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FROM MTV.COM: Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly met and fell in love on the set of the 2001 Oscar-winning drama "A Beautiful Mind." For almost the rest of the decade, they managed to avoid working together. It wasn't for lack of trying.

The two actors tried to line up an adaptation of Philip Roth's Pulitzer Prize-winning "American Pastoral" in 2004, in which they were to play a married couple torn apart by violence, but the project never took off. It wasn't until late 2008 that Bettany and Connelly reunited on camera. Again, they chose to portray a couple struggling to keep their relationship together, this time in the Charles Darwin biopic "Creation" (out January 22).

Continue reading Jennifer Connelly, Paul Bettany Compare 'Creation' Marriage To Their Own

Tags creation, jennifer connelly, paul bettany

Two genres that don't come to mind when the name Martin Scorsese is mentioned are family films and science fiction. But the director of family-unfriendly classics like "Taxi Driver" and "Goodfellas" is thinking about doing an adaptation of the Georges Melies-inspired children's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" as his next project, which would further delay his anticipated Frank Sinatra biopic.

He's apparently been thinking about "Cabret" for awhile, because Variety first reported on his potential helming of it three years ago, when Warner Bros. and producer Graham King ("The Departed") bought the rights to the book with Scorsese in mind. Read more...

Tags martin scorsese, The Invention of Hugo Cabret

FROM MTV.COM: You'd figure that formulating the basics of evolutionary biology would involve some hard traveling, both mental and nautical. But sweat cures? Stuffed-bird riots? Little ghostie girls chattering in a corner? Who knew about that stuff?

Director Jon Amiel's "Creation" is an imaginative approach to an impossible project. First, it undertakes to tell the story of the naturalist Charles Darwin's 20-year struggle to write "On the Origin of Species," his world-changing book about the way in which plants and animals have evolved over the ages through a process that Darwin called natural (as opposed to divine) selection. The movie also sketches in the five-year-long, globe-girdling voyage during which he collected the compendious data for his book, along with much peripheral information about his health (wretched), his relationship with his devoutly religious wife (strained) and his apparently never-ending connection to his dead 10-year-old daughter (feverish). This is a lot of material to pack into 108 minutes, and "Creation" goes lumpy in attempting it.

Continue reading 'Creation': Natural Man, By Kurt Loder

Tags creation, jennifer connelly, paul bettany

For many of us, myself included, this year's Sundance Film Festival is a faraway fantasy land, a snow-covered paradise of unreleased films and approachable celebrities. Twilighters especially are feeling the burn this year, as a number of their favorite stars are in Park City to promote one film or another. The biggest of those names is undoubtedly Kristen Stewart, who, along with fellow "New Moon" star Dakota Fanning, is there in support of rock & roll biopic "The Runaways."

We debuted the first trailer for the movie back in December. And just this week, we got a batch of new publicity stills and a new clip from the movie. Today, we've got more for you. An exclusive reveal of the new teaser poster. It's a pretty sweet image, I have to say. Hit the jump to see for yourself. Read more...

Tags dakota fanning, Kristen-Stewart, the runaways

FROM MTV.COM: German director Michael Haneke may be the world's chilliest filmmaker since Stanley Kubrick, who relinquished the title along with his life. Haneke's latest movie, "The White Ribbon," already festooned with prizes from Cannes to the Golden Globes, shows little sign of a warming trend in his work; but it does offer some of the pleasures of genre storytelling — at least until the end, when the director lobs the tale back into our laps to make of it what we will (which doesn't require a lot of pondering).

The picture suggests a sardonic reworking of the 1960 alien-invasion classic, "Village of the Damned." It's set in a remote village in Northern Germany in 1913, on the eve of World War I. Eichwald is a place of near-feudal social arrangement and harsh Protestant rigor. The land is presided over by a baron whose extensive fields provide sustenance for the local peasants; they in turn are tended by a kindly village doctor, an earnest young schoolteacher and a minister of monumental Christian rectitude. A timeless placidity reigns over the deep structures of communal order.

Continue reading 'The White Ribbon': Children's Hour, By Kurt Loder

Tags Michael Haneke, The White Ribbon

"Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse" is a confusing project. The general premise is simple enough — two slobby guys played by Jay Baruchel and Seth Rogen survive the end of the world and continue to be slobs while holed up in their claustrophobic apartment — but things get odd when you realize that the movie has a trailer, even though production hasn't started. The obvious question is, what's going on with this movie? Is it getting made? Was the teaser just a tease for something that will never arrive?

While promoting "How To Train Your Dragon," Baruchel spoke with io9 to clear the air on the long dormant project. The comedian said that while he's still planning on making "Jay and Seth," it's all a matter of timing for himself and his co-star. Read more...

Tags Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse', jay baruchel

This summer, Pixar fans will get to enjoy the continuing story of Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) when "Toy Story 3" finally arrives in theaters. The artistic geniuses at the animation studio have undoubtedly been working for years to bring our favorite characters to life once again, but the voice actors are only now coming in to record their lines for the June release.

Which brings us to this morning's Daily TwitPic. "Toy Story 3" director Lee Unkrich tweeted a photo yesterday of Hanks in a recording session. Hanks then followed him shortly after with a tweet of his own, from his relatively new Twitter account: "A session on Toy Story 3 today. That gem is almost done and comes out in June. Btw: Woody is the tallest of all the toys. By far. Hanx." How awesome is it that he calls himself "Hanx"? Enjoy the pic after the jump. Read more...

Tags lee unkrich, tom hanks, toy story 3

The stars of "Twilight" are certainly capitalizing on the success of the angsty vampire phenomenon. I just wonder: with such a large portion of the ensemble landing roles in other films, what will that mean for the production of the still-unannounced adaptation of "Breaking Dawn," the final chapter in Stephenie Meyer's series? Hard to say, but that definitely leaves a big question mark hovering over this latest bit of potential casting news.

The word is that Robert Pattinson may soon be sharing a bill with two-time Best Actor Oscar winner Sean Penn in an adaptation of Sara Gruen's best-selling book, "Water for Elephants," Variety reported yesterday. The news describes the two superstars as "circling" the gig -- ie they're in talks right now -- though Variety mentions that Pattinson at least will likely land the part. Read more...

Tags breaking dawn, Francis Lawrence, reese witherspoon, robert pattinson, sean penn, Twilight, Water for Elephants

It's our first full day at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah: the skies are cloudy, the snow is expected to fall into the night and MTV News has a jam-packed schedule of screenings, events and interviews with the top talent at this mountain resort.

As the day develops, and as we slog through the accumulating slush on Main Street, we'll be bringing you the very latest from the film festival. In terms of interviews, we'll be chatting with James Franco and Jon Hamm ("Howl"); Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Maria Bello, Chris Cooper and Rosemarie DeWitt ("The Company Men"); Amanda Peet and Oliver Platt ("Please Give"), plus many more. Read more...

A few days ago, Simon Pegg tweeted a somewhat cryptic statement -- that was deleted soon after -- which read: "David Tennant had to drop out of 'B&H' but by sheer glorious serendipity a legend of Middle Earth and Skull Island has come aboard. Welcome AS." "B&H" is shorthand for "Burke and Hare," a dark comedy set in 19th century Scotland to be directed "Thriller" helmer John Landis. Tennant, former star of the "Dr. Who" TV series, would have joined Pegg as one of two murderous grave robbers who make a business out of supplying corpses to an Edinburgh medical school.

Sharp minds were able to discern that Pegg's Middle-earth/Skull Island reference and "Welcome AS" comment referred to Andy Serkis, the voice of Gollum and the mo-cap actor for "King Kong"'s big monkeybeast. In addition to the news this morning that Serkis is now confirmed to be replacing Tennant, there's also word that Isla Fisher and Tom Wilkinson have joined the cast as well, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog. Read more...

Tags andy serkis, Burke and Hare, isla fisher, john landis, simon pegg, Tom Wilkinson