• Uma Thurman will costar with Twilight's Robert Pattinson in Bel Ami, about a young journalist's rise from poverty in Paris. Since Pattinson and Thurman are now working together, we're going to start the rumor mill and just say they're dating.

• Brad Pitt's production company Plan B purchased the rights to the video game Dark Void as a possible vehicle for the star.

• New Moon is on pace to break midnight screening records and possibly top the record set last year by The Dark Knight. If this movie outgrosses The Dark Knight, there will be a serious geek fight come Monday.

• Idris Elba (The Wire) is joining the cast of Thor as Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard. About time this film got some edge to balance out all the stuffy British actors.

• Word has it that Jackass 3-D will hit theaters in 2010. You have been sufficiently warned.

• Judd Apatow confirmed that Pineapple Express 2 might happen, while Superbad 2 will definitely not. I think most folks would like to see the latter happen, actually.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.20.09 - Thurman and Pattison Team for Ami; New Moon Breaking Midnight Records" »

• Rumor has it Anne Hathaway is also being considered for the Black Cat role in Spider-Man 4. Can someone please cast this already? You're causing some serious geek panic attacks.

• Will Ferrell and Ewan McGregor topped Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's most overpaid actors. Ferrell makes sense, what with Land of the Lost. But McGregor? Who knew?

• New Moon director Chris Weitz plans to abandon Hollywood after his experience on The Golden Compass. Funny, we wanted to give up moviegoing after Golden Compass.

• Amy Adams will star in The Ten Best Days of My Life, based on the novel about a woman who must prove her place in heaven by recounting her best days. Or, as it was known when Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep starred in a movie with the exact same story in 1991, Defending Your Life.

• Harvey Weinstein is angling to get the Miramax name back. And what Harvey angles for, Harvey usually gets. 

• Hollywood sources think New Moon could debut with Iron Man numbers of $100 million over its opening weekend. I...am...sparkly vampire?

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.19.09 - Ferrell Tops Overpaid Actor List; Hathaway Is Latest Spider-Man Rumor" »

• Jennifer Hudson will play Winnie Mandela in Winnie, a drama about the wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela.

• Keanu Reeves is attached to star in the samurai epic 47 Ronin. It's safe to say the fight scenes will be described as "Matrix-y."

• Precious director Lee Daniels is in talks to direct Selma, a period piece about the 1965 civil rights march in Alabama.

• Universal is taking heat for the U.K.poster for Couples Retreat, which removes the movie's African-American couple from the original promotional image. To make peace, Universal should add them to every Vince Vaughn movie poster from here on out.

• Actor/Iron Man 2 writer Justin Theroux will script Space Invader. Surprisingly, it's a romantic comedy about astronauts, and not an adaptation of the Space Invaders video game. For once, Hollywood tossed a curveball.

• The Spider-Man 4 rumor web has been cast on Julia Stiles, as word has it she's in talks to appear in the comic book sequel. Internet geeks are so desperate for Black Cat to be cast, they'll believe anything.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.18.09 - Hudson to Play Winnie Mandela; Stiles Rumored For Spider-Man 4" »

• Anna Faris and Ryan Reynolds are teaming up for TMI, a romantic comedy from Universal Pictures. Faris is also in talks for the comedy Wedding Banned with Robin Williams. If it has a cutesy title, Faris will star in it apparently.

• Rachel McAdams confirmed that she will not be playing Black Cat in Spider-Man 4 despite recent rumors. Turns out this was yet another Internet rumor started by hopeful geeks.

• Chicago and Nine director Rob Marshall will helm Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment in the Disney franchise. Finally, the dancing pirate saga we've all been waiting for.

• Word is McG's remake of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is pretty much a washout. Get it? Because it's under a sea? Anyway, the project's canceled.

• Stuart Townsend, Ray Stevenson and Tadanobu Asano have been cast as Thor's Warriors Three. Will Stevenson make amends to fanboys for Punisher: War Zone? 

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.17.09 - Faris and Reynolds Offer TMI; McAdams Won't Be Black Cat" »

• Twilight: New Moon now has the highest amount of advance ticket sales in Fandango history. Every time you purchase a ticket, a computerized voice exclaims "OMG!"

• 2012 took $65 million at the box office this weekend and a $225 million worldwide haul. That's a lot of people who wanted to see the world end.

• The first trailer for Leaves of Grass, a pot comedy-thriller starring Edward Norton, has been released. Norton plays twin roles in a comedy that also stars Susan Sarandon and Richard Dreyfuss cursing in a ridiculous Southern accent. It's hard to tell if the movie looks great, or like the Coen brothers directing an episode of The Dukes of Hazzard.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.16.09 - 2012 Destroys Worldwide Box Office; Bacall Scores Governor's Award" »

• The director of National Treasure will helm a movie about the early days of the Greenpeace movement. Turns out the founders were looking to save the environment and find buried presidential treasure.

• Martin Scorsese will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at this year's Golden Globes ceremony. It's safe to say his acceptance speech will be high-energy and riddled with old movie references.

• Lionsgate is considering buying MGM for the right price. Good to see the lion will stay in the family. Gotta love that MGM lion.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.13.09 - Scorsese to Receive DeMille Award; Greenpeace Coming to the Big Screen" »

• Robert Zemeckis will follow-up A Christmas Carol with a 3D motion capture version of The Nutcracker. At least the lead character in that one is supposed to be a lifeless automaton.

• Harvey Keitel is joining the cast of Little Fockers, the unfortunately-titled third Meet the Parents film. Why did Keitel have come in and awesome up the joint all of a sudden?

• Word has that MGM could be put on the auction block soon. That lion isn't going to go quietly.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.12.09 - Zemeckis to Bring 3D Magic to Nutcracker; Keitel Joins Fockers" »

Last month, as I let you know in advance here, I participated in a panel at the 140 Characters Conference at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. The panel was called Hollywood Politics: The Making of a Twitter Cause Celeb and it was moderated by blogger Maegan Carberry. We talked about how, in Maegan's words, "Twitter has allowed real life celebrities and the newly created class of Twitter celebrities to participate in the political process." My co-panelists were Variety managing editor Ted Johnson, Causecast director of strategic partnerships James Sutandyo, and Participant Media's Wendy Cohen.

A video of the complete panel discussion follows as well as a recap of some of my main points after the jump.

Continue reading "Video Recap - AMC News at 140 Characters Conference" »

• The first official photos from Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice have been released. Cage's wizard still looks a homeless '80s rock star.

• Rachel McAdams is reportedly in talks to play Black Cat in Spider-Man 4. Word has it British actress Romola Garai is also in the running. Fanboys can argue over who should wear the tight leather costume.

• The first teaser trailer for Clash of the Titans has arrived. Too much CGI, not enough weird Ray Harryhausen stop-motion monsters.

• Images from Somewhere and The American, and several more of 2010's biggest films, have been released. What, nothing from the Tooth Fairy?

• The first trailer for Kick-Ass, the violent teen comic book movie, has been released. It looks like Superbad with superheroes, and not just because "McLovin" is in it.

• J.J. Abrams will not be adapting Stephen King's Dark Tower anytime soon. He's too busy with his other major geek franchises. 

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.11.09 - First Clash of the Titans Trailer; McAdams in Talks for Spider-Man 4" »

• Jennifer Aniston, Zach Galifianakis and Bradley Cooper have signed on to You Are Here, the first feature from Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner.

• Live Free or Die Hard director Len Wiseman will helm the apocalyptic drama Nocturne. Boy, if the world doesn't end in three years Hollywood is sure going to have egg on their face. 

• Word is the original A-Team cast will turn up in the remake. So far it's just the original "Howling Mad" Murdock, but hopefully Mr. T will be next. Fools these days are in desperate need of pitying.

• The director of I Am Legend is attached to direct Sgt. Rock, an adaptation of the famous military comic book hero. Don't get any ideas, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

• Word has it that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith's remake of the Korean film Old Boy has been canned due to rights issues.The winner here? Anyone who has ever see Old Boy.

• Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel has been moved up from Christmas Day to Dec. 23. A film of this caliber can't possibly be dumped on Christmas Day.

Continue reading "The Newsdesk 11.10.09 - Aniston and Cooper Are Here; World to End Again in Nocturne" »