"Hello, ALF? It's your agent. We're back!"

For a TV show that lasted only 4 seasons, ALF has surprisingly managed to stay occasionally relevant during the 22 years since it went off the air. That’s probably because the show’s creator, Paul Fusco, has done everything that he can to keep people talking about it, because it’s all he ever did. Fusco’s resilience is actually why we’re talking about the tale of Gordon Shumway today, because he has signed a deal to finally bring Melmac’s most favorite immigrant to the big screen for an ALF movie.

So, why now when – aside from a TV movie, Simpsons joke, a talk show on TV Land, an appearance on The O’Reilly Factor, and maybe some mentions on Best Week Ever – nobody has really cared about life without ALF for two decades? Fusco thinks that his furry alien puppet is more important than ever, because just sign the check, Sony.

“ALF could be more outspoken now than ever, because the world is a whole different place than the ’80s. And I think the character still stands up and certainly has more to say now than ever. I think we would approach it in a fresh way. I don’t think we would duplicate the TV show, but I think we would maybe put it in a storyline where we would explain how ALF got here and put him with a new family and let the character speak for himself.” (Via Screen Rant)

I loved ALF when it was on NBC from 1986 to 1990. My friends and I thought it was awesome, but that’s because we were 7 and stupid. So I get where Fusco is coming from, because today’s kids are dumber than ever, so why not try to get a new generation hooked on an alien creature that eats cats?

At first, my reaction to this news was, “What the f*ck, why is Sony Pictures (which I love) trying to wipe its ass with my childhood again?” But as I always say, there’s no point in being outraged because everything that we’ve ever loved will be re-made and milked to death for the sake of a dollar. So I hope that Fusco and Jordan Kerner (The Smurfs, George of the Jungle, Inspector Gadget, my vomit) see this as an opportunity to lean more toward 21 Jump Street and less, well, anything that Kerner has previously done.

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In a recent interview with Comingsoon.net, George Lucas discussed his upcoming project, Red Tails*, “the film he’s producing about the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African-American pilot squad during World War II.”

“As a matter of fact, I’m working on it tomorrow," he told us, much to our surprise. "We’re getting towards a script, and probably start shooting before the end of the year, and it should come out next year, maybe.”

When told someone had already made that movie 13 years ago (and it was called… THE TUSKEEGEE AIRMEN), Lucas responded, “Yeah, but in this one we’re changing the dogfights to a pod race and all the roles will be played by Will Smith’s son." 

*Not to be confused with Black Tail, the first men’s entertainment publication to celebrate African-American women exclusively.

On the left you can see the first pictures of John Goodman (with his stunt double) from the set of the Wachowski Brothers’ upcoming Speedracer movie.

It’s hard to say whether he’s modelling himself after George Lucas (above right), or if Larry/Lana Wachowski has rubbed off on him (I’d like to rub one off on her.  Wait, what?).   Then again, maybe Lesbian Bullfrog Chic is just what’s hot right now.

I still can’t decide if George Lucas looks like he has a lot of cats, or if he looks like he eats cats.  Honestly, have you ever seen a human being who more closely resembled Alf?