What do Hercules and Alexander the Great have in common with Jessica Biel? They’re all strong-willed individuals who throughout history have found it in themselves to turn down an Amazonian Princess.

Three days after reporting that Biel was in talks to star as Wonder in George Miller’s upcoming “Justice League” movie, Entertainment Weekly reports today that the 25-year-old “Illusionist” star has passed on the project. She would have been the first thesp to officially sign onto the ensemble film; in addition to Wonder Woman, “JLA” is still lacking actors for the roles of Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Martian Manhunter, and Aquaman (and his fish). Read more…

With news last week that Jim Broadbent had signed on as Hogwarts Potions Master Horace Slughorn, one of Harry Potter-dom’s last, great roles was officially filled.

Fans aren’t crying any tears over the casting — although we wouldn’t have chosen him, we have to admit he’s spot on — but consider the plight of poor Simon Pegg, the man who would love to be in “Harry Potter”…if only they would let him.

“I haven’t done my stint yet. I feel like I’ve been left out of a massive club,” he sighed. “It’s like every actor in Britain worth their salt has played a wizard or a muggle.” Read more…

We end the week with “Indy 4,” Will Smith, and David Goyer highlighting our links of the day. Enjoy!

- Will Smith crane kicks your childhood. Wax on about his plans to make a “Karate Kid” remake. (IGN)

- No time for love Dr. Jones! You’re filming in the warehouse from “Raiders.” (AICN)

- Another “Vampire” bites David Goyer. “Batman Begins” scribe to direct “Baltimore, or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire.” (Variety)

- Tom Shadyac acquires spec script “Dr. Sensitive,” with an eye towards directing. (Hollywood Reporter)

- Ben Kingsley to star as emperor who built the Taj Mahal. (Reuters)

Ryan Pinkston is more than just that guy from “Punk’d” (and the brother of our own associate producer Aaron Pinkston), he’s also a bonafide movie star! Watch Ryan in his first leading role in “Full of It,” a story about a teenaged compulsive liar whose tall tales suddenly become reality. The DVD hits stores on October 2, but you can watch an exclusive clip right now.

I recently caught one of the first-ever screenings of “30 Days of Night” (so new, in fact, that writer Steve Niles was seeing it for the first time), and it’s a top contender for bloodiest movie of the year. Whether it’s bloody good or bloody mediocre is an argument for another day - but after the screening Niles and director David Slade had some bloody interesting things to say about the Josh Hartnett flick.

“Every year, I’d check the paper just about the time [northern Alaska] goes dark, and there was always a little human interest piece about it,” Niles said of the inspiration behind the comic-turned-movie. “[I read that] alcohol wasn’t legal — you could bring it into town, but they couldn’t sell it there because of the increased suicide rate — and I was like ‘God, what kind of people live in this place?’ So I tore it out — this is like 12 years ago — and I wrote ‘Vampires’ on the corner.” Read more…

So “Run, Fat Boy, Run” may have gotten pushed to next March, but David Schwimmer’s feature directorial debut has gotten a second trailer. See Simon Pegg doing his thing below, and then check out more of the week’s newest trailers right here.

Editor’s Note: This is the first of two “Casting Call” articles on “Justice League,” each offering up casting suggestions from an MTV Movies Blog writer. Larry Carroll kicks us off…

I honestly don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that, in the entire history of motion pictures, there has never been a greater casting opportunity than the soon-to-film “Justice League of America” movie. Think about it: normally, people like us burn through thousands of words discussing the actor who’ll star in a single superhero movie. Now, we have a half-dozen iconic characters, many of whom have never before been embodied on-screen, all of whom will become forever linked with the actor who’ll portray them.

As the leaks continue to flow, and the casting sessions continue, here’s a brief list of my own personal “Justice” dream team - just in case director George Miller is looking for some inspiration: Read more…

More Wes Anderson goodness for you today, my fellow Max Fischer fanatics. Yesterday I filled you in Anderson’s plans for “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Today I’ll make your day if you’re a fan of old school Wes, as in the adventures of Dignan, Anthony, and Mr. Henry.

For years, Anderson fans have grumbled about the crappy treatment his first film has received on DVD. The bare bones presentation of “Bottle Rocket” has been all the more galling considering the loving care his subsequent films have gotted as part of the Criterion Collection.

Well, grumble no more. Wes told me, “We’ve just begun work with the Criterion Collection to do ‘Bottle Rocket’ on a new DVD that’s going to have all kinds of stuff. There’s a lot of ‘Bottle Rocket’ that was on the cutting room floor, so we have a lot to work with on that one.”

The cutting room floor, you say? What has Wes been keeping to himself all these years? Are you pre-ordering your “Bottle Rocket” DVD right now? How do you think it stacks up in the Anderson oeuvre?

It’s back to the future at MTV, with news on “Star Trek” highlighting our links of the day.

- Beam them up? Paul McGillon and Mike Vogel to join “Star Trek”? (Trek Movie and IESB)

- Tigers beware: Steve-O says third “Jackass” film will start filming in January. (Slashfilm)

- My Sweet Lord: Martin Scorsese to direct a documentary on Beatle George Harrison. (Variety)

- Robert Redford to go “Against All Enemies,” direct political adaptation. (Hollywood Reporter)

It was only recently that New Line announced that Jennifer Hudson was joining the high-profile “Sex and the City” flick as Carrie’s assistant, and now we have some of the first video of the “Dreamgirls” star doing her acting thing. Our own Kim Stolz managed to finagle her way onto the set to capture a scene where Hudson was walking into a Starbucks to meet Sarah Jessica Parker. Watch our exclusive video below.

Actor Logan Lerman has worked with Russell Crowe, Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Drew Barrymore and Christian Bale. He is currently garnering rave reviews in one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2007. But he has a strange request to ask of his latest co-star, the beautiful Jessica Alba.

“Jessica?” he grinned recently. “Will you go to the prom with me, please?”

The 15-year-old rising star, last seen in “3:10 to Yuma,” has spent much of the past year working opposite the “Sin City” star in the upcoming comedy “Bill.” And while Lerman returns to the 10th grade this month, he admits that more than a few male classmates have expressed their jealousy. Read more…

It will be five films in a row for the collaboration that is Wes Anderson and Bill Murray. I talked to Anderson about his upcoming animated flick based on the Roald Dahl story and he confirmed his voice cast. “George Clooney is going to be Mr. Fox. Bill Murray has a part. Jason [Schwartzman] is doing a voice. That’s our team,” he told me.

But don’t line up at the multiplex just yet…this one is still a long ways off. “It will take a couple years to do the animating,” said “The Darjeeling Limited” helmer, adding that they are about to record the voices. As for the animation, “It’s stop-motion. It’s like ‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ or those Christmas specials. These [characters] have fur, so it’s not like claymation.” Read more…

Leonard Nimoy nearly wasn’t succeeded by a “Hero” but instead by “The Pianist” himself, Adrien Brody. We all heard those rumors months back that the Oscar-winner was up for the part of the most famous Vulcan this side of Sarek, and now the man has confirmed it.

“I did talk to J.J. [Abrams] about that,” he told me today. And shed a tear for Mr. Brody, because he sounds kind of bummed that he missed out. “That would have been cool. I told my parents. They got a kick out of it. ‘I may be Spock!’ Oh, well. Could have been cool.”

So did he do the famous live long and prosper salute for J.J. to try to get the part? “No. Didn’t do it. Maybe I should have. Would have had a better shot at the role,” he sighed. (Watch our full-color video of Brody talking about his “Star Trek” near-miss after the jump!) Read more…

If you haven’t noticed, we’ve had a gaggle of exclusive content from the upcoming fantasy flick, “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising.” We gave you an interview with the screenwriter, an interview with its star Gregory Smith, a series of webisodes with the “Dark Is Rising” interns, the first look at the poster, and finally an image with some crazy hidden signs in it. Well, now we have an exclusive, hot-off-the-presses clip from the film, which opens October 5. Watch it below.

Steve Carell’s “Get Smart” already ranks as one of 2008’s highest-profile movies and now, ten months before release, die-hard fans are buzzing over a mystery that’s fit for super-spy Maxwell Smart: Who’s playing Hymie?

For those who haven’t seen the classic Sixties comedy show, Hymie was a robot with superhuman powers, played with deadpan perfection by Richard Gautier. Despite being a cutting-edge aide to the CONTROL spy team, he lacked the mental processing chip that would allow him to comprehend everyday idioms. For instance, if someone told Hymie to go jump in the lake, they’d better go get him a life preserver and a towel.

“I didn’t work with Hymie,” shrugged Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson when we put him under the Cone of Silence and probed him for details. “None of my scenes were with Hymie - but I met Hymie; he’s a cool dude and very, very funny in the movie.” Read more…