Brad Pitt takes a bite out of vampire movie

Brad Pitt is sinking his teeth into the current vampire craze - he's teamed up with the makers of Twilight to revisit the undead in a new bloodsucker movie.

The Hollywood actor, who famously starred in 1994's Interview With The Vampire, is set to produce a new picture called Vlad, which tells the story of the young Count Dracula.

The movie will reportedly focus on Dracula as a young prince and incorporate the true tale of Vlad The Impaler, the Romanian ruler said to have inspired Bram Stoker's legendary vampire.

Pitt's Plan B production company has joined forces with Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the massively popular Twilight franchise, for the venture.

Famed music video director Anthony Mandler, who has worked with Rihanna, The Killers and Eminem, is said to be in negotiations to helm the picture, according to MovieHole.net. It is not yet know whether Pitt will take a starring role in the film. ~LoveFilm

Hugh Grant took panic pills during Music and Lyrics

Hugh Grant was doped up on anti-anxiety pills during the filming of Music And Lyrics - to combat his crippling panic attacks.

The actor has been candid about his chronic anxiety, which began when he made 1999's Notting Hill with Julia Roberts and became most severe while he was shooting the 2007 romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore.

Grant admits he was terrified of the disorder, and turned to powerful anti-anxiety medication lorazepam to get through the project.

He says, "I did the whole film full of lorazepam... It was scary.

"They've (the panic attacks) been growing over the years. There would always be two or three during a film and on Music and Lyrics I had a lot. I don't really know why. They would come and go during the easiest scenes. I'll go in there, rehearse, think it's going to be good and then suddenly they turn the camera round for a close-up and I freeze like a rabbit. It's humiliating and it's so bad I can barely speak so they have to throw the scene away."

He explains, "The one thing that did me some good was a bloke who said that when you have a panic attack, it's your natural adrenalin which you need to do the scene, but just a fraction too much.
"So if you just breathe and take it down a little you can do it. Just knowing that helped, so I got through this movie just about all right. Just." ~LoveFilm

Inglourious Basterds wins Shockwaves NME Award

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds has taken the top prize at this year's Shockwaves NME Awards.

The movie was named the best film of 2009, ahead of In the Loop, the Twilight Saga: New Moon, 500 Days Of Summer and Where the Wild Things Are.

Starring Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz, the film tells the story of a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" who are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis.

Inglourious Basterds is also up for eight Oscars, including the best picture, best writing, best supporting actor and best director awards.~ LoveFilm

Last year, the London Film Critics' Circle awarded Tarantino with the Dilys Powell gong for excellence in cinema.

Jason Solomons, chairman of the circle's committee, said: "He is currently the most passionate and exciting director in America, always engaged with the future and the history of cinema, his life blood. His award is for daring to keep cinema fresh and vital as an art form."

Inglorious Basterds is now also available in Blu-Ray format on the movies4africa website. 

Clint Eastwood: 'I'm done acting'

Clint Eastwood has quit acting insisting he'll only come out of retirement if a script comes along that he can't turn down.

The movie great has announced last year's Gran Torino was his final film as a leading man - and he wants to spend the rest of his days behind the camera.

The star of many classics; Dirty Harry, The Outlaw Josey Wales, Escape from Alcatraz, The Enforcer, The Good the Bad and the Ugly, For a Few Dollars More, A Fistfull of Dollars, In the Line of Fire, True Crime, Space Cowboys, Million Dollar Baby  revealed, "I'm done... You never know where a good story comes from but I'm a senior here (and) you get to a certain stage and you think, 'Why not just stand behind the camera?'

"Nobody's fooling with you, nobody's wanting to put make-up, do you collar, all that kind of stuff."

Johnny Depp's shock at Bahamas' film award

Johnny Depp was stunned to be honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award by film bosses in the Bahamas in December 09.

The 46 year old, who made his debut in 1984 cult favourite A Nightmare On Elm Street, was handed the prestigious Career Achievement Award at the 2009 Bahamas International Film Festival (BIFF) in Nassau by Sean Connery.

Upon receiving the honour, Depp admitted he was "a little stupefied by the notion of winning awards," adding, "I'm amazed I get jobs after all this time".

Roger Moore returns to the big screen

Sir Roger Moore is returning to the big screen in a movie about the making of John Wayne movie The Quiet Man.

The Bond legend hasn't appeared in a film since 2002's Boat Trip, choosing instead to lend his famous voice to animated movies in recent years.

But Moore will take on double duties in the new project, acting as star and executive producer for the film - which will be set in 1950s Ireland, where Wayne and Maureen O'Hara shot their scenes for the popular 1952 movie.

He tells the Daily Express, "The opportunity to revisit the time when Hollywood arrived in Ireland to shoot, was simply too delicious to miss."

Matt Damon slimmed down after 'Matty Fatty' comment

Matt Damon realised it was time to shape up and trim down his waistline when his stepdaughter nicknamed him "Matty Fatty".

The Hollywood star piled on the pounds for recent roles in The Informant! and to portray South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar in the new Clint Eastwood movie, Invictus.

Damon confesses he didn't realise just how big he had gotten after filming on Invictus wrapped and was convinced his clothes had shrunk in the wash.

Even a quiet word of advice from his wife Luciana wasn't enough to send him running to the gym.

He says, "My wife thinks I have a condition: the opposite of anorexia. I look in the mirror and I think I look great.

"We had to go to some film function and I put on a suit. I put it on and it came up to (my forearm). I thought, 'That's strange, my suit's shrunk.' So I put on another one, and same thing. Third one, same again. So I said to my wife, 'Honey, this dry cleaner is no good. These suits were tailored for me.' And she's going,' OK, do you think maybe you put on about 30 pounds?'"

It was only when his stepdaughter Alexia poked fun at his weight that he decided to get fit - but not before suspecting his prankster pal George Clooney was behind his ill-fitting clothes.

He explains, "The situation resolved itself when I said to my stepdaughter, 'Come on, it's time for dinner.' And she goes, 'OK Matty Fatty!' Before, I thought it was more likely that George Clooney had hired someone to tailor my suits!"

"There Will Be Blood" named greatest film of the decade (before Avatar)

There Will Be Blood topped a magazine rundown to find the best movie of the 2000s.

The 2007 drama, which starred Daniel Day-Lewis and won two Academy Awards, was rated as the greatest film of the last ten years by experts at Total Film magazine.

The Dark Knight, released in 2008 and starring late actor Heath Ledger, was named Blockbuster of the Decade, while 2001 hit Donnie Darko was lauded as the top cult movie of the last ten years.

The publication's deputy editor, Jamie Graham, says, "The Total Film selections were designed to identify the films that have most shaped the landscape of modern mainstream cinema."

Avatar has since beaten all records but, more about that later.  

Jackson's "This Is It" tops DVD chart

Michael Jackson has scored another number one - the late King of Pop's This Is It film has topped America's DVD chart.

The documentary was put together using footage from the star's rehearsals ahead of his doomed London comeback concerts.

The cinema release of This Is It has grossed more than £103 million worldwide after it hit screens in October (09).

And now the DVD has followed suit, selling more than 1.2 million copies in its first week of release (ends31Jan10), according to The Hollywood Reporter. The music film saw off competition from Bruce Willis' sci-fi film Surrogates and horror sequel Saw VI in second and third places respectively.

Not being a huge fan of Michael Jackson nor his various escapades the movie was interesting and is well worth seeing.

Michael Douglas: 'Damon is smart to play my gay lover'

Michael Douglas has heaped praise on Matt Damon for agreeing to play his gay lover in a new biopic about flamboyant pianist Liberace.

Douglas will play the Polish-Italian musician in Steven Soderbergh's as-yet-untitled film, while Damon has been drafted in to play his boyfriend Scott Thorson.

And he commends Damon for balancing out his blockbuster films, including the Bourne trilogy, with more unusual projects like their upcoming collaboration.

He says, "I'm just going to get really comfortable so (my portrayal of Liberace) is not a caricature. Matt Damon's going to be my young lover. God bless Matt. He's right to take chances. It's smart to mix it up a bit and maintain the franchise and still get to do a picture that turns you on."

Liberace - real name Wladziu Valentino Liberace - was a huge star in the 1950s and 60s, famous for his showmanship and glittery suits.

He repeatedly refused to acknowledge his homosexuality, right up until his death from AIDS in 1987, at the age of 67 - even successfully suing a tabloid for suggesting he was gay. ~ LoveFilm

Anthony Hopkins bored by theatre

Sir Anthony Hopkins won't be returning to the stage anytime soon because he finds theatre work "boring".

The Silence Of The Lambs star got his big break as a thespian in London, working with acting greats - but he has no wish to tread the boards ever again.

He tells reporters, "It's boring to do the same role night after night in a theatre. I think it was Judy Dench who said the best thing about doing a play is getting the phone call from the director: 'They want you!' So you go on stage and think, 'This is it!' Then the reviews come in and, if they're decent, you go, 'God, I've got nine more weeks of this!'

"You go into the same routine: 'Can I have my keys to the dressing room? Any mail?' Then you go onstage and you've got cell phones going off in the audience and traffic outside passing by. I'd rather not (do it)."

Robert Pattinson: 'I'm not Spider-Man'

Robert Pattinson has laughed off rumours he's set to replace Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man but, insists he'd love to take over the lead role in the superhero series.

Maguire and director Sam Raimi recently quit the blockbuster franchise, and movie bosses subsequently announced plans to reboot the upcoming fourth film as a prequel.

The Twilight heart-throb was rumoured to be in the running to play the comic book hero, along with other actors including Zac Efron.

Pattinson insists Hollywood bosses have yet to approach him about the role, but he'd be tempted to take it if an offer appeared.

He says, "I don't think I am going to be playing Spider-Man, although I would quite like to do it."

Nicholson & Brosnan's kids team up onscreen

Jack Nicholson and Pierce Brosnan's offspring are following in their fathers' famous footsteps - the pair will star in a new biopic about a surfing shark-attack survivor.

Lorraine Nicholson, 19, and 26 year old Sean Brosnan will play the best friend and brother of teen wave-riding sensation Bethany Hamilton, who went back in the water just three weeks after a Great White bit off her arm.

They will support Hollywood newcomer Sophia Robb, who will take on the role of Hamilton in the movie, entitled Soul Surfer.

The actors have both previously landed small parts in a string of movies, but this is Nicholson's first full foray into film since stepping into the limelight as Miss Golden Globes at the 2007 ceremony.

Coroner: 'Murphy's death was preventable'

Brittany Murphy's death could have been prevented if she had only visited her doctor after falling ill with what she thought was a bout of influenza.

The 32-year-old Ramen Girl star passed away on 20 December (09) after suffering a cardiac arrest at her Hollywood Hills home.

The Los Angeles County Coroner's Office declared the actress' death accidental, listing community acquired pneumonia as the primary cause of death.

The coroners' report, which was released on Thursday (04Feb10), stated anaemia and "multiple drug intoxication" were also contributing factors.

And Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter claims Murphy could still have been alive today if she had sought the advice and treatment of a medical professional as soon as she fell ill last year.

He tells People.com, "This death could've been preventable. Murphy was planning on seeing a doctor, but she unfortunately passed away before she did. This was a case of a person with pneumonia who was anaemic, who was taking medication when she should've been getting medical treatment."

Anne Hathaway's Physics obsession

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway is a secret geek - she spends her spare time studying Physics.

The Devil Wears Prada beauty admits she shuns fashion magazines and instead stocks up on books by legendary scientist Albert Einstein and Physics textbooks in a bid to better understand the universe.

She tells GQ magazine, "I'm interested in elementary particles. What I like thinking about is how time and space exist in the universe and how we understand it. Any spare time I have, I bury my head in a Physics textbook. I'm learning. I'm reading a lot about Einstein. I like theories. I want to understand string theory. I am dying for someone to explain quarks to me!"