The franchise has been away from the big-screen for seven years. It's changed directors. It even replaced its leading lady.

And, yet, so confident was newcomer Maria Bello that the Mummy series hooked itself up to the rejuvenation machine - she recently promised MTV that there would be at least three more before all was said and done.

"I've got to talk to her. We need to compare notes!" star Brendan Fraser joked, playfully refusing to directly address Bello's assertion. "I have to go read my agreement. Do I get to come back too?" Read more...

Few things are as powerful to watch with a crowd as a romantic film that sets the waterworks flowing all around. And when actors William Hurt, Kristen Stewart and Maria Bello came to Sundance to unspool "The Yellow Handkerchief" Friday, the majority of the crowd found themselves wishing they had some hankies of their own.

Directed by acclaimed Indian filmmaker Udayan Prasad, the film plays like "The Notebook" -- if James Garner's character had been convicted murderer. Following two generations of troubled lovers, it aims to appeal to both a teenage audience and their parents. Read more...

While attention has been focused on the casting of Maria Bello in Brendan Fraser's blockbuster "Mummy" franchise, it's Fraser's next project that might prove most interesting. The "Crash" collaborator will be starring in the 2008 big-budget adaptation of Cornelia Funke's bestselling fantasy children's novel, "Inkheart." The actor will play a bookseller who harbors the special ability to bring elements of fiction to life when he reads a book aloud...a power that sparks a magical adventure for his young daughter, played by Eliza Bennett.

"It's kind of a blessing and a curse at the same time," Fraser told MTV News about his character's gift. "His wife has disappeared and some baddies have come out of the world of the book. [My daughter] goes on a quest to a medieval world to retrieve her mom."

While the film has its share of casting notables -- including Helen Mirren, Paul Bettany and Sienna Guillory -- it's one co-star in particular that made Fraser's day: the man who brought Gollum to life in "The Lord of the Rings." "Andy Sirkis is fantastic," Fraser enthused. "He's got chops. It was great to work with [him]."

Like Hollywood's adaptation of Tolkien's trilogy, audiences can expect a full array of computer-generated wizardry: "There are some fantastic creatures in it," Fraser revealed. But it's on the subject of special effects that the actor reflects back to an earlier role...that of caveman Link in the classic 1992 film, "Encino Man."

"It really was the end of a period in the genre of niche teen films," said Fraser of the non-CGI pic, which co-starred Sean Astin and Pauly Shore. "It was just actors, [the] camera, [and] me with a squirrel screwed to my head. It was just having fun, really. And then after that it ushered in the whole period of CGI. That's interesting...it's the truth."

Are you looking forward to "Inkheart"? Is "Encino Man" really as historic as Fraser and I think? Chime in below.

"The Mummy 3" is all set to go now with the re-casting of the lead female role portrayed by Rachel Weisz in the first two installments. Maria Bello has signed on for the part. Not to be outdone in the scoopage, MTV has come across the letter "Mummy 3" director Rob Cohen penned to Bello to entice her to his cause. Enjoy!

Dearest Maria,

RC here! We haven't talked since that "xXx" audition a few years back. Let me just apologize one more time. We totally should have given you some background on that project before you came in to meet. If it's any consolation, it was awkward for all of us in that room when you discussed your "preparation."
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