THE REPERTORY DRAFT HAS BEGUN!
Keep apprised of the picks as they happen HERE! Join the discussion HERE! Also, stay tuned tomorrow for the post-mortem on round one.

THE ERSTWHILE MR. BEAKS
Goodbye Jeremy Smith, may you ever grow in our hearts. You were the grace that placed itself where projects in development were torn apart. You called out to your canon and you whispered to Lebron James; now you belong to Harry Knowles and have you decided what will be your pen name?

Yes, it's true, Jeremy Smith, aka Mr. Beaks, aka Clarence Beaks, aka The Buttmaster, has ended his time with CHUD.com. He's moving on to weave his magic at Ain't It Cool News, which you'll remember is where he started (on the internet. I guess he started on Earth in Ohio. From such humble beginnings! Like a baby in a manger!). We'll miss him around here, and we wish him all the best with his newfound ability to use excessive exclamation points in headlines. Meanwhile, we'll regroup and step up our game in order to fill this new, Beaks-shaped hole around here.

ARMOR WARS CONTINUE
This morning Nikki Finke is reporting that Marvel Studios has put an offer out to Jon Favreau to direct Iron Man 2. She uses this as a way to discredit all the other internet reporting on the matter, but the fact is that it looks like the offer has been made due to pressure brought about by the publicity. I've spoken to some people on the inside, and while they couldn't confirm IESB's story - that Marvel was planning on not bringing him back - they did say that the lack of communication was deeply troubling.

Now it's a waiting game. If Finke is right and the offer has been made, what does it mean? Probably not a lot - even just a gesture - if the rushed release date is part of the deal. Stay tuned for more.

LIONSGATE GETS TRANSPORTERED
Lionsgate has picked up Transporter 3, the latest in the saga of the world's foremost gay action hero. Jason Statham returns to the role that made him beloved by CHUD, and this time he's joined by Prison Break's Robert Knepper. Can Frank Martin find true love?

This outing is not directed by Louis Letterier, who was too busy making The Incredible Hulk, but was helmed by fellow Frenchie Olivier Megaton. I have to assume he's trying to up Letterier's ante - that's what these films are all about.

Lionsgate will deliver this beauty to us on Thanksgiving.

WANT TO BE ONE OF CHUD'S MAIN BLOGGERS?
Here's your chance, because aside from a few folks most of our bloggers have dropped the ball in a big way. We're still trying to get our Community section working, but CHUD main needs some reliable and consistent bloggers regardless of that. So, make some lemonade out of the lemons the site's been dealt. Email me HERE and tell me why you're a good candidate, what kind of schedule you can keep, and how you'll help spread the word.

- Nick