Filmmaker Adam Shankman is set to develop and produce a remake of "Bye Bye Birdie" for Columbia.

Based on the popualr musical, the film follows Conrad Birdie, a rock 'n' roll star who agrees to kiss one of his biggest fans as part of a publicity stunt before he is sent to war overseas.

The success of the musical provoked several big-screen adaptations already, including a 1963 version with Janet Leigh and Dick Van Dyke, and a 1995 TV version with Vanessa Williams and Jason Alexander.

Shankman will produce the project with Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher. Jennifer Gibgot is on board to executive produce.

Shankman, who also directed "Hairspray," most recently directed "Bedtime Stories." He's also gearing up to helm "Hairspray 2."

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Here's your dose of quick news bits for Jan. 6, 2009...

• Regent Releasing has aquired the North American distribution rights for Yojiro Takita's "Departures" (Okuribito), a drama that focuses on a cellist who loses his job and decides to move back to his hometown, where he starts to work as the local undertaker. The film is also Japan's submission for the best foreign film. (Hollywood Reporter)

• Director Adam Shankman talked to MTV about "Hairspray 2." Here's part of what he had to say: “[The treatment] is amazing, but it’s crazy. There are things in there that I was like ‘Can we do that?’ It’s real John Waters-y stuff, and it was more like a sequel to his movie than to our movie. Which I love, because then that becomes re-interpreted.”

• MTV also talked to "Sex and the City" stylist Patricia Field, who talked a bit about the sequel to last year's big-screen adaptation. “I do believe it will happen, because [creator] Michael Patrick King himself told me it’s gonna happen. But I haven’t really received any official information yet,” she said.

• Jay Chandrasekhar recently talked to Movieweb about a sequel to "Super Troopers." Here's some plot info: "We pick up the story essentially right were we left off. Maybe about three months later. We are all working undercover for the lumber industry. What has happened is that there are all of these eco-terrorists that are trying to blow up the lumber mills. And we are there working as security."

I'm sure by now you've heard that Adam Shankman is already working on a sequel to his 2007 hit musical "Hairspray," which pulled $118.8 million domestically.

Shankman recently talked to EW, revealing that the writing process for the follow-up is about to begin. "We just got an outline and some ideas from John Waters, and now we're going out to writers," he said.

Apparently, the plot will center on Tracy Turnblad and her friends as they sing their way through the late '60s. "That period was superpolitical," Shankman told EW.

But wait, there's more. Although details remain under wraps, Shankman also said Zac Efron's character Link will somehow become involved in the British Invasion.

Whatever ends up happening in this thing, I personally don't need a sequel. Plus, John Travolta recently announced he may not even want to return as Edna Turnblad.

What do you think? Ready for round two? Or not at all excited about this? Let me know by leaving your comments below.