Just in time for the presidential election, the hit romantic comedy Dave, from director Ivan Reitman and screenwriter Gary Ross, debuts on Blu-ray on September 25^th, for the first time since its 1993 theatrical release.  The film tells the story about what happens when the U.S. President goes into a coma and a mild-mannered office manager, named Dave Kovic (Kevin Kline), with an uncanny resemblance is hired to impersonate him and fool not only an entire country, but also an increasingly suspicious First Lady (Sigourney Weaver).

At a press day for the Blu-ray release, director Ivan Reitman and producer Lauren Shuler Donner talked about how Gary Ross came to write the film, how the script was developed, what made Kevin Kline the right actor to pull off the dual role, why Sigourney Weaver was the perfect First Lady, and how they think young audiences will react to the film today.  Reitman also talked about the huge interest in sequels these days, the status of another Ghostbusters film and the Twins sequel, Triplets, and how he thinks audiences will be knocked out by the story they’re telling in Hitchcock (due out November 23^rd and starring Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren), which he’s producing, and Shuler Donner talked about the importance of focusing on character when you’re making superhero movies, like she’s done with the X-Men films.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

With the critically acclaimed X-Men: First Class available on DVD and Blu-ray this Friday (dubbed “First Class Friday”), Collider was invited to the 20^th Century Fox lot for a media event celebrating that release and previewing some of the bonus features. Along with extended and deleted scenes, this ultimate collection has a Cerebro Mutant Tracker Portal that allows fans to access videos and information of their favorite mutants from the X-Men universe, along with 10 Marvel X-Men digital comics, an eight-part behind-the-scenes featurette, and an interactive feature that allows viewers to learn more about specific scenes.

Following the presentation, we got a few brief minutes to sit down with Lauren Shuler Donner, producer of the X-Men franchise. During the interview, we talked about the fact that all of the deleted scenes from the film can be found on the Blu-ray, what her favorite deleted scene is, how the success of the film has helped move along other films in the X-Men universe, and that she is currently prepping the next Wolverine film, but is also talking about a sequel for First Class and hoping that the Deadpool film will have a life, at some point. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering why anyone would want to take the very gothic and dark Disney cartoon series from the ‘90s to the silver screen. Yet, that is not what this project revolves around. Instead, screenwriters David Elliot and Paul Lovett (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) are the latest to take a crack at a live-action film that involves gargoyles coming to life (the film would be quite boring if they didn’t). The film is said to involve the statues watching over the cities where they are located, as architectural “guardian angels.” For more on the project, hit the jump.

The long-gestating film version of the comic-book Deadpool finally has a director in place. Deadline reports that visual effects guru Tim Miller has been tapped by 20^th Century Fox to direct X-Men Origins: Deadpool. Miller will make his directorial debut on the film, having previously done visual-effects work on films like X-Men, X2 and Daredevil.

Ryan Reynolds has long been set to play the lead in the film, having portrayed the “Merc with a Mouth” in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. However, producer Lauren Shuler Donner recently stated that the Deadpool film will be a reboot and won’t acknowledge the events that took place in Wolverine. Hit the jump for more on Deadpool.

At last night’s Saturn Awards, I was able to speak with director Richard Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner on the Red Carpet before the show.  During the extended interview they both talked about how they’re trying to bring The Goonies and Dave to Broadway.  And if you’re a fan of the X-Men movies, Shuler Donner talked about where they are with Deadpool and X-Men: First Class.

But the interesting thing I learned last night is Shuler Donner wants to produce Wonder Woman and she’s currently campaigning to get the job.  You can see what she said about that project and everything else after the jump.  I’ve time indexed the interview so you can watch the parts that interest you:

It’s been almost ten years since X-Men mutated superhero movies.  An interview today with Hero Complex has director Bryan Singer and producer Lauren Shuler Donner reflecting back on 2000 movie that saved and revitalized the superhero genre, but they also talk about Singer’s return to the franchise with X-Men: First Class.  Also, Hugh Jackman and Donner wanted Singer to direct Wolverine 2.  Oh, and Shuler Donner wouldn’t mind if Singer would direct X-Men 4 either.

Hit the jump for the scoop on Singer, Donner, and X-Madness

With Ryan Reynolds set to reprise his role in the upcoming spinoff-of-a-spinoff Deadpool, Fox has hired Zombieland writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick to give words to the “Merc with a Mouth.”  While some may wonder how the whole “mouth” thing is going to happen after the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, producer Lauren Shuler Donner has already said that this will be a reboot of the character.  She also says that this is going to be a “dark, snarky, very funny movie.”

There is currently no start date for Deadpool, but Variety notes that Reynolds should have a window in his schedule after Green Lantern finishes shooting this summer.  Fox is lucky that Reynolds will already be bulked up and can once again make the majority of male geeks in the audience feel bad about their physiques.  On a positive note, Reese and Wernick say they will stay true to the mythology of the character.  These writers feel like a perfect fit for the film and if a quality director gets on board, then Deadpool has a serious shot at being another great comic book franchise.

Following last night’s exciting news that Bryan Singer would be returning to the X-Men franchise to direct X-Men: First Class, Heat Vision reports that Jamie Moss (Street Kings) will be writing the screenplay for the film.  Based off the Marvel Comic miniseries by Jeff Parker, First Class follows the X-Men in their first years at Xavier’s Institute for Higher Learning.  According to HV, the story is still in the early stages but it will deal with the first meeting between Charlex Xavier and Magneto and involve the creation of the Institute.  Presumably, this would also mean the creation of the X-Men since Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel were the original five.  However, producer Lauren Shuler Donner has only mentioned the first three, which could mean that they’ll leave out Iceman and Angel in order to keep continuity with the movies.  Additionally, brand new characters will also be created for the film.

However, it should be noted that X-Men: First Class is not Bryan Singer’s next project.  The director is first going to make Jack the Giant Killer, which isn’t due out until 2011, so take your time Mr. Moss.

Just as I thought the day was winding down, director Bryan Singer had to let it drop that he will be returning to the X-Men franchise to direct X-Men Origins: First Class.  Flickchart tweeted that the saw Singer on the blue carpet at the L.A. Premiere for Avatar saying the following:

I’m prepping up to do a movie called Jack the Giant Killer [at] Warner Brothers, and I just yesterday signed a deal to do an X-Men First Class Origins picture, which is kind of cool.

Yes, Bryan.  Yes, it is kind of cool.  This past August, Variety mentioned in passing that Singer was flirting with the idea of directing First Class and then in October Singer said he’d been talking to Fox about directing a third X-Men.

Hit the jump to see Singer make legions of X-Men fans happy along with how producer Lauren Shuler Donner describes what they’re going for with X-Men Origins: First Class.

In 2000, “X-Men” was the first superhero movie to step into the American mainstream after the Superman and Batman franchises had committed suicide through atrocious movies.  Whatever you may think of the three “X-Men” movies and “Wolverine”, there’s no denying that it’s box office juggernaut (and a more convincing and powerful one than Vinnie Jones).  With that in mind, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, who has been with the series from the very beginning, recently provided updates on the continuing mutation of “Wolverine 2″, “X-Men: First Class”, “Deadpool”, and Magneto”.  Hit the jump to learn about projects that aren’t a fourth “X-Men” movie.