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Coogan: 'Still doubts over Partridge film'

Steve Coogan has admitted that he is still unsure whether a movie featuring the return of his classic TV character Alan Partridge will go ahead.

Coogan, who starred as Partridge on spoof comedy The Day Today and mockumentary I'm Alan Partridge, revealed last year that a Partridge movie is in the pipeline.

"This is kind of make or break," the 44-year-old actor and comedian has now told the BBC.

Coogan, who appears in next week's high-budget fantasy film Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, added that the movie will not happen without writers Armando Iannucci and Peter Baynham.

"You have to get all the right elements. We're not going to do it unless we think we can do something really good."

Iannuci, who has co-written all of Partridge's TV credits, responded to the statement on Twitter.

"Thought I might add fuel to rumour fires by saying [I have spent the] last few days plotting a Partridge story," he wrote.

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Pattinson plays down 'Spider-Man' rumours

Robert Pattinson has played down speculation that he could take over the role of Spider-Man in Sony's upcoming reboot of the franchise.

The Twilight star was linked to the comic book saga after the studio announced that original star Tobey Maguire would not be returning for a fourth outing.

Speaking to the Daily Record, Pattinson said: "I don't think I'm going to be playing Spider-Man, even though I would quite like to do it."

Sony previously insisted that casting for the project had not started and that its first priority was finding a director to replace original helmer Sam Raimi.

Other stars who have been linked to the role include Zac Efron and Percy Jackson And The Lightning Thief star Logan Lerman.

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'Saw' franchise to end with 'Saw VII'?

The upcoming Saw VII could be the final instalment in the horror film franchise, according to screenwriter Patrick Melton.

Melton, who co-wrote the last three Saw movies plus Saw VI, revealed that the series will probably end with the seventh film.

"I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling it's going to end with Saw VII," he told Latino Review.

Melton confirmed that the original plan was to make at least eight Saw movies, but producers have decided to conclude the series earlier than anticipated due to the poor box office showing for last year's Saw VI.

Saw VII, the franchise's first 3D picture, is to bow in cinemas on October 22, 2010.

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Tim Robbins joins 'Green Lantern' cast

Tim Robbins has signed up to star in Warner Bros superhero project Green Lantern, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The Shawshank Redemption actor will portray Senator Hammond, the father of the film's villain Dr Hector Hammond (Peter Sarsgaard), a pathologist who obtains psychic powers after discovering a meteor.

Ryan Reynolds will play the titular comic book hero, while Gossip Girl's Blake Lively is love interest Carol Ferris.

Edge Of Darkness director Martin Cambell is directing Green Lantern, which is due to debut in cinemas in June 2011.

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Pacificor wins rights to 'Terminator' series

Hedge fund Pacificor has won the rights to the Terminator series following a heated bidding war.

The Santa Barbara-based firm, which lent the Halcyon Group money to buy the sci-fi property back in 2007, bid $29.5 million to secure the rights ahead of Sony Pictures and Lionsgate at a five-hour auction yesterday.

Sony and Lionsgate were initially bidding separately for the franchise, but decided to join up in an effort to out-muscle the Halcyon debt holder Pacificor. The studios dropped out as bidding reached the $29.5 million mark.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Halcyon will pocket $5 million for every future Terminator movie made, as well as retain revenue from Terminator: Rise Of The Machines and last summer's Terminator Salvation. Halcyon's debt to Pacificor has also been wiped out in the deal.

The Terminator film franchise has grossed more than $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office and spawned the short-lived TV series, The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

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Fox confirms Europe-set '24' movie

20th Century Fox has confirmed plans to make a 24 feature film set in Europe.

The studio has contracted Billy Ray (State Of Play) to write the movie, which will see Kiefer Sutherland's Jack Bauer face enemies outside of the US.

The Bauer character has previously left Los Angeles to take on missions in Africa (in TV movie 24: Redemption) and New York (the currently airing season 8).

The 24 TV team will be involved in the big screen spinoff, with Sutherland, series creators Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, and current showrunner Howard Gordon executive producing. The movie is expected to proceed when the TV show comes to an end.

Sutherland has previously voiced his desire to make a 24 film in Europe, telling DS last year: "It's something that we've always talked about because I think the fantastic thing about Europe, for something like 24, is that it's very feasible to get from Prague to London in the course of a day."

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'Mr & Mrs Smith' prequel in the works

The makers of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's Mr & Mrs Smith are working on a prequel to the action blockbuster.

Regency Enterprises has started development on Mr & Mrs Jones, which will follow a similar but differently named pairing who are hired by a covert agency and set up as a fake married couple.

Jolie and Pitt, who became a couple after filming the 2005 movie, are not expected to reprise their roles as married assassins. The new characters will allegedly be portrayed by up-and-coming actors in their 20s.

Mr & Mrs Smith producer Akiva Goldsman is on board to steer Jones, reports Vulture.

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Chris Nolan to 'godfather' new 'Superman'?

Warner Bros has reportedly asked Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan to guide the new Superman  movie.

According to Deadline Hollywood, the studio is sounding out the team that revived its ailing Batman franchise to supervise a similar job for The Man of Steel.

Insiders told the website that the next Superman feature would not follow on from Superman Returns, but could still involve its director Bryan Singer and leading man Brandon Routh.

"We know what we don't want to do. But we don't know what we want to do," a source said. "We learned a lot from the last movie, and we want to get it right this time."

Another insider added: "Warner Bros doesn't have a handle yet on it... they need to hear a great story that makes sense."

Nolan is not expected to direct the new Superman, instead acting as "godfather" to the rebooted franchise.

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Tom Cruise for 'Mission: Impossible 4'

Tom Cruise has signed to star in a fourth Mission: Impossible  movie.

Cruise, 47, will reprise the role of Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible 4 for Paramount. The project is expected to begin production this summer for a Memorial Day 2011 release.

Star Trek director J.J. Abrams will produce the picture and Alias scribes Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec are to pen the script, reports Deadline Hollywood.

A director has not yet been attached to the sequel.

Cruise next stars in action comedy Knight and Day with Cameron Diaz, opening July 2 in US cinemas.

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Disney, Pixar delay 'Cars' sequel

Bob Iger was reportedly misquoted in yesterday's Disney conference call. Cars 2 will debut as planned on June 24 next year.

Disney and Pixar have pushed back the release of their Cars sequel to December 2011.

Disney president and CEO Bob Iger revealed at a first quarter 2010 earnings call that the animated film has shifted from its June 24, 2011 release date to December of the same year, reports Coming Soon.

The Bear And The Bow, another Disney/Pixar project, is also due to open in December 2011 but the film is now expected to move dates to make way for Cars 2.

The Brad Lewis-directed Cars sequel sees Owen Wilson and Larry The Cable Guy return to voice automobiles Lightning McQueen and Mater respectively.

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Clooney, Hathaway for 'Muppets' revival?

Cast and script details for the forthcoming Muppets movie have leaked online.

The Playlist claims that George Clooney, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Sarah Jessica Parker and Ben Stiller make cameo appearances in the film's screenplay.

Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Chris Rock, Mel Brooks, Matt Damon and Norah Jones are also linked to the film.

The plot will apparently centre around the retired and much-loved Muppets characters attempting to stop the closure of the TV studio where the original series was produced.

The big screen adaptation, which was announced in 2008, currently has the working title of The Greatest Muppet Movie of All Time.

Flight of the Conchords director James Bobin has been offered to helm the movie.

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Cruz in talks for fourth 'Pirates' film

Penelope Cruz is reportedly in talks to co-star in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

Cruz is eying a major role in director Rob Marshall's upcoming sequel, titled Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The Vicky Christina Barcelona star is in negotiations to play Captain Jack Sparrow's (Johnny Depp) "foil and equal in many ways".

The project, written by Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot, is expected to begin production this summer in Hawaii. Disney is planning a May 20, 2011 US release.

Cruz was recently nominated for an Academy Award in the category of 'Best Supporting Actress' for her role in Marshall's Nine.

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Cooper reveals Benedict's 'A-Team' role

A-Team movie star Bradley Cooper has revealed that original series actor Dirk Benedict will appear in the big screen update.

Speaking to MTV, Cooper said that he shares a scene with Benedict, who played Templeton 'Faceman' Peck in the 1980s TV programme.

"He plays a guy named Milt. We're in a tanning bed, in prison together," he explained.

The 35-year-old added that his silver screen version of 'Face' is a tough character who "loves running his M-4 machine gun".

The A-Team opens in US cinemas June 11.

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Lautner gets movie offers for birthday?

Taylor Lautner has reportedly received several movie offers as a birthday present.

According to Sci Fi Wire, in addition to his two deals to become a superhero in Paramount's Max Steel and Universal's Stretch Armstrong, the actor will also be paid $7.5m (£4.8m) to lead a Top Gun-esque thriller.

The film is called Northern Lights and will be directed by John Moore.

Lautner, who celebrates his 18th birthday today, is also apparently the subject of a bidding war for a teen Bourne movie called Abduction.

The star is expected to close out his run on The Twilight Saga with the upcoming Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.

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Jeffrey Morgan signs on for 'Unblinking'

Jeffrey Dean Morgan has signed on to appear in upcoming film The Unblinking Eye, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Watchmen actor will star in the new psychological thriller from director Michael Bassett, who also penned the script.

The film centres around a homicide detective who becomes reclusive after nearly being murdered by the serial killer he was pursuing.

The detective, played by Morgan, is eventually lured back into the hunt by a journalist who is convinced that there is more to the story.

Bassett reportedly has a $10 million (£6.4m) budget for the film, which begins shooting in May.

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Douglas excited to play Damon's lover

Michael Douglas has revealed that he is looking forward to having Matt Damon as his lover in his new movie.

The 65-year-old Basic Instinct actor, who plays a gay pianist in Liberace, said that he believes accepting the homosexual roles in the film is a "smart" move for both him and Damon.

Douglas told The Sun: "I'm just going to get really comfortable so it's not a caricature. Matt Damon's going to be my younger lover. God bless Matt.

"He's right to take chances. It's smart trying to mix it up a bit and maintain the franchise and get to do a picture that turns you on."

Liberace is scheduled for release in 2012.

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'Breaking Dawn' to become two films?

The final instalment of the Twilight film series could become two films, according to reports.

Breaking Dawn is the longest of Twilight writer Stephanie Meyer's four-book series, which has led to speculation about the length of the final movie.

"No decision has been made," a representative for Summit Entertainment told MTV News. "As we have said all along, we are continuing to work with Stephenie Meyer to bring Breaking Dawn to the big screen."

However, Deadline Hollywood claims that "definitive" sources have revealed it is only a matter of time until the production company makes the announcement and that Summit is currently searching for directors.

Meyer has expressed concern over splitting Breaking Dawn into two movies, as have series stars Anna Kendrick, Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz.

The first instalment of the final film is scheduled to be released in October 2011.

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Diesel returning for third 'Riddick'

Vin Diesel will return to star in a third movie in his Riddick franchise, reports Variety.

The sci-fi action film is to be directed by David Twohy, who made the previous two instalments Pitch Black and The Chronicles Of Riddick, from a script he wrote. Diesel will also serve as a producer on the untitled project for Universal.

Details on the storyline have not been revealed, however the movie is thought to be more in line with Pitch Black than its bigger budgeted sequel. 2004's Chronicles Of Riddick, which featured Thandie Newton and Judi Dench opposite Diesel, underperformed at the box office and was met with a mixed reception from fans of the original.

Diesel also recently signed up to return for Universal's Fast & Furious sequel, titled Fast Five.

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Universal greenlights fifth 'Fast And Furious'

Vin Diesel and Paul Walker will reunite for Fast & Furious sequel Fast Five.

Universal has greenlit the project and recruited Justin Lin and series producer Neal Moritz to return for the fifth instalment, says Variety. The Chris Morgan-penned story will find the central duo Dom Toretto and Brian O'Conner on the run from lawmen.

Both Diesel and Walker withdrew from leading roles in the third film Tokyo Drift, but came back for last summer's Lin-directed Fast & Furious.

Fast Five will start production later this year and hit cinemas in 2011.

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Alexis Bledel 'wants action hero role'

Alexis Bledel has revealed that she would love to play an action hero.

The former Gilmore Girls star explained that she wants more women to take on action roles.

"I actually love action movies," she told Access Hollywood. "I don't think there are enough female action heroes.

"One of my favourites is Carrie-Anne Moss in The Matrix - so I would love to see more characters like that in film in general and to play one would be amazing."

However, Bledel revealed that she would also be interested in a film adaptation of Gilmore Girls.

"I really loved our season finale," she explained. "I thought it tied up the story beautifully. I thought it came full circle. I don't know what story there is left to tell but I would be open to reading a script. I'd be curious to read a script!"

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