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SIENNA MILLER has become the first big name to sign up for the new G.I. JOE movie.
The film, based on the popular U.S. play figure and TV series, will start shooting in February, with a release date scheduled for summer, 2009.
The Mummy director Stephen Sommers will take charge of the film, while Miller will play the femme fatale known as the Baroness, according to Daily Variety.
The casting of the title character has yet to be announced.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

ALICIA KEYS has stunned the U.S. album charts by claiming the number one spot after selling a staggering 742,000 copies of her new CD AS I AM in a week.
The R&B star was expected to debut at number one, but even experts had no idea she’d crush her chart rivals.
The figures give Keys the biggest album sales week by a female artist since Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home smashed records with one million sales in 2004.
Keys has also scored the highest opening sales week for a female artist in iTunes downloading history.
Meanwhile, Josh Groban’s festive album Noel shoots back up the new Billboard chart from six to two, while Celine Dion’s Taking Chances debuts at three with a 214,000 sales week.
Compilation Now 26 is new at four and Garth Brooks and the Eagles slide to five and six respectively.
Reformed rock legends Led Zeppelin’s two-disc retrospective, Mothership, debuts at seven, while last week’s charttopper, JayZ’s American Gangster, slips to eight.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

ALICIA KEYS showed her support for Hollywood’s striking writers on Tuesday (20Nov07) when she performed at a rally they staged on Hollywood Boulevard.
Thousands of protestors shut down the street as they took part in the Labor Solidarity March and rally outside the famous Graumann’s Chinese Theater.
Pregnant former ER star Julianna Margulies, and British Oscar winner Paul Haggis were among the celebrities who joined the protest, which was capped off by a two-song performance by Keys.
Talks between executives and the writers are set to restart next week (begs26Nov07) in an effort to end the walk-out.
The writers went out on strike on 5 November (07) after failing to secure a royalties agreement concerning material on the Internet and other new media.
The strike has brought many TV shows and some movies to a standstill.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Hollywood couple HARRISON FORD and CALISTA FLOCKHART served up a Thanksgiving treat for Los Angeles’ homeless on Wednesday morning (21Nov07) when they donned aprons and name tags for the annual free turkey and trimmings meal.
Ford and Flockhart joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa at the Los Angeles Mission, where they dished up Thanksgiving meals for the less fortunate.
Many stars are turned away from the Thanksgiving Day charity serving because there are only 500 dinner service spots available.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Chinese tough guy CHOW YUN-FAT’s character AH JONG in 1989’s THE KILLER has topped a new list of Hollywood Hitmen.
To mark the release of action film Hitman on Wednesday (21Nov07), website Maxim.com has compiled a list of the best killers in the movie business.
Not surprisingly, the top 10 is crammed with leading men - the only woman is Geena Davis’ The Long Kiss Goodnight hitwoman.
Ah Jong beats Antonio Banderas’ El Mariachi hitman and Frenchman Jean Reno’s Leon on the countdown.
The top 10 is:

1. Ah Jong (Chow Yun-Fat) in The Killer
2. El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) in Desperado
3. Leon (Jean Reno) in The Professional
4. John & Jane Smith (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) in Mr
. & Mrs
. Smith
5. Samantha Caine/Charly Baltimore (Geena Davis) in The Long Kiss Goodnight
6. Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks) in Road to Perdition
7. Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) in No Country for Old Men
8. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) in Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
9. Vincent (Tom Cruise) in Collateral
10. Martin Blank (John Cusack) in Grosse Pointe Blank

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Sexy actress CHRISTINA APPLEGATE is baring all in an effort to convince shoppers not to buy fur for loved ones this Christmas.
The Sweetest Thing star wears nothing but a pair of festive gloves, a necklace and a smile in the revealing new Fur: Get MeNot campaign.
Fortunately for the vegetarian actress, she’s lying on her front in the saucy new People for The Ethical Treatment of Animals ad - and her naked breasts are covered by her gloves.
Her campaign slogan reads, "Cross cruelty off your shopping list by avoiding fur coats, collars and cuffs - unless it’s fake of course."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

SWINGERS star JON FAVREAU is celebrating his 40s by losing 85 pounds (38.5 kilograms).
The actor/director started to worry about his weight when he realised he was close to 300 pounds (136 kilograms) as he approached his 40th birthday last year (06).
Favreau tells People magazine he turned to his wife Joya, a doctor, to help him lose weight.
He says, "I finally said to her one day, ‘I think at my age… that this is not the weight my body wants to be.’ "She said, ‘Well, you can lose weight.’" Now 41, Favreau weighs in at a trim 205 pounds (92.9 kilograms) and he insists he plans to keep the weight off: "I would feel weird if I ate the way I used to."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

The producers of Broadway’s new THE LITTLE MERMAID musical have been forced to postpone the show’s official opening night due to the ongoing stagehands strike.
The curtain was scheduled to rise on 6 December (07), but now all previews, which have been halted, will resume when the dispute is resolved and a revised plan for opening night will be announced at that time.
The much-anticipated musical began previews at Broadway’s Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on 3 November (07).

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Rockers QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE are looking to turn their lightbulb mascot into a new animated film star.
Band members have met with Hollywood studio executives with a view to making a movie about Bulby, the character featured on the front of the group’s last album Era Vulgaris, according to Internet reports.
Bulby has appeared in the group’s most recent videos and frontman Josh Homme insists the character could be the next Spongebob Squarepants.
He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I think it kind of strikes a little bit of a balance between that 1950s generation of advertising, that sort of naive generation where Drippy the Oil Drop sold Exxon Oil or Fred Flintstone sold smokes, which seems really Satanic."

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Members of one-hit-wonder rock act the ROMANTICS are suing the bosses of Activision Publishing, claiming the musicians they’ve used on hit videogame Guitar Hero Encore, Rocks the 80’s sounds too much like them.
The videogame bosses used a covers band to re-record the Romantics’ What I Like About You, but the real band insists the cut sounds just like them.
In a suit, filed in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday (20Nov07), group members Coz Anler, Wally Palmar and Mike Skill claim the sound-alike recording improperly imitates the band’s sound.
The Romantics go on to claim the recording confuses consumers into believing that the band actually recorded the music and endorsed the product.
The bandmates are demanding the accounting of all profits and compensatory and punitive damages.
They also request that the game is pulled from sale until the matter is settled.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

DANNY FEDERICI has been forced to take a leave of absence from BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’s backing group the E STREET BAND, after announcing he is undergoing cancer treatment.
The keyboard player’s place in the band will be taken by another Springsteen sideman, Charles Giordano, for Sunday’s (25Nov07) concert in Madrid, Spain and beyond.
In a statement released on Wednesday (21Nov07), Springsteen said, "Danny is one of the pillars of our sound and has played beside me as a great friend for more than 40 years. We all eagerly await his healthy and speedy return." Federici is one of just three original members of Springsteen’s E Street Band. The others are saxophonist Clarence Clemons and bassist Garry Tallent.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Soul legend DIANA ROSS has become the latest celebrity to lose a parent in a month of big-name family tragedies - her father has died in Detroit, Michigan.
Fred Ross, 87, passed away on Tuesday (20Nov07), just before his daughter performed a sold-out show in Los Angeles.
The singer ended the show by telling fans of her loss. She then dedicated the title song on her new CD I Love You to her late father.
Ross flew to Detroit hours later to mourn with her brother Chico.
As WENN went to press, there were no further details about the cause of death.
Ross’ family tragedy comes after rapper Kanye West, Marie Osmond, Jane Seymour, lifestyle queen Martha Stewart and Jonathan Rhys Meyers all lost parents in recent weeks.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

KEVIN FEDERLINE has been left red-faced by his own driver after he ran through a stop sign at the exact same busy intersection where the dancer’s ex-wife BRITNEY SPEARS ran a red light last week (ends16Nov07).
And the couple’s eldest son, Sean Preston, was in the back.
Spears was banned from driving with her kids in the car after footage of her running a red light on Coldwater Canyon surfaced recently, and now the car safety of Federline’s driver is being called into question.
He was spotted ignoring the stop sign before the lights Spears ran through after picking up two-year-old Sean Preston from his mother’s Mulholland Drive home on Tuesday night (20Nov07).
A witness to the driving crime says, "The driver slowed a little but he was never going to stop, as you’re supposed to.
"It’s crazy that this should happen just days after Britney was banned for driving with the kids in the car. It seems the couple’s young sons aren’t safe with anyone behind the wheel!"

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Hip-hop star 50 CENT demonstrated a unique way of promoting his latest gig in India - by flashing his crotch to unsuspecting fans.
The rapper was appearing on local music channel desihits.com ahead of a performance in Mumbai on Sunday (18Nov07).
The star - real name Curtis Jackson - learned some Hindi and Bhangra dances for the interview, before undoing his trousers to show off his pants.
He told viewers, "There’s sign language. Everyone knows what this means."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Filmmaker FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA has denied branding actors ROBERT DE NIRO and AL PACINO "lazy" and lacking ambition.
The iconic director - who worked with both De Niro and Pacino on The Godfather - was quoted in an interview with men’s magazine GQ last month (Oct07) attacking the pair, and was reported to have made disparaging remarks about Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson.
But Coppola insists his comments were taken out of context by the publication - and even credits his critical acclaim to the efforts of De Niro and Pacino.
He says, "It’s not true. (The quotes were) obviously bent out of shape. Why would I do that? They’re my friends, all three of them. It’s not logical. I think those three guys are among the greatest living actors we have. They’ve always been kind to me.
"In the case of De Niro and Al, I feel I didn’t make them. They made me. And in the case of Jack Nicholson, he’s one of a kind - super-intelligent."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

British actor JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS has appeared on top U.S. talk show THE VIEW, just hours after his mother died.
The star chatted about his TV show The Tudors and new movie August Rush, in an interview taped last week - before his arrest for drunken behaviour at an airport in Dublin, Ireland on Sunday night (18Nov07).
It later emerged Rhys Meyers’ mother Geraldine Meyers-O’Keeffe had suffered a stroke and later died in a Dublin hospital.
On the view, which aired for the first time on Wednesday (21Nov07), Rhys Meyers thanked his parents for his good looks, telling hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar and Sherri Shepherd, "If someone says, ‘You look good’, I’ll say thanks, that’s my parents, I had nothing to do with that."

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SIR MICHAEL CAINE hates movie remakes because they "lack imagination".
The British actor has seen many of the movies he originally appeared in be remade, including Get Carter and Alfie, and he believes new adaptations of old films are just lazy.
But Caine insists the 2007 remake of Sleuth can’t be classed as such because the Harold Pinter-penned screenplay has made it into a "brand new movie".
He says, "When they said they wanted to remake Sleuth, my first thought was, ‘Why make it at all?’ "I do not like remakes. It shows a lack of imagination. But once I saw the script for Sleuth, I realised it wasn’t a remake at all. It’s a brand new movie."

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Moviemaker KIRSTEN SHERIDAN has called on the Irish public to support home-grown filmmakers - and watch and enjoy their big-screen efforts.
The Disco Pigs director laments her fellow countrymen and women’s reluctance to back local talent until it has been successful in the U.S.
She says, "There is a real hunger for success in America. People like to be around it, too much so when you look at the cult of celebrity over there. What I would like to see is Irish people embrace Irish cinema. I don’t think that has happened yet.
"They (Irish filmmakers) have to go away and become famous and then they have the green stamp of approval and come back."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)