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J.J. Abrams has revealed that his new Star Trek film was "not made for Trekkies".

Speaking at a convention in South Korea, the director insisted that his forthcoming take on the sci-fi franchise is intended to embrace potential followers rather than satisfy existing fans.

"We made this film not for Trekkies but for future fans of Star Trek," he said. "The studio wanted to give the film a fresh start."

The Lost creator added that he had originally come on board as a producer but had decided to be "greedy" and enhance his role after reading the script.

"I saw so much potential and possibility that the original had failed to realise due to technological constraints so I got very greedy and I decided to direct it myself," he said.

Star Trek opens in the UK in May.

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Warren Beatty has reportedly offered Lindsay Lohan a new film role, but only on the condition that she lives in one of his homes while the movie is made.

Beatty is said to have a script that he wants to star in and direct and is keen to cast Lohan as his daughter, Fox News reports.

It is claimed that Lohan sees the offer as a chance to reignite her film career.

Earlier this month, the actress denied reports that she will star in the planned remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street.

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Kate Bosworth has revealed that she will be making her debut as a producer on the forthcoming film Lost Girls And Love Hotels.

The 21 actress, who optioned the rights to Catherine Hanrahan's novel last year, has confirmed that work has begun on a big screen adaptation.

"I've just had a wonderful writer adapt it. Now we're in the stage of finding a director and building it up from the ground up. It's a lot of work but we're going to do it," WENN quotes her as telling the New York Daily News.

Lost Girls tells the story of a young woman who is trying to escape reality in the seedy excesses of Tokyo but is haunted by the disappearance of a Western girl.

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US actor Bill Pullman has described Ant & Dec's relationship as "mythic" and "transcendent".

Speaking to DS, the Independence Day star, who appeared with the pair in 2006's Alien Autopsy, said that he was taken aback by the enthusiasm Brits shared for the TV duo.

"I always loved asking everybody when I arrived in England, from the drivers who picked me up to the people at the hotel to people I met when I was walking in the park, almost everyone at some point would say, 'Everyone loves Ant & Dec!' From eight to 80," he said.

"I think it's true, there's something youthful about them and something mythic about their relationship that makes it really transcend a lot of different ages."

Pullman said that his experience filming Alien Autopsy was "great fun" and "a little bit of a lark".

"We shot it at Ealing [Studios] and I've always been intrigued seeing that in the credits of good English comedies from the '30s, so to actually be at that studio was a real treat," he added.

Pullman's new movie Surveillance opens in UK cinemas on March 6.

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A film adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear, which was due to star Anthony Hopkins and Keira Knightley, has been cancelled.

The Ruby Films production would have marked Knightley's first film performance in a work by Shakespeare, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Hopkins was cast in the lead role, while Knightley was to play his youngest daughter Cordelia.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Naomi Watts had signed to star as Lear's older daughters Regan and Goneril respectively.

A spokeswoman for the film company said: "Ruby are no longer doing it - the film will no longer go ahead. It has not really been announced."

The firm did not comment on whether the ongoing recession is behind the cancellation.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Al Pacino and director Michael Radford will reunite to make their own adaptation of King Lear following their collaboration on The Merchant Of Venice in 2004.

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The final Harry Potter film has been given a release date of 2011.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part II is expected in cinemas from July 15, reports the BBC.

The seventh book in JK Rowling's series will be filmed in two parts because of its length.

Part I will be out on November 19, 2010, while fifth instalment Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince is scheduled for release this July.

Representatives of the Health And Safety Executive visited the Deathly Hallows set last month after stuntman David Holmes suffered a back injury while working on an aerial sequence. The set was closed for a week before film bosses were told that filming could resume.

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The young cast of Slumdog Millionaire have been given a heroes' welcome on their return to the Indian city of Mumbai.

Large crowds gathered to welcome the child stars as they touched down on home soil following their visit to Los Angeles to attend the Oscars, reports the BBC.

The Danny Boyle-helmed film was the big winner at the 81st annual ceremony, a triumph which was later hailed as "the finest hour" of Indian cinema.

Composer A.R. Rahman, who won two Oscars, received a similar welcome as he arrived in his home city of Chennai.

Indian authorities have apparently promised to rehouse Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismali from the Mumbai slums for bringing "laurels to the country".

The pair, who played younger versions of the film's two main characters, are to be moved to more secure, free homes.

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Peter Baynham has been announced as the writer of the remake of Arthur.

Comedian Russell Brand has already been cast in the title role of the Warner Bros film.

The movie will be a reworking of Steve Gordon's classic starring Dudley Moore, which won Academy Awards for best song and best supporting actor for John Gielgud.

Arthur will be produced by Benderspink and Larry Brezner, a veteran of the 1981 original.

Baynham appeared in British comedy shows The Day Today and Fist of Fun.

He was nominated for an Oscar as a co-writer of Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan alongside Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines and Dan Mazer.

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Microsoft has agreed a deal with film studio Universal to make a range of movies available to Xbox Live members in Europe.

The firm has collaborated with NBC Universal International Television Distribution to offer new and classic films to Xbox owners.

Under the deal, movies such as Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Wanted, Scarface and Carlito's Way became available yesterday via the Xbox Live Marketplace.

David Gosen, Xbox Europe's vice president of marketing, said that the move is part of the company's "ongoing strategy to make Xbox a major entertainment hub".

The full list of available movies runs as follows:

Baby Mama
Billy Madison
The Blues Brothers
The Bourne Supremacy
Carlito's Way
Cheech and Chong's Next Movie
Child's Play 2
Child's Play 3
The Chronicles of Riddick
The Fast and the Furious
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
The Frighteners
The Game
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
How High
Incredible Hulk ('08)
The Jerk
The Mummy Returns
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
National Lampoon's Animal House
Out of Sight ('98)
Red Dragon
Scarface ('83)
The Scorpion King
The Scorpion King: Rise of a Warrior
Shaun of the Dead
Village of the Damned
Wanted
Waterworld
Weird Science

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A language monitoring group has revealed that the terms "Slumdog" and "Jai Ho!" are among the most influential of the 2008 Hollywood awards season.

The Global Language Monitor uses an algorithm to track the frequency of words in both print and electronic media and said that it was rare for two phrases from the same film to make the HollyWords of the year list, reports Reuters.

"Jai Ho!", Hindi for "Let There Be Victory", is the title of the Oscar-winning best song from Slumdog Millionaire, while "Slumdog" is the term used in the movie to describe people who live in the Mumbai slums.

Third place in the list went to the term "Nuke the Fridge" from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, while "Hmong" from Clint Eastwood movie Gran Torino was fourth.

Also in the top ten was the line "What doesn't kill you makes you... stranger" from The Dark Knight, as well as Kung Fu Panda statement "There are no coincidences".

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Ondi Timoner has been named as the director of Eliza Dushku's biopic of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

Dushku had purchased the rights to co-produce the movie and has already cast her brother Nate in the lead role.

The film, entitled The Perfect Moment, will be the first feature directed by Timoner, who is best known for her Brian Jonestown Massacre documentary DIG!, Variety reports.

Timoner said: "A pariah to some, a hero to others, Mapplethorpe's talent combined with his irreverence toward social norms made him a cultural lightning rod.

"He is an artist who could not help but express his vision of the world, despite the tempest it spawned."

The Mapplethorpe Foundation said that it was "impressed" with Timoner's vision for the project.

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Zac Efron has been named ShoWest's breakthrough performer of the year.

The 21-year-old, who shot to fame in Disney's High School Musical franchise, will accept his award at an event on April 2.

"When Zac Efron made his debut with the cast of Hairspray at ShoWest 2007, many in attendance took notice of this young actor's incredible talent," said co-managing director Mitch Neuhauser.

"His undeniable on-screen presence and charm have connected with fans around the world."

Efron will accept his honour alongside Star Trek actor Chris Pine, who was previously named this year's ShoWest male star of tomorrow.

Efron's next movie 17 Again opens in the UK on April 17.

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Gemma Atkinson has said that she is planning to spend six weeks auditioning for roles in Hollywood.

The 24-year-old star is heading to LA in April to boost her career opportunities.

"I'm really looking forward to it," the ex-Hollyoaks actress told the Daily Star. "I can't wait to knuckle down and hopefully get some exciting acting jobs.

"Hopefully I can make an impression over there. I love the life and everything. I am filming at the moment too which is really exciting."

Atkinson revealed that she is already shooting a thriller called 13 Hours. "It is a horror and it is hard work but very rewarding," she said.

She will make her big screen debut later this year in the Duncan Ward-directed Boogie Woogie.

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Rupert Grint has said that he enjoys the speed of independent filmmaking compared to big-budget blockbusters.

The Harry Potter actor has been cast in indie thriller romance Cherrybomb alongside Robert Sheehan, Kimberley Nixon and James Nesbitt, Blag reports.

Grint said: "I really enjoy it because it is a totally different world. I think we do get a bit spoilt on Harry Potter.

"I really prefer the pace of these sorts of films. On this one you do maybe seven scenes a day - so it moves really quickly. It's exciting."

Shot on location in Northern Ireland, Cherrybomb was written by Daragh Carville and is the first feature from co-directors Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa.

Last month, Grint said it was a "surreal experience" filming sex scenes alongside Kimberly Nixon for the film and admitted that the pair were both nervous.

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Jim Carrey and Jake Gyllenhaal will star in an adaptation of 1950s musical Damn Yankees.

The New Line project will be produced by Hairspray duo Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Damn Yankees, which opened on Broadway in 1955, follows the story of Joe Boyd, a middle-aged family man who loves a hapless baseball team. His passion for the sport prompts him to make a pact with the Devil, which transforms him into an amazing batter called Joe Hardy in exchange for his soul.

Boyd is able to reverse the deal at any time before a deadline, which is in the middle of the World Series. The devil uses a beautiful lost soul called Lola to seduce Boyd and seal his destiny. Songs in the original production include '(You Gotta Have) Heart' and 'Whatever Lola Wants'

Gyllenhaal will play Boyd, while Carrey is cast as the Devil, according to Variety.

The musical was previously turned into a film by Warner Bros in 1958. It starred Ray Walston, Gwen Verdon and Tab Hunter in the lead roles.

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Drew Barrymore has reportedly been tipped as a possible director for the third instalment in the Twilight franchise.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Summit Entertainment has included the Charlie's Angels actress in a shortlist of potential candidates to helm Eclipse.

Based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer, the story follows Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) and Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) as they investigate a series of murders that Edward believes have been committed by a vampire.

Last week, Summit announced that Eclipse would hit cinemas in summer 2010. Representatives for the company and for Barrymore have declined to comment.

Barrymore recently made her directorial debut in upcoming comedy Whip It! about a misfit (Ellen Page) who enters a roller derby league.

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Kate Winslet has revealed that she is planning to keep her best actress Oscar in the bathroom.

The actress, who scooped the award for her role in The Reader, told the Daily Mail that she has no intention of parading her trophy around.

"The Oscar's going in the loo, next to Sam's [Mendes]," she said, referring to her husband's best director prize for American Beauty. "I'm not taking it on a set.

"I hope it won't change anything in how other directors and actors work with me...I'm just going to work the way I've always worked, which is just to get on with it."

Previously, the actress admitted that she could not stop admiring the trophy, saying: "I keep looking at him and going, 'Ooh wow'. Looking at every little piece - very nice little bottom."

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Emily Blunt has admitted that she found following in the footsteps of Helen Mirren and Judi Dench "tricky".

The Brit actress plays the Queen of England in biographical drama Young Victoria, a role Dench portrayed in 1997's Mrs Brown. Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth) and Helen Mirren (The Queen) have also starred as monarchs to critical acclaim.

"To follow in their footsteps is something tricky because they're all people I admire," Blunt said at Young Victoria's UK press conference.

However, the actress claimed that she didn't take on the role for awards recognition and believes that the Jean-Marc Vallée-helmed romance is more "authentic" than other royal-centric movies.

"I don't know if there should be a cache playing the Queen of England because it can lead to an award," she commented. "I do think that we've made a very different film from others before and I do think that certain royals have been portrayed in a more Hollywoodised light. I feel we've made a more authentic film here."

The Young Victoria is released in cinemas on March 6.

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Filming on The Young Victoria had to be halted when star Rupert Friend fell into a cow pat.

Speaking at the film's UK press conference, Friend explained that his co-star Emily Blunt, who plays the eponymous monarch, was struck by a fit of laughter following his accident.

"There is a scene in the film at the end of the honeymoon where they're somewhat jubilant in the rain," he said. "Albert leads Victoria out to dance in the rain with him and I had my hands in my coat and I slipped on a cow pat, and fell into another cow pat. Emily was unable to continue working because she was laughing so hard."

Friend said that his embarrassment was magnified when shooting stopped to allow the crew to replay his fall.

"The crew stopped filming so we could watch the scene on the monitor 20 times in a row," he said. "And it's in the film."

The Young Victoria, which centres on the monarch's marriage to Prince Albert, is released in cinemas on March 6.

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Seth Green has signed to star in Disney's forthcoming motion-capture comedy Mars Needs Mums!, claims The Hollywood Reporter.

Based on the children's book by Berkley Breathed, the story follows a young boy who sneaks on to a spaceship in order to rescue his kidnapped mother from aliens.

Green will star as the protagonist Milo, while his Austin Powers screen mum Mindy Sterling will play the alien leader. Joan Cusack has been cast as Milo's mother, while Fanboys star Dan Folger will play his best friend.

Explaining how a motion-capture film is made, Green said: "[It's performed] in a black box theatre with no costumes, no sets, just actors looking into each other's eyes trying to make it real."

The Time Machine director Simon Wells will helm the project for Disney and Robert Zemeckis's ImageMovers.

Previous motion-capture movies include Zemeckis's The Polar Express, while Andy Serkis's portrayal of Gollum in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy also used the method.