"Mrs. Doubtfire" sequel is in the works, because Hollywood hates your childhood memories

So once upon a time when I was young, my parents and I - I'm sure my older brother was at these gatherings, but for some reason, I only remember my parents - would go to movies on Friday evenings. I think Friday evenings still counted as matinee showtimes back then, and we would all grab a movie for less than $20, a pricepoint that makes me want to weep when I see $18 for a single 3D IMAX ticket now. ANYWAY, I'm pretty sure the first movie we saw together as a family was Mrs. Doubtfire, and I remember this because I started sobbing near the end of the movie and my parents wanted to take me outside because I was being a jerk but I refused to leave until I saw how the movie ended. I was only 6 or 7 years old then, but I had broken my parents' VCR a few years ago by playing Hook on repeat over and over and over and over again, so I clearly had a Robin Williams fascination. And then when I watched Aladdin? Yeah, I was a weird young Robin Williams fan.

IMAGINE MY ANGER, THEN, when I hear that a sequel for Mrs. Doubtfire is being planned by Fox 2000. The sequel would reunite Williams, who is currently on TV on CBS's The Crazy Ones with Sarah Michelle Gellar (not sure if that has been renewed for a second season yet, actually) and director Chris Columbus (who directed the first two Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), and is being written by David Berenbaum (who wrote Will Ferrell's Elf).

Why? Nearly 20 years later, why is this happening? What could possibly EVEN BE THE PLOT OF THIS MOVIE? Remember how the film had a very lovely message about how divorced parents still love their children and families can come in all shapes and sizes, and dressing up as an old lady can be great for your career if you're a middle-aged comedian trying to make it in television? ARE WE THROWING THOSE LIFE LESSONS ASIDE? I don't get it, and I don't want to. Curse you, Fox 2000. Curse you straight to hell.

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Adam Sandler, Josh Gad, and Kevin James to Star in 'Pixels'

About four years ago, Adam Sandler picked up the rights to Patrick Jean's video game-inspired short film, Pixels, with plans of turning it into a family-friendly film. Last year Christopher Columbus was in talks to direct, and now it looks like a recent rewrite of the script has convinced Sandler to go ahead and star in it himself, and he may not be the only one coming aboard.

The Wrap reports that an updated script by Just Go with It writer Tim Dowling is what lured Sandler in to star, with Columbus now confirmed as director. Meanwhile, Kevin James and Josh Gad are in talks to join the film, which is clearly still in the very early stages. Sandler's Just Go with It co-star Jennifer Aniston is being looked at for the female lead but her schedule on the upcoming comedy Mean Moms could prevent it.

The Pixels short film is a lot of fun, and has aliens attacking New York City using 1980s video game characters and levels. It should make for quite the big screen spectacle, which may be why development has taken so long. Dowling is said to have made the concept even broader in scope, and to help out Seth Gordon (The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters) was brought on as an exec-producer.

Check out the short film version of Pixels below.

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Liam Hemsworth Joins 'Cut Bank'; Haley Bennett Dials Up 'The Equalizer'; Adam Sandler to Lead 'Hello Ghost'

* Liam Hemsworth has replaced Armie Hammer as the lead in Cut Bank, the indie crime thriller from Matt Shackman, marking his directorial debut. Baby Thor joins a remarkable ensemble that includes Teresa Palmer, John Malkovich, Michael Stuhlbarg, Billy Bob Thornton, Oliver Platt, and Bruce Dern. Robert Patino's Black List script will follow an ex-high school football star turned auto mechanic who desperately wants to escape his Cut Bank, Montana hometown that is frozen in time. His actions to get out will have a drastic effect on his life and on the town.

* Having recently wrapped a role in one of Terrence Malick's upcoming projects, Haley Bennett is looking for something a bit more grounded, and probably with many more guns. She's joining Denzel Washington, Chloe Moretz, David Meunier, and Melissa Leo in The Equalizer, Antoine Fuqua's big screen version of the hit TV series. Washington plays a former covert operative with a dark past who tries to atone by helping those in need of his services. [Deadline]

* Three mediocre talents are about to converge on what will likely be a mediocre, yet high-grossing comedy. Adam Sandler is set to produce and star in the supernatural laugher, Hello Ghost, playing “a man who, after he tries to kill himself, is plagued by the arrival of four ghosts. They won’t won’t leave him in peace until he helps them amend their past by granting them one wish.” Chris Columbus (I Love You, Beth Cooper) is in line to direct, based off a script by Karen Croner, who wrote the middling Tina Fey/Paul Rudd rom-com, Admission. This sounds awful, but Sandler's name still carries a lot of weight. He'll be seen next month in the unfortunate sequel Grown Ups 2. [THR]

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Sure Shots: Ridley Scott; Alexander Skarsgard; Chris Columbus

* Oh joy. More Biblical epics. I thought this was Hollywood? Godless heathen Hollywood? So why are there so many movies based on religious fairy tales in the works? The latest comes from Ridley Scott, who tells Esquire that he's working on a film based on Moses, the guy with the parting of the seas and the Ten Commandments and stuff. The film will be appropriately titled Moses, and is likely the same one being developed by 20th Century Fox, who probably want to keep working with Scott now that Prometheus is only a few days from release. Don't expect to see this happen any time soon, as Scott has about half a dozen flicks on the burner.

* Alexander Skarsgard and Benjamin Walker are the top two contenders to co-star in The Great Wall, the silly sounding action flick from Ed Zwick(The Last Samurai). Whoever snags the role will join your future Man of Steel, Henry Cavill, in the story about two British soldiers in the 15th century who uncover a mystery surrounding the The Great Wall of China's construction. Skarsgard has had it rough lately with two straight bombs in Straw Dogs and Battleship. Walker is mainly untested as a leading man, but will get a chance to be all presidential in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. [Deadline]

* Chris Columbus(Rent) has picked up the rights to John Grisham's baseball novel, Calico Joe, with plans to write and direct. The book follows a young Major League Baseball prospect who has his promising career ruined by a near fatal beanball. Based in part on the true story of Ray Chapman(the only player ever to die due to a MLB injury), it follows the lasting effects the beanball had on everyone involved in the incident, including the pitcher who threw it. Columbus will also produce the film through his 1492 Productions. [Deadline]

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Chris Columbus to direct Superman??

I know I gave the usually terrible Chris Columbus a thumbs up for his handling of Percy Jackson and the Olympians a few months ago, but that doesn't excuse years of shoddy direction. A rumor has surfaced, via Superman Homepage, that Columbus has been extended an offer to direct the long awaited return of the Superman franchise, to be shot in 3-D and released in December 2012. 

The article itself is actually pretty thin on details, adding to my speculation. It focuses mostly on how Warner Brothers and DC don't think David Goyer was the right man for the job, although he is still handling the script. Christopher Nolan is on board as a producer and "overseer" of sorts.

Columbus is probably best known as the director of the first two....and the two worst....Harry Potter films. While his films are almost always criticized by guys like me, there's no denying that they make money. Columbus has directed eleven films that have broken the $100M mark.

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