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Denzel Washington has topped a poll of America's favourite movie stars for the third year in a row.

Second place in The Harris Poll went to Clint Eastwood, while the third spot was tied between the late John Wayne and Will Smith.

Harrison Ford came in fifth, with Julia Roberts following him to sixth place. Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie and Morgan Freeman rounded off the top ten list.

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There's a reason oddsmakers don't think Slumdog Millionaire is an Oscar underdog. It's not.
The India-set indie cemented its front-runner status with a win tonight for Danny Boyle at the 61st Annual Directors Guild of America Awards.
The Office, The Wire, Recount and America's Next Top Model were among the honorees in the TV categories.
Boyle beat out David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon) and Gus Van Sant (Milk), all of whom he'll face at the Oscars, plus Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), whom he won't.
Since 1948, the DGA winner's only missed out the Oscar six times. Half of those instances, however, have occurred since 1995. Ang Lee is the last DGA winner to win Best Director, and not see his film (2005's Brokeback Mountain) win Best Picture, too.
Slumdog's DGA win comes one week after it claimed top prizes from the producers and actors guilds.
Carl Reiner, who was to host tonight's ceremony, was a last-minute scratch (food poisoning, Variety reported). Jon Cryer was a last-minute substitute.

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Roman Polanski has apparently avoided the need to return to the US or UK by building replica scenes for his latest film in a German film studio.

The director's forthcoming movie The Ghost, which will begin filming later this year, includes crucial scenes in New England and London, reports WENN.

Polanski has been living in France for the past 32 years after fleeing the US following conviction for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. To avoid arrest by returning to America, or extradition from the UK, he has arranged for fake scenes to be built in Germany.

The movie is based on Robert Harris's novel and stars Pierce Brosnan, Kim Cattrall, Ewan McGregor, Tom Wilkinson, and Jim Belushi.

A lawyer recently said that the Polish-born filmmaker has no plans to return to America after the 75-year-old filed a request asking a Californian court to throw out the charge. The legal representative insisted that he only filed the suit to clear his name.

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Disney Interactive Studios is rumoured to be working on a game adaptation of the upcoming TRON sequel.

The follow-up to the '80s cult hit is not expected to arrive until around 2011, but Disney has already begun seeking potential developers for game tie-in, reports Variety.

The report follows news of layoffs and downsizing at Disney’s gaming division.

The 1982 film was previously given a game adaptation in 2003 in the shape of Buena Vista Games’s TRON 2.0.

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The stuntman injured on the set of the latest Harry Potter film has vowed that he "will be back".

According to The Telegraph, David Holmes is still unable to move his hands or legs after plunging to the ground while rehearsing an aerial sequence for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

However, Holmes has updated his Facebook page to read: "David wants to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and wishes.

"And don't worry... the stunt-runt will be back."

Holmes, who is Daniel Radcliffe's stunt double, was taken to a North London hospital following the accident last Wednesday.

Last week, the stuntman's family issued a statement thanking the public for their prayers and support.

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Liam Neeson's Taken has topped the US box office on its first weekend on release.

The Fox action thriller, about an ex spy who travels to France to rescue his kidnapped daughter, ends Paul Blart: Mall Cop's two-week reign at the head of the chart.

Mall Cop slips to number two, while last week's runner-up, Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans, plummets five places with a 65% drop in ticket sales.

Elsewhere, the chart sees new entries from horror remake The Uninvited at three and a disappointing opening for Renée Zellweger rom-com New In Town in eighth place.

The US box office top ten:

1. (-) Taken - $24,625,000
2. (1) Paul Blart: Mall Cop - $14,000,000
3. (-) The Uninvited - $10,512,000
4. (4) Hotel For Dogs - $8,706,000
5. (3) Gran Torino - $8,600,000
6. (5) Slumdog Millionaire - $7,680,000
7. (2) Underworld: Rise Of The Lycans - $7,200,000
8. (-) New In Town - $6,750,000
9. (6) My Bloody Valentine 3D - $4,260,000
10. (7) Inkheart - $3,700,000

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Daniel Day-Lewis is reportedly in talks to star in Martin Scorsese's upcoming film Silence.

According to Variety, Benicio Del Toro and Gael Garcia Bernal are also in negotiations to join the cast of the long-discussed drama.

Based on the book by Shusaku Endo and adapted by Jay Cocks, the story follows two 17th century Jesuit priests who travel to Japan to locate their mentor and spread the word of Christianity.

Scorsese has reportedly been considering the project for more than a decade.

Silence would mark the third time that Day-Lewis and Scorsese have worked together. They previously collaborated on 1993's The Age Of Innocence and Gangs Of New York, for which Day-Lewis was nominated for an Oscar.

Production is expected to start later this year in New Zealand.

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Dev Patel has joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's cartoon adaptation The Last Airbender, reports Variety.

The Slumdog Millionaire star will play Zuko, the evil prince of the Fire Nation. Patel steps into the role after singer Jesse McCartney pulled out due to scheduling conflicts.

"Jesse had tour dates that conflicted with a boot camp I always hold on my films, and where the actors here have to train for martial arts," explained Shyamalan.

The director added that Patel was "already one of the guys I was interested in. Then I saw Slumdog Millionaire, and the kid just grew in my eyes."

Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone and Jessica Jade Andres are already among the cast of the Paramount movie.

The Last Airbender is scheduled for release on July 2, 2010.

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Kung Fu Panda has swept the board at the 36th annual Annie Awards.

The DreamWorks movie picked up ten awards from its sixteen nominations at the industry event that celebrates the best animated features of the past year.

Among its triumphs were best animated feature and best voice actor for Dustin Hoffman, who played the martial arts expert Master Shifu.

DreamWorks also walked away with prizes for storyboarding and production design, while the spinoff TV series and video game were also honoured.

Competitors in the best animated feature category had included Disney's Bolt and the critically-acclaimed Pixar movie WALL-E.

Last year, it was revealed that a sequel to Kung Fu Panda was in the works.

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Michael Patrick King has hinted that the proposed follow-up to Sex And The City: The Movie will be very different to the original film.

The writer and director revealed that although he has not yet written the script, he knows what route the sequel will not be taking.

"In the last movie, I thought [the fans] wanted to see an epic and violently tragic love story, and drama, but I don’t think you go to that candy store twice," he told reporters at a WGA discussion in Los Angeles.

"You can’t try to do what you did already, so you come up with a different tone that you like."

King also admitted that he had to fight for Jennifer Hudson to be cast as Carrie Bradshaw's (Sarah Jessica Parker) assistant Louise in the hit film.

"It was originally supposed to be Isla Fisher, but I didn't agree with that at all," he said. "It can’t be called Sex And The City without a little colour - it’s just wrong.

"Women are very nice when they figure out who I am. And the only negative comment I ever got about the series was every now and then, some woman of colour - whether it’d be Latina or an African-American - they’d stop and say, 'Where are the sisters?’ in my ear, and I was like, ‘Yeah, where are they?’"

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Samuel L. Jackson has reportedly joined the cast of Rodrigo Garcia's Mother And Child.

The Snakes On A Plane actor will star alongside Naomi Watts, Annette Bening and Kerry Washington in the intersecting story of three women, reports Screen Daily.

The film follows a 50-year-old woman, the daughter that she gave up for adoption and a woman looking to adopt a child of her own.

Everest Entertainment will produce alongside Mockingbird Pictures's Julie Lynn. Babel's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu will executive produce.

"I am thrilled to be financing Rodrigo Garcia's new film. The quality of the material has attracted a world-class cast, and I am proud that this will mark the first film of my new company," said Everest's Lisa Maria Falcone.

Production has already started on the film, which is scheduled for release in 2010.

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Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle has announced plans to invest some of the film's profits back into India.

Investors plan to meet in London this week to discuss how much money to put into a fund to help those living in the Mumbai slums.

The director told The Times: "We want to set it up as soon as possible.

"What absolutely mustn't happen is that the money disappears, or people think this is a PR stunt."

He added that the plan will give the filmmakers a chance to "give something back" to the city which helped them make an extraordinary movie.

Producer Christian Colson recently defended the film from accusations of exploitation of its child stars.

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Kate Moss will reportedly make an attempt to launch an acting career in the US.

According to the News Of The World, the 35-year-old supermodel has been put in touch with a movie agent by boyfriend Jamie Hince ahead of the couple's move to New York.

"She's always had dreams of acting," a source said. "Kate's nervous but feels, with the right backing, she can make the transition from supermodel to Hollywood star."

Leaving Las Vegas director Mike Figgis, who helmed an Agent Provocateur commercial with Moss in 2006, is reportedly assisting with her shift to acting.

"Figgis and Kate have been discussing possible projects and he is helping her work with the right people," added the source.

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Friday The 13th remake director Marcus Nispel has revealed that he will direct a film about cloning.

Speaking to Bloody Disgusting about the project, the German director likened it to John Schlesinger's Marathon Man.

"There's a movie that I'm interested in," he said. "A great movie about cloning, it's called Immaculate Conception. A girl gets pregnant, doesn't know why. You think it goes like Rosemary's Baby but it's not a horror movie, though.

"You find out that she's part of an experiment. A splinter group of the church found a rusty old nail in the hills of Golgotha and they've harvested the DNA they believe is from Jesus Christ. It's like Marathon Man or Coma."

Nisel, who helmed 2003's Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, added that he is also working on a movie called Pod.

"It's dealing with a huge fascination of mine - the seven sub-levels under Manhattan. When they dig deep they find something they shouldn't have," he said.

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Isla Fisher has admitted to trying to keep the clothes she wore for the fortchoming film Confessions Of A Shopaholic.

The actress said that she attempted to have a clause written into her contract but the suggestion met an unfavourable response.

She told The Sun: "I asked my agent if I could have my costumes in my contract - but she laughed in my face! I guess that doesn't really happen."

Fisher recently confirmed that she still plans to marry Borat star Sacha Baron Cohen, who is the father of her child.

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Electronic Arts (EA) has announced that it has sealed a deal to publish all future games in the Jason Bourne franchise.

Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy was released last June by Activision after being developed by High Moon Studios.

However, following negotiations with Bourne IP owner Ludlum Entertainment, EA will now oversee all future games featuring the American assassin who suffers from amnesia.

The agreement includes taking over publisher duties for the latest title in the series being developed by Swedish studio Starbreeze.

Mike Quigley,  EA's group vice-president of marketing,  described the Bourne character as "the most exciting action hero to emerge in decades".

"?EA is excited to enter into a long-term relationship with Ludlum Entertainment, bringing the action,  intrigue and intensity of Robert Ludlum’s fiction to life for casual and core gamers around the globe," he added.

Ludlum Entertainment also recently entered into an agreement with Universal Pictures to develop future movies based on the Bourne character.

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Vanessa Hudgens will definitely not be appearing in New Moon, according to the film's writer.

Last month, the High School Musical 3 star's representative denied that she had auditioned for the role of werewolf Leah Clearwater.

Speaking to People, screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg confirmed that the actress would not be starring in the follow-up to Twilight.

"I'm not sure about [final] casting but I had heard Vanessa Hudgens was going up for the part of Leah," she said. "But at the moment, the part of Leah doesn't happen until the third movie."

Rosenberg revealed that "the original cast will all be coming back", adding: "They're on set right now in Vancouver. They're all up there prepping the movie to start shooting very soon."

Discussing director Chris Weitz, who has replaced Catherine Hardwicke, she said: "[He] directed The Golden Compass which was a beautiful-looking film. And I think it's wonderful we have someone who has worked with CGI animals... that will be a big part of New Moon.

"I'm delighted we have someone who's so expert at that."

New Moon is scheduled to begin filming in March with a slated November 2009 release date.

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Clint Eastwood has been named as a Modern Master for his work in the movie industry.

The 78-year-old was presented with the award by Sean Penn at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, where Penn told the crowd that working with the veteran actor and director had been one of the highlights of his career.

He said: "He is the director actors dream about. His career is one of continuing jazz."

Eastwood thanked the festival for bestowing him with its highest honour before assuring the crowd that he has no plans to quit the film industry, reports WENN.

"There's a ton of people I haven't worked with. That's a fun thing about making movies. There's a lot of people, there's a lot of new parts that come along you need faces for," he said.

Eastwood recently took second place in a poll of America's favourite movie stars.

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My Chemical Romance have spoken about their recording of Bob Dylan's 'Desolation Row'.

Their cover will feature on the soundtrack of the upcoming movie adaptation of The Watchmen graphic novel.

Lead singer Gerard Way told the BBC that he wanted the band's take on the song to be of its time.

"The movie The Watchmen and the comic are set in this alternate version of the early '80s - I wanted the youth culture to listen to from that universe," he said.

"I think that's what Bob Dylan would want for the song."

Way added that it was not easy being a fan of Dylan and completely altering the way one of his songs was played.

Director Zack Snyder revealed last year that Way had approached him to appear on the soundtrack because he is a "huge fan" of the graphic novel.

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Brad Pitt has revealed that The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button forced him to confront his own mortality and ultimately changed his outlook on life.

The Oscar-nominated movie, for which Pitt received a Best Actor nod, has left him cherishing every moment and banishing "pettiness", reports WENN.

"I walked away realising that time is short. I don't know if I have a day or ten days or ten years or 40 years. Am I halfway or am I close to the end?" he said.

"I don't know, so I have to make sure I don't waste those moments in any kind of pettiness or bitterness or laziness, and that I surround myself with the people who are most important to me."

The father-of-six recently spoke about the "elation" he feels when he is surrounded by his family, adding that he and partner Angelina Jolie see "no reason to stop" adding to their brood.