The frenzy for The Avengers is being stirred more and more by the sheer number of film set pictures that are flooding the internet. This is highly unusual if you’d go by how other high profile movies that were being shot handled these kinds of leaks. For example, updates on the Dark Knight Rises have been quite few and almost very miserly compared to the amount of images we’re seeing from the Avengers set. At this point, I think this is deliberate. The movie studio is already creating the hype even though the movie’s months away from being released — heck, it’s still filming right now. But the comicbook fanboys won’t be complaining. The leaked pictures will be fueling their daydreams – some of them may even be using the pictures in lieu of internet porn.

The leaked pictures do generate a lot of excitement and if the goal for releasing such a relatively huge number of pictures  is to ramp up anticipation for the movie then they have succeeded. The Avengers will be released summer of 2012. It will star Robert Downey, Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and a slew of other big name actors. Joss Whedon directs.

I know there would be people out there who’ll be less than enthusiastic about the news. But who cares? For girly girls like me who swooned and cried repeatedly during the countless time we saw the film back when we were in high school there’s no doubt that we’ll be awaiting the 3D remake of “Titanic”. For those involved in the film who’ll be making a titanic of a paycheck again once the blockbuster comes out, we can also be sure that they’ll probably be even more excited about the return of “Titanic”. The only one I can really think of who will benefit from the film that might not be too thrilled about its return would be Leo di Caprio simply because he is sooo over the crazy attention, especially from the paparazzi, from being a huge star. Of course he’s grown up a lot and should be able to handle the paparazzi thing now so maybe he isn’t to averse to the idea of “Titanic” coming back to make him the center of attention once more.

As for the actual 3D experience I am yet uncertain as to how that will pan out. Pretty sure that the once the boat starts sinking 3D aspect will make it more exciting but for the first part I don’t see how it’ll make much of a difference. Maybe cinemas should turn on fans (as in electric fans) during the famous “I’m flying” scene with Jack and Rose. Now THAT would be immersive.

As for Oscar’s official reason, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis said, “Last year there were more movies that I thought might have fit in the nominations.” I’m pretty sure that the year before that and the year before that there were also other films that didn’t make the cut which would have if there were 10 nominees instead of 5. So you can bet it’s all about ratings and not their wish to give more films a chance at win the Oscar.

Cast includes Mia Wasikowska as Alice, Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter, Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen, Alan Rickman as the Caterpillar, Christopher Lee as the Jabberwock, and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat. For a longer list of the cast visit Alice in Wonderland’s IMDB page.

Here are some of the pictures that were first published in USA Today. As you’ll see they really do capture the magic of Alice in Wonderland.

The “Moneyball” script was written by Oscar-winners Soderbergh and Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List). It is based on the Michael Lewis’ non-fiction novel about the Oakland Athletics and their GM Billy Beane. According to Amy Pascal the decision to back out was due to the fact that they got “a much different final draft” than the one they agreed to produce. It must be so different for them to decide to pull the plug when it was already scheduled to shoot tomorrow in Phoenix.

Director Steven Soderbergh and star Brad Pitt is now left scrambling around looking for another studio to fund the film. No news yet as to how they are doing on this one but you can be sure that for them this whole fiasco came from the left field.

As for Columbia only the film coming out and the box office will tell if they made the right decision or if they’ll be regretting it all when “Moneyball” starts raking in cash. Of course, that’ll only happen if “Moneyball” actually gets to go on production.

Last week it was Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail’s home that was demolished by the municipal crews. Early today it was Rubina Ali Qureshi’s house. Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail played the young Salim while Rubina Ali Qureshi played the young Latika. In a very sad case of life imitates art Rubina tearfully told the Associated Press, “I’m feeling bad. My house had been demolished. I’m thinking about where to sleep.” So much for the applause what these kids is a clean safe home where they know they just won’t get evicted without being given notice, which is what happened according to Rubina’s stepmom Munni Qureshi. Qureshi says that the police did not give any notice before the demolition. In fact Rubina, who was in a nearby market when the demolition started, ran back as soon as she heard the news but returned only to find rubble. It’s not as if she could do anything about it and judging from the police’s heavy handed tactics, which lead to Rubina’s father getting beat for resisting,she was better off not being there during the whole process. Of course that doesn’t give any comfort when night falls and they end up huddled together under the stars with no roof over their heads…

Now I do want to say that I am looking forward to his 100th film, Chinese Zodiac, which by the way he is also co-directing, but really his latest very public boo-boo is just more interesting. So I’ll just leave the movie topic by writing that Jackie Chan said that “The theme of the film revolves around a subject close to the hearts of Chinese people around the world.”

Back to the thing that’s been the talk of the Chinese around the world I do have to say that even if I am not Chinese I too find his comments very offensive. He is entitled to his opinion but to say those words out loud in a business forum smacks of cluelessness or craziness. Take your pick. So just what were his inflammatory remarks?

“I feel that in the 10 years after Hong Kong’s return to Chinese rule, I can gradually see, I’m not sure if it’s good to have freedom or not…I’m really confused now. If you’re too free, you’re like the way Hong Kong is now. It’s very chaotic. Taiwan is also chaotic…I’m gradually beginning to feel that we Chinese need to be controlled. If we’re not being controlled, we’ll just do what we want.”

Ok. So he might not be for self-government but to say that the Chinese need to be controlled is downright disrespectful to them. Hu Xingdou, an economics professor at the Beijing Institute of Technology made so much sense when he said, “It’s easy to sacrifice freedom when you’re treated like a V.I.P. or some high-level official every time you come to China.” I can see why they’re infuriated and want to boycott his upcoming concerts and movies. Oh well.

Despite his misgivings Terrence Howards assures Marvel that he won’t leak any details of the upcoming movie even though he is indeed in a position to give a massive spoiler since he has read the script. Furthermore he harbors no ill-will towards his replacement and even roots for Don Cheadle, wanting Cheadle to do a better job with the character than him since, according to him, he has lots of love for Cheadle who helped Howard get his gig in “Crash”.

As for his payback? He plans on doing nothing (aside from obviously complaining) because as he said, “I believe in karma. When someone does something wrong, you don’t have to get them back. Everything right will return the favor for you.”

For those that are getting really tired of the long wait despite the trailers that have come out to distract us from the fact that this movie should have been out by November last year, there’s a very little bit of good news. The movie release has actually been move up – but only by two days. So now the final release is set to be on July 15th, a Wednesday.

Late or not, lots of trailers or not, what we can be sure about is that come summer it will be hitting the box office big time. And though this trailer may be the last one, or not, what with the release still 3 months away, we can be sure that fans all over the world will be tuned in for the latest news on the latest Harry Potter movie. Let’s just hope it doesn’t suffer from a leak like Wolverine did!

The Slumdog kids now evidently the new Hollywood darlings. When they got home, however, it was back to reality. Sure they were given a heroes welcome with huge crowds waiting at the airport and in the streets of Mumbai waiting to greet them, but when it was time to go home it was back to the slums they went.

The good news is that Amarjeet Singh Manhas, the chairman of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority, said that Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Ismail are going to be given a new apartment in the suburbs of Mumbai. That was a few days ago and still no news. You would think that with all the money they helped make the producers would dole out a bit more to give them nicer digs – FAST. After all when those in power want something to happen even just a place for rent takes less than a week to find. Hopefully though the good news will come soon.

On a sadder note Azharuddin was given a reality check when father Mohammed Ismail slapped and kicked his son in public (See article Scumdad Millionaire for photos and details). It is said that it happened due to Azharuddin not wanting to go out and instead rest when his father ordered him to do otherwise. A shocker some claim but remember that these kids live in the real world. The father has apologised but still it is not an excuse. Yes. It may be a reality check but this kind of thing is one of the realities we hope will change wherever in the world you may live.

Not wanting to end in a sad note the latest good news connected with the movie is that child sponsorship in India has risen! The sponsors money goes to the education and health care of kids in need. Now called the “slumdog effect’ we hope that the ripples will reach farther and farther as more people see the movie.

1. her postponed wedding to businessman Francois-Henri Pinault has finally materialized. They eloped in a Parisian City Hall Valentines day! Now how’s that for a romantic v-day? Of course, one has to wonder if they got married on Valentine’s day because their daughter is named Valentina or if she’s named thus because they really like Valentine’s day? Silly question but still I wonder.
2. she had no time for a honeymoon. At least according to Alec Baldwin who reportedly said that she had to fly right back from Paris after the Valentines weekend to work.
3. she’s fielding questions about breastfeeding – It’s not like shes the first ever woman to breastfeed a baby but she may probably the first very famous person to wet nurse someone’s baby. Salma Hayek’s video clip showing her feeding a hungry baby in Sierra Leone is circulating around the web and has drawn much attention to her. Some say it’s weird but we give her props for showing much love and compassion. Aside from the simple act of breastfeeding, according to her aside from sharing she’s also doing it to help ease stigma about breastfeeding.

Oh and yes she managed to still make an appearance in the Oscars and look really really stunning and not only that she still had time plan and host an after Oscar party for Penelope Cruz.

The Golden Globes is over and now most are looking forward to the Oscars. But for those of you who were not able to watch the show, here is the list of winners, courtesy of the official web site.

Cecil B. DeMille Award
Steven Spielberg

Best Motion Picture – Drama
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Kate Winslet – Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Mickey Rourke – The Wrestler

Best Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Sally Hawkins – Happy-Go-Lucky

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical Or Comedy
Colin Farrell – In Bruges

Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Kate Winslet – The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
Heath Ledger – The Dark Knight

Best Animated Feature Film
Wall-E

Best Foreign Language Film
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)

Best Director – Motion Picture
Danny Boyle – Slumdog Millionaire

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song – Motion Picture
“The Wrestler” – The Wrestler

That’s not the whole list, by the way. There are more to be found in the Golden Globe web site. You can also see videos and additional information to whet your insatiable appetite for movie information.

Next up…Oscars.

While many would argue that the issue is all about the films in question and not the marital affairs (or lack thereof) of the actors involved, there is no doubt that the two ideas cannot be separated in the case of Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt. These two had a highly publicized falling out when Brad Pitt wandered and ended up with Angelina Jolie. Jennifer Aniston was recently quoted as saying some not so happy things about the current couple.

At the end of the day, however, movie sales are what we are all about and it seems that Jennifer Aniston came out on top of this matter. The Christmas release of the two movies – Marley & Me and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the former Jen’s while the latter Brad’s – has proven to be an unpredictable race. As it turns out, Marley & Me grossed at $14.8M, around $3M more than Benjamin Button.

Well I would have to say that this is a great Christmas present for the actress, who, despite releasing amicable words about the “competition,” is certainly harboring some secret hope that she could one up her ex this time around. Yeah, I am probably going out on a limb here by writing that but hey, she is human after all and any human being would harbor a desire of that sort, right?

All I can say is congratulations to Jen on the success of her Christmas release! Same to Brad Pitt, I guess.

Already, a number of top-tier stars are involved in the movie. Such stars as Nicolas Cage, Donald Sutherland, Nathan Lane, Bill Nighy, Eugene Levy and Freddie Highmore are going to be voice talents for the movie.

Astro Boy is the creation of Ozamu Tezuka, the acknowledged god of anime.

Travis Wright, one of the writers for the recently released Shia LaBeouf action thriller Eagle Eye, mentioned ata a Creative Screenwriting event that he, along with John Glenn, are currently developing the sequel to the seminal Ridley Scott Sci-fi classic Blade Runner. There are still no firm commitments from producers about the movie as the duo are still trying to make the Blade Runner rights holders that making a sequel will be a great idea.

I, for one, hope this really is just a rumor because a Blade Runner sequel is the worst idea in the world. Even worse than the ill-fated Gone With The Wind sequel.

You can form your own opinion about the British comedian as he caused another fracas at the runway during Milan Fashion Week. Cohen barged into designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada’s show and walked the runway as his alter ego Austrian model Bruno. Cohen was wearing a black cloak and underneath is this big pile of clothing. The police had to be called when he refused to leave the show.

Models reportedly screamed as security guards dived on Cohen in an attempt to secure him.

Cohen is currently filming his follow up to Borat, Bruno: Delicious Journeys Through America for the Purpose of Making Heterosexual Male.

Tyrese Gibson revealed in an interview that he is actively involved in bringing the popular 80′s cartoon series Thundercats to the big screen. Gibson has intimated that the deal is about to be closed but he remained mum on what character he would most likely play.

Actually, a Thundercats project was announced last year by Warner Bros. The movie is supposed to be a CG-animated feature.

Brosnan is set to play the role of the prime minister and Cage is the ghostwriter.

Shooting for the movie will begin in Europe this fall.

Paramount Pictures has recently bought the rights to a New York Times article about a house in New York where secret panels and hidden clues were discovered by the family. These then lead them to a scavenger hunt of sorts right inside their own house.

Abrams and his Bad Robot productions will be produce the movie. Already, Maya Forbes and Wally Wolodarsky has been tasked to write the script.

The real story is actually quite endearing. The family asked that their Fifth Avenue home be gutted and rebuilt completely. But the architectural designer who headed the project decided to leave behind an assortment of hidden messages, games, and treasures that would point them to more clues that will help unravel a mystery. The four children of the couple must surely think their parents are the coolest in the world.

For those of you who don’t remember Robotech, it was a 1980s anime from Tatsunoko Productions. The series is actually three Japanese series combined,which was a way for Harmony Gold USA to show episodes on a daily basis.

Add Eddie Murphy to that list. Admittedly, Murphy can still generate the hits, but not at the levels he achieved in his prime or when coming out with his Beverly Hills Cop movies. So it was really a no brainer that he will revisit his famous franchise. Paramount will be producing the fourth sequel and this time they are trying to contract the services of Brett Ratner to helm the film. The last sequel was shown in 1994.

If schedules are followed, production for the movie will begin in 2009 with an expected release date of summer 2010.

The fourth Indiana Jones movie hasn’t been shown yet but George Lucas is already talking about a possible fifth or sixth installment to the well loved franchise.

In an interview with Fox News at the Cannes Film Festival, Lucas kind of spilled the beans about sequels to the Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull. In fact, he said that “there is more than a strong possibility” for another Indiana Jones movie.

Lucas said that he and Steven Spielberg have made certain plot points that will make it possible to do a sequel to the upcoming movie.

Lucas further said that even though he hasn’t told Spielberg or star Harrison Ford about the plan, he said that he has an idea of making Shia LaBeouf’s character becoming the lead in the possible sequel and Indiana Jones coming back in the same capacity as Sean Connery did in the last movie.

The idea sounds interesting enough. But can Shia LaBeouf carry a movie this big in a couple of years? We’ll see how well he does in this new movie.

Fans will now have a more substantial target to hit with the release of the first picture of Chatwin as Goku. The picture, which was taken from a Japanese magazine, shows Chatwin looking at what could well be one of the Dragon balls.

Sorry, but from this first picture, it does look like it is going to suck. I’m holding judgement until I see the trailer though.

Both DBtheMovie and the Dragon Ball Movie Blog alerted us to this scan taken from a Japanese magazine showing the first image of Justin Chatwin as Goku in Fox’s Dragonball movie. Written and directed by James Wong, the big screen adaptation is scheduled for an April 10, 2009 release. James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Emmy Rossum, Eriko Tamura, Joon Park, Chow Yun-Fat, Texas Battle, Randall Duk Kim and Ernie Hudson co-star.

Hill is set to appear in another sequel though. He will have a cameo role in the sequel to Night at The Museum to be directed by Shawn Levy.