Can any Americans explain to me what the connection is between the GOP and elephants?

Coolest casting ever: Paul Bettany, who was the Darwin-esque surgeon and naturalist Stephen Maturin in Master and Commander, will portray the most famous naturalist of all in Creation, a film about Charles Darwin and his deeply religious wife Emma, played by Bettany's real-life spouse Jennifer Connelly. Also joining the cast are Jeremy Northam (The Tudors), Toby Jones (The Painted Veil) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Atonement). The key role of daughter Annie Darwin, whose death during childhood would influence the great scientist's thinking about the natural world, will be announced soon.

John Collee (Master and Commander, Happy Feet) wrote the script based on a book by Darwin's great-great-grandson, British conservationalist Randal Keynes. (Trivia: he is also the father of Skandar Keynes, star of the Narnia films, and the great nephew of economist John Maynard Keynes.) John Amiel (Entrapment, Sommersby) will direct. (THR) [Guardian review of "Annie's Box"]

Denzel Washington will star in the sci-fi western The Book of Eli, directed by Allen and Albert Hughes (From Hell).

'Washington will portray a lone hero in a not-too-distant apocalyptic future who must fight across America to bring society the knowledge that could be the key to its redemption.'

Sounds like part-The Road, part-A Canticle for Leibowitz. Newcomer Gary Whitta wrote the script. (THR)

Appaloosa character banners - scroll down to see the rest. *sighs at Jeremy Iron's profile* You can watch the trailer here and at the official site. Directed by Ed Harris, and starring Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen, Jeremy Irons, Renee Zellweger, and more chiselled jaws than you can shake a fist at. [imdb]

The official site for Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom is really neat. Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody star as brothers and con artists, who are out to swindle a beautiful and eccentric heiress (Rachel Weisz), with the help of a demolition expert (Babel's Rinko Kikuchi) and a shifty Belgian (Robbie Coltrane, who may or may not be playing the same character that he portrayed in Ocean's Twelve). [imdb]

Zuleika Robinson (Rome, New Amsterdam) joins the cast of Lost in a recurring role, with the option to become a regular in season 6. (EW)

And the new Sarah Connor Chronicles trailer. The show returns next Monday.