Steve Martin has pretty good taste (he's not, as rumored, dating Kristin Davis, but plenty of people were willing to believe it), though not always in movie roles:

Steve Martin will reunite with "Bringing Down the House" director Adam Shankman for a sequel to 2003's "Cheaper by the Dozen."

Shankman—who directed the Jennifer Lopez-Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy "The Wedding Planner" and the Mandy Moore drama "A Walk to Remember"—has become one of the hottest comedy directors in Hollywood. "Bringing Down the House" grossed $132.5 million at the U.S. box office and his latest project—the Vin Diesel comedy "The Pacifier"—took in $30.5 million last weekend when it opened at No. 1.

Shankman told Daily Variety deals are being worked out for Martin and other cast members from "Cheaper by the Dozen," including Bonnie Hunt and Piper Perabo, but he said it was questionable whether Hilary Duff would return for the sequel. The story for the new movie follows the family with 12 kids as they go on a vacation and run into trouble with another family from the neighborhood that has eight kids.

"Cheaper by the Dozen," directed by Shawn Levy, grossed $138 million.

That's the key sentence, I suppose. I didn't see Cheaper because I was afraid of what those fluffballs would do to a children's book I didn't want to see stripped of its high weirdness. Critics and friends I trust confirmed the fear; even that wouldn't ordinarily keep me away from a movie I was interested in, but I hate seeing Martin act like an idiot, and I don't mean The Jerk. Anyway, this sequel sounds deadly. I guess it'll fund the stuff it's great to see him do—plays, art-patronage, novellas, time for New Yorker pieces. But nincompoop matinees? He's got the clout to make good G films (Lord knows we need some) and spare us this nonsense. Just because he can make funny faces doesn't mean he should give up his right to be a stylish/comic Cary Grant type; Stanley Kubrick considered him for the Tom Cruise role in Eyes Wide Shut, which would've been mind-blowing. My Steve Martin is the Steve Martin of both Roxanne and The Spanish Prisoner, but not generic popcorn-pushers. He's better than that.

Steve Martin Ready for Another "Dozen" [UPI, via Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
People in the News: Steve Martin is head over heels for "Sex" kitty Kristin Davis [Seattle Post-Intelligencer]
Biography for Steve Martin [IMDb]
Interview with Steve Martin [Banjo Newsletter, via SteveMartin.com]

Categories: Martin, Movies