Summer Glau, shown here at a 2005 Serenity Flairvention, will join the cast of "Dollhouse" this fall.  Details below.  Photo by RavenU, flickr.com.  www.wikipedia.org image.

The biggest column yet...the holidays are approaching and there is much going on.

1)  BEATLES reissues coming this Wed. (yes, Wed.).  Relive the '60's in remastered sound.

2)  RAMBO V: THE SAVAGE HUNT.  Harry Knowles (www.ain'titcoolnews.com) had a conversation with Sly.  Apparently, John Rambo is returning to the Pacific Northwest where, at a secret military installation, experiments are underway to turn exceptional soldiers into instinctual killing machines.  When the experiment goes awry, Rambo must save the day by hunting down this unfeeling killer.  It doesn't sound overly original but it's Stallone doing what he does best mixed with good old government conspiracy and a final confrontation with a sci-fi superkiller.

3)  CLASH OF THE TITANS.  The story:  Born of a god but raised as a mortal man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld.  With nothing left to lose, Perseus leads a mission to defeat Hades before Hades can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash hell on earth.  Perseus' journey is harrowing, leading him and his band through forbidden worlds, battling hideous beasts and unholy demons.  Perseus is forced to accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.  Louis Leterrier is directing from a script by Lawrence Kasdan (Raiders of the Lost Ark).  The raw footage on www.firstshowing.net is from MTV so it's the normal cheesy schlock interviews with elevator music in the background but it offers hints of what will be a much better film than the rubbish that's come out this year.

4)  FANTASTIC MR. FOX.  The stop-action movie of the classic Roald Dahl children's book, due in theatres this Nov., written and directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore; Bottle Rocket; Royal Tannenbaums).  Check out this voice-over cast:  George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Adrien Brody, Anjelica Huston and Wes Anderson.  Poster, trailer and making of featurette on www.firstshowing.net.

5)  WHIP IT.  Short featurette on www.firstshowing.net.  Drew Barrymore's directorial debut opens at the Toronto Film Festival this month and in theatres on Oct. 2.  The featurette is only a minute and two seconds but Drew describes the theme as "be your own hero", a personal observation in light of the risky step she's taking by working both sides of the camera.  Buy or rent any of her films to refresh your memories of Drew.  This will be fun to root for a genuinely talented young woman who's moving forward.

6)  TRON LEGACY.  Dec. 17, 2010, for the Disney Film opening.  The story:  Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), the tech-savvy son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself dragged into the same cyberworld of fierce programs and gladitorial games where his father has lived for 25 years.  Along with loyal friend, played by Olivia Wilde, father and son take on the challenges of the journey across a visually stunning cyber-universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous.  The score will be by DaftPunk.

7)  JONAH HEX.  This score will be by heavy metal band Mastodon, an interesting way to provide music for a comic book action western.  Who cares?  This is Megan Fox and Josh Brolin.  Listen to Mastodon on YouTube.

8)  TAMARA DREW.  Stephen Frears, British director of "High Fidelity" and "Dirty Pretty Things", has signed on to direct the live-action adaptation of the graphic novel by Posy Simmonds.  It will star Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace; Clash of the Titans).  The story follows Tamara, a sexy post-plastic surgery fox who returns to her small British village and stirs the passions of the frumpy locals.  Set to start shooting Sept. 21st in the UK.

9)  HALLOWEEN 3D RUMOR.  Bloody-Disgusting claims to have gotten an email stating that Steve Miner is returning to the franchise.  Miner directed "Friday the 13th 2", "Friday the 13th 3D", "Halloween H20" and "Lake Placid".  This is just a rumor at the moment.  However, the lackluster box office and bad reviews of Rob Zombie's "H2" have not helped The Weinstein Company and they might not even be able to do a third film.  In fact, TWC is in deep financial trouble, according to Deadline Hollywood.  They have been laying people off, closing offices and have even had to borrow money to keep going.  Fans of the "Halloween" franchise seem to prefer the return of a B-grade director than to have Zombie return and make things even worse.

10)  DISNEY-MARVEL adding up to Pixar Movies of Marvel characters?  Some say it's inevitable, some say No Way!  All Pixar films to date have been completely original stories and ideas.  Their line-up through 2013 will include two new original stories (Newt; The Bear and the Bow) and three sequels (Toy Story 3; Cars 2; Monsters Inc. 2).  Marvel will retain control of its core properties and won't allow anyone to make movies of its A-list characters.

11)  SPIKE-TV SCREAM AWARDS.  "Star Trek" has received 17 nominations for Scream Awards, including Best Sci-Fi Film, Best Director and Best Ensemble.  The event will be taped Oct. 17th at the Greek in L.A. and will premiere on SPIKE-TV on Oct. 27th, 10 p.m. ET.  The two hour extravaganza will feature celeb presenters and musical acts TBA.  Fans can vote for their faves online until Sat., Oct 17, at www.scream.spike.com.  Members of SPIKE-TV's advisory board include Tim Burton, Wes Craven and Roland Emmerich.

12)  SUMMER GLAU moving into the DOLLHOUSE.  The young star of "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles" will join Eliza Dushku on the widely popular and well-written TV show beginning Fri., Sept. 25, 9 p.m. ET on Fox.  Glau is extremely talented and has graced the casts of "Angel", "Firefly" and "CSI:LV" in addition to "Terminator".  Her involvement with Dushku's character will be the impetus for a very promising Season 2. 

13)  Highlights for DVD releases in Sept.:  "Crank: High Voltage" on the 8th; "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"; "An American Werewolf in London" (Full Moon Ed.) on the 15th; "CSI:NY, Season 5"; "Monsters vs. Aliens"; "Wizard of Oz", 70th Anniv. Ed. on the 29th.

14)  Featured movie releases for Sept.:  "Sorority Row" and "Whiteout" on the 11th; "Jennifer's Body" on the 18th; "Surrogates" and "Pandorum" on the 25th.

This is only the beginning, people.  All of these studios and companies want your money so lube up those credit cards and brace for it.  The economy needs you.  Later.