IMPRESSIVE CAST IN "ARTHUR CHRISTMAS". "HENRY 5" GOES FUTURISTIC WITH MICHAEL CAINE, DEREK JACOBI & GERARD DEPARDIEU. PLUS AN AVALANCHE OF LATEST FILM UPDATES!

With Ralph Fiennes' CORIOLANUS and Helen Mirren's THE TEMPEST, Shakespeare is quite popular these days, so it's no wonder that old Willy will go futuristic as well: HENRY 5 will be a sci-fi thriller with a mind blowing cast including Michael Caine, Ray Winstone, Gerard Depardieu, Vinnie Jones and Derek Jacobi, and will incorporate elements from Shakespeare's HENRY IV and HENRY V. It will be set in an age of apocalypse, in a land without a leader, where a dissolute prince finds redemption when

he crushes a rebellion that threatens to destroy his father's kingdom. But upon assuming the throne himself, he immediately engineers a war against a neighboring state to slake his lust for power. Despite his enemy possessing weaponry rendering their forces almost invincible, the newly crowned king seizes a glorious victory from the jaws of defeat by ruthlessness and cunning.

And here's an avalanche of short updates for your pleasure:  Breck Eisner wants Jeremy Renner as Snake Plissken in his remake of sf action ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK. Teen star Zac Efron has been offered the lead role in AKIRA, Warner Bros' adaptation of the famous futuristic anime. Judi Dench will have a one minute role in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES as a noblewoman into whose coach Johnny Depp will jump during a getaway scene.  The reboot of SPIDERMAN continues to get more and more boring - Sally Field will be Aunt May while Martin Sheen will be her husband Uncle Ben.

There will be no Cyclops and no Hugh Jackman in X MEN: FIRST CLASS, there will be no General Zod in Zack Snyder's SUPERMAN, and there will be no Betty White in MEN IN BLACK III. And there will be no James Cameron in the director's seat for CLEOPATRA :(

The creators of CHICKEN RUN and WALLACE AND GROMIT are preparing a charming new 3D animated movie ARTHUR CHRISTMAS which sets out to answer the question of how Santa Claus delivers all his presents in one night. James McAvoy will give voice to Arthur, the good-natured but clumsy younger son of Santa Claus who seems to be the only member of the family still enamored with the magic of Christmas. Hugh Laurie will play Arthur's older brother Steve, heir to the

reins, a cool, incredibly capable guy who has given the North Pole high-tech efficiency, military-style precision. Jim Broadbent plays the big man in red himself who finds himself taking a backseat to the major operation that preparing for Christmas has become. Bill Nighy will voice the 136-year old Grandsanta, a cranky old codger who hates the modern world and liked Christmas better back in the day. Imelda Staunton will be Mrs. Santa and Ashley Jensen will play Bryony, a lowly elf from the Giftwrap Battalion, with an eager-to-please attitude and an obsession with wrapping and bows. The film is out November 2011.