For quite a while now a remake of Ben-Hur has been in the works. Now it’s starting to move towards production with Deadline reporting that Tom Hiddleston is MGM, Paramount Pictures and director Timur Bekmambetov’s top choice to play the lead role.
It doesn’t appear an official offer has been extended to the actor yet, and Hiddleston has other offers on the table, but it seems he’s the one the studios want.
Keith R. Clarke wrote the spec script for the film, which is said to be more faithful to Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel than the multi-Oscar winning 1959 movie, which starred Charlton Heston.
The 1950s version focussed on the section of the story that was about the feud between the Jewish Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and his Roman former friend Messalla (Stephen Boyd). The new film is said to further explore these characters’ formative years, when they grew up together before the Roman Empire conquered Jerusalem.
This film will also include the story of Jesus Christ, whose story is told in parallel to Ben-Hur’s. Although this was touched on in the Charlton Heston film, it’s said to be more central to the remake.
The film S&M Sally promises to take on ‘taboo topics in the most charming of ways’, but it can only do that if it can get the money to get the film in the can. To raise the cash, the director has launched a 
Last time Johnny Depp went on a global in The Tourist, it didn’t work out too well. He’ll be hoping for better from Mortdecai, based on Kyril Bonfiglioli’s 1970s book, The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery.
Back in April we got the first trailer for David Cronenberg’s Map To The Stars, and now we get a fresh look with a UK promo, which shows off the great cast, including Robert Pattinson, Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Mia Wasikowska, Sarah Gadon, Olivia Williams and Carrie Fisher.
In what has come as a shock to many, Oscar winning actor and comedian Robin Williams has died, with the initial assumption being that he committed suicide (as reported by the police, who need to complete their investigation in order to confirm that).
Hardcore gay sex isn’t the sort of thing major film organisations traditionally spend much time promoting, but a couple of years ago the British Film Institute devoted a season to the work of Peter de Rome, a man often dubbed the ‘grandfather of gay porn’.
I sometimes think we should just change the name of this site to the ‘What Is James Franco Up To? Blog’, as he’s so keen on everything gay that it sometimes feels like we’re keeping a minute-by-minute log of his exploits.
John Cusack and Ryan Phillippe are sometimes allowed in major Hollywood movies, but they spend a lot of time grafting away in the endless line of thrillers that get made and hope to do well enough on DVD to make their money back.
Ever wanted to do the walk of shame but couldn’t? Well, that’s the premise of Two Night Stand, where Analeigh Tipton wants to get away from Miles Teller, but simply can’t.
After the huge ructions over the sexual abuse of children by priests in the Catholic Church, it’s almost surprising the film world has only nibbled at the edges of the scandal – probably because it’s such a hot button and difficult topic.