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Universal Pictures is developing a prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 horror The Thing.

According to Variety, the film will be set in a Norwegian research camp and will follow the first discovery of the shape-shifting alien and how it overcame the camp's inhabitants.

Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ron Moore has been hired to write the re-imagining. It will reportedly be inspired by John W. Campbell Jr.'s original short story Who Goes There, which influenced Carpenter's film and Howard Hawks's original The Thing From Another World.

Matthijs Van Heijningen will direct the project, with Eric Newman and Marc Abraham producing and David Foster executive producing.

Van Heijningen is predominantly known for directing commercials, helming adverts for companies including Toyota, Pepsi and Visa. He is also developing Army Of The Dead for Warner Brothers.

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A stuntman working on the latest Harry Potter film has been seriously injured on set, according to The Mirror.

The 25-year-old, who doubles for the film's star Daniel Radcliffe, was reportedly performing an aerial sequence when a planned explosion caused him to fall to the ground.

"It is thought he may have been caught by the explosion and hit the ground very hard," said a source.

"He told crew members who went to help him he couldn’t feel anything from the waist down. Everyone is just hoping he makes a good recovery. It has come as a terrible shock."

The accident happened at Leavesden Studios, near Watford, where Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows is currently in pre-production.

"Paramedics were called to Leavesden Studios after a man in his 20s sustained a significant back injury. He was stabilised at the scene and taken to Watford General Hospital," an ambulance spokesperson told PA.

Hospital staff have declined to comment on the man's condition.

A spokesperson for the studio said: "We can confirm a member of the Harry Potter production was injured in an accident. We are awaiting further news."

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Sony has announced a unique tie-in edition DVD of Spectacular! featuring two free Rock Band songs for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

The special version of the film will be released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on March 31, Home Media Magazine reports.

It will first air on Nickelodeon on February 16.

Marc Rashba, vice-president of marketing at the company, said: "We think this is the first-ever DVD tie-in of this kind with Rock Band.

"This is a bullseye for teenagers. Anyone between the ages of eight and 16 can't miss this thing."

The DVD will feature the tracks 'Break My Heart' and Don't Tell Me', which will also be on sale separately online.

Spectacular! stars Nolan Gerard Funk as Nikko, a "bad boy" who is kicked out his band and ends up as the frontman of a show choir group.

The film features ten tracks from the music production team behind High School Musical.

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Director Sam Mendes has said that there were "no boundaries" when filming Leonardo DiCaprio and his wife Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road.

He told The Telegraph that directing the pair was like "working with a brother and sister" who have the same approach to work and the same sense of humour.

Mendes said: "There were no boundaries; Leo could go anywhere and Kate will never get offended and he knew that.

"It's exciting to know that someone's never going to get cross with you or embarrassed if you hit them or lift them onto a kitchen cabinet and make love to them or whatever it is."

He added that he was lucky to inherit the pair's relationship which formed on the set of Titanic a decade ago, as that kind of rapport cannot be created in rehearsals.

Winslet recently joked that she had been talking about DiCaprio so much that he feels more like her husband than Mendes does.

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John Orloff has been hired to write Leonardo DiCaprio's Fleming, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The project is a biopic of James Bond creator Ian Fleming, who served as a Naval intelligence officer during World War II and worked as a journalist for Reuters. Fleming released his first Bond novel Casino Royale in 1953 and went on to write 13 more. He also penned the children's book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

DiCaprio will produce the Warner Bros movie through his Appian Way company. It has also been rumoured that he will take on the role of Fleming.

Orloff recently worked on the Angelina Jolie film A Mighty Heart and is writing Zack Snyder's animated film Guardians Of Ga'Hoole.

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Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko have joined the cast of Neil Marshall's Centurion.

The sword and sandals epic takes place during the Roman invasion of Britain in 117 AD, says The Hollywood Reporter. The movie will focus on Quintus Dias, who unites with General Virilus's Ninth Legion to wipe out the Picts tribe after they raid a Roman fort.

Fassbender, up for the Orange Rising Star BAFTA, appeared with West in last year's 300. Kurylenko starred in Quantum Of Solace and Max Payne.

Marshall, whose previous credits include Doomsday and The Descent, will write and direct the movie with Slumdog Millionaire's Christian Colson producing.

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Liam Neeson has revealed that he is still hoping his Abraham Lincoln biopic with Steven Spielberg will move forward.

Neeson has been attached to the project, which will recount the life of the 16th President of the United States, since 2005. It will be based on the biography by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

"According to Mr. Spielberg, 'It's a work in progress'," Neeson informed Parade. "That's as much as I know.

"He asked me four years ago if would I do it and I said, 'Let me think about it. Well, I've thought about it and the answer is yes'.'"

Neeson and Spielberg previously worked together on the Oscar-winning Schindler's List. The actor likened the slow development process for Lincoln to the 1993 drama.

"He developed Schindler's List for ten years before he started production," Neeson added. "He'll do [Lincoln] whenever he's ready to do it, but it's in the works."

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The producer of Slumdog Millionaire has defended the movie following accusations that child actors in the film were exploited.

Christian Colson told ITN that recent reports surrounding how much the youngsters were paid and their working conditions on set were inaccurate.

He said: "Immediately after we cast the kids, we put in place a plan of action for their future welfare, over and above the money we paid them; we did that in consultation with their parents.

"The essential plank of that was education; they never attended school. We enrolled them in school for the first time in their lives, a fund was established to pay for any costs associated with their education, and medical emergencies, other emergencies, basic living costs."

Meanwhile, director Danny Boyle has defended the film's title after protestors vowed to burn effigies of him because of its derogatory undertones. Some claim that the name is offensive to people who live in the slums of Mumbai, where the Oscar-nominated film is set.

Boyle said: "For us, slumdog was always a very affectionate term because for us it was a hybrid, a mixture of underdog and rooting for the underdog, and obviously he comes from the slums."

The film has so far won the Best Picture award at the Golden Globes, the Producer Of The Year gong from the Producers Guild Of America, and Best Ensemble Acting, the highest award at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.l

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Robert Rodriguez is reportedly developing a third instalment in the Predator franchise.

According to Bloody Disgusting, the Sin City director has begun producing the project for Twentieth Century Fox.

Plot details have not been released but it is thought that the movie could introduce more than one predator.

No writer or director have been hired yet and it is not known whether Rodriguez will produce the film himself.

The original Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, was released in 1987. It followed an elite team of commandos who are hunted by an extraterrestrial life form as they try to rescue a group of hostages.

The movie spawned a sequel in 1990 and a series of spinoff films, including last year's Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem.

Rodriguez's previous credits include Spy Kids, From Dusk Till Dawn and Grindhouse.

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Spike Lee has insisted that his long-discussed biopic of James Brown "will happen".

Speaking to MTV News, the director confirmed that Wesley Snipes will play the legendary soul singer, who passed away in 2006.

"We're doing it together," he said. "It's going to happen. He's my man."

However, Lee revealed that the Blade actor will not be singing in the movie, saying: "I want to hear James Brown’s voice. That’s just my personal taste. I know Joaquin Phoenix [as Johnny Cash] in Walk The Line did some of the singing. I’m a purist."

Lee began developing the project in 2007 after acquiring the rights with Paramount Pictures. Snipes reportedly signed on around the same time.

In April 2008, Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion but he remains free while he appeals his sentence.

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Penelope Cruz has said that she drove Woody Allen crazy on the set of Vicky Cristina Barcelona by asking the director for more takes.

The actress claimed that she made Allen so mad that he had to run away on the final day, Metro reports.

"The last day I went psychotic and asked for ten more takes," she said.

"When they were about to wrap the movie I always go into a crisis and I think this is it, I have no more chance to do anything else for the character."

She said that Allen was "very patient" and gave her nine more takes before he fled the scene on the last day of shooting.

Last year, Scarlett Johansson expressed surprise at the reaction of "conservative" people to news of her on-screen kiss with Cruz in the movie.

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Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy has been hired to pen the Amy Adams rom-com Leap Year.

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter will rework Made of Honour pair Harry Elfont and Deb Kaplan's script, which follows Adams's character as she journeys across Ireland to propose to her boyfriend on February 29 of a leap year, a day when women traditionally pop the question to men.

Anand Tucker (And When Did You Last See Your Father?) boarded the project as director last year.

Beaufoy previously scripted Adams's screwball comedy Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day and The Full Monty.

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Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel has revealed that he is desperate to work on a movie with Will Smith.

Patel, who found fame on E4 teen drama Skins, revealed that he once waited at a premiere for three hours to meet his acting idol.

"Hello, Mr. Smith?" said Patel on US TV show Extra. "Please let me do a film with you. I stumbled upon your premiere of Hancock in London and I waited three hours. I was dying to go to the toilet and I've got a picture of you on my phone.

"It'd be great. Just a small role. Shake your hand or something... Thank you."

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Adam Sandler will reportedly make a cameo appearance in forthcoming film The Green Hornet.

The superhero comedy stars Seth Rogen as Britt Reid, a bored playboy who becomes a masked crimefighter when he inherits his father's crusading newspaper.

According to a blogger at the Los Angeles Times, at least two industry sources have confirmed The Wedding Singer star's involvement.

"Adam Sandler has a brief but key role in the movie as a certain surprise superhero," he wrote. "I heard which one, too, but I don't want to ruin it."

Sandler and Rogen are currently working together on Judd Apatow's Funny People.

Earlier this week, Rogen denied reports that Hornet had been axed, saying: "[The studio heads] have every intention on making it, and assuming we're able to hire a new director in the upcoming weeks, which seems like a distinct possibility, it should still hit the release date."

The Green Hornet is scheduled for release on June 25, 2010.

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Megan Fox has dismissed speculation that she will appear in the forthcoming Tomb Raider movie.

The Transformers star had been tipped to take on the role of daredevil archaeologist Lara Croft, made famous by Angelina Jolie.

However, a representative for the actress has denied the reports, saying: "Megan is not involved in this movie."

Earlier this week, Warner Brothers confirmed that it is developing a third film based on the popular Eidos video game, which will reportedly revamp the character and introduce a new female lead.

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Michael Cera will star in the Arrested Development movie, according to one of the show's stars Jeffrey Tambor.

A feature version of the critically acclaimed but short-lived sitcom was confirmed in November. Creator Mitch Hurtwitz has since suggested that Cera is the only member of the original cast not to commit to the movie.

However, Tambor told the New York Daily News that the 20-year-old will reprise his role as George-Michael Bluth in the film.

"If I have to call him up and say, 'Get on set right now, young man', he'll be there," Tambor remarked. "The movie is going to happen this year, and Michael Cera is on board. Trust me."

Cera's career has taken off since Arrested finished its run on Fox in 2006. He has starred in Juno, Superbad and this week's Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

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Bill Nicholson has been hired to write historical epic 1066, reports Variety.

The Gladiator screenwriter's story will centre on King Harold's battle with William, Duke of Normandy, for the English throne. William's eventual victory, which was the last successful invasion of the UK, earned him the name William the Conqueror.

Paul Webster and Stephen Garrett will produce the movie for Shine Pictures, alongside New Regency's Bob Harper and Hutch Parker.

A statement from Webster and Garrett said: "The events of 1066 are some of the most fascinating in history, which have never been portrayed on the big screen before.

"The scale of the piece is emblematic of Shine's ambitions. It's a great way to start off the relationship with New Regency. It will be a big-budget film on an epic scale."

The movie, which faces rivalry from another Battle of Hastings project, is on the fast-track to begin production this year.

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John Stevenson has been hired to helm Warner Brothers' He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe.

The Kung Fu Panda director's involvement has laid to rest speculation that the studio had axed the long-discussed project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joel Silver will produce through his Silver Pictures banner, while Mattel's Barry Waldo will executive produce.

Based on the 1980s Mattel toy franchise, the storyline will follow He-Man's alter ego Prince Adam on a quest to find his destiny. Along the way, he will stumble upon the magical place of Eternia where he finds the evil Skeletor has raised a technological army intent on eradicating all traces of magic.

"Masters Of The Universe was a billion-dollar franchise for us in the '80s," said Waldo. "There are so few of those in the vault; it's one of the crown jewels."

Justin Marks has penned the first draft script, tentatively titled Grayskull.

The 1987 film starring Dolph Lundgen as He-Man and Frost/Nixon star Frank Langella as Skeletor is the only other live-action version of the character.

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Robert Downey Jr. has admitted that portraying an African American man in Tropic Thunder was a huge risk.

The 43-year-old stars as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian method actor who undergoes plastic surgery to darken his skin for the role of a black soldier fighting in the Vietnam war.

Speaking to This Morning, Downey Jr. said that he worried about being "crucified" by the media for the controversial role.

"My reaction was, like, find someone else who needs to take some big ass risk and get crucified for it," he said. "But then I thought there really is a way if people understand the concept of the movie - to make it entertaining and not make it stupid or offensive. Did I nail it or am I in trouble?"

Downey Jr. picked up a supporting actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Lazarus.

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Emily Blunt and Jason Segal are in negotiations with 20th Century Fox to join Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels, reports Variety.

A 21st Century update of Jonathan Swift's novel, Gulliver's Travels is about a writer who finds himself washed up on an island inhabited by tiny people. Black will play the title role, while Blunt and Segal's parts are that of a princess and Gulliver's friend Horatio respectively.

Shark Tale's Rob Letterman will direct from a script by Nicholas Stoller and Joe Stillman.

British actress Blunt may be forced to drop out of starring in Iron Man 2 to take on the Gulliver role. Fox holds an option on her as part of the deal she signed to star in The Devil Wears Prada.

Blunt's agents are attempting to work out schedules so that the actress can appear in both Gulliver's Travels, which starts shooting in the UK in March, and Iron Man 2, scheduled to begin production in April in California.