Jake Gyllenhaal has been cast in the lead role of the upcoming Disney/Jerry Bruckheimer production Prince of Persia. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed the last month’s rumour earlier today.

Upcoming Bond girl Gemma Arterton has also landed a role in the Mike Newell directed adaptation of the popular action-adventure video game.

Gyllenhaal will play Dastan, a young prince in sixth century Persia who must join forces with Tamina (Arterton), a feisty and exotic princess, to prevent a villainous nobleman from possessing the Sands of Time, a gift from the gods that can reverse time and allow its possessor to rule the world. Production on the film is set to begin in July.

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Posted in Movies •

Pre-production on the two The Hobbit films is about to get underway according to Variety.

Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens are expected to write the scripts under the direction of producer Peter Jackson and director Guillermo del Toro.

Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf) and Andy Serkis (Gollum) have already been in contact in regards to starring in the film, the three Lord of the Rings characters playing important parts in the story. Del Toro says “I am all for keeping the actors who originated the parts, as much as availability and their willingness will allow.”

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Posted in Movies, The Hobbit / LOTR •

Steven Moffat will officially take over for Russell T. Davies as lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who, Dark Horizons reports.

Davies spearheaded the new Doctor Who series on BBC to general popularity, with Moffat on board as a guest writer. While the plotlines in Davies’ own scripts were often criticized, Moffat has penned some of the strongest episodes over the four seasons the series has now been running for, including first season two parter The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, season two favourite The Girl in the Fireplace and last season’s moving Blink.

Moffat will take over when Doctor Who goes into its fifth season in 2010.

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Posted in Doctor Who, Television •

The BBC has confirmed that Christian Bale (Batman Begins, 3:10 to Yuma) is signed on for two further Terminator movies after next summer’s Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins.

Derek Anderson, a representative of the film’s production company Halycon, says Bale “read the script and he loved it, so he’s signed on for all three”.

In Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins John Connor (Christian Bale) leads what is left of the human race in a battle against the machines. Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood and Common also star in T4, which is scheduled to open May 22, 2009.

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Posted in Movies, Terminator Salvation •

A new trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming environmental thriller The Happening has gone online at IGN. The clip is age-restricted due to some gruesome imagery that underlines why the movie will go on release with an ‘R’ rating.

View the clip »

The Happening stars Mark Wahlberg as a man who takes his family on the run when a natural disaster threatens to end the world. Zooey Deschanel co-stars as his wife, and John Leguizamo as his best friend. The film is scheduled for worldwide release on Friday, June 13.

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Posted in Movies •