That’s right.  It was too good to be true   These blu-ray releases of The Lord of the Rings trilogy do not include the extended cuts of the films; only the theatrical cuts.  So before you think of handing over Mr. Benjamin Franklin (MSRP $99.98) to your local Best Buy cashier, think again – unless you’re just a die-hard LOTR geek who has to own this, knowing surely that the Dark Lord Sauron will triumph over Middle Earth if you don’t.  Other than the lengths of the features, details are still sketchy, as no technical specifications or bonus materials have been released.  The theatrical trilogy comes to blu-ray later this year.

A more complete boxed set with the extended cuts is expected to follow after the theatrical releases of the new Hobbit movies; so come on, guys.  Chances are, you already own the trilogy on DVD, whether they’re theatrical or extended cuts.  Will it really kill us to wait a few more years for a much better set of these films?

Speaking of The Hobbit, this comes fresh from Empire Magazine – Peter Jackson and Guillermo Del Toro have revised their plans for The Hobbit.  With the initial idea that two films would be made – the first, being the adaptation of the novel and the second, bridging the gap between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring – the latest update is that The Hobbit will actually take two full length films on its own.

Guillermo Del Toro had the following to say:

We’ve decided to have The Hobbit span the two movies, including the White Council and the comings and goings of Gandalf to Dol Guldur.

And Peter Jackson:

We decided it would be a mistake to try to cram everything into one movie. The essential brief was to do The Hobbit, and it allows us to make The Hobbit in a little more style, if you like, of the trilogy.

Looks like Dr. Harleen Quinzel has changed her black and red get-up quite a bit.  Could the new look have possibly worked out in Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight universe?  Take a look.

June 23rd, 2009.  Save the date.

First off, let’s confirm that Ghostbusters 3 is indeed in development and has actually been making great progress these few weeks.

“Office” writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky are curently penning the screenplay for this third installment, bringing back most of the original cast members back as mentors to a rookie group of Ghostbusters.  While Harold Ramis aka Egon Spengler has insisted for all the main players from the original films to make a return, Sigourney Weaver is still hesitant.

Dan Aykroyd aka Ray Stanz has released a few details on the film:

There will be a whole new generation that has to be trained, and that whole new generation will be led by an individual who you’ll all love when you meet him but I’m not going to tell you anything yet.  They’ll be lots of cadets, boys and girls, who’ll be learning how to use the psychotron, the accelerators and all the new stuff, the neuron splitter, which is going to be the interplaner, interceptor and all these great tools that they’re going to have, to flip from dimension to dimension.

Could this new team of Ghostbusters be larger than what we initially expected?  A Ghostbuster university perhaps?  Whether this movie blows people away or just completely tanks, it’ll sure look damn good seeing the original team back together again.

Producer Lauren Shuler Donner (who rejected my beautiful X4 script!) has revealed details on Fox’s plans for the next possible X-men spin-off, X-men: First Class.

It is the first class of Xavier’s school, way back when, so it’s young Scott, young Jean, young Beast and that’ll be really fun.  I think (the plan) is to follow some of the characters into their own stories, and weave them back into the X-Men world.

And hopefully ‘First Class’ will become its own franchise and we can follow them as they grow up.

Donner also stated that a Magneto movie remains in development.

Warner Bros. Pictures has decided to begin shooting Green Lantern at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney this November.  The film’s budget is estimated to be around $150 million, which is approximately the amount Watchmen was made for.

The reason behind the choice of shooting location is because $150 million is actually worth a lot more in Sydney.  Not only has there been a large decline in value of the Australian dollar, but the Australian federal government is offering an additional 15% location rebate.

New South Wales premier Nathan Rees has stated that the “substantial investment in digital effects work will create hundreds of jobs.  Production is expected to employ 500 people at any given time, including 100 performers, 200 crew, and thousands of extras.”

Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, GoldenEye, The Legend of Zorro) is signed on to direct the film.

Green Lantern is currently aiming for a December 17, 2010 release date.

“The Office” – Season 5, Episode 21 – “Heavy Competition”

Dwight’s loyalty to Michael is tested when he finds a new hero in Charles. Meanwhile, Andy tries to provide for all of Jim’s emotional needs.

“The Office” airs tonight at 9/8c on NBC.

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How incredibly sick does this game look?  With the footage we’ve seen so far, it seems like “Batman: Arkham Asylum” may indeed have a fighting chance of becoming the champion of all Batman games ever.  Let’s just hope this doesn’t pull an Assassin’s Creed on us, as decent as that game was.

“Batman: Arkham Asylum” hits the Playstation 3, X-Box 360, and PC on June 23rd.

Jack Bauer has spent 6 of his longest, adrenaline-overloaded days ever in the City of Angels, and most recently a 7th in the heart of our Nation’s Capital.  With CTU dissolved and Jack being charged on numerous counts of criminal torture by an intransigent Senator Blaine Mayer (spoiler: who is now deceased), where does our terrorist-whooping, resurrecting, jugular-snatching, mildly-cursing badass of a federal agent find himself saving the world next season?  Well, what better city for Mr. Bauer to take on than the Big Apple?

That’s right – sources have confirmed that season 8 of “24″ will relocate to New York.  Like the current seventh season, season 8′s exterior shots will be filmed on location, whereas interior shots will be filmed in Los Angeles.  Production is scheduled to get underway within the next month.

Now did you really think that was it?  Because wait, there’s more!  Welcome the return of CTU (Counter-Terrorist Unit)!  The counter-terrorist organization will be returning under the new leadership of a character named Brian Hastings.  A character profile has been released revealing Hastings as an “MBA type with a razor sharp intellect”.  Joining CTU will be two male and female agents in their twenties along with everybody’s favorite, offbeat computer whiz, Chloe O’ Brian.

While this may be old news for some, it may still be new news for others – Anil Kapoor, the buttery game show host from “Slumdog Millionaire”, will be taking on the role of Arman Hashem, a Middle Eastern leader on a peacemaking mission in the US.  Casting is currently underway for the brother and wife of the character.

Could this possibly be a lead as to where season 8′s terrorist threat will stem from?  We don’t know; but what we do know is that season 7 has been kicking some major terrorist ass to this point.  With only 6 more episodes left of season 7, what say we send Starkwood Industries off to its cold, dark grave and figure out what the hell’s going on in that clean-shaven head of our fickle ol’ buddy, Mr. Almeida here.  WTF, TONY???  Wtf……

“Lost” – Season 5, Episode 13 – “Some Like It Hoth”

Suspicions about a possible breach intensify after Ben is taken from the infirmary, and a reluctant Miles is forced to work with Hurley when he’s asked to deliver an important package to a top Dharma official.

“Lost” airs tonight at 9/8c on ABC.

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