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In the long, long (loooooooong) lead-in to the release of J.J. Abrams' reboot of the "Star Trek" franchise, a lot of rumors surfaced concerning who would be joining the cast. At one point, Gary Sinise, Adrien Brody and Matt Damon were even said to be playing the legendary threesome of Dr. McCoy, Spock and Captain James T. Kirk.

Well recently, MTV's Josh Horowitz had the opportunity to speak with Abrams, and his "Trek" star Chris Pine, in an exclusive interview pegged to the fact that, in 2009, these two guys rank among those that we movies fans are most thankful for. And a decision was made to find out exactly what truth lies behind those years-old casting rumors. Given how well "Trek" worked with a cast that was relatively devoid of big-name superstars, one has to wonder if Abrams ever really did call Damon up to talk about the Kirk role. Read more...

Tags chris pine, jj abrams, star trek

FROM SPLASH PAGE: No matter how many times Marvel's Punisher films start over from scratch, Dolph Lundgren will always be the first-live action Frank Castle.

The iconic action star wrote, directed and headlined in his latest direct-to-DVD film "Command Performance" and returns to the big screen in 2010 for Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables." As far as upcoming comic book films go, however, "Conan" is the only one that has his attention right now, and he said he hasn't been keeping up with the skull-shirted vigilante he first portrayed in 1989.

"No, I haven't seen any of [the new 'Punisher' movies]," Lundgren told MTV News. The Swedish-born actor has kept a tight schedule since he began directing his own movies like "The Mechanik" and "Diamond Dogs," so it's understandable that he might not be able to find the time.

Continue reading Original 'Punisher' Actor Dolph Lundgren Says He Hasn't Seen Recent Films

Tags command performance, dolph lundgren

Tom Hardy is a man you should be watching in the new year. Let's face it: he's a man you should have been watching since HBO's stellar World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers" aired, his screen debut. You can be forgiven for missing "Bronson" this fall, as the movie didn't open very wide. It was however critically hailed -- with good reason -- and a hit in the UK, where the subject, notorious criminal Charlie Bronson, is well-known.

Next year is going to kick off a whole new chapter however, as Hardy steps into a role formerly occupied by a younger Mel Gibson. He'll star as the titular character in George Miller's long-awaited return to our grim post-apocalyptic future in "Mad Max: Fury Road." He'll also be seen in "The Dark Knight" director Chris Nolan's "thriller of the mind," "Inception." Read more...

Tags Chris Nolan, george miller, inception, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: The release of the new Vanessa-Hudgens-starring flick "Beastly" is more than eight months away, but we learned from Summit Entertainment that its never too early to start advertising your sure-to-be-a-teen-hit. This week, the 21 second (actually, more like 16 second!) teaser trailer hit the Internet, but we're not so sure how we feel about it yet.

"This is my story," Alex Pettyfer says in his voiceover, "and this is my curse. Who am I? I'm you. Your ugliness, inside out."

Continue reading Vanessa Hudgens' 'Beastly' Gets A Teaser Trailer And We're Definitely Teased

Tags beastly, vanessa hudgens, Video

It's another big holiday weekend with plenty of new releases to consider following your Thanksgiving feast this Thursday (and following your subsequent leftovers feasts through Sunday). In the same way that many Americans prefer alternatives to the traditional turkey and stuffing dinner on the day of gratitude, many moviegoers want something other than a studio tentpole release the day after Thanksgiving. Really, why would you want a popcorn movie when you're still full from the night before?

There are a couple of limited release options this week, including an important studio film getting a surprisingly soft opening, to appease such a film diet. Check these films out if you want something different as or additional to your main course this weekend: Read more...

Tags Me and Orson Welles, the princess and the frog, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

FROM MTV.COM: I should probably get this out of the way right at the top: I am not exactly a "Twilight" fan. I have never read a page of Stephenie Meyer's bloodsucking series, I can't tell you where the series takes place, or who Esme Cullen is, or why Taylor Lautner never wears a shirt (and yes, I just had to go to Wikipedia to learn that Lautner's character isn't even a vampire).

But on Monday, I went to see "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" to determine whether or not the film — which earned some $140 million in its opening weekend — is actually the most emo thing ever created.

Continue reading Is 'New Moon' The Most Emo Movie Ever Made?

Tags New Moon, Taylor Lautner, Twilight

Last week, during a live Q&A on FunnyOrDie.com, Judd Apatow addressed the idea of a "Funny People" spin-off focused on Aziz Ansari's minor stand-up comedian character, Randy (or, Raaaaaaaandy), implying that it was all up to the actor if it would happen. "You should Twitter Aziz Ansari and tell him you want that movie," Apatow urged fans via webcam. "Aziz may be concerned that more people think he's Randy than Aziz. That may be his hesitation."

Well, the occasional IMAX protester and costar of NBC's "Parks and Recreation" has apparently gotten over that hesitation, whether due to fans Tweeting him or not. According to Variety, he and writer-director Jason Woliner, one of Ansari's collaborators on MTV's sketch comedy show "Human Giant," have sold Apatow and Universal Pictures on a pitch for the Randy movie, along with two other movie ideas. Read more...

Tags aziz ansari, funny people, judd apatow

FROM MTV.COM: Nowadays, "New Moon" is tearing apart box-office records like a Cullen feasting on a freshly killed deer. With the "Twilight" sequel nabbing the advance-sales record, the biggest single-day record and the highest-grossing midnight showings of all time, fans have to wonder: Can this franchise get any bigger? Fortunately, they only have to wait seven months to get the answer.

Many of the saga's stars have cited "Eclipse" as their favorite of Stephenie Meyer's novels, and with "30 Days of Night" filmmaker David Slade at the helm, it seems likely to be a very distinctive entry into the blockbuster series. With that in mind (and since we're always on top of the latest "Twilight" news) we wanted to bring you our cheat sheet for "Eclipse" a little bit early to give you one-stop shopping for all the latest details on what could possibly be the biggest film of 2010.

Continue reading 'Eclipse' Cheat Sheet: Everything You Need To Know

Tags David Slade, eclipse, New Moon, Twilight

Don't go getting all excited. The latest news on "The Hobbit" is essentially a progress report. And while progress is being made, those who wonder how Beorn will factor into the story, what Smaug will look like and what Gandalf's sub-plot will entail are going to have to keep waiting. On the other hand, fans will be pleased to learn that the writing of the scripts is going swimmingly.

Producer Peter Jackson said as much in an interview with UK site InTheNews (via TheOneRing.net). "The Hobbit will be two movies and we've written the first script and delivered it to the studio who seem to be happy with it," he revealed. "We're now halfway through the second script and Philippa [Boyens], Fran [Walsh], Guillermo [del Toro] and myself are doing the scripts and having great fun." Read more...

Tags guillermo-del-toro, peter jackson, the-hobbit

FROM SPLASH PAGE: Tobey Maguire may not know the histories of all the villain picks in Splash Page's recent "Spider-Man 4" poll, but he does know what director Sam Raimi likes. The Lizard came in first during our fan voting, with Carnage taking second and Mysterio landing in third place. Maguire reacted to all three choices, but clearly has an opinion on which picks are most likely.

"I'm more familiar with Lizard and Mysterio, and I don't know -- I like them as villains," Maguire told MTV News. "I think they're great, and Lizard obviously has a very personal relationship with Peter Parker, so we often will go towards that kind of stuff."

Continue reading Tobey Maguire Likes The Lizard For Lead Villain In 'Spider-Man 4'

Tags sam raimi, spider-man 4, tobey maguire, Video