Quentin Tarantino, seen here at this weekend's Cesar Awards in Paris where he was honored, is said to be close to production for his new film, a spaghetti western.

Credit: AP Photo/Jacques Brinon

Now this is how you start a week.

There have been rumblings building for the last few weeks that Quentin Tarantino was close to announcing his new movie, and that he was working on getting it ready to go.  I was hesitant to mention anything because I was worried that the death of his longtime editor Sally Menke last year might have sidelined him.  Menke was one of his key collaborators, and the loss of someone who is so important to his process could easily keep him from making a new film for a while.  No one would blame him, either.

Instead, it looks like things are coming together for a fall start for his next film, and thanks to Franco Nero, we now know what the ilm is, if only in the broadest of broad strokes.

How does a Quentin Tarantino spaghetti western sound to you?

I love the sound of that, personally.  I'm a big fan of the genre, and some of the best obscure spaghetti westerns I've ever seen were screened as part of Quentin's various film festivals in Austin.  And many of those starred Franco Nero, which makes it very exciting to hear that he's on the list of guys that Tarantino is putting together.  Keith Carradine and Treat Williams were named as also being part of the cast by Nero, and both of those guys would be perfect additions to this type of picture.

But the news that has me most excited is that Christoph Waltz is onboard to star in the film.  If that's true, then this is right at the top of my list of movies I am anticipating.  Waltz is in Europe right now filming "God Of Carnage" for director Roman Polanski, which is a great piece of material, and if he's going to re-unite with Tarantino this year, that's a very exciting way to keep that momentum going.

Right now, it sounds like both Jeremy "Mr. Beaks" Smith and Devin Faraci have solid sources on the Tarantino film, and like they're sitting on more information than they can share, so I'd keep an eye on them in the weeks ahead to see if they start sharing more of that info.  Also, Quentin's going to be throwing another of his film festivals for the full month of March at the New Beverly, and when he's gearing up on a film, you can learn a lot about what's on his mind by what he shows at his fests.  If you went to the one he threw right before he left to shoot "Kill Bill," you got a crash course in all the movies that were bouncing around in his head on that one.  If you go, don't hassle him about his next film, because that's not what these festivals are for.  Instead, just soak it up, because it's a great way to get a taste of what he's been thinking about.

And speaking of "Kill Bill," one of the highlights of QT month at the New Bev is the week-long booking for "Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair," the re-edited one-movie version of the story with new footage, and even though I'm out of town for a chunk of this month, there is no way I'm missing a chance to see that version of the film theatrically.

You can definitely expect more on this one as it comes together.