SECOND "STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS" TRAILER! SOFIA VERGARA & JASON STATHAM IN "HEAT"! "HORRIBLE BOSSES", "OZ GREAT AND POWERFUL" SEQUELS! SARAH BOLGER IN "MIXOLOGY" SITCOM

Now, I'm totally not interested in the movie itself, but this casting combination could very well be the hottest ever - lethally sexy Sofia Vergara and deadly hot Jason Statham in a film together! Yep, it will happen in HEAT (what a suitable title). According to "Deadline" the 

remake of the 80's film will see Jason Statham appearing as a gambling addict who takes a series of protection and security jobs in Las Vegas to support his addiction. When his friend is badly beaten by the mafia, he puts everything aside to take on the mob by himself. It is not known whom will Vergara play, but the film will be directed by Simon West of LARA CROFT TOMB RAIDER and THE EXPENDABLES 2!

HORRIBLE BOSSES SEQUEL

In short Hollywood news today, Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day are all set to return to HORRIBLE BOSSES 2! In the hit comedy from 2011 they played three workers who were trying to get rid of their horrible bosses! Since that one earned about six times its original budget in cinemas worldwide, the sequel will bring them back with a whole new set of equally horrible bosses :) And yet another film which is getting its sequel is current blockbuster OZ GREAT AND POWERFUL. Apparently the deal has been already set for the sequel!

SARAH BOLGER IN MIXOLOGY

Meanwhile gorgeous Sarah Bolger, whom we ever so loved as brave and righteous princess Marry in legendary epic saga THE TUDORS and a bit less as wimpy princess Aurora in ONCE UPON A TIME, has a new television gig. According to "Deadline" she will star in new sitcom pilot MIXOLOGY which, coming from the creators of THE HANGOVER, is the story of five men and five women navigating romance and single life on a night out in a Manhattan bar. Joining GLEE's Vanessa Lengies, TOUCH actor Adam Campbell and UP ALL NIGHT's Craig Frank, lovely Irish actress will play a naive girl who is not prepared for the aggressive dating scene in New York!

  STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS SECOND TRAILER 

Paramount has released the second trailer for this year's most anticipated science fiction film STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS! Starring Chris Pine, Karl Urban, Zachary Quinto, John Cho, 

Zoe Saldana, Anthon Yelchin and Benedict Cumberbatch the film is ready to hit the big screens this May! In the wake of a shocking act of terror from within their own organization, the crew of The Enterprise is called back home to Earth. In defiance of regulations and with a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads his crew on a manhunt to capture an unstoppable force of destruction and bring those responsible to justice. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew!

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EXTREMELY THRILLING "THE PHILOSOPHERS" TRAILER WITH JAMES D'ARCY, GEORGE BLAGDEN! JOEL KINNAMAN, LIAM NEESON TO "RUN ALL NIGHT"! MARK RYLANCE CAST IN BBC "WOLF HALL" EPIC SERIES! MELISSA GEORGE IN "GOTHICA" SHOW!

One of the rising stars that we like, Joel Kinnaman from THE KILLING show whom we shall also watch soon in the sf remake of ROBOCOP, has landed another role. He will join Irish star Liam Neeson in action thriller RUN ALL NIGHT which revolves around a hitman (Liam Neeson) who must take out his former mafia boss to protect his family. Joel Kinnaman will play the assassin's estranged son, a chauffeur who witnesses a murder, putting his life in danger. And it seems that beside at least two Frankenstein films this year, NBC's upcoming epic show DRACULA with Jonathan Rhys Meyers (click for extreme nudity), and ABC's new fantasy show GOTHICA which will see Dracula, Van Helsing and Dorian Grey in modern settings, we shall also see all the horror monsters assemble together in MONSTER X movie. Planned as THE AVENGERS of horror genre, the film will feature classic creatures such as Dracula, Frankenstein, Mr. Hyde, and seven others, who join forces to take on a massive threat to humanity!

  MARK RYLANCE IN "WOLF HALL"!

In today's television news I have some casting info for the new shows and pilots! You already know that BBC is working with HBO on the small screen adaptation of Hilary Mantel's Booker Prize winning historical novel WOLF HALL! The update is that British thespian Mark Rylance will take the lead role  in the story which follows Thomas Cromwell, Henry VIII's adviser, and his rise and fall in the Tudor court. The mini series will have six episodes!

  MELISSA GEORGE IN "GOTHICA" SHOW

Meanwhile, the above mentioned show GOTHICA has a new cast member! Set in the present day the show weaves together a mythology that incorporates the legends of Dracula, Jekyll and Hyde, Frankenstein and Dorian Gray. It centres on journalist Grace Van Helsing (Janet Montgomery) who takes over her family’s hometown newspaper! According to "Deadline" gorgeous Melissa George (click for extreme hotness) is the new cast member set to play Fiona Hunter, the series’ most formidable force, and everyone – from Grace, to Dorian (Chris Egan), to Victor Frankenstein (Tom Ellis) – will find their mettle and savvy tested by this deliciously cunning woman.

  DEEPLY THRILLING
"THE PHILOSOPHERS" CLIP

And I have an equally delicious trailer for you today. It is a clip for highly unusual, deeply

suspenseful,  and thrilling action drama THE PHILOSOPHERS, a British film scheduled to hit the big screens sometime this year! Starring famous British actor James D'Arcy (we've last seen him in CLOUD ATLAS) and a bunch of young actors (including lovely George Blagden whom you're currently watching as the priest in VIKINGS epic show), the film is set at an international school in Jakarta, where a philosophy teacher challenges his class of twenty graduating seniors to choose which ten of them would take shelter underground and reboot the human race in the event of a nuclear apocalypse. As you can see in the trailer below, the story is rather mesmerizing and hypnotising and also has amazingly fresh and beautiful visuals!

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HOLLYWOOD SPY EXCLUSIVE SPOTLIGHT ON SF EPIC ADVENTURE "OBLIVION" WITH TOM CRUISE, OLGA KURYLENKO, MORGAN FREEMAN, NIKOLAJ COSTER WALDAU!

I will tell you straight away, people, I have nothing against the revival of science fiction genre that we've been witnessing recently. I positively adore the trend! Not only that we shall see tones of sf films this year in cinemas, from Will Smith's AFTER EARTH to Guilermo Del Torro's PACIFIC RIM, Sandra Bullock's GRAVITY, Vin Diesel's RIDDICK, and STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, but we shall also see tones of new sf shows and pilots ready to hit small screens this Autumn. One of the biggest sf films of the year Tom Cruise's science fiction epic adventure OBLIVION is ready to open the sf season in cinemas around the world from April 19th!

  OBLIVION STORY

Tom Cruise stars in OBLIVION, an original and groundbreaking cinematic event from the director of "TRON: Legacy" and the producer of "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". On a spectacular future Earth that has evolved beyond recognition, one man's confrontation with the past will lead him on a journey of redemption and discovery as he battles to save mankind. In 2073, a 37 year-old former Marine Commander Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth which was nearly destroyed by an alien invasion 60 years ago. As part of a massive operation to extract the

planet's remaining vital resources, he lives in an airborne "town" floating thousands of feet above the Earth after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, and his mission is nearly complete. Living in and patrolling the breathtaking skies from thousands of feet 

above, his soaring existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger (Olga Kurylenko) from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands! In addition, after 

being captured by an insurgency led by 102 year-old Malcolm Beech (Morgan Freeman), Jack is told that the society in which he lives may in fact be a police state.

OBLIVION CAST

The expensive sf adventure with the budget of almost $120 million will bring breathtaking visuals and sets as you can see in the magnificent trailer below. Directed by Joseph Kosinski (whom you remember from TRON LEGACY and who is currently preparing the sequel to that sf film) and based on his own comic book written together with Arvid Nelson, OBLIVION stars Tom Cruise in the lead role with gorgeous Ukrainian star Olga Kurylenko (QUANTUM OF SOLACE, CENTURION) as the female protagonist. Morgan Freeman (plays a resistance leader stationed on Earth), Melissa Leo, and GAME OF

THRONES Nikolaj Coster Waldau (plays a battle hardened, intelligent and highly athletic military weapons expert) are also in the cast.

  OBLIVION TIDBITS 

As you remember from HOLLYWOOD SPY's reports from previous years, tones of young actresses have auditioned for two of the female roles in the film - one of a girl on the planet and the other who helps Jack from above the surface. Before Olga Kurylenko got the role of Julia,  Olivia Wilde, Noomi Rapace, Kate Mara, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Brit Marling had auditioned for the role! Meanwhile, Diane Kruger, Hayley Atwell and Kate Beckinsale were considered for the role of Victoria which later on went to unknown Andrea Riseborough. The illustrated novella written by Kosinski upon which the film is based is being held for release to coincide with the film premiere.

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KATE WINSLET IN "A LITTLE CHAOS" PERIOD FILM! LIAM NEESON JOINS CHARLIZE THERON, AMANDA SEYFRIED IN "MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST"! "THE NUT JOB" ANIMATED FILM! CHRISTINA HENDRICKS IN "A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER"! "MERLIN"S KING IS KING IN "THE SELECTION" TOO!

 Now this is a lovely piece of movie info! According to "Deadline" Alan Rickman's directorial project A LITTLE CHAOS has found the support of Lionsgate and should start shooting this year. With an amazingly charming duo of gorgeous Kate Winslet and uber dashing Matthias Schoenaerts (you've seen him recently in RUST AND BONE with Marion Cotillard), this will be a love story about rival landscape gardeners who are competing to design a fountain at Versailles for Louis XIV. Alan Rickman will also star in his own film. As I reported before, Winslet, who, believe it or not, played in only two and a half movies since 2008, will also star in sf action DIVERGENT which is set in a futuristic dystopia, following a teenager who seeks to break free from her homogeneous

 society that divides people based on human traits. She leaves her faction and joins a rival group, where she falls for a young man.

  A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST & THE NUT JOB 

According to "The Hollywood Reporter" Liam Neeson and Giovanni Ribisi have joined the star-studded cast of A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST which already includes Charlize Theron, 

Amanda Seyfried and Seth MacFarlane! The film follows Albert (Seth MacFarlane), a sheep farmer that backs out of a gun duel, only to find out that his girlfriend (Amanda Seyfried) has dumped him. He sets out to exact his revenge on the outlaw that took his former lover and begins to train with a famous gunslinger (Liam Neeson). After completing his training he meets the outlaw's wife (Charlize Theron) and ends up falling in love with her. Giovanni Ribisi will play Albert's best friend. This is not the only one of Liam Neeson's new projects since he is also lending his voice in new animated comedy THE NUT JOB :) This

delightful film follows a mischievous squirrel who plots to rob a nut store with his rat friend Buddy LOL! Neeson lends voice to the villainous Raccoon in a cast that includes Katherine Heigl, Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser and Stephen Lang!

  A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYERS 

Beside Kate Winslet, another curvaceous beauty has found herself a new gig: "Variety" reports that MAD MEN's Christina Hendricks will take the lead role

 in A BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER a big screen version of Joan Didion’s book of the same name. The novel, published in 1977, centres on Charlotte Douglas, an American woman who arrives in a fictional Central American country that is on the verge of revolution and inexplicably imagines it is the place where she will be reunited with her fugitive 19-year-old daughter. Story is told through the eyes of an American anthropologist, long married into the ruling family, who tries to decipher the meaning of Charlotte’s journey. According to Hollywood Reporter Anthony Head, whom you remember as the king and Arthur's father in MERLIN epic series, will continue wearing a crown but in CW's upcoming sf pilot THE SELECTION which is set hundreds years in the future following a girl which competes to become wife of the royal prince and nation's new queen. Head will play the strong and powerful King Clarkson who plans to use his son Maxon's (Michael Malarkey) marriage to forge a powerful political alliance.

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TOBY REGBO IS PRINCE FRANCIS IN EPIC SHOW "REIGN"! RYAN MCPARTLIN IN "DO IT YOURSELF" SITCOM! MATT LANTER & AIMEE TEEGARDEN IN SF SHOW "OXYGEN"! BEN CHAPLIN IN BBC WW1 FILM "THE WIPERS TIMES"

It's that period of the year when networks are hiring actors for their upcoming shows and pilots and CW's new historical show REIGN has

new cast members. Described as GAME OF THRONES meets MARIE ANTOINETTE, and directed by Brad Silberling (LEMONY SNICKET), the new epic show will see Adelaide Kane playing Mary Queen of Scots at the time when she arrived to France as the future wife of Prince Francis. Beside depicting her stay at the court with her three ladies in waiting amidst terrifying foes, mysterious forces, and a world of sexual intrigue, REIGN will also show Mary as a "warrior queen" with a "girl posse" who fought to gain the throne of Scotland after spending her childhood at the French court!  The new info is that young Toby Regbo will play prince Francis, while Megan Follows (WORLD WITHOUT END) will play Queen Catherine, the Queen Consort of France, who is willing to do anything to mantain her own standing and power at Court, as well as that of her children. The show has also added yet another Australian star Caitlin Stasey to the cast. NEIGHBOURS actress will play Kenna, a free spirit who serves as one of Mary's ladies-in-waiting together with Celina Sinden who will play Greer.

  "AGATHA" MOVIE & "DO IT YOURSELF" SITCOM 

For all of you who like Agatha Christie, "Deadline" reports that Will Gluck will direct AGATHA, a film which will try to solve the mystery about what happened during those legendary 11 days when the famous novelist disappeared back

in December 1926. After a massive search for the beloved author, she was found at a hotel in Yorkshire registered as Mrs. Teresa Neele from Cape Town, South Africa. The author never explained her unusual disappearance. This action adventure will be a mix of Sherlock Holmes and "Romancing the Stone", using the event as a backdrop. The same site also reports that our beloved Ryan McPartlin from LIVING WITH FRAN and CHUCK will star in new sitcom DO IT YOURSELF at TBS which follows a 20-something laid-off math teacher (Ben Rappaport) who finds himself thrust into the blue collar world when he gets a job at that most American of retail institutions: the big box home supply store. McPartlin will play will play Tyler, a handsome Home Time employee who works in the paint department where he gives several paint demonstrations a week. The John Barrymore of paint, Tyler considers himself an actor and an artist, and really throws himself into his “shows”.

  "OXYGEN" SF SHOW AND "WIPER TIMES" MOVIE

In TV news today,  another of CW's sf shows OXYGEN has found its lead stars in Matt Lanter (BH 90210) and Aimee Teegarden (FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) who will play Emery, a human girl and Roman, an alien boy who is, together with eight others of his kind, integrated into a suburban high school 10 years after they and hundreds of others landed on Earth and were immediately consigned to an internment camp where they’ve been imprisoned ever since. Meanwhile, over at BBC they have a new project THE WIPERS TIMES according to "Deadline"! Based on the true story of the creation of a satirical magazine that was published in the trenches during World War I, the film stars Ben Chaplin as Captain Fred Roberts who discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916 and began publishing the blackly comic Wipers Times for troops on the Western Front. The cast also includes Michael Palin and Emilia Fox!

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VIN DIESEL IS "THE LAST WITCH HUNTER"! "MERRY MEN" EPIC ON SHERWOOD BOYS! "NORTHERNMEN A VIKING SAGA" EPIC! TOUCHING TRAILER FOR "WHAT MAISIE KNEW" WITH JULIANNE MOORE & ALEXANDER SKARSGARD

 Here's something with the right timing: with THOR movie and History Channel's new VIKINGS epic series scoring success, we shall also be able to watch a Viking film coming from the home of the blonde barbarians!

Titled NORTHMEN - A VIKING SAGA, the film will see Tobias Santelmann, star of the Oscar nominated KON-TIKI, playing Viking leader Asbjörn, stranded behind enemy lines on the coast of Alba with his band of Vikings. Their only chance of survival is to find a path to the Viking settlement, Danelag, traversing an unfamiliar and hostile land. The journey becomes a race for their lives when the King of Alba sends his most feared mercenaries after them. But when the Vikings meet a Christian Monk who also preaches with his sword, the hunters become the hunted as the Vikings set deadly traps, mercilessly decimating their pursuers one by one, culminating in a final and deadly encounter. The English language film should start shooting this Autumn!

  MERRY MEN & THE LAST WITCH HUNTER 

And that's not all from the info on new epic movies! "Empire" reports that we shall watch another take on famous Robin Hood! But this time it will be a different take on the famous Sherwood legend! Dreamworks 

will put focus on MERRY MEN, the brave bunch that followed Robin Hood through his adventures! To be written by Brad Ingelsby, this big budgeted historical movie will be an ensemble effort that will give an Ocean’s Eleven-style reboot to Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian and Will Scarlet. The film's director will be Scott Waugh (ACT OF VALOR, NEED FOR SPEED). Don't forget that CW is developing SHERWOOD show in which the focus will be on a female vigilante who teams up with Robin and his gang against Normans in order to save her jailed boyfriend. Deadline reports that Vin Diesel might take the lead role in Breck Eisner's THE LAST WITCH HUNTER a film about an immortal witch hunter who partners with his natural enemy, a female witch, to stop the covens of New York City from unleashing a plague on humanity.

  WHAT MAISIE KNEW? 

I have a touching trailer for you today. It is the first clip for new drama WHAT MAISIE KNEW starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan, Joanna Vanderham and little Onata April. Contemporary

 movie adaptation of Henry James 19th century novel premiered at Toronto Film Festival and will hit cinemas later this year. The critically acclaimed movie depicts the complex inner workings of a family struggling through divorce as seen through the eyes of their 7-year-old daughter Maisie. Julianne Moore portrays Maisie's mother, Suzanna, an aging rockstar engaged in a nasty custody battle with art dealing ex-husband Beale (Steve Coogan). In a play to win the court's favor, Beale weds Margot (Joanna Vanderham), Maisie's nanny, inciting Suzanna to rope bartending pal Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard) into holy matrimony as well. As Maisie is bounced between parents who seem more interested in provoking vicious arguments rather than caring for their child, it becomes clear her pseudo stepparents may be the family Maisie truly needs.

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STEVEN SPIELBERG'S "NAPOLEON" EPIC MINI SERIES! ELIZA TAYLOR IN "HUNDRED" SF SHOW, MICHAEL MALARKEY IS SF PRINCE IN "THE SELECTION" TV EPIC! TAYLOR KITSCH & JIM PARSONS IN "THE NORMAL HEART"! MICHAEL EALY IS ROBOT IN J.J. ABRAMS NEW SF SHOW

Since your trusted HOLLYWOOD SPY is one of web's leading places for all things historical, we are ever so excited with the number of epic

 movies and series which await us in the future. Another one on this list is a television series on NAPOLEON! According to "Digital Spy" legendary Steven Spielberg will helm this new show based on the materials which are deemed to be Stanley Kubrick's unfinished life's work! Instead of a movie, the material on the infamous French general and ruler who covered half of Europe with blood and death, will be turned into TV series! Kubrick wrote the script back in the 1960's but didn't produce it due to high costs so this will now be second of his projects to be finished by Spielberg since Steven also directed and finished Kubrick's last film A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE after Kubrick died in the 90's!

  HUNDRED & SELECTION SF SHOWS CAST ADDITIONS 

In other TV news today, CW's upcoming sf pilot THE HUNDRED has found its lead star in Australian actress and beauty Eliza Taylor. In the show set almost a century after a nuclear war devastated the Earth she will play a young rebel who is part of a 100-strong spaceship crew sent back to the planet to rebuild the human race. I've reported earlier last week that Australian boys Bob Morley and Eli Goree will also play members of the spaceship crew! They are just some of the many Australian actors who are scoring roles in new US TV pilots, and you already know that

another Oz girl, Adelaide Kane will play Mary Queen of Scots in CW's new historical drama REIGN! CW has also found their male lead for another sf teen project - THE SELECTION which is set 300 years in the future and follows an epic romance centring on a young woman named America Singer (I reported last week that Israeli actress Yael Grobglas has been picked for the role) chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince Maxon's hand to become the nation's next queen.

Balancing her loyalty to family, true love and the kingdom, she must attempt to remain true to herself as she navigates the cutthroat competition and palace intrigue, all while a budding rebellion threatens to topple the crown. The update is that young Michael Malarkey will play prince Maxon, the charming, self-serving and untrustworthy son of the king and queen who are not pleased with his reckless behaviour. He's thrilled to have a group of young women competing for his affections and is intrigued by the feisty labor class girl America. Another cast member is Lucien Laviscount who will play Aspen Leger, a handsome and brave man from the servant class who is having a secret and illegal relationship with America!

  J.J. ABRAMS ROBOT SERIES 

Meanwhile, over at HBO their upcoming mini series THE NORMAL HEART which already has Matt Bomer, Julia Roberts and Mark Ruffalo in the cast, has just added JOHN CARTER's Taylor Kitsch and BIG BANG THEORY's Jim Parsons. The series tells the story of the AIDS crisis in New York City during the early 1980s! THR reports that Fox has also found an actor for their upcoming sf pilot! Michael Ealy will star in the untitled robot drama produced by J.J. Abrams. This action packed buddy cop show set in the near future, when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved humanlike androids, will see Ealy playing Dorian, the android partner of LAPD officer John Kennex who understands humanity more than his human counterpart.

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