Variety announced Rene Russo would be playing the role as Frigga, whose husband Odin, to be played by Anthony Hopkins. Frigga is the stepmother to both Thor and Loki, and Loki will become the central villain in this tale, played by Tom Hiddleston.

In other Thor news, the folks over at IGN noticed that Joseph Gatt has a special announcement on his personal website, that he is

"prepping for his most prominent job to date: a (secret) role in the forthcoming Marvel Studios film Thor, slated for release in 2011."

He doesn't say who he is playing, but already the internet is guessing it's for the role of Skurge the Executioner, which he does have the build for. And at least now we know there will most likely be more than one bad guy.

Mania is reporting based on inside sources that McAdams has met with producers for Spider-Man 4 and is the "top contender" for the role of The Black Cat. Let's hope she's the number one pick — McAdams is not only gorgeous, but she sells her characters hard. And she'll have to walk a tightrope to play a slightly unstable, tortured cat burglar, especially since everyone will most likely compare this character to Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in Batman Returns, even thought they're very different characters.

But also reportedly in the running for Black Cat is Romola Garai, who starred in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. Slashfilm pointed out that in The Observer she comments about "putting something on tape for a part in Spider-Man 4." And rumors are also running wild that she may also be playing The Black Cat.

Whoever gets cast in the part, we're cautiously optimistic about the Black Cat joining the films — Spider-Man needs a female character who isn't always getting kidnapped.

Eonline has broken the news that Theron is director George Miller's number-one pick for the female lead in Mad Max 4. And with end-of-the-world features being all the rage, he may score this Oscar-winning actress.

Tom Hardy, who was in Star Trek Nemisis and Black Hawk Down, is rumored to be taking on the role of "Mad" Max Rockatansk. We're happy that there will be a younger Max who won't get winded chasing down evil biker gangs, and Mel Gibson won't carry through on his threat to change his character's name to "Fat Max."

We just hope they can convince Mel to cameo somewhere. Maybe he can come back as Thunderdome's newest law-maker, replacing Aunty Entity.

But by casting such a well known actress to play the mysterious and female lead role, you have to wonder if this movie will be more of "from the eyes of a she-warrior" story, with Max along for the ride? Either way, if you pay for Theron, I'm sure you're going to want to get your money's worth of screentime. Sadly there are little to no details about the plot, as actors auditioning for the role haven't even been told their character's full names.

The rumor hit the internet when Ain't It Cool reported that actor Matthias Schweighöfer had mentioned the two were newly attached to the movie in an interview with the German version of GQ magazine. Who would the two big-name actors be playing?
DeNiro's stature leads us to two possible suggestions: he'd be perfect as Odin - Thor and Loki's father and king of all the Norse Gods - but Brian Blessed is already reportedly down for that role. And we wouldn't be surprised if Branagh was tempted to take him in the other direction and make him into Skurge The Executioner, Norse God enforcer and all-round bad-ass. As for Law, there's really only one role we'd want to see him in: Balder the Brave, Thor's annoyingly-handsome best friend and occasional sidekick.

Of course, without confirmation from Branagh or Marvel, we'll have to assume that it's just a rumor. But we can dream, can't we...?

First up, the new character in Toy Story 3 will be voiced by Flight of the Conchords' Kristen Schaal, who already has a lovely toy-like sound, and is also hilarious. Also joining the cast is Blake Clark, who will be taking on the role of Slinky after the sad passing of Jim Varney. Also the director announced that the theater run of Toy Story1 & 2 back to back double feature in 3-D will be extended.

You'll have to wait until June 18, 2010 for the third film but until then, enjoy these new character posters...

Back when this film was announced all we asked for was a return to the dirty, bloody, fist-fighting human-versus-alien action epic we know and love. And then we got news that the next addition to the slightly tarnished Predator franchise would feature a bad ass jungle fighting throw down. I was happy. However, today news broke that the team leader of the blood-thirsty murderers, so bad-ass they've been kidnapped from Earth to face the most feared alien monsters of all time, is Adrien Brody. Say what now?

Variety is reporting that Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Danny Trejo, Walt Goggins, Oleg Taktarov, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, and Louiz Ozawa are all starring in the new Robert Rodriguez produced Predators film.

The movie will take place on a Predator jungle planet in which a crew of Earth's worst of the worst criminals and killers are shanghaied, and hunted down for sport. But that's not all, according to The Hollywood Reporter: Topher Grace is in negotiations to star as the unassuming serial killer in the bunch.

But before I rant even more, let's speculate on who each character is...

So that's a few seemingly formidable villains, and Topher Grace. And Adrien Brody. These are not the commandos we're looking for. I don't care if they tied up a stack of hookers in their dark basement, Topher and Adrien would die immediately face to hideous face with an actual Predator. Especially against the super steroid Predators we've been promised.

But you know what, I still like what I've heard about the script. Brody can act, and some of these other actors look promising. But I'm not really sure if inner turmoil and character depth is why I pay $10 to see a PREDATOR movie. So, make me eat crow Rodriguez. I'm begging you.

She'll be playing Bennett, an employee at the Dollhouse who shares a mysterious past with Echo. And there are more details about the reason the character played by Michael Hogan (Saul Tigh from BSG) comes to the Dollhouse to stop — his psychotic family member is on a killing spree, and Hogan needs the Dollhouse's help to stop it. Also, Alexis Denisof (Angel) will be playing a U.S. Senator who's on a witch hunt against the Dollhouse. And Keith Carradine's business executive character is Adelle DeWitt's nemesis. It all sounds like a rich stew of nastiness. [THR]

BAG will be playing the role of Metallo, the cyborg villain with the heart of Kryptonite — and yes, people have already noted the irony that he's gone from fighting cyborgs to becoming one himself. He'll appear in at least the first two episodes of the season. The show still hasn't cast the long-awaited General Zod, which may mean Metallo has a bigger role than Zod, or just that Metallo shows up first, as a sort of evil appetizer.

(Insert all-purpose rant about the unfairness of this show being on the air, in its 500th season, when T:SCC was cut off in its prime.)

In any case, with Derek Reese on board, Smallville is starting to sound a little intriguing for the first time in ages. Here's hoping BAG gets to bring half the tortured intensity to Metallo that he put into Derek.

In other news, EW is reporting that this next season really may be Smallville's last, and the CW is talking about creating a spin-off for the show, as a way of extending it. (The same reasoning, I guess, which gave us that abortive "Dick Grayson before he was Robin" show.) Who do you think could support a spin-off? The show's version of the Justice League? Green Arrow/Oliver Queen? Or maybe Kara? Or some new character?

[TV Guide and EW]

Whedon tells EW that he pounced on Glau even before Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles was officially canceled:

If anybody thinks [bringing Summer onto Dollhouse] hasn't occurred to me already then they have not met me. I mentioned it to her before [SCC] was canceled. I was like, 'You know, we should get you in the 'house.' But first we have to come up with something that works.

But Whedon cautions that Glau won't be playing a mind-wiped Doll, because she's already played that type of role too often in the past. (Including in his own Firefly.) Instead, Whedon would rather cast Glau as something totally different — like "somebody who talks too much." Whedon likes to take people who are "good and comfortable" at playing one thing, and then he makes them play something totally different. And Glau has told Whedon she'd like to play a normal person before she dies of old age.

So who could Glau be playing in Dollhouse? It's not a show that has too many parts for normal people — unless she plays a client who hires Echo or one of the other Dolls for some reason. (Possibly a wealthy lady with a scar fetish, who has a torrid weekend with Victor?)

But honestly, I can think of a couple other roles it would be fun to see Glau play: Maybe she could be the FBI agent assigned to take over Paul Ballard's stillborn investigation of the Dollhouse? (Or an NSA agent picking up where Mr. Dominick left off?) But even better, maybe Glau could play a steely corporate shark from the Rossum Corp., the shadowy corporation whose research the Dollhouse funds? You just know we're going to be meeting some more Rossum Corp. people in season two, and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather see doing corporate evil than Ms. Glau.

What do you think?

Motion Poster

From the people who brought you the weird Star Trek parody Star Wreck, Iron Sky imagines what happens if the Nazis landed, and prospered, on the Moon. It's written by Johanna Sinisalo, who won a Tiptree Award and the Finlandia Prize for Literature, for her novel Troll and has been nominated for a Nebula for her novella "Baby Doll." Here's the synopsis:

Towards the end of World War II the staff of SS officer Hans Kammler made a significant breakthrough in anti-gravity. From a secret base built in the Antarctic, the first Nazi spaceships were launched in late ‘45 to found the military base Schwarze Sonne (Black Sun) on the dark side of the Moon. This base was to build a powerful invasion fleet and return to take over the Earth once the time was right. Now it's 2018, the Nazi invasion is on its way and the world is goose-stepping towards its doom.

And the film just announced more of its cast members, including the "legendary Udo Kier":

German actor Götz Otto will step in the boots of the intelligence officer Klaus Adler, a fanatic Moon Nazi devoted on invading the Earth. Otto has previously appeared in numerous feature films and tv-series, including attempting to kill James Bond as Mr. Stamper in the film Tomorrow Never Dies...

The other two new cast members attached to Iron Sky are also from Germany.
Veteran actor Tilo Prückner (The Neverending Story) will design the wunderwaffe of the Fourth Reich as the Nazi scientist Doktor Richter.

The legendary Udo Kier (Dogville, Blade, Shadow of the Vampire) will appear as the Nazi Moon base commander Wolfgang Höss.

Earlier German actress Julia Dietze (1½ Ritter) joined the cast as Moon Nazi officer Renate Richter.

Here's The Teaser As Well:

Inception is filling up with some seriously exciting actors. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy, Leonardo DiCaprio, and now Ken Watanabe? I'm thinking this flick is going to have a lot of highly emotional stare downs.

But bigger than that is Watanabe's character description

Watanabe will play the film's villain, a man who is blackmailing DiCaprio.

So now we know that there will be a physical bad guy, not just an evil robot or computer, since there are literally limitless possibilities to a film about, "the architecture of the mind." Plus, blackmail is always fun. Will there be naked pictures of Leo? I'm assuming there will be naked pictures.

Also joining the film is Tom Hardy, (the villain from Star Trek: Nemesis) who is no slouch on the creepy stare downs as well. Hardy will be acting as a member of DiCaprio's team.

[The Hollywood Reporter]

Zap2It's Korbi Ghosh says she's heard Lost star Evangeline Lilly is busy auditioning for TV pilots... for shows starting next fall. And supposedly Lilly's agent has been telling people she'll be available. Lilly's agent told EW and E! Online that it's not true, but Ghosh stands by her sources. And ABC has declined to comment.

I have a hard time believing this rumor, since the show's unlikely to kill off Kate a year early, or otherwise remove her from the narrative. And presumably Lilly is locked into a contract for the rest of the show's run, so she can't just leave the show early on her own initiative. But you never know. What would the Skaters and Jaters do, other than maybe join those of us who are shipping Sawyer and Juliet?

MovieSet blog may have uncovered the next casting call for the new Twilight sequel New Moon. How so? Well, what other "major motion picture" filming in Vancouver would be calling for droves of Native American tweens? Poor Vancouver, they have no idea what sort of fury they just unleashed by making this casting call public. The city will be flooded with the tears of pubescent fans in half a month, tops.

Here's the listing. If you're in Vancouver, give io9 a shout we'd love to see what Taylor Lautner's hair looks like now, because my Jacob Black photo album is getting a little thin these days.

MAJOR MOTION PICTURE OPEN CALL
Sunday, February 8
9AM to 12 Noon

Aikins/Cossey Casting is conducting a three city search for a Major Motion Picture. We are looking for young FIRST NATIONS/ABORIGINAL ACTORS AND ACTRESSES BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 and 25. It will shoot in Vancouver starting mid March to the end of May. Experience is not a requirement. If you are male or female, between 15 and 25 years old, are First Nations and interested in a speaking part in a Hollywood release, please consider attending an open call in your area at the following location:

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 8, 2009

SECOND AVENUE STUDIOS
225 West 2nd AVE
Vancouver, BC

PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT LOCATION.

Open Calls will be from 9AM to 12 Noon. Potential candidates will be given script material and asked to return in the afternoon to audition. There is no cost for this Open call and at no time will you be asked to pay for the ability to audition or if you are offered a role. Just show up between 9AM and 12 Noon at the above location.

[Craigslist via Movie Set]