Who’s the least likely person you’d consider a candidate for directing Marvel’s Thor? If you said Kenneth Branagh, you’re in for a surprise: he’s busy negotiating to take the job.

No we’re not kidding – Branagh is in talks with Marvel about handling the film, according to Variety .

The current script, written by Mark Protosevich, is roughly based on a more modern take on Thor, which found disabled medical student Donald Blake assuming a dual identity with the super-powered figure and helping him return to his full strength with a renewed purpose.

“A God Realising His True Potential”

Protosevich has described his take on the tale as “like a superhero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It’s the story of an Old Testament god who becomes a New Testament god”.

For a long time, Matthew Vaughn was in the big chair, but ultimately left the project.

While Branagh seems like a strange choice, he has at least handled action before with Henry V. And if anyone is concerned, think back to how you felt when you heard Chris Nolan would direct Batman. These things can turn out well.

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Eagle Eye, the techno-thriller reunion of Disturbia director DJ Caruso and star Shia LaBeouf (not forgetting some guidance from Steven Spielberg), dashed to the top of the US box office this weekend.

The action thriller scored $29.2 million while soapy romance pic Nights In Rodanthe was smartly counter-programmed towards a more female audience and nabbed second place with $13.5 million.

Third place went to Lakeview Terrace, which managed $7 million in its second weekend, while the biggest surprise came from Fireproof. A family drama deep-fried in Christian messages starring Kirk Cameron (still best known for ‘90s US TV show Growing Pains) was fourth with an impressive $6.45 million. And that was despite showing in just 839 cinemas.

Slow burn start for Spike Lee

Fifth place went to Burn After Reading, which made $6.2 million, and Igor took sixth on $5.5 million. Righteous Kill, meanwhile sank to places to seventh, nabbing $3.8 million this weekend.

At the bottom of the charts, we find My Best Friend’s Girl with Dane Cook and Kate Hudson, down from third with $3.8 million and Spike Lee’s Miracle At St Anna, which got a slow start at ninth with $3.5 million.

Finally, in 10th place, Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys took in $3.2 million for a running total of $33 million.

[Data Source: /Box Office Mojo]

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Despite reports of issues between director David Fincher and Paramount over the length of his latest collaboration with Fight Club’s Brad Pitt, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, we’re still extraordinarily excited to see it. And now new footage has emerged in the form of a second trailer.

Based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button follows the life of the titular character. Except it doesn’t take the usual path – Benjamin ages backwards, as seen in the footage at Apple .

Abandoned on a family’s doorstep by his father (Jason Flemyng), Benjamin as a baby looks like an ancient old man near death. But as he grows, he starts to get younger and younger.

A Life Less Ordinary

Fincher has pulled every CG and make-up trick out of the book (though ditching much of his once-trademark flying camera moments as he did with Zodiac) to allow Pitt to play Benjamin through most of his life.

As he slowly falls in love with Cate Blanchett’s Daisy, the heartbreaking tale unwinds as she discovers that he’ll just keep getting younger even as she ages and dies.

We predict this will nab effects Oscars even if Pitt doesn’t get a nod for his performance. And if the academy does hand him a gong, can they make it tough enough to withstand Pitt and Angelina Jolie having fights with their trophies for fun?

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This is one of those news stories where the spoiler alerts have to be shoved straight to the front. But yes: Ridley Scott has apparently officially announced who will play Robin Hood in Nottingham, which currently stars Russell Crowe as the titular sheriff.

So if you’d rather not know anything, bail out NOW.

Right then. Ready? According to Sir Rid, who was talking to MTV at this weekend’s junket for Body Of Lies, it’s… Russell Crowe.

A new Hood

“He’s playing both!” exclaimed Scott, refusing to spill more details, as it’s apparently a tricky little maneuver to pull off. But we’re promised “a good old clever adjustment of characters. One becomes the other. It changes.” So now we have confirmation – unless Scott’s playing with the press – of what CHUD dug up a few weeks ago.

The film, which has been delayed for script tweaks and so the filmmakers can wait for ideal forest conditions (er, green), is already a revisionist look at the Sheriff of Nottingham as perhaps a nicer guy than we thought he was.

But how will this new twist work? There are at least a couple of ways to unpack Scott’s statement – either Crowe’s Sheriff’s conscience will see him moonlighting as the forest-dwelling hero or he’ll actually be playing two separate men.

So which do you think would work better? Or do you think it’ll work at all. Get to those forums and debate the issue.

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Looks like nothing can stop Sacha Baron Cohen – also known as Ali G and Borat- when he’s fully in character and operating at his sneakiest. He proved it again when he and his Bruno film crew snuck into two Milan fashion shows over the weekend to wreak a little havoc.

Twice in the last few days, Cohen and the Bruno team have infiltrated or gotten passes to shows and the man himself, sporting a blond wig and a huge Velcro suit festooned with handbags and shoes, either caused mayhem behind the scenes, or, during the second incident, got on to the catwalk, reports The Daily Mail .

During the catwalk kerfuffle, he was hauled away by the police, but they didn’t charge him with anything. “A British national by the name of Sacha Baron Cohen was brought here and identified,” said a police officer.

“Very Funny”

“He did not have any ID documents on him so someone was sent to his hotel when he got here to fetch his passport. He was actually very funny and the first thing he said was ‘Can I make a phone call’ like they do on TV.”

That’s Cohen for you – never breaking character if he can avoid it. And while he’s apparently still in the city, all the fashion houses have now ramped up their security measures. He’ll need to be careful – if they start shooting on sight, Judd Apatow will have to look for someone else to play Sherlock Holmes.

Bruno opens next year. Probably.

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It might only have started shooting today, but Shine director Scott Hicks’ latest film – The Boys Are Back – not only has a cast in the shape of Clive Owen and Laura Fraser – but Miramax as a distributor.

Owen is playing a widower struggling to raise his sons in Australia, which is where Hicks has just kicked off shooting the film, according to The Hollywood Reporter .

The story has been adapted from Simon Carr’s comedy/drama novel The Boys Are Back In Town by scriptwriter Allan Cubitt (who is usually to be found writing episodes of TV dramas like Murphy’s Law).

Laura Fraser and Emma Booth have also joined the cast, which we’re hoping will find Clive breaking out all of the other expressions in his arsenal besides “grumpy”. But let’s not get too hopeful, eh?

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Sad news from America this weekend as iconic actor Paul Newman has passed away at the age of 83 after a long battle with cancer.

Newman’s career crossed nearly six decades and included such memorable parts as Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and Hud. His last role saw him voicing Doc Hudson in Pixar’s Cars.

For a man with such a solid career, his history with the Oscars was quirkily unique – after scoring seven nominations, he was handed a lifetime achievement gong in 1986, only to score his first Best Actor award the following year for The Color Of Money.

While he loved his job, he never allowed himself to take his work too seriously and, according to The Hollywood Reporter ’s obituary, he once commented, “to be actor, you have to be a child.”

Fast Cars And A Powerhouse Career

But he was a committed, generous thespian who could turn his hand to a variety of roles across the years, more recently as Tom Hanks’ gangland mentor in Road to Perdition

Following 1960’s Winning, he developed a passion for racing and cars, going on to become a professional driver who came second at Le Mans and winning four Sports Car Club Of America National Championships. Oh, and he’s in the Guinness Book Of World Records as the oldest driver – at age 70 – to take part in a professional race.

Refusing to slow down as he aged, he continued to work in films, but also diversified, fuelling his philanthropic side with charitable work through his Newman’s Own line of foods. Despite begun as a fun lark between friends, the company has now donated more than $250 million in profits to charity. He’s also created rehab centers and a summer camp for sick Children.

He died surrounded by friends and family at his home farm in Westport, Connecticut and his legacy is assured.

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It’s been a long, troubled road to the screen for Bryan Singer’s Valkyrie, the Hitler-assassination plot drama starring Tom Cruise. But now, as the negative buzz settles a little, a new trailer has emerged.

Valkyrie stars Cruise as Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the German officer who led the attempt to assassinate Hitler in the July 20 Plot. He and his co-conspirators planned to plant a bomb in Hitler’s bunker and replace him with a shadow government. But things didn’t go exactly to plan.

The new trailer is online at Yahoo while the first poster is up at Latino Review . The fact that the footage is decent should be good news for a film that has shuffled around release dates and is tainted with word of bad test screenings and numerous re-shoots, not to mention lawsuits from injured extras and tangles with the German government.

In short, it’s been exactly what Tom Cruise (or Singer, after the lukewarm response to Superman Returns) hasn’t needed: more bad press. Maybe things will turn around once someone actually sees the film?

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Just how much do you trust the people you routinely open your life up to? That’s the underlying theme of stalker thriller The Valet, which Brad Furman has just stepped up to direct.

Alcon Entertainment has hired him to handle the suspense thriller, which is based on the true story of a parking attendant who became obsessed with a female customer and began ingratiating himself into her life, according to Variety .

Furman’s previous directing job was 2007’s The Take, starring John Leguizamo. This time he’s working from a script by Matthew Aldrich and plans to get shooting early next year.

Fun fact: One of Furman’s early jobs was as Julia Roberts’ assistant – proof that anyone really can make in Hollywood if they’re willing to collect dry cleaning.

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Looks like Nick Nolte is playing to his strengths again: for the indie coming-of-age drama Arcadia Lost, he’ll play an American tramp wandering the Greek countryside.

No, we’re not kidding – director Phedon Papamichael has cast him as a vagabond in the tale of two step-siblings (Haley Bennett and Carter Jenkins) who end up wandering around Greece after a car crash kills their parents, according to The Hollywood Reporter .

David Arinello is the man behind the script, which will be shot in Greece.

Cinematographer turned director

Papamichael is switching from his usual position as cinematographer (he’s shot the likes of Walk The Line and Sideways) to helm the film in his homeland.

Bennett’s probably best known for Music & Lyrics, but she’ll be seen alongside Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston in Marley & Me, while Jenkins appeared in The Bad News Bears.

For those that love their film information delivered via technology, Arcadia Lost’s production can be tracked on Facebook’s Follow A Film application. Nolte, meanwhile can be traced by the sudden disappearance of alcohol in the local area.

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