Yes, as always, I've scoured the net for the hottest movie news around, the stuff you need to know, so without further ado, let's get to it!

NECESSARY NET NEWS

First cab off the rank this time is the news that Russell Crowe is possibly going to star in a biopic of the late comedian Bill Hicks. Hicks was one of the most revered comedians of the '90s with sets focusing on politics, religion and other hot-button issues, and passed away in '94, aged 32 due to liver cancer.

Michael Keaton is set to join the voice cast of Toy Story 3 as Barbie's boyfriend Ken. All the toy voices from the previous two Pixar installments are set to return, and the story is set to take place after Andy, the toys' owner, has left for college and they toys are sent to a day-care centre. The chance to hear more of Wallace Shawn's Rex again has me positively giddy!

Jon Favreau has confirmed that he is back at work on Iron Man 2, with production ramping up to begin filming early next year. Justin Theroux, writer of the hilarious Tropic Thunder and David Lynch regular, will be penning the film. Will we see the famous Demon in a Bottle story from the comics? Will War Machine take flight? So many questions!

Harry Potter fans, brace yourselves - you'll have to wait a little longer for The Half-Blood Prince. While the film was set for release in November, it's now been pushed back to July 17th 2009. Yes, you read that right - a six month delay. The studio has said this is due to the lack of big budget films it has for next winter due to this year's writers strike, though I'm not sold... Sounds more to me like they don't want next year's figures to look poor after the success of The Dark Knight this year. Shame, WB, shame! They have, however, assured fans that the delay won't effect the previously-announced release dates of the two part Deathly Hallows, so you won't have to wait as long between, I guess... If that wasn't enough, it looks like Quantum of Solace, the next Bond flick, will be coming later too... ok, only a week and it's to fill the gap left by Potter, but I don't know how much longer I can wait!

Check out Amelia Earhart (Enchanted's Amy Adams) as she gets ready to film a scene in 2009's Night at the Museum: Escape From The Smithsonian... She certainly looks the part!

Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro have been hard at work on The Hobbit adaptation for a few months now, but they finally confirmed something many of us had been hoping: Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, who assited Jackson scribing the multi-jillion dollar LotR trilogy will be joining them for writiting duties. The team is back together! Combining the epic feeling of their writing with the fantastical brain of Hellboy II director del Toro is going to make a monster mash worth waking Smaug for.

Next up is the first photo released from I Love You Philip Morris, coming Valentine's Day next year. The film is based on the life on Steven Jay Russell, a con man who fell in love with his prison cell mate Phillip Morris and stages four seperate escapes in order to see Morris after his release. Jim Carrey will be playing Russell, while Ewan McGregor is playing Morris. I can hear the cackling cries of controversy already.

The less I say about this next piece, the better; both Child's Play and Candyman are stepping up to the remake plate. Child's Play already has five films in the series and, I may be in the minority here, but I actually preferred them the more self-aware they became. Instead, the killer doll from hell is coming back. And Candyman? Oh man, don't get me started on Candyman... Apparently, the Candyman is now going to be white. So, what, they're going to completely re-invent his origin?! GAH! I'm far too angry about both of these to talk any further about them.

I've mentioned Oliver Stone's W, the biopic of George W Bush, a few times and now I can show you the poster for the film, starring No Country For Old Men's Josh Brolin as the president. All I can say is, I love it!

Kicking off the nerd-tastic news, Greg Mottola (Superbad) has been tapped to direct Paul, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost's next outing. The Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz duo scripted the film, which follows a pair of comic book loving British nerds on a cross-country tour of the US. The most interesting piece of news is that their buddy-relationship will be the reverse of their usual modes, with Nick starring and Simon as his sidekick. This isn't part of the Ice Cream and Blood trilogy, the name they've given to their forum cinematic outings, as it isn't directed by Edgar Wright - look for that film in 2010, under the working title The World's End. 2009 is shaping up to be quite the year for Nick, when you consider he has both Paul and a starring role in Richard Curtis' The Boat That Rocked on the cards...

Check out these sweet magazine covers focusing on four of the main characters of next year's Watchmen - I saw the footage at Comic-Con, and OMG is all I can muster.

Kevin Smith, director of Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy, appears to now be the luckiest uber-nerd alive. The directed mentioned on a radio interview a few days back that he has indeed seen a film the involves both stars and trekking... and that it rocks, as in, seriously rocks! Of course, he's under a ton of non-disclosure agreements, so he couldn't talk, a set of circumstances almost identical to his recent gushings about Watchmen, another film he's seen not being released for almost a year! His verdict: "Snyder nailed it." Considering Kevin Smith's comic book cred - the guy owns two comic stores - if anyone can say if the adaptation of the most revered graphic novel works, he'd be the man to turn to. Lucky Hollywood types...

Speaking of Star Trek, here's a compilation shot of some of the stars - you'll see Simon Pegg as Scotty, John Cho as Sulu, Anton Yelchin as Chekov and Karl Urban (yay!) as the ever-lovin' Bones. Sometimes, I shake my head the excitement my nerdiness can bring me. This is one of those occasions. 

Vin Diesel is back, and seemingly everywhere, over the last few days. His new film, Bablyon A.D., finally comes out soon and he's using his press opportunities to talk up his next projects. The sequel to his video game company's widely adored Chronicle of Riddick title is due out soon, and the trailer for Fast & Furious (aka Fast & Furious 4) just hit the net. He's also telling everyone that work continues on not one but two Riddick sequels...

Fot the final piece of news, I thought I'd instead take a moment to shoot some down. Everywhere across the net, people are sharing rumours regarding the inevitable sequel to The Dark Knight (now the second highest earning film in history!) and who will play the villain. Some of the rumours I'll share with you now:

          Johnny Depp as The Riddler - After Heath Ledger's amazingly bonkers performance as The Joker, another whacked out performance from Depp could carry the madman-in-a-sane world theme. Think of him in Willy Wonka and you're on the right track, but as a downright despicable serial killer with a compulsive need to leave the caped crusader clues after each heinous act.
          Philip Seymour Hoffman as The Penguin - Forget Danny Devito, that guy was never The Penguin. In recent years, Penguin has gone back to use his birth name of Oswalt Cobblepot and is now a stunningly successful kingpin of crime. Considering the hole left in the mafia post-Dark Knight, his rise to power and attack on Wayne Enterprises could keep Bruce Wayne busy.
          Angelina Jolie as Catwoman - Yep, ok. Total no brainer... Even though Cher is apparently also after the role, to play her as an elderly vampire type. Nope, not kidding there. Personally, I think they should leave Catwoman right out of the picture and introduce Talia Al Guhl, the daughter of Liam Neeson's character in Batman Begins who becomes a romantic foil for Batman.

Guess what? NONE OF THESE ARE TRUE. Director Christopher Nolan isn't even signed for a third film yet, and he'll probably take some time to go and make another film in-between as he did with The Prestige. Script writer David Goyer hasn't even started any work, and he didn't on the previous films until he and Nolan had discussed the film at length. The script is always written after the villains are meticulously chosen so that the themes can closely reflect those presented by the villain in question...

In other words, don't believe the hype.

You're killing me Smalls!

~T