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Brendan Fraser has been cast as the lead in a new film about the life of European folk hero William Tell.

Producer Todd Moyer confirmed that Fraser will take on the role of the infamous archer in William Tell 3D when it begins production later this year.

“There is no other actor who is more perfectly suited to be the patriot and family man that is William Tell,” Moyer said of the casting news.

“Brendan was the driving force behind the movie being shot in 3D. He’s a witty, charming, and very likeable action hero, and he really anchors the ensemble cast.”

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Full details of the Star Wars: The Complete Saga Blu-ray release have been unveiled.

Lucasfilm and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment have confirmed a nine-disc Blu-ray collection in widescreen with 6.1 DTS Surround Sound. It will be released on September 12 internationally and September 16 in North America.

The collection includes the following:

Disc One – Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
Disc Two – Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones
Disc Three – Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith
Disc Four – Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
Disc Five – Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
Disc Six – Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi
(Discs one to six feature audio commentaries)

Disc Seven – New – Star Wars Archives: Episodes I-III
Disc Eight – New – Star Wars Archives: Episodes IV-VI
(Discs seven and eight include deleted, extended and alternate scenes; prop, maquette and costume turnarounds; matte paintings and concept art; supplementary interviews with cast and crew a flythrough of the Lucasfilm Archives and more)

Disc Nine – The Star Wars Documentaries
Including:
New – Star Warriors (2007, Colour, Apx. 84 Minutes)
New – A Conversation with the Masters: The Empire Strikes Back 30 Years Later (2010, Colour, Apx. 25 Minutes)
New – Star Wars Spoofs (2011, Colour, Apx. 91 Minutes)
The Making of Star Wars (1977, Colour, Apx. 49 Minutes)
The Empire Strikes Back: SPFX (1980, Colour, Apx. 48 Minutes)
Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi (1983, Colour, Apx. 48 Minutes)
Anatomy of a Dewback (1997, Colour, Apx. 26 Minutes)
Star Wars Tech (2007, Colour, Apx. 46 Minutes)

Today’s announcement was timed to coincide with ‘Star Wars Day’, with fans of the series posting the movie pun “May The 4th Be With You” on Twitter throughout the day.

The latest entry in the long-running The Fast & The Furious franchise has topped the US box office in its opening weekend, becoming the highest April debut ever in the process.

Fast Five took an estimated $83.6 million, putting it firmly in first place ahead of last week’s box office topper Rio, which took $14.4 million.

The record-breaking opening of Fast Five makes it the highest debuting entry in the franchise so far, and Universal’s biggest debut of all time.

Madea’s Big Happy Family falls to third place this weekend taking $10 million, while the Robert Pattinson-led romantic drama Water for Elephants took $9.1 million.

Rounding out the top five films this weekend is Disney’s teen film Prom, which opened to only $5 million.

This week’s US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Fast Five – $83,600,000
2. (1) Rio – $14,400,000
3. (2) Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family – $10,050,000
4. (3) Water for Elephants – $9,125,000
5. (-) Prom – $5,000,000
6. (-) Hoodwinked Too! – $4,100,000
7. (7) Soul Surfer – $3,300,000
8. (9) Insidious – $2,680,000
9. (4) Hop – $2,550,000
10. (10) Source Code – $2,530,000

The upcoming hurricane-themed crossover event between Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show has been postponed in light of recent events in the US.

Fox had been scheduled to air the so-called ‘Animation Domination’ crossover this Sunday, but the company has released a statement postponing the event out of respect for the 300 people who died this week in the tornado outbreak in the Southern Midwest.

“In light of the recent storms that have affected the nation, Fox has decided to postpone the crossover episodes that were originally scheduled to air this Sunday,” the statement reads.

The network will air repeats of the shows in place of the event, and will show the hurricane crossover in Spring 2012.

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20th Century Fox animation Rio has topped the US box office for the second consecutive weekend.

The 3D movie, featuring the voices of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway, edges past Tyler Perry’s latest movie Madea’s Big Happy Family by just over $1 million to secure the top spot.

Water for Elephants debuts at number three with £16m, making it the most successful non-Twilight opening for Robert Pattinson. The British star’s Remember Me bowed to a disappointing $8m last March.

Russell Brand’s Hop and slasher sequel Scream 4 complete the top five, while African Cats – the latest movie in Disneynature ‘Earth Day’ (April 22) annual releases – registers at number six with $6m ticket sales.

Elsewhere, action-thriller Hanna is the biggest chart faller as it slips four spots to number eight.

The US box office in full (Hanna figures are studio estimates):
1. (1) Rio – $26,323,321
2. (-) Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family – $25,068,677
3. (-) Water for Elephants – $16,842,353
4. (3) Hop – $12,185,905
5. (2) Scream 4 – $7,030,747
6. (-) African Cats – $6,003,200
7. (5) Soul Surfer – $5,436,868
8. (4) Hanna – $5,277,000
9. (7) Insidious – $5,207,633
10. (8) Source Code – $5,091,347

Lindsay Lohan has been sentenced to 120 days in jail for a probation violation.

The decision came after a preliminary hearing in the actress’s grand theft case, in which she was accused of stealing a $2,500 (£1,500) necklace from a Los Angeles boutique in January this year.

LA Superior Court judge Stephanie Sautner had reduced Lohan’s charge to a misdemeanor but said that the alleged theft was a violation of her probation for her 2007 drink driving and possession of drugs conviction.

The sentence marks the fourth time the 24-year-old has been in jail. Her attorney Shawn Holley said that she will appeal the ruling.

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Edward Norton has discussed Marvel Studio’s decision not to include him in future Hulk projects.

Speaking to The Independent, the Fight Club star launched a fresh attack on the studio, claiming that their motives were about nothing “other than money”.

“I found it a cheap and unnecessary representation that it was about things other than money,” he told the newspaper. “They came to me avidly to talk about it and then, at the end of the day, it was just flat out a business decision.”

The actor went on to call Marvel’s approach “low, unprofessional and dishonest”, before saying that the firm is “going to have to deal with their own karma”.

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Fox’s latest 3D animation Rio topped the US box office this weekend ahead of the latest instalment in the Scream franchise.

Rio took $40 million domestically, topping the $19 million brought in by Wes Craven’s Scream 4, making it the highest weekend debut of the year so far.

The Easter-themed animation Hop fell to third place taking a respectable $11.1 million for its third weekend of release, followed by Soul Surfer which took $7.4 million.

Rounding out the top five films of the week is Joe Wright’s action thriller Hanna, staring Saoirse Ronan and Cate Blanchett, which took $7.3 million.

This week’s US box office top ten in full:
1. (-) Rio – $40,000,000
2. (-) Scream 4 – $19,300,000
3. (1) Hop – $11,160,000
4. (4) Soul Surfer – $7,400,000
5. (3) Hanna – $7,327,000
6. (2) Arthur – $6,940,000
7. (5) Insidious – $6,857,000
8. (7) Source Code – $6,300,000
9. (-) The Conspirator – $3,924,000
10. (6) Your Highness – $4,600,000

Paramont Pictures has reportedly picked up a new comedy film starring Scary Movie actress Anna Faris.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the studio enjoyed Faris’s pitch, which revolved around her character being joined by a new roommate who is soon revealed to be a ‘stalker from hell’.

Although further plot details are unknown, the film is said to be inspired by a situation that Faris once found herself in.

Joe Roth and Palak Patel will produce the as-yet-untitled project through Roth Films.

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Sony Pictures has reached an agreement to co-finance and distribute the 23rd and 24th James Bond movies.

The studio, which also backed Daniel Craig’s Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, will release the Sam Mendes-directed Bond 23 on November 9, 2012.

The future of the 007 franchise had been cast into doubt following the recent financial plight of MGM, but the company emerged from bankruptcy with Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum taking over as co-chairmen and chief executive officers of Hollywood’s oldest studio.

“Sony Pictures is the ideal studio partner for us as MGM re-enters the filmmaking business. We have longstanding relationships with Michael and Amy and look forward to what promises to be a prosperous future together,” said Barber and Birnbaum.

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