TVSquad

The upcoming A-Team movie has released its first cast photo (a larger version can be seen here), and I'll give credit where credit is due. Not only has Fox cast the movie perfectly, but they've gone out of their way to make the cast look like their 80's television equivalents. Okay, Rampage Jackson isn't wearing gold chains, but that's about it.

They even made Liam Neeson look like George Peppard. How cool is that? And of course that's the classic van in the background. Even if this movie ends up being a mindless action flick, then it's still following in the footsteps of its originator and will likely make $100 million that weekend.

I just wonder if anybody is actually going to be shot and killed in the movie. It never seemed to happen during the television show. More importantly, will any of the original cast members make a cameo?

It looks like we have a potential candidate for the B.A. Baracus role in the movie adaptation of the 80's television show The A-Team. UFC fighter Quinton Rampage Jackson mentioned on The Jimmy Kimmel Show that he was in the running for the role made famous by Mr. T.

Looking at the photo, it's easy to see why he's in the running. He's already got the pecks and the chain. If you check out the video after the link, he's even got the attitude. Just give him a mohawk and he'll be set.

The planned release for the feature film is June 12, 2009. It will be produced by 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios and is to be directed by John Singleton (Boyz In The Hood, Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious).

The question is: can the UFC fighter act? And if he can't act, then can he at least act like Mr. T.?

[Thanks, Ryan!]

No need to adjust your glasses at the title of this post. What we're talking about here is the inflation-adjusted price of the Bionic Man in the year 2008. This is according to CNNMoney.com, which looked at a number of pop culture icons and programs to see what the costs for various things would be. Using tools from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, they were able to put estimates not only the inflation adjusted costs but the actual cost in today's world.

Take Steve Austin, for instance. The six million dollars that it cost to make the former astronaut stronger and faster in 1974 would actually be an inflation-adjusted $26 million dollars today. Factor in the actual cost of the bionic parts, more than $100 million, and Steve would probably be stronger, not faster.