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Considering the wide range of topics director Darren Aronofsky has covered in the past -- from drug addiction to the quest for eternal life to a washed-up wrestler's last shot at redemption -- it does seem a little bizarre that he's been attached to direct three very similarly themed projects in a short period of time.

First there was the "Robocop" reboot, which has since fallen through, then he became mostly attached to "X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2," and now TheWrap reports that Aronofsky will develop and direct a flick named "Machine Man" that sounds similar in plot to "Iron Man."

The film, based on the upcoming Max Barry book of the same title, follows a "gadget geek and engineer at a forward-thinking tech firm" who becomes obsessed with improving himself and starts to replace his body with high-end titanium performance upgrades of his own design. The plot also teases that there is someone else (an enemy, perhaps?) who has similar ideas for their own body. Read more...

Tags darren aronofsky, Machine Man, Wolverine 2

Casey Affleck pulled off one big trick this year with his staged Joaquin Phoenix documentary "I'm Still Here," and it looks he'll be doing the same for his next big role in "Rush Hour" director Brett Ratner's "Ocean's Eleven"-meets-Bernie Madoff flick "Tower Heist."

The film already has big acting guns signed on in the form of Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Judd Hirsch, Alan Alda and Michael Pena... so Affleck will be playing off some big star power. He'll portray Stiller's friend and a potential traitor in a plot to rob a rich penthouse tenant played by Alda, according to a Hollywood Reporter story.

Affleck held his own just fine in 2001's "Ocean's Eleven" and its two sequels, so he should be suitably prepped to share the spotlight with this cast. It may make for a fine revenge fantasy for everyone who got swindled by the real-life Bernie Madoff and his ponzi scheme. Read more...

Tags casey affleck, Tower Heist

FROM SPLASH PAGE: Well, we can stop calling it "Batman 3," as director Christopher Nolan has announced that the title of his third "Batman" film will be "The Dark Knight Rises."

Nolan revealed the title in an interview with Hero Complex, a title that both honors the highly successful comic book adaptation while offering a glimmer of hope with the added word "rises." But even as he elevates optimism in the third "Batman" movie's title, Nolan's shooting down the hopes of fans of the Riddler — according to the director, the puzzling villain will not be featured in "The Dark Knight Rises."

"It won't be the Riddler," said Nolan, effectively pulling the leading villain candidate completely out of the pool.

So, who will be the next "Batman" villain, and what do you think of the title? Tell us your in the comments, and read more about the new 'Batman 3' title on Splash Page!

Tags batman 3, christopher nolan, the dark knight rises

James Cameron won't be turning Angelina Jolie into a 3-D "Cleopatra" anytime soon. The director has announced that he's cinched a deal with Twentieth Century Fox to head back to Pandora to shoot two "Avatar" sequels as his next films, with release dates for the tentatively titled "Avatar 2" and "Avatar 3" slated for December 2014 and December 2015, respectively. Seeing as last year's 3-D-redefining "Avatar" raked in $760.4 million domestically and $2.8 billion worldwide, can't say we blame the guy for going back to the well another two times.

Cameron said in a statement: "It is a rare and remarkable opportunity when a filmmaker gets to build a fantasy world, and watch it grow, with the resources and partnership of a global media company. AVATAR was conceived as an epic work of fantasy -- a world that audiences could visit, across all media platforms, and this moment marks the launch of the next phase of that world. With two new films on the drawing boards, my company and I are embarking on an epic journey with our partners at Twentieth Century Fox. Our goal is to meet and exceed the global audience's expectations for the richness of AVATAR’s visual world and the power of the storytelling. In the second and third films, which will be self contained stories that also fulfill a greater story arc, we will not back off the throttle of AVATAR’s visual and emotional horsepower, and will continue to explore its themes and characters, which touched the hearts of audiences in all cultures around the world. I'm looking forward to returning to Pandora, a world where our imaginations can run wild." Read more...

Tags Angelina-Jolie, avatar, Avatar 2, avatar 3, james cameron, sigourney weaver

Halloween is fast approaching, and unsurprisingly here at the MTV Movies Blog we have a soft spot for movie-themed costumes. There's tons of inspiration to be taken from films released in 2010, which means that the streets are probably going to be overrun with people dressed up in Mad Hatter and Na'vi costumes purchased from the store. But there's plenty of room to save your pennies and be creative without just throwing on a hoodie and calling yourself Mark Zuckerberg or pulling out your best suit and saying you're Don Draper or a member of the "Inception" dream team (pun intended).

We're getting rid of your excuse to be lazy this Halloween and bequeathing unto you some costume ideas that will make your friends cringe -- whether it's out of good old-fashioned horror or due to the sheer magnitude of your costume's disregard for good taste (we apologize in advance if we inadvertently offend anyone). So hit the jump for five original twists on movie-themed costumes to spice up your Halloween. Read more...

Tags 127 Hours, Bored To Death, breaking dawn, clash of the titans, halloween, harry potter and the deathly hallows, iron man 2, jason schwartzman, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, The Other Guys

It's hard to believe that it's been 25 years since Marty McFly first hopped in a DeLorean and traveled back in time, 25 years since Doc Brown first screamed "1.21 gigawatts!," 25 years since Marty's mom accidentally tried to put the moves on her own son, and 25 years since "Back to the Future" became a pop-culture phenomenon that spawned two sequels and a deluge of still-quoted one-liners. Ah, but it has... and as proof, the cast and filmmakers gathered in New York City last night to celebrate the release of the "Back to the Future" Trilogy 25th Anniversary Blu-ray Collection.

MTV News was on hand for the red-carpet event and was able to "go back in time" with stars Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd, as well as director Robert Zemeckis, all of whom reminisced about their favorite lines and scenes from the movie and the questions they most often get from diehard "BTTF" fans.

"The thing that people ask me about more than anything else is the hoverboard," Fox (a.k.a series hero Marty McFly) said of the flying skateboard he rides in "Back to the Future: Part II." "People want to know where they can get a hoverboard. I don't know. I wish I had a hoverboard because I was hanging from cranes and swung through the courtyard, dangling like a puppet and a hoverboard stapled to my feet." Read more...

Tags back to the future, christopher lloyd, Lea Thompson, Michael J. Fox, Robert Zemeckis, Video

Charlie Sheen attracted some attention in Twitter-Wood today after police reportedly found him in a poor state of affairs in a New York hotel room, possibly under the influence of some foreign substances. Michael Ian Black spoke up about him today, while Seth Meyers took a moment to remember Paul the psychic octopus and Michael McKean discussed what he wished the epilogue from "The Social Network" would have addressed.

Elsewhere, Paris Hilton took a shot of herself on the "Hard Times of RJ Berger" set, while Frankie Muniz cheered on the beginning of a new NBA season and Aziz Ansari pondered an unlikely Halloween costume. Find out if you think he can pull it off down below.

I'm @brianwarmoth, and this is Twitter-Wood for October 26, 2010. Read more...

Tags aziz ansari, brian lynch, damon lindelof, frankie muniz, michael ian black, michael mckean, paris hilton, seth meyers, Twitter-Wood

Is there any young actor more in demand than Tom Hardy right now? Maybe, but it sure doesn't feel like it. He got the lead role in "Mad Max: Fury Road" before he became the surprise star of "Inception," and now that that project has been delayed, he's had plenty of free time to start piling on the roles. And boy he has.

His latest potential starring vehicle is the hot new action-adventure flick "Snow White and the Huntsman," with Hardy circling to play the Huntsman while Angelina Jolie is being eyed for the role of the evil queen Ravenna. The Playlist got the scoop that Hardy is looking to fit filming of this in early next year after he wraps McG's "This Means War" and before he starts on "Batman 3," in which he's expected to play a villain. Read more...

Tags Angelina-Jolie, batman 3, inception, Snow White and The Huntsman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Tom Hardy, total recall

What is a normal guy supposed to do when his beloved wife and the mother of his child is sentenced to 20 years in prison for a murder she claims she didn't commit? For Russell Crowe in the thriller "The Next Three Days," that answer is simple: break her out of prison.

Of course, this is Robin Hood and Maximus Decimus Meridius we're talking about, so it's easy to believe that Crowe could go from an average Joe living it Pittsburgh to the architect of an intricate and daring escape from a maximum security prison. With Elizabeth Banks playing Crowe's wife and "Crash" Oscar winner Paul Haggis directing, the film's got a stellar pedigree. Add to that the fact that it's based on the acclaimed French film "Pour Elle," has a supporting cast that includes Liam Neeson, Brian Dennehey and Olivia Wilde, and boasts one heck of a gripping trailer... and we're liking its chances to do well as counter-programming to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" when it hits theaters on November 19.

Check out two exclusive photos -- one of Banks and Crowe on the lam, and another of Haggis doing his directing thing -- from "The Next Three Days" after the jump! Read more...

Tags elizabeth banks, paul haggis, Photo, Russell Crowe, The Next Three Days

It's been a year since Ang Lee first announced that he would be adapting the bestselling novel "Life of Pi" as his next big-screen project, and now there's finally some forward movement to report. Lee has cast 17-year-old Suraj Sharma to play the film's lead Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel, and the Oscar-winning director has also revealed that the movie will be filmed in 3-D.

Sharma was one of 3,000 teenage boys who auditioned for the role of Pi, and his lack of acting experience (he's acted just once, in a school play) did not detract from his amazing audition. "He read one complex scene, and by the end he was crying," Lee told USA Today. "We all were." Read more...

Tags ang lee, Life of Pi, Suraj Sharma