I almost didn’t publish this post because it’s really not surprising, but Advertising Age is reporting that Michael Moore’s forthcoming documentary, ‘Sicko’, is already showing up on peer-to-peer networks. Scheduled for a June 29^th release, the film is a scathing attack on the U.S. health care system and the difficulty so many people have affording the high cost of coverage. Of course, it’s nearly impossible to determine how this will affect box office receipts since its difficult to determine if downloaders would have payed to see the film if it wasn’t available on the net. My personal feeling is that it won’t affect the film’s gross since Moore’s audience largely consists of educated, upper middle class thirty-somethings who have already decided to see the film in theaters. But either way this isn’t good news for The Weinstein Company or Moore. After poor showings from their last couple of productions, the Weinstein brothers are hoping for a big return on their investment, ala Moore’s record-holding ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’. As for himself, Moore is under investigation by the U.S. government for a trip to Cuba he took with 9/11 survivors shown in the film. Many speculate the investigation is politically motivated, fueled by anger over the drubbing the current administration received in ‘Fahrenheit’.

We’ve got an image from Entertainment Weekly of Christian Bale in the newly redesigned Batman suit from ‘The Dark Knight’. Coming to theaters on July 18 of next year, the biggest feature of the new suit is the cowling which, for the first time, is a separate piece from the main suit. According to designer Lindy Hemming, previous suits were constructed with the head and body connected in one single mold. Unlike other actors who have worn the cape crusader costume, Christian has full movement of his head and can now look from side to side and nod up and down. Directed by Christopher Nolan, ‘The Dark Knight’ follows Batman and Lt. James Gordon (Gary Oldman) as they try to stop a psychopathic killer only known as ‘The Joker’ (Heath Ledger).

Scheduled to hit screens in December 2007, Warner Bros. is releasing ‘I Am Legend’, directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. Sounding very much like ‘28 Days Later’, Smith stars as ‘Neville’, the last uninfected human being alive in a near–future New York City after the world is attacked by a plague that transforms humans into vampires. I don’t blame you if you’re not excited by that short synopsis, but the movie is based on a novella by the same name published in 1954 by science fiction writer Richard Matheson. This is the third treatment of Matheson’s book, first filmed as ‘The Last Man on Earth’ in 1964 with Vincent Price, and then a second time in 1971 as ‘The Omega Man’, starring Charlton Heston. Helming this latest adaptation, Francis Lawrence is probably most known for directing the Keanu Reeves vehicle ‘Constantine’ in 2005. Warner Bros. just released a trailer for the film in quicktime/HD format. Though its only two minutes long, the special effects of a deserted, run down New York look particularly realistic. This genre’s old hat for Smith who’s starred in several sci-fi and apocalyptic thrillers like ‘Independence Day’, ‘Men in Black’, and ‘I, Robot’. We’ve all been fooled by trailers before, but this did it’s job of getting my attention. Check out the trailer for ‘I Am Legend’ here.

In an interview with ‘Home Media Magazine’, Todd McFarlane, co-founder of Image Comics and creator of ‘Spawn’, revealed that he’s hard at work on a new ‘Spawn’ movie. If you were unfortunate enough to have seen the 1997 adaptation with Michael Jai White then you’ll no doubt welcome this news. The dark, edginess of ‘Spawn’, which really ushered in a whole new period of realism and grittiness in the world of comics, seems tailor made for film. Yet the first movie was abysmal by any standards – poor casting, poor directing, poor script, and horrible, disjointed special effects. Fans everywhere would love to see McFarlane get a ‘re-do’ on this one. I do have one qualm though. I don’t fear a repeat of the horrendous production quality seen in the first film, but I do hope McFarlane is open to a co-writer to help the script’s pacing and plot. McFarlane’s artwork is brilliant, but as a writer he’s often sub-par. Since he’s financing this ‘Spawn’ redux himself it’s unlikely he’ll take much guidance from others.

Fan’s of ‘Spawn’ will also be interested to know that HBO plans to release a 10th anniversary DVD box set of ‘Todd McFarlane’s Spawn’. The set includes all 18 episodes of the three season animated show that ran between 1997 and 1999. As well as the show, the four DVD’s feature storyboards, commentaries, and interviews. The box set goes on sale July 24.

Among the general film-going public, the response to Jet Li is either luke-warm or “Jet who?”. But among martial art fans, he’s universally worshiped – almost to Bruce Lee standards. Even though I haven’t always agreed with his movie choices, I count myself among the fans who think Li is among the top action stars of all time. Like Bruce, Jet is the real deal. He’s a bona fide martial arts champion. Even his stoic acting lends itself to the on-screen mystic that permeates his film work. Li’s next project is ‘War’ for Lions Gate scheduled for release this September. The film stars Li and Jason Statham of ‘Transporter’ fame as an FBI Agent (Statham) on the hunt for his partner’s killer (Li). The action takes place while a crime war between rival Asian gangs rages in the streets. The plot seems pretty standard fare but the teaming of Li and Statham could be a good match. To get a better feel for the film check out the ‘War’ official site.

On a barely related note, Lions Gate is also behind Eli Roth’s ‘Hostel: Part II’ which is scheduled for a June 8^th release. Eli Roth is apparently pushing the gore-o-meter to the limit in this film and some aren’t taking it lightly. Nikki Finke, who writes the brilliant ‘Deadline Hollywood’ blog, posted a highly critical article about Roth and the ‘torture porn’ genre of horror films coming out of Hollywood. These films aren’t my thing and I don’t give them much thought, however reading Finke’s post and Roths own words didn’t leave me with a good taste in my mouth. Is the success of these films a reflection of some post-modern apathy that’s rampant in our culture – or are critics just taking these films too seriously? Read Finke’s post about Eli Roth.