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Ok, I’m sort of compressing news bits here. Zac Efron, due to the huge success of High School Musical 3, may just have sealed himself as the blockbuster movie actor that we him to be. I really think he’s a great actor and that people see more of his superficial features than his talent. (and Shia La Beouf… pffft)

Partly due to his new movie hitting #1 this week, another movie has been prepped up for Zac. Variety is reporting that Paramount is fast-tracking ‘Footloose’ which may grant Efron a 500K paycheck.

After watching Zac Efron and director Kenny Ortega deliver a $42 million opening weekend for “High School Musical 3,” Paramount Pictures has fast-tracked “Footloose,” hoping to get the film ready for Efron and Ortega to start production next spring.

The studio has brought on “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” director Peter Sollett to rewrite the Jon Hartmere script and hired Craig Zadan and Neil Meron to join Dylan Sellers as producer.

Unlike “HSM3,” “Footloose” will aim for an older teen and adult demo. Efron is just about set in a deal that will pay him a mid-seven-figure salary and give him script approval.

Also in the news, and this is different from the movie… Efron said he was speechless after getting a call from Michael Jackson.

In what has become a star-studded movie, Tim Burton has cast Crispin Glover (more known as Charlie’s Angels Thin Man) in his reimagining of Alice in Wonderland. Crispin is set to play the Knave of Hearts who is put to trial by the Queen of Hearts for stealing her tarts.

The movie has gotten a lot of buzz in recent months with the casting of Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. Other cast members include Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen and Mia Wasikowska as Alice. The movie is set for release in 2010.

Alice in Wonderland earlier broke in the news with Johnny Depp playing the Mad Hatter. New developments regarding the movies casting now reveal that Helena Bonham Carter (who’s famous as Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter movie) and Anne Hathaway will be part of the film as the Red Queen and White Queen respectively.

Great! Now all Tim Burton has to do is put Mike Myers as the voice of the Chershire Cat to cap it off. Alice in Wonderland is expected to hit theaters March 2010. The role of Alice belongs to Mia Wasikowska

Caught this article from Variety about Asian star Zhang Ziyi, who figured in blockbuster movies Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and Memoirs of a Geisha.

Zhang Ziyi is to star in a mid-budget Chinese-language romantic comedy called “Sophie’s Revenge.”

The China-South Korea co-production is being co-developed by Korea’s CJ Entertainment and Zhang, who will also take producer credit.

CJ will part finance the picture and is negotiating to pick up distribution rights in Europe and Asia. Other companies from Hong Kong and China are expected to provide the rest of the coin. Budget, currently set in the $2 million - $3 million range, will only be determined on the basis of final casting.

There is a bit of gray in the way the Kirsten Dunst said yes to being part of Spiderman 4. speaking to MTV promoting the movie How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, Kisten gave a quick answer before backpedaling.

“I’m in,” said the actress matter of factly. However, when pressed to make the announcement official, Dunst quickly changed her tone, and rather cryptically added, “I’m not saying anything, I know there’s rumors…”

So while Dunst wasn’t quite ready to make any announcements, her “How to Lose Friends” co-star, Pegg, took the opportunity to break some [non]-news of his own.

“I’m in ‘Spider-Man!’” joked Pegg. “I play Mary Jane’s brother. He comes to New York from the university, and he says, ‘Hey, what are you doing hanging out with that web-crawler?’”

We had reported earlier about the oddity of not being able to get Kirsten Dunst for the franchise since she’d said before that she would be in if Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire went back. Spiderman 4 and 5 are being shot back-to-back and is due for release 2010 and 2011. Kirsten Dunst plays Peter Parker’s love interest Mary Jane Watson.

When you’re a renowned Eva Longoria seen in a studio carrying a bunch of Avenger titles, that can only mean one of two things: Either you’re trekking back highschool days to have something to talk about with your husband or you’re auditioning for the next Avengers movie.

Honestly I wouldn’t know, but the buzz brought about by the picture above as well as several other images on Flawed Hollywood suggests that Eva Longoria must’ve been going for the latter - to play the character Janet van Dyne, more commonly known as Wasp.

Speculations! Speculations!

But while most people would say that Eva must’ve been auditioning for The Avengers movie, it’s also a known fact that Janet Van Dyne is also Antman’s wife. And we do know that Antman is a movie set to be filmed on its own. So I wouldn’t necessarily rule that out.

At any rate, every single super hero movie that involves an Avenger looks to be tied up to the movie set to hit theaters in 2011. But what this story does for me is that the Avengers, whether or not Eva Longoria will be part of it, needs some femininity to quell those other super-testosterones.

First it was Brad Pitt, then it was not Leo, then it was Adam Sandler turning down a role (due to schedule), and now, in the pile of big named actors being approached for the movie Inglorious Bastards, Mke Myers has become part of flick as well.

The question on everyone’s mind now of course is if it will be a comedy. It was raised when Adam Sandler admitted to being approached for the part. Now that Mike Myers is in it - of whom I already am not a fan of - one could only hope that it stays within the action filled realm of Tarantino. But who knows…

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen McLovin get on a movie that I would wanna watch. I mean, sure he’s gonna be on Role Models, but that seems more like a Paul Rudd flick where he doesn’t really kick ass. Luckily, a year from now he’ll be back in his rockin’ ways, “allegedly,” as he portrays Red Mist in the movie adaptation of the comic book Kick Ass.

Comic book plot:
Dave Lizewski, an otherwise ordinary New York City high school student and the child of loving single father, takes his interest in comic books as inspiration to become a real-life superhero. He assembles a suit and mask, which he wears under his normal clothing, begins exercising, and practices things like walking on roofs, sating his ambitions for a time. He eventually seeks to fighting crime, his first attempt at which leads to a severe beating by thugs, followed by his wandering into the street and being hit by a van. He retains his secret identity, however, stripping off and hiding his costume before paramedics arrive.

As Kick-Ass, Lizewski sets up a MySpace account, so people can contact him for help. The first such request he investigates leads him to an apartment of violent low-lifes who try to kill him. He is rescued by a costumed young girl wielding a sword who herself kills two of the attackers. [source]

The interview doesn’t make much sense to me but that’s probably because Taylor’s only 16, which by Hollywood standards, isn’t the age where questions are answered straight. Recently caught this video from YouTube about Taylor Lautner and his thoughts about playing the character of Jacob Black in the Twilight movie.

Jacob Black is a fictional character in the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. He is described as a Native American of the Quileute (pronounced Quil-yoot) tribe. During New Moon, he undergoes a transformation that enables him to phase into a werewolf. He is seen as rebellious and not so protective of Bella.

I was searching for resources to write my review on James Franco’s new movie Pineapple Express and somehow chanced upon this series entitled “Acting with James Franco.” I take it as one of those Judd Apatow improv scenes where the actors just try to one-up each other in whatever situation they’re given. But who knows… maybe James Franco did carve a whole in a bar soap.

DAVE 1, JAMES 0

It’s a worthy viral try. I wish more people watched it, but it’s not on YouTube. And just how many hot Franco’s are there? I gotta get myself some of those genes.

DAVE 1, JAMES 1

DAVE 1, JAMES 2