Morning Call Sheet: 'Blues Brothers' Go 'Glee,' Another 'Another Thin Man,' Box Office Attendance Down, and More Amityville

NO JOKE: ‘BLUES BROTHERS’ TV SERIES IN DEVELOPMENT

The pitch is ‘Route 66’ meets ‘Glee’. So I guess Jake and Elwood went gay in prison and are now on the road combing their hair a lot in-between show tunes.

Somebody make them stop.

JOHNNY DEPP REMAKING ‘THE THIN MAN’

Apparently, the idea is to stylize the 76 year-old reboot in the same way Guy Ritchie and Robert Downey Jr. stylized Sherlock Holmes. In other words, this is more about grabbing hold of a brand name.

Should be interesting to see what’s done with the drinking. Watching William Powell and Myrna Loy continuously throw ’em back today (though they slowed as the series progressed), is disconcerting, to say the least. Like the doomed “Arthur” reboot, I suspect this will require some adjustments.

The screenwriter is David Koepp, one of the biggest names in the biz, and there will be musical numbers.

We shall see.

SUMMER BOX OFFICE ATTENDANCE SECOND-LOWEST IN DECADE

The industry will still set a box office record with $4.5 billion worth of tickets sold, but the number of tickets sold was only 558 million — the second lowest in ten years.

To be honest, there’s not much to read into here either politically or culturally. What you had was a lackluster offering of titles — too many sequels, remakes, prequels, etc. Nothing that truly captured the imagination. In fact, this might be a summer season best remembered for a dramatic sleeper called “The Help.”

What is interesting is how Hollywood still managed to set a record for revenues even as attendance dropped. This is premium-priced 3D at work and makes you wonder if the industry finds it acceptable to lose customers if the money is still there.

Though I have no evidence to back this up, I think 3D is part of the reason fewer people are going to the movies. It didn’t take long for moviegoers to figure out that the gimmick is usually attached to lousy films and my guess is that this works as a turn-off on a subconscious level. But that gimmick is also boosting revenues, so if I’m correct, this is a rather odd business phenomenon.

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LAST NIGHT’S SCREENING

After spending three hours under a bathroom sink, a couple episodes of “Damages” hit the spot. I’m now in the middle of Season 2 and as a “Big Chill” fan am enjoying seeing William Hurt and Glenn Close together again — he also happens to be one of my favorite actors.

The show is trash, but in the best sense of the word. Pure escapism and wild plot turns equals a high-end soap opera led by a group of truly superb actors. In a just world, Glenn Close would be the one starring in all those movies Meryl Streep makes unwatchable with her affected, self-conscious acting.

“Damages” is also very well directed, with Mario Van Peebles helming a number of the episodes (he also has a recurring role as an FBI agent.).

Though not an addicting world like that of “Breaking Bad” or “The Wire,” “Damages” does the job of taking you away, and that’s good enough for me.

Speaking of “The Wire,” The Great Clarke Peters showed up in last night’s episode. Here’s hoping we see a lot more of him.

Side note: Watching a television series through streaming and DVD is a real pleasure, no? I can’t imagine going back to a world where you have to wait a week to see what happens next. For me, it’s well worth waiting for the season or series to be available in full on home video and then devour it in my own time. The wife and I spent many a Christmas holiday watching 24 episodes of “24,” and absolutely loved losing ourselves in “Lost” and “The Wire” for a few months.

For the most part, I vehemently oppose change, but you can jot this phenomenon down as a notable exception.

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QUICK HITS

‘110 STORIES,’ A STAGED READING COMMEMORATING 9/11, CAN BE SEEN IN NYC SEPT 8 & 9TH

THERE’S SOMETHING CALLED ‘SEXY NURSE 3D’ IN PRODUCTION AND WHATEVER IT IS, I APPROVE.

SOMEHOW IT GETS WORSE: LUCAS ADDS MORE NOOOOOOOOO!!! TO ‘STAR WARS’ BLU-RAY

WORKING TITLE: ‘AMITY ELEVENTEEN: THIS TIME IT WON’T SUCK AS MUCH’

A GOOD LOOK AT SUPERMAN’S NEW DUDS

CONGRATS: ‘FEAR OF A BLACK REPUBLICAN’ MAKES ITS FESTIVAL DEBUT, SEPT 3RD IN KANSAS CITY

MORE SUPERB ‘HATFIELD AND MCCOYS’ CASTING CHOICES

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