Wednewsday 28th March

Two days later than normal, here is your weekly round-up of movie news...

Good News: Michael K Williams (Omar from The Wire) has signed on to play Ol' Dirty Bastard, founder of the Wu-Tang Clan, in the upcoming big screen biopic.

Bad News: Life's Too Short may have been a real documentary after all. When commenting on The Leprechaun reboot announced last week, original Leprechaun Warwick Davis claimed he had been holding out for another sequel because he felt there was a lot more to be explored with the original character. This is a murderous Leprechaun we're talking about. Davis expressed interest in a Leprechaun road movie and a Leprechaun-Pirates mash-up with Johnny Depp! 

Mad News: The Hunger Games took $155 million in its opening weekend making it the third biggest opening ever after Harry Potter 8 and The Dark Knight and the biggest ever for a non-sequel. Never underestimate the teen market.

Jazz Flute News: the Anchorman sequel is official! Will Ferrell announced he was working on the script with Adam McKay on the Conan O'Brien show. And he announced it in style...

Trailer News: click below for the second trailer for The Dictator, with a longer look at Sacha Baron Cohen's new character, General Aladeen.

Wednewsday 21st March

One day later than usual, here is your weekly round-up of film news...


Good News: Nathan Fillion (Firefly, Serenity) is playing a God in the Percy Jackson sequel. Browncoats rejoice!

Bad News: the 24 movie has stalled again due to several problems which may include, but are not limited to, scheduling problems, lack of a director, salary debates and difficulty putting together a script. When asked to comment, Jack Bauer replied: "Sonofabitch!"

Mad News: the Leprechaun horror franchise is being rebooted. The original six-movie franchise starred Warwick Davis as the titular murderous leprechaun and now a further two films are being planned. The studios behind this reboot are Lionsgate and WWE Studios. Expect lots of cameos from wrestlers.

Sin News: the long-long-awaited Sin City sequel is set to be Robert Rodriguez's next film following his Machete sequel (although why he has prioritised the Machete sequel is anyone's guess). The film will once again draw on three of Frank Miller's tales, including A Dame To Kill For (expect more of Rourke's Marv) and two brand new tales written by Miller.

Trailer News: Ridley Scott's unnecessary Alien prequel is looking a lot less unnecessary now that we've seen some actual footage. Check out the Prometheus trailer and get ready to scream. Not that anyone will hear you in space...

Wednewsday 14th March

Good News: the theatrical version of Stephen King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower series, looks set to be back on track after Universal Studios bailed. Warner Brothers are now circling the project, which still has Ron Howard signed on as director and a script from Akiva Goldsman. Warner Brothers own HBO so a TV series is looking more and more likely. Definitely the way to go.

Bad News: Braveheart is getting a TV spin-off series. Expect a more historical, less awesome version of Games of Thrones with some truly Gibson-esque Scottish accents.

Mad News: Eric Cantona is fast-becoming a big screen star. With Elizabeth and Looking for Eric already listed on his acting CV, Cantona is now trying thriller territory with Switch released at the end of the month.

Sad News: cinematic concept artist, Jean Giraud, lost his battle with cancer on Sunday. Giraud's artwork led to the unique design of films such as Alien, Willow, Tron and The Fifth Element. A true legend.

Trailer News: the extended trailer for Battleship has just docked with lots of Loud Noises. But don't write this off just yet. With Peter Berg in the director's chair, expect the actors to have as much screen time as the explosions. Imagine Transformers-style silliness but with credible character arcs.

The Hobbit: Production Video 6

The sixth production video for The Hobbit has now been released and it follows the actors travelling around New Zealand for their on-location shooting.

As ever, the video is packed with on-set footage, cast & crew interviews and some great trivia. For instance, the caterers cook 100 kilos of meat a day! And this time, we also get an exclusive peak of the dwarves in barrels!

By now, you know what to expect from these videos. They are insightful, funny and clearly assembled with a lot of love and care. It shows the unrivalled level of respect that Peter Jackson has for Tolkein fans, LOTR fans or just film fans in general. Give the man another Oscar.

First Image of the Lone Ranger

The first image of The Lone Ranger has been released showing Armie Hammer as the titular Lone Ranger and Johnny Depp as Tonto. 

Despite Tonto's black-and-white face paint and the casting of Helena Bonham Carter, The Lone Ranger will be directed by Gore Verbinski and not Tim Burton. Verbinski is fast-becoming Depp's new go-to director after three Pirates film and Rango. Hope Burton isn't getting too jealous.

The Lone Ranger will star William Fichtner as the villain and also Barry Pepper, James Badge Dale and Tom Wilkinson. There are clearly high hopes for a franchise, as Jerry Bruckheimer is producer (another Pirates alumni) and he is accustomed to a high box office gross. 

The could-be franchise arrives May 2013.

Wednewsday 7th March

Good News: director Josh Trank, who arrived in style with his debut Chronicle, is in talks for both The Fantastic Four reboot and a standalone Venom film. We already know he has a knack for superpowers and imagine what he can do with a blockbuster-sized budget.

Bad News: they keep making awful films based on Dan Brown's awful books. A new writer, Danny Strong, has been hired to rework the script for The Lost Symbol and Tom Hanks is set to return for the third time as problem-solver and master of exposition, Robert Langdon.

Mad News: Boy Scouts Vs Zombies had been green-lit and will be directed by Etan Cohen, co-writer of Tropic Thunder. But which is more outrageous: the plot or the choice of director?

Sundance News: Robert Redford is bringing America's favourite indie festival to the O2 Arena and the official website has been launched. Click here for tickets and the fourteen-strong line-up.

Trailer News: the Men in Black 3 trailer doesn't bode well for this third outing of the alien regulation agency. The trailer is low on laughs, low on villains and far too low on Tommy Lee Jones. That said, we finally get a glimpse of Josh Brolin's Tommy Lee Jones impression and it might just save the film.