Gary Oldman, Malin Akerman and Milo Ventimiglia will star in indie gangster project “Criminal Empire for Dummys,” set to shoot starting in late March in New Orleans.

Michael Clarke Duncan and Harvey Keitel are also attached. Cliff Dorfman, who’s credits include the upcoming “Warrior” for Lionsgate and “Entourage,” is making his feature directorial debut and helming from his own script.

Story centers on a charismatic young man — portrayed by Ventimiglia — who relates the do’s and don’ts of running a criminal empire through a flashback to his own rise from a tragic childhood and life in the ghetto to eventual position as a multinational drug and criminal kingpin.

Producers are Michael Roban of Cold Fusion Media, Dave Brown of Sleeping Giant Entertainment, Greg Hadjarowicz of Gremi Prods. and Paul Schiff of Paul Schiff Prods. Oldman’s manager Doug Urbanski is exec producing.

Production companies include Cold Fusion, Sleeping Giant, Gremi Productions and Hollywood Studios International, which is financing the $9 million project which includes Louisiana tax credit financing.

Oldman was most recently seen in “The Book of Eli” while Akerman’s recent credits include “Watchmen and “Couples Retreat.”

From Variety

According to IMDB, Malin is going to be guest starring on this week’s episode of the hit CW show “The Vampire Diaries”. The episode is titled “Fool Me Once” and is supposed to air on Thursday, February 11th!

I can’t confirm if Malin will be in this episode, since IMDB does get things wrong sometimes, so the best to find out is to watch the show! I hope its true and I’ll be sure to make a follow-up post about whether Malin was in the episode or not.

Thanks to Johanna for the heads up!

“Watchmen” writer Alan Moore may have given up on Hollywood years ago, but if a recent rumor is to be believed, the author may have yet another reason to have his name stricken from film credits.

While there’s been no official announcement, BleedingCool.com reports that a change in DC Entertainment’s corporate structure has freed up the possibility of a sequel (or prequel) to 2009’s “Watchmen” – in comic book or movie form.

It’s said that longtime President and Publisher Paul Levitz was the rudder that steered DC away from publishing peripheral “Watchmen” materials such as sequels, prequels or spinoffs, but now that he’s stepped down and DC Comics has restructured as part of a broader DC Entertainment, the site reports some anonymous buzz from within the company indicating that the old rules no longer apply.

If such a scenario actually came to pass, DC would very likely have to move forward without “Watchmen” director Zack Snyder, who made it clear a year ago that he wouldn’t have anything to do with a sequel.

The same attitude extends to stars, including Silk Spectre Malin Akerman, who questioned not only whether a sequel would be possible, but whether it would fly at all with fans.

As of this morning there’s been no word from either DC Comics or DC Entertainment regarding more “Watchmen” material, although Time Warner Inc. Chairman & CEO Jeff Bewkes did mention Superman, Batman and Green Lantern as tentpole properties in Tuesday’s quarterly earnings call, according to Superhero Hype.

DC is expected to make major announcements regarding the use of its characters in other media over the coming weeks, meaning fans may want to keep their eyes peeled for potential “Watchmen” news.

From MTV

No, I didn’t forget the spaces in the title, it really is called HAPPYTHANKYOUMOREPLEASE. Dont let the title fool you though, this movie stars Josh Radnor who also directs and the very beautiful Malin Akerman and Kate Mara! I will try to keep my WATCHMEN fanboy excitement at bay when I talk to Malin, but I am not so certain I can do that with my IRON MAN II fanboy excitement with Kate Mara. Even though this is Radnor’s first time as a writer/director I have a lot of faith in this film after reading part of the script and many reviews of it. Should be a solid Sundance hit.
Official Synopsis:

Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler is a struggling writer who’s having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam’s life revolves around his friends—Annie, whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie and Mary Catherine, a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi, a cabaret singer who catches Sam’s eye.

Written, directed, and starring Josh Radnor (CBS’s How I Met Your Mother), happythankyoumoreplease boasts a wryly funny script and engaging performances from its ensemble cast. With honesty and humor, Radnor captures a generational moment—young people on the cusp of truly growing up, struggling for connection, and hoping to define what it means to love and be loved.

HAPPYTHANKYOUMOERPELASE plays at the following times:

12:15 PM Fri, Jan 22 Eccles Theatre
8:30 AM Sat, Jan 23 Racquet Club
6:30 PM Sat, Jan 23 Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center
9:00 PM Mon, Jan 25 Prospector Square Theatre
7:00 PM Wed, Jan 27 Peery’s Egyptian Theater
5:15 PM Fri, Jan 29 Racquet Club

From We Are Movie Geeks

“Elektra Luxx” is set to premiere at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas – which begins in March!

Kick-Ass will be the opening night film at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival in mid-March. The first wave of films were also announced, and include Aaron Katz’s Cold Weather, Sebastian Gutierrez’s Elektra Luxx, Hubble 3D (IMAX), Wes Orshoski and Greg Olliver’s documentary Lemmy, and James Franco’s documentary Saturday Night.

Elektra Luxx – Following the successful world premiere of Women In Trouble at SXSW 2009, writer/director Sebastian Gutierrez returns with the world premiere of its hotly anticipated sequel. The film follows a hectic day in the life of former adult film superstar Elektra Luxx as she tries to survive in the straight world. The film stars Carla Gugino in the title role, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Timothy Olyphant, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Malin Akerman.

The South by Southwest Film Conference and Festival runs March 12 – 20, 2010 in Austin, Texas.

Galt Neiderhofer’s film The Romantics, which features stage veterans Katie Holmes and Anna Paquin, will screen out-of-competition at the Sundance FIlm Festival in Utah next month.

The film, which revolves around eight college friends who reunite for a wedding, will also feature Josh Duhamel, Malin Akerman, Elijah Wood, Adam Brody, Rebecca Lawrence, and Jeremy Strong.

Also added to the Sundance lineup is Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right. starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Mia Wasikowska, and Josh Hutcherson.

From Theater Mania

WATCHMEN star MALIN AKERMAN is looking forward to a technological Christmas across the miles with her family in Sweden.
Work has prevented the Scandinavian star from heading home for the holidays, but she has made sure that she and her family have the latest communication devices – so they can keep in touch.
She says, “This year I’m not lucky enough that I can go home but there’s great technology nowadays, like Facebook and Skype. It’s been my only way to keep an update on everything that’s going on with my siblings and cousins over in Sweden.”
Akerman admits she’s tremendously homesick because she has wonderful memories of Christmas in Sweden.
She adds, “It’s cold and it’s beautiful. There’s this thing where everyone has these candles that almost look like a menorah, about seven of them, and everyone has them in their windows in Sweden so it’s all lit up. You walk everywhere and you just see candles in the windows. It’s absolutely beautiful and puts a sparkle to the whole city.
“Somebody in the family usually dresses up as Santa Claus. My father still lives in Sweden and we got together with my grandfather and cousins and a few years back it was my father’s turn to dress up as Santa Claus; for the younger cousins they don’t know.
“We didn’t tell anyone that I was coming home for Christmas and I dressed up as an elf and walked in with my father as Santa Claus into the living room and everyone was like, ‘Who is that elf?’ because I had a mask on and finally I pulled the mask off and my grandfather teared up because he was so excited to see me. It was a really great moment so I love that tradition that we have. I would do it again, absolutely.”

From Contact Music