Get ready for some Intolerable Cruelty to animals! Or rather, from animals. Rumor has it that the man who stares at goats may soon be running for his life from seagulls, as George Clooney has supposedly been tapped to star in the remake of The Birds. This makes the movie a lot more tolerable for Rod Taylor, who starred in the original version. That doesn't mean he likes it, but he swears he'll withhold judgment now that Clooney's rumored (though not attached... yet).

Two sequels that couldn't be any more different if they tried battled it out at the box office this weekend, and it turns out the cheesy dancers beat out the crazed, torture-inflicting madman. That's right, High School Musical 3: Senior Year out-muscled Saw V -- and, if you listened closely, you could almost hear the sound of Disney execs crying that they had released the first two HSM movies on TV. Just look at all those buckets of money they could have made if they'd only released in theaters. (Not that the HSM franchise hasn't made Disney more money than most of us can fathom anyway.)

In Ashok Amritraj's interview with Collider, it's clear the executive producer is banking next year's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li movie on its main character. Even though the heroine didn't show up in Capcom's game series until Street Fighter II, she's arguably the series' most popular character globally, and gets to kick off the first of what Amritraj hopes is a successful franchise for his Hyde Park Entertainment. Expectations of the games' fans are mixed: On the one hand, you've got a game (and animated) series that you love, so you want the movie version to do it justice. On the other hand, the 1994 adaptation starring Jean-Claude Van Damme set the bar kinda low. The new one's at least gotta be better than that... right?

In many ways, Cleopatra was a woman ahead of her time. Through political machinations, she sought to secure her place in history, and if she could have seen into the future, she would have seen that her fame lived on, even if her empire did not. She would have also seen that she'll be getting the high-tech treatment as Steven Soderbergh plots to bring her story to the big screen. According to Variety, the director is planning to tell the story of Egypt's final pharaoah as a rock musical -- and it will be in 3-D. If she'd known this would some day be her fate, Cleo may have opted for a life of obscurity. [I think we're eight years beyond that. Have you seen Cleopatra 2525? - Zach]

You know you're in for a mind-bendy metapalooza when you go to see a Charlie Kaufman movie. Since capturing the hearts of critics with his dizzying dark comedy Being John Malkovich nearly a decade ago, Kaufman has been fairly consistent in his subject matter, bringing his distinctly dreamy surrealism to meditations on love, identity, art, fame and mortality. His latest, Synecdoche, New York, is a continuation of this odyssey, though infinitely bleaker and, if possible, even more complex to unravel than his previous offerings. As a friend put it perfectly when we left the two-hours-plus screening, by comparison it makes Adaptation seem like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Thinking outside the box is not a new concept in Hollywood. I mean, this is the town that said, "I know! Talking, dancing Chihuahuas!" and then actually made a bunch of money. So, it may come as little surprise that they're doing the same thing with The Trial of the Chicago 7, an upcoming DreamWorks project about the 1968 riots at the Democratic convention and the events that followed. And by "same thing" I don't mean talking, dancing Chihuahuas. Praise be. Written by Aaron Sorkin, the political drama has had a few directors who've come in for talks about attaching themselves to the film, including Steven Spielberg, Paul Greengrass, and Ben Stiller. No, you totally read that right. Stiller is the latest in a line of helmers that have been in discussions to work on the film, even though this project is decidedly different in tone from the rest of the director's oeuvre. Not that a guy can't change direction or want to work on something a little bit different, but it seems an interesting choice.

Movie buffs who also happen to be fans of roller coasters are about to have the Best Week Ever. On the heels of yesterday's announcement of a Transformers ride being built at Universal Studios Hollywood comes the news today of a Terminator coaster in the works at Six Flags Magic Mountain. And while Transformers fans have to wait until 2011 to buckle in, Terminator: The Coaster will open next year around the same time that Terminator: Salvation opens in theaters. [Was time travel involved? - Zach]

I'm not going to lie -- Zac Efron, for all the High School Musical-y stuff he's done (I can't drive two blocks without seeing him jumping ecstatically in a cap and gown), earned my respect for his stint as Link in Hairspray. For all the fun I'd normally make of a guy with hair as floppy and in need of cutting as his, I won't, because what John Waters has joined together, let no blogger put asunder. So, it is with humility and a straight face that I bring you the news that the Footloose remake that will star one Mr. Zac Efron, has gotten the blessing of Kevin Bacon. I'm sure we'll all sleep better.

If Spock were around, I'm sure he'd be telling Captain Kirk that he was being a tad illogical. The man who played the original Kirk, William Shatner, went off on Mr. Sulu (George Takei), for a perceived non-invite to his wedding earlier this year, inferring that Takei was both sick and psychotic. In other news, Shatner has already made the list for my upcoming nuptials, whenever those might be. Takei, who came out of the closet in 2005, was married to his longtime partner Brad Altman in September of this year after California's Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage. Many of the original Trek stars came to the ceremony, including Nichelle Nichols (Uhura) who was matron of honor, and Walter Koenig (Chekhov), who was best man. Shatner was an obvious no-show, though there seems to be some debate as to whether or not he was actually invited, since Takei said, "It is unfortunate that Bill was unable to join us for our wedding, as he indeed was invited to attend."

Despite all the troubles the automobiles of Quantum of Solace have, er, enjoyed in the last several months, from the Aston Martin that was driven into Lake Garda on its way to the set to the stuntman who was hurt when the Alfa Romeo he was driving crashed into a wall, car makers still seem to be rather fond of the Bond franchise. So fond in fact, that as reported by Motor Authority, Aston Martin has given Bond star Daniel Craig an open invitation to drive any car of theirs he pleases, for life.