Leona Lewis Sings ‘Avatar’; ‘Young@Heart’ Gets Remake; Friedkin An ‘Excorcist’ Again?

-We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: we’re profoundly indifferent to James Cameron’s forthcoming “Avatar.” The trailers, plot and weird blue aliens haven’t done it for us and with today’s announcement that reality show winner, Leona Lewis, is going to be singing the title track “I See You (Theme From Avatar)” we’re pretty much ready to give up on this film altogether. Let’s see you defend this choice fanboys. We’re guessing Celine Dion was busy, but like “My Heart Will Go On,” James Horner (who is also scoring the film) is going to be responsible for raping our ears again this time around with what is sure to be another combination of soggy, drippy orchestration, overwrought singing and awful lyrics. Of course, you can expect that this piece treacle is going to be flogged for a Best Song nomination but we’re convinced that the songs from “Nine” will trounce any memory of Lewis’ track into the ground. Our only consolation is that that since the song will be over the end credits it means that we can leave the theater without having to endure listening to it.

-In case you don’t remember, “Young@Heart” was a touching documentary that told the story of a group of seniors who formed a choir, that under the guidance of a younger musical director, did versions of contemporary songs by groups like Coldplay, The Clash, The Talking Heads and James Brown. The film was a charmer, by turns funny and moving, and more often than not raised geniune goosebumps. If you didn’t shed a tear during their versions of Sonic Youth’s “Schizophrenia” or Coldplay’s “Fix You” (yeah, an elderly man who has trouble breathing did it better than Chris Martin ever will) than you truly are made of stone. Well, it appears it’s headed for a narrative remake and “I’m With Cancer” scribe Will Reiser is in talks with Working Title (who acquired the rights from Fox Searchlight) to write it. We really don’t see the point of this one. The actual documentary worked because it was real people who, in the face of various illness or losses in their life, found something positive in participating in the choir. It was even more effective because most of the members hadn’t heard the songs they were being asked to sing before but still found the emotional core of them. During the production of “Young@Heart” some members of the group even passed away, adding to the poignancy of the picture. To take that unique experience and turn into a three act structure trivializes what made the documentary so special. If you haven’t seen it, add it to your Netflix queue now and hopefully this project will get lost in the shuffle somewhere down the line.

-Is William Friedkin set to return to the “The Exorcist” franchise? According to “Exorcist” author William Peter Blatty, it’s a possibility. The writer has penned an Exorcist mini-series which “not only faithfully includes all the main elements of the novel, but also some rather spooky new material and scenes, as well as a totally new (and perhaps much more satisfying) ending. I’ve also updated it. Billy Friedkin has agreed to direct.” We could see this being a possibility. Friedkin is currently hard at work with cinematographer Owen Roizman on the forthcoming Bluray (that will include both the 1973 and 2000 cuts) of the film so his interest in returning to the series could be there. Morever, Friedkin hasn’t had a hit in years (though everyone should check out his severely slept on psycho-horror film “Bug”) and an “Exorcist” mini-series is a pretty easy pitch. There’s nothing Hollywood suits like better than another chance to film an established franchise. We’ll see how this one develops.