Heath Ledger Will Not Be In The Dark Knight Rises

Ah, the old rumor mill is at work again, this time making people extremely worried abou the third film in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, The Dark Knigh Rises. The latest "news" item concerned the late Heath Ledger, who delivered an unforgettable performance as Batman archenemy The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. According to the rumor, The Joker would return in Dark Knight Rises via unused footage from the previously film. Thank all that is holy, that is not the case.

"I heard the rumor. We're not doing that."

That was the short and very sweet response given by Emma Thomas, Christoper Nolan's wife and producing partner. Nolan has also stated that he feels Ledger's Joker should be exclusive to The Dark Knight. I don't think anyone would disagree. The role nabbed Ledger a number of posthumous awards, most notably the Oscar for best supporting actor. He also won a Saturn award, an International award, an Austin Film Critics award, a Bafta Film award, a BSFC award, a Critic's Choice award, a COFCA award, and I don't feel like typing the rest of them, let alone the loads of nominations. Suffice to say that it's not a role that should be tarnished by a half-ass digital insert, and Nolan is well aware of that.

The film will however feature Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and the freshly cast Tom Hardy in a yet-unannounced role. Aaron Eckhart was reportedly excited to reprise his role as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, but Nolan has confirmed that the character is indeed dead. The film is scheduled for release on July 20, 2012.

Frankie And Alice Trailer Online

Seemingly arriving later than most of the other big Oscar contenders (at least in terms of kicking off its big awards push), the trailer for Halle Berry’s latest, split personality tale Frankie and Alice, has arrived online and you can view it below.

It appears to hit all the checklist points for an Oscar bait drama – a period piece set in the 1970s and based partially on a true story, it follows the troubled Frankie Murdoch (Berry), a woman suffering from mysterious blackouts and chunks of missing time. After a few disturbing encounters, she’s submitted to the care of Dr Oz (Stellan Skarsgard) who begins to dig into her problem, eventually revealed as multiple personality syndrome (better known these days as dissociative identity disorder), with her regular personality occasionally submerging and the violent, racist Alice taking over. The doc tries to help her take back control of her life, but it’s not an easy task.

Frankie, which was shot in 2008, has been sitting in release limbo for a while now, a sign that doesn’t exactly bode well. Nor does the fact that there are at least seven credited writers on the screenplay. Or that director Geoffrey Sax is better known for his UK TV work than outstanding films (on his cinematic CV to date? Alex Rider: Operation Stormbreaker and White Noise).

Still, the film is winning plaudits, and its producers clearly think it’s in with a shot, since it’ll arrive across the pond for a quick, awards-qualifying run in December before opening properly in February. There’s no word on a UK release date just yet. Watch the trailer below and let me know your thoughts. Could it push Berry to another Oscar? Or will it sink under the weight of mental health drama clichés?

Rodriguez to return for Avatar 2?

Michelle Rodriguez has hinted her character may be brought back from the dead to appear in Avatar 2.

The Lost star played tough combat pilot Trudy Chacon, who died in battle - but she has revealed she would love to work with director James Cameron again, and hinted she may appear in his ocean-set sequel.

Michelle told Total Film magazine: "Jim Cameron can kill me anytime. It's a pleasure to die for him! But Jim'll tell you himself... in science fiction films nobody really dies."

Asked if she'd be keen to work on the sequel, she said: "I would work with him in a heartbeat. He's so intelligent. He's like Yoda, man."

The 32-year-old action actress revealed she was fed up of her characters getting killed off but admitted: "What are you gonna do with a girl who doesn't rip off her clothes, doesn't play the girlfriend... there's nothing left to do but to kill her."

Ghostbusters 3 Rumors Confirmed

Talk of a third Ghostbusters movie has been swirling about for quite some time now, like a spirit caught in the Ecto-Containment Unit. Some are for it, others are against it, and numerous names have been thrown around. Now we finally get some clarity as legendary funnyman Dan Aykroyd confirms certain rumors about the movie, namely that the movie is definitely happening.

According to Aykroyd, they're already in the casting stages and looking at a few people. First up is current SNL cast member Bill Hader, a very funny guy who's had small roles in Superbad, Adventureland, and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian as Major General George Armstrong Custer. The second person being talked about is Anna Faris, who's possibly best known for her recurring role in the Scary Movie series. She recently did a voice in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs opposite Hader. There's also talk of Eliza Dushku landing a role. Dushku is well-known for her roles in multiple Joss Whedon television series- Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and most recently as the lead in the short-lived Dollhouse.

Aykroyd also confirmed the return of Sigourney Weaver and, much to my relief, Bill Murray. Murray seemed to be strongly opposed to the movie for a while, and at one point there was talk of killing Dr. Peter Venkman off early on in the movie, only to have him return as a ghost. No word on whether or not that's how it's happening. Sigourney Weaver played Dana Barrett in the first two movies, who was a love interest to Venkman and the team's first real client.



Tim Burton Using Twitter to Write Stainboy

The above video is the first episode of The World of Stainboy, who helps the Burbank Police Department solve odd cases. Aside from animated shorts posted online, the character has also turned up in Tim Burton's book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories.

Now Tim Burton is writing a new Stainboy adventure, and he wants your help! Well, not you specifically, but you as part of the greater internet. He's turned to Twitter with the account @BurtonStory, which has a little over 10k followers at the time of this writing, The idea is simple: Burton himself gave the first line of the story. Twitter users then suggested the next line in the story. The best line was selected, and the process went on. The story is currently at 42 parts and the process goes on until December 6th.

If you'd like the contribute, simply go to Twitter and check out @BurtonStory. The latest line of the story will be displayed at the top. To participate, simply tweet your contribution followed with the hashtag #BurtonStory.

It's not entirely clear what Tim Burton plans to do with the finished story, if anything, but it's a very interesting experiment either way. It might get a little zany as it goes, but that's never really been a problem for the filmmaker!

Tim Burton has directed almost 30 titles, including Batman, Batman Returns, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the recent adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. He's currently working on Dark Shadows, a film adaptation of the 1960s gothic soap opera of the same name. The show centered around a vampire named Barnabas Collins, and as if you couldn't guess, Johnny Depp will be playing the role in the big screen adaptation.