Cutaways, Take 14

Well, "Six Feet Under" is dead and buried, and onetime vampire-chronicler Anne Rice is now a Christian. So, what else could be more appropriate but for "Six Feet" creator Alan Ball to start cavorting with Bayou Country bloodsuckers? Ball is preparing to return to HBO with a show based on Charlaine Harris' "Southern Vampire" book series. We have high hopes.

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You might recall that Mel Gibson eventually abandoned his super idea of releasing The Passion of the Christ without subtitles for its ancient Aramaic dialogue. Apparently, Mel is still intent on making an incomprehensible movie for English-speaking audiences. His next film, Apocalypto, will boast Mexican actors speaking in the Mayan tongue of Yucateco, sans subtitles.

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Some folks are working on a movie focusing on some real-life hoopla that surrounded the introduction of the Ouija board game, but have run into one hitch; they can't afford to purchase rights from Parker Brothers to actually use the "Ouija" brand name. (hat tip to Fark). Now the filmmakers are tentatively gonna title the movie Dark Portal. The film, incidentally, will star Pam Grier.

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They're going to make a movie of the Malcolm Gladwell book Blink. We're not really certain how the work lends itself to a movie version, but what do I know? That's what I had thought about the Crucifixion, too.