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'Bad Lieutenant' producers option 'Gun'

The producers of Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans have optioned the film rights to Jonathan Lethem's Gun, With Occasional Music.

Gabe and Alan Polsky are looking to make a film based on Lethem's cult sci-fi noir novel, reports Variety.

Gun is written in the style of pulp writers like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. The story centres on a private detective who is hired by a man who claims that he has been framed for murder.

The book features bizarre concepts such as erotic nerve swapping and a menacing kangaroo with mob ties.

Several of Lethem's books have been optioned by Hollywood producers, including The Fortress of Solitude and Motherless Brooklyn.

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'Terminator' rights to go up for auction

The rights to the Terminator franchise will go on the auction block on February 1 as part of Halcyon Holding Group's bankruptcy proceedings, reports Variety.

The sci-fi series and all of its properties - including DVDs, TV shows, merchandise and future films - are worth more than $375m (£225m), according to reports.

"Over the past few weeks, Halcyon and its professionals have engaged in in-depth discussions and negotiations with numerous serious potential buyers, including several major movie studios," Halcyon said.

Halcyon purchased the rights in 2007 for around $25m (£15m).

The short-lived Fox series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and recent feature Terminator Salvation, starring Christian Bale, were produced under the Halcyon banner.

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Vaughn: 'Kick-Ass will be very violent'

Director Matthew Vaughn has revealed what to expect from the film adaptation of Kick-Ass.

Based on Mark Millar and John Romita Jr's ongoing series, Kick-Ass tells the story of American comic book nerd Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who decides to fight crime by becoming a real-life superhero.

Vaughn told CraveOnline: "It's 11-year-old girls slicing and dicing people, and getting shot.

"I mean, I'm very bored of the way most of the big movies shoot action, all this shaky camera, handheld, close cutting, quick cutting. So I've tried to put a narrative story into every action sequence."

The Stardust director also promised that his film would not shy away from the comic's bloody action sequences.

He said: "It's got a lot of tongue-in-cheek humour, so it's not gratuitous. But it is violent. Very violent."

Kick-Ass, also starring Chloe Moretz and Nicolas Cage, will be released on April 16, 2010.

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Cast to gather for 'Thor' rehearsals

Kyle XY star Jaimie Alexander has revealed that Thor cast members are to start rehearsals in a matter of days.

The news indicates that the Kenneth Branagh-directed film is on track to begin shooting in early January.

Posting on Twitter, Alexander, who will play Sif, said: "Excited to start rehearsals next week!"

Thor's cast includes Chris Hemsworth in the title role, Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Darcy), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Idris Elba (Heimdall) and Stellan Skarsgård.

According to Production Weekly, Marvel has chosen to give the movie the shooting name of Manhattan.

Thor is due to be released on May 20, 2011.

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Portman: 'Black Swan role is a challenge'

Natalie Portman has claimed that her latest film role has proven to be a challenge.

The Oscar-nominated actress, who plays a ballerina in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, has admitted that she hasn't retained any of the dancing skills that she learned as a child.

The 28-year-old told Parade: "I'm in full ballet mode right now playing a ballerina in Black Swan. I danced until I was like 13, but I definitely remember being better than I am. I was like, 'Wow, I was pretty good as a kid'. Then I went into ballet class, and I was like, 'I'm not good at all. I really suck'. So it's been challenging."

Portman also reveals that she has had a difficult time reading the script to her other new movie Thor due to tight security measures.

She added: "I think everyone has gotten more secretive just because of the preponderance of technology that can scam just about anything. It's like you don't get a script anymore that doesn't have watermarks that would identify you if you ever tried to leak anything. The Thor script is hard to read because it's on some weird coloured paper and they have your name in huge letters across every page.

"And any time you get a phone call from Marvel, it doesn't come up as a normal number, it's like a five-digit code. I've never seen that before. I've had phone calls from people in the government and they don't have that. Marvel's like some like crazy underground world."

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SJP 'torn between 'SATC 2', motherhood'

Sarah Jessica Parker has apparently revealed that she is struggling to balance being a new mum with the hectic Sex And The City 2 filming schedule.

The actress admitted that she has "enormous regrets" about agreeing to be in the sequel just two months after twins Tabitha and Marion were born to a surrogate.

"It's been amazing but complicated because of my current work schedule, which I have enormous regrets about. One [twin] would prefer to be held 24 hours a day, and the other is already suffering from type-A [demanding personality] issues," Parker told Glamour.

"It is the eternal conflict of every working woman. I've done this to myself. I have a wonderful, wonderful nanny who allows me to be a working person. The great challenge for me is to be all things to all people - I want to be a great mother, and I want to feel good when I'm at work. But it is hard."

The 44-year-old, who also has a 7-year-old son James with her husband Matthew Broderick, added that she can't complain about her busy life. "We didn't plan on having two, but were doubly blessed, and it's been just wonderful," she said.

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Downey Jr 'praises director Guy Ritchie'

Robert Downey Jr has reportedly praised filmmaker Guy Ritchie.

The actor, who plays the fictional detective in Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes, has commended the director's confidence on set and revealed that he felt comfortable working with his shooting style, STV reports.

The 44-year-old Oscar-nominated actor said: "We're in the hands of a really smart bad-ass.

"The best word to describe Guy is confident. Confident in a way that you can't pretend to be, because you only see it in the moment when it's crunch time."

Sherlock Holmes arrives in US cinemas on December 25 and in the UK on December 26.

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Penelope Cruz: "Singing was terrifying"

Penelope Cruz has admitted that she was terrified to sing in her new movie musical Nine.

The Oscar-winning actress, who recently revealed that she had to use muscles she hadn't used since she was a teenager for the role, has admitted that she felt nervous singing.

The 35-year-old told Bang Showbiz: "Singing was terrifying because it was new and because it was my first time. It was like doing theatre, but I only did theatre as a student in Spain."

Cruz, who plays seductress Carla Albanese in the Rob Marshall film, also noted that her provocative look came courtesy of fine costume designers.

She added: "The woman who designed the costumes for every one of us, I think she really must be one of the most amazing artists."

Nine is to be released in the UK on December 18 and in the US on December 25.

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Gyllenhaal 'covers junk' for nude scenes

Jake Gyllenhaal has said that he was "pretty much naked" when filming for a new movie.

The actor, who stars in Love And Other Drugs alongside Anne Hathaway, told Jimmy Kimmel that he had enjoyed the scenes.

"[I'm] making a movie with Anne Hathaway, and we've been having a lot of love scenes in that movie," he explained. "And we've been baring almost all of us... So, that's not been that bad, either. We were pretty much naked but for a merkin."

When asked what a merkin was, he described it as a "cover for your junk", adding that it is what "prostitutes used to wear when they shaved their pubic hair in the 16th century... because they thought they had crabs".

However, he refused to say how Hathaway had protected her modesty.

"Out of respect to Anne, I'm going to have to leave that up to her when she comes on the show," he said. "It's a similar sort of thing, but it has other functions."

Gyllenhaal's latest film Brothers is out in the US now and in the UK on January 22.

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Cameron: 'Avatar expectations help me'

James Cameron has admitted that he feels under pressure from fans.

The director told MTV News that he knows audiences have "high expectations" for his latest film Avatar.

He explained: "I think there is obviously a lot of expectation whenever a filmmaker that people know - through films like Titanic or Aliens or Terminator or whatever - there's always an expectation.

"There's a lot of expectation around this film, and I guess I knew that would happen unless I made a romantic comedy or something."

However, Cameron insisted that he enjoys the pressure to make a good film.

"I think it makes you a better filmmaker when you know you've got a lot of fans to please and that their expectations are high," he said. "So you try pretty hard and you get the best people in the movie."

He also claimed that he isn't expecting Avatar to be as successful as Titanic.

"I don't think it's realistic to try to topple Titanic off its perch," he said. "Some pretty good movies have come out in the last few years, and Titanic just struck some sort of chord. Obviously, we're hoping that Avatar is successful at some level."

Avatar will be released in cinemas worldwide on December 17.

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Barrymore 'was tactile with De Niro'

Drew Barrymore has revealed that she connected to Robert De Niro.

Access Hollywood reports that Barrymore, who plays De Niro's daughter in upcoming film Everybody's Fine, worked hard to make their characters' relationship believable.

She joked that she had nicknamed him "Daddy D" and explained that they had spent a lot of time together.

"I was very tactile with him," she said. "We had meals together... I was always grabbing his hand or his arm, just being silly with him. I just thought that gave us a connection."

Barrymore added that she is proud that the film provokes such a strong reaction in the audience.

"I'm so glad to be part of something that's such an emotional journey," she said. "All my friends, they're crying at the end."

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Farmiga: 'Clooney is a very silly boy'

Vera Farmiga has praised George Clooney's sense of humour.

Farmiga, who stars alongside Clooney in Up In The Air, told Parade that he was great fun to work with.

"He makes you feel like you are both ten years old and you've got a great costume box that you can dip into and play games," she said. "His sense of humour is amazing. He's such a silly boy and he creates a very frivolous and frolicsome tone on set.

"I never witnessed one moment of him being jaded or taking anything for granted."

However, Farmiga, who gave birth to her son Flynn just before filming, added that kissing Clooney could be awkward.

"I'll tell you what it was like when we locked lips," she joked. "We'd do it and then I'd say, 'OK, George, now I've got to go breastfeed'. Then I'd come back and be trying to find sort of clever positions to hide the wet spots on my silk blouse."

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Worthington to play Captain America?

Actor Sam Worthington has sparked a rumour that he could be playing Captain America after wearing an Avengers T-shirt during an interview.

Worthington's clothing, spotted by fans during an Avatar question-and-answer session on MTV, has prompted speculation that he might be considered for the part of Steve Rogers in The First Avenger: Captain America.

Other suggestions as to which Marvel character the Australian actor could play include Hawkeye - a role to which Jeremy Renner has also been linked.

The First Avenger: Captain America, to which Joe Johnston is attached to direct, is due to be released on July 22, 2011.

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Firth 'enjoys playing mean characters'

Colin Firth has revealed that he enjoys playing horrible characters.

In an interview with the New York Times, Firth spoke about his new film A Single Man. In the movie, he plays George Falconer, a man who despairs about his life and plans to commit suicide.

"He's seeing things for the first time because he knows he's seeing them for the last time," Firth explained.

He added that it is "fun" to play "nasty, mean characters" but explained that George is more complex than that.

"We're talking about one day in the life of a man, in which he experiences despair, lust, hilarity, frivolousness, indignation and anger - just about every experience a human being can have," he explained.

"One of the things I've always been taught as a drama student was not to play the emotion. That doesn't mean to say you don't express it, you don't have it, you don't find it. The emotion is the obstacle. The person doesn't want to be unhappy, and the unhappiness is the obstacle that gets in the way."

However, Firth suggested that people can never communicate properly.

"I like what happens as a result of communication problems because I don't think people communicate truly in any way," he explained. "Communication is always imperfect.

"Language is an imperfect instrument - so is sex, so is shouting at each other - and although you get the occasional moments when you feel truly connected, as George says in the film, they're pretty hard to keep hold of."

A Single Man goes on limited release in the US on December 11, and will be in UK cinemas on February 12, 2010.

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Freeman 'always knew he'd play Mandela'

Morgan Freeman has said that he spent his life preparing to play Nelson Mandela.

Freeman, who stars as the leader in Clint Eastwood's Invictus, told Parade that he felt comfortable repeating Mandela's lines.

"This may sound stupid, but as an actor you embody the role, and whatever you say is from total conviction," he explained.

Freeman revealed that he first met Mandela in the 1990s, adding: "He told me he wanted me to play him in a movie someday. I said, 'Then I need access to you, and I need to be able to hold your hand'. And he said, 'We'll do that'. So anytime we were anywhere in proximity after that, we'd schmooze."

He concluded: "I've always been preparing for the time I stepped in front of the camera as him. The luckiest part of my entire existence is finding this script and sending it to Clint, and then he said, 'Yes'."

Invictus is released in the US on December 11 and in the UK on February 5, 2010.

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Eastwood: 'Damon does a terrific job'

Clint Eastwood has praised Matt Damon, who he directed in Invictus.

Speaking to Parade, Eastwood explained that Damon is a better actor than he was.

"It's fun working with young Matt," he said. "He's great and does a terrific job. I'd look at him often and think, 'I wonder if I was that good when I was his age'.

"Chances are I wasn't. But it was fun to be vicarious and think, 'Yes, that's a role I might have done'."

Eastwood added that he works on instinct but is always prepared to learn.

"I work from the gut," he said. "You can tell any story 20 different ways. The trick is to pick one and go with it.

"I don't think anybody begins that way - otherwise it feels like arrogance. The reason I still work at this stage of life is because I enjoy learning something new every day. When you accept that it's a constant learning process, it's fun."

Damon recently said that he loved working with Eastwood.

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Brad Pitt to produce vampire film 'Vlad'

Brad Pitt will produce vampire film Vlad for Twilight studio Summit Entertainment, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Actor Charlie Hunnam (Queer As Folk) has penned the script for the movie, which is an action-based take on a young Dracula, known throughout history as Vlad the Impaler.

Pitt and his Plan B Entertainment partner Dede Gardner will produce the project, which Rihanna music video helmer Anthony Mandler is in talks to direct.

Pitt's firm recently picked up the big screen rights to video game Dark Void.

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'Blind Side' overtakes 'New Moon' at US BO

Sandra Bullock's The Blind Side has overtaken New Moon at the US box office.

The sports drama, which sees Bullock play a conservative housewife who helps a homeless man become an NFL star, took in $20 million on its third weekend on release to knock vampire romance New Moon into second place.

Blind Side has already grossed $129 million at the US box office on a modest $29 million budget. It is Bullock's second big hit of the year following rom-com The Proposal.

Elsewhere, Tobey Maguire drama Brothers, action-thriller Armoured and comedy Everybody's Fine are new entries in the top ten, while George Clooney's Up In The Air hovers just outside at number 13 on a limited release.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (2) The Blind Side - $20,440,000
2. (1) The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $15,704,000
3. (-) Brothers - $9,700,000
4. (5) A Christmas Carol - $7,520,000
5. (4) Old Dogs - $6,901,000
6. (-) Armoured - $6,600,000
7. (3) 2012 - $6,600,000
8. (6) Ninja Assassin - $5,030,000
9. (7) Planet 51 - $4,300,000
10. (-) Everybody's Fine - $4,027,000

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Cruz: 'I nearly fainted at Oscars'

Penelope Cruz has revealed that she almost fainted after winning an Oscar for Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

The 35-year-old, who took home the 'Best Supporting Actress' gong for her role in the Woody Allen film, told The Times that she struggles to recall what happened on the night of her victory.

"I feel frustrated that I can't remember, because it was beautiful how your family and your people can feel so happy for you," she said. "I felt I was on the border of passing out from tension. That I can remember very well."

Cruz added that she could remember eating "300 canapes" and sobbing for half and hour at the ceremony.

"I remember thinking, 'What am I doing here? How did this happen?'" she said.

The Spanish actress can next be seen in musical Nine, which opens in UK cinemas nationwide on Boxing Day.

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Weaver 'wept after watching Avatar'

Sigourney Weaver has admitted that she cried after watching upcoming science fiction epic Avatar for the first time.

Weaver plays scientist Grace Augustine in the 3D film, which marks James Cameron's return to feature films 12 years after Titanic broke box office records.

"It will pick you up and shake you like a little rag doll," Weaver told The Guardian. "I'm not too much of an emotional creature, but I was weeping by the end. I remember reading the script and thinking, 'I love this but how can he ever do this?'. Nothing like this has been done before - floating mountains!"

Weaver suggested that the movie will break new technological ground and added: "I think for a certain generation it will change what they want to happen in the cinema.

"It is as big as sound. I hope it won't impact every movie, but for the big movies it raises the bar - it throws the bar away."

Avatar opens worldwide on December 17.

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