This Will Not Be On My Bucket List

Warners is scheming to get Bucket List stars Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson back together for another sure pot o' geriatric comedy gold. They already have a script, called "Dirty Old Men," and have Freeman all signed up. The story would apparently star Nicholson as an aging playboy (typecasting) and Freeman as his old pal who tries to break up his new romance (with Evan Rachel Wood, probably.).

Way up high on the list of things I never saw coming is "Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman become the new Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor."

Boffo

The Dark Knight has cracked the $400 million domestic box-office mark in 18 days, shattering the previous record of 43 days set by Shrek 2 in 2004. So does this mean it will take down Titanic as the all-time North American box-office champ? It's still $200 million behind. However, the rest of the summer is thin in new big releases, so the competition will not be stiff. And there's such enthusiasm for this film that you can see people going back one last time. I may see it again myself (and I never go to movies more than once).

What is it about this film that has so captivated people? Is it just Heath Ledger and all the undercurrents created by his death? The film's timely themes of civilization threatened by the forces of chaos? The lack of CGI wanking? The magic of Morgan Freeman? I think it's just a hell of a movie. A beautiful job of setting superheroics and super villainy within a realistically-rendered world. A tricky thing to pull off...placing such bizarre, over-the-top characters within a human-scaled world. It could've really struck a false note. But it doesn't. It took a leap of faith for Chris Nolan et al to think they could make this work and I'm glad they took it. This film ups the ante for all comic book movies to come. It says, "You don't have to go for hyper-stylization a la Sin City or silly manic fluff a la Spider Man. You can play it for real and make it work." The film throbs and shivers, and the big chase with Dent in the armored car and Joker in the truck with the RPG and Batman on the motorcycle provides the biggest, most satisfying crescendo in the history of action films. When Joker stands in the middle of the street saying, "Hit me!" The film takes off into the stratosphere.

Morgan Freeman Wreck Pic

This is what Morgan Freeman's car looked like by the time it got done rolling off the highway. The red circle shows Freeman still in the vehicle waiting to be cut out. He was driving but the car, a '97 Nissan Maxima, belonged to his passenger Demaris Meyer. The crash happened near his home in Mississippi. Freeman is said to be resting comfortably after surgery on his broken arm. Meyer's condition has yet to be updated. Neither alcohol nor drugs are believed to have played a part. Look for broken bits of the car to soon appear on eBay.

Update: Michael Caine Better Watch His Back

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was badly injured in a car accident in Mississippi last night around 11:30 pm reports TMZ. He was taken by airlift to Memphis where he is currently listed in serious condition (at least he's not very, very critical like poor Bernie Mac). The condition of Freeman's unidentified female passenger is unknown. Police say Freeman was talking at the scene, and they found his voice strangely soothing.

I don't want to start a bunch of crap about Dark Knight curses...but Heath Ledger? Christian Bale's legal entanglements? Maggie Gyllenhaal and the whole ugly stick thing? Okay, the last one happened a long time ago, but still...if I'm Michael Caine I'm not getting on any planes and I'm making sure to look both ways before crossing any streets.

Update: Freeman broke his shoulder and arm in the wreck, a rollover accident. The jaws of life were needed to extricate him from the vehicle, a '97 Nissan Maxima. It's possible he fell asleep at the wheel. His female passenger has been identified as Demaris Meyer. He reportedly joked with some photographers at the crash site. He's expected to make a recovery, but at his age...well, as Bob Dylan said: You can always come back, but you can't come back all the way.