Merrick here...


WWE has closed a deal with Fox to distribute future films & videos starring WWE's wrestlers and whatnot.

Beginning next year, WWE Films plans to develop, finance and produce at least one theatrical release and up to four direct-to-video titles annually, with Fox receiving a distribution fee should it release the pics in theaters, on homevid or digitally.

...says THIS ARTICLE in Variety.

Oddly...even though I can be a bit of a film snob...I've seen every one of the movies WWE has generated to date (stuff like THE MARINE, THE RUNDOWN, and THE CONDEMNED), and enjoyed each of them on some level.

I'm disheartened by the article's reference to softening the ratings of future projects in an effort to appeal to a broader audience. I understand the move from a business perspective (after all, Fox's LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD cleaned up despite its wimpy PG-13 rating), 'specially since many of the WWE films haven't performed spectacularly, but I enjoyed their over the top & extreme natures.

There's too much mamby-pamby soft shoeing in action movies these days; the testosterone has been drained and the edge has been dulled in much of our slam-bang.

As with RAMBO, I really appreciated that the WWE guys didn't wimp around with thier action, violence, and mayhem. Hopefully they can find a not-too-diluted formula here. THE MARINE, for example, was pretty rough and tumble with its PG-13 rating...so maybe there's hope.