Scarlett Johansson Set To Play An Alien Seductress

I don’t know how aware the general public is of this phenomenon, but it’s something most webmasters know and talk about. For years now, whenever any movie site posts a story in which Scarlett Johansson is mentioned, that story is eventually be flooded with comments from people who claim that Scarlett Johansson isn’t a real person. Instead the commenters claim she’s a clone made using stolen biological material and that the real Scarlett is alive and well living in Germany. Those lucky Germans. It is perhaps the weirdest and most enduring internet phenomenon I’ve ever encountered since first starting this site, and it’s been going on for at least five years now, perpetuated by different people time and again. Scarlett’s probably not going to help herself make a case for being real with her next movie role, when she’ll play into these weirdo fears and play someone who isn’t a person at all. It seems she’s not a clone, she’s actually an alien.

Deadline says Scarlett Johansson is set to star in a science fiction film where she’ll play an extraterrestrial disguised as a woman, a really, really hot woman. She’ll use her Scarlett Johansson good looks to wander the remote areas of the world seducing human prey. It sounds kind of like Species, but even sexier because as everyone knows Scarlett Johansson > Natasha Henstridge. The movie's called Under the Skin, but I’d like to suggest Scarlett Johansson Fulfills Your Fantasies And Then Eats You (Worth It). It’s kind of long, but more accurate.

Amber Heard Hired To Star As A Stalker In The Applicant

I’ve long been a supporter of Amber Heard who, unlike say Blake Lively, has always seemed like she may have genuine talent in addition to non-stop hotness. That’s all too rare in Hollywood’s current class of up and coming twenty-something actresses, which is why she recently ended up on our list predicting Tomorrow’s Tom Cruise. But she hasn’t really had a chance to prove she can act yet, only that she’s willing to do just about anything to get a good role, including but not limited to crazy naked threesomes and dating Seth Rogen. That seems to be paying off, she gets her first starring role this fall in And Soon the Darkness and now Screen Daily says she has another.

Amber is set to star in a thriller called The Applicant for Arclight Films. She’ll play a “stalker student” which is a nice change of pace from the way thrillers usually use women. Normally they’re the ones being stalked, not the ones doing the stalking. Does this mean we’ll get roided-up football players running away from a knife-wielding Amber Heard? I’d like to see that.

I’d be worried that she may end up being stuck in the horror genre, (where so many other talented, beautiful, actresses have gone to be pigeonholed before her), but she already has the decidedly strange Drive Angry 3D coming soon. Besides, at some point some one is finally going to release The Rum Diary in which she stars opposite Johnny Depp as Chenault, the kind of role that might earn someone with talent an Oscar nod, if the movie’s any good at all.

Carey Mulligan Serves Denny's Breakfast On The Set Of Drive

Not to be confused with Drive Angry, the upcoming Nicolas Refn directed movie Drive promises to take a look into the world of stuntman, with Ryan Gosling playing a stunt guy who moonlights as a getaway driver. And where do stuntmen hang out when they’re done nearly getting blown up? I imagine them at Denny’s, and I guess Refn does too.

Spoiler TV has posted photos from the set of Drive, in which Carey Mulligan serves breakfast. Denny’s breakfast to be specific. I think I had a dream about that once. Though you’ve probably never seen a Denny’s waitress who looked like Carey Mulligan, they’ve toned down her makeup considerably and she looks almost convincing in the part, despite the presence of a clearly defined waistline. Take a look in the gallery below.

Drive is still filming, expect it in theaters some time in 2011 with a pretty incredible cast. Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Albert Brooks, and Christina Hendricks co-star.

Another New Tron Poster Is Building Towards Something

Remember that poster that came out yesterday as part of the on-going Tron Tuesdays marketing? The one with a de-aged Jeff Bridges as the film's main baddie, Clu 2.0? Well, as it turns out, the poster was the first third of what is known as a triptych - a three paneled poster. How do we know that? Because today we have the second third.

Empire has premiered the middle panel of the poster, which you may recognize as the poster debuted a few weeks back, only with Sam (Garrett Hedlund) and Quorra (Olivia Wilde) set further into the background. When put together the whole thing has kind of a creepy vibe, as Clu seems like kind of a stalker. I'm also willing to put down plenty of cash that the third panel will reveal Kevin Flynn (the older version of Jeff Bridges) looking at Sam and Quorra - but we'll have to wait until Friday to see if I'm correct.

Brad Pitt And Casey Affleck May Reunite For Cogan's Trade

Though it starred Brad Pitt and a slew of up-and-comers like Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell and Paul Schneider, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford now looks like more of a curiosity as part of the Westerns boomlet of 2007, remembered only by the people who actually saw the movie with its elegant cinematography and consideration of the male ego and myth. But Pitt, who's never been known to back down from a personal interest no matter how inadvisable it might be in maintaining his own celebrity, is going back to work with Dominik again, and this time is going for comedy.

According to Deadline, Pitt is in negotiations to star in and produce Cogan's Trade, a comedic tale about a man investigating a heist that takes place during a high-stakes poker game run by the mob. Yes, there are some echoes of Ocean's Eleven in there, and you'd better believe the movie will be sold on that angle if it ever gets made. On top of it all, Ocean's and Jesse James co-star Casey Affleck is also rumored to be on board as part of the film's ensemble cast.

Pitt just finished shooting Moneyball and is at home tending the kids while Angelina Jolie shoots her Bosnian war film; it's remarkable that the two pull off not working while the other does, but I guess they're famous enough to make it work, and somehow Pitt will squeeze this project along with everything both he and Jolie are considering. Deadline also notes that he's considering an adaptation of the espionage novel The Gray Man, so it's hard to say where Cogan's Trade might fit into the lineup.

Jessica Alba Wears A Leather Catsuit On The Set Of Spy Kids 4

Back in the early years of this millennium, Jessica Alba became a star when she played the perpetually leather-clad Max Guevera on the James Cameron/Charles H. Eglee series Dark Angel. In the years since, Alba has grown into a pretty high level movie star, with roles in films from Sin City to Fantastic Four. Her next film, Spy Kids 4: All The Time In The World, is currently shooting in Austin, TX and it appears that she has gone back to her roots.

WWTDD (via Flynet Pictures) has posted some pictures of Alba on set, along with Daryl Sabara and Alexa Vega, wearing a tight leather catsuit. In the film, Alba plays a former spy called back into duty when an evil mastermind called the Timekeeper (played by Jeremy Piven). To answer your question before you ask it, yes, Spy Kids is a family friendly series - but that doesn't mean there can't be anything in there for the adults.

Sasha Grey Will Skinny Dip With Machete

I’ll be honest. I’m reporting this story just because I thought I’d have a lot of fun browsing through Google Image Search to find the one image on the internet in which Sasha Grey isn’t naked. That’s just how it goes when you’re a porn star trying to break into the main stream. No other porn star has ever really pulled that off. Usually the best a porn actress can hope for when trying to make that jump is to become Traci Lords, a little used character actress who will eventually just end up playing a porn star in mainstream movies. But Sasha Grey is trying.

She started down the mainstream track with her mostly successful appearance in Steven Soderbergh’s The Girlfriend Experienced where, unsurprisingly, she played a callgirl. Now Prod Weekly says she’ll continue her journey into mainstream acting by taking the lead role a movie called Skinny Dip. I’m sensing a theme here.

Already cast in Skinny Dip are Machete familiars Danny Trejo and Michelle Rodriguez. Trejo’s an experienced nude swimmer, after his threesome in a pool with Lindsay Lohan and whoever that was playing her mother. Michelle Rodriguez will just have to learn to swim naked on the fly. I’m sure it’ll come naturally. Mostly though, Skinny Dip is more about revenge than sex in the water. Skinny Dip has something to do with the story of a woman, apparently played by Sasha Grey, who kills a police officer.

The interesting thing about Grey’s journey into mainstream acting is that, unlike every Traci Lords before her, it doesn’t seem to be an attempt to shed her porn persona and go legit. If you check out her IMDB page not only will you discover that IMDB also indexes porn movies now, but also that she’s kept right on doing as much porn as possible while still pursuing mainstream acting gigs. Sasha has appeared in nine adult videos just in 2010 alone.

Charlize Theron May Be Batgirl's Step-Mother In Batman 3

It sounds like director Christopher Nolan may have decided that his next Batman movie needs more female characters, or rather more than one. On the previous two Batman films the only female character of any note was Rachel Dawes, and she existed mostly to be rescued by Batman. For the sequel, there could be a several new female roles, probably because Batman needs more women to rescue.

Comic Book Movie claims that the script for the third movie includes a character named Detective Sarah Essen, set to serve as a love interest for top cop Jim Gordon, father of Batgirl Barbara Gordon. Word is that Charlize Theron has been approached to play the part. Their source further indicates that a new love interest for Bruce Wayne is being cast, a character named Julie Madison which both Vera Farmiga and Kacie Thomas have auditioned for.

Here’s where this doesn’t make sense. When last we left Jim Gordon he was married with a wife and two kids. The Jim Gordon we’ve seen on film isn’t the playboy type, not the kind of guy to cheat on his wife. So what’s he doing with a love interest? In the comics Sarah Essen is indeed a character he has an affair with and eventually marries (before she’s killed by the Joker), but my hope is that if Sarah Essen really is part of the movie, she’s simply be a fellow detective and not someone Gary Oldman gets to make out with.

The addition of a new love interest for Bruce Wayne, though, makes more sense. His storyline with Rachel Dawes has run its course and Batman isn’t the kind of superhero to be tied down. He’s more than ready for someone new in his life. In the comics the character of Julie Madison was originally a socialite who becomes engaged to Bruce Wayne, and is completely unaware of his nighttime activities. The character has actually appeared in a Batman movie before. In Batman & Robin Julie Madison was played by Elle Macpherson.

Jamie Chung Will Play Ed Helms's Fiancee In The Hangover 2

There's already been plenty of upheaval in the cast of The Hangover 2, at least beyond the central quartet of guys. First there was the news that Heather Graham wouldn't be returning, despite the fact that her character was seemingly set up for a relationship with Ed Helms's Stu in the sequel. Then of course there was the Mel Gibson/Liam Neeson cameo kerfuffle, which has managed to overshadow both any other news about The Hangover 2 and the forthcoming Todd Phillips comedy Due Date.

Now there's another bit of casting to puzzle over, less high-profile than a Liam Neeson cameo but maybe even more confusing. Variety reports that Jamie Chung has signed on for a role as Stu's fiancee-- and yes, a completely different fiancee than the one he broke up with at the end of the first movie. Oh, and Chung is 27 while Helms is 36, so there's an age gap there that I at least hope they're willing to account for.

From the moment we learned that Heather Graham wouldn't be returning, I worried that The Hangover 2 would basically be setting a reset button on Stu, the only character who underwent anything resembling emotional growth the first time around. The presence of a brand-new fiancee doesn't necessarily prove anything-- who knows how Chung's character might fit into the equation-- but I worry it's more evidence that The Hangover 2 may try and repeat the successes of the first film without actually moving on to anything new beyond the Thailand setting.

First Look At Emma Stone And Viola Davis In The Help

Coming off a stint hosting SNL and being cast as Gwen Stacy in the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, Emma Stone's career really couldn't be hotter right now. The Gwen Stacy role will be the one all the fanboy types have their eyes on, but I'm way more excited to see what Stone does as the lead in The Help, an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Stone plays the strong-willed recent college graduate Skeeter Phelan, who takes an interest in the lives of the black women who work as domestic helpers in the homes of white families, generally referred to as simply "The Help."

The book makes for a great basis for a movie, and the cast alongside Stone-- Allison Janney, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Octavia Spencer, Cicely Tyson, Sissy Spacek and Jessica Chastain, among others-- is enough to practically guarantee something worth watching. The Help doesn't hit theaters until next August, but Disney has gone ahead and released the first nine images from the production, which show off Stone's sandy-colored wig along with some serious 60s fashions. Click on any of the three images below to go to our full gallery, which we'll be updating with everything The Help related as Disney released more to look at.

Adam Sandler Wants To Get The Grown Ups Gang Back Together For Another Movie

You might be surprised to learn, as I was, that Grown Ups was one of the most successful movies of the year. It’s kind of like Two and a Half Men. I’ve never actually met anyone who watches it, but it’s still the most successful sitcom on television. Somehow, by getting a bunch of his friends and Kevin James together in one film, Adam Sandler was able to produce the most successful comedy of 2010. So of course, he wants to do it again.

Earlier today in a press conference talking up his TV series Rules of Engagement, Grown Ups co-star David Spade dropped the news that Adam Sandler is working on another team-up project. He says, “The Grown Ups movie worked out well for everybody, and so Adam is trying to think of something else for us all to do. I have the TV schedule and Adam’s just got movie schedules, so to sync up everybody, all five of us to have the same time off.”

The five actors in question would be Adam Sandler, David Spade, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider, and Kevin James. Sorry Tim Meadows, you don’t make the cut.

What’s not entirely clear from Spade's comments is whether Sandler’s trying to come up with a Grown Ups sequel, or some completely different movie which all five of them could show up in. Adam Sandler has never done a sequel before, so it seems unlikely that he’d start now. His normal mode of operation is simply to reuse the same cast on some other hair-brained concept which shouldn’t be funny, but at least 40% of the time really is.

Even if he doesn’t end up in another Growns Ups movie it sounds like David Spade is pretty busy. He says that separately, “we’re developing a movie about fantasy football that hopefully I would do this summer.” Why watch a football movie when you can watch a movie about guys pretending to play football? This idea is made of win.

Hugh Jackman Just Film A Cameo In X-Men: First Class?

Speculation about a possible Hugh Jackman appearance in X-Men: First Class has thus far been pretty much limited to fanboy wish fulfillment-- yes, his Wolverine has appeared in all the X-Men movies previously, and he's the one with his own franchise to work on right now, but Matthew Vaughn seems pretty committed to creating his own world with the film, and may not want to cross the universes together just yet. If you were holding out hope to see the clawed one, though, a cab driver in Georgia may have just given you something to smile about.

Yes, a cab driver in Georgia is the source of this scoop, and that's why you should consider it pure speculation and rumor for now. But the guys at Comic Book Movie happened upon a Facebook status that read as thus:

I drove Hugh Jackman from X-Men To the Airport this morning. They are filming on Jekyll...Cool guy!

With First Class filming on Jekyll Island right now, it's pretty much the only explanation for why Hugh Jackman would have been visiting that beach town in November. But was he just swinging by to lend some moral support to the new kids? Or did they toss him in front of the camera while he was down there? As busy as Jackman is I would be pretty surprised if this visit didn't result in a cameo, but how big a role we can expect is still totally up for debate. Are you guys excited to see the original Logan make an appearance here, or would you rather First Class be more of a complete fresh start?

Leonardo DiCaprio To Play Serial Killer HH Holmes

Part Sarah Winchester, part Jack The Ripper, HH Holmes was like the Wal-Mart of serial killers, meticulously controlling every possible variable in order to kill repeatedly and without interruption. By the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, he owned a drug store and a sprawling hotel containing secret passageways, soundproof rooms, incinerators and autopsy tables. What followed was an almost unparalleled reign of terror—that no one remembers. For all of his hideous torture chambers, HH Holmes was almost too perfect. He eventually changed cities, married three different women and wasn’t arrested until a horse theft charge caught up with him. Yes, the John Wayne Gacy of his era was arrested for horse theft. So, we chose other people to obsess about. We made a thousand and one movies about Jack The Ripper and speculated endlessly about the motives of Charles Manson, that is at least until Erik Larson wrote The Devil in the White City and it sold millions of copies.

After its initial 2003 publication, Tom Cruise bought the rights with an eye on playing Holmes himself, but for whatever reason, things didn’t work out. The script went back up for auction and now a group headlined by Leonardo Dicaprio has purchased the script. According to Deadline, Dicaprio is definitely keeping the HH Holmes role for himself, and I am beyond elated. For all of his glaring faults, HH Holmes was also a charmer. When he didn’t feel like murdering, he smooth talked his way into people’s hearts, collecting property and life insurance policies along the way. He also had a thing for women, blondes mostly. Leonardo Dicaprio’s career could benefit from a turn as an anti-hero, and HH Holmes may be the perfect savage for the job. Educated, handsome and ruthless, this role has potential Oscar nomination written all over it. I can’t wait.

In the mean time, you should head over to Amazon and pick up The Devil in the White City. Something tells me after we get our first trailer, people are going to head to Barnes and Noble in droves.

Cameron Crowe Wants Scarlett Johansson For His Zoo

Between Baz Luhrmann's casting process for his Great Gatsby movie and what Deadline is now reporting as Cameron Crowe's series of meetings to find the female lead in We Bought A Zoo, it's a big week for high-profile white actresses under 35. Crowe's list leans a little closer to comedic talents than Luhrmann's, but it also includes Scarlett Johansson, alongside Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams.

The role would be opposite Matt Damon in the story of a grieving father who buys a zoo along with his children. I'm not totally sure where the female lead fits in, since my understanding is that the wife is dead, but I suppose there's room in there for romance alongside the usual animal hijinks. Everyone who ever loved Almost Famous is really hoping the movie can be Crowe's comeback after the disastrous Elizabethtown, and any of these ladies seem like fine actresses-- though, if it's comedy they're looking for, there's really no one better than McAdams out there. Honestly, I don't even have a preference, except to maybe think Winstead is a little inexperienced. What say you, commentariat?

Usual Suspects Being Rounded Up For Daisy Role In The Great Gatsby

Last we heard about Baz Luhrman's adaptation of The Great Gatsby the director had begun workshopping his script with actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Rebecca Hall. The news was confirmation of a previous story that Luhrman had picked up the project again, only actress Amanda Seyfried was the one being considered for the role of Daisy. Turns out that Hall and Seyfried aren't the only ones being looked at.

Deadline says that they have heard some names being dropped in regard to the the role of Daisy Buchanan in the potential Luhrman adaptation and it's chock full of names that you expect. Included on the supposed list include actresses Hall, Seyfried, Keira Knightley, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman. It would be nearly impossible to deny the legitimacy of this list seeing as those eight actresses have been up for nearly every major female role that has been talked about for the last year. It is unknown if Luhrman has been in contact with any of the actresses outside of Hall and Seyfried.

It's strange to be speculating about this film so soon, considering Luhrman hasn't even committed to making it yet. For all we know, this project may not be made for another five years, and, if that's the case, the list above will be meaningless. The purpose of the workshopping phase is for Luhrman to see if the script he has written with partner Craig Pearce is even good enough to start production. Until Luhrman decides that the work is good enough and give the project his own personal green light, everything we hear about this movie is speculation.

Alex Pettyfer Added To Jack The Giant Killer Shortlist

Buried in Deadline's piece from earlier today about two new actors added to Andrew Niccol's Now (news we covered right here) is a small detail about one of those actors, Alex Pettyfer, who is widely considered an up-and-comer thanks to his starring role in next year's I Am Number Four. Apparently his career prospects are looking so good that Bryan Singer has his eye on Pettyfer for the starring role in Jack the Giant Killer, which is set to start filming in the spring.

We learned previously that Aaron Johnson was also on the shortlist, and Deadline adds that Max Irons, of 2009's Dorian Gray, is also in the mix. Really at this point we could expect Singer to be looking at any youngish up-and-coming actor with a passable English accent, so none of this is all that surprising. But even as Pettyfer's big starring role in Beastly keeps getting delayed by the distributor, the guy who has only previously been seen in Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker is making quite a name for himself. Even if he doesn't land the Giant Killer job, he seems to be well on his way to a long career.

Kevin Smith's Red State Is Finished, Already Has A Teaser Poster

Though he spent a lot of the earlier part of this year defending his decision to go Hollywood for the mainstream (and totally forgettable) comedy Cop Out, Kevin Smith has wasted no time going back to his indie roots with Red State, which he's been shooting on a $4 million budget and pretty much under the radar over the last month. How shoestring is this operation? So shoestring that Smith has been editing the whole thing even as they were filming, was able to show a completed cut of the film at the wrap party, and has already debuted a teaser poster over at his blog.

I'm not entirely sure if that kind of speed is a good or bad thing-- can you really know what kind of movie you want to cut together even while you're making it?-- but it is impressive. Same goes for the poster, actually, which hints at the film's horror-tinged take on religious fundamentalism with the weathered, folded-paper patina and the startling sight of a figure sheathed in white. Yes, it's probably a nod to the Ku Klux Klan. No, I don't really want to know what's hiding under that sheet.

Whether you stuck with Smith through his whole battle against Southwest Airlines or thought he ran out of things to say with Dogma, it's hard not to root for him and Red State, if only for the hope that independent filmmaking really can thrive (and a director can do "one for the studio" and then "one for me" and actually mean it). Check out the poster below, and hold tight just a few more months for more on Red State-- they're aiming to show the thing at Sundance in January.

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon Logo Revealed, Title Confusion Eliminated

Since the moment it was first announced, there’s been a lot of confusion about just exactly what the Transformers 4 title is. Many people continue to confuse it with Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon and others simply are sure whether there’s one or two “thes” involved. Finally the Transformers 3 official site has stepped in to clear up all the confusion, in the form of the film’s first official teaser logo. For the record, it’s called Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Not Transformers: The Dark of the Moon or Transformers: The Dark Side of the Moon or Transformers: Wizard of Oz.

As evidence, here’s the movie’s official teaser logo:

The Dark Tower, The Bourne Legacy, Ouija And Others Get Official Release Dates

The year 2012 already promises to be one hell of a twelve month period for movie fans. Already set for release are The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, the Spider-Man reboot, and the Superman reboot - and that's just the superhero stuff. By January 1, 2013 everyone of us my have empty pockets and bank accounts. But there's room for a lot of movies in the span of 52 weeks and now some more dates are coming out.

Deadline is reporting that Universal has set some more dates for its upcoming slate of films, most of which will find release dates in 2012. They are as follows:

• Larry Crowne, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts - Friday, July 1, 2011
• Safe House, starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds - Friday, February 10, 2012.
• Contraband, starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale - Friday, March 16, 2012
• The Bourne Legacy, directed by Tony Gilroy - Friday, August 3, 2012
• Ouija, produced by Michael Bay - Friday, November 9, 2012
• 47 Ronin, starring Keanu Reeves - Wednesday, November 21, 2012
• Snow White And The Huntsman, directed by Rupert Sanders - Friday, December 21, 2012
• The Dark Tower, directed by Ron Howard - Friday, May 17, 2013

While we had a vague idea about most of these dates, the most surprising in the bunch is the Washington-Reynolds starring Safe House, which has been given a humdrum February date. Just two months ago that part played by Reynolds was being pursued by every male actor in Hollywood, which suggested that the project would be viewed as a tentpole. January and February are the months in which you dump movies that you expect to make nothing at the box office. Is a special strategy being put in place by Universal here? Are they trying to Avatar it and have it play against zero competition? Or is the project really so dreadful that they want to hide it from sight? Questions, questions, questions.

London Boulevard Trailer: Colin Farrell And Keira Knightley Fight Gangsters

What happened to Colin Farrell? After In Bruges he seemed like he was back on his way to the top of the Hollywood A-list, or at least onto a list of respectable leading men, if someone kept such a list. But since In Bruges he’s settled for irrelevant supporting roles in good movies or leading roles in irrelevant movies. And now he’s making In Bruges again, or a movie that seems a lot like it.

The first trailer for London Boulevard has arrived and like In Bruges it seems to feature Colin Farrell as a gangster questioning his place in the world. Newly released from prison, he falls for a movie star, played by Keira Knightley, and tries to avoid being sucked back into a life of crime by Ray Winstone. Watch:



The trailer’s a lot of fun and the fact that it seems like a slicker take on some of the themes he already covered with In Bruges is really only a plus. In case you haven’t heard, In Bruges was really, really good. More of that please.

Right now London Boulevard doesn’t have a release date anywhere outside of the UK, but if it does well, maybe that will change. If you’re in the UK, though, catch it in cinemas on November 26th.