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J.J. Abrams has said that he never felt that the original Star Trek TV series gave him "a way in" to the programme.

The director of the new prequel movie told The Guardian that he was a much bigger fan of The Twilight Zone when he was younger.

Abrams said: "Star Trek always felt like a silly, campy thing. I remember appreciating it, but feeling like I didn't get it. I felt it didn't give me a way in.

"There was a captain, there was this first officer, they were talking a lot about adventures and not having them as much as I would've liked. Maybe I wasn't smart enough, maybe I wasn't old enough."

He claimed that his previously mentioned limited knowledge of the show and its movies could have been an asset when making the new picture.

Abrams said: "I didn't want to become a student of Star Trek. I felt that was actually one of the few advantages I had. I was trying to make a movie, not trying to make a Trek movie."

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Ray Stevenson, Christopher Walken and Val Kilmer have been added to the cast of mob drama The Irishman.

Jonathan Hensleigh, who previously worked with Stevenson on The Punisher, will pen the screenplay and direct.

The Irishman is based on real-life mobster Danny Greene (Stevenson), who ruled Cleveland's criminal underworld in the 1970s. Walken is cast as notorious loan shark Shondor Birns, while Kilmer will play a cop who becomes close friends with Greene.

The film is based on Rick Porrello's bestseller To Kill The Irishman: The War That Crippled The Mafia.

According to Variety, shooting on Code Entertainment's new project begins on May 19 in Detroit.

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Danny Boyle has said that Nic Roeg's Walkabout and Don't Look Now are the films that changed his life.

The Oscar-winning director of Slumdog Millionare told The Independent that Roeg had inspired him during his own career.

Boyle said: "Nic Roeg has been a real inspiration as a director. Finding out that he was a British filmmaker astounded me.

"I watched his movies, including Don't Look Now, Walkabout and The Man Who Fell To Earth and it was wonderful to feel that someone from our own country had made those films."

He added: "The thing about Hollywood is that it always feels so far away, so distant, so glamorous, so out of reach. But it isn't."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told the newspaper that the movie that changed his life was Chariots of Fire "because it's all about the potential of young people being realised", while Sir Alan Sugar opted for The Shawshank Redemption.

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Christian Bale has revealed that he refused to watch television coverage regarding the death of Heath Ledger.

Fox News reports that The Dark Knight actor would not focus on what he felt was a "voyeuristic outlook" the news media had provided on the death of his co-star.

"I paid no attention to it. I knew him, I knew the family and why the hell would I sit there listening to idiots who don’t know anything at all?" Bale told Esquire UK. "I literally didn’t read anything, didn’t watch anything [after he died]."

Bale added that Ledger was a close friend, adding: "He was a good guy. There’s not a lot of actors who I stay in touch with. But Heath was one of them."

His next film Terminator: Salvation is released in the US on May 21 and in the UK on June 5.

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Star Trek’s opening domestic gross has been predicted to be in the region of $50 to $60 million, reports say.

According to Variety, advance tickets for the film directed by J.J. Abrams have seen a surge in purchases since Tuesday, with 87 IMAX theatre showings already sold out.

Paramount studios have also launched an international publicity campaign, while the movie will open in every major territory except Mexico and Japan.

"The publicity campaign is the most sustained and the most in-depth that I can ever remember," Paramount international distribution executive Andrew Cripps said. "We've had incredibly supportive filmmakers who understand that they need to get the word out."

Star Trek opens on May 8.

rickman

while the movie will open in every major territory except Mexico and Japan. bad for us here.... might be 2 months late again...

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Robert De Niro and Edward Norton have signed up to star in indie thriller Stone, reports say.

The story revolves around a correctional officer (De Niro) who is seduced by the spouse of a convicted arsonist (Norton) up for parole, according to Variety.

The Painted Veil director John Curran will helm the movie, while Angus MacLachlan (Junebug) wrote the screenplay.

Stone will be the debut film from Mimran Schur Pictures, which was set up earlier this year by private investor David Mimran and former Geffen Records president Jordan Schur.

De Niro has also been confirmed to return in comedy sequel Meet The Little Fockers.

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Rob Lowe and Lauren Holly have been cast in the upcoming film Too Late To Say Goodbye.

The flick, a Lifetime Movie Network original, is adapted from Ann Rule's best-selling novel of the same name.

The story centres on Jenn and Bobby Corbin (Lowe), who have a seemingly perfect marriage until it emerges that Bobby has had an affair.

Jenn then embarks on a relationship with a mystery man on the internet though is later found dead. Holly will play her sister, Heather, who sets out to investigate what she believes was a murder.

The script is penned by Adam Till, Fabrizio Filippo and Donald Martin, while Norma Bailey will direct.

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Keanu Reeves has signed up to star in Universal's modern retelling of The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Revolutionary Road writer Justin Haythe will pen the script, while Nicolas Winding Refn is currently in talks about directing the project.

The original classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson told the story of a doctor who develops an evil self. Plot details about the latest movie adaptation have not been revealed.

Universal is also working on a version of the famous story with Guillermo Del Toro. However, due to his commitments with The Hobbit, the Hellboy director's version is unlikely to be released in the near future.

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Samuel L. Jackson will star in a movie about Andrew Mwangura, the man who acted as a negotiator between pirates and ship owners during the recent hijacking off the coast of Africa.

According to Variety, Jackson and H20 Motion Pictures have acquired the movie rights to Mwangura's life story with a view to the Snakes On A Plane star taking on the lead role.

Mwangura is a freelance journalist and runs humanitarian organisation the Seafarers' Assistance Programme. He secured the freedom of the V.S. Faina crew for $3.4 million, taking no fee for his work.

"Andrew has the trust of the pirates and the ship owners, and his loyalty is to the kidnapped crews that get caught in the middle of these episodes," said H20's Andras Hamori.

Jackson is currently working on Iron Man 2, reprising his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Nick Fury, and will next star in Unthinkable with Michael Sheen.

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Minka Kelly has joined the cast of Leighton Meester's thriller The Roommate.

Friday Night Lights star Kelly will play Sara, a college student who becomes the object of obsession for her freshman roommate Rebecca (Meester), says The Hollywood Reporter.

Aly Michalka and Matt Lanter have also boarded the cast for the Screen Gems project, which will feature Twilight's Cam Gigandet.

Christian E. Christiansen is directing The Roommate from a script by Sonny Mallhi.

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Vin Diesel has signed up for the lead role in Paramount Pictures video game adaptation The Wheelman, according to Variety.

2 Fast 2 Furious director John Singleton will helm the live-action adaptation of the Ubisoft game, which was released last month and features Vin Diesel as the main character.

Diesel's character in the film will be an "expert driver who comes out of retirement to protect a woman from his past".

Rich Wilkes, Oliver Butcher and Stephen Cornwell have written the screenplay.

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Zachary Quinto had such a hard time training his hand to make the Vulcan salute for the new Star Trek movie director J.J. Abrams had to glue his fingers together.

Quinto plays a younger version of Leonard Nimoy's original Spock in the new sci-fi movie, but couldn't train his digits to separate for the "live long and prosper" Vulcan salute.

The actor was so desperate to get the V-shaped hand gesture right he even tried binding his fingers with rubber bands - but it didn't work, forcing Abrams to reach for the glue pot.

A source tells the New York Post a fed-up Abrams "glued Zachary's fingers together during filming" to finally get the shot.

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Hugh Jackman has thanked Wolverine fans for giving him and his new movie a $175 million (£117 million) opening week around the world.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine stormed to the top of box office charts all over the globe following its release last week (ends01May09) and the Aussie star is extremely grateful to fans who turned out in droves to see it at the cinema.

He says, "I was blown away... (and) so grateful to the fans and to everybody who came out in force and seemed to love the movie.

"I just want to say thank you to them... I love my job. I feel like the luckiest guy."

And he admits the 'fan-demonium' means there will be a sequel.

He adds, "The fans have been very vocal about the story they want to hear and that’s the samurai story set in Japan."

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Jason Statham has signed on to star in the update of The Mechanic, reports say.

The actor will portray a hitman in the remake of the 1972 film that starred the late Charles Bronson, according to Total Film.

The plotline will centre on an emotionally reserved assassin who trains the son of one of his victims. Statham previously played a contract killer in the Crank movies.

The Mechanic will be directed by Simon West, whose previous filmmaking credits include the remake of When A Stranger Calls.

Filming will begin this summer in Shreveport, Louisiana.

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Christopher Lee has signed up to star in Antti J. Jokinen's directorial debut Invasion of Privacy, reports say.

The Dracula star joins Hilary Swank and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the latest project from Hammer Films, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The flick, previously titled The Resident, details the story of a doctor (Swank) who moves into a New York apartment after splitting from her husband, only to discover that her new landlord is a stalker.

Earlier this year, Lee said that the James Bond bosses may need to "change certain things" to keep the franchise's audience.

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Christian Bale feared that his infamous Terminator Salvation rant would overshadow the release of the movie, he has revealed.

An audio recording of the actor losing his temper with a crew member was leaked online in February, creating a media storm.

Bale later made a public apology for his behaviour, admitting that he had "acted like a punk" and was "out of order beyond belief".

Reflecting on the row in a new interview with Access Hollywood, he commented: "You think about the numbers of days we shot on that movie - 77 days - everything going well. What's being focused on is four minutes where I behaved bad.

"I didn't want that to overshadow the hard work of everybody on the crew, in every aspect. So I felt like I had to say something."

Asked whether the incident affected his popularity, Bale replied: "I don't even think about that. I don't really have an awareness of what anybody's perception of me is, I don't like to. I like being oblivious to that because it allows me just to get on with whatever project I'm doing."

Terminator Salvation is released on June 3 in the UK.

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Paul Gascoigne has claimed that Dustin Hoffman wants to play him in a movie.

The troubled football star once met Hoffman when they stayed at the same hotel and the pair soon started discussing the possible film project.

Gascoigne told TalkSport Magazine: "I went over and said: 'Hi Dustin, you all right? You don't know me but I know you'.

"He said: 'What's your name?' and I said: 'Paul Gascoigne. But everyone calls me Gazza'. He went: 'You're that mad f***er aren't you?'

"I started laughing. He then asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. He wanted to play me in a movie! Nothing's come of it. But it will take some actor to play me I suppose."

Gascoigne has previously revealed that he has a close friendship with chatshow host Richard Madeley.

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J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot started off its opening weekend in warp drive, grossing a stellar $24 million at the box office on Friday, according to Box Office Mojo. That opening-day total is among the year's best: Though behind the $35 mil that X-Men Origins: Wolverine scored in its first 24 hours and the $30.1 mil that Fast & Furious revved up on its initial day, it is basically on par with the $25.1 mil that Watchmen earned on its first Friday. And if you add in the $7 mil that the franchise film banked in late screenings on Thursday, Star Trek's starting sum is already around $31 mil. Friday's box office leaders are listed below, and please check back here on Sunday for a full weekend recap in the Box Office Report.
1. Star Trek -- $24 mil
2. X-Men Origins: Wolverine -- $8.5 mil
3. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past -- $3.1 mil
4. Obsessed -- $2.1 mil
5. Next Day Air -- $1.4 mil

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Will Smith has revealed that he would like to be the first African-American James Bond.

The Seven Pounds star is confident that he would be a hit as the silver-screen spy, and that he would "guarantee the box office" if chosen, according to Extra.

Smith also nominated rapper P. Diddy and fellow actor Jamie Foxx for the role, saying: "Puff probably lives the most like James Bond.

"Jamie Foxx got the swag for James Bond. He can sing too, so he can add a new element to Bond. Wooing the ladies...and I think I can guarantee the box office!"

Smith added that he is set to reprise his role as Agent J in Men In Black 3, stating that he has had "a couple of meetings" with the production team behind the first two films