Monty Python's The Life of Brian was banned for a year in Norway after its release in 1979, and in Ireland for eight years. But that's nothing compared to the comedy drought suffered in Torbay. According to The Guardian, the area of England known as the English Riviera banned the movie when it was released and hasn't shown it publicly since. That is, until now. Nearly 30 years after it got the cold shoulder from Torbay, Brian will be screened as part of a comedy film festival -- and in the grounds of a former abbey, no less. Seems fitting for a movie that was once met with many protests for its "blasphemous" take on faith.

Here at the Moviefile, we have a whole category just for remakes, reboots, and "reimaginings"--and it's stuffed pretty full. From Fame to Robocop and everything in between, there's a bountiful crop of reworked properties. As "old hat" as it can be to those of us with long enough memories (or long enough Netflix queues) to remember the originals, remaking the movies of yesteryear can make good financial sense for studios. A remake from a 20- or 30-year-old property can draw in brand-new young audiences, as well as the nostalgic viewers of the originals. For example, 24 years passed before Bedtime Story was remade as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and now that another 20 years have passed, they're remaking the remake. But now Hammer Films and Overture Films are bucking the trend by remaking a movie that hasn't even been officially released yet. Talk about the Hammer striking while the iron is hot.

This week, Lucasfilm announced the features for the DVD and Blu-ray releases of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. To satisfy everybody, there will be a one-disc, no-frills DVD version as well as a two-disc Special Edition, plus a Complete Adventure Collection, with the Special Edition plus the first three Indy movies. (Sadly, they do not come in a badly dented refrigerator.) And if you're wondering if the Special Edition is worth it, you might want to check out the massive list of extras you get with it before you decide. (Or maybe watch the movie again. You don't want to buy it, then suddenly remember the scene where Shia LaBeouf swings with the monkeys.)

Remember that movie that came out last year, where Will Smith was the last man in Manhattan, and he fought vampires? Well, it did really well -- $584 million well, in fact -- so Warner Bros. has commissioned a prequel with Smith and returning director Francis Lawrence, according to Variety. (If you've seen the movie, you know why Smith can't be in a sequel.) The script, which is being developed now, will focus on the final days of mankind in New York as the virus sweeps through, turning everyone but Smith into a cannibal mutant. Although we were shown the sealing off of the island in flashback in the first movie, we didn't see what happened to all of the people who were left, or how Smith came to create his brownstone fortress. But my biggest concern is this: What the hell are they going to call it? I came up with a few ideas, but some of them have already been used for other projects.

At Wednesday's Walt Disney Studios Showcase, the Mouse announced a ton of new projects, most of them starring Johnny Depp. Not only will the actor definitely be playing the Mad Hatter in director Tim Burton's motion-capture CGI Alice in Wonderland (as rumored back in July), he'll also be returning as Jack Sparrow for yet another Pirates of the Caribbean movie (that's four now, for those of you not counting at home). What are they going to call this one, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Successful and Still Mildly Enjoyable Franchise?

Well, it's been a while since I talked about the Witchblade movie, so I thought I'd jump back in with a crazy Witchblade sandwich. No, not the kind with Witchblade in the middle (although those are tasty), but the kind with Witchblade as one piece of bread and her aquatic, equally scantily-clad comic-book counterpart Fathom as the other piece of bread. In the middle? Megan Fox. Now, that sounds like a delicious sandwich. Anyway, Megan Fox has been linked to both roles in two months, and I just thought I'd let you know so all of the Megan Fox fans can start picturing her in skimpy outfits. ...Because I highly doubt anyone was doing that already.

When Hollywood movies get made into Broadway musicals, it's not necessarily a bad thing -- that is, of course, unless you consider any Broadway musical to be a "bad thing." They certainly make money, and ever since The Producers blew up, movie-based musicals like Legally Blonde, Young Frankenstein and Spam-A-Lot have played to packed houses. Hell, even Evil Dead has enjoyed a long, successful run at its Toronto theatre and on tour. Recently, we reported on the proposed 9 to 5 musical, but that seems almost logical next to the latest news. Not only is the rumored Spider-Man musical still actually happening, but there's going to be an American Psycho musical, as well. Be still, my pulsating, gore-dripping heart.

Universal Pictures set sail this morning, armed the harpoon guns, and took aim at a classic. According to Variety, the prey was Herman Melville's Moby Dick, which Universal will film as a "reimagining" with director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) and scribes Adam Cooper and Bill Collage. The writers "revere Melville's original text, but their graphic novel-style version will change the structure." Cooper calls it the original "action-adventure revenge story," for which they will get to "capitalize on the advances in visual effects". According to the report, "Ahab will be depicted more as a charismatic leader than a brooding obsessive." At this point, poor dead Herman Melville crawls out of his plot at Woodlawn Cemetery and is about to capitalize on the advances in Google to look up the offices of Universal Pictures.

We here at the Moviefile been following the Fox vs. Warner Bros. Watchmen legal drama for the last few weeks, holding our collective breath and hoping the March 2009 release date doesn't get pushed back. Or wiped off the calendar completely. Zach was waiting for a "massive, shocking resolution to this conflict" -- I don't know how much of a resolution this is yet, and I don't know if it's massive or shocking, but Comic Book Resources has reported on a pretty surprising development. According to the exclusive, Fox doesn't want to scuttle the project, or make its own Watchmen movie, or even to "[hold] up a rival". As it turns out, what Fox reportedly wants is... the 1960s Batman TV series. See, I told you it was surprising.