio station says that filming will begin in Utah in the fall, with a cast that’s already lining up: Taylor Kitsch will portray John Carter, the American Civil War soldier mysteriously teleported to Mars (known as Barsoom by the natives); Lynn Collins, who played Wolverine’s girlfriend in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” has signed on as the Martian Queen, Dejah Thoris; and Thomas Haden Church will play an as-yet-unknown character, though CHUD’s Devin Faraci speculates it may be Tars Tarkas, Carter’s righthand Martian friend.

Comic Adaptations of the Week – James Cameron is joining David Fincher, Zack Snyder, and Gore Verbinski in directing segments of a new “Heavy Metal” movie while a “Harley-riding corpse” will star in “Deadworld.”

Sequels of the Week – “Predators,” aka “Predator 3,” is moving forward thanks to Robert Rodriguez. He wrote a treatment years ago that can be easily found online, but he will not be directing. The rumors come from Latino Review, which claims Nimrod Antal (“Kontroll” and “Vacancy”) will be directing, and Bloody Disgusting, which says Neil Marshall (“The Descent” and “Doomsday”) is deep in negotiations. At least it’s not a reboot, which was the previous rumor.

For the next James Bond movie, Peter Morgan (“The Queen,” “The Last King of Scotland,” and “Frost/Nixon”) will join Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on scripting duties. The unreliable British tabloid the Daily Express (via the Guardian) claims that Michael Sheen, who has worked with Morgan a few times now, will play main baddie Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Though longstanding legal controversies might prove otherwise.

Other sequels in development are “Batman 3,” “Indiana Jones 5,” “Night of the Creeps 2,” “Pirates of the Caribbean 4,” and “Rambo 5.”

Remakes of the Week – Josh Peck, the star of “The Wackness,” has joined the cast of the “Red Dawn” remake, which includes Adrienne Palicki and Chris Hemsworth. Filming is set to start in September to be released exactly a year later. “Tomorrow, When the War Began,” which has a similar plot, is actually a book adaptation but I listed it here due to the similarities. Except this one is set in Australia instead of the U.S. of A. Also in the works are remakes of “The Birds,” “The Bride” (of Frankenstein), “Conan the Barbarian“, “Das Experiment,” “Footloose,” “The Funhouse,” and “Teen Wolf.”

Final Word(s)

A Tim Burton career retrospective will be displayed from November 22 to April 26 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, featuring production artwork, storyboards, paintings, short films, costumes, puppets, unrealized projects, student art, and more. Also included will be some films that influenced Burton as an artist, including “Frankenstein” and “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.”