Movie News

Chihuahua Takes Down Lies for Box-Office Honors

• Oct 13, 2008 02:23 PM ET
• by Joyce Eng

Beverly Hills Chihuahua topped the box office for a second straight weekend, taking in $17.5 million, while Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe's Body of Lies bowed well below expectations.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Disney pooch comedy dropped only 40 percent for a to-date total of $52.2 million.

Horror flick Quarantine racked up a respectable $14.2 million to edge Lies for second. The DiCaprio-Crowe political drama underwhelmed and ...
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Lost's Rebecca Mader to Play Lead in New Clooney Film

• Oct 10, 2008 05:00 PM ET
• by Erin Fox

Rebecca Mader

Rebecca Mader, who plays the scheming redheaded Brit Charlotte on ABC's Lost, is in final negotiations for the lead female role in George Clooney and Grant Heslov-produced Men Who Stare at Goats.

If she snags the role, she'll be playing the wife to Ewan McGregor's Bob Wilton — a reporter who stumbles upon the story to end all stories when he meets a former secret U.S. military psychic soldier (Clooney) who was reactivated after 9/11 ... read more

Seth Rogen Will Try to Bring the Funny to Cancer

• Oct 10, 2008 02:12 PM ET
• by Erin Fox

Seth Rogen

Seth Rogan will produce and take a supporting role in the film I'm With Cancer, from Mandate Pictures.

Rogen, who is best known for his roles in the hit movies Pineapple Express, Superbad and Knocked Up, will also produce Cancer with his writing-producing partner Evan Goldberg and Ben Karlin from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Cancer is based on an autobiographical comedy script by screenwriter Will Reiser – who worked as a producer on Da Ali G Show – and his struggle to ... read more

Steve Carell Gets Smart New Deal

• Oct 7, 2008 12:27 PM ET
• by Erin Fox

Steve Carell

Steve Carell, who plays cringe-worthy boss Michael Scott on The Office, has inked a three-year first-look deal with Warner Bros.

The deal comes after Get Smart grossed $130 million domestically and $230 million worldwide for Warner Bros. Although the studio is ramping up a sequel for Carell, it will not be a part of the overall deal, reports Variety .

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Anne Hathaway Joins Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

• Oct 7, 2008 12:19 PM ET
• by Erin Fox

Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway is about to fall down the rabbit hole, and into the role of the benevolent White Queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.

Helena Bonham Carter, who has worked with her fiancé Burton on several movies including Sweeney Todd and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has also been cast as the "Off with their heads" shouting Red Queen, says The Hollywood Reporter.

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JC Chasez to Co-Pilot Kerosene Cowboys

• Oct 6, 2008 04:00 PM ET
• by Joyce Eng

JC Chasez

JC Chasez sang about "Space Cowboys," and now he's ready to be one — a Kerosene one.

The former 'N Sync-er has signed on to Mario Van Peebles' upcoming flick Kerosene Cowboys, The Hollywood Reporter reports.

Don't be fooled by name — the action-thriller revolves around the lives of elite Navy pilots, namely friends-turned-foes Shane West and Cam Gigandet. Chasez, who's guested on various shows, including Las Vegas and Ghost Whisperer, will play a pilot in the squad.

Rachael Leigh Cook has already been tapped in the requisite love interest role.

No release date has been set.

Are you ready for JC on the big screen? read more

Chris O'Donnell, Jack McBrayer Battle Cats & Dogs

• Oct 1, 2008 05:59 PM ET
• by movienews

Chris O'Donnell by Jeff Vespa/ WireImage.com

Chris O'Donnell and Jack McBrayer are set to share the big screen with some rowdy animals.The two have signed on to star in the live-action, CGI-blended film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, The Hollywood Reporter reports.Directed by Brad Peyton and produced by Andrew Lazar, the movie is a follow-up to 2001's Cats & Dogs (um, was anyone asking for a sequel?) and continues the plot of the felines and canines' battle for control of Earth.Script is by Ron Friedman and Steve Bencich, who've mastered the art of animated animals with Chicken Little, Open Season and Brother Bear.Live-action filming has already commenced in Vancouver, while voice casting is expected to follow shortly. — Joyce Eng read more

Hilary Swank to Be a Legal Eagle in New Film

• Oct 1, 2008 05:30 PM ET
• by movienews

Hilary Swank by Kevin Mazur/WireImage.com

She's fought in the ring, and now Hilary Swank will be fighting for justice in her latest flick.The two-time Oscar winner will star in the legal drama Betty Anne Waters for director Tony Goldwyn, Variety reports.Based on a true story, Swank will play the titular character, a single mother/high school dropout who works and waitresses her way through law school to free her incarcerated brother, Kenneth, whom she believes was framed for murder.The project has been gestating since 2001, when Waters' brother was released, and was originally planned as a starrer for Naomi Watts.Swank will executive produce the film, written by Pamela Gray. Production begins in January in Michigan. — Joyce EngRelated:• Hilary Swank Gets Fat for the Big Screen• Hilary Swank to Bring Hit Book to the Big Screen read more

Jack Black Takes on "Comedic Bourne Identity"

• Oct 1, 2008 04:54 PM ET
• by movienews

Jack Black by Jeff Vespa/ WireImage.com

The Bourne Identity is about to be re-bourne with Jack Black.According to The Hollywood Reporter, the funnyman is re-pairing with his Kung Fu Panda writers, Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger, to star in an action comedy inspired by Matt Damon's amnesiac alter ego for Universal.The untitled flick will find Black's character, an American, washing up on the shores of Cuba with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. After some thought, he mistakenly comes to the conclusion that he's a superspy. Cue ridiculous shenanigans."If he did turn out to be a superspy, this wouldn't be a 'comedic Bourne Identity,'" Berger said, "but just The Bourne Identity, and apparently Universal has already made that movie, several times."Black will produce the film with Ben Cooley, his Electric Dynamite partner. A release date has not been set.Are you looking forward to Black's comedic take on Jason Bourne? — Joyce Eng read more

Johnny Depp and Pirates to Set Sail Again

• Sep 25, 2008 05:00 PM ET
• by movienews

Johnny Depp courtesy Walt Disney Pictures

Johnny Depp has a new business partner: Mickey Mouse. The Sweeney Todd star revealed Wednesday that he has signed on for three flicks from Walt Disney Studios, including a fourth swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean adventure. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the announcement came at Disney's Wednesday preview of upcoming movies and projects at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Depp capped off the day by surprising the packed house with an appearance in full Jack Sparrow regalia. But the biggest surprise came in Depp's entrance music: The loudspeakers blared "The William Tell Overture," otherwise known as the theme song to The Lone Ranger. Depp will be playing Tonto, The Lone Ranger's sidekick in the studio's upcoming version of the hero's tale, also produced by Pirates' Jerry Bruckheimer.Depp will also play the role of the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, scheduled for a release in 2010. The flick will be shot in 3-D using performance capture technology that w... read more