We haven’t really heard of any news involving Hitman since the 2007 movie starring Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47 (Including news about the horrifically long-awaited 5th game in the franchise; let’s go Eidos and IO Interactive!). The first movie didn’t exactly fare too well at the box office and was worse-off when it came to critical review, but even so, it was expected that a sequel would eventually come along. Even with the lacking first run, the flick did do better than most would expect of a video game-based movie; that and the property is based on the ultra-popular game franchise, which can always lead to some success.

In what confirms that a script is at least going to be written before deciding the fate of said sequel, IESB has learned that writer Kyle Ward has been hired to pen the sequel. Ward is pretty much a newbie to the game, but he does have a couple of unseen projects in-production: the Kane & Lynch movie with Bruce Willis and a movie called Fiasco Heights that’s set to be made by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes. Kane & Lynch is of course based on another video game property that is developed by the same group that makes the Hitman games, so all fits together nicely here.

Weeds
Season 4
Created by Jenji Kohan
Starring Mary Louise Parker, Justin Kirk, Kevin Nealon, Elizabeth Perkins, Hunter Parrish, Alexander Gould
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 2, 2009

Last year at about this time, when I reviewed Season Three of Showtime’s Weeds for this very website, I complained about how the DVD case trotted out that it was made from 100% recycled materials. I wondered who they could possibly market that fact to. People who hadn’t seen the show who felt they HAD to buy it because, well, those seasons of Six Feet Under wouldn’t allow them to be better people by having ITS packaging made from recycled shit? People who like the show and were gonna buy it anyway, even if the packaging were made from poodle ass and baby seal hymen? The point eluded me then and it eludes me now. I’m not saying you can’t make your stuff out of other folks’ leftovers, but quit being a dick about it.

Sure enough, another year, another packaging issue. Not with the packaging itself, I don’t give a fuck about that anymore, and yet I am mystified by the pull-quote from The Miami Herald that they put on the back of the box:

“Smart… Smug… And habit-forming.”

“Smug?” That’s what you’re saying to pull folks in? They… They know what that word means, right? I’m not necessarily saying the show isn’t smug (as mentioned, the show actively markets that its DVD sets are recycled), but there’s some shit you just don’t share with the rest of the class.

In what has turned out to be one of the more depressing days in entertainment, the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, has died at the age of 50. The news came mere hours after the report that actress Farrah Fawcett had lost her long battle with cancer.

The Michael Jackson news was surreal, as while it was unfolding, many thought it was simply inaccurate news. When word first broke, it was said that Jackson was found in cardiac arrest and not breathing; this news quickly took a turn for the worst when rumors started flying out that he had passed away; this shock was followed up by suggestions that he was actually in a coma, and the reports began alternating, leaving everyone confused as to what was actually going on. Sadly, as time moved forward, this news — first reported by TMZ — was confirmed by the LA Times to be true.

Many have been worried about the health of Jackson for a while now, but with a hopeful three-year world tour set to kick off with 50 sold out shows in London, it appeared that the star was feeling well and prepped for an attempted comeback of epic proportions.

While the reports are not confirmed, there was a rumor in the chaos today that he had gone into cardiac arrest after taking too many sleeping pills. While this is currently unknown, the L.A. police department’s robbery and homicide unit is investigating and a coroner is performing an immediate autopsy to find out what exactly happened here. There are no signs of foul play at the moment.

Farrah Fawcett, the ’70s bombshell with glowing blonde hair, has passed away at a hospital in California after her long battle with cancer. She was 62 years old.

Fawcett’s three-year battle had been very public, keeping fans well up-to-date on her progress in this incredibly difficult fight. She even appeared in a TV documentary called Farrah’s Story, which gave us a close-up look at the actress’s terrible struggles and her determination to finally beat it and find a cure.

Farrah Fawcett first showed up in the late ’60s, appearing briefly on legendary TV shows like I Dream of Jeannie and The Partridge Family. She made many other appearances as well, but it wasn’t until 1976 when she broke out in a big way with her highly-recognized run as one the beloved Angels on Charlie’s Angels, as well as her turn in Logan’s Run. Surprisingly, she only appeared in 29 episodes of Charlie’s Angels which ran from 1976 to 1981, yet she is known all over the world for it. After Angels, she became every man’s dream girl — her poster was on almost every young boy’s wall. She moved on from the show to do a lot more drama work, and she was in well-known movies like The Cannonball Run and Dr. T and the Women.

An extended preview of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ran on Sunday night during the premiere of the NBC miniseries Merlin.

Watch the clip here below.

The clip focuses on the dark elements of this sixth Harry Potter story, which sees the dark forces of the magical world crossover in our world, revealing themselves to “Muggles.” There’s also an emphasis on Harry himself as the “chosen one.” Those who know the story, know there’s a entire subplot on the light side, with all the romance amongst the teenagers of Hogwarts. There’s only a touch of that in this preview, which contains new footage from the film.