ANGELINA JOLIE'S "CLEOPATRA" FINDS A NEW DIRECTOR? FIRST PICTURE FROM ROLAND EMMERICH'S MEDIEVAL MYSTERY "ANONYMOUS". GEMMA ARTERTON & JEREMY RENNER ARE "HANS AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS"

Although we thought that Angelina Jolie won't become CLEOPATRA in the lavish new epic when James Cameron decided to do some other projects, it seems the film might get a new director. The word has it

that some high profile director is close to sign the contract in this Sony Pictures 3D movie based on CLEOPATRA : A LIFE, a book by Stacy Schiff. Differently from previous versions, this film will not show the Egyptian queen as a sexy seductress but as a politician, strategist and a warrior. Hope Brad Pitt won't become another Richard Burton in this one.

Here's the exclusive first picture from ANONYMOUS, Roland Emmerich's (INDEPENDENCE DAY, 2012) historical mystery, with Rhys Ifans, Vanessa Redgrave and David Thewlis. Set in the political snake-pit of Elizabethan England it will try to solve the mystery on who was the author of the plays credited to William Shakespeare? ANONYMOUS poses one possible answer, focusing on a time when cloak-and-dagger political intrigue, illicit romances in the Royal Court, and the schemes of greedy nobles hungry for the power of the throne were exposed in the most unlikely of places: the London stage.

According to "MovieWeb" lovely Gemma Arterton (CLASH OF THE TITANS, PRINCE OF PERSIA) has officially signed on as Gretel in HANSEL AND GRETEL: WITCH HUNTERS, starring alongside Jeremy Renner. The film which starts shooting this March in Berlin will continue the story years after the original fairy tale, with the brother and sister becoming bounty hunters to cope with their tragic past. Do they have to butcher every fairy tale over in Hollywood?

And to all my readers of Orthodox religion, I'd like to wish pleasant Christmas Eve today and a lovely Christmas tomorrow!