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State Of Play director Kevin Macdonald has admitted that he "left behind" the BBC miniseries when making the big screen adaptation.

Speaking to DS at the thriller's UK premiere, Macdonald said: "[I] deliberately left it behind. What we did was take some of the basic elements that were in the story then reinvent the rest of it and make it into its own thing. It can only live and breathe if it feels original, different."

Discussing the shift in focus from politics to journalism, he added: "I wanted to make a film about the state of journalism and what's going on with newspapers. There's a real crisis, newspapers are under threat of closing down. That seemed like a really important topic to get to grips with."

Russell Crowe, who plays old-school reporter Cal McAffrey, said that he admired the quick pace of the movie.

"It's really exciting. I think it just goes from moment to moment, it pulses along really fast," he commented. "The story's really interesting, it's contemporised in a very specific way: the privatisation of war, the blurred line between news and trivia, friendship, loyalty. On top of that the rise of new media against traditional media."

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The third instalment in the Da Vinci Code franchise has been given the green light.

Author Dan Brown’s upcoming novel The Lost Symbol has already been optioned by Columbia Pictures.

The sequel to Brown's bestselling book is not due to hit shelves until September, but the studio wanted to lock in a deal to acquire the rights, reports Variety.

The 2006 big screen adaptation of The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks grossed more than £523 million worldwide.

Prequel Angels & Demons is due in cinemas next month.

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Summit Entertainment has played down reports that Breaking Dawn, the fourth instalment in the Twilight franchise, has been given an early green light.

According to The Wrap, studio bosses had given the vampire sequel the go-ahead to begin production next year, with a tentative release date of 2011.

However, speaking to Access Hollywood, Summit representative Paul Pflug said that the studio had "no comment on that rumour at this time", while screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg told Entertainment Weekly that "the most I've heard is 're-read it and start thinking about it'".

Twilight, the first film in the Stephenie Meyer saga, has grossed over $370 million at the worldwide box office so far. Second instalment New Moon is currently being filmed, with a slated release date of November.

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Vanessa Hudgens has signed up to star in Beastly, a modern-day spin on the Beauty And The Beast fairytale.

According to Entertainment Tonight, the High School Musical star will play the female lead in the CBS Films project.

The Manhattan-set movie will revolve around a rich young man who has a curse placed on him after standing up a date. The hideous transformation means that he must convince Hudgens's character that real beauty lies underneath.

Hudgens, who is also signed up for Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch, will film Beastly this summer.

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If you go to page 1 I list where I get my info from

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Kristin Davis has admitted that she is "very excited" about the prospect of filming a sequel to last year's Sex And The City: The Movie.

The actress, who will reprise the role of art dealer Charlotte York Goldenblatt, told Us Weekly that she is looking forward to reuniting with co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall and Cynthia Nixon.

"We're so spread out right now - it's mostly email. We're very excited. Sarah's working on another movie right now, Cynthia is still doing her play - we're all kind of spread out. But we'll be back together soon," she explained.

Davis remained tight-lipped about the plot of the highly-anticipated film, but did hint that fans could expect part of the storyline to be focused on her character's expanding family.

"I had a child last time, so now I'll have two, and we'll have to see what that's like for her. You never know!"

She added: "I know the ideas. But, you know, I can't tell you the ideas. But I know the ideas overall, and it's very, very exciting. And any time we get to work together, we're so lucky and so happy."

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Stephen Fry has revealed that he is providing the voice of the Cheshire Cat in Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland.

Posting on his Twitter page yesterday, Fry wrote: "Playing Cheshire Cat. Smug, complacent, cheese-eating grin - moi? Walking off to studio in next ten minutes."

Burton's version of Lewis Carroll's classic tale will combine live-action and motion capture footage and is scheduled to arrive in conventional cinemas and IMAX screens on March 5, 2010.

Newcomer Mia Wasikowska will star as Alice in the Disney production, with Johnny Depp on board as the Mad Hatter and Anne Hathaway playing the White Queen.

In previous Alice incarnations the Cheshire Cat has been played by Sterling Holloway, Telly Savalas and Whoopi Goldberg.

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Cameron Diaz has entered final talks about taking the lead role in Warner Bros legal comedy Bobby Sue.

The Charlie's Angels actress will play a "hard-charging female ambulance chaser", who fits the bill for a big law firm looking for a representative to defend their client in a sexual discrimination case.

Dana Fox is currently penning the script, while Donald De Line is producing.

Diaz's other upcoming roles include New Line drama My Sister's Keeper and romantic comedy Swingles.

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Tom Hanks has opened up about his recent recording sessions for Toy Story 3.

The Hollywood star, who voices the character of Woody in the hit Disney franchise, described the animated movies as "beasts".

"I have been in and done three big complete recording sessions and will probably have at least one more to do, possibly in about eight months," he told Empire. "Then eight months after that I'll do a mop-up and have three more sessions after that. Those movies are beasts."

When asked about the script, he added: "They did an interesting thing on this one. They did not send us a script. They showed us a complete story reel of the entire movie, with storyboards moving from one to the next, and the people up at Pixar recorded some voices with some music and sound effects.

"Tim Allen and John Ratzenberger and I went in a movie theatre, watched the reel and said, 'This is great, let's get to work!'"

Toy Story 3, which will be shown in Disney Digital 3D, is scheduled for release in June 2010.

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Nicole Richie has revealed that she is a "huge" Britney fan.

The 27-year-old admitted that she saw the 'Toxic' singer five times on her last tour and was thrilled to be able to watch her live again in Los Angeles last weekend.

"Friday night I went to the Britney Spears concert and had the time of my life!" she wrote on her blog.

"I have been a huge Britney fan since I was 16 and have been to all of her concerts. I think I went to five shows of her last tour."

"I have been looking forward to seeing her back on stage for years, and it was amazing! It was really hard to get pictures because she never stood still. I yelled and asked her to, but she was too busy tending to her 50,000 other fans."

Other celebrities spotted at recent Britney live shows include Rihanna, Lindsay Lohan, Victoria Beckham and Avril Lavigne.

Spears begins her mini-residency at London's O2 arena on June 3 and plays a one-off show in Manchester on June 17.

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A digital representation of Arnold Schwarzenegger has reportedly been confirmed to appear in Terminator Salvation.

The governor of California recently said that he would not be filming a cameo role for the sequel, but would still appear if the technology made it possible.

It has emerged that a body-cast of the actor made when he first appeared in The Terminator provided the foundation for digital effects to bring his image to life in a cameo role, Variety reports.

Schwarzenegger has reportedly seen the footage and given director McG his approval for it to be used when Terminator Salvation is released in the US next month.

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Spider-man may have to swing into action without his leading lady - movie bosses are still battling to persuade Kirsten Dunst to sign up for the fourth installment of the superhero franchise.

The 26 year old has starred in all three Spider-Man films as Mary Jane Watson, opposite leading man Tobey Maguire.

But while Maguire has confirmed he will appear in the fourth and fifth films in the franchise, Dunst is still pondering whether to rejoin the cast.

Director Sam Raimi says, "I'm hoping that she is going to come on board and I've got a meeting coming up with her. I think she would like to but I don't want to speak on her behalf."

While a source tells Britain's Daily Express, "It had been presumed that Kristen would sign up for the fourth but she's still not agreed. She needs to be assured that the story is going to be a strong one, in terms of her character. The films clearly wouldn't be the same without her."

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will be revived for a new live-action movie, reports Variety.

Rights holders The Mirage Group has announced plans to release a fifth Ninja Turtles movie in 2011 that focuses on the crimefighting quartet's origins.

The news comes 25 years after Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael and their bipedal rat mentor Splinter debuted in Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman's comic book.

"The original dozen comics created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman are some of the best source material one could hope for," said Scott Mednick, who will produce the film alongside Galen Walker and Laird and Eastman.

Three live-action films were produced in the early '90s, while the computer-animated TMNT was released in 2007.

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Guy Ritchie has heaped praise on his Sherlock Holmes stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

The director revealed to Empire that he was worried the pair, who star as Holmes and his partner Watson in the Warner Bros movie, wouldn't get along.

"Robert and Jude didn't know each other before they both signed on," said Ritchie. "So, I was a little anxious when they first met - for about a second. Within ten minutes they were like old mates."

Ritchie hailed his two stars as "super-smart, super-experienced and super-talented", adding: "They worked really well together. It turned into a movie about their chemistry."

Sherlock Holmes will land in cinemas on December 26.

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Kate Mara and Clark Gregg are the latest additions to the Iron Man 2 cast.

Details of Mara's role are being kept secret but Gregg will reprise his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. operative Phil Coulsen from the first movie, confirms The Hollywood Reporter.

Filming on Iron Man 2 is currently underway in California, with returning stars Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow joined by Mickey Rourke, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell and Don Cheadle.

The superhero sequel has been pencilled in for a May 7, 2010 theatrical release.

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New movies from Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach and Ang Lee will compete for the Palme d'Or prize at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

As expected, Tarantino's World War II epic Inglourious Basterds will get its world premiere in competition on the Croissette. The film, starring Brad Pitt, centres on a group of Jewish-American soldiers who embark on a perilous revenge mission in Nazi-occupied France.

Tarantino previously won the French festival's top award in 1994 for Pulp Fiction.

Among the 19 other movies contesting this year's prestigious Palme d'Or prize are Ken Loach's Looking For Eric, about a postman who seeks advice from legendary footballer Eric Cantona; Taking Woodstock, Ang Lee's comedy detailing the famous 1969 music festival; Jane Campion's John Keats biopic Bright Star; and Antichrist, a Lars Von Trier offering about a couple who retreat to a cabin in the woods in a bid to save their marriage.

Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, the final film of Heath Ledger, will show out of competition along with Alessandro Amenabar's Agora (starring Rachel Weisz). Pixar's Up! will open the festival, while the closing movie will be Jan Kounen's Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky.

It was announced yesterday that Cannes will also feature a first look at footage from Robert Zemeckis's A Christmas Carol.

The 2009 Cannes Film Festival runs from May 13 to May 24.

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Iron Man star Terrence Howard has claimed that producers of the superhero movie made a "very bad choice" in deciding to replace him for the upcoming sequel.

The actor, who played Tony Stark's best friend Jim Rhodes, was reported to have left the project after a disagreement with Marvel over financial terms. Don Cheadle was later recast in the role.

"Marvel made a choice, and it was a very, very bad choice. They didn't keep their word. They didn't honour my contract. They produced a great bounty with the first one but they put it all in the storehouse and you were not allowed in," he told Parade.

"They did the same thing with Gwyneth Paltrow, from what I've been told. They did it with almost everyone except Robert Downey Jr. One of the things that actors need to learn to do is always stick together, one for all and all for one."

However, Howard admitted that he is "definitely looking forward to seeing the movie", adding: "I want to see Don Cheadle become me. No, I want him to do better than me. That's what I really want to see. Don Cheadle was the reason I got Crash, so I have a lot of love for him."

Iron Man 2 is scheduled for release on May 7, 2010.

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David Slade has been confirmed as the director of Twilight 3.

Slade has been tapped by Summit Entertainment to helm The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film in the popular vampire franchise.

The announcement was made on Wednesday after much speculation over who would direct the second sequel, Variety reports.

The production company has used different directors on each of the Twilight movies. Chris Weitz took over filming duties on upcoming second instalment New Moon from Catherine Hardwicke, who directed the original film.

Melissa Rosenberg the screenwriter who penned the first two movies, is currently working on the script for Eclipse, which has a release date of June 30, 2010.

Slade’s film credits include 2006’s Hard Candy and 2007 horror movie 30 Days Of Night.

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Sony Pictures heads Amy Pascal and Michael Lynton have suggested that the fourth Spider-Man movie may be released in 3-D.

When asked by Forbes if Saimi Raimi's upcoming superhero sequel will utilise the latest RealD technology, Pascal replied: "Could be."

Lynton added that the move may be profitable for Sony if audiences are willing to pay more for the 3-D experience.

"People are paying a premium to see movies in 3-D and that's a very big deal," he said. "It's never been done before that someone says you have to pay more to see Spider-Man than a romantic comedy."

Sony has set a May 6, 2011 release date for Spider-Man 4, which will see Tobey Maguire reprise his role as the Marvel superhero.

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Former Playboy cover star and actress Diora Baird has admitting to getting confused between Star Trek and Star Wars.

The 26-year-old, who plays The Green Girl in J.J. Abrams's reboot of the sci-fi franchise, confessed that she could not understand fans' obsessions with the movies.

"I'm not a big sci-fi fan," she told FHM. "So I don't really understand the whole Star Trek thing. I get that it's a big deal but I keep referring to it as Star Wars by mistake. Is that bad?

"I've heard [Star Trek fans] are very passionate. I really have no idea what to expect when the film comes out, but I have been warned that it's going to be rather intense."

Baird, who was voted 33rd in FHM's latest Sexiest Women In The World list and has a 32DD bust, also claimed that she is struggling to be taken seriously as an actress because of her curvy figure.

"I've always wanted to be a serious actress," she said. "But I also know being the 'hot girl' is what got me in the door and being voluptuous is what got me a lot of attention. Now I just have to work hard to prove I'm more than a hot, busty girl."