Johnny Depp Alice in Wonderland photo

The Johnny Depp photos show him clad in Victorian clothes, with a pale white face, shadowed eyes, and a hat with some kind of feathers stuck in it. He is seen clutching a rabbit to his chest and has a bandaged left
thumb.

The image is definitely that of Johnny Depp but seems more like an illustration.

Cinematical has said that it is likely that either the Alice in Wonderland photo is a fake or its a concept picture or painting that may be present in the background.

I would go with Cinematical on this. It is very likely that a good illustrator has pulled a fast one on everyone.

The Johnny Depp fansite, johnny-depp.org, though, has taken off the photo from its site.

A message on the site says, “The new Photo of Johnny from the Set of Alice (the new Tim Burton, Disney Film) was released to this site through an insider on the set. After the posting took place with that persons
permission, a call was made asking us to in good faith pull down the photo. Out of respect for Johnny, Mr.
Burton and Disney alike; we have agreed to do this. The image was leaked off the set without permission and we were unaware of this fact. No one is to blame for the leak, but at JDorg we will respect the wishes of the film company individuals.”

Right! Since when do insiders “release” - a respectable word for leak - photos of a movie from the sets with
permission?

Mia Wasikowaska on the sets of Alice in Wonderland

The first photos of Alice came out when, in September 2008, Cinematical posted spy photos, from INF, of Mia Wasikowaska, from the sets of Alice in Wonderland.

Mia Wasikowaska as Alice in Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is in production right now and is set to be released on March 5, 2010.

The movie stars Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee will be played by Matt Lucas who stars in the sketch comedy series Little Britain USA.

Beowolf actor Crispin Glover will play the Knave of Hearts, in Alice in Wonderland.

Previously, Mia Wasikowaska has appeared in HBO’s In Treatment.

Alice in Wonderland is said to be a mix of performance-capture CGI in 3-D and live action.

Alice in Wonderland has been scripted by Linda Woolverton, the writer of The Lion King, Homeward Bound,
and the 1991 Beauty and the Beast.

Tim Burton is the acclaimed director of the recent The Dark Knight, Batman, and Batman Returns. He has
directed Johnny Depp, previously, in Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and
Sweeney Todd: The Demon of Barber Street.

Johnny Depp will be next seen in The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Shantaram, and Public Enemies in 2009.

He is also slated to play Tonto in The Lone Stranger, and star in The Pirates of the Caribbean 4. The Lone Ranger will be released in 2012.

Battle: Los Angeles will be directed by Jonathan Leibesman. The movie will be produced by Neal Moritz and his Original Film. The story and screenplay has been written by Chris Bertolini, writer of The General’s Daughter.

The story revolves around a Marine platoon that takes on an alien invasion in Los Angeles.

Now, the alien invasion thingy has been done to death in Hollywood. I, honestly, have no idea how Battle: Los Angeles is going to be any different. Apparently, Leibesman, in his pitch, described Battle: Los Angeles as Black Hawk Dawn and Independence Day.

A script review at latinoreview.com has done nothing to allay the aforesaid fears.

Aaron Eckhart

Apparently, the storyline is predictable, the script uninspiring, and the ending terrible.

Reports have said that Liebesman has created a alien invasion sequence, shot some scenes in LA, and added CGI aliens. Considering the movie is supposed to be a high-octave action sci-fi, it seems the action is very boring and insipid.

Jonathan Leibesman has directed The Killing Room, Darkness Falls, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Leibesman was also slated to direct the Friday the 13th remake but was replaced by Marcus Nispel.

Aaron Eckhart was last seen in The Dark Knight, as Harvey Dent. Eckhart made his debut with In the Company of Men (1997) for which he won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance.

This is the first time the talented actor will act in an action movie. Aaron Eckhart will be next seen in Burke Ryan’s Traveling, with Jennifer Aniston.

Battle: Los Angeles is in pre-production and will be released in 2010.

Leaves of Grass first photo

In Leaves of Grass, Edward Norton plays identical twins. One is an Ivy league professor, Bill Kincaid, and the other is a genius bad boy marijuana-grower.

Bill Kincaid’s devious twin brother lures him to southeastern Oklahoma where he ends up taking on drug lord (Richard Dreyfuss.)

Leaves of Grass poster

Leaves of Grass has been written and directed by Tim Blake Nelson. The movie also stars Susan Sarandon, Keri Russell, Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Sif and Tim Blake Nelson, who plays a friend of one of the twin brothers.

Susan Sarandon plays the mother of the twins, and Keri Russell will be a love interest.

Leaves of Grass has been produced by Ed Norton and Nelson and has been financed by Barbarian Films with Bill Migliore.

Norton and Nelson recently teamed for The Incredible Hulk with Norton playing the title character. Nelson reportedly wrote Leaves of Grass for Norton’s talents and has been waiting for the right chance for the actor to take the project.

Tim Blake Nelson is known more as a superb character actor than as a director. He has acted in more than 40 movies and directed six movies, Haskett’s Chance, Kansas, Eye of God, O, and The Grey Zone.

Reports say that Nelson had written the script of Leaves of Grass with Ed Norton in mind, with whom he has worked in The Incredible Hunk.

Edward Norton has two Oscar nominations to his name. He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar award for American History X (1999), and Best Supporting Actor for Primal Fear (1996).

Norton has won the Golden Globe award in 1997 for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture for the movie Primal Fear.

Jean-Claude Van Damme in Double Impact

It would be interesting to see Ed Norton playing twins in Leaves of Grass. At the very least, he will be better than Jean-Claude Van Damme in Double Impact.

Edward Norton will be next seen in Motherless Brooklyn.

Aamir has called Ghajini an out-and-out commercial film. If you have watched Memento and enjoyed it like I did, I shudder to think about its fate, with lots of melodrama and a few item numbers thrown in. I am assuming there will be melodrama; I haven’t watched the Tamil Ghajini, but Tamil movies are not known for their restraint or subtlety. They breathe melodrama and sentimentality.

Anyway, here is a photo of Aamir’s look in Ghajini, all muscled and taut.

Aamir Khan's Ghajini photo

Aamir Khan’s Ghajini look is pretty similar to actor Surya’s look in the Tamil Ghajini, which needless to say is similar to Guy Pearce’s look in Memento. Here is a picture of Surya’s look in Ghajini….

Actor Surya's look in the Tamil version of Ghajini

….and Guy Pearce’s look in Memento.

Guy Pearce in Memento, the original from which Ghajini was remade

Like Guy Pearce, Aamir Khan too has numbers and other to-do lists tattooed on his body so he does not forget all of this since he suffers a short memory loss every 15 minutes.

Aamir Khan too has numbers and other to-do lists tattooed on his body so he does not forget all of this since he suffers a short memory loss every 15 minutes.

After Shahrukh Khan in Om Shanti Om, it is Aamir Khan’s turn to take a shot at the six-pack look, which has been done to death by Salman Khan. The six-pack veteran scrutinizes the latest six-pack devotees and then solemnly pronounces judgment. Before Salman’s fallout with Shahrukh Khan, he had praised Shahrukh’s look for Om Shanti Om.

Aamir has said that Salman really liked his look in Ghajini.

Ghajini is directed by AR Murugadass who also directed the Tamil remake of Memento. Asin, who starred in the Tamil movie,  is part of the Ghajini cast as well.

Ghajini will be released on December 25, 2008. Ghajini was initially scheduled to be released on Diwali, on October 28, 2008 (on Diwali) but was postponed due to Aamir’s leg injury.

Ghajini is faithful to the basic plot of Memento. In Memento, Leonard Shelby (Guy Pearce) searches for one of the two men who broke into his house and raped and killed his wife. Leonard kills one of them but the other hits him on the head, as a result of which Leonard is affected by anterograde memory or short-term memory loss.

In Ghajini, the protagonist is a business tycoon, whose sets out to track his girlfriend’s killer. He too is hit on the head and suffers from short-term memory loss. So far so good, but what made Memento special was its treatment. I have no idea how Ghajini will pan out. I just hope its not just about Aamir Khan’s look, and I so hope there is NO romance between Aamir and Asin.

Aamir Khan and Asin in Ghajini

This worries me!

Brad Pitt in Troy

Brad Pitt had earlier player Achilles in the 2004 Troy, based on Homer’s The Iliad. The movie got Pitt a fair bit of drubbing.

The sci-fi Odyssey will be set in outer space, according to Variety. So those of you looking forward to Brad Pitt’s toned thighs in a skirt can forget about it. But really Odyssey set in outer space? The mind boggles.

In Homer’s Odyssey, Greek general Odysseus is returning to his wife Penelope in Ithaca, after the Trojan war. But Odyssey has to deal with sea-nymphs, witches, monsters, and cyclops for 10 years before he can return.

Brad Pitt in Troy

Brad Pitt will be seen next in David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the story of a man who ages backwards, later in 2008. The movie also stars Cate Blanchett and Tilda Swinton.

Brad Pitt will then appear in The Tree of Life, set in the 1950s, in 2009.

The other Brad Pitt movies in production and post-production are Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards, The Fighter, Chad Schmidt, and Dirty Tricks.

Brad Pitt’s sci-fi Odyssey will be produced by his own company Plan B.

Earlier, Brad Pitt has produced The Departed and Running with Scissors in 2006, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, and co-produced A Mighty Heart in 2007. Brad Pitt has also exec produced Year of the Dog in 2007 and Shantaram that will be released in 2009.

A few days before the announcement of Odyssey, director Ridley Scott, has also announced his first science film, Forever War, since Blade Runner and Alien. Forever War will be based on Joe Haldeman’s 1974 novel, “The Odyssey by way of Blade Runner.”

But that at least is a sci-fi novel to start with.

Alice in Wonderland is expected to release in 2010. The 3-D film that will use performance-capture imagery and live-action footage, will star Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter.

In Alice in Wonderland, the Knave of Hearts stands trial for stealing the Queen of Hearts’ tarts and is defended by Alice.

Crispin Glover is an actor, musician, painter, filmmaker and author.

Crispin Glover in Willard

Known for playing eccentric - make that creepy - characters, Glover has acted in Bartleby (2001) and Willard (2003). He has also played the role of “Creepy Thin Man” in Charlie’s Angels, George McFly in Back to the Future, and Layne in River’s Edge.

As a director, he has made no less strange movies, like What Is It?, followed by It is Fine. Everything is Fine. What Is It? revolves around characters with Down’s Syndrome in sexual situations.

Crispin Glover in What Is It?

In the past, Crispin Glover has also directed Everything is Fine! written by Utah writer-actor Steven C. Stewart, and is now working on a film called It is Mine.

Glover is also famous for his off-screen eccentricities.

Who can forget Glover’s tete-a-tete with David Letterman where he almost kicked Letterman in the head on the Late Night with David Letterman show in 1987? After trying to goad Letterman into an  arm-wrestling contest, Crispin Glover got carried away a bit and aimed a karate kick in Letterman’s face shouting “I am strong..I can kick!” Needless to say, Letterman was not happy.

Apparently, Crispin Glover is obsessed with Europe’s aristocratic age and also owns a 16th-century Zamek castle in the Czech Republic.

Crispin Glover is the published author of four books, Oak Mot, Concrete Inspection, What it is, and How it is Done, and Rat Catching.

So far everything is fine with Alice in Wonderland, except that I don’t think I’d like a creepy knave of hearts.

Borat sings the Kazakhstan national anthem parody in the movie Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Social networking sites like Facebook are carrying petitions for Borat to sing the controversial Kazakhstan national anthem at Wembley.

The question is will Sacha Baron Cohen oblige them?

In the movie “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan,” Borat had sung the Kazakhstan national anthem parody at a US baseball match.

Sacha Baron Cohen received a lot of flak from the Kazakhstan government for his potrayal of Kazakhstan as a backward nation full of dumb people.

Understandably, the Kazakhstan government had threatened to sue Cohen. Then, Cohen (in his Borat avatar) was quoted as saying,  “I’d like to state that I have no connection with Mr Cohen and fully support my government decision to sue this Jew.”

Recently, former Kazhakistan coach, Arno Pijpers, said that Kazakhstan players are normal footballers who train and prepare like any others. When they are on away trips and they are not playing or training they play cards or watch DVDs.

“Yes, they do watch the Borat movie. I know the country’s politicians didn’t like it, but the players find it funny. They get the jokes and don’t think the movie makes fun of Kazakhstan. It makes fun of the US more than it does Kazakhstan,” he said.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s next film is Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Males Visibly Uncomfortable in the Presence of a Gay Foreigner in a Mesh T-Shirt, where he plays a young Austrian fashion reporter, Bruno.

Of late, Sacha has been having a lot of fun with the character, Bruno.

Sacha Baron Cohen led out by Security at the Jean Charles de Castelbajac fashion show during the Paris Fashion Week

On October 4, 2008, Sacha Baron Cohen disrupted the Jean Charles de Castelbajac fashion show during Paris Fashion Week. Sacha sneaked backstage and walked out on the ramp like a model.

Sacha also passed notes to the models on the catwalk and yelled in his mobile phone.

Sacha Baron Cohen storms the runway during the Milan Fashion Week

Before that, in end-September 2008, Sacha Baron Cohen performed many such antics during the Agatha Ruiz de la Prada show at the Milan Fashion Week. He leapt on the catwalk in a blond wig and bizarre clothes. Cohen was arrested but was not charged.

In July 2008, Sacha Baron Cohen fooled Arkansans in Fort Smith into appearing as extras in his movies. Most of the men who had come to the organized cage expecting to see Blue-Collar brawling, hot babes, and $1 beer, instead got to see two spandex-wearing men kissing and groping each other. Unsurprisingly, a riot broke out at the Arkansas convention center, and many chairs and tables were thrown into the ring.

Given his recent destructive trail, Sacha Baron Cohen is being rather coy about singing the Kazakhstan national anthem parody at the England-Kazakhstan match at Wembley. Maybe given the theme of his next move, he wants to make his presence only on the fashion runway. Or he has other sinister plans for the Wembley match. After all Sacha’s fans have asked for Borat; they may get a Bruno instead!

Incredible Love is in post-production right now and is written and directed by Sabir Khan. Incredible Love will be Sabir Khan’s first directorial attempt. He has earlier worked as Assistant Director of hits like Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya? and Mujhse Shaadi Karogi, that starred Akshay Kumar.

Brandon Routh, who has just finished shooting an action scene with Bollywood daredevil hero Akshay Kumar, was apparently very impressed with Kumar’s incredible love for dangerous stunts.

Brandon Routh and Akshay Kumar in Incredible Love

The two stars have bonded well on martial arts and fitness. Akshay Kumar studied martial arts in Bangkok before he entered films.

Incredible Love will revolve around an Indian stuntsman (Akshay Kumar) who has stumped Hollywood with his stunts but cannot win the heart of his incredibly unimpressed lady love (Kareena Kapoor).

It is unclear how Brandon Routh is going to fit in, but knowing Bollywood’s lack of imagination and a tendency to cash in on existing perceptions, I suspect there will an insert where Brandon Routh is going to romp around in his Superman outfit and in general make a fool of himself. The buffoonery will ostensibly be aimed at children, who are largely considered brain dead by Bollywood directors. Even if Routh does not play Superman in the movie, there will definitely be strong associations with the comic book hero.

Brandon Routh’s career in Hollywood is not exactly going great guns. Routh’s Without Remorse was to release in early 2008 but Paramount has slated the movie for a turnaround. His scenes in The Informers was deleted after a change in the script. Routh will be next seen in Dylan Dog in 2008.

Akshay Kumar is the reigning superstar of Bollywood. His last movie Singh is Kinng was a super duper hit. After Kambhakt Ishq (Incredible Love) Akshay Kumar will be seen in Chandni Chowk to China, Blue, and Eight by Ten.

Denise Richards and Akshay Kumar in Incredible Love

Denise Richards is said to play herself in Incredible Love. Indiatimes has said that Denise Richards shot a wedding scene with Akshay Kumar on a beach in LA. That is quite a change! Usually in Bollywood movies, you see the heroes romping with foreign female artists but never ever presenting them to mama. I am sure this will turn out to be a dream sequence.

Incredible Love is expected to hit theaters in December 2008.

Heath Ledger with daughter Matilda Rose

Ledger’s three sisters, Kate and Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell, stood to inherit half his estate while his parents Kim and Sally Bell would have received the remaining half.

Heath Ledger's daughter Matilda Rose

Kim Ledger and his family have been the object of intense media scrutiny for quite a while after actor Heath Ledger’s death, and it was expected that Matilda Rose’s mother and Heath Ledger’s ex-parter Michelle Williams would contest the will. The will had been signed by Heath Ledger on April 12, 2003, before the birth of his daughter Matilda Rose.

Michelle Williams was separated from Heath Ledger at the time of his death. William’s father Larry Williams had challenged the Ledger’s family to reveal the exact value of Ledger’s estate, in public.

According to Heath Ledger’s will most of his fortune was locked up in a trust, and only $145,000 was declared as assets and cash.

Larry Williams alleged that it was suspicious that only $145,000 was listed as assets.

Mark Dyson, executor of Heath Ledger’s estate, said that he could not reveal exactly what Matilda would inherit but added that it would be in millions.

In the middle of all the flying accusations, there was some more drama when ReliaStar Life Insurance Company, the company that wrote Heath Ledger’s  £5 million life insurance policy, set about to investigate whether Heath Ledger’s death was a suicide or an accident. This was despite an accident death ruling given by the New York City Medical Examiner.

Matilda Rose with daddy Heath Ledger

ReliaStar has now been sued for its unsubstantiated claims.

Heath Ledger with Matilda Rose, his daughter from partner Michelle Williams

Heath Ledger, one of the most promising actors in recent times, died of an prescription drug overdose earlier in January 2008.

Ledger was said to be under considerable stress because of the intense roles he had been taking on, like The Dark Knight and The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which was on hold after Ledger’s death and is now in production.

Production was resumed after actors the likes of Johnny Depp and Jude Law were roped in to play the different personas of Heath Ledger in the movie.
Heath Ledger’s last role as the Joker in the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight, has been acclaimed as one of his best roles.

It is a widely held belief that Heath Ledger will be nominated posthumously for The Best Actor Academy award.

The studio plans to re-release The Dark Knight in early 2008, just before the Oscar Awards happen.

The Lone Ranger with Tonto

If electric dreams is to be believed, The Lone Ranger will be played by George Clooney. And Johnny Depp will play his faithful native american side-kick Tonto, as we all know after the Disney announcement on September 24, 2008.

George Clooney may play the The Lone Ranger

Apparently, George Clooney has been very interested in the role of the lone ranger and is said to be in talks with the studio.

The Lone Ranger movie will be produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and co-written by the Pirates of the Caribbean writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. The Lone Ranger movie will be directed by Gore Verbinski.

The Lone Ranger movie will be released in 2012.

The Lone Ranger

For the uninitiated, according to the Lone Ranger legend, The Lone Ranger is a masked, vigilante character created by George W. Trendle for a radio and TV series. The Lone Ranger, is a texas ranger, who is a survivor of an ambush by a gang of outlaws, where five of his other partners in a quest for justice are killed.

Severly wounded, the Lone Ranger is rescued by his childhood friend, a native american named Tonto. Legend says that the Lone Ranger considered dead by the outlaws, chooses six silver bullets and a white stallion, whom he named silver, and set off on the course of justice, with Tonto, by his side.

As per the lone ranger legend, The Lone Ranger is always masked and no one ever knows his identity.

The Lone Ranger radio series and later the TV series, starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as Tonto, were extremely popular. The Lone Ranger was the first Western ever to be so successful on TV.

If you are a George Clooney fan, you may love to see him say Hi-Ho, Silver, away! as he fades into the sunset, but I for one will be sorry to see those crinkly eyes hidden by an eye mask.