Eddie Murphy And Shia LaBeouf To Star In New Batman Movie

Move over Jim Carrey - Eddie Murphy has been tapped to play the role of the Joker in the next Batman film after seasoned actor Johnny Depp turned down the role.

The film, set for a 2010 release, will also include Transformers star Shia LaBeouf, 22, playing Robin. Christian Bale will return as Bruce Wayne, while Michael Caine will play Alfred.

British actress Rachel Weisz has been cast in the Catwoman role.

Director Chris Nolan had been unsure about the future of the Batman films after the January death of Heath Ledger who is set to receive a posthumous Oscar for his role as The Joker in Batman Returns.

Murphy is enjoying somewhat of a comeback these days after several years out of the movie making business. He has just completed "NowhereLand" due next June about a financial executive who can't stop his career spiral and is invited into his daughter's imaginary world, where solutions to his problems await.

Also due in 2010 is "Shrek Goes Fourth" with funnyman Mike Meyers, Cameron Diaz and Antonio Banderas about the further adventures of the giant green ogre, Shrek, living in the land of Far, Far Away.

Currently in production is "The Incredible Shrinking Man" also due in 2010, an updated version of the best-selling novel and blockbuster movie, it tells the story of Scott Carey who shrinks to an incredible small size and must face the danger that he runs into.
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"Arrested Development" Movie Finally Gets The Green Light

The much-anticipated "Arrested Development" movie finally got the green light last week.

The sardonic FOX television show, which jump-started the Hollywood career of "Superbad" star Michael Cera, showed us that Jason Bateman was actually a great actor, and featured highly skilled actors Will Arnett and Jeffrey Tambor, is making progress toward the big screen.

Michael Hurwitz, the creator and executive producer of the award winning series, has signed on to develop the script and direct the film. Joining Hurwitz will be director Ron Howard, the producer and narrative voice of the show. The two are still in the process of finalizing deals with Imagine Entertainment and Fox Searchlight.

Other cast members will include Portia de Rossi as Lindsay Bluth Funke, David Cross as Tobias and Liza Minnelli as Lucille Austero. The film will continue to follow the dysfunctional Bluth family as they try to move on with life after their father is sent to jail.

Michael Bluth, a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael (Cera), is forced to keep his large family together after his father is arrested for illegal accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panic.

Michael's stuck-up mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), finds herself living alone in a penthouse without the financial means to maintain it, while Michael's two brothers, GOB (Arnett) and Buster (Tony Hale), and his sister Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) with her husband Tobias and her daughter Mae also find themselves having to scale back their lifestyles to fit their new financial status.

Howard told reporters, "We still don't have a script, but it seems that the studio, and the original cast all want to do it. I'm there for it. So, I'm really hoping it happens."

No release date has been set, and we can't wait to get a first glimpse at the trailer. We suspect this film could be the smash hit of the season if done well. With Ron Howard attached we don't see how they can go wrong.

Ashlee Simpson-Wentz Gives Birth To Baby Boy

Ashlee Simpson and her Fall Out Boy rock music husband Pete Wentz have become parents for the first time.

Simpson-Wentz, 24, gave birth to a boy, named Bronx Mowgli Wentz, on Thursday, and everyone is doing well. Reports leaked on Thursday that Simpson was at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

The singer, the younger sister of celebrity Jessica Simpson, has released three albums, and is famous for lip-syncing to a prerecorded soundtrack that broke down on "Saturday Night Live" in 2004. She married Pete Wentz this last spring.

Wentz is the bass player and front man for the pop band Fall Out Boy, which topped the United States music charts last year with its album, "Infinity on High."
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