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Sir Anthony Hopkins is to reprise his most famous role as Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

Universal has confirmed that a new film will be made, with the Oscar-winning actor and director Ridley Scott both on board, the New York Post reports.

"As far as we know, [this project] is alive," a Universal spokeswoman said. "Anthony Hopkins and Ridley Scott are both very committed. We like what we've got, and the revised script is really, really good."

There was speculation that the latest instalment in the franchise might be scrapped after original Silence Of The Lambs star Jodie Foster bowed out to direct Clare Danes in Flora Plum. Cate Blanchett has been touted as a possible replacement for the role of Clarice Starling.

Director Jonathan Demme and screenwriter Ted Tally, who both won Academy Awards for the first film, reportedly also passed on participating in the new movie.

Hopkins previously played the cannibalistic psychiatrist in Silence Of The Lambs, follow-up Hannibal and prequel Red Dragon.

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British teenager Katie Jarvis has earned the praise of critics and audiences at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in Fish Tank.

Jarvis, 17, had never acted before when she was spotted rowing with her boyfriend at Tilbury train station. Fish Tank's casting director invited her to audition and she subsequently won the role of a troubled teen whose life changes when she befriends her mother's boyfriend.

Fish Tank was given a standing ovation when it screened on the Croisette yesterday. However, Jarvis was not in attendance for the premiere as she was at home in the UK looking after her two-week-old baby.

"I don't think she quite understands what it means," the film's director Andrea Arnold told The Independent. "She has got an agent and she's been up for a couple of things which she's got but hasn't taken. I don't know if she wants to continue. I think she does but she has just had a baby."

Jarvis said of her experience on Fish Tank: "I learnt a lot doing the film. Whereas before I was doing nothing all the time, it made me learn that I could do things if I wanted to... It shows you don't have to go to drama school. But I think I was one of a kind, I don't think anyone else will get picked off a train station."

Fish Tank is competing for the prestigious Palme D'Or prize at Cannes against films such as Inglourious Basterds, Looking For Eric and Taking Woodstock. The winner will be announced on May 24.

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Jane Campion has called on a greater number of female directors to step forward and compete in the Cannes film festival.

The director, whose own John Keats biopic Bright Star is nominated at this year's event, told the BBC that women's upbringing can make it hard for them to "develop a tough skin" needed in the world of cinema.

Campion said: "What interests women is very interesting to me and without more women writers and directors, the rest of us are never going to learn the whole story.

"But I think women grow up without a lot of harsh criticism, they are treated more sensitively and it's quite hard when you first encounter the world of filmmaking."

Campion last won the Palme D'Or at Cannes 16 years ago for The Piano, for which she also picked up an Oscar for Best Screenplay.

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Kent Harper has said that Lindsay Lohan will stay out of trouble while filming The Other Side.

The movie's producer told People that the actress insisted to him that she "really wanted to get serious".

"She said, 'I'm committed, I'm not going to be late. I'm really, really excitied about doing this and working with these other actors'," Harper said. "So we're excitied."

He added that he believes Lohan is "going to be phenomenal" in the film and that he is not "worried whatsoever".

The Other Side is expected to start shooting in October off the coast of Massachusetts. Jason Lee, Woody Harrelson, Giovanni Ribisi, Alanis Morissette and Dave Matthews will also star in the movie.

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Angels & Demons actor Stellan Skarsgard has said that he doesn't care for the book the film is based on.

The star admitted that he thinks author Dan Brown is a "terribly bad writer" in an interview with Swedish broadcaster SVT.

"He has cliffhangers after every chapter which makes you continue reading," he said. "It's like eating peanuts at a bar. You don't like them, but you keep on eating them anyway."

Skarsgard, who plays the head of the Pope's Swiss guard in the film, added that he only took on the role after reading director Ron Howard's adaptation, which he called "significantly different".

The actor also said that he thinks Angels & Demons is a better movie than The Da Vinci Code because "the story is more simple and straightforward but just as dramatic".

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Ben Stiller has admitted that a third instalment in the Night At The Museum franchise is a possibility.

Speaking at a UK press conference for Night At The Museum 2, the actor told reporters that he would be happy to reprise the role of Larry Daley if audiences wanted him too.

"For the second one we had to figure out a reason why that movie would actually happen, and I feel like we figured that out. The idea of doing a third one would be great and really fun, but it would mean having to figure out something that sustained itself," he explained.

"There are a couple of ideas floating around if it seems that enough people want to see a third one, and of course working with these guys again would be great. But it can't get any bigger, just a little different."

His comments prompted co-star Ricky Gervais to joke: "[What about] a normal museum where nothing comes to life? Just about the admin, naturalise it a little bit more."

Night At The Museum 2 is released in the UK on May 20.

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Re-teaming for a follow-up to 2006's The Da Vinci Code, Ron Howard and Tom Hanks scored a $16.6 million opening-day bow at 3,527 theaters with their adaptation of Dan Brown's Angels & Demons. While that marks a sharp decline from Da Vinci's $28.6 million debut three years ago, Angels' gross was still enough to land the top spot at the box office on Friday, handily beating out J.J. Abram's relaunched Star Trek, which landed in second place with $11.9 million (the movie has grossed $116.5 so far). The week's other notable debuts both opened in limited release: The Brothers Bloom (starring Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, and Rachel Weisz) earned a respectable $23,000 from just four theaters, while Jennifer Aniston and Steve Zahn's workplace comedy Management took a downsize $109,000 from 212 sites, which translates to a $515 per-theater average. Check out Friday's top five below, and come back Sunday for a full weekend box office recap.

1. Angels & Demons -- $16.6 mil

2. Star Trek -- $11.9 mil

3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- $4.3 mil

4. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- $2.1 mil

5. Obsessed -- $1.5 mil

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Harrison Ford had a very special wrap gift for his movie son after completing Indiana Jones & The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - he tossed Shia Labeouf his sweaty hat.

Ford, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg - the moviemakers behind the Indiana Jones franchise - have dismissed reports Labeouf will be taking over as Jones, but the young star has the movie icon's hat!

He tells the new issue of Playboy magazine, "It has his sweat stains from the whole movie in it. We were way out somewhere at an airplane hangar on the last day of shooting, and he took the hat off his head, signed it and handed it to me.

"When I looked at the hat I saw he had written something with a silver Sharpie (pen). It said, 'It's all yours now, kid - Harrison.'"

But Labeouf is quick to point out that he won't be taking over from Ford any time soon: "It's easy to perceive that as his handing the reins over to me on a franchise or whatever... that's not it.

"What I read it as is, 'Keep your s**t on.' It was his way of saying 'Life is going to get crazy now, so strap on tight, kid.'"

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Martin Scorsese has announced that he will be teaming up with internet distribution company The Auteurs to help preserve films.

The film venture will be uniting with the Oscar-winning director’s non-profit organisation The World Cinema Foundation to support restoration and exhibition of neglected films from around the globe, according to Screen Daily.

"Preserving films is preserving cultural identity and plurality," said Scorsese. "There are so many pictures in need of restoration and preservation, which, for many reasons, are not getting the attention they deserve.

"And restoring and preserving is only half the battle, because in order to be appreciated, they have to be seen. Our new relationship with The Auteurs is intended to build awareness on the films and the people who made them, which are at the centre of the Foundation’s work."

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Chris Hemsworth, the doomed elder Captain Kirk from Star Trek, has landed the starring role in the remake of Red Dawn (2010). The 25-year-old Australian, who's currently shooting the MGM/UA thriller Cabin In the Woods with director Drew Goddard (Cloverfield), will reprise the role of Jed Eckert, the ringleader of a ragtag group of small-town teenagers battling back against invading Russians. Patrick Swayze played tough guy Jed in the 1984 original. Hemsworth will reportedly also star in Kenneth Branagh's Thor.

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Ron Howard's Angels & Demons soared to a $48 million opening this weekend, narrowly edging out a stellar $43 million second-week performance by Star Trek, according to estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office.


While hardly miraculous, Angels' solid bow is the second-best opening of Tom Hanks' career, behind The Da Vinci Code's $77.1 million debut in 2006. Despite receiving better reviews than its predecessor, Angels was widely expected to fly lower than Da Vinci on account of the cooled-off controversy over the religious subject matter in Dan Brown's novels. Still, the books' worldwide infamy should guarantee returns of biblical proportions; Da Vinci grossed $758.2 million globally, and Angels has already racked up an additional $104.3 million from foreign territories.

Angels may also have had its wings clipped slightly by J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, which dropped a slim 46% in its second weekend—presumably thanks to good word of mouth about the well-reviewed film. A $43 million weekend haul means that the space saga has already reaped $147.6 million, making it the year's fourth highest-grossing movie after just eleven days in theaters.

Following a steep 69% percent slump last weekend, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (No. 3 with $14.8 million) recovered a bit, dipping just 44% percent to reach a cumulative gross of $151.1 million after three weekends.

Faring even better, Matthew McConaughey' s Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (No. 4 with $6.9 million) and the Beyoncé-Ali Larter thriller Obsessed (No. 5 with $4.6 million) dropped off just 33 and 31 percent, respectively. These mid-budget genre pics have shown surprising resilience against the tide of blockbusters, demonstrating a strong market for counter-programming.

The weekend boasted only two other high profile pics, both in limited release. Jennifer Aniston's Management got a pink slip from moviegoers, grossing just $378,420 from 212 screens for a measly per-screen average of $1,785. Meanwhile, the caper comedy The Brothers Bloom was a bright spot on the specialty side, ringing up $82,000 from four theaters for a $20,500 per-theater haul.

Just two weekends into the summer movie season, overall box office is up 16% over last year. And things are just heating up: Next week's Memorial Day double-header of Terminator Salvation and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian promises a weekend to remember at the multiplex. See you then!

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Ben Stiller has revealed his belief that J.J. Abrams did "a great job" directing Star Trek.

The Nightmare At The Museum 2 actor told Radio 1 that he is a self-confessed Trekkie and was happy with Abram's addition to the sci-fi franchise.

"I think he did a great job," said Stiller. "He took enough chances with it that he's definitely going to offend some hardcore Trekkies, but by doing that he also gave it so much energy and life.

"It also remained true to the original. I loved the casting, I thought he did a great job there."

Stiller named his production company Red Hour Films after the first episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, 'Return Of The Archons'.

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Tom Hanks has said that there is "no reason" to make a sequel to Forrest Gump.

The Angels & Demons star played the lead role in the Oscar-winning 1994 box office hit directed by Robert Zemeckis.

Though a screenplay based on the original novel's follow-up, Gump and Co., was supposedly penned in 2001, Hanks has dismissed it ever adapting into a film.

"There was never any talk of a sequel," he told Radio 1.

"There was a brief 'Well, would it work, what would be the point?' But we would have just been repeating ourselves. So there's no reason to do it."

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Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut Whip It! has been confirmed for an October release in the US, it has been reported.

The roller derby film will be distributed through Fox Searchlight and Barrymore’s production company, Flower Films.

The film will star Ellen Page as an indie-rock teen who discovers a roller derby league, as well as Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis and Zoe Bell as derby veterans.

Whip It! debuts in US cinemas on October 9. No UK release date has yet been announced.

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Eminem has revealed he has returned to acting with a cameo role in the upcoming Judd Apatow film Funny People.

The 8 Mile star told Vibe magazine: "I just did a cameo a few months ago with Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in a Judd Apatow-produced film. It's called Funny People.

"I kind of do a little cameo in that, which was fun by the way. And 8 Mile was not a fun movie to shoot."

As for future movie roles, the nine-time Grammy winner said: "Will I end up doing another movie again? Probably yeah."

Funny People will be released in the UK on 28 August.

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Bryce Dallas Howard has revealed her body struggles while filming Terminator Salvation.

The actress, daughter of director Ron Howard, was offered the role of Kate in the film after recently giving birth to her son Theo, now two years old.

Hesitant to inform director McG about her post-baby figure, Howard told People magazine: "I had a pregnant body with no child in it."

"I was so excited, but then was just kind of waiting to tell him, 'I'm not in great shape right now', but when I finally told him, he said, 'Oh, that's okay. Kate's really pregnant. That'll be even better'."

As for her losing weight on set, she said: "Naturally just after a woman has a baby she starts to lose weight. McG was throwing cookies at me the whole time, 'You're still eight months pregnant in the film! Be careful! Continuity!'"

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Two Lovers director James Gray revealed that Gwyneth Paltrow asked him to inspect her breasts before committing to nude scenes in the film, it has emerged.

Gray said that Paltrow had asked him to come into her trailer where she would expose her breasts for approval after having two children.

The director told The Sun: "Gwyneth told me ‘I don't care about nudity, I'll give you everything you need. But I've had two children and I just don't think they look very good any more. Do me a favour, come into my trailer and I'll show them to you and if you think they look okay, I'll do it'."

As for accepting the offer, Gray said: "So I marched in there and I told her they looked great."

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Rachel Weisz has said that she did not use a body double for the nude scenes in her upcoming movie Agora.

The actress, who stars as the fourth century Greek philosopher and astronomer Hyaptia in the film, told the Daily Mail that it is her body in its two naked scenes.

Weisz said: "It was all me, never even thought of using a double.

"Although I was thinking about baby fat - but I think most of it had gone by the time I went before the cameras. I did some yoga, that helped, and just avoided junk food."

She added that her character in the film "famously never had sex" and "died a virgin", despite being surrounded by male students and slaves.

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Chris Hemsworth will play Norse god Thor in the big screen adaptation of Marvel's comic book series.

According to Variety, the Australian actor is in final talks to play the hammer-wielding superhero for director Kenneth Branagh.

The movie will see the title character banished from Asgard by his father Odin to teach him a lesson in humility. He later becomes a protector for Earth alongside Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America.

Hemsworth, who recently appeared as James T. Kirk's father in Star Trek, will also play Thor in The Avengers, to be released in 2012.

Thor is expected to arrive in cinemas on May 20, 2011.

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Sean Penn is in talks to play a wealthy rock star in Paolo Sorrentino's This Must Be The Place, according to Variety.

Financing for the project has not been finalised, but Penn and Sorrentino have apparently agreed to work together when the actor finishes shooting comedy The Three Stooges and action drama Cartel.

Penn's character would be a wealthy retired rock star who attempts to hunt down his father's killer, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is living in the USA.

Sorrentino and Umberto Contarello penned the script. The movie will be the Italian director's first English-language film.