Weekly News Roundup: Clint Eastwood is a busy man and the return of James Bond!

• Clint Eastwood, at 70, isn't resting on his laurels.  His much anticipated Hoover biopic is already underproduction.  Leonardo DiCaprio tweeted about J. Edgar starting shooting on February 5th and they have a new cast member, Josh Lucas, who will be playing Charles Lindbergh.  Ed Westwick aka Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl also has a role of Agent Smith.
• But that's not his only production.  Eastwood might possibly be directing Beyonce (!) in a remake of A Star is Born.  I honestly thought this was a joke at first.  Dirty Harry directing a musical?  But it's completely legit.  Let's give him a chance, right?
• Dark Horizons has some new details from producer Tim Johnson on the upcoming sequel for How to Train Your Dragon and the TV series spin-off.   This means awesome adventures ahead for Hiccup and Toothless.
• Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) is actually thinking of filming The Great Gatsby in 3D! The horror!! This is a very bad idea, very very bad idea.  
• Bond is back! Don't count out James Bond out of the movie business yet.  The 23rd Bond flick is set to release on November 9th, 2012.  Sam Mendes is attached to direct.  The film could potentially be called "Red Sky at Night" and word is that, Rachel Weisz has been offered a role.    
• Mike White exits Pride and Prejudice and Zombies as director.  Despite another setback, I am still stoked for this project to get off the ground.  Please Universe, we need for this movie to find its director along with Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy.   

New photos from the Muppets film!

Check out these adorable new photos from The Muppets movie starring Jason Segel aka Marshall from How I Met Your Mother!  Segel is with the new Muppet Walter making his debut in this film.  

But let's not forget old favorites like Kermit and Miss Piggy too.  I cannot wait for this film.  It's going to be amazing.  

Countdown to Oscars: The Producer's Guild Awards Announced!

The Producer's Guild of America, which is one of the best indicators of who is in the race for Best Picture Oscar, has announced its annual awards.  The King's Speech scored an upset win over The Social Network for Best Picture.  That's huge.  It doesn't mean that The Social Network can't win but The King's Speech definitely has an edge now.  Toy Story 3 picked up Best Animated Feature while Waiting for Superman took the top honors for Best Documentary.  The Best Picture race just got more interesting.  Game on!

Movie Review: Tangled

Disney's 50th animated feature Tangled (what an incredible achievement!) doesn't disappoint.  It has all the requisite things that make it a typical Disney film: a strong female lead who knows what she wants, a hero who won't know what he wants until he meets the heroine, a cast of supporting characters who amuse and entertain us and music that will leaving you humming from the theater.  Honestly, what's not to love?

Tangled is the tale of Rapunzel (Mandy Moore), a princess stolen during infancy and kept locked away in a tower until the day a thief called Flynn Rider (Zachary Levi) tries to hide in her tower and changes her life.  The lead characters, Rapunzel and Flynn are extremely likable.  Rapunzel, with her impossibly big eyes and that hair, is so giddy at being allowed to break all the rules because she wants to see what lights up the skies every year on her birthday.  Flynn has to take her to see lanterns because she holds hostage an item dear to him, the royal crown. 

Of course, it's not going to be as simple as that, though.  Fresh on their heels are Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy), the woman who kidnapped Rapunzel all those years ago, the palace guards, and the Flynn's former partners.  And Mother Gothel is seriously bad, she only uses Rapunzel to keep herself young.  Obviously, you can guess what happens next.  Flynn and Rapunzel make it to see the lanterns in one of the most breathtaking parts of the whole film, the lake and the lanterns that float over it are absolutely gorgeous.  It had echoes from The Little Mermaid with Ariel and Prince Eric.   The song, "I See the Light" is typical Alan Menken and that's a good thing.  Who knew that Zachary Levi could sing so well?    

I mustn't forget Maximus the horse and Pascal the chameleon, the supporting characters and friends of our hero and heroine who thankfully do not talk but provide the necessary humor and love in the story.  The animation of Maximus was the best, it got the biggest laughs in the theater.  I loved this throwback to the old Disney princess tales of the 1990s and it would be a shame if it was the last of the Disney princess stories because I grew up watching these kind of animated tales and it is what Disney is most well known for.  

Directed by Nathan Greno and Bryan Howard; Screenplay by Dan Fogelman; Original Music by Alan Menken

Voice Talents of: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor, Brad Garrett, Paul F. Tompkins

Rating: 

First Look: X Men: First Class Cast Photo

From left to right, then: Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, January Jones as Emma Frost, Jason Flemyng as Azazel, (AKA Nightcrawler’s dad), Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Lucas Till as Havok, Zoe Kravitz as Angel, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique and last, but certainly not least, James McAvoy as Professor Charles Xavier. 

I love the start of the new year, it's always filled with such promise.  Fresh of the heels of lots of new looks into this year's upcoming movies, we have the first look at X Men: First Class, the prequel story of Magneto and Prof. Charles Xavier.  It's due for release June 3, 2011.

Confirmed: Anne Hathaway as Catwoman and Tom Hardy as Bane

Looks like the Oscar gig is doing wonders for Anne Hathaway, a cameo on Glee and now this!  Warner Brothers just announced and it's also confirmed through Christopher Nolan that Hathaway will, in fact, be playing Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises and Tom Hardy who was previously confirmed for the film will be Bane.  I must say, I'm intrigued about the casting.  Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry have both had a chance to play the feline character and while people are still trying to forget Berry's version, it'll be interesting to see how Hathaway portrays this.  But knowing it's in Nolan's hands, I'm not that worried.

BAFTA nominations announced!

The British Academy Film Academy announced their nominations for 2011.  You can find the complete list below.  The awards will be revealed on February 13th, 2011 in London.                          

Best Film

Black Swan

Inception             

The King's Speech

The Social Network

True Grit

Outstanding British Film

127 Hours

Another Year

Four Lions

The King's Speech

Made in Dagenham

Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

The Arbor Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O'Riordan (Producer)

Exit Through the Gift Shop Banksy (Director), Jaimie D'Cruz (Producer)

Four Lions Chris Morris (Director/Writer)

Monsters Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)

Skeletons Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

Director

127 Hours Danny Boyle

Black Swan Darren Aronofsky

Inception Christopher Nolan

The King's Speech Tom Hooper

The Social Network David Fincher

The rest of the nominees after the cut...