News Archive

Marvel Avengers Assemble in first place at the UK Box Office

Marvel Avengers Assemble has seen off Battleship for the first place at the UK Box Office in its first week of release.

The A-Team gathered in the top spot, leaving Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt wading in second, with Salmon Fishing In The Yemen.

The Hunger Games maintained its position in third, while The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists climbed the rigging from sixth to fourth.

The Cabin In The Woods started its untimely demise to fifth, but beat Battleship which had sunk from first all the way to sixth.

Mirror Mirror continued with its spell in seventh, Titanic 3D sunk to eighth, while 21 Jump Street hopped to ninth.

Leaving Guy Pearce's The Lockout floating in space in tenth.

The Hulk smashing into his own film in 2015?

Well, what a difference a hugely successful superhero outing can make. After the brilliant reception Avengers Assemble received, the name on everybody's lips is The Hulk and Marvel have sat up and taken notice. Mark Ruffalo's incarnation of Bruce Banner and his big green alter ego has been so popular with fans it's no surprise that Marvel might want to give him his own movie again, and their president of consumer products has been saying just that.

While chatting with Collider, Ruffalo confirmed that he has signed the standard six movie deal with Marvel and that he had such a good time making The Avengers, he hopes they'll ask him back for more so it sounds as if he's game.

Marvel boss Kevin Feige previously said that there are no concrete plans to bring back The Hulk in his own movie, but the guy running their consumer products section Paul Gitter had a chat with Forbes magazine and talked about how well The Hulk had been received.

According to Gitter, the plan is to give The Hulk his own standalone TV series, and then aim for a movie in 2015. Might want to watch this space and wait for confirmation from Feige before pencilling the date in your diary though.

Evans and Rihanna gearing up for Fast And Furious 6?

Some might say that five Fast and Furious films are enough. But truth be told, there can never be enough petrol headed car chase action films starring the smooth headed Vin Diesel - right?

Well as luck would have it, things are moving apace for the sixth instalment in the tyre screeching franchise. Old favourites Vin, Dwayne Johnson, Jordana Brewster, Paul Walker and Michelle Rodriguez are all, fingers crossed, set to return, but there are some pretty exciting news stars potentially down to join, according to Twitchfilm, including Haywire's Gina Carano, The Raven's Luke Evans as a baddie and, so says the rumour mill, Battleship's very own Rihanna. Either way, it's certainly got our pulses racing!

Van Helsing reboot on Cruise control

Remember Van Helsing? You know that supernatural romp with Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale? Well fair enough if it's gone up in smoke like the vampires he was trying to stake, but incredibly the film is up for a reboot just eight years after the original, according to Deadline.

And as if that wasn't surprising enough, they've got one time vamp, Tom Cruise, who did the business back in '94 as Lestat de Lioncourt in Interview With The Vampire, to star and produce the movie.

Van Helsing will be penned by the super busy writing team of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who are currently working on the Star Trek and Transformers franchises as well as a new Mummy film, so expect good things!

Said Universal co-chairmen Adam Fogelson and Donna Langley: ""Alex and Roberto are extraordinarily talented writers and producers who know the value of a great story in building successful 'tentpole' films.

"They have been a major part of some of Hollywood's biggest movies and television shows in recent history, and we're eager to have them build on that success at Universal."

Demian Michir up for Machete Kills

Having given a heart-tugging and much-deserved Oscar-nominated performance in A Better Life, Demian Bichir is now lining up roles in the action-packed Machete Kills and indie thriller Trapped, according to Variety.

Bichir appeared in the movie about the struggles of an illegal immigrant last year, leading to him receiving a nod from the Academy, and it's clearly seen a wide range of doors swing open for him.

There's no news on who he'll be playing in the Machete sequel, in which he'll star alongside Danny Trejo, Michelle Rodriguez and Machete newcomer Mel Gibson, who is set to play a dangerous maniac.

In Trapped, Bichir will play an Israeli Operative, and that's about all the news there is on that role at the moment.

Bichir was in contention to play the villain in Star Trek 2, a role which J.J Abrams gave to Benedict Cumberbatch. However, Variety reports that scheduling didn't work out, with Demian committed to stage work in Mexico.

Bichir is set to film Machete Kills next month, and Trapped at the beginning of 2013 and he'll next be seen in Oliver Stone's drug drama Savages, which is released on 28th September.

Robert Pattinson on Mission: Blacklist

The great thing about Robert Pattinson is that he's clearly trying to avoid being type cast post-Twilight. The actor has just been announced as the star of Jean-Stephane Sauvaire's thriller Mission: Blacklist.

Sauvaire's project is written by Band Of Brother's writer-producer Erik Jendresen, who has adapted Eric Maddox's book Mission Black List#1. Maddox was the interrogator who led the hunt for Saddam Hussein, and will likely help consult on the movie.

The rights are going to be up for grabs at Cannes this year, and with Pattinson in town promoting Cosmopolis studios will be clambering over each other to get their hands on them.

Cosmopolis doesn't have a UK release date yet, but Robert can be seen in a little film called The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II, which will be released on November 16. Never heard of it.

Robert Pattinson in talks for Rover

If there's anything we've learnt from Guy Pearce films' including the recently released Lockout, it's that you just don't mess with the guy. That's something Robert Pattinson is about to learn the hard way as they're both down to star in David Michod's Rover, according to Variety.

Rover is a concept that Michod came up with with his Animal Kingdom star Joel Edgerton and sees a man (Pearce) hunting down a group of car thieves (which will include Pattinson) when they steal his motor in the Outback.

It's Robert Pattinson week as he was announced for Mission: Blacklist yesterday and he's starring in Cosmopolis, which will be opening at Cannes this year. He'll next be seen in the final instalment of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II.

Kellan Lutz swings in for Tarzan

There's one thing you can be certain of in life and that's that there's always a Tarzan remake lingering somewhere on the horizon. According to Deadline, this time Resident Evil's Constantin Films think that Twilight's Kellan Lutz is the man to play the vine swinging, long-haired hero.

The movie is going to be shot in motion capture, so Lutz will spend most of his time in a performance capture leopard print nappy next to Spencer Locke (who has appeared in two Resident Evil films as K-Mart) who is in talks to play Jane to Lutz's Tarzan.

This Tarzan will be directed by Reinhard Kloss, who has been working on the project for a while and wrote the script with Jessica Postigo and Yoni Brenner. It's reportedly full steam ahead for the project, which wants to get the jump on other Hollywood takes on Tarzan still in development.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt browsing Shop Of Horrors

He had to get used to the strange concept of stealing information from people's dreams in Inception, so the one about a human-guzzling botanical plant should be a bit of a no-brainer for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who's reportedly developing the project with an eye to starring in a remake of the 80's classic Little Shop Of Horrors, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

For those of you unfamiliar with the title, Little Shop Of Horrors follows Seymour (who should be played by Gordon-Levitt), an anxious florist who finds himself the owner of a carnivorous plant who he must keep feeding to maintain his shop's popularity, which leads to disastrous consequences.

This isn't the first time the story is being retold either, as the original was made in 1960 and then remade into a musical version in 1986 starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin.

The project is still awaiting a director, but Glee writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has been brought in to do the honours on a new script, so expect the new movie to keep the music.

The Avengers Smashes US Box Office records

While no one argued that The Avengers was going to be a Box Office success, no one could have foreseen them Hulk smashing the charts.

The superhero gathering bought in an unprecedented $207.4 million US starting weekend, which blows all other opening weekends out of the water, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II coming in second with $162.9 million, last summer.

Comedy Think Like A Man limped in in second next to the superhero team-up, while The Hunger Games hung on to its position in third.

Animation The Pirates! Band OF Misfits plundered in fourth, while Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling got lucky in fifth and The Five-Year Engagement delayed events more by moving to sixth.

Safe holed itself up in seventh, The Raven took eighth and Chimpanzee hung around in ninth. Still causing mayhem, The Three Stooges round up the top ten.

Jessica Chastain drops out of Iron Man 3

Apparently there was some major jumping the gun on the part of the press when it came to reporting Jessica Chastain's involvement in Iron Man 3 and the actress has taken to Facebook to explain she's not actually involved in the project.

Jessica was originally reported to be playing a scientist opposite Tony Stark in the movie, but would have needed her own super powers to bend time in order to fit IM3 in with her packed schedule. Not wanting to disappoint her fans, Chastain took to her Facebook page and set the record straight,

"Sorry to say that 'Iron Man 3' isn't going to work out. My schedule is jammed packed and I can't fit anything else in. The press announced my possible attachment far too soon. I know many of you wanted me to be involved, and I'm so sorry to disappoint you. Hopefully there'll be another Marvel film in my future. Shane Black and everyone on the IM3 team are really wonderful. I'm very excited to see the film when it comes out. xx"

Rebecca Hall getting scientific for Iron Man 3?

With Jessica Chastain out of the picture to play a scientist in Iron Man 3, the hunt is on to find a replacement and Variety report that writer/director Shane Black is now looking to cast Rebecca Hall in the role.

The role is a pivotal female scientist who helps to create the nanotechnology called Extremis that gives Tony Stark superhuman powers both inside and outside of the suit, unfortunately, however, it falls into the wrong hands.

Hall has starred in a string of good movies including Starter For Ten, The Town and more recently, chiller The Awakening.

The Avengers hold on to the top spot at the UK Box Office

Marvels Avengers Assemble defended their top spot at the UK Box Office for the second weekend running fending off another reunion in the form of the American Pie gang.

The Avengers fought to maintain the first position, while American Pie: Reunion partied in second, and Zac Efron's romantic drama wasn't so lucky as The Lucky One arrived in third.

Beauty And The Beast 3D waltzed into fourth, while Jason Statham vehicle Safe debuted in fifth.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen waded into sixth, and The Hunger Games lost its battle with the charts as it moved into seventh.

The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists began to walk the plank into eighth, Silent House debuted in a disappointing ninth and Mirror Mirror still wasn't the fairest of them all but clung on in tenth.

Cameron Diaz talking about The Counselor

From one A-List actress to another, Angelina Jolie has stopped circiling Ridley Scott's The Counselor, and Cameron Diaz is looking to book in an appointment.

Deadline.com has confirmed that the actress is in negotiations to star opposite Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz in the film, which is the first script from Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Cormac McCarthy and follows a lawyer (Fassbender) who decides to dabble in the drug trade with disastrous consequences.

Diaz is up for the supporting role of Malkina, while Bardem will play the villain.

The Counselor is due to start filming in the summer.

Don't Stop Sacha Baron Cohen Now

The man behind Bruno and The Dictator seems to be in something of a more serious streak.

Sacha Baron Cohen will play Freddie Mecury in a Stephen Frears' helmed film that has the backing of remaining Queen members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon.

The movie will follow the making of Queen, finishing with the band's 1985 Live Aid performance and will feature some classic Queen songs, but whether or not Cohen will sing is still to be confirmed.

While Variety reports that Frears isn't locked in to direct, Peter Morgan wrote the current draft of the script and he and Frears have worked together in the past, coincidentally on The Queen.

In early 2011, Brian May was optimistic that the film would be released by the Autumn of 2012, but with production still to start, that is looking unlikely.

Guillermo Del Toro to direct Pinocchio?

Unless someone's telling porkies, and we all know that your nose grows as soon as you do, Guillermo Del Toro is going to co-direct as well as produce his project Pinocchio, according to Variety.

Del Toro first announced his plans to work on the project back in 2008, looking to make the already-quite-dark (hello? Boys who grow donkey's ears?) fairy story even darker. Aptly named illustrator and scriptwriter Gus Grimly and co-director Adam Parrish King will be working with him, as well as Del Toro's frequent collaborator Matthew Robbins.

"Little by little I realised I should direct," Del Toro told Variety, before explaining the profound effect Pinocchio had on him, to the extent that he collects puppets along with original 1940s Pinocchio artwork.

Catherine Zeta-Jones seeing Red 2

Summit Entertainment have confirmed that Catherine Zeta-Jones will be joining original cast members Bruce Willis, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren on the set of Red 2.

The sequel to Red, which saw the aforementioned playing geriatric black ops agents, re-teams the retired gang as they use their old-school style to take on a team of new enemies in Europe.

The original film's director Robert Schwentke isn't returning and in his place Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) is now taking the helm. Joining the gang, alongside Zeta Jones is Byung-Hun Lee (G.I Joe: Retaliation).

Red 2 will kick off filming later this year and is scheduled for release in August 2013.

Tim Burton's latest lingers in The Avengers' shadow at the US Box Office

Dark Shadows failed to hit the top spot at the US box office this weekend, as The Avengers continued to reign supreme.

Marvels Avengers Assemble took a further $103 million while Dark Shadows, starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, took $28million.

Think Like A Man moved out of the way and into third place to make way for Tim Burton's vampire skit, while The Hunger Games dropped to fourth.

The Lucky One stayed contentedly in fifth place, and The Pirates! Band Of Misfits walked the plank from to sixth.

The Five Year Engagement delayed things further as it moved into seventh, while The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel made an appearance in the charts, moving rooms from sixteenth to eighth. Chimpanzee hung around in ninth, and Girl In Progress showed exactly how far she has to go to make the top of the charts arriving in tenth.

Julianne wants Moore Carrie

It's been word on the street for quite some time now, but according to Deadline, Julianne Moore is officially signed on to play the religious mother in Kimberly Peirce's take on 70s horror Carrie.

Julianne will play Margaret White, an over-bearing mother who spends all of her time going door-to-door preaching, and, when Carrie gets her first period, locks her in a cupboard and tells her to pray and beg forgiveness for her sins in Steven King's original novel

The other name on board for the project is Gabriella Wilde, who will play Sue Snell, a girl who taunts and teases Carrie, only to realise the consequences of her actions.

Peirce is looking to start shooting Carrie in June.

Alec Baldwin on for next Woody Allen project

Woody Allen and Alec Baldwin must have really hit it off on the set for To Rome With Love as, according to Deadline, Alec is now circling Woody's next project, according to Deadline.

Woody's next yet-to-be-titled outing, after To Rome, sees the director back on US soil for the first time in ages, and should feature San Francisco and New York. Sally Hawkins was confirmed for a part last month and both Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper are seriously considering roles.

Other details, as expected from Woody Allen films, are under close lock and key, but the director's latest foray To Rome With Love has a US release date for June but not a UK one.

In other casting news, Alec is also in talks to star in The Man That Rocked The Cradle that will see him reuniting with Russell Brand. New Line, the company behind their first onscreen meeting in Rock Of Ages, is looking to get the duo back together for the movie about a successful but over-worked businessman who thinks he's found the perfect solution when he hears about a super nanny, only to hire her and find out she's a manny.

You can catch Baldwin and Brand in Rock Of Ages when it's released on the 15th June.

The Avengers and American Pie: Reunion party at the top of the UK charts

Even the release of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp collaboration Dark Shadows couldn't put an end to Marvels Avengers Assemble's reign at the top of the UK box office charts.

The Avengers spent their third week in a row in the top position, with American Pie: Reunion continuing to party in the place below

Burton's Vampire romp Dark Shadows debuted in third, followed by Zac Efron's The Lucky One in fourth.

Beauty And The Beast 3D continued with the Tale As Old As Time in fifth, while Jason Statham stayed Safe in sixth and Salmon Fishing In The Yemen failed to catch a bite in seventh.

Piranhaa 3DD made less of a splash and more of a splosh, arriving in eighth, and Mel Gibson looked set to spend his holidays at the bottom of the charts as How I Spent My Summer Vacation checked in at nine.

Still alive in tenth, The Hunger Games rounds out the chart.

Ezra Miller to star opposite Mia Wasikowska in Madame Bovary

Hot off the job of playing an incredibly troubled teenager opposite Tilda Swinton in We Need To Talk About Kevin, Ezra Miller is now signed up to star in an adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, with Mia Wasikowska and Paul Giamatti also confirmed.

To be directed by Sophie Barthes (Cold Souls) from a script by Rosie Barreneche, the film follows doctor's wife, Emma Bovary, who has extra-marital affairs in order to advance her social status. Wasikowska, not unfamiliar with modern-day takes on classic novels after her stint opposite Michael Fassbender in Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre, will play Madame Bovary, while Miller will play one of her many lovers.

Ezra can be seen in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower with Emma Watson later this year while Wasikowska will appear in Lawless opposite Shia Labeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain.

Scott Z Burns writing Apes sequel

No, it's not the sequel to Disney documentary Chimpanzee, Scott Z Burns (Contagion) is writing the latest draft of sequel to last year's Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

The move to get Burns to write another draft is a welcome one, especially if you consider the thread in Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, which saw a virus, wipe out human kind, and the theme of Contagion, which has pretty much the same premise.

Andy Serkis is onboard for performance capture again in the movie which will pick off where the last one left with the apes on their way to becoming rulers of planet earth. Although how evolved they'll be is anyone's guess.

Rise writers Amanda Silver and Rick Jaffa are still involved in the project, while whether James Franco and Freida Pinto will also return is yet to be seen.

Aaron Sorkin takes on new Jobs

We've all heard the news that Ashton Kutcher is going to star in a Steve Jobs biopic, but that project has some serious competition. Sony are creating another Steve Jobs biopic, and THEIR one is based on Walter Issacson's Jobs biography, which Sony acquired the rights to not long after Apple CEO's death last Autumn, and it's going to be adapted by Social Network writer Aaron Sorkin.

Kutcher's effort is an independent film from Swing Vote director Joshua Michael Stern and writer Matt Whitely. However, it's clear that Jobs would have approved of Aaron Sorkin as a writer on his biopic as he once asked the scribe to pen a movie for Pixar, the animation powerhouse he helped found.

The Kutcher movie is already full steam ahead, and set photos have already leaked, while Sony's version is still looking to start casting, but will likely attract some huge names. Much like the two versions of Snow White that have been out this year, it's clear which of the films will be the underdog, but, with so many unsure of Kutcher's casting from the beginning, we can rest easy knowing that there's a second option.

Joss Whedon still not sure on Avengers 2

It's probably a question Joss Whedon has been asked left, right and centre. Is he going to return to direct Avengers 2 or not? And the answer is… He's still not sure.

"You know I'm very torn," the director told the LAT Hero Complex. "It's an enormous amount of work telling what is ultimately somebody else's story, even though I feel like I did get to put myself into it. But at the same time, I have a bunch of ideas, and they all seem really cool."

So we'll just have to wait to discover whether the writer director of Marvel's box-office smashing superhero roundup will return for a second outing which is likely to reap even more reward. Either way, let's hope so.

James Badge Dale signs for Iron Man 3

As if Sir Ben Kingsley as your arch-nemesis isn't problem enough, Iron Man has another baddie to fight in Iron Man 3, in the form of James Dale Badge.

You might want to look away now if you don't want any spoilers. James is down to play a villain named Eric Swain. In the comic books Swain is an army Colonel who was badly injured by a landmine while investigating some high-tech conspiracy, and has been rebuilt as a cyborg named Coldblood-7 and has had some run-ins with S.H.I.E.L.D in his time.

How director Shane Black and writer Drew Pearce will use the name Eric Swain in their take on Iron Man is anybody's guess, but there are rumours that he's going to be the person injected with nanobots who causes problems for the Iron-cladded superhero.

Dale is the latest addition to an already-full cast, with shooting due to commence in just a few weeks, including Robert Downey Jr, Paul Bettany, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sir Ben Kingsley, Guy Pearce, Andy Law and Rebecca Hall.

Dale was last seen in Steve McQueen's Shame opposite Michael Fassbender and The Grey alongside Liam Neeson.

New Blade Runner officially a sequel

While Ridley Scott is currently doing press for Prometheus, rumours have erupted about his other return to Sci-Fi, a Blade Runner remake. But, Ridley has quelled those rumours, telling his fans it's not so much a remake as it is a sequel.

The involvement of original Blade Runner writer Hampton Fancher is also excitingly confirmed, but don't think that means he's writing the sequel. The press release states tentatively that he's on board to 'develop the idea of the original screenplay' for the new film.

What's the new movie going to be about? Well, no one actually knows yet, but in an interview with The Daily Beast Scott bounced the idea of a central female character around.

"I started my first meetings on the Blade Runner sequel last week. We have a very good take on it. And we'll definitely be featuring a female protagonist."

We also know that the new movie will be set some years after the first film, but whether or not Harrison Ford will return is yet to be seen.

Rourke returns for Sin City 2

With all of the stop-starts that have been happening around the second Sin City movie it's any wonder that any of us believe it's actually going to happen. But, with Cannes in full-swing The Weinstein Company has chosen this moment to announce the movies US release date and the news that Jessica Alba and Mickey Rourke are back for another slice.

Alba seemed a sure thing, because she's working with Sin City: A Dame To Kill For's director Robert Rodriguez on Machete Kills and her character Nancy Callaghan is pretty central to the story. Rourke on the other hand, wasn't so much as he made a few public statements about the pains he went through in make-up for the original. So the news that he'll be returning as Marv should please fans and keep everyone guessing as to how they are going to get around his prosthetic woes.

The script is by Robert Rodriguez and The Departed's William Monahan, and the Sin City sequel will begin shooting this summer. So expect to hear more big names added to the cast soon.

The Avengers reign supreme at the US Box Office

Marvels Avengers Assemble held its stronghold at the top of the US Box Office over the weekend, beating competition from both The Dictator and Battleship.

The superhero get together raked in another $55million in the US over the weekend, ensuring they were top of the pack. Coming in in second, Peter Berg's Battleship failed to sink The Avenger's hold on the charts.

The Dictator won't be pleased, as he arrived in third with $17million. But will he be competition for The Avengers in weeks to come?

Still casting Dark Shadows on the charts, Tim Burton's latest moved to fourth place, while What To Expect When You're Expecting failed to deliver in fifth with $10million.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel continued moving up the charts and arrived in sixth this week, while The Hunger Games slipped down to seventh, and Think Like A Man moved to eighth.

Rounding out the charts, The Lucky One saw ninth this weekend and The Pirates! Band Of Misfits slid down the riggin' to tenth.

Sandra Bullock in for cop comedy

After the success of Bridesmaids, director Paul Feig and actress Melissa McCarthy are really in demand right now. The pair are re-teaming for an untitled cop comedy, and have roped Sandra Bullock in too.

The buddy script comes from the pen of Katie Dippold who's been getting her writing chops on US comedy Parks And Recreation. We follow an uptight FBI agent (considering Bullock's Miss Congeniality credentials, we're guessing this is her) and an unconventional Boston cop (McCarthy?) having to work together to solve a crime.

The project is due to start filming in the summer, as 20th Century Fox make the most of McCarthy's break from her TV programme Mike And Molly, and to make sure that there project is first out of the gate before any of the other Bridesmaid's cast's projects.

The Avengers are no match for The Dictator

The Dictator ended The Avengers reign at the top of the UK charts over the weekend.

Sacha Baron Cohen's comedy about General Aladeen came in in first place and saw the superhero gathering move down to second.

Tim Burton's Dark Shadows cast an eerie light over the third spot, while American Pie: Reunion regrouped in fourth.

Malaysian martial arts action thriller The Raid drop kicked itself into fifth, while rthe spell remained unbroken as Beauty and The Beast 3D stayed on the charts in six.

Nicholas Sparks' latest romantic drama helmed by Zac Efron, The Lucky One moved into seventh.

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen stopped for supplies in eighth, The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists missed out on pieces of eight as it arrived in ninth, and Safe wasn't so much, as it teetered on the end of the charts in tenth.

Cruise giddies up for a The Magnificent Seven remake

Add another title to the remakes list, this time Tom Cruise is reportedly on board to star in a remake of the classic The Magnificent Seven.

MGM are delving into the list of titles they own and have decided to give John Sturges' classic 1960s flick, The Magnificent Seven, a new lick of paint.

The Magnificent Seven in itself is a remake of the film Seven Samurai, but moved the story from Japan to America. There's no writer or director attached as of yet, so there's no news about whether the film will follow the 'original' plot to the letter, which sees a group of American gunmen hired to protect a Mexican village from a group of bandits.

Which character Cruise is interested in taking on is yet to be announced also, and seeing as he's got such a busy schedule when shooting will begin is anyone's guess.

Natalie Portman Got A Gun

Following up her thriller We Need To Talk About Kevin, there aren't many that would have picked Lynne Ramsay's next project to be a western, but it is. The director is working on Jane Got A Gun and, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Natalie Portman is set to star and produce.

While the development wheels are turning, the black list script written by Brian Duffield, Ramsay and Portman's involvement mean that a lot of developers and studios are chomping at the bit to be involved.

The story follows Jane, who's outlaw husband is nearly killed by the gang he runs with. When they arrive at their farm to finish the job Jane is ready for them, having received some gun-slinging training from an ex-lover.

Portman is working on Terrence Malick's next two flicks Lawless (which is expected to be renamed) and Knight Of Cups as well as returning for Thor 2.

Just call him Dwayne 'Lobo' Johnson

Hot off the success of Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, director Brad Peyton has been quick to take up an offer from Warner Bros. to make DC Comics psycho alien bounty hunter Lobo his next project.

The big news, if you can call it that, however, are the rumours that Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is going to be involved. While there's nothing firm, Bleeding Cool are reporting that Dwayne told someone that told someone else the news at a party and Dwayne himself tweeted, in response to a fan saying how much they'd like to see him in a DC Comics film, "Funny you should say that… The Rock is cooking something. Can you smell it?" Now if that's not a clue, we don't know what is! Consider that and Johnson's involvement with Peyton on The Journey 2 and this story looks more and more likely.

For those unfamiliar with DC Comics' work, Lobo is the last Czarnian, after he killed all the others. He's a 7ft, pale-skinned mascara wearing monster, created in 1983 to make fun of ultra-violent Marvel heavies like The Wolverine and The Punisher.

So, all we can really say is watch this space.

Gary Oldman in for RoboCop sequel

While the thought of a RoboCop remake probably wasn't the most welcome news to reach fans' ears, we're sure many will be much happier to see that Jose Padilha's version is going to star the legendary Gary Oldman.

The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Oldman will play a major role opposite Joel Kinnaman, who's cast as the new Alex Murphy, a cop who is killed but revived as a cyborg police officer. It's thought that Oldman will play the scientist that takes Murphy's battered body and turns him into the robotic super-cop we all know and love. The scientist doesn't appear in Paul Verhoeven's 1980s original, but it looks as though it's a thread Padilha and Vanderbilt are going to explore.

With the movie set to arrive next summer, Padilha and his team are planning on a shoot beginning in September in Toronto.

Need For Speed film laps director

For a stuntman-turned-director, it's no wonder that Act Of Valour co-director Scott Waugh may turn his hand to an adaptation of fast-paced video game Need For Speed.

According to Deadline, Dreamworks, who have bought the rights from EA, have offered Waugh the keys to their project based on the best-selling game and have the Real Steel writer John Gatins already putting pen to paper alongside his co-writer and brother George.

While little is known about the plot, the most recent version of the game involved actual characters that find themselves involved in a cross-country race - so that might have some impact.

The job is still in the offer stage, and Waugh is a busy man (he's about to direct Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick The Unknown Soldier), so who knows who might end up in the driver's seat.