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There is absolutely nothing I don't like about this news. Nicolas Winding Refn wrote and directed one of my favorite films last year, the Tom Hardy-starring "Bronson." Ryan Gosling, a talented actor, is starring in Refn's next film, "Drive." It's an adaptation of a James Sallis novel about a Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who has a part-time job as a getaway. A bank robbery goes wrong and this nameless stuntman ends up running for his life with an ex-con's girlfriend in tow.

The news today is that Carey Mulligan ("An Education") and Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad") are in negotiations to join the cast, The Hollywood Reporter reveals. If she takes the role, Mulligan will play the aforementioned girlfriend. Cranston's potential role isn't specified, but it would presumably involve some kind of badassery. Answers should come soon, as shooting expected to start in Los Angeles sometime next month.

Tags Bryan Cranston, Carey Mulligan, Drive, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling

Before you groan and click away with a sigh of "Another freaking 'Star Wars' video?!" on your lips, hear me out. George Lucas' galaxy far, far away is a fixture on this blog, thanks largely to my own insatiable geekdom. This is one damn clever video though, even in the grand pantheon of the Internet's billion-plus "Star Wars" bites.

If you've never seen a silent film before, this is a pretty close approximation of what they look like. The intertitles (dialogue cutaways) come a bit frequently, but hey... this is a movie that was originally made with sound. The piano accompaniment completes it-- you've gotta love the slow-grooving "Darth Vader Theme" that pops in roughly halfway through. I don't think I'd ever want to watch "Empire Strikes Back" in its entirety like this, but as Internet fan videos go this one ranks very high on the "wow, that's awesome" list. (via JoBlo.com) Read more...

Tags star wars

Episode Title: "Sniff Sniff Gang Bang"

Written By: Doug Ellin & Ally Musika

Story: Plans for an animated series starring the voice of Johnny Drama (Kevin Dillon) catch a network's interest, but Drama himself isn't sold on the pitch. Following the public revelation of his infamously vulgar rants, Ari (Jeremy Piven) attempts an attitude makeover. Meanwhile, Vince (Adrien Grenier) has to convince his girlfriend Sasha Grey to turn down an alluring porn gig all while convincing studio executives — and Eric (Kevin Connolly) — that he's not on drugs. Read more...

Tags Adrien Grenier, entourage, jeremy piven, Jerry Ferrara, kevin connolly, kevin dillon

Roger Clemens has been trending today after news broke yesterday that he'd been indicted on perjury charges. Marlon Wayans commented on the situation, and Jon Hurwitz just wants everybody to remember the baseball player's role in the movie "Kingpin" before they pass judgment.

It was a festive day in Twitter-Wood otherwise. Wes Craven tweeted from the "Scream 4" set. John Stamos showed off some tattoos, and Elizabeth Banks reviewed Green Day's "American Idiot" musical on Broadway. You can find out if she gave it a thumbs up or thumbs down down below, as well as where Rachelle Lefevre is going for three months and how Rob Zombie says he became God.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for August 20, 2010. Read more...

Tags elizabeth banks, john stamos, jon hurwitz, marlon wayans, milla jovovich, rachelle lefevre, rob zombie, Twitter-Wood, wes craven

Great news everyone! Producer Eli Roth will be sitting down with his Twitter account next Friday to field some questions from @MTVMoviesBlog in support of the August 27th release of "The Last Exorcism."

I can honestly tell you all that I was taken by surprise at how good the film is. It's a mock-documentary about a preacher who, for a range of reasons, embarks on a trip to perform his final exorcism. The events that follow are best left unsaid, the better to surprise you when you see it for yourself. Writers Huck Botko and Andrew Gurland crafted a story that takes some surprising turns and director Daniel Stamm does an exceptional job of keeping the creepiness and suspense running high throughout.

Here's where you come in: WE WANT YOUR QUESTIONS!!! So send them in. Hit us up at tips@mtvmoviesblog.com. Include your Twitter handle if you have one. Stay tuned for more details on our Eli Roth Twitterview, and for some SURPRISE continuing coverage of "The Last Exorcism" all next week!

Tags Andrew Gurland, Daniel Stamm, Eli Roth, Huck Botko, The Last Exorcism

Last December, shortly before "Avatar" started its blue-hued, multibillion-dollar journey toward box office glory, James Cameron told us exclusively that he was ramping up plans for a different sort of sci-fi expedition: a 3-D remake of 1966's "Fantastic Voyage."

By the next spring, as "Avatar' approached the $1 billion domestic threshold, word dropped that "Bourne Ultimatum" director Paul Greengrass was in talks to take on directing duties for the Cameron-produced, Shane Salerno-scripted "Voyage." Jump cut to late-May: suddenly, Greengrass was out of the running.

So what happened? "Fantastic Voyage" producer Jon Landau told MTV News that, in the end, the film and the director just weren't the right fit. Read more...

Tags Fantastic Voyage, james cameron, Jon Landau, Paul Greengrass

Now that "The Tourist" has an official release date, December 10, 2010, I thought it would be appropriate to introduce the real leading man of the film: Paul Bettany. Or have him introduce himself, rather.

When I caught up with the entirely too likable actor at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss "Priest," Bettany deftly avoided revealing any actual details about his character in the film.

"I can't tell you anything!" he said. Instead, he presented his co-stars as "unknowns," (Johnny Depp plays an American tourist abroad who becomes involved with an Interpol agent, played by Angelina Jolie), and revealed who he fell in love with while making the film. Read more...

Tags Angelina-Jolie, johnny depp, paul bettany, priest, Scott Stewart, the tourist, Video

File that headline under "Things I Never Thought I Would Write." Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy will star in the indie romantic comedy "Hysteria," alongside previously confirmed stars Jonathan Pryce and Rupert Everett, Variety reports. The story is set in Victorian-era England at the time that the vibrator was invented.

Yeah, that's happening.

I think the Variety synopsis tells the tale best, so I'll just quote them: "Dancy and Pryce will star as doctors in London treating cases of hysteria, a condition said to be characterized at the time by a woman's irritability, anger or unexplained tears. Dancy's character and his best friend, portrayed by Everett, experiment with a new electrical device for treatment for the ailment. Gyllenhaal portrays the daughter of Pryce's character."

I'm pretty sure there's nothing I can say here that won't offend someone, so I'll just let the story stand as it is. Sounds like an irreverent good time though!

Tags Hugh Dancy, Hysteria, Maggie Gyllenhaal

If you're afraid of man-eating creatures that lurk in the ocean, I would strongly advise you to stay away from "Piranha 3-D," director Alexandre Aja's latest blood-splattering thriller featuring a bunch of beach bums getting munched on by a legion of the titular human-hungry fish.

But if you're anything like me, then you're probably not satisfied by the amount of horrific animal 3-D action seen in "Piranha." No, you want more blood, more animals, more 3-D, more everything. Although I'm not in a position to pull the trigger on a studio's next big 3-D animal horror hit, I can certainly toss out some pitches to the bigwigs in Hollywood!

After the jump, check out some of the crazy animal action we would like to see in 3-D! Read more...

Tags Piranha 3-D

The first review for "The Social Network" surfaced today. It's glowing. Perhaps a little suspicious that it appears in Film Comment, the magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, which is also responsible for the New York Film Festival, where "Social Network" will be premiering. Still, with an assemblage of talent that includes David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin and Jesse Eisenberg (to name a few), a glowing review isn't terribly surprising.

Is it any surprise then that wheels are starting to turn for a Google-pegged biopic. As far as Internet giants go, Google is pretty much the king of the hill. Now, Groundswell Productions and producer John Morris have acquired the rights to Ken Auletta's book, "Googled: The End of the World As We Know It," Deadline reports. Like the Facebook story, Sergey Brin and Larry Page's founding of the mega-search engine (and quite a lot more, now) is not without its share of drama. The movie will focus on "how they tried to hang onto their idealism as Google became a global phenomenon." They changed the world and then the world changed them, to paraphrase London's own comments to Deadline. Provided they get the same sort of super-team that came together for "Social Network," this could be something special.

Tags Googled: The End of the World As We Know It, The Social Network