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Reports have indicated that Marvel Studios are looking to cut costs on The Avengers.

Despite the film’s impressive casting roster, which includes the likes of Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans and Samuel L. Jackson, the studio is apparently looking to keep the film’s budget as restrained as possible.

According to Bleeding Cool, Marvel is demanding that the film is completed “on the relative cheap”, and are looking for the cost to be similar, relatively speaking, to how much Sony paid for Spider-Man back in 2002.

The report also claims that pre-production has been significantly delayed, following a number of staffing changes at the company.

The Avengers is currently scheduled to be released on May 4, 2012.

Will Ferrell is the most overpaid actor in Hollywood, according to a new list from Forbes.

The magazine ranked the most overpaid actors by comparing their earnings to their overall box office revenue.

Ferrell, who normally earns about $15m (£9.2m) per movie and starred in last year’s flop Land Of The Lost, topped the list, which also featured Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Seth Rogen and Tom Cruise.

Drew Barrymore was the only woman on the list. Stars Matt Damon, Vince Vaughn, Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey rounded out the top ten.

The 23rd James Bond movie has reportedly been scheduled for a cinema release in November 2012.

According to Bloomberg, studio MGM – which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this week after rejecting a takeover bid from Lionsgate – is close to a buy-out from Spyglass Entertainment.

Under the proposed agreement, MGM’s $4 billion debt will be extinguished and production on The Hobbit and the 007 series will continue. The studio is looking for a partner to split production costs on the next Bond before eventually retaking full ownership of the property.

From 2012, the spy series is expected to release new instalments every two years.

Daniel Craig is likely to return as the British secret agent, while it is unknown if director Sam Mendes will come back to the project.

James Cameron has blasted Warner Bros over its failed attempt to convert Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 into 3D.

Addressing the issue of Warners’ rushed efforts to produce a retro-fitted version of Deathly Hallows, Cameron said that the studio was repeating the same mistakes they made with Clash Of The Titans.

“I maintain you can’t do a good conversion of a two-hour movie with high quality in a few weeks like they tried to do with Clash Of The Titans,” the BBC quotes him as saying.

“I don’t mean to throw that movie under the bus because my buddy Sam [Worthington, from Avatar] is in it, but I think everybody realised that this was a point at which people had gone too far.”

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Scarlett Johansson will star as a “sexually voracious” alien woman in director Jonathan Glazer’s science fiction drama Under The Skin.

Based on MIchel Faber’s novel, the story centres on an extra-terrestrial hiding out on Earth in the form of a perfect woman, using her looks to catch human prey.

Glazer, the director of Sexy Beast and Birth, penned the script adaptation with Walter Campbell.

Glen Basner, CEO of the movie’s backers FilmNation, said of the project: “We’re so very excited to be working on this arrestingly original movie. How could we pass up the chance to work with a visionary director like Jonathan, especially when combined with the intriguing notion of Scarlett Johansson as a ruthless alien seductress?”

Production on Under The Skin is due to begin in Spring 2011.

Robert Downey Jr has praised Joss Whedon’s screenplay for the upcoming Avengers movie.

Speaking to MTV, the Iron Man star said that the helmer’s final script for the superhero film will be “fantastic”.

“I just read the script, and it’s going to be fantastic,” he said.

The actor – who will reprise his role as Tony Stark and his armour-clad alter ego for the project – jokingly added: “Once I tear his script to smithereens and fix it, we’re going to have a great movie.”

Based on the Marvel Comics series of the same name, The Avengers sees Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye and other superheroes form an alliance. Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans will also star in the movie.

The Avengers arrives in theatres on May 4, 2012.

John Carpenter has been announced as director for a film adaptation of the comic book series Darkchylde.

The series, which follows a teenage girl called Ariel able to transform into a variety of creatures from her subconsciousness, was created by Randy Queen in the late nineties, and soon became known for an unusually large female fanbase.

“Randy Queen’s hijacked angel, Ariel Chylde, is the best young female character since Laurie Strode in Halloween,” Carpenter told Shock Til You Drop following the announcement. “Bringing Ariel and her dark mysteries to life should be quite an adventure for us all.”

The project will see Carpenter’s company Storm King Productions team up with Queen’s Darkchylde Entertainment. There is currently no release date scheduled for the film.

Director Richard Donner and the cast of the 1985 cult film The Goonies have claimed that a sequel will never happen.

The movie’s cast had gathered together to celebrate its 25th anniversary, along with its DVD and Blu-ray releases, but were quick to deny the idea of reprising their roles.

“There have been talks for so many years and I know that a lot of us are for it,” Jonathan Ke Quan, who played Data, explained to Collider. “But honestly, I don’t think it’s ever going to happen, if it was going to happen it would’ve happened many years ago.”

Co-star Corey Feldman confirmed that although he had seen scripts for a potential sequel in the past, they never picked up any serious momentum.

“If Richard Donner was at the helm and Steven Spielberg got behind it, yeah I’d be there,” Feldman, who played Mouth in the original, added. “But at this point I don’t think it’s going to happen because we’re all getting too old.”

Donner, who was also present at the press conference, confirmed that he would be worried about ruining the original if he attempted a sequel, and couldn’t see himself being involved.