Dexter season 4 promo.

First look at Lucy Lawless in the series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Sporting long red locks and looking like a pre-Raphaelite goddess, she plays Lucretia. Here is a rather cheesy teaser. Spartacus will premiere in January 2010 on Starz. [imdb]

Official site and trailer for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I'm not what you might call the hugest fan of Burton, but I'm excited to see Anne Hathaway and Mia Wasikowska in this movie.

Ondine, a modern fairy tale directed by Neil Jordan and shot by Christopher Doyle, will receive Premiere screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Film stars Colin Farrell as a fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious creature in his nets who he believes is a mermaid. Stephen Rea and Alicja Bachleda also star. (IFTN) [imdb]

4 tv-spots for The Time Traveler's Wife.

Trailer for thriller A Perfect Getaway, starring Milla Jovovich, Timothy Olyphant, Steve Zahn, Chris Hemworth (motherf**king Thor), Marley Shelton, and Kiele Sanchez. In case you haven't noticed, this cast? Kinda rocks. Two pairs of lovers (Zahn & Jovovich, Olyphant & Sanchez) on a Hawaiian vacation discover that psychopaths are stalking and murdering tourists on the islands. Directed by David Twohy (Pitch Black). [imdb]

Mutant cats and post-apocalypse landscapes in teaser trailer for The Book of Eli, starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman and Mila Kunis. [imdb]

Description of Comic-Con footage from James Cameron's Avatar. (InContention)

Pirates of the Caribbean 4 will start shooting April 2010. (Coming Soon)

Brand new hi-res Agora stills. Beautiful. [imdb]

New pic of Anne Hathaway as the White Queen in Alive in Wonderland. (Empire)

Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster in Kenneth Branagh's Thor. At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. In the comics, Jane Foster was a nurse who became Thor's first love. (THR)

Teaser trailer for Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Based on the YA novels by Rick Riordan, it centers on the adventures of teenager Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman), son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) and Sally Jackson (Catherine Keener), who discovers that the gods of Olympus are well and alive in the 21st century - and living at the top of the Empire State Building, apparently. Also stars Sean Bean as Zeus, Uma Thurman as Medusa, Rosario Dawson as Persephone, Pierce Brosnon as Chiron, Melina Kanakaredes as Athena, and Steve Coogan as Hades. Directed by Chris Columbus, who was responsible for the first two Harry Potter films. [imdb]

Sky1 casts their Pratchett adaptation, Going Postal. Richard Coyle will star as Moist Von Lipwig, David Suchet as Reacher Gilt, Charles Dance as Lord Vetinari, and Claire Foy as Adora Belle Dearheart. For more details about the cast, see the official press release.

Photos of Chow Yun-Fat as Confucius and also concept art from the Chinese-language biopic. [imdb]

You have a rat on you! so_spiffed, I bet you could make these necklaces yourself.

How to get your photo taken and posted on The Sartorialist.

Teaser trailer for The Pacific, a 10-part miniseries from the producers of Band of Brothers, about the War in the Pacific from the viewpoints of three American marines. Cast includes Rami Malek, Joseph Mazzello, John Seda, Ashton Holmes, Isabel Lucas, Jon Bernthal, Matt Craven, Brendan Fletcher, Nathan Corddry, Leon Ford, and Gary Sweet. [imdb]

Art and character designs for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. [imdb]

Trailer for Hayao Miyazaki's newest animated film, Ponyo. [imdb]

Trailer for Mira Nair's Amelia, starring Hilary Swank as Amelia Earhart, as well as Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Mia Wasikowska, Christopher Eccleston and Joe Anderson. [imdb]

Law & Order: UK gets a second season. (THR)

Casting spoiler for Leverage: ( *spoiler* ) (THR)

New photos and concept art from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, starring Mia Wasikowska (Alice), Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter), Matt Lucas (Tweedledee/Tweedledum), Anne Hathaway (The White Queen), Helena Bonham Carter (The Red Queen), Crispin Glover (Knave of Hearts), Alan Rickman (Caterpillar), Michael Sheen, Stephen Fry (The Cheshire Cat), Christopher Lee, and Eleanor Romlinson (Fiona Chataway). [imdb]

Shaun Toub (Iron Man), Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider), Aasif Mandvi (Jericho) and Keong Sim have been added to the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, based on the Nikelodeon cartoon Avatar. Toub, who portrayed Stark's cellmate Yinsen in Iron Man, will play former Fire Nation general Iroh, devoted uncle to the exiled Prince Zuko (Dev Patel), while Curtis will play the ruthless Fire Lord Ozai, father to Zuko. Mandvi is set to play Commander Zhao, while Sim will play an Earthbender. (Coming Soon) [imdb]

8 clips from the pilot of NBC's Kings, premiering this Sunday night.

Andy Linden (RocknRolla) has been cast to play Modungus Fletcher and Domhnall Gleeson (here's a photo) has been cast as Bill Weasley in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (IESB) [imdb]

Trailer for Orphans, a horror thriller starring Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard.

@ FunnyOrDie: John Hamm (Mad Men) as Lex Luthor.

French posters for Quantum of Solace.

First trailer for Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, starring Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen and Rhona Mitra. [imdb]

Trailer for Clint Eastwood's Gran Torino. Disgruntled Korean War vet Walt Kowalski (Eastwood) sets out to reform his neighbor, a young Hmong teenager, who tried to steal Kowalski's prized possesion: his 1972 Gran Torino. [imdb]

New trailer for action-thriller The International. Clive Owen and Naomi Watts play an Interpol agent and a Manhattan ADA who are delivering a well-deserved whoop-ass to US financial institutions determined to bring to justice one of the world's most powerful banks.

Trailer for the drama Last Chance Harvey, starring Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Eileen Atkins, James Brolin, Kathy Baker and Liane Balaban. [imdb]

Crispin Glover joins Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland as the Knave of Hearts. (THR) [imdb]

Now that Kenneth Branagh is near-officially on board to direct Marvel's Thor, somebody please just cast Alexander Skarsgård (Generation Kill, True Blood)? I mean, if you're looking for a Norse thunder god, who else are you going to pick but a 6'4" Swede? The script is by Mark Protosevich (I Am Legend), who has said: "There used to be a segment in the Thor comics called 'Tales of Asgard' -- and it's much more akin to that. It really is set in that world. It does deal with Earth. The primary focus we're taking on it is really all about the Norse myths." [imdb]

Red band trailer for the Swedish horror film Let The Right One In. [imdb]

Photos and EW cover article for J. J. Abrams' Star Trek. [imdb]

LA Times talks to Tim Burton about Alice in Wonderland.

Two clips (scroll down) from Quantum of Solace. [imdb]

Production development on the next Bourne film, with George Nolfi (who worked on The Bourne Ultimatum) hired to take over from Tony Gilroy as screenwriter. Director Paul Greengrass and actor Matt Damon are both attached to the sequel. (THR)

Promo for Spooks (aka MI5) series 7:

Helen Mirren (The Queen) will lead the cast of Julie Taymor's (Titus) adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest as "Prospera", an exiled duchess-turned-sorceress reigning over the island on which she was stranded with her daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones; Northanger Abbey), and served by the deformed Caliban (Djimon Hounsou) and the captured spirit Ariel (Ben Whishaw). A storm raised by Prospera wrecks a ship carrying the duchess' enemies on the island, its survivors including Alonso (Jeremy Irons), the King of Naples; his advisor Gonzalo (Geoffrey Rush is in talks for the role); crew member Stephano (Alfred Molina); and jester Trinculo (Russell Brand). ETA: Okay, and if that isn't enough to get you exicited, CHRISTOPHER DOYLE is the cinematographer and ELIOT GOLDENTHAL is scoring the film. *filmnerdgasms* (THR) [imdb]

Anne Hathaway has signed on to play the White Queen in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Also in the film are Mia Wasikowska playing the title role, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, and Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. (THR) [imdb]

Forest Whitaker will direct and star in the Louis Armstrong biopic What A Wonderful World. (Coming Soon)

Rumours that Kate Winslet will play iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood in a new biopic. (Guardian)

Preview Marvel's comic adaptation of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game. (io9)

Trailer for the black comedy Just Buried, starring Jay Baruchel and Rose Byrne. After inheriting a funeral home in a small town where nobody is dying, Oliver (Baruchel) and his embalmer girlfriend (Byrne) start bumping off townsfolk to drum up business. [imdb]

Pictures from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, with Mia Wasikowska (gymnast Sophie on In Treatment, although she will always be Mary Russell in my mind) playing Alice. [imdb]

Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Henry V) is in talks to direct Marvel's Thor adaptation, with a script by Mark Protosevich. (Variety) [imdb]

The Guardian interviews actor Jeff Bridges (Iron Man, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People).

HBO is developing a futuristic drama titled Americatown, produced by the guys behind Oz. Set 25-40 years into the future when the precipitous decline of the U.S. leads to a mass exodus of its citizens, Americatown takes place in a cluster of newly arrived American immigrants in a big foreign city.

"By presenting Americans as immigrants in the near future, as both underdog and hero in the drama of global dislocation, we substitute a mirror for the rancor that informs much of the partisan debates on immigration," [writer Bradford] Winters said.

The deal at HBO caps a decade-long development process for Winters, who at different points shepherded the project as a series, movie, miniseries and a book.

His original idea, which he shared with Fontana, was to take a "Traffic"-style look at immigration in present day New York from different points of view.

( Read more... )

As a 1.5-gen Chinese immigrant, I love this show already, based purely on the premise. (THR)

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.'

Mia Wasikowska (In Treatment) is in negotiations to play the title character in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. [imdb]

Philip Noyce (The Quiet American) has signed on to develop and direct a remake of the pirate movie Captain Blood, based on the classic adventure novel by Rafael Sabatini. The original film starred Errol Flynn. (THR)

Michael Rymer (Battlestar Galactica) is going to direct the film adaptation of Witchblade. The comic was previous adapted as a TV series starring Yancy Butler. [imdb]

NY Times talks with director Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane) about adapting Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited. His film stars Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw, Hayley Atwell, Emma Thompson and Michael Gambon. GreenCine Daily links to some reviews. [imdb]

Remember when I was harping on about how Peter Berg should go and direct the remake of Conan the Barbarian instead of putting his paws over Dune if he's so desperate to make a heroic, fun, adventure movie? It's obviously not working. Although Berg's new project - an adaptation of a comic, Hercules: The Thracian Wars - is definitely the kind of story I had in mind, there's no signs of divine intervention because he's still attached to Dune. (Variety)

Maureen Ryan talks to Joss Whedon about Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.

Heather Havrilesky previews the second season of Mad Men.

Twitch hears about a potential live action adaptation of Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop.

What goes on at the font conference? (via)

If physical theories were women (via):

Quantum field theory is from overseas, but she doesn't really have an accent. You fall deeply in love, but she treats you horribly. You are pretty sure she's fooling around with half of your friends, but you don't care. You know it will end badly.