Photos (here, here and here) from the period drama The Young Victoria, starring Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Miranda Richardson, Paul Bettany, Thomas Kretschmann, Mark Strong, and Jim Broadbent. [imdb]

The finale Twilight poster.

Gregor Jordan, who directed that subversive black comedy about U.S. soldiers in West Berlin, Buffalo Soldiers, will helm the suspense thriller Unthinkable, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Sheen, Carrie-Anne Moss, Brandon Routh, Gil Bellows, and Martin Donovan. (THR) [imdb]

Ridley Scott confirms that he is making a film based on Aldous Huxley's classic novel Brave New World with Leonardo DiCaprio. (io9)

Quantum of Solace spoilers in the Daily Mail! I have to say, I had my doubts about Gemma Arterton, who plays a Bond girl in the new film, at first. (Especially when she starting getting a reputation as a plot blabbermouth.) But after seeing Lost in Austen and the new Tess of the D'Urbervilles, she's really impressed me with her range.

Sons of Anarchy has been picked up for a second season. (THR)

Entourage has also been renewed. (THR)

Jace at Televisionary previews the new pilot for the American remake of Life on Mars.

A Catherine Weaver scene from a future episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Also, some spoilery pictures from 2x08 of Derek Reese and ( *spoiler* )

A series of new True Blood posters reminiscent of the promotional campaign for The Dark Knight. They show ads from the pro-vampire American Vampire League and also their opposition, the Fellowship of the Sun, being defaced. To view all the posters, see the bottom of this page. [official site] [imdb]

Watchmen character posters in hi-res. (AICN) [imdb]

A rather Maus-ian teaser poster for Frank Miller's The Spirit. This film is seriously lacking in cohesive vision at this point, from what I've seen. [imdb]

First poster for Joseph Kahn's Neuromancer, based on the classic cyberpunk novel by William Gibson. This is the same adaptation that Hayden Christensen was rumoured to have been cast in as Case; hopefully a rumour is all it is. According to IndieWire, Gibson himself is writing the screenplay. [imdb]

Colin Firth will star opposite Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) in a new adaptation of Dorian Gray. Firth will play Lord Henry Wotton, the aristocrat who corrupts Gray with his worldview. (THR) [imdb]

In a cast addition to Heroes, the long spoken about, never seen Arthur Petrelli will be played by ( *spoiler* ) (EW)

Another bit Life on Mars U.S. cast fiddling: Lisa Bonet replaces Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen in the role of Sam's present-day girlfriend. Like before with the addition of Gretchen Mol and Harvey Keitel, it looks like they're trading up for some better known faces. But I have to admit, I was really looking forward to seeing Battlestar Galactica's Chaves-Jacobsen as Maya. (EW) [imdb]

Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland? If so, he would be the second confirmed cast member, after Mia Wasikowska was chosen to play Alive. I hope this is not just a rumour. (AICN, Digital Spy) [imdb]

Josh Lucas (Stealth, A Beautiful Mind) has been cast in the lead role of a new Showtime pilot, Possible Side Effects. Lucas will play Max Hunt, who presides over a family-run pharmaceutical business. He and Nancy "Accidental Drug Kingpin" Botwin should hook up. (THR)

Speaking of Weeds, an interview with actor Demian Bichir who plays Esteban Reyes. Contains spoilers for the show.

Battlestar Galactica 4.5 spoilers. According to Kirstin at E! Online, ( *SPOILER* )

According to TV Guide, Gretchen Mol (3:10 to Yuma) has replaced Rachelle Lefevre in the role of Annie Norris in the US remake of Life on Mars. [imdb]

Andrew Dignan has adapted his awesome essay "The Wire and the Art of the Credits Sequence" into a series of video essays.

Desmond Harrington (Rescue Me, Ghost Ship) will join the cast of Dexter as Joey Quinn (a recurring role?), ( *SPOILER* ) TheFutonCritic also has a report of the Dexter panel at Comic-Con.

Article in the Orlando Sentinel about Alexander Skarsgard, who plays Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert in Generation Kill and Eric Northman in the upcoming HBO series True Blood.

lizbee was talking about "authentic Australian" cookbooks yesterday; and Abebooks.com just sent me a newsletter about cookbooks, so I guess the universe is trying to tell me something. Then again, maybe not. Anyway, for my contribution, because I'm too lazy to get up and actually cook, check out the book with the awesome name: “Cuisines of the Axis of Evil and Other Irritating States: A Dinner Party Approach to International Relations." (via Cultural Matters)

Geoff Manaugh's fascinating post about the "Shanghai tunnels" of Tacoma, Washington, through which kidnapped citizens were supposedly transported to be sold into slavery in China:

'Subterranean space here clearly exists within an interesting overlap of projections: fantasies of race, exoticism, and simply subconscious fear of the underworld. White Europeans had expanded west all the way to the Pacific Ocean – only to find themselves standing in a swamp, on earthquake-prone ground, with a "mysterious" race of Chinese dock workers tunneling toward them through the earth, looking for victims... It's like a geography purpose-built for H.P. Lovecraft, or something straight out of the work of Jeff VanderMeer: down in the foundations of your city is a mysterious network of rooms, excavated by another race, through which unidentified strangers move at night, threatening to abduct you. It's urban historical anthropology by way of Jean Cocteau – or Sigmund Freud.'

Trailer for Rian Johnson's follow-up to Brick, The Brothers Bloom, starring Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Robbie Coltrane and Rinko Kikuchi. [official site] [imdb]

The US remake of Life on Mars has recast their Gene Hunt, with the role originated by Philip Glenister going to Harvey Keitel. (THR) [imdb]

Joining Ian McKellan and James Caviezel in the remake of The Prisoner will be Hayley Atwell (Brideshead Revisited), Ruth Wilson (Jane Eyre), Lennie James (Jericho) and Jamie Campbell-Bower (Sweeney Todd). (AMC) [imdb]

Comic-con interviews with Stephenie Meyer and the cast/crew of Twilight at ShockTillYouDrop.

Patricia Marx (The New Yorker) on Shanghai (my birth city) and its markets:

'Shanghai is the largest city in China, and I thinkI may have interviewed all 18.15 million residents to find out how their city stacks up against the capital, Beijing (pop. 17 million). Someof the responses: “Women in Shanghai are flashier, more dolled up.”“Beijing looks down on Shanghai for wanting only money.” “In Shanghai, they say, ‘I’ll find it cheaper,’ whereas in Beijing it’s ‘I want it inevery color.’ ” “There are more foreigners here. We have an Italian restaurant next to a Moroccan restaurant.” “A Shanghaier would rather buy a new pair of shoes than a ticket to the ballet.” “Beijing style is edgier, more avant-garde.” “Beijing’s short and wide. Shanghai’s tall and compact.” “Shanghai is more refined. More attention to detail.”“Shanghai’s female, Beijing’s male.” “Shanghai is New York. Beijing is Washington, D.C.” “Shanghai is New York. Beijing is L.A.” “Shanghai is Tel Aviv. Beijing is Jerusalem.” “Beijing is China. Shanghai is Shanghai.”

Jace at Televisionary has some pilot reviews for the upcoming Fall season: nay to HBO's vampire drama True Blood (based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris), BIG FAT NAY to the US remake of Life on Mars (no surprises there), but an awesome YAY! to J. J. Abram's sci-fi mystery series Fringe (starring Anna Torv, John Noble and Joshua Jackson):

'As Olivia Dunham, Australian newcomer Anna Torv is transcendent. Once again proving that no one picks a star in the making like J.J. Abrams, Torv is positively radiant on screen, effortlessly combining the steeliness of Jennifer Garner with the soulfulness of Cate Blanchett.'

Trailer for the US remake of Life on Mars. I'm so excited by the fact that Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen (Kendra Shaw in Battlestar Galactica: Razor) is going to be playing Maya. [imdb]

Fox has picked up Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (starring Eliza Dushki, Tahmoh Penikett, Amy Acker, Harry J. Lennix and Olivia Williams) and J. J. Abram's sci-fi/mystery pilot Fringe. Strongly reminiscent of The X-Files, Fringe stars Anna Torv (Book of Revelation) as Olivia Warren, a young FBI agent who ends up investigating the supernatural with the eccentric Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble) and his estranged son (Joshua Jackson). More details about the shows at io9.

A live-feature film adaptation of the comic Witchblade is in works. I actually quite enjoyed the TV show based on "Witchblade", which featured Yancy Butler as Sara Pezzinia and Will Yun Lee as her ghostly ex-partner Danny. This should be a fun project to cast. (Coming Soon)

Trailer for Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, a romantic comedy starring Javier Bardem, Patricia Clarkson, Penelope Cruz, Kevin Dunn, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Messina. [imdb]

Trailer for Quid Pro Quo, a psychological thriller starring Nick Stahl and Vera Farmiga. A semi-paralyzed radio reporter (Stahl) is sent out to investigate a story that leads him into an odd subculture and on a journey of disturbing self-realization. [imdb]

Trailer for The Edge of Love, a film about poet Dylan Thomas, his wife Caitlin MacNamara and his childhood friend Vera Phillips. Film features Keira Knightley, Cillian Murphy, Sienna Miller, and Matthew Rhys as Dylan Thomas. I quite like the trailer - it makes it seem like the film has more weight to it than the official stills released earlier suggested. [imdb]

Alas, it looks as if CBS has decided not to renew its vampire detective show Moonlight. (THR)

If you want to be spoiled for the "twist" of M. Night Shyamalan's new movie, The Happening, you can read it here.

Battlestar Galactica s4 - the rap.

David Remnick's top 100 essential jazz albums.

And Ben Daniels (The State Within) has been nominated for a Tony for his role as le Vicomte de Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" on Broadway.

Kickarse new Bourne Ultimatum trailer. (A cookie to anyone who can help me with identifying the song playing in the second half of the trailer. Edited: Got it. "Weapons of Mad Distortion" from The Crystal Method.)

All he wanted was to disappear. Instead, Jason Bourne is hunted by the people who made him what he is. Having lost his memory and the one person he loved, he is undeterred by the barrage of bullets and a new generation of highly-trained killers. Bourne has only one objective: to go back to the beginning and find out who he was.

Now, in the new chapter of this espionage series, Bourne will hunt down his past in order to find a future. He must travel to Moscow, Paris, Madrid and London to Tangiers and New York City as he continues his quest to find the real Jason Bourne - all the while trying to outmaneuver the scores of cops, federal officers and interpol agents with him in their crosshairs.

Matt Damon reprises the role of the amnesiac ex-government assassin. Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, David Strathairn, Paddy Considine and Edgar Ramirez also star. The Bourne Supremacy director Paul Greengrass is back, and so is composer John Powell. [official site] [imdb]

I cannot wait to hear Powell's score for this third (and final) film in the franchise. In anticipation, here are three tracks from the soundtrack to The Bourne Supremacy, featuring Powell's trademark electronic sound with memorable dramatic themes.

• "Goa"
• "Gatherine Data"
• "Berlin Foot Chase"

Bonus MP3: "First Love Touch" from Angelo Badalamenti's score for Un long dimanche de fiançailles (A Very Long Engagement). The entire soundtrack is beautiful, subtle and sad.

Just Jared has photos of Shia LaBeouf and Harrison Ford on the set of Indiana Jones 4. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it also stars Cate Blanchett, Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent. [imdb]

Irish actor Jason O'Mara (Men in Trees) has been cast as Sam Tyler in the American remake of the British series Life on Mars, about a police detective who is in a car accident and wakes up 30 years in the past. The role was played by John Simm in the original. The show is being produced by David E. Kelley. (Televisionary) [imdb]

Michiko Kakutani (NY Times) looks at Andrew Keen's book, "The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet is Killing Our Culture":

In his view Web 2.0 is changing the cultural landscape and not for the better. By undermining mainstream media and intellectual property rights, he says, it is creating a world in which we will “live to see the bulk of our music coming from amateur garage bands, our movies and television from glorified YouTubes, and our news made up of hyperactive celebrity gossip, served up as mere dressing for advertising.” This is what happens, he suggests, “when ignorance meets egoism meets bad taste meets mob rule.”

It's hard for me to share Keen's views on the sacrosanct status and supposed aggregate benefits of copyright laws; but all the same, sounds like an interesting book.