NEW ROLES FOR RYAN REYNOLDS, MICHAEL VARTAN, ZOE SALDANA, BEN AFFLECK, RACHEL WEISZ, JOSH HARTNETT, JAVIER BARDEM, OLGA KURYLENKO...

I'm not sure why but some really popular actors are fighting for the role in "Safe House", including names such as Tom Hardy, Zac Efron, James McAvoy, Sam Worthington and Shia LaBeouf.
But according to "Movieweb" the front runner is Ryan Reynolds who could play a young FBI agent who is the only surviving agent left after an ambush on a safe house where he is guarding a dangerous prisoner (Denzel Washington) whom he has to take to another safe house.

Super charming Michael Vartan will join equally charming Zoe Saldana as her boyfriend in "Columbiana" in which Zoe will play a woman who as a child witnessed her parents' murder in Bogota. She grows up to become a hitwoman by day but in her personal time engages in vigilante murders to lead her to her ultimate target: the mobster responsible for her parents' deaths.

Another great mass of great actors in one film is the new, untitled project from the director Terrence Mallick ("The New World", "The Thin Red Line"). Although the plot of the project hasn't been revealed yet it will be a romantic drama with a very powerful love story. The names in the stunning cast include: Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams and Olga Kurylenko.

And we couldn't go without a daily dose of sf news: Josh Hartnett has joined sf thriller "Tomorrow" about a man who travels back and forth through time and space, trying to prevent the murder of his family. Similar to "Memento" the film will be directed by Paul McGuigan ("Push", "Wicker Park", "Lucky Number Slevin").

STUNNING POSTER FOR HELEN MIRREN'S "THE TEMPEST". NEW SF SHOW "THE LOTUS CAVES". JAMIE BELL JOINS THANDIE NEWTON AND CILLIAN MURPHY IN "THE RETREAT"

The first treat for today is the first ultra cool and extra exclusive poster for "The Tempest". I mentioned this movie last week, and got quite a nice feedback from you, so check out the great poster for this adaptation of the famous Shakespeare's play about weird sorceress living on an isolated island where she plays her magical games with visitors and unsuspecting ship-wreckers. Coming to cinemas this December, "The Tempest" will have an amazing cast including Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Alan Cumming, Djimon Hounsou, Russell Brand, Ben Whishaw, David Strathairn... The only thing we now have to wait for is the first trailer or at least some nice teaser. The movie will have only a limited release in the USA.

Bryan Fuller, the creator of that crazy show "Pushing Daisies" will work with Syfy channel on the adaptation of "The Lotus Caves". The show will be based on the novel by John Christopher which talked about the rebellious lunar colonists as they dare to look beyond their borders and discover a bunch of brainiac aliens living in the caves from the title. A new sf show? We need more of those.

The suspense thriller "The Retreat", which I mentioned a few weeks ago, in which lovely Thandie Newton and Cillian Murphy will play a couple who go on a remote island to relax but there they meet a strange man (David Tennant) who tells them that everyone on the mainland had been killed by an airborne virus, has got a new cast member: they will be joined by young Jamie Bell as well.

VIN DIESEL AS HANNIBAL, AND DENZEL WASHINGTON AS HAMILCAR MIGHT GO EPIC IN "HANNIBAL THE CONQUEROR"

If you like epic movies like I do, then you probably know that Vin Diesel's biggest dream-come-true project is a historical movie "Hannibal The Conqueror" which would tell the story of the famous Carthaginian general who led a humongous army (including his beloved war elephants) across the Alps in order to destroy Rome in the Second Punic war. Vin Diesel (who had been a director before he became an action superstar) has been developing this project for many years now, and few days ago he left an interesting and intriguing update about "Hannibal The Conqueror" at his Facebook profile which might suggest that the movie is finally moving forward. He said that he had a meeting with director Tony Scott (the brother of Ridley) who might take the helm of the movie, and he also mentioned that Denzel Washington could play Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal's father who lead the Carthaginians during the First Punic War:
Well this meeting was exceptional. We talked about Hannibal and the Punic Wars and how by nature the story demanded three movies. The first movie centering around Hamilcar, Father of Hannibal and the Defender of Africa, in the First Punic War. He said he would get our friend Denzel to play Hamilcar. Denzel is a friend, whom I admire and who has given industry advice that I use to this day. Him playing Hamilcar and for Tony to Direct ... exciting to say the least. While I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for this movie (I both like Vin in this role, and I like the story around Hannibal), I'm somehow not sure if Hollywood would really make a huge epic in which the main star is a coloured person winning some major battles against the colonial Romans. And if we are talking Carthaginian epics, I wouldn't mind watching some epic on their famous queens Dido or Salammbo, since I grew up reading books on these rulers :) Now that would be a real treat. What do you think?