THR broke the news of Noxon's involvement, and also revealed that...

The new version will keep the comedy-horror tone while modernizing the effects.

Keeping the tone sounds good, but it would be a shame to lose the campy horror of the original movie's long-fingered prosthetics.

Noxon wrote 22 episodes on Buffy episode including "Villains," where Willow goes bezerk and rips off Warren's skin — a very special episode indeed. She was also the producer on Buffy for the end seasons and worked on Mad Men, writing ""The Inheritance" and serving as a consulting producer. So perhaps there's hope for this film yet — especially since the entire project was almost dumped a few months ago because they didn't think they could get the script to work. That shows some kind of dedication to getting it right, which in itself gives us a tiny cause for optimism.

Kim, best known for playing Jin on Lost (as well as a slimy lawyer on Angel), will play a "mysterious staffer" at the Bureau of Adjustments, according to the Hollywood Reporter. (And if the movie is anything like the Dick story it's based on, this Bureau actually revises a fabricated reality around people.) And Mad Men's Slattery plays a high-ranking Bureau executive.

And there's a new plot synopsis: Damon plays a congressman who's on the rise in politics. Michael Kelly (Law Abiding Citizen) plays Damon's campaign manager and best friend. Damon falls in love with a ballet dancer (Blunt), but discovers a strange organization is keeping them apart. [THR]

Talking to Comic Book Resources, Kirkman said,

The thing that makes "The Walking Dead" unique and interesting is that it's a zombie movie that never ends – that's the log line or whatever. To do a zombie movie that's based on that? Kinda dumb. The whole idea behind the book is that it's a long-term exploration on the characters and their situation and how they're dealing with these problems over a long period of time, the different things that happen to the characters and how it affects and changes the characters. You can do that in a series of movies, but it's not ideal. It's not really common for people to go, "Oh, I'll buy this thing and commit to making 10 movies based on it!" So, the TV show makes way more sense to me for all of those reasons.

The creator, a partner at Image Comics since last year, also reassured fans of the comic that this won't replace the original series:

[The TV show will] be 110% faithful in tone, but I don't know that every single character will be exactly the same and I don't know if every single character will actually make it into the show, just because there are about 45 characters in the comic so far. But like I said, it's very early on in the process... If it goes past the pilot, I'll be writing episodes and looking over the storylines for the series and I'll be pretty hands on. I will be as hands on as working in comics will allow me to be. If it gets to a point where the work in comics is slowing up, I'll step back and leave [the series] in the very capable hands of whoever's working on the show... My main commitment is to the comics. I want to be the first guy in history that's gotten a movie or TV deal and continued to put out his comic series uninterrupted. As a fan, I hate it when it's like, "Oh, that's awesome, there's gonna be a TV show… and now the comic is gone. What the F!" I've already talked to Charlie Adlard [the artist of "The Walking Dead"] about it and we definitely want to keep the series without interruptions. So, that comes first.

The Walking Dead pilot, written and directed by The Shawshank Redemption and The Mist's Frank Darabont, is currently in pre-production. The Walking Dead comic series is available now.

Kirkman Talks "Walking Dead" TV [Comic Book Resources]

Jon Hamm plays a scruffy faced scientist in the new remake of the 1950s classic. This new character's tie is loose, his hair is all disheveled and he spouts scientific factoids that make my heart go all a twitter. He's the exact opposite of his infamous Don Draper character from Mad Men. While we love watching Hamm get all mad scientist, we couldn't help but wonder what steely eyed, 60s ad sales man's man Don Draper would do in this situation.

How would Don Draper convince Klaatu not blow up the Earth?

Jon Hamm: [Laughs] I don't know man.
Jennifer Westfeldt: He'd give him a cigarette and a scotch and be like let's just chat.
Hamm: Yeah he'd sit him down and talk to him a little bit.

Do you think the Gort can hold his liquor?

Hamm: I don't want to... Gort can do anything he wants to that's the idea there.

Was it a lot of fun playing a scientist did you have to learn a lot of new words and terms?

Hamm: It was fun to be in a big movie, that's the exciting thing. It's just fun being on big movies, they're a lot of fun and a lot of people.

How did you prepare for the role?

Hamm: I had to do it quick that's for sure. Sort of between getting the script and getting the part and getting the job and getting on set was all about 72 hours. It was fast.

Jennifer Westfeldt: Read it a couple times on the plane

Hamm: Yeah seat 2D was my preparation.

Honestly I think a lot of lives would have been saved had Hamm come in as Draper. There is nothing that booze and smokes can't fix, besides maybe cancer. Also Jennifer Westfeldt is Hamm partner for many years and she's absolutely lovely, sigh.

You can see Hamm the man himself in The Day The Earth Stood Still this Friday in theaters.

Granted I still think that Keanu Reeves is an excellent casting choice for an emotionless alien Klaatu sent to our world to warn humans of our wrong-doings, but we gotta be pushing the Hamm a little harder Fox, because I'll take seconds.

We already showed you the entire 5 minute long TDTESS trailer and instead of making you sit through the whole thing again we've pulled out the new bits of Gortness for your viewing pleasure.

Even though John Hamm practically narrated said trailer this is the first time we're getting and up close and personal look at the man himself. Will this remake give us Gort and Hamm drinking and smoking together? Also check out Kyle Chandler from the Early Edition and Friday Night Lights. Good for you Chandler, landing a spot in what will surely be a pretty big holiday hit.

And here is another look at the shiny face of Gort, Klaatu's personal robot body guard who's gonna blow this whole world to hell if Earthlings don't take better care of Keanu, or the planet.

To see even more great stills check out the exclusive collection of stills at Empire Magazine.

• Emily will keep getting closer to Jake on Jericho now that her city-slicker fiance Roger is out of the picture, judging from this new preview pic. Plus Emily bakes a cake to console Jake's mom over his dad's death. Thrilling. [Televisionista]
• Fox confirmed it won't screen Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem for critics, a surefire sign of toxic buzz in the making. [Cinemablend]
• The X-Men's Wolverine spin-off lost a little bit of its appeal when Gerard Butler [300] said he was definitely not co-starring. [MovieHole]
• Another movie nobody has high hopes for: video game adaptation Tekken, directed by Dwight Little (Anacondas: The Hunt For The Blood Orchid.) Near-future scifi, man against evil corporation, martial arts, you get the idea. [Slashfilm]
• Rhona Mitra (Boston Legal) stars in May's Doomsday as a leader of an elite military squad sent into a quarantined Scotland to find a cure for a deadly virus. [Actress Archives]
• The Cloverfield monster bites emo dudes' heads off and rubs its body against buildings, and then little creatures crawl away from its body and fuck things up. [AICN]