Kate Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush Highlighting Fantasy Pic Laundry Warrior

One is a starlet known for being the former girlfriend of Orlando Bloom while the other has acted alongside the actor in "Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy, and now the two are brought together in one big screen project.

Yes, Kate Bosworth and Geoffrey Rush have both signed on to head the cast of "Laundry Warrior", a fantasy actioner produced by "Lord of the Rings" producer Barrie Osborne, which also has Korean star Jang Dong Gun in. Tony Cox reportedly has been picked up as well with Thomas Haden Church in advanced negotiations.

Bosworth will play a young woman hell-bent on revenge for abuses in her youth who is also a circus knife thrower while Rush is a town drunk who turns out to be a fighter in retirement. Jang, in the meantime, portrays a fugitive Asian warrior hiding out in the American badlands, where Bosworth and Rush's characters reside.

The English-language heroic tale will mark the feature directorial debut of Sngmoo Lee, who also penned the script. Filming is due to begin on November 12, 2007 in Auckland, New Zealand under a $40 million budget. Accompanied Osborne on the producer's chair are his Sad Flutes partners Michael Peyser and Lee Joo-ick.

Production is said to employ extensive green screen techniques while post-production will involve the use of effects houses including Weta Digital in New Zealand and others in Korea, India and the States.

"We draw on two great milieux, the Samurai movie and the Western," Peyser stated. "We will deliver a stylized, partly anime feel, with the techniques of '300,' but a look that is brighter."

Gerard Butler Gives Up His Escape from New York Stint

From now on, New Line Cinema has to look for a new actor to play Snake Plissken in its "Escape from New York." That's simply because Gerard Butler is no longer joining the project to portray the role.

Sad to say, but it's happening for real, Variety has just brought in a report that the "300" star has taken decision to quit the action flick, a remake of John Carpenter's 1981 movie of the same name. Reason for his departure is described to be of creative differences, which are not further explained.

New Line, on the other hand, has already picked up Jonathan Mostow to work on a script rewrite with an option for him to also direct, filling in the seat left by "Underworld" helmer Len Wiseman. Mostow, a native of Woodbridge, Connecticut, last directed 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" and currently is signed for four future film projects namely "Swiss Family Robinson", "Real Steel", "The Surrogates", and "Sub-Mariner."

Spider-Man 4 Finally Gets New Scribe on Board

Seemingly ignoring the impending Writers Guild strike, which may start as early as tomorrow, November 1, 2007, Sony Pictures is delightfully reported to have found a new screenwriter for its "Spider-Man 4."

According to Entertainment Weekly, the appointed talent turns out to be James Vanderbilt, the creative mind behind the script of David Fincher's gritty thriller "Zodiac." The man, however, may possibly not be able to pen anything for now due to the expected strike, but hopes are high that he will start writing almost immediately by the time the strike ends, should it really happens.

More to say, the site went on to surprisingly report that Sony is scheduling the project for a 2009 release despite the coming strike. In the meantime, it is still unclear whether Sam Raimi will return to directing saddle though he has already expressed his intention to be involved in some capacity in it.

Vanderbilt, a 1999 graduate of USC School of Cinema-Television, previously had three of his writing efforts all released in the year of 2003 namely "Darkness Falls", "Basic", and "The Rundown." He most recently was reported to be hired for writing the screenplay of "Against All Enemies" which Robert Redford is set to direct.

New 1-18-08 Trailer and Title to Get Unveiled Nov. 16!

Seems November 16 this year won't only mark the launch date of Robert Zemeckis' anticipated motion capture flick "Beowulf" but more than that, it also will witness the revelation of a new trailer and title of - brace yourself, folks - secretive monster movie "1-18-08"!

Claim comes from ComingSoon.net that the J.J. Abrams-produced flick will have its new trailer launched in front of the animated epic's screenings in theaters that day, which is said to also unveil its real title for sure. Hope is being mounted that things regarding the film will become clearer following the release.

No word yet, however, whether the trailer will also be available online on the very same day of the launch or shortly after, so keep sticking to AceShowbiz for further news about it. "1-18-08", produced by the same studio making "Beowulf", Paramount Pictures, is directed by Matt Reeves from script penned by Drew Goddard, writer and producer of Abrams-created TV series "Alias" and "Lost."

Columbus Short Is Not Green Lantern

We’re getting to the point where it almost seems cooler to have rejected a role in the upcoming JLA movie than to have accepted one. Look at the amount of talent that has said, “no,” to the powers behind the movie: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Jessica Biel for Wonder Woman, Tyrese Gibson for Green Lantern, and, of course, the heavies Christian Bale and Brandon Routh as Batman and Superman respectively.

A new name has been added to the list – not as a cast member but as an actor who has turned down a part in the Justice League movie: Columbus Short (Stomp the Yard). Reportedly, Short was offered a shot at wearing the ring of the Green Lantern, but opted not to take part.

Short told MTV Movie Blog that he thinks JLA is going to be huge, but isn’t a movie he wants to be a part of due to the popcorn factor. As the actor isn’t the first actor to mention that (and probably won’t be the last), I can’t help but worry that the movie will suffer from a rushed script.

Think about it: Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2, X-Men United, these are all high-bar superhero movies. They also all manage to survive with a significantly low cheese factor. They’re just good stories that are about superheroes. It sounds like JLA is trying to be a good superhero movie, which almost always leads to cheesy plot elements.

Rhames To Hit Audience With Phantom Punch

The story of Sonny Liston is both uplifting and heartbreaking. The son of a sharecropper with twenty-four siblings spent his early years in jail before rising from the ashes and claiming the world heavyweight title in 1962. His ferocious title reign should have lasted the better part of a decade, enshrining him alongside Jack Dempsey and Jack Johnson, but instead his legacy was forever tarnished by an over-exaggerated injury and a phantom punch.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ving Rhames has signed on to portray Liston in a biopic entitled Phantom Punch. The green light finally came after a lengthy battle with Hollywood studios to get funding. On top of baring a striking resemblance to the fallen champion, Rhames has publically claimed numerous times to be fascinated by Liston’s fall from grace. It truly may be the role the former Con Air star was born to play.

Filming is yet to begin and no definitive time table has been announced; so, I’d expect the final product to be more than a year away. I’m already getting excited. I’m one of the few people who still love boxing, and Liston’s unnecessary and conspiracy-ridden demise has always fascinated me.

Alanis Morissette Is A Fan Of Dick

I’ve always had this thing for Alanis Morissette. It’s not that she’s necessarily all that pretty, or that I think her music is that great (though come on she’s crazy talented), she’s just always seemed like one of those really cool chicks; the type you’d want to marry and spend the rest of your life trying to save the whales with… even if you hate whales and love carving tie tacks out of whale bone and even though you probably wouldn’t have to because she’s cool enough to simply let you be you. But you wouldn’t be you, you’d rather be her vision of you, so for her you’d give up the endangered species arts and crafts. As a bonus, if you ever screw up and dump her, she’ll write a song about how much you suck. Who wouldn’t want that? I would.

HR says she’s trying to launch some sort of film career, but since she’s Alanis she’s picked something worth doing instead of something that people will actually see. She’s joined the cast of Radio Free Aftermath, a semi-biographical movie about famed and fascinating science fiction author Philip K. Dick. The film incorporates the crazy visions of what’s going on in Dick’s head along with the reality of what’s happening around him, so Alanis will be in a sense playing two roles. She shows up as a glamorous singer named Sylvia in one of Dick’s visions of a record executive. Meanwhile in the real world Sylvia’s an ordinary secretary in remission from lymphoma.

Morissette’s not just in the movie, she claims to actually have read a book. Rare among musicians, but true. She says, “I am a big fan of Philip K. Dick's poetic and expansively imaginative books… I feel blessed to portray Sylvia, and to be part of this story being told in film.”

Jason Statham Still Crankin

A sequel to Jason Statham’s adrenaline junky movie Crank was being talked about earlier this year, and now it looks like it’ll happen. Variety says that Jason Statham will be back and kicking people in the head for the sequel. They’re calling it Crank 2: High Voltage instead of the much more logical title I suggested: Crank 2: Still Crankin.

The original film starred Statham as an assassin injected with a poison which would kill him if his heart-rate dropped. It was kind of like Speed, but on foot. In Still Crankin, Statham’s Chev Chelios character is stuck in an unbelievably similar situation. This time a Chinese mobster steals his heart and replaces it with a battery-powered heart which requires regular jolts of electricity to continue functioning. I don’t know if the movie will be any good, but I look forward to watching Jason Statham electrocute himself repeatedly. Payback’s a bitch Jason, you never should have made that awful piece of crap The Transporter.

George Clooney For GI Joe?

With JLA close to finally announcing a cast, the next movie likely to start beating you down with an endless supply of incorrect casting rumors is the Paramount movie adaptation of GI Joe. The latest bit of casting gossip on the film involves a name so big, it’s almost stupid to believe its true.

IESB claims that George Clooney has been offered the role of Duke in GI Joe. Originally word was that the production’s producers wanted Mark Wahlberg for the part. But, as a way of applying logic to this situation, they’re throwing out the idea that after a string of bad box office performers like Michael Clayton, Clooney walked away from Joe Carnahan’s White Jazz in order to latch onto a guaranteed Hollywood blockbuster and GI Joe could be it.

I don’t buy it. With all due respect to the great guys at IESB, their record on GI Joe casting rumors isn’t exactly spotless. They’re responsible for circulating that old Jason Statham for Action Man rumor which Statham recently blew to pieces by saying he had no connection of any kind to the project. And by the way, this is George Clooney we’re talking about here. I really doubt if the guy cares about how much money his movies are making. For the past few years he’s been pretty content to focus on doing work that he believes in rather than movies which will make tons of money. Clooney’s made it fairly clear that he has his wad of cash and now he’s making his way through Hollywood doing quality work. If he did want to do a blockbuster, he’d have his pick, and he’d be more likely to pick something that… oh I don’t know… isn’t based on a cartoon which was invented primarily as a platform for selling war toys to 8-year-old boys.

Lenny Kravitz Marks Feature-Starring Debut in Indie Flick Push

Taking foray into film industry, Lenny Kravitz will make his big screen acting debut in an independent film feature titled "Push", Variety has reported.

The rocker is being lined up alongside the likes of Mo'nique, Paula Patton, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe in the cast, all coming under the direction of "Shadowboxer" helmer Lee Daniels. Here he will play a male nurse who shows kindness to lead character Clareece "Precious" Jones, an overweight, illiterate African-American teen in Harlem.

Billed as Jones is Sidibe, who beat out 300 young girls to win the role in the casting calls held around the States. Meanwhile, Mo'nique will act as her mother and Patton a teacher at an alternative school who helps her find an alternative path in her life.

Project, scripted by Geoffrey Fletcher based on the bestselling novel by Sapphire aka Ramona Lofton, is a co-production of Lee Daniels Entertainment and Smokewood Entertainment Group, which is also financing the flick. Shooting is just getting under way in New York with Gary Magness, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Lisa Cortes, and Tom Heller all executive producing.

Daniel Craig Bound to Four More Bond Movies

The suave British super-spy will still go blond at least for four more installments of his adventures. MGM chairman and CEO Harry Sloan recently stated to The Hollywood Reporter that Daniel Craig has signed on to play 007 in four more James Bond films.

It is unclear, however, whether the number includes "Bond 22" which has already been in pre-production for a December start. Nevertheless, this will make Craig the third actor to reprise the character most after Roger Moore and Sean Connery, that's if he does sticks to the contract.

Craig was confirmed to be the sixth acting talent to portray James Bond on October 14, 2005 and subsequently made his first appearance as the agent in last year's "Casino Royale." His portrayal of a more rugged, muscular style Bond proved to be a hit among the audience, boosting the movie's total gross to over $594 million worldwide.

Alanis Morissette Takes Acting Turn in Radio Free Albemuth

Amidst her state of being busy preparing her new album, "Flavors of Entanglement", Alanis Morissette appears to have enough space to add an acting stint into her schedule. The Hollywood Reporter has just revealed that the Grammy Award-winning singer is about to star in "Radio Free Albemuth", a big screen adaptation of the Philip K. Dick semi-autobiographical novel.

Morissette is learned to play a woman named Sylvia who shows up in the vision of Nick, a record label executive played by Jonathan Scarfe, as a glamorous singer. In reality, she, however, turns out to be an ordinary woman in unexpected remission from lymphoma who, after appearing in Nick's visions, gets a job as his secretary.

"I am a big fan of Philip K. Dick's poetic and expansively imaginative books," so she said in expressing her delight upon securing a slot in the project. "I feel blessed to portray Sylvia, and to be part of this story being told in film."

The Canadian native is therefore joining other talents in the cast that include Shea Whigham, Katheryn Winnick, and Hanna Hall, recently spotted in Rob Zombie's "Halloween." Pic has already started production in and around Los Angeles with John Alan Simon helming from his own script.

George Clooney in Line for G.I. Joe's Duke?

Initial possible candidate to play Duke in "G.I. Joe", or "Untitled Stephen Sommers Project" as Paramount Pictures refers to, has popped up to the surface. The actor in question surprisingly turns out to be Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney, according to IESB.net.

The site appears to have heard whispers from industry sources saying that the A-list actor has been offered the part and is quite sure that the tidbit is legit though it does advise its readers to take it with a grain of salt.

Rumor has been circulating that Clooney's departure from Joe Carnahan's "White Jazz" was not solely because of scheduling conflicts, but also due to his intention of looking for a blockbuster title he could star in. It is thereby possible that "G.I. Joe" could be the one fitting the bill.

As for the character Clooney is speculated to be up for, Duke is the code name of First Sergeant Conrad S. Hauser and one of the key characters in the original military-themed toys line. He is described to be fluent in English, French, and German, as well as several Southeast Asian dialects while once served as an instructor in four different Special Forces schools.

Peter Jackson-Directed Lovely Bones Set Pics Put Online

Peter Jackson's new drama flick "The Lovely Bones" has already started its principal photography, and first pictures from the movie's set in Willistown Township, Pennsylvania now are delightfully available online to grab, thanks to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In one image, as seen on the above left, Jackson was captured to seriously discuss a scene with the flick's cast member Rose McIver, who was holding onto a Golden Retriever called Brava. Other images show the crews' preparation in shooting the project with local residents going out of their houses to witness the filming.

Pic, based on the Alice Sebold' best-selling novel, recently created headline as actor Ryan Gosling was suddenly replaced by Mark Wahlberg for the role of Jack Salmon. Speculations then rose guessing Gosling was fired from the film due to his demanding nature, but the 26-year-old quickly denied it, stating he was just too young for the part, the father of a murdered teenage girl.

"The age of the character versus my real age was always a concern of mine. Peter and I tried to make it work and ultimately it just didn't," he told Parade magazine. "I think the film is much better off with Mark Wahlberg in that role. Peter Jackson is an incredible filmmaker and I'm here to tell you that he has things up his sleeve that are going to blow peoples' minds. I'm going to be the first person in line to buy tickets."

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X Files Sequel Locks Its Filming Start Date

At last a fixed date to get the cameras rolled on "The X Files" follow-up has been picked up. Completing David Duchovny's previous statement which said shooting would start in December, ComingSoon.net has reported that the whole process will take off on December 10 this year for sure.

Filming is going to take place in Vancouver, Canada under the direction of Chris Carter, the creator of the original TV series, which pic is adapted from. Duchovny is set to reprise his role as Special Agent Fox Mulder with Gillian Anderson being expected to again play Special Agent Dana Scully as well.

20th Century Fox as the studio producing this second installment of the hit franchise is said to refer to the sequel as "Done One." No word yet about the plot details and other cast members, but it has been confirmed that pic will be developed from the script written by Carter and Frank Spotnitz.

First Official Movie Stills from Angelina Jolie's Wanted

We've already got several on-set videos and pictures from the star-studded "Wanted (2008)", but it's undeniably great to have those from the source itself, like we are being presented with now.
That's right, Universal has delightfully sent Empireonline.com the first batch of the production stills from the fantasy action thriller, based on Mark Millar's graphic novel series. Five in total, they allow us to get our first look at the principal cast members: Angelina Jolie as Fox, James McAvoy as Wesley, Morgan Freeman as Sloan, and David O'Hara as the villainous Mr. X.

Directed by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov for a scheduled March 28, 2008 release, "Wanted (2008)" also features Terence Stamp and rapper Common in the cast with Marc Platt, Jason Netter, Jim Lemley, and Iain Smith producing. Principal photography began last April using locations in Chicago before moving to the Czech Republic in May then back to Chicago again by August.

Ruffalo And Hawke Know Real Men Cry

The story of buddies turned criminals, leading one of the friends to have to decide between his real life and his friend, has been done before. But apparently Real Men Cry is taking a unique approach to what could be a clichéd story: by basing the story on the true story of actor-turned-director Brian Goodman, who will be directing the movie based on his own life for Yari Film Group.

The movie will star Mark Ruffalo and Ethan Hawke as characters Brian and Paulie and are based on Goodman’s experiences with a friend who, in the real world, is serving a life sentence for armed robbery. The story follows the two men as they face life in South Boston surviving through petty robbery. According to The Hollywood Reporter the two join a gang of criminals, which conflicts with Brian’s relationship with his wife (Amanda Peet) and child.

YFG CEO Bob Yari in particular sounds enthusiastic about the project, despite Goodman’s status as a first time director, stating that, “Everyone who's read the script for Real Men Cry has been blown away by its authenticity and drama.”

Paris Hilton Gets Hot On Valentine's Day

Paris Hilton’s last picture was the god-awful National Lampoon’s Pledge This! The movie was so bad it came out straight to DVD and was still given a better release than it deserved. Admittedly, Hilton was only a small part of why the flick was so bad, but she was a part nonetheless.

Considering the treatment of that film, I find it absurd that the hotel heiress’s next picture is getting a wider release. Not just a wide release, but a Valentine’s Day release. Regent Releasing has announced a February 14th, 2008 release for The Hottie and the Nottie which features Hilton in a story that sounds like a spin-off of The Taming of the Shrew, as explained by The Hollywood Reporter:

The heiress and former inmate plays Cristabel Abbott, who's been eyed since the first grade by an obsessed Nate Cooper (Joel David Moore). To finally win her affections, Nate is forced to first find a boyfriend for her less-than-beautiful friend June Phigg (Christine Lakin).

Hearing about this, I can only wonder: when will Paris Hilton’s 15-minutes of fame be up? She’s already proven she’s a horrible actress and has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. Now she’s going to appear in a film as an object of desire. I’m going to go ahead and guess that Nate there is going to discover she’s a shallow, horrible person, and that the less beautiful friend is the truly beautiful person. Sadly, a lesson Hilton herself has yet to learn.

Del Toro Dreams Of Wizards And Monsters

It’s taken quite a bit of effort for Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy sequel to get off the ground. The project has survived everything from low box-office numbers (not counting DVD sales) to studios dying, but somehow the sequel has made it into production and is currently filming in Budapest. In fact, del Toro’s dedication to Hellboy has been so fanatical, you’d almost think the director doesn’t have any other projects in mind, but you’d be wrong. In fact, it seems everyone reporting anything about Hellboy II: The Golden Army is also talking with Guillermo about other things he’d like to work on.

The biggest news is that del Toro says he might consider finishing off the Harry Potter franchise if asked, telling the MTV Movie Blog, ”I’m up to be the one who kills twenty guys.” The final book in the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is known for being quite the bloodbath and del Toro seems to think he’s the right guy for the job. An interesting idea considering he’s passed on previous pictures (Prizoner of Azkaban in particular), reportedly in order to keep himself freed up for his Hellboy films.

But franchises aren’t the only thing the director has his eye on. Del Toro tells JoBlo he’d love to do a faithful, ”Miltonian tragedy” version of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Apparently Guillermo got to read a screenplay draft by Frank Darabont that was perfect. Darabont and del Toro on one project? We can only dream.

Ellen DeGeneres Deals With NBC For Guest Spot

They’re the hottest thing on TV, but most people don’t even know their names. They’re a 26-person team, but are probably looked at by more men every week than the Boston Red Sox. They are the models of Deal or No Deal, the briefcase toting beauties who descend a giant staircase to give people a chance to win a million dollars. But for the first time, a celebrity will be joining their ranks, and it’s the last person you would expect to wear a sequenced cocktail dress: Ellen DeGeneres.

According to TV Guide, the daytime talk host (and recently YouTube star after her tearful appearance on her show) will be shooting an appearance as one of the Deal ladies on November 9th, and the episode will air in January 2008. Ellen will also be filming the behind-the-scenes preview for her own show, Ellen.

So, as they ask on the Oscars (which Ellen hosted once without having to wear a gown): Ellen, what are you wearing? NBC already knows that whether or not DeGeneres plays the wardrobe game with Deal Or No Deal is part of the tune-in factor. Libby Hansen, NBC's vice president of alternative series and specials, said, “Ellen knows our show and knows the kind of sparkly, sequined dresses our spokesmodels wear. Ellen won't do anything she’s not comfortable with." But she also added, "Who doesn’t want to see Ellen in a dress?"