I didn't complain when John Kerry appeared on the $20 bill (stop and take a look; I'll wait), but 20th Century Fox (Owned by NewsCorp, NYSE:NWS) has taken the misuse of American money to a new low by altering 40,000 U.S. mint quarters with an advertisement for their latest Fantastic Four movie. The Franklin Mint altered the image on the back of California quarters to show the Silver Surfer character from the upcoming film, "Rise of the Silver Surfer," probably to tempt people like me to write stories like this, confident that there is no such thing as bad publicity.

According to a story on Superheroflix.com, the quarters will be distributed across the country in especially outfitted silver armored cars and dumped into general circulation. Those lucky enough to find such a quarter can then register for prizes including a chance to win a trip to the world premiere in London.

The U.S. Mint has already informed Fox that such use of American tender for advertising purposes is illegal. Duh. I strongly suspect this comes as no surprise, but that they believe any penalty will be more than offset by the press received.

If this works, look for 20th Century Fox ads on our twenty dollar bills, Tenneco (NYSE:TEN) ads on tens, ads for T-Mobile's Fav5 on fives, Dollar General (NYSE:DG) logos on dollars, and casino ads on Sacagawea dollar coins.

Last year I previewed the big-budget summer movies, giving you a look at ten interesting films that were on the docket for the summer of 2006. This year I'm back with an even longer list (bloated like these films' budgets) of 15 movies you may want to escape to -- or possibly run screaming from.

Of these fifteen movies, Spiderman 3 and ten others are sequels, which in itself indicates something about the state of the industry (And I didn't even include Rush Hour 3 in this list, because, honestly, who wants to see that?). Two of the remaining four movies, Transformers and The Simpsons, are based on animated television shows, leaving only two original ideas in the whole lot -- Knocked Up and Ratatouille. Please, don't shoot the messenger.

Anyway, here is the list, chronologically, of the movies that Hollywood's brain-trust believes you will shell out your cash to see in the air-conditioned darkness of your local movie-house, along with my opinion of how they'll fare. The first on the list, Spider-Man 3, is already out in Asia, but will not be released here until May. All release dates below are for the U.S.

5/04 - Spider-Man 3, Sony Corp's (NYSE: SNE) Sony Pictures
Being the first blockbuster of the summer almost guarantees a successful open, and the popularity of the franchise seals that guarantee. One problem, however, is that "success" measured by any normal means won't be enough, as this movie had an estimated budget of $258M.

5/11 - 28 Weeks Later, News Corp's (NYSE: NWS) 20th Century Fox
The highlight of the horror/zombie genre for the summer, this follows the surprise success of Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later, which reinvented the zombie film with faster zombies and smarter characters.

5/18 - Shrek the Third, Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Paramount Pictures
One of the only cartoon franchises that has held its own against Pixar (Ice Age being the other), the draw of this fairytale romp is that while kids love the story, there are enough winks at the adult audience to make parents happy to take them.

5/25 - Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS)
Money in the bank for Disney, and since it was shot simultaneous with the second Pirates installment, it wasn't even as expensive to make as this summer's other budget hog, Spider-Man 3.