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The Dark Knight has become only the fourth movie in history to cross the $1 billion mark at the box office.

Warner Brothers has announced that Christopher Nolan's film, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, has now grossed $1,001,082,160 worldwide.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio's domestic distribution president Dan Fellman said: "From our initial record-shattering opening weekend to the unprecedented momentum of the film's box office run, we could not be more proud of The Dark Knight.

"We salute our filmmakers, cast and crew on making cinematic history."

The superhero movie now ranks in fourth place in the list of the highest-grossing films of all time, behind Titanic ($1.84 billion), The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King ($1.13 billion) and Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest ($1.06 billion).

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The Screen Actors Guild has rejected the "last, best and final offer" from major Hollywood studios following negotiations over actors' pay.

SAG members, who have been without a film and television contract since their old deal expired in June, have described the proposed new contract as "regressive and damaging".

The Alliance Of Motion Picture And Television Producers, which represents the studios, had wanted the new contract to start from the date that it was signed and last for three years, while union members wanted it backdated to June and valid for only two years.

In a statement, SAG said: "What management presented as a compromise is, in fact, an attempt to separate [us] from other industry unions. By attempting to extend our contract expiration one year beyond the other entertainment unions, the AMPTP intends to de-leverage our bargaining position from this point forward."

However, the AMPTP defended its offer as "fair and strong", adding: "We simply cannot offer... a better deal than the rest of the industry achieved under far better economic conditions than those now confronting our industry."

SAG has revealed that 73% of its National Board Of Directors rejected the offer, sparking fears of an actors' strike which could have similar consequences to 2007's writers' strike.

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Heath Ledger's father has revealed that accepting the best supporting actor Oscar on behalf of his late son was a "humbling" experience.

Along with Heath's mother Sally Bell and his older sister Kate, Kim Ledger accepted the award for his son's performance in The Dark Knight.

He said: "First of all, I have to say this is ever so humbling. Just being among such wonderful people, such a wonderful industry.

"This award tonight would've humbly validated Heath's quiet determination to be truly accepted by you all here, his peers, within an industry he so loved. Thank you."

Sally described her son as "compassionate and generous soul", while Kate added that the family would "proudly accept this award on behalf of your beautiful Matilda", referring to the actor's three-year-old daughter.

Last week, Kim revealed that he was not taking Heath's victory for granted as no-one can ever expect to win an Oscar.

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Kate Winslet has revealed that her mum thought Meryl Streep would take home this year's Academy Award for best actress.

Winslet, 33, said that she was terrified before last night's ceremony in case she once again walked away empty-handed, having failed to win after five previous nominations.

According to WENN, her mother Sally said: "I was a bit worried. At the last minute, I thought Meryl might get it. She has had so many nominations but she only won two."

Instead, Winslet accepted the prize for her role in The Reader, describing the win as a childhood dream come true.

"I honestly didn't expect it. When you're in a category with Meryl Streep, you really just think, 'Oh well. She's Meryl Streep! She's Meryl!' It's not supposed to be possible," the actress said.

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Wes Craven has hinted that he may direct Scream 4 if the script and money were right.

The horror heavyweight, who helmed the first three instalments in the slasher franchise, told website Bloody Disgusting that he has not completely ruled out returning for the fourth outing.

"It would take it being as a good a script as the first one was," he said, adding: "[And the] pay day reflects what I've done for [the Weinstein] company and what I've gone through on Cursed!"

Craven confirmed that Scream scribe Kevin Williamson has "made a deal to write" the follow-up but admitted that he has no idea what the storyline will entail.

Last year, a press release for Scream 4 suggested that the film will "re-start the franchise", leading to speculation that the main cast will be replaced by younger, fresher faces.

However, original stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox-Arquette and David Arquette have reportedly been approached to make cameo appearances in the long-in-development movie.

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The Oscar successes of Slumdog Millionaire and Smile Pinki have been celebrated across India.

Anand Sharma, the country's minister of state for information and broadcasting and external affairs, said in a statement that the Academy Award recognition marked "the finest hour of Indian cinema in the global scenario".

Celebrations took place outside composer A.R. Rahman's home in Chennai after he collected his Oscars for best score and best song for Slumdog Millionaire. In the Mumbai slums, where the film was set, children were also celebrating the movie's award haul, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The CEO of the film's Indian distributor Fox Star Studios hailed the victory as a "historic moment".

Vijay Singh said: "It's an amazing showcase for Indian talent, and to see all the kids and cast and crew of the film on stage was incredible. This film has set the blueprint for the future."

Slumdog Millionaire won eight awards at Sunday's ceremony, including best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay. Meanwhile, Smile Pinki, the story of an Indian girl born with a cleft lip, scooped the Oscar for best short documentary feature.

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Debbie Allen has spoken about returning to the New York High School For Performing Arts in the remake of the musical Fame.

Allen, who played Lydia Grant in the 1980 movie and subsequent TV series, told The Mirror that she agreed to take part in the forthcoming film remake because she "felt good about it".

The 59-year-old actress and choreographer said: "The actors are different, but the storylines are pretty true to the original film - it's still very relevant. Kids still deal with the same issues as they did back then. Are they gonna make it? Are they suicidal? Are they gonna do the work?"

Under the helm of Kevin Tancharoen, the remake will carry a budget of around $25 million (£17 million) and feature a mix of stars and unknown actors.

It is scheduled for release this September.

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Amanda Seyfried has been linked with a role in Zack Snyder's upcoming Sucker Punch.

Director Snyder told IESB.net that he is hoping the Mamma Mia! star will lead his all-girl cast: "We'll see, we're trying to. She's great. I mean, she's got some other obligations and we're just trying to figure that out."

Seyfried recently signed up for the main role in Oscar Wilde comedy A Woman Of No Importance.

Sucker Punch, described as "Alice In Wonderland with machine guns", centres on a girl confined to a mental institution who slips into a fantasy world to escape from reality. The movie is scheduled to begin production this autumn for a March 2011 release.

Snyder's latest film Watchmen opens on March 6.

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Sean Penn may join Naomi Watts in a film about outed CIA spy Valerie Plame, says Variety.

The Oscar-winning Milk star is in discussions to portray Plame's husband Joseph Wilson in Doug Liman's movie. The director had previously sought Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe for the two lead roles.

The movie is based on Plame's memoir Fair Game: My Life As A Spy, My Betrayal By The White House.

Former politician Wilson saw his wife Plame (Watts) dismissed from the CIA after 20 years of service when she accused the Bush administration of lying about weapons of mass destruction in her Washington Post column.

The pair filed a civil suit against former Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and ex-chief of staff Lewis Libby when her covert status was compromised. Rove and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage later admitted that they leaked her CIA links to journalists.

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Vanessa Hudgens has admitted that she would be "interested" in landing a role in New Moon.

The High School Musical 3 star was reported to have auditioned for the part of werewolf Leah Clearwater in the Twilight follow-up earlier this year.

Speaking to Extra, she said: "It's still a rumour. I'm really interested, I think it's a great project but nothing's happened as of now."

She added: "I love it. My sister has read all the books too."

Last month, the film's writer Melissa Rosenberg played down reports that Hudgens would join the cast, insisting that "at the moment, the part of Leah doesn't happen until the third movie".

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

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Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has been cast in Woody Allen's latest London-set movie, according to Variety.

The Indian-born actress will follow in the footsteps of Diane Keaton and Scarlett Johansson, both of whom have portrayed ingenues for Allen. The US director has previously used London as the setting for Match Point and Scoop.

Naomi Watts has also boarded the untitled project, which added Josh Brolin and Anthony Hopkins to its cast earlier this month.

Allen's latest movie Vicky Cristina Barcelona won Penelope Cruz a supporting actress Oscar on Sunday and is in cinemas now. His next movie, Whatever Works, will arrive later this year.

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John Cusack and Rob Corddry have joined the cast of MGM's Hot Tub Time Machine, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The comedy revolves around a group of grown men who find themselves transported back to 1987 to relive their glory days after getting into a hot tub.

Office star Craig Robinson and Clark Duke are also in talks to join the movie. Cusack, Corddry and Robinson will play the time-travelling friends, with Duke in line to play Cusack's younger brother.

Steve Pink, a co-producer on Cusack's High Fidelity, will direct the movie and rewrite Josh Heald's original script.

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Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke is reportedly in negotiations to helm a new book adaptation for Summit Entertainment.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Hardwicke has been tapped to direct a big screen version of If I Stay, which revolves around a 17-year-old girl having to make the choice whether to live or die following a car crash.

The novel, by Sisters In Sanity author Gayle Forman, is not scheduled for release until April but Summit reportedly bought the screen rights last month.

Last year, Hardwicke pulled out of directing New Moon, the second instalment in the Twilight franchise, citing scheduling difficulties.

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Mickey Rourke has congratulated his rival Sean Penn for beating him to the best actor Oscar at this year's ceremony.

Speaking to The Mirror, the Wrestler star revealed that he was "pleased" that Penn had been honoured for his work in the biopic Milk.

"He's a great actor and a great friend of mine," he said. "He deserved it."

Rourke has previously credited Penn for helping him turn his life around when he was "down and out", saying: "He got hold of me and told me exactly what to do and not to do."

The pair dismissed reports of a feud between them earlier this month after they were spotted enjoying drinks together at the Sunset Tower in Hollywood.

Referencing the death of his pet Chihuahua last week, Rourke said: "To be honest I'd rather have my dog Loki back than an award."

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Kate Winslet has admitted that she has been obsessed with her Academy Award statuette since winning the best actress prize at the weekend.

The Reader star told US talkshow host Oprah Winfrey that she cannot stop looking at the award.

She said: "I keep looking at him and going, 'Oooh wow'. Looking at every little piece - very nice little bottom.

"It really is an out-of-body experience - you just think: 'This can't be happening'.

"I felt for sure this was going to be Meryl Streep's. I honestly did not think for one second that it was going to be me."

Earlier this week, Winslet and her mother both revealed that they feared Streep would win the best actress gong for her part in Doubt.

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Twilight star Ashley Greene has described the script for New Moon as "really good".

The actress, who plays Alice Cullen in the vampire franchise, told Extra that she thought the screenplay for the upcoming film was "better than" its predecessor.

"I'm so excited. I finally, finally got the script and it's good," she said. "It's really good... I'm really excited to work with [director] Chris [Weitz]. I finally spoke to him the other day."

She continued: "I like it better than the first one. I might be biased because I have a bigger part."

Discussing the overwhelming attention that the movies have attracted, she said: "It's nice for me because... a lot of people don't recognise me because my hair is longer and everything is a little different.

"Versus poor Rob Pattinson (Edward), who went from nobody knowing him to everything being documented."

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

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If the recent trailer and these two teaser posters are anything to go by, Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds promises to be as action-packed and bloodthirsty as his two-part martial arts epic Kill Bill. Inglourious Basterds, about a group of US soldiers wreaking havoc in Nazi-occupied France, will be released in UK cinemas on August 21.

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Ron Howard has confirmed that a movie adaptation of Arrested Development is "going ahead" as planned.

The feature film version of the Fox TV show was announced last year but fans were left concerned about its status after star Michael Cera described the project as "hypothetical".

Speaking to MTV News at Sunday night's Oscars, the sitcom's executive producer insisted that the movie is still happening and is gaining momentum.

"I had a great meeting with [series creator] Mitch [Hurwitz]. Things are going really well. He's writing," said Howard.

Discussing speculation that Cera (George Michael Bluth) is "holding out" on reprising his role, he added: "We've been asked to no longer divulge anything or get into the game of who's in, who's out. People are going to have to see."

Arrested Development aired on Fox from 2003 until 2006.

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Robert Pattinson has described his experience at this year's Oscars as "insane".

Speaking to MTV News, the Twilight star admitted that walking the red carpet was one of the "weirdest" moments of his life.

"When [the Academy] first told us about [my invitation to present an award], I was like, 'No, no, no. You're joking!" he explained.

"[I] thought I was going to have to do something really stupid, like get gunged!"

The British actor took to the stage alongside Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried on Sunday night to introduce a montage of romantic moments from 2008 films.

His Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart was rumoured to have declined the opportunity to present, with her father telling Access Hollywood that she will accept the honour when she had made "a great movie, not just one that makes a lot of money".

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Emily Blunt has revealed that she was left with a "dented head" after filming period drama The Young Victoria, reports PA.

The actress, who stars as the youthful monarch in the forthcoming film, admitted that the heavy crown she donned during the coronation scene had a lasting impact on her skull.

"The crown has left a dent in my head which they just cover with makeup so I don't look frightening to you... It's remarkably heavy," she said.

She added that she was also unimpressed at having to wear the "painful" corsets that were fashionable during the Queen's reign.

"I hate the corset. Over it. So over it. Every day I [had] to wear it. They put it on me in the morning then they loosen it off for lunch, and then it's painful to get back into it again after a big meal," she explained.

The Young Victoria is released in the UK on March 6.