Written by Nicole Pedersen
I now have proof that my brain is capable of holding only so much film-related information at one time. Despite the fact that the upcoming comedy "Ghost Town" stars Ricky Gervais (that's Ricky Gervais of "The Office," by the way) and was written and directed by David Koepp of "Spiderman" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" fame, I am ashamed to admit that this upcoming Dreamworks release flew beneath my usually keen movie-gossip radar until today. This is what comes of watching eight hours of Christie Brinkley's divorce trial, I guess.

If you find yourself as unfamiliar with "Ghost Town" as I was, allow me to fill you in: Ricky Gervais stars as a selfish, unpleasant New York dentist named Bernard Pincus whose momentary death during a colonoscopy (that's comedy gold, baby) results in his unwanted ability to see and talk to the dead. Needy, clingy ghosts begin pestering him to communicate with their lost loved ones – and first in line is Frank (Greg Kinnear). Frank wants Bernard to help his wife Gwen (Tea Leoni) by romancing her out of a bad engagement. Needless to say, highbrow hilarity ensues.

David Koepp is known for writing oodles of blockbusters, but "Ghost Town" will mark his first directing job since 2004's "Secret Window." That wasn't exactly a "War of the Worlds" sized hit, but I actually really liked "Window." Dreamworks co-head Steven Spielberg has said that if "Ghost Town" performs well, Koepp will be allowed to spread his wings and fly.

"I'm perfectly willing to give up David writing for me if he starts to consistently succeed as a director."

So - no more "Indy" sequels then? Go "Ghost Town"?

"Ghost Town" will knock 'em dead on September 19, 2008