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Universal has bought the the rights to Jonah Hill's latest project The Adventurer's Handbook, according to Variety.

Hill and Jason Schwartzman will both star in the movie, which follows the adventures of four friends going on an unbelievable journey around the world. It is based on a book of real life explorers' stories by Mick Confrey.

The script was penned by Hill, Matt Spicer and Henry Winkler's son Max, while Hot Rod's Akiva Schaffer is signed up to direct.

Hill's other new projects include Get Him To The Greek, which co-stars Russell Brand and Jason Segel, while Schwartzman is currently working on HBO's Bored To Death and Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox.

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Producers have shelved early plans to base the next Jason Bourne movie on one of Robert Ludlum's spy novels.

Last year, Universal secured the exclusive rights to the Jason Bourne character and other titles from creator Ludlum's back catalogue.

Producer Frank Marshall later told ComingSoon that he was considering adapting Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic for the fourth Bourne film.

According to Variety, Universal has now entered talks to make Mosaic and Bourne 4 as two separate films. The former centres on a US spy who falls in love with a double agent, while director Paul Greengrass and star Matt Damon will return for an original storyline in the new Bourne instalment.

The last movie in the Matt Damon espionage series, 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum, pulled in more than $400 million at the worldwide box office.

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Ed Solomon has been hired to write Tom Cruise and Ben Stiller's updated take on The Hardy Boys.

The Men In Black and Bill & Ted screenwriter will script comedy The Hardy Men for the pair, which explores the lives of amateur detectives Frank and Joe Hardy as they reunite as adults to solve a mystery, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Stiller's Night At The Museum director Shawn Levy is attached to helm, while the latest writer to pen a draft of the script is Simon Kinberg.

The Hardy Boys books began in 1927 and were published by Grosset & Dunlap with authors often writing under the pseudynom Franklin W. Dixon. The Hardy adventures continue today in a series of stories titled The Hardy Boys: Undercover Brothers.

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Fans of late actor Heath Ledger have started a petition calling for the Joker to be retired from the Batman movies.

The producers of The Ultimate Joker website have argued that Ledger's BAFTA-winning portrayal of the supervillain was so perfect that no attempt should be made to replace him.

They said: "It's impossible to imagine, impossible to draw or dub much less repeat the performance.

"That's why efforts to find one should simply cease. The Joker must die now and forever.

"Now is the time for him to rest in peace as Ledger has ennobled the honourable villain."

They added that the "ultimate Joker" deserves the homage of having the character retired from future films.

Director Terry Gilliam recently described Ledger as a "genius" and the best actor of his generation.

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Hugh Grant movies Love Actually and Four Weddings And A Funeral have reportedly headed a list of films that men secretly enjoy watching.

The Lovefilm survey saw Titanic take third place, with the fourth spot going to Pretty Woman.

Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast At Tiffany's was next, with Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Bridget Jones' Diary also making the top ten.

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Steve Martin has defended new film The Pink Panther 2, claiming that comedies are always up against "critical snobbery".

While presenting the movie at the Berlin Film Festival, the 63-year-old actor revealed that he has received bad reviews throughout his career, reports Reuters.

He said: "The Jerk, one of my most enduring comedy films, was universally panned in America. And comedies always have to overcome critical snobbery.

"It's just the way it is. And so you go, 'Oh, well, okay. Why are these movies that you've criticised so archly still around ten years later, 15 years later, 20 years later'. It's because comedy is not a critics' medium. It just isn't."

The film, directed by Harald Zwart, also features Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Andy Garcia, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and John Cleese.

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Isla Fisher has admitted that she ignored the wishes of Wedding Crashers' director David Dobkin.

The actress decided to approach the role of unhinged Gloria Cleary in her own way after disagreeing with Dobkin on the 2005 movie's set.

Speaking to BANG Showbiz, Fisher explained: "David wanted me to play it like Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct and I said: 'No - you mean Glenn Close in Fatal Attraction'.

"We were on different pages so I'd nod my head whenever he spoke and go and do my own thing. But he was a great director and he was great at letting me improvise."

Fisher added that PJ Hogan, who directed her latest film Confessions Of A Shopaholic, also embraced her independent nature.

She said: "He was totally into it. The way I work is to do it the way it's written and then once I'm in character I like to play around and say whatever I think is funny."

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Lindsay Lohan has denied reports that she will star in Samuel Bayer's remake of horror movie A Nightmare On Elm Street.

Rumours were swirling that the Mean Girls star had signed to appear in the "reimagining" of the 1984 classic, which starred Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.

Lohan's representative has now denied the claims, telling E!: "It's not true. We don't know where this all came from, but there's nothing there."

Horror movie veterans Brad Fuller and Andrew Form confirmed in December that the New Line remake had been given the green light.

Englund, 62, has ruled out a return to the Krueger role and producers are yet to cast a new Freddy.

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The father of Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle has apparently admitted that he nodded off while viewing the award-winning movie.

Patrick Boyle, 88, watched the film at his local cinema and said it was "great", but not his favourite.

"That is Shallow Grave. It has always stuck in my mind because it was his first," he told The Sun. "I've seen Slumdog Millionaire - but I think I missed a couple of parts so I wouldn't mind seeing it again."

A broken television meant that Boyle's father also missed watching the BAFTAs, where the film picked up seven gongs. However, he plans to fly to the US for the Oscars, where it has been nominated in ten categories.

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Lily Allen has reportedly agreed to write a movie with her film producer mother Alison Owen.

The singer will start work on the project when she is less busy with her music commitments, according to The Sun.

A source told the newspaper: "As soon as she has finished promoting her album, she'll concentrate on the movie."

Allen is expected to top both the album and singles charts tomorrow with It's Not Me, It's You and its lead track 'The Fear'.

She is also lining up a number of US TV interviews in order to boost her career across the pond.

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Hugh Jackman has let slip that he would like the late Heath Ledger to be honoured at the 81st Academy Awards.

Ledger, who died from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last year, has been nominated for best supporting actor for his role in The Dark Knight.

His family said they were 'proud and excited' by the nod, adding that Ledger had enjoyed the "time of his life" making the film.

Jackman, who will host this year's Oscars ceremony, told AP that it would be a "fitting" honour and that Ledger deserves the recognition. "I can't hide the fact that I would really love for that honour to be bestowed upon him," Jackman said of the fellow Australian.

The Australia star also revealed that there are to be changes inside the Kodak Theatre for the February 22 event.

"The look of the theatre is very different. It's more like the nightclub of your dreams. It's very intimate," he said.

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The Friday the 13th remake scored big box office on the day from which it got its name, grossing $19.1 million to lead the Presidents Day holiday weekend race by a mile. Assuming early estimates hold, that sum is easily the biggest single-day gross so far in 2009. Second place on Friday went to He's Just Not That Into You, which earned $5 mil; the romantic holdover should get a sweet bounce on Valentine's Day. The same goes for Confessions of a Shopaholic, which brought in $4.4 mil on its opening day. Fellow new release The International, however, may never see the boost it needs: The banking thriller banked just $2.6 mil in its initial 24 hours. Friday's totals are below, and please check back here on Sunday for a full weekend recap in the Box Office Report.
1. Friday the 13th -- $19.1 mil
2. He's Just Not That Into You -- $5 mil
3. Taken -- $4.7 mil
4. Confessions of a Shopaholic -- $4.4 mil
5. Coraline -- $3 mil
6. The International -- $2.6 mil
7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop -- $2.4 mil
8. The Pink Panther 2 -- $1.9 mil
9. Push -- $1.8 mil
10. Slumdog Millionaire -- $1.5 mil

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Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she is "dying to do" an action film, citing Angelina Jolie as her inspiration.

The actress claimed that she would even go to the gym to build up the physical strength needed for an all-action role.

Bang Media quotes her as saying: "I would like to do an action movie. I love to watch Angelina Jolie in movies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

"I think movies where women have great strength and character are interesting. I'm dying to do one."

The mother-of-two recently revealed that her children sometimes find her embarrassing.

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The child stars of Slumdog Millionaire have reportedly been forbidden from attending the 81st Academy Awards by their parents.

Rubin Ali and Azharuddin Ismail, both eight, were offered the chance to attend the prestigious Oscar ceremony next weekend after film bosses deemed it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

However, producer Christian Colson revealed that their parents refused to grant the children permission to travel, meaning that they will miss the event.

"The last thing they said to us was give us the money for the plane fares instead," WENN quotes Colson as saying.

Slumdog picked up seven gongs at the recent BAFTAs and has been nominated in ten categories at the Oscars.

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Watchmen: The End Is Nigh will be released next month for Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3, according to publisher Warner Bros. Interactive.

The downloadable episodic beat-em-up will serve as a prequel to the upcoming big screen adaptation of the DC comic. The game allows players to take on the role of either Rorschach or Nite Owl II in singleplayer or multiplayer mode.

The comic's editor Len Wein and artist Dave Gibbons both assisted developer Deadline Games in the production of the title.

Watchmen: The End Is Nigh is available for download on Xbox 360 and PC from March 4, with PSN users able to pick it up one day later. The film lands in cinemas on March 6.

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Terry Gilliam has spoken about the difficulty of finishing The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus without Heath Ledger.

Speaking to ITN, the BAFTA-winning director described the weeks following the January 2008 death of the Australian actor as "madness".

The movie, which stars Ledger, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits, is about the leader of a travelling theatre troupe which takes audience members through a magical mirror to explore their imaginations.

Production was suspended following Ledger's death, while Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped in to portray his character Tony in dream sequences.

Gilliam said: "It was madness, frankly, trying to rescue a film with Heath dying in the middle of it. But I think the sheer pressure of having to do something made us just go for it. You couldn't double-think anything, you just make some decisions, jump in and hope it worked.

"But shooting it after that point, I was never sure whether it would or wouldn't work. But I can actually say it works and it works brilliantly."

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Scarlett Johansson is in talks with Marvel to replace Emily Blunt as the Black Widow in Iron Man 2, according to Entertainment Weekly.

Young Victoria star Blunt is the frontrunner to take on the role, that of a Russian spy clad in a high-tech black leather suit, but Fox holds an option on the actress and is looking to exercise it for its forthcoming Gulliver's Travels remake.

Johansson is one of several actresses Marvel is in discussions with, although Blunt's agents are still attempting to hammer out a deal to avoid a scheduling conflict and allow her to star in both the Iron Man sequel and Gulliver's Travels.

Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow and director John Favreau will all return for Iron Man 2, while Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke have been linked with villain roles.

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Clive Owen has said that he can tell when something is wrong in a script he is reading for a film.

The Closer actor told The Guardian that he can recognise when written dialogue is not right for the character he is playing.

Owen said: "I can smell bulls**t in a script and I can call it and say, 'That's not right'.

"I can't fix it. I wouldn't be able to rewrite it. But if you give it to me, I can say, 'Now that works.' I'm very clear [about] the rhythm and the way people speak it."

He also added that he can tell if somebody is "a rogue" and said that he has met many people who match that description.

Earlier this month, Owen revealed that onlookers laughed at him as he ran through an Istanbul market wielding a gun for a scene in his upcoming movie The International.

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Uwe Boll has asked for help raising funds for his latest movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The German director is recruiting "co-producers" to pull together $18.5 million in order to launch his terrorist disaster epic Blackout. In return for $49 (£34), investors will be given a limited-edition DVD and the opportunity to win a trip to the set.

TheBlackoutFilm.com is open until March 31, with Boll saying that he will return $40 (£28) from each payment should the project not move forward.

Boll's movies, primarily video game adaptations, have been almost universally panned by critics. His work includes Alone In The Dark, BloodRayne and In The Name Of The King.

On February 21, he will be honoured with a lifetime dishonour prize at the Golden Raspberry Awards.

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Peruvian drama The Milk Of Sorrow has won the prestigious Golden Bear prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

The downbeat drama centres on a near-silent woman (Magaly Solier) who believes that her sadness has been passed down from her mother's breast milk.

"This is for Peru. This is for our country," said director Claudia Llosa after winning the award on Saturday. "I hope more women will be encouraged by this. We need more women directors, actors. We need more women in films."

In addition to Sorrow's triumph, South American film Gigante shared the Silver Bear with German entry Everyone Else and the Alfred Bauer award for innovation in filmmaking with Polish director Andrzej Wajda's Sweet Rush.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi won the director prize for About Elly, his movie about three middle-class couples.

"A few days ago there was a festival in Iran and this film was screened and it got the award from the people as the best film," said Farhadi. "I'm glad my compatriots agree with the opinion of the jury."

Movies with big-name stars failed to make much of an impression at the festival, although Woody Harrelson's politically-themed The Messenger won the screenplay Silver Bear and Renée Zellweger's '50s-set comedy My One And Only was met favourably by critics.