'Coriolanus' part of Berlinale lineup

Coriolanus, which stars Gerard Butler and Brian Cox, will have its world premiere at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival. The film will screen out of competition, and the festival runs from February 10 to February 20 in Berlin.

'Bunraku' part of Dubai Film Festival lineup

Bunraku, featuring Kevin McKidd, will premiere at the 7th annual Dubai International Film Festival on December 16. The festival runs from December 12 to December 19. Tickets are available at the DIFF 2010 box offices in Mall of the Emirates, Souk Madinat Jumeirah and the CNN Building in Dubai Media City, or at the DIFF official website.

Gerard Butler visits the Michigan State Spartans + Gerard and Hilary Swank reunite

Gerard Butler visited the Michigan State University Spartans on Friday night while the team was watching 300. The photo of Gerard with the team comes courtesy of the official MSU Football's Twit pic page. He also dropped in on the MSU basketball team on Friday night and attended the Saturday football game at Spartan Stadium. Footage of Gerard's surprise visit is below:





Gerard made an appearance in New York at the Conviction premiere after-party last Tuesday. You can check out photos of him and his P.S. I Love You co-star Hilary Swank.

'Law and Order: SVU' sneak peak

Some new Law & Order: SVU clips with Henry Ian Cusick have been unveiled. Part of the now extended third clip was released a few weeks back. Law & Order's two-hour season premiere airs on September 22.








You can also check out some of Henry Ian Cusick's interviews over at MovieWeb.com and The Daily Record. Excerpts from these interviews are below.

How does your character and Benson become involved in your episodes? And is he really in to her because they say he's going to be a romantic interest or is there an ulterior motive there?

Henry Ian Cusick: Very early on in the episode you see Benson and my character, Erik Weber, who is a graphic artist; you see them meet and there's a bit of flirtation. Certainly from Erik Weber's point of view he's very interested in Benson and I think it becomes a bit of a rivalry between Stabler and Weber. So yes, there's definitely some - there's definitely an interest -- a strong interest -- from Erik Weber and the Benson character, yeah. [MovieWeb.com]

And although he's got a two episode guest role in Law & Order SVU, he's not wanting to jump into something too big or too long which won't compare to the fun and adventure he had in one of the most talked about shows of the past decade.

He said: "I've learned that this experience is a one-off, and it won't happen again.

"I'm sad to see it end because it's been such a beautiful experience. I feel like I'm part of television history. [Rick Fulton]

Kevin McKidd attends the 'Bunraku' TIFF premiere

Kevin McKidd made an appearance at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday to promote Bunraku. You can watch some video of the Q&A at the screening here, here, and here. Kevin and his cast-mates, Josh Hartnett, Woody Harrelson, Gackt, and Ron Perlman attended the Bunraku cocktail party with director Guy Moshe and producer Nava Levin. You can check out photos from the cocktail party below.

James McAvoy at the Toronto International Film Festival

James McAvoy was at yesterday's gala presentation of The Conspirator at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. You can watch a portion of the film's press conference at the film festival's official site. A portrait photo that was taken yesterday is posted above.

Some new film stills from The Conspirator are below.

James McAvoy to star in 'At the Mountains of Madness'? + TIFF appearance speculation

Guillermo del Toro's 3D adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, is set to shoot in May of 2011. Universal reportedly wants James McAvoy in the lead role, while del Toro wants Tom Cruise instead. Both actors would presumably be free at the time, though at this point both actors aren't even officially attached to the project. A synopsis of Lovecraft's novella is below:

The story is written in first-person perspective by the geologist William Dyer, a professor from Miskatonic University. He writes to disclose hitherto unknown and closely kept secrets in the hope that he can deter a planned and much publicized scientific expedition to Antarctica. On a previous expedition there, a party of scholars from Miskatonic University, led by Dyer, discovered fantastic and horrific ruins and a dangerous secret beyond a range of mountains taller than the Himalayas. [Wikipedia via Collider]

The Conspirator will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival later this month, but there hasn't been official confirmation on whether or not James McAvoy would make an appearance in Toronto. According to an Exclusive Artists Management press release, James will be at the festival:

Exclusive Artists Management will be providing celebrity hair and makeup artists to participate at this year's Toronto International Film Festival for the seventh consecutive year.

...Some of the confirmed actors that our teams will be getting camera ready include Helen MIrren, Carey Mulligan, Evan Rachel Wood, James McAvoy, Rachel Weisz, Frieda Pinto, Minnie Driver, Vera Farmiga, Kristen Scott Thomas, Bryce Dallas Howard, Winona Ryder, Michael Sheen, Thomas Hayden Church, Chris Cooper, Josh Lucas, Amy Ryan, Sam Rockwell, Zach Galifianakis, Amber Tamblyn, Dominic Cooper, Kate Mara, Jim Broadbent and Melissa Leo

'The Tempest' to screen at the New York Film Festival

The Tempest, which stars Alan Cumming, will be the Centerpiece selection at this year's New York Film Festival. After it closes the Venice Film Festival on September 11, it will then have its North American debut at the NYFF on Saturday, October 2, 2010.

Toronto 2010 line-up revealed; includes 'Beginners' and 'The Conspirator'

The Toronto International Film Festival announced (via Awards Daily) part of its 2010 line-up this morning. Robert Redford's The Conspirator (starring James McAvoy) will have its world premiere at the festival's gala program and Mike Mills' Beginners (starring Ewan McGregor) will have its world premiere at the special presentation program. The 35th annual film festival runs from September 9 and September 19. The festival will announce more titles in the coming weeks and you can head on over to indieWIRE for the complete list from today's announcement.

'Grey's Anatomy' gets a return date

The seventh season of Grey's Anatomy has reportedly been scheduled to start on Thursday, September 23 on ABC. Instead of the typical two hour season premiere the seventh season will be one hour instead.

As such, some of the questions going into September 23 are:

* How have Meredith and Derek bounced back from her miscarrying the little life that was inside of her for so sadly short a time?

* Where do things stand between Cristina and Owen? Yang entered the Season 6 finale not knowing where her man stood, only to see him pronounce her “the woman I love” during a harrowing moment. Has Hunt been backing up his words with actions? Is Teddy once and for all surgically excised from the mix?

* Lexie, poor Lexie: Has she given Alex the hook, seeing as his thoughts were all about Izzie as his life hung in the balance in the finale? Do she and Mark – who impetuously popped the question the week before the gunman crisis – have any chance at a second chance?

* Will Izzie return to Seattle, only to reveal that she is now married to Dr. Preston Burke?

* Is Arizona truly at peace with the notion of her and Callie mothering “10 babies on a beach in Spain”?

* Where stands Bailey’s nascent romance with gasman Ben – if only since Jason George is now shooting the Shonda Rhimes-produced midseason series, ‘Off The Map’?

* Was Webber empowered by his bit of bravado, where he stared down the shooter? Did that defining moment solidify his seat “on the wagon”?

* Now that Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew have been promoted to series regulars, how will Jackson and April fit into the SGH tapestry? Are their respective crushes (Cristina, Derek) behind them… or might there be unfinished business? [Matt Webb Mitovich]

'Knockout' renamed 'Haywire'; gets a 2011 release + Ewan McGregor at the Sydney Film Festival

Steven Soderbergh's Knockout (which stars Ewan McGregor) has now been renamed Haywire. The film had originally been scheduled for a release sometime this August, but it appears that Lionsgate has moved it to January 2011.

Ewan attended last night's Sydney premiere of The Ghost Writer at the State Theatre and talked to the press on the red carpet. There are also some photos of Ewan on the red carpet.

First 'Jackboots on Whitehall' trailer

The Edinburgh International Film Festival will screen the film's world premiere later this month, and now the first official trailer has been unveiled.

Jackboots on Whitehall is a satirical alternative history of World War II where the Nazis seize London and England must band together to prevent a full on invasion. It includes the voices of Ewan McGregor and Alan Cumming.

Sydney Film Festival schedule includes 'Alice Creed' and 'The Ghost Writer'

The 57th annual Sydney Film Festival runs from June 2 to June 14 and the festival's screening schedule is now available.

The Disappearance of Alice Creed with Martin Compston will premiere on Saturday, June 5 at 8:15pm at Event Cinema 8. The film's second screening is on Tuesday, June 8 at 8:45pm at Dendy Opera Quays 2.



The Ghost Writer with Ewan McGregor will have its Australian premiere on Sunday, June 13 at 9:30pm at the State Theatre. The second screening is on Monday, June 14 at 4:45pm at Event Cinema 8. Ewan McGregor might attend the film's premiere. Tickets for the second screening have already been sold out, but as of now, tickets for the premiere are still available. Head on over to the Sydney Film Festival website for more information on tickets.

Ewan McGregor joins 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' + 'Jackboots' to premiere at Cannes

Ewan McGregor has been cast alongside Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas in Lasse Hallström's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. Written by Simon Beaufoy, the romantic comedy is based on Paul Torday's novel of the same name. The film is being sold to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival. A synopsis is below:

Dr. Alfred Jones is a henpecked, slightly pompous middle-aged scientist at the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence in London when he is approached by a mysterious sheikh about an outlandish plan to introduce the sport of salmon fishing into the Yemen. Dr. Jones refuses, but the project, however scientifically absurd, catches the eye of British politicians, who pressure him to work on it. His diaries of the Yemen Salmon Project, from beginning to glorious, tragic end, form the narrative backbone of this novel; interspersed throughout are government memos, e-mails, letters, and interview transcripts that deftly capture the absurdity of bureaucratic dysfunction.

With a wickedly wonderful cast of characters--including a weasel-like spin doctor, a missing soldier and his intrepid fiancée, and Dr. Jones's own devilish wife--Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is the whimsical story of an unlikely hero who discovers true love, finds himself first a pawn and then a victim of political spin, and learns to believe in the impossible. [ComingSoon.net via Best of Ewan]

There are also reports that animated movie Jackboots on Whitehall featuring Ewan McGregor and Alan Cumming will premiere at Cannes.

'Bounty Hunter' European premieres + vote for MTV Movie Award nominees

MTV is giving the public the chance to choose the nominees for the 2010 MTV Movie Awards. You have to register to vote, and voting ends April 9. Gerard Butler is up for Best Villain, Best Ass Kicking Star, and Global Superstar. The following films are also up for nominations: Law Abiding Citizen (Best WTF Moment, Best Villain), The Bounty Hunter (Best Kiss), The Ugly Truth (Best Kiss). Thanks to GerardButler.net for pointing this out.

There are photos of Gerard and Jennifer Aniston at European premieres for The Bounty Hunter.

Champs Elysee Paris premiere on Sunday, March 28.






Berlin premiere at Cinemaxx and photocall. The Bounty Hunter opens in German cinemas on April 1.