God-awful director snagged to direct Smurfs movie

Hear that? That is the sound of the bottom of the barrel being scraped. The Smurfs movie is going to actually get made. Columbia Pictures has decided that Raja Gosnell should direct it.

Don't know who that is? Don't worry, I didn't either. According to Film Junk, he is the director of cinematic gems like Scooby-Doo, Big Momma's House, and Beverly Hills Chihuahua. At least the studio isn't pretending that this is worth our time and hard earned cash. By hiring this guy the studio knows that it's peddling complete crap. The movie will be a mix of live-action and CG, and will be produced in both 2-D and 3-D format (ooh two chances to not watch this), and will open in December 2010.

Justin Timberlake being considered for The Green Lantern?

I always seem to get my WTF news from The Movie Blog. It's an unconfirmed rumor at this point (read: BULLSHIT), but word is that Justin Timberlake was screen tested for The Green Lantern. This doesn't make it a done deal, but the idea of someone seriously considering him to play Hal Jordon just makes me slightly depressed.

He makes pretty decent music as a solo artist, I will admit to being a huge *NSYNC fangirl, and he's funny dressed as an omlette/Beyonce back-up dancer on SNL. But he was wooden as all get out in Alpha Dog and Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci are what made Black Snake Moan. Actually, if I'm going to be honest, he was just plain fucking irritating in Alpha Dog . He's wooden at best as a supporting actor (I can't remember where I heard this, but he's been described as an actor who loiters onscreen). He's not an outright terrible actor, but this man cannot and should not be permitted to carry a potential blockbuster film at this point in his acting career. Sure, this is a step up from Jack Black, but barely.

Happy days are here again

Vanity Fair has a photo portfolio of young Hollywood actors recreating scenes from classic Depression era films. Here we are in our own financial panic and while the Depression gave us classics like It Happened One Night we might get stuck with a movie that features giant robot testicles. Autumn and its traditional Oscar-bait can't get here fast enough, if you ask me. Ah well, until then, at least the photos are nice to look at especially if they include Hugh Dancy, James Marsden, and Anton Yelchin. You can also check out behind the scenes videos of the shoot.

The Paul Newman Tribute Collection to be released this September

Fox Home Entertainment will release the Paul Newman Tribute Collection on DVD on September 22, 2009. The collection will feature a 136 page book complete with photos (some of them never before seen) of Paul Newman, excerpts from each film, and personal quotes from Newman. The DVD collection contains 17 DVDs and will also include bonus materials and extra features, and will be on for sale for about $89.98.

Box art via IGN

The collection includes many of Newman's harder to find films like Exodus and Quintet, and sorry folks, there won't be Cool Hand Luke, The Sting, or Hud included because Cool Hand Luke is a Warner Bros. movie, The Sting is owned by Universal, and Hud is Paramount's.

But, this is still pretty cool. There's lots of movies in the collection to discover for the first time or to revisit and who wouldn't want a book full of Newman photos? The DVD collection will include some of the following films:

• The Long, Hot Summer
• Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!
• From the Terrace
• Exodus
• The Hustler Collector's Edition
• Hemingway's Adventures of a Young Man
• What a Way to Go!
• Hombre
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Collector's Edition
• The Towering Inferno Special Edition
• Buffalo Bill and the Indians Or Sitting Bull's History Lesson
• Quintet
• The Verdict Collector's Edition

Coco Avant Chanel trailer

There's a trailer for Coco Avant Chanel that made it's way online about a week ago which The Playlist has pointed out for us. The film stars Audrey Tautou and focuses on the life of Coco Chanel before she became a famous fashion designer. It opened in France in April and will be released on July 31 in the UK and on September 25 in the US.

This is the first trailer I've seen that's meant for English speaking audiences, so there are subtitles in the trailer. Maybe Marion Cotillard's success with La Vie en Rose will be able to help Tautou with this particular biopic, and hopefully that, combined with all the praise for her will give her an extra push at the end of the year.

A Christmas Carol international posters

What a rough day. I've kept it together for a while now, but that Michael Jackson memorial just made me break down. I've dragged myself away from CNN long enough to find these incredible posters for Disney's A Christmas Carol from Awards Daily. The first one is one of the better posters I've seen all year. The film opens on November 6 and features captured performances from Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Bob Hoskins, Robin Wright Penn, Cary Elwes, and Fionnula Flanagan.

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning in costume for 'The Runaways'

Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning are currently shooting The Runaways - a biopic about the all-girl rock band from the 197os. IESB.net points us to some photos of Stewart as Joan Jett and a rather grown up looking Fanning as Cherie Currie and there even more photos at the source.

Intriguing red band trailer for 'Deadgirl'

Today is a slow news day, but this trailer for Deadgirl from Bloody Disgusting (via FirstShowing) is pretty awesome. It first screened at the Toronto Film Festival last year and opens in limited release on July 24. Here's a little bit of the concept from FirstShowing:

Basically, two teens find a zombie-ish dead girl in an abandoned mental hospital basement and realize that if they keep her locked up, she makes for a great sex toy.

Typically this isn't my sort of thing, but I like the trailer and the concept is actually pretty messed up. Not just some psychopath hacking everyone to shreds. Anyway, check out the trailer quick, because the studio will probably remove it when they get wind that their trailer's been leaked:

Heath Ledger tried to sabotage 'The Dark Knight'?

There is a whole lot of WTF? in this story, but it's too bizarre not to share. There has been some speculation that Heath Ledger attempted to play the Joker character as over the top and silly in order to get fired from the project. Ledger's contract stated that he would earn a pretty big salary for The Dark Knight, even if he got fired. WorstPreviews (via The Movie Blog) got this from Vanity Fair:

According to Ledger's agent Steven Alexander and cinematographer/friend Nicola Pecorini, the actor had a pay-or-play deal on "Knight," which means that he would be compensated no matter how terrible he ends up being. This gave Ledger the freedom to do what he wanted with The Joker.

But the real decision to take the role was because of the film's unusually long shoot, which would give Ledger an excuse to turn down other offers. And since he was guaranteed to collect a paycheck, Ledger was hoping that his performance would be so "far-out" that he would end up being fired and become the beneficiary of a lengthy, paid vacation.

His agent added that while Ledger wanted to get paid, he didn't want to be part of the massive blockbuster that "The Dark Knight" turned out to be. "[Ledger] was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies," Alexander explained. "He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices."

Huh? All those widespread reports about Ledger locking himself in a hotel room for weeks to work on the Joker make this all sound like total crap. Why would Ledger work so hard on the Joker if he wanted to present a ridiculous performance? Maybe Vanity Fair misinterpreted what Ledger's agent meant - the direct quote only hints at Heath Ledger having doubts about being in a summer blockbuster. Either way, this whole story is just weird.

Bill Nighy cast in 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'

It seems the one British actor who hadn't been cast as a Harry Potter character has finally been cast. According to The Leaky Cauldron Nighy confirmed the news: "I don't think I'm allowed to say it but I'm going to be in the next Harry Potter film. I won't say which character, but he's a goodie. I just got the gig."

Well, Nighy might not want to reveal who he's playing, but The Leaky Cauldron probably looked at the remaining parts and guessed Nighy will be playing Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour. Nighy also has a history with director David Yates who directed him in the original version of State of Play and The Girl in the Café. The first part of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is set to open on November 19, 2010, while the second part should open on July 15, 2011.

New 'Precious' teaser poster

The folks over at Awards Daily (via Hitfix) point us to a newly unveiled Precious teaser poster. The film centers around a 16 year old Precious and her abusive mother. It stars Mo'Nique (Gregory Ellwood over at Hitfix calls her performance career altering), newcomer Gabourey Sidibe, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, and Lenny Kravitz. I've been looking forward to watching this movie all year and waiting four more months feels like an eternity at this point. Precious: Based on the novel Push by Sapphire opens on November 6.

Karl Malden: 1912-2009

Karl Malden died today at the age of 97. He is probably best known for his Oscar winning performance in A Streetcar Named Desire. He also starred in On the Waterfront and became the President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1988. He is survived by his wife, Mona Greenberg, who he married on December 18, 1938. Their marriage was one of the longest in Hollywood history.