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Emily Blunt has praised her Young Victoria co-star Rupert Friend, describing him as "the definition of a real man".

The Devil Wears Prada actress stars opposite Friend in the upcoming biopic, which documents the budding romance between the Queen (Blunt) and Prince Albert (Friend).

"I tell you, hearts will melt over Rupert. He is the definition of a real man in the film," she reportedly told Harper's Bazaar.

"He has such dignity about him naturally. He brought a likeability and selflessness to Albert without making him look weak."

Earlier this week, Blunt's co-star Harriet Walter confessed that she "fell in love" with the British actor during filming, joking: "I wished I'd been 20 years younger and Rupert Friend was a possibility!"

The Young Victoria will be released in the UK on March 6.

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A farmhouse made famous as Uncle Monty's cottage in Withnail And I has been bought by a local Cumbrian resident.

Sleddale Hall was put up for auction by former owners United Utilities with a guide price of £145,000.

After hearing of the sale, fans of the cult film launched an online campaign in the hope of saving the piece of "Britain’s cultural history" from falling into the hands of developers.

The organisers of the auction have now confirmed that a local resident has purchased the property, says ITN.

Withnail And I followed actors Withnail (Richard E. Grant) and Marwood (Paul McGann) on a ill-fated trip from Camden Town to Uncle Monty's (Richard Griffiths) countryside cottage.

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Madonna has reportedly written to the Queen to gain permission to make a film about Wallis Simpson.

The singer is said to want to play the role because she sees similarities between herself and the American mistress to the former Prince Of Wales.

The 50-year-old has researched the part thoroughly and has her heart set on playing Simpson, whose affair with King Edward VIII caused him to abdicate the thrown in 1936, reports the Daily Mail.

Although Madonna apparently put plans to make the film on hold during her divorce, she is still reported to be passionate about the project.

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Halle Berry has signed up to star in fact-based heist movie Who Is Doris Payne?, according to Variety.

Scripted by Eunetta Boone, the project will follow the career of international jewel thief Doris Payne, whose criminal career stretched five decades.

Payne, who is still alive, committed a string of major robberies at jewellery stores such as Tiffany's in New York and Cartier in Monte Carlo. She never carried a gun and always preferred to use her smooth talk and good looks to walk away with expensive items.

She was eventually arrested in 2003 and served a two-year sentence.

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Elton John will executive produce an alien-themed adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice.

The popstar's Rocket Pictures company has picked up Will Clark, Andrew Kemble and John Pape's script Pride And Predator, which sees the Bennet sisters and Mr. Darcy fighting an alien that crash lands in Longbourn.

Clark will direct the movie, with Rocket partners Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish producing.

"It felt like a fresh and funny way to blow apart the done-to-death Jane Austen genre by literally dropping this alien into the middle of a costume drama, where he stalks and slashes to horrific effect," Furnish told Variety.

Pride And Predator is not the first film project to put a fresh spin on Austen's story. Last week it emerged that several Hollywood studios were bidding for the film rights to Seth Grahame-Smith's parody novel Pride And Prejudice And Zombies.

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Jennifer Aniston's He's Just Not That Into You has debuted at number one at the Aussie box office.

The ensemble rom-com took over $3 million in its opening week, knocking Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino into second place.

Ricky Gervais's comedy Ghost Town climbs 15 spots to third, while thriller My Bloody Valentine debuts at six.

The top ten in full:

1. (-) He's Just Not That Into You - $3,083,321
2. (1) Gran Torino - $959,749
3. (18) Ghost Town - $793,385
4. (2) Slumdog Millionaire -$741,489
5. (3) Transporter 3 - $504,060
6. (-) My Bloody Valentine 3-D - $485,989
7. (4) Changeling - $452,428
8. (5) Bride Wars - $299,376
9. (9) Australia - $254,838
10. (6) Valkyrie - $245,453

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Robert Downey Jr and Reese Witherspoon are in talks to star in science fiction movie The Days Before, according to Production Weekly.

The story concerns a race of aliens who travel back in time and invade Earth in an attempt to wipe out the human race. Downey will play a man who must stay one step ahead of the time-travelling extraterrestrials to warn the world of their imminent arrival.

Witherspoon's role is unknown at this point, though the actress recently voiced her desire to star in an action movie.

Timur Bekmambetov, the director behind last summer's Wanted, has been approached to helm the Warner Bros film.

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Megan Fox has been named the sexiest sci-fi actress of all time.

The Transformers star nabbed 33% of the vote, beating competition from Halle Berry and Natalie Portman to top the poll carried out by MSN Movies.

"There's no denying Megan Fox is a compelling choice for a new generation of sci-fi fans," said SFX Magazine editor David Bradley. "She sizzled on screen in Transformers.

MSN Movies editor Ed Holden added: "Sci-fi is full of strong female characters that capture the imagination of the movie-going public. When Transformers was launched just two years ago Megan Fox was an instant hit with fans."

X-Men actress Halle Berry claimed 26% of the vote to rank second, while Milla Jovovich's performance in The Fifth Element was placed third with 17%.

Over 59,000 movie fans completed the survey, which also saw Star Wars actresses Natalie Portman and Carrie Fisher secure 8% of the vote to tie for fourth place with Aliens star Sigourney Weaver.

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Oscar-winning Departed screenwriter William Monahan is to pen Shia LaBeouf thriller The Associate, reports Variety.

The John Grisham adaptation will see LaBeouf take on the role of a Yale graduate who is blackmailed into working for a prestigious law firm and given sensitive information about a multi-billion dollar suit.

LaBeouf's interest in the book was sparked when he read the then-unpublished manuscript on the set of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who also oversees the robot franchise, quickly snapped up the movie rights for Paramount and secured LaBeouf for the lead role.

Monahan will begin work on his directorial debut London Boulevard this summer. He is also attached to helm crime movie Heist.

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Isla Fisher has revealed that she met spending addicts to research her role in comedy Confessions Of A Shopaholic.

Speaking at the UK press conference to promote the movie, Fisher said: "I researched the shopping end of the character by visiting some overspender-underearner groups, who are essentially shopaholics."

The Australian actress admitted that she found their plight upsetting and chose not to bring that element to her character Rebecca Bloomwood.

"Rather sadly their lives have become unmanageable because of their shopping addiction," she added. "I didn't want to focus on that side of it, it's supposed to be escapist fun."

Confessions Of A Shopaholic, based on Sophie Kinsella's best-selling novel, is released in cinemas tomorrow.

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Isla Fisher has credited fiancé Sacha Baron Cohen for her successful movie career.

Fisher, who stars in this week's rom-com Confessions Of A Shopaholic, revealed that Borat creator Cohen encouraged her to pursue comedy roles after she found it difficult to win parts in weighty dramas.

"Sacha was the reason I got into comedy," she said at Shopaholic's UK press conference. "I was actually auditioning for a lot of dramatic roles and having no success at all and losing confidence in my abilities when he recommended that I do comedy.

"He always felt that I was really funny and when someone as funny as him recommends that, I listen to him. I auditioned for Wedding Crashers, which ended up being my big break."

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Joss Whedon has confessed that studio executives kept him "completely in the dark" when he worked on a proposed Wonder Woman movie.

The Dollhouse creator suggested to Maxim that Warner Bros and producer Joel Silver were at fault for the blockbuster's demise because they refused to tell him what they wanted.

"I have no idea the status of the movie and, honestly, I never did," he said. "I was told they were very anxious to make it. I wrote a script. I rewrote the story. And by the time I'd written the second script, they asked me... not to."

Whedon added that Warner Bros's indecisive approach to making the superhero movie left him baffled.

"They didn't tell me to leave, but they showed me the door and how pretty it was. Would I like to touch the knob and maybe make it swing?" he joked.

"I was dealing with them through Joel Silver who couldn't tell me what they wanted or anything else. I was completely in the dark. So I didn't know what it was that I wasn't giving them. I've moved on."

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Dave Annable and American Idol star Katharine McPhee have signed for rom-com Wedlocked.

The Condemned director Rob Hedden will helm and script the project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Annable, who was ranked seventh in People's 2007 Sexiest Men Alive list, plays Justin Walker in ABC's Brothers & Sisters. McPhee was the runner-up in the fifth season of American Idol.

Shooting will start in Oahu, Hawaii in March.

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Isla Fisher has said that the upcoming Bruno movie starring her husband Sacha Baron Cohen is "hysterical".

The Confessions Of A Shopaholic actress said that her partner was at the premiere of her movie but had not come as his fashion reporter character, The Sun reports.

Fisher said: "I don't think that would have been appropriate, but I've seen the Bruno movie and it is hysterical."

The former Home And Away star added that her new film is more relevant in a credit crunch than ever as it explores themes of consumption and debt.

Last month, Fisher said that she and Cohen "really really" plan to marry soon and confirmed that she had converted to Judaism two years ago.

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Jerry Bruckheimer has revealed that he wants to continue making movies based on Sophie Kinsella's best-selling Shopaholic book series.

The producer, known predominantly for action movies such as Pirates Of The Carribean and National Treasure, said that he would like the Isla Fisher-led movie to launch a rom-com franchise.

"We hope so," he commented at Shopaholic's UK press conference. "We hope that audiences around the world embrace the picture in the way they have the books. Hopefully that'll allow us to make another one."

When asked about a potential title for a follow-up, author Sophie Kinsella joked: "I have three sons who are not so into shopping but try to take an interest. They suggested Shopaholic Blows Up!"

"That fits right in with what I do," added Bruckheimer.

Confessions Of A Shopaholic lands in cinemas tomorrow.

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Ridley Scott has revealed the new title for his medieval epic Nottingham.

Speaking to MTV, the veteran director said that he expects the blockbuster to be renamed Robin Hood, reflecting a change in creative direction.

Previous incarnations of the script cast the Sheriff of Nottingham as the movie's protagonist, with the arrow-wielding outlaw as the villain - Russell Crowe was expected to take on both roles.

However, Scott has admitted that he is now taking a more traditional approach to the Robin Hood legend, with Crowe playing just the Sherwood Forest hero: "[Crowe in both roles] was an idea so far back, way back when at the time I had this proposed to me, and I read it and thought, 'I don't really know what it does for it, but it's alright'

"It is better to simply have the evolution of a character called Robin Hood, who will come out of a point in the Crusades which is the end."

Scott explained that the Sheriff's part in the movie has been drastically cut back: "The Sheriff of Nottingham is always a kind of an amusing character in most of the movies, who represents the hierarchy in the story at that point.

"The hierarchy and the wealthy always ruled over the underclass, and fundamentally that doesn't change, because Robin Hood is actually the person who finally - in terms of the overall classical idea of the film - will help the poor, probably taking from the rich."

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Sarah Jessica Parker has claimed that the sequel to Sex And The City: The Movie will be a "massive romp".

Speaking to Access Hollywood, the actress revealed that next year's follow-up would mark a significant departure from its more "mature" and "sophisticated" prequel.

"I think we want this one to be a romp. The last one, we got to tell a...story that had real heartbreak in it and this time, I think we want a romp," she said.

Parker added that it would challenging to script a story that was rooted in "luxury and labels" within the context of the current economic climate.

"There is a lot that we have to think about because times are very different," she said. "So these are nice challenges, these are good challenges."

However, the star refused to reveal any plot details, saying: "In a million years I’m not going to give you an indication. I want someone to show up that first weekend!"

Filming on Sex And The City 2 is expected to begin this summer with a scheduled 2010 release date.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger has become the latest action star to sign up for Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables.

The Governor of California will have a cameo in the 2010 project, according to Ain't It Cool.

The film tells the story of a team of mercenaries attempting to overthrow a South American dictator. Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren, Forest Whitaker, Jason Statham and Jet Li are already confirmed for the movie.

Meanwhile, Ben Kingsley has withdrawn from his role as a CIA contact and will reportedly be replaced by The Dark Knight's Eric Roberts.

Shooting is expected to start in Brazil in March.

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Pierce Brosnan has begun developing a biopic about Hungarian photojournalist Robert Capa, reports Reuters.

Born in Budapest in 1913, Capa was renowned for his images of conflict zones, most notably World War II where he gained fame as one of the few photographers to witness the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944.

However, he also garnered a celebrity status thanks to his glamorous lifestyle, which included an affair with Ingrid Bergman and a close friendship with writer John Steinbeck.

Push director Paul McGuigan, who started his career as a photographer, is expected to helm the project. Brosnan will produce through his company Irish DreamTime.

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Martin Lawrence has signed a deal with Alcon Entertainment to produce and potentially star in new comedy Back To America.

Lawrence pitched the idea, but is currently not confirmed to appear in the movie. No script or director have been confirmed either, reports Variety.

The film will follow the story of a working-class man from Queens, who discovers that he is the heir to the throne of an African country, prompting him to travel there and claim his birthright.

Lawrence is also currently working on Disney's Wild Hogs sequel, which is scheduled for release later this year.