First look at Iron Man

Here is the first glimpse of titular character from Jon Favreau take on the comic book hero. The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Terrence Howard and Gwyneth Paltrow and opens nationwide on May 2, 2008.

My guess is that is this beginning, an early incarnation of the infamous suit wore by Tony Stark.

Ford to play Anna Nicole Smith in film

Dancer-singer Willa Ford will star as Anna Nicole Smith in the indie biopic Anna Nicole, which is being produced by Jack and Joseph Nasser and Elie Samaha with Keoni Waxman directing. The movie will cover Smith’s life starting at age 17 and include her experiences as a Playboy model, her marriage to a billionaire oil tycoon, and the death of her son, Daniel. Ford was a performer on the third season of Dancing with the Stars and is also known for her multiplatinum single ”I Wanna Be Bad” and her debut album Willa Was Here. (Variety)

Matrix star joins low-key drama

Carrie Ann Moss will star in Carl Bessai’s drama Normal as the mother of a teenage victim in of a deadly car crash who struggles to control her rage and grief. Also added to the cast are Callum Keith Rennie (The Invisible), who will play a literature professor trying to overcome his guilt from his role in the crash; Kevin Zegers (The Jane Austen Book Club), who will play a young thief whose life becomes intertwined with the other characters’; and Cameron Bright (Thank You for Smoking), who will play the 12-year-old son of Moss’ character. (Hollywood Reporter)

Jackie Chan and Jet Li in Forbidden Kingdom

Lionsgate and the Weinstein Co. are backing martial arts film The Forbidden Kingdom, which will pair Jackie Chan and Jet Li on-screen for the first time in a movie. The story is based on the Chinese legend of the monkey king. It is about an American teenager who discovers the king’s legendary stick weapon and is transported back in time to ancient China, where he joins a crew of warriors fighting to free the imprisoned king. Li will play both the monkey king and the silent monk, while Chan will pay the monk T’sa-Ho. Director Rob Minkoff (The Lion King, Stuart Little) will begin shooting May 2 for a September 2008 domestic release. (Variety)

New casting for Harry Potter series

It’s probably not all that flattering when you’re hired to play a character who’s described as “short, ugly, and toadlike,” but that won’t stop British actress Imelda Staunton ruin her fun on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
But when bringing the unpleasant character of Dolores Umbridge to cinematic life, the actress (and her costume designers) seems to have gone in another direction entirely: She’ll be an “apple-cheeked schoolmarm — drenched in pink angora,” and I hope this news doesn’t get all the Potter purists in an uproar.
Ms. Staunton also commented on how “proper acting” is required for a role in this type of series … which partially explains why there are so many British actors in these movies. Case in point: The actress was nominated for her work in Vera Drake not very long ago. (Associated Press)

Two-Face a no-go for The Dark Knight

A while back we heard that the Harvey Dent character would be appearing in The Dark Knight (he’ll be played by Aaron Eckhart) but that his villainous alter ego (Two-Face) would be saved for the NEXT sequel. Looks like we might have some confirmation on that…
Well, nothing concrete, but Batman Begins screenwriter David Goyer recently dropped a few hints like “Two-Face? Hmm, don’t think so…,” which of course leads to all sorts of fan-frantic speculation. Regarding the possibility of there being two villains in the sequel, Mr. Goyer makes a good point: “Some people raised their eyebrows when they heard there were going to be two villains in the first film … but I think that one worked out just fine.” (I’d call that an understatement … and there were definitely more than two villains in Batman Begins.)
Furthermore, it looks like Goyer (who’s got his own movie, The Invisible, coming real soon) will be receiving only a “story by” credit when The Dark Knight takes to the screen again. Official screenwriting duties now belong to the director Christopher Nolan and his brother Jonathan — who recently collaborated on The Prestige. (Sci-Fi.com)

Crossing Over: Justin Timberlake

This is a new feature about musicians who have made the leap to acting and the results. Some have gained acclaim while others have become Razzie hall-of-famers. Either way when a musician tackles the silver screen we all take notice and savor the outcome.

Justin Randall Timberlake
Born: January 31, 1981
Musicial Credits: As part of ‘N Sync.
1998: ‘N Sync (Peaked at #2, 10x Platinum)
1998: Home For Christmas (Peaked at #7, Platinum)
2000: No Strings Attached (Peaked at #1, 11x Platinum)
2001: Celebrity (Peaked at #1, 5x Platinum)
2005: Greatest Hits (Peaked at #47, 342,000)
As solo artist.
2002: Justified (Peaked at #2, 3x Platinum)
2007: FutureSex/LoveSounds (Peaked at #1, 3x Platinum)

Highlights:
Justin Timberlake bursted onto the entertainment scene as a member of bubblegum pop act, ‘N Sync. The group along with the Backstreet Boys and 98 Degrees ushered in the golden age of pop (1998-2002). During this time, a plethora of disposable acts cluttered the music scene and won over the young female audience. With a string of hit singles “Tearin’ Up My Heart,” “Bye, Bye, Bye” and “It’s Gonna Be Me,” ‘N Sync made themselves into a powerhouse – selling records by the truckload. Eventually the fad began to wear thin and the acts disappeared into music obscurity – those who remained were forced to reinvent themselves.
Timberlake, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were the only one who remained commercially viable after the inevitable fallout. Timberlake became a solo artist and change his sound by incorporating heavy R&B influences and refusing to remain PG-13 entertainment for prepubescent girls. In 2002, he released Justified and it became an instant hit selling more than 3 million copies. The album spawned the hits “Cry Me A River” and “Rock Your Body,” which climbed into the top 40 singles and stayed there for months upon months.
After settling himself as a solo hit maker, Timberlake turned his attention to acting – landing roles in Edison Force, Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan and the forthcoming Southland Tales. Despite being a musical hit maker, his film resume as been a bit more unimpressive with Edison Force (co-starring Kevin Spacey and LL Cool J) heading straight to video and Alpha Dog faltering at the box office with a slim take of $15 million. Then with all the Internet hype and press surrounding the project, Black Snake Moan bombed taking a meager $9.3 million with $4.2 million of that coming from its opening weekend. Hopefully, Southland Tales the new film from Donnie Darko-helmer Richard Kelly featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar will fare better than his previous projects have.
Meanwhile, Timberlake hasn’t missed at beat on the music scene as his sophomore LP, FutureSex/LoveSounds debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart back in September. The disc has given the singer three consecutive #1 singles with “SexyBack,” “My Love” and “What Goes Around…” topping the charts for numerous weeks. He also managed to beat the sophomore slump with his latest offering already matching the sales of his debut, but the album is still in the top 20 and selling an average of 31,000 copies a week.
He might never be a threat in the film world, but this young lad already has the music scene in the palm of his hand.

Trivia
>A 15-year-old *NSYNC fan filed a lawsuit against Timberlake, claiming that he verbally assaulted her. Justin allegedly snubbed fans in a St. Louis hotel after which the plaintiff shouted that she thought J.C. Chasez was cuter. When she admitted to a guard that she was the one who made the comment, the guard made her go upstairs with Justin. After that, Timberlake allegedly pushed her against a wall and shouted insults at her. [November 2000]
>Collects sneakers.
>His mom thought of the name *NSYNC, using the last letter of each member’s name: justiN, chriS (Chris Kirkpatrick), joeY (Joey Fatone), lansteN (nickmane for Lance Bass), j.C. (J.C. Chasez).
>Starred as a young Elton John in one of John’s music videos.
>Sang at the Grand Ole Opry when he was ten years old.
>Cites his greatest fears as dying unloved, snakes, sharks, spiders and falling unconscious at a concert from the stuffed animals fans throw on stage.
>Performed a duet with Kylie Minogue at the 2003 Brit Awards.

Here is a clip from Alpha Dog: