Filmmaker Craig Brewer has signed on to write and direct New Regency's upcoming action comedy "Mother Trucker."

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film is based on a Maxim article by Steven Russell and is described as an updated version of Hal Needham's 1977 Burt Reynolds verhicle "Smokey and the Bandit."

Boasting a fairly simple plot, "Trucker" follows a man who escapes from prison and steels an 18-wheeler to head across the South and pay a visit to his dying mother. Of course, the police is not far behind.

Brewer's career took off in 2005 when he directed Terrence Howard in the acclaimed crime drama "Hustle & Flow."

Most recently, Brewer direct Samuel L. Jackson in "Black Snake Moan," a film about a crazy bluesman who teaches a wild young woman an important lesson.

By the way, "Smokey and the Bandit" snatched an Oscar nomination for best film editing in 1978. Didn't win it though.

New Regency has bought "Mr. Romance," a pitch for a comedy Seth Gordon will direct from a script by Jeff Roda.

Variety says the film follows a cynical man who is forced to participate in the Mr. Romance competition to win back the woman of his dreams.

Apparently, the competition is a real event, finding male models who end up appearing on the covers of romance novels.

Gordon most recently directed the holiday comedy "Four Christmases." His credits also include the acclaimed documentary "The King of Kong."

Variety announced earlier today that Fox-based New Regency has officially dropped the big-screen adaptation of “Voltron.” But that doesn’t necessarily mean the project is dead.

Relativity Media is currently in talks to develop the action flick, which is described as using the kind of technology we’ve already seen in “300.” This, however, would result in a significant budget cut.

Based on the famous Japanese animated TV series that kicked off in the early 1980s, this adaptation is a post-apocalyptic adventure in which five survivors of an alien attack gather to pilot the five robot lions that combine and form the powerful Voltron.

At this stage, I’m not so sure whether this is such good news. I’m glad Relativity is eyeing the project, but there is only so much you can do with a moderate budget. And “Voltron” definitely sounds like something that needs a whole lot of money to really deliver.