At this point, if Dan Aykroyd has anything to say about Ghostbusters III, I tend to take it with a grain of salt.  Last week, Aykroyd said that the movie had replaced Bad Teacher scribes, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, with “a new writing staff.” Here’s the grain of truth: Ghostbusters III does have a new writer, but not a staff.  According to Variety, Sony has brought in Men in Black 3 screenwriter Etan Cohen to rewrite the script.  Cohen received sole writing credit on MIB 3, which has grossed more than $600 million worldwide, even though his script wasn’t completely finished when filming began, and it was passed off to other writers (namely Jeff Nathanson and then David Koepp) during production.

With a project the size of Ghostbusters III, I don’t expect Cohen to be the last writer who gets his hands on the script.  In addition to this new gig, he’s also attached to make his directing debut on Boy Scouts vs. Zombies.  Hit the jump for more on Ghostbusters III

Dan Aykroyd continues to be the most vocal supporter of the struggling Ghostbusters 3 project.  Last summer, Aykroyd rekindled our hopes that the film would shoot in the spring of 2012 with or without Bill Murray’s involvement (which clearly never happened).  Then, Aykroyd floated the possibility of recasting Peter Venkman and admitted to needing more time to work on the screenplay by Bad Teacher scribes, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky. He more recently confirmed that Murray would have nothing to do with the project.  Now it seems as if the writing duo of Eisenberg and Stupnitsky are out as well, as Aykroyd recently commented that a new team was in place.  While I admire the man’s tenacity in bringing a suitable project to the screen, I’m beginning to wonder whether or not we should just leave well enough alone.  More from Aykroyd after the jump. 

I still can’t get over how much I liked Bad Teacher and how hard and consistently I laughed throughout.  It’s not one of my favorite movies of the year, but it was certainly the best surprise thus far.  That’s why I’m delighted to hear that screenwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg and director Jake Kasdan are re-teaming for an untitled comedy at Sony.  Here’s the logline according to Deadline: “After a Supercuts manager advises his best friend to break off his engagement, he unexpectedly falls in love with the jilted fiancee, testing both his new romance and his friendship.”  I imagine the worst part isn’t the risk of losing your girlfriend or your best friend.  It’s the realization of working at Supercuts.

There’s no word on a sequel to Bad Teacher even though the film grossed $215 million worldwide off a $30 million budget.  If a sequel doesn’t happen, I would be completely okay with that. In a related story, Eisneberg and Stupnitsky worked on the screenplay for Ghostbusters III and Deadline has a discouraging update on the long-in-development sequel.

The Emmy-nominated comic-writing duo of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, best known for their work on NBC’s popular television series The Office, are set to touch up Adam Sztykiel’s re-write of the (Due Date) script to Neil Strauss’ non-fiction best-selling book The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists. Dan Weiss had been tapped to write the screenplay to the adaptation, according to Variety with director Ari Sandel (Wild West Comedy Show) on board to direct the film, which is being financed by Spyglass Entertainment and produced by Chris Wietz’s (American Pie) company Depth of Field.

A start date has not been confirmed, but Sandel is still committed to the project according to The Wrap. Eisenberg and Stupnitsky have long been attached to the rumored Ghostbusters 3 for Columbia Pictures.  The pair also wrote Year One and the upcoming Cameron Diaz comedy Bad Teacher.

Ivan Reitman’s confirmed this past January that he was directing Ghostbusters III, so the news that Columbia wants a younger director to take on the project is pretty shocking. Vulture is now reporting that Columbia is looking to take the project in a somewhat different direction, one that doesn’t involve Reitman.

The third film is currently being written by The Office writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, and it’s been rumored since the start of development that the plan would be to involve a younger group of Ghostbusters as to reboot the popular franchise. However this plan doesn’t involve Reitman, who is now 63 years old. Columbia is hoping to get a younger director to fill the shoes, like they have with the new Spider-Man director Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer).

Hit the jump to see why Columbia’s decision to get rid of Reitman could potentially end with the cancellation of Ghostbusters III.

The very funny Jason Segel and John Michael Higgins are in negotiations to star alongside Cameron Diaz in the raunchy comedy Bad Teacher.  The film, “centers on a foulmouthed, gold-digging middle-school teacher who, after getting dumped by her boyfriend, competes with a colleague for the affections of the school’s model teacher.”

Surprisingly, Jason Segel will not play the model teacher despite the actor’s affability.  Instead, THR reports that he’ll play the school’s gym teacher, a role where he’ll most likely still be hilarious.  In a less surprising turn, Higgins will play the school’s principal, “Wally Snur.”  I would like to take this moment to note that Higgins is one of the funniest actors in Hollywood.  Even in terrible movies he manages to get at least one or two laughs.

Writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky (Year One) penned the script with Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) directing.  Filming is set to begin next month in Los Angeles.

Ghostbusters 3 has been rumored for a great many years, but the project looks like it is finally taking off.  Director Harold Ramis says it may start shooting next summer and hit screens in 2011.  He also revealed a few details about the plot of the film.  It’s unlikely that Dan Aykroyd’s Ghostbuster go to Hell script will ever see the light of day, as Ramis appears to be leaning toward a Ghostbusters: The New Class type of movie.  The full quote and a bunch of speculation is after the jump.

It looks like Cameron Diaz is going back to school and will be giving 13-year-old boys erections.  Variety reports that the actress will star in the raunchy comedy Bad Teacher, which “centers on a foulmouthed, gold-digging middle-school teacher who, after getting dumped by her boyfriend, competes with a colleague for the affections of the school’s model teacher.”  The script is by The Office (US) writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky with the talented Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) at the helm.

Bad Teacher is set to begin shooting in the spring.  Diaz has been keeping busy with roles in Shrek Forever After, James Mangold’s Knight & Day with Tom Cruise, and Michel Gondry’s The Green Hornet with Seth Rogen and Jay Chou.

Opening next weekend is director Harold Ramis’ “Year One”. The film stars Jack Black and Michael Cera as a couple of lazy hunter-gatherers that are banished from their primitive village and are forced to set off on an epic journey through the ancient world.

The screenplay is by Harold Ramis & Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg (“The Office”) from a story by Harold Ramis. The film is produced by Harold Ramis, Judd Apatow, and Clayton Townsend and it also stars David Cross and Hank Azaria.

So to help promote the film, we’ve been provided with 8 clips and you can watch them after the jump. Take a look:

It’s a little hard to believe that the “Ghostbusters” franchise has been dormant for so long (it’s not like the second film was a catastrophe of “Batman & Robin” proportions) but now “Ghostbusters” has risen from the dead with a videogame debuting this summer and now Dan Aykroyd telling the LA Times that the third film in the series could start filming as soon this winter.

While some elements are still in flux (such as the plot details), Aykroyd cements some elements:

- Ivan Reitman will NOT return to direct the third film as he’s far too busy with his producing commitments.  However, Dr. Egon Spengler, Harold Ramis, could possibly direct the new installment.

- Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver will all return but in a reduced capacity.  Aykroyd wisely notes, “I’d like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let’s revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let’s pass it on to a new generation.”  I couldn’t agree more.  While we all love how these actors portrayed their characters, no one wants to guys in their sixties strapping on proton packs.

Hit the jump to read who Aykroyd would like to see fill out the beige jumpsuits.