CATE BLANCHETT IS "CANCER VIXEN"! LOUISE LOMBARD IS QUEEN IN SF SHOW "SELECTION"! TORRANCE COOMBS IN "REIGN" EPIC SHOW! LYNN COLLINS, JOSH LUCAS IN "OCCULT" TV SHOW

The best actress that has ever lived, Cate Blanchett, who is currently preparing to star in George Clooney's THE MONUMENTS MEN

a film about a team of experts who tried to save art pieces from Hitler's Nazis in World War II, has got herself a new role: "Deadline" reports that she will star and produce the movie adaptation of Marisa Acocella Marchetto's bestselling book CANCER VIXEN. The protagonist in the story is a cartoonist for magazines like "The New Yorker" and "Glamour" with a supercharged Manhattan lifestyle who is about to get married but must re-examine her life through wit and her animation when she is diagnosed with breast cancer. Before she does this one, Blanchett will probably have to shoot Kenneth Bragnah's CINDERELLA in which she is playing the evil stepmother!

LOUISE LOMBARD IS QUEEN IN "SELECTION" 

In television news, beautiful blonde Louise Lombard (STARGATE UNIVERSE, HOUSE OF ELLIOTT) has scored the royal role in CW's upcoming science fiction pilot THE SELECTION an epic romance 

centring on America Singer (Yael Grobglas), a working class young woman chosen by lottery to participate in a competition with 25 other women for the Royal Prince’s (Michael Malarkey) hand to become the nation’s next queen. "Deadline" reports that Lombard will play the current queen, Queen Amberly. Refined, intelligent and beloved by the people, Queen Amberly is a canny political player within the palace, and knows everything there is to know about every single girl in The Selection competition. The King is played by MERLIN's Anthony Head!

  TORRANCE COOMBS IN "REIGN" EPIC SHOW

And another of our most anticipated upcoming historical shows has landed a new cast member! CW's epic series REIGN, which chronicles

 the rise to power of Mary Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane) when she arrives in France as a 15-year-old, betrothed to Prince Francis (Toby Regbo), and with her best friends as ladies in waiting, has added handsome Torrance Coombs to the cast! He will play Sebastian, Francis’ resourceful illegitimate half brother, a favorite son of King Henry II and his most favored mistress, Diane de Poitiers. He offers Mary some sage advice! It is also interesting that one of Mary's ladies in waiting will be portrayed by Anna Popplewell, the little girl from NARNIA saga! She will play Mary's lady Lola!

  LYNN COLLINS & JOSH LUCAS IN "OCCULT" TV SHOW

Interesting casting can be seen in A&E's new supernatural drama OCCULT! Two movie stars, Josh Lucas and breathtaking Lynn 

Collins (you remember her as divine Princess Dejah Toris from JOHN CARTER sf blockbuster),  have joined the show described as similar to X-FILES and FRINGE. According to "Deadline" the story centres on Dolan (Josh Lucas), an FBI agent who returns from administrative leave after going off the deep end while investigating his wife’s disappearance. Eager to be back on the job, he is paired with Noa Blair (Lynn Collins), an agent with her own complicated backstory who specializes in the occult. Together, they will solve cases for the newly formed occult crimes task force!

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RICHARD MADDEN, TIM ROTH, ABBIE CORNISH IN "KLONDIKE" EPIC SHOW! KARL URBAN IN J.J. ABRAMS "HUMAN" SF SHOW! MAGGIE Q IN "DIVERGENT"! MELISSA MCCARTHY IN "ST VINCENT DE VAN NUYS" COMEDY

Delightful news, my little freaks, delightful! One of HOLLYWOOD SPY's favourite TV actors, lovely Richard Madden (you all love him as Robb Stark king of the North in GAME OF THRONES) has a new gig!

As "Deadline" writes, he will star in Discovery Channel's first ever scripted series KLONDIKE. I already informed you last year that, based on Charlotte Gray’s novel "Gold Diggers: Striking It Rich In The Klondike", the mini series will tell the story of six strangers and their collective fight for survival and wealth in a small, frontier town in the remote Klondike. The main heroes are two childhood best friends Bill Haskell (Richard Madden) and Byron Epstein (Augustus Prew) who head west in 1897 to seek their fortune in the Yukon Territories during the gold rush, where they face a harrowing journey of adventure,

 excitement and danger at every turn. Abbie Cornish plays the female lead Belinda, the powerful eyes and ears of Dawson City who owns the mill and the loan shop and doesn’t think very highly of those seeking a fortune in gold. Ian Hart plays Soapy Smith, an irrepressible Yukon con man and pick pocket. Johnny Simmons plays Jack London, a heavy drinker and adrenaline junkie who’s determined to write a shelf full of novels about his experiences. Conor Leslie plays Sabine, an ambitious local beauty. Tim Roth plays The Count while Tim Blake Nelson plays Meeker.

MELISSA MCCARTHY IN NEW COMEDY MOVIE

Everybody's favourite comedian Melissa McCarthy could lend a role in new comedy ST. VINCENT DE VAN NUYS! According to "Deadline" she already auditioned for the lead role in the story which follows a cantankerous old man (Bill Murray) who forms a bond with

 the 12-year-old son of a single mother that moves in next door. The relationship transforms both the man and the boy and even though he teaches the kid everything about his decadent lifestyle, from fighting to drinking, gambling and how to cheat lie and steal, the 12-year-old has such a pure soul that he only extracts the good from all this.

  MAGGIE Q IN SF DIVERGENT 

In casting news, sexy Maggie Q from NIKITA has joined the cast of sf film DIVERGENT set in a future where society is divided into five stringent factions based on the human traits honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness, and intelligence. Each citizen must decide which characteristic they want to devote the rest of their lives to at the age of 16. I've already informed you that Kate Winslet might also join the cast lead by young Shailene Woodley as a girl who wants to break away from this system. Maggie Q will play a tattoo parlour owner who is a part of the ceremony where youngsters choose which faction to live under.

  KARL URBAN IN J.J. ABRAMS "HUMAN" SF SHOW

And even more delightful news today! HOLLYWOOD SPY's absolutely favourite Karl Urban will reunite again with J.J. Abrams after their collaboration in

 STAR TREK!  And it will again be in science fiction genre, since Karl has accepted the lead role in Abrams' new sf show HUMAN set in a world where human cops are teamed with android partners. He will play John Kennex, an emotionally closed-off human detective who is partnered with a robotic cop, played by dashing Michael Ealy! Ealy's Dorian, the android partner of LAPD officer John Kennex, understands humanity more than his human counterpart. But the two stunning hunks won't be alone since divine beauty Minka Kelly (also known as the gorgeous girlfriend of equally gorgeous Chris Evans) will play noble police officer Valerie Stahl! Focusing on humans vs technology, the show will have lots of

mesmerizing visuals and landscapes.This is an interesting piece of info since for years now there have been rumours that the studio is actually saving Karl Urban for the lead role in possible BATMAN TV show which would launch on TV when the movies on the superhero end in cinemas.

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JOHN MALKOVITCH IS BLACKBEARD IN "CROSSBONES" EPIC SHOW! EMILY BLUNT HAS "YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD"! ED MACLIAM, ALEX MERAZ CAST IN "BIG THUNDER" 19TH CENTURY SHOW! LAURA VANDERVOORT IS FEMALE WEREWOLF IN "BITTEN" SF SHOW

One of HOLLYWOOD SPY's dearest actresses, delightful English rose Emily Blunt has got herself a new role: "Digital Spy" reveals that she

 will take the lead role in YOUR VOICE IN MY HEAD a movie based on the memoirs of Emma Forrest following a young woman who attempts to take her own life, but is saved by a New York-based psychiatrist who has terminal cancer. The film will be helmed by HARRY PLOPPER's David Yates. It was previously believed that the producers will try to get an A list star such as Tom Hanks or George Clooney for the lead male role, but in the end Stanley Tucci got the role of the psychiatrist.

BIG THUNDER HISTORICAL SHOW 

Yet another of the upcoming period set shows has continued with the casting. "Deadline" reports that ABC's new historical series BIG THUNDER has found its lead actor in Irish star Ed MacLiam!  He will portray Dr Grant Carson, a brilliant doctor in the 19th century who relocates to the frontier mining town of Big Thunder with his family. The cast also includes Alex Meraz, a hunk from TWILIGHT who will play a handsome Shoshone tribesman, young Spencer Locke from RESIDENT EVIL who will play Carson's teenage daughter, and Ruth

Bradley from PRIMEVAL who will play a nanny with a dark past! The show has been penned by ICE AGE THE CONTINENTAL DRIFT's Jason Fuchs!

FEMALE WERE WOLVES IN BITTEN SHOW 

In other television news, upcoming Canadian science fiction show BITTEN has found its first cast member in gorgeous Laura Vandervoort whom you remember from SMALLVILLE! In the 13 episode werewolf show based upon Kelley Armstrong's novel WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD, Laura will play a female werewolf Elena Michaels who, having grown up as part of a werewolf pack, lives in Toronto as a photographer and finds her world beginning to crumble as she is caught between two worlds and two loves!

  HELIX SF SHOW

 Speaking of sf, Syfy has officially ordered 13 episodes of HELIX show coming from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Ron Moore. The thriller follows a team of scientists from the Centers for Disease Control who travel to a high-tech research facility in the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak. There, they find themselves in a terrifying life-and-death struggle that holds the key to mankind's salvation or total annihilation.

  JOHN MALKOVICH IN CROSSBONES PIRATE SHOW 

And you already know, since HOLLYWOOD SPY covered the casting process, that Starz is preparing BLACK SAILS epic show for next year starring Toby Stephens in the lead role, but I also informed you sometime ago

 that NBC is preparing their own pirate show CROSS- BONES! Now, the update is that they've found their lead actor in John Malkovich! Instead of Hugh Laurie, who was mentioned for the role before, Malkovich will play  the notorious English pirate Blackbeard! As "Deadline" writes the 10-episode show is set in 1715 on the Bahamian island of New Providence, the first functioning democracy in the Americas, where the diabolical pirate Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard, reigns over a rogue nation of thieves, outlaws and miscreant sailors. Part shantytown, part marauder’s paradise, this is a place like no other on earth — and a mounting threat to international commerce.

ATTENTION! 

My little freaks, I will be absent next two days since I have my third Borg surgery scheduled for Wednesday! But do not despair :) I have a post scheduled for Thursday, so you will have something to read, but I won't be here to comment and visit your places for a day or two until I return (if I return LOL). Be good, read and comment and I will see you again when the Borg let me home from their Cube clinic upgraded.... 

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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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