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Webb, Bay rumoured for 'Spider-Man' reboot

Marc Webb, Michael Bay and Gary Ross have been linked to the director's chair for the Spider-Man reboot, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Studio Sony yesterday confirmed that director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire will be replaced in the superhero's next big screen adventure, which will revamp the character in favour of continuing with the established incarnation.

Webb is the director of recent rom-com (500) Days Of Summer, Bay has steered the big budget Transformers series, and Seabiscuit helmer Ross worked on a draft of the script for the aborted Spider-Man 4.

The new director will work from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac). The story reportedly puts Peter Parker "in a more contemporary setting, as a teenager battling today's issues".

The Spider-Man reboot will open in cinemas in 2012.

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Denzel Washington: 'I'm not a leading man'

Denzel Washington has said that he does not see himself as a "leading man".

The Book Of Eli star told Parade that he initially just hoped to earn enough money to get by when he started acting.

Washington said: "I'm not a leading man. I'm an actor. You get a part and you interpret the part. But the characters I play don't touch me after I'm finished. I just shake them off.

"Maybe when you step into other people's shoes a little piece of them stays with you because you've sort of lived their lives. But I don't take it home with me."

He added: "I never set out to be a movie star. I remember when I was an actor in New York after growing up in Harlem, I was just hoping to [get] $300 a week. When I achieved that I thought I was on top of the world.

"Now, I'm starting rehearsals to head back to Broadway in August Wilson's Fences with Viola Davis, which opens this spring. I can't wait. I couldn't go to sleep for a few nights just thinking about getting ready to start."

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Pattinson in line for 'Spider-Man 4'?

Robert Pattinson is favourite to replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man, it has been claimed.

Maguire, who starred as Peter Parker in the franchise's first three films, announced his departure from the project earlier this week.

Following news that director Sam Raimi and Kirsten Dunst have also been dropped from the latest instalment, speculation is rife over who will replace them.

Twilight star Pattinson is currently looking the most likely to assume the lead role, says the Daily Record.

However, the 23-year-old is believed to be facing serious competition from Michael Cera.

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Affleck 'didn't know who Blake Lively was'

Ben Affleck has revealed that he didn't know who Blake Lively was when he hired her for his next movie.

In an interview with Esquire, the actor-director admitted that he hadn't seen her on Gossip Girl, but was so stunned by her talent that he rewrote a part just for her.

"The whole movie kind of hinges in a lot of ways on her performance, and I knew it was going to be the hardest part to cast. This girl came in, and no-one had said to me beforehand, 'Hey, look for this person'," he said. "And obviously she was really attractive, and so I thought, 'Oh, here comes some blonde girl'. She came in, did one reading, and just crushed it."

The star continued: "I was sort of stunned. I said, 'Jeez, you know, that was really f**king good. Who are you?' She didn’t mention that she was on a television show."

Affleck added that all other actresses up for the role were subsequently nixed from the list and Lively was moved to top consideration.

"I just said, 'Look, there's no alternative. I don't have a second choice'. I want to be on the record because I think she's really going to blow up, and I want to look like the smart guy," he said. "I didn't quite discover her, but at least I want to say I bought the stock when it wasn't $500 (£310) a share."

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Sarsgaard for 'Green Lantern' villain?

Peter Sarsgaard is in talks to join the cast of Green Lantern.

The 38-year-old is attached to play the villain in Warner Bros' DC Comics adaptation, directed by Martin Campbell, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Sarsgaard would portray Dr Hector Hammond, a pathologist and senator's son who obtains psychic powers after discovering a meteor.

Ryan Reynolds was previously cast as Hal Jordan, the test pilot who becomes superhero Green Lantern. Gossip Girl star Blake Lively is to play Jordan's love interest Carol Ferris.

Production on Green Lantern is to start in March in New Orleans.

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Stallone posts X-ray of broken neck

Sylvester Stallone has sought to prove that he fractured his neck while filming The Expendables by posting an X-ray image of his injury complete with metal plate and screws.

The actor sent the photographs and a letter to the StalloneZone website after some fans questioned his account of the on-screen fight.

Stallone said: "For the doubters and the haters, a picture is worth a thousand words. You walk the walk, you pay a price. But, as bad as it was at least we have it on film. Keep punchin'. Sly.

"P.S. To the haters, I don't need to invent pain, there's enough of it out there to go around. P.S.S. The reason I was never seen in a neck brace is because I stayed home for three weeks to heal."

He added: "P.S.S.S. Van Damme may mean a great deal to some of you, but what he's putting forth is not truthful."

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Director returns to Jolie, Depp's 'Tourist'

Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has returned to the director's chair for Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp's thriller The Tourist.

The German filmmaker, who helmed Oscar-winning drama The Lives Of Others, had previously been attached to make the movie with Tom Cruise but dropped out during script development, reports Entertainment Weekly.

Bharat Nalluri and Harry Potter helmer Alfonso Cuaron have also been linked to the project in recent months.

The movie centres on an Interpol agent (Jolie) who manipulates an American tourist (Depp) to out a known criminal. It is based on the 2005 French film Anthony Zimmer.

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Ivan Reitman to direct 'Ghostbusters 3'

Director Ivan Reitman has confirmed plans to direct Ghostbusters 3.

Speaking to MTV, the filmmaker stated that he will be helming the second Ghostbusters sequel, as has been speculated.

Reitman also said that the film's script, penned by Year One writers Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, has been completed and a second draft is currently in the works.

When asked about alleged story spoilers revealed by Ghostbusters star Sigourney Weaver, Reitman said: "I'm not going to comment on what's in the script and on what Sigourney may or may not have said."

He added that he hopes to start shooting the film in 2011.

A full cast announcement for the project has not been made.

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J.J. Abrams reacts to 'Spider-Man' reboot

J.J. Abrams has commented on Sony's plans to reboot the Spider-Man film franchise.

Speaking to MTV, the Star Trek director joked about his reaction to the news of a new Spider-Man film.

"I think, as the director of Mission Impossible 3 and Star Trek 15 or whatever it is, I'm probably the last one to speak badly about a reboot of anything. So... 'Yay! Reboots!'" Abrams said.

When asked for advice on how the studio should approach the reboot, the 43-year old jested: "Definitely cast [Star Trek stars] Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto."

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Daniel Craig in talks for 'Cowboys & Aliens'

Daniel Craig is in talks to lead the cast of comic book adaptation Cowboys & Aliens.

According to Collider, Craig is the frontrunner to replace Robert Downey Jr, who dropped out to concentrate on making a Sherlock Holmes sequel.

Iron Man helmer Jon Favreau is still on board to steer the project from a script by Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof.

Platinum Studios' Cowboys & Aliens graphic novel centres on Zeke Jackson, a Western settler who teams up with Apache Indians when aliens crash in their city.

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Johnston talks new 'Jurassic Park' trilogy

Director Joe Johnston has confirmed that Jurassic Park IV is in the works and revealed plans for a new trilogy.

Speaking to Box Office, the Jurassic Park III helmer said that the fourth film in the franchise will be "unlike anything you've ever seen".

"It breaks away from the first three - it's essentially the beginning of the second Jurassic Park trilogy. It's going to be done in a completely different way," he said.

He added: "We don't want to make sequel after sequel just because there's a market for it. We want to tell different, interesting stories."

In November, Johnston said that he was hoping to make the next Jurassic Park movie because it has "a great story".

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Johnson: 'I believed in tooth fairy'

Dwayne Johnson has claimed that he believed in the tooth fairy when he was a child.

The wrestler-turned-actor plays the title role in upcoming Fox comedy The Tooth Fairy.

Johnson told Parade: "I absolutely believed when I was young because the tooth fairy was always good to me. The tooth fairy generally left me a dollar or two dollars and, as a kid, that was a lot of money.

"Now, with inflation, I guess maybe the price has gone up and sometimes there's more money under the pillow, but then sometimes it can be a treat, something cool. What if the tooth fairy left an iPod? That would be cool, wouldn't it?"

Of his parents' attempts not to deceive him, he added: "Even when times were tough, they really did a wonderful job of keeping the notion alive of Santa Claus, the Easter bunny and the tooth fairy, the spirit of what that means - giving and giving back.

"I was really fortunate to have a mum and dad in my life who believed in my own potential, even when I didn't see it at that point. Now, I can look back and reflect and be grateful for those people in my life."

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Weaver reconsiders 'Ghostbusters' sequel?

Sigourney Weaver has allegedly been reconsidering reprising her role in the third Ghostbusters film.

According to WENN, the actress had second thoughts about returning to the franchise after she learned all of her original castmates will be coming back.

She said: "I haven't read the script but you know, why not? I don't know any details actually but I'm looking forward to reading it. It'll be fun."

The new film will reportedly show the original Ghostbusters handing over control of their spook-chasing responsibilities to a team of hot young ladies.

It was recently reported that first Ghostbusters filmmaker Ivan Reitman has signed on to direct.

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J.J. Abrams talks 'Cloverfield' sequel

J.J. Abrams has offered an update on the status of his Cloverfield sequel.

Speaking to MTV, the producer revealed that the follow-up to the 2008 monster movie is currently in development.

"We're working on something right now with that and again, you know, it's early stages," Abrams said.

The director also joked that the sequel to his Star Trek reboot would focus on the Gorn, a race of lizard people featured in the original series.

"We just thought it would be fun... to go Gorn," he jested.

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Strong to play 'Green Lantern' villain?

Sherlock Holmes star Mark Strong is reportedly in talks to play villain Sinestro in Green Lantern.

Speaking to MTV, Green Lantern director Martin Campbell dismissed rumours that Jackie Earl Haley was in line to portray the role.

"In fact, we're in negotiations with Mark Strong to play Sinestro," Campbell said.

He added: "If you look up old pictures of Sinestro, he's (Strong) very like him. The Jackie Earle Haley thing, somebody told me about it this morning; I had never heard it before in my life."

The helmer also offered a list of DC Comics characters that will appear in the superhero film, including Kilowag, Tomar-Re and Abin Sur.

Peter Sarsgaard is attached to star as villain Dr Hector Hammond.

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Shawn Ashmore talks 'X-Men' future

X-Men trilogy star Shawn Ashmore has spoken out about Bryan Singer's return to the film franchise with X-Men: First Class.

Ashmore, who played Iceman in the first three films - the first two of which were directed by Singer - admitted that it is unlikely he will ever get to reprise the role but has not given up hope.

He told Movieline: "Those films are always a blast to make, and working with Bryan is amazing. It’d be awesome to do another X-Men film and it’s too bad that there probably won’t be a role for me, but who knows?

"The universe is huge and they keep making those films. You never know - hopefully, I’ll get the chance to play Iceman one more time."

Ashmore added that fans should be confident about Singer's take on the early days of the X-Men.

He said: "Bryan is clearly very, very passionate about the X-Men films and the characters, so you know he’s going to a good job with whatever the story’s going to be."

X-Men: First Class is currently in pre-production.

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Pitt, Damon linked to 'Happy Feet 2'

Matt Damon and Brad Pitt have reportedly teamed up again by joining the voice cast of Happy Feet 2.

The George Miller movie, which features the voices of Robin Williams and Elijah Wood, is a 3D sequel to the 2006 animation of the same name.

While Warner Bros refused to comment on the casting, Movieline claims that the deal is signed and recording is already underway. The movie is currently set for release next November.

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Denzel Washington: 'Action scenes are fun'

Denzel Washington has revealed that he enjoyed filming his latest fight scenes.

The actor, who stars in the post-apocalyptic action movie The Book Of Eli, has claimed he had fun training for and filming physical scenes.

Speaking to Dark Horizons, the 55-year-old said: "It was a lot of fun, actually. Jeff Amata who is a disciple of Danny Inosanto is a contemporary of Bruce Lee.

"So I was training with some of the top, top guys. That was hard but it was a lot of fun just to stretch every day. I read the script. I know I win! Just to go down that road, that avenue was fun."

The Oscar winner also suggested that his movie isn't so "far-fetched".

Washington added: "I watched the film last night. It was the first time I've seen it finished though I've seen it numerous times. It stuck out to me that line I say about the Bible, that this is probably the reason the war started to begin with.

"The point being, it's not that far-fetched. Not that this is a cautionary tale, necessarily, but it's been going on for thousands of years. Hopefully, we're just entertainment."

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Johnny Depp: 'Mad Hatter is fascinating'

Johnny Depp has revealed that he loved playing the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland.

Depp became more and more interested in the character after reading the original novels, Contactmusic reports.

"I started reading the books and understanding the character and the significance of the letter M," he said. "There's a moment when he says, 'I'm investigating things that begin with the letter M'.

"That was huge for me. Hatters were referred to as mad because of the mercury they used to use in the glue. Mercury was the M. I found that fascinating."

However, Depp has also admitted that filming was "exhausting" because he worked with green screens so much.

"It beats you up," he revealed. "You're kind of befuddled at the end of the day."

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Keira Knightley snubs 'My Fair Lady'

Keira Knightley will reportedly not take the lead role in the new film version of My Fair Lady.

The 24-year-old actress, who was speculated to have won a starring role in the new film adaptation, has allegedly turned down the opportunity to play Eliza Doolittle.

Daily Mail columnist Baz Bamigboye said: "Keira was never officially offered the part and she is believed to have felt the project was taking too long to get off the ground."

Other actresses that have been linked to the project have included Scarlett Johansson and Anne Hathaway.

Knightley has been confirmed to appear alongside Michael Fassbender and Christoph Waltz in David Cronenberg's The Talking Cure.

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