Quick clips for Thursday August 21

I'm only running this so I can add a picture of Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell isn't some bubbly, buxom, botox, bubble-boobed blond. Oh, don't get me wrong, she's still assembled with perfection but she's also got this nerd chic about her. (See below.)

In case you didn't know (don't worry, the ratings suggest only four of you did), Bell was the star of the WB (CW, whatever two initials mean nothing to you) show "Veronica Mars," which was actually quite good. The unwatched program followed the young Miss Mars as she solved local mysteries, sort of like "Murder She Wrote" only you want to do it with Angela Lansbery (so, basically, it's exactly like "Murder She Wrote" for me). Well, Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello, who is nowhere near as amusing as he finds himself and only infrequently has news of interest, reports that Bell and show creator Rob Thomas have been mulling a big-screen version of the now-canceled show. Two caveats: (1) He bases this on news that Bell and Thomas "bumped into each other" and then concludes "We're halfway to getting this thing greenlit." (2) After the rousing un-success of X-Files: Nobody Gives a Crap, ain't nobody gonna make a canceled show into a movie (by the way, both "X-Files" and "Mars" are WB properties). Long story short, this likely won't happen, but aren't you glad you got to see Kristen Bell as Princess Leia this morning?

Danny Boyle, you confuse me

My friends know I had some mixed feelings about Trainspotting (in that I vacillate between being so repulsed I want director Danny Boyle arrested and so intrigued I want to watch it 1000 more times). That said, Boyle is one of the few must-see directors right now. Why? Because he's apparently working his way through every genre (how's that for range). Check it out:

Shallow Grave - Mystery/suspense (Hitchcockian)

Trainspotting - Drama/comedy

A Life Less Ordinary - Romantic comedy

The Beach - Social commentary/drama

28 Days Later - Horror

Millions - Children's film

Sunshine - Science fiction

Now comes word that his latest, Slumdog Millionaire, will hit very soon, despite being owned by Warner Independent (which is now more dead than my sex drive after listening to a David Hasselhoff song). Variety says that Fox and Warner Bros will share the distribution rights (odd, considering the Watchmen war). What genre is Boyle trying this time? I guess true-life story/biography? The film is about an impoverished Indian who wins on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." I know. The guy who did 28 Days Later is doing a movie about a game-show winner. This news is stranger than Mel Gibson's ringtone ("If I Was a Rich Man").

As an actor, I really prefer Ben Affleck's directing

Mike Judge, who created "King of the Hill," Office Space, and Idiocracy, may have the worst funny-to-famous ratio ever. His feature films are dumped without acknowledging their potential and you can forget about advanced hype. Well, let's change that a bit. Judge's next comedy, Extract, follows a flower extract factory owner who's wife is having an affair. According to Variety, Ben Affleck is eyeing the role of an ambulance-chasing lawyer, Jason Bateman is playing the factory owner, and Mila Kunis and Kristen Wiig have also been confirmed. Now, I think this is a smart move for Ben, who hasn't been on screen in almost two years, but after blowing my freakin' mind with Gone Baby Gone, I wish he'd go back behind the camera. I'm not one of those guys who bash Benboy as much as others (aside from the snarky headline that is), but he is, at best, a decent performer. However, that noir film has me convinced that he is capable of being a legendary director. Yes, I'm serious. Look, all I'm saying is that Eastwood would have been Dirty Harry forever if he hadn't gone behind the camera. I know he probably reads this blog every day; so, Ben, please listen to me above all friends, family, agents, and people who actually know things and go back behind the lens PRONTO. Oh, and everyone should go see Mike Judge's new movie. That is all the instruction I have for now.