Seventeen-year-old Taylor Lautner, who plays a werewolf in the ‘Twilight’ series, is in talks to show-off his muscles in a third movie beyond the franchise that made him a star. E!Online reports that the brawny boy babe may be cast as the lead, Louden Swain, in a remake of the 1985 drama ‘Vision Quest’ about a high school wrestling star.

“Taylor saw [the script] and is really excited about it,” a source told E!Online. “It’s very much in line with his athleticism. His character is someone who’s striving for greatness.”

In the original ‘Vision Quest,’ Louden Swain’s father takes in a boarder, Carla. Though Carla is older than Louden, the dedicated wrestler finds himself falling in love with her.

The 1985 movie introduced Madonna in her first major motion picture appearance. She played a local bar/restaurant singer and performed Crazy for You, the movie’s theme song. In some countries the film was released as ‘Crazy for You’ in order to cash in on Madonna’s emerging popularity.

Though the movie is still in development, E!Online reports that screenwriter Richard Munic is remaining “very faithful” to the original but that Lautner, if cast as Louden, will end up playing an “updated version” of the character.

Lautner has reportedly accepted two other post-’Twilight’ roles and both films will likely optimize the drawing power of Lautner’s buff body. Paramount cast him as the lead in their upcoming action flick ‘Max Steel,’ based on a popular toy line. He is also said to have signed on to star in another action movie, ‘Cancun’ which will reportedly display the actor’s martial arts prowess.

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Hollywood’s brightest stars took to their Twitter accounts on Sunday to express their grammatically challenged and often misspelled sadness over the death of ‘8-Mile’ star Brittany Murphy. Murphy died of cardiac arrest Sunday morning. She was 32.

Murphy’s ex-boyfriend, Ashton Kutcher was one of the first to post, saying “see you on the other side kid…2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany’s family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon.”

According to E!Online, Lindsay Lohan added, “My deepest condolences go out to all of Brittany Murphy’s loved ones & may she rest in peace…She was a great talent w/a beautiful soul. XO.”

And Jessica Simpson tweeted, “Brittany Murphy was an incredible ray of Light to so many people. Her smile was contagious. My prayers are with her family and loved ones.”

Denise Richards, who starred with Murphy in the 1999 comedy ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous,’ said, “Brittany Murphy was in Drop Dead Gorgeous with me and was the sweetest and most adorable. Tragic, sad and devastating. Her poor family.”

Alyssa Milano, Kim Kardashian, and Fred Durst were among the others who shared their thoughts.

“Brittney Murphy and I did a USO Tour together in 2003,” Milano wrote. “She was a sweet soul, with a lot of talent and heart.”

“I am in shock that Britney Murphy has died! Clueless is my all time favorite movie,” Kardashian posted. “My prayers go out to her family & husband.”

“RIP Brittney Murphy. What a sweet human being. My prayers are with her friends and family,” Durst said.

Still others gave their mini eulogies.

“Never met her, but sad to hear about Brittany Murphy,” said Kevin Smith. “G’night, Ms. Murphy; hope you’re rollin’ with the homies someplace nice.”

“I am so sad about Brittany Murphy. Too young. She always seemed like she wanted to please everyone,” said Juliette Lewis.

Mena Suvari, Murphy’s co-star in the 2002 film ‘Spun,’ wrote, “I’m just sooo devastated now. Found out Brittany Murphy died earlier this morning & I’m shockedWe worked together & I knew her for yrs.”

E!Online also points to some of the celebrities who are commenting on the rumours about drugs and anorexia surrounding Murphy’s death.

“Everyone take a minute for the passing of brittany murphy and impress on your kids NOT TO TAKE DRUGS,” pleads Kelly Killoren Bensimon.

“Britney they say died of cardiac arrest from anorexia. Jesus christ how long before we realize we r too hard on women in this biz,” asks Jamie Kennedy.

“Hollywood loses another bright soul….how many more? A decade of decadence and devastation,” Josh Groban chastises. “Time to wake up.”

Meanwhile, Alicia Silverstone, who starred with Murphy in ‘Clueless,’ the movie for which she first became famous, released a statement:

“I always felt connected to her as we shared a very special experience in our lives together,” Silverstone said. “I feel love in my heart for her - and hope she is at peace. This is truly sad.”

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‘The Hangover’ director Todd Phillips seems to regard himself as the potential patron saint of fallen sports figures.

Boxer Mike Tyson played himself in the first ‘Hangover,’ and now Phillips is talking about getting Tiger Woods for the sequel. He told Hollyscoop.com that Woods, whose multiple alleged recent indiscretions have rocked the golf world and the tabloids, might benefit from the redeeming power of comedy.

Phillips said, “We are going to try and get Tiger Woods for the second one…Yeah help him regain his image.

“Mike (Tyson) loved doing The Hangover because he loved f**king with the image people had of him. He knew we were not making fun of him but of the image people projected on him.”

Phillips may have been joking, but Justin Bartha, who plays Doug in the movie, says it could happen. “If Todd says it thus will happen…might happen, you never know. I’m going to talk to him about it.”

And actress Heather Graham, who plays Jade, thought it was a great idea. “That would be so hilarious. Sounds brilliant,” she said.

Phillips is currently writing the sequel to ‘The Hangover.’ He told Hollyscoop, “We are writing it right now, it’s not coming out for a bit. We want to shoot it over the summer.”

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Actress Brittany Murphy has died at age 32.

TMZ, along with other media, is saying that Murphy died early Sunday morning after she went into full cardiac arrest and could not be revived. Her mother reportedly discovered her unconscious in the shower. Paramedics arrived and immediately administered CPR but the actress was pronounced dead upon arrival at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Murphy came to popular attention for her portrayal of the endearingly and “tragically unhip” Tai in the 1995 teen comedy ‘Clueless.’ In 2002, she starred in ‘8-Mile’ opposite rapper Eminem. Murphy also had roles in ‘Girl Interrupted,’ ‘Uptown Girls,’ ‘Sin City’ and ‘Happy Feet.’

She was married to ‘Factory Girl’ story-writer, Simon Monjack. Murphy had previously dated Ashton Kutcher, her co-star in the 2003 romantic comedy ‘Just Married.’

According to People.com, on Sunday Kutcher tweeted, “see you on the other side kid … 2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany’s family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon.”

According to TMZ, the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is launching an investigation into Murphy’s death.

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Sarah Jessica Parker was not attempting to cash in on the latest teen movie craze by calling her fragrance, ‘Twilight.’ The scent, which launched last February, is part of the ‘Sex and the City’ star’s Lovely collection.

“Those books are for younger readers, right?” Parker asked MTV News when the question was, presumably, put to her. “I have not read any. I feel like I will save those the way I save ‘Harry Potter.’ So when James Wilkie is ready to read ‘Twilight,’ then I’ll jump in with him, or when Loretta and Tabitha are ready to read them.”

At least Parker has her perfume line and the ‘Sex and the City’ projects going. Because her latest flick, ‘Did You Hear About the Morgans?’ is garnering brutal reviews.

The Washington Post said the romantic comedy, which also stars Hugh Grant and is in theatres now, is “so dreary as to hardly qualify as comedy,” while the New York Daily News said, “You know the line about what a bear does in the woods? Not only is that wittier than all of Did You Hear About the Morgans?, it describes the movie as well.”

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The Academy has posted the shortlist of sixty-three songs eligible for the Best Original Song Oscar at the 82nd Academy Awards.

On January 12, the Academy will screen clips featuring each song for voting members. Following the screenings, members will determine the nominees by an averaged point system vote. If no song receives an average score of 8.25 or more, there will be no nominees in the category (this has never happened). If only one song achieves that score, it and the song receiving the next highest score shall be the two nominees. If two or more songs achieve that score, they shall be the nominees.

Until 1944, any number of songs could be nominated — that year there were 14 — since then, there may be only five at most.

To be eligible, a song must consist of words and music, both of which are original and written specifically for the film — In 1986, the song ‘St. Elmo’s Fire,’ composed by David Foster and performed by John Parr, was considered the frontrunner for Best Original Song but was ultimately disqualified because it was not written expressly for the film.

Last year’s winner was ‘Jai Ho’ from Slumdog Millionaire, by A. R. Rahman and Gulzar.

The Oscar nominations will be announced on February 2.

The list of songs in alphabetical order:

“All Is Love” from “Where the Wild Things Are”
“Almost Over You” from “My One and Only”
“Almost There” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“AyAyAyAy” from “The Maid”
“Back to Tennessee” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
“Being Bad” from “Duplicity”
“Blanco” from “Fast & Furious”
“Brothers in Arms” from “Brothers at War”
“Butterfly Fly Away” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
“Cinema Italiano” from “Nine”
“Colorblind” from “Invictus”
“Depression Era” from “That Evening Sun”
“Don’t Walk Away” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
“Dove of Peace” from “Bruno”
“Down in New Orleans” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“Fly Farm Blues” from “It Might Get Loud”
“Forget Me” from “I Love You, Beth Cooper”
“God Bless Us Everyone” from “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”
“Here” from “Shrink”
“Hideaway” from “Where the Wild Things Are”
“Hoedown Throwdown” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
“I Bring What I Love” from “Youssou N’Dour: I Bring What I Love”
“I See You” from “Avatar”
“(I Want to) Come Home” from “Everybody’s Fine”
“If You’re Wondering” from “The Lightkeepers”
“Impossible Fantasy” from “Adventures of Power”
“Innocent Child” from “Skin”
“Invictus 9,000 Days” from “Invictus”
“Legendary” from “Tyson”
“Let Freedom Reign” from “Skin”
“Loin de Paname” from “Paris 36”
“Ma Belle Evangeline” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“My One and Only” from “My One and Only”
“Na Na” from “Couples Retreat”
“Never Knew I Needed” from “The Princess and the Frog”
“New Divide” from “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”
“New Jersey Nights” from “Adventures of Power”
“New York Is Where I Live” from “Did You Hear about the Morgans?”
“No Time for Love” from “Simon & Malou”
“One Day” from “Post Grad”
“Only You” from “The Young Victoria”
“Other Father Song” from “Coraline”
“Petey’s Song” from “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
“Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea” from “Ponyo”“
Possibility” from “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
“Raining Sunshine” from “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”
“Running Out of Empty (Make Ourselves at Home)” from “Lymelife”
“Smoke without Fire” from “An Education”
“Somebody Else” from “Crazy Heart”
“Stu’s Song” from “The Hangover”
“Take It All” from “Nine”
“Through the Trees” from “Jennifer’s Body”
“Trust Me” from “The Informant!”
“Un Bouquet des Violettes” from “New York, I Love You”
“We Are the Children of the World” from “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“We Love Violence” from “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus”
“The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)” from “Crazy Heart”
“When You Find Me” from “Adam”
“Winter” from “Brothers”
“The Word Is Love” from “Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!”
“You Got Me Wrapped around Your Little Finger” from “An Education”
“You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” from “Hannah Montana The Movie”
“You’ve Been a Friend to Me” from “Old Dogs”

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Teen music star Taylor Swift may be taking on the role of Supergirl in the near future.

Talk has Taylor tipper to play the comic book superheroine in a remake of the 1984 movie, which starred Helen Slater.

Supergirl, alias Kara Zor-El, was introduced as a DC Comics character in 1959. In the original movie, Kara leaves the Kryptonian city of Argo to pursue the lost Omegahedron — without which her city will die — to Earth.  Once there she must battle the villainess, Selena, played by Faye Dunaway. It was a critical and box office failure.

But everything Taylor Swift touches these days turns to gold so perhaps her star power could make the film a success.

According to Hollyscoop.com, an industry insider said, “Hollywood is short of female heroes and the time is right for a new Supergirl. A number of young stars are being mentioned for the title role in a Supergirl movie and possible TV spin-off and Taylor is top of that list. She has all the right elements to be a positive role model to young girls.”

Swift appeared this year in an episode of ‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’ and makes her real feature film debut as part of the ensemble cast of the romantic comedy ‘Valentine’s Day,’ which opens in February.

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Johnny Depp felt “privileged” to replace Heath Ledger in Terry Gilliam’s ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ and describes the late star as a “thundering and ungovernable talent.”

Ledger was midway through making the movie in January 2008, when he died from an accidental drug overdose. Gilliam chose to replace his character in the remaining scenes with three different actors — Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Depp. Depp also starred in Gilliam’s 1998 screen adaptation of the Hunter S. Thompson book, ‘Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas.’

According to Starpulse, Depp told Moviefone he was honoured to share the screen with an actor he admired.

He said, “Though the circumstances of my involvement are extremely heartrending and unbelievably sad, I feel privileged to have been asked aboard to stand in on behalf of dear Heath…

“He was the only player out there breathing heavy down the back of every established actor’s neck with a thundering and ungovernable talent that came up on you quick, hissing rather mischievously with that cheeky grin, ‘Hey… get on out of my way boys, I’m coming through!’ And does he ever!”

Ledger’s death was not the only ill fortune to befall the cast and crew of the movie. Producer William Vince died a few months after the actor, and Gilliam himself was hit by a car and broke his back. Gilliam told the Los Angeles Times, “They were going for the trinity. That would have been a tidy end to the whole thing. But they didn’t kill me. I’m stuck here to tell the tale.”

‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’ opens in Canada on Christmas day.

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The 1990 comedy film, ‘The Freshman,’ is set to be adapted as a television series.

The Hollywood reporter says USA Network and Sony TV are eyeing a show based on the movie, which starred Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando. Andrew Bergman, who wrote and directed the movie (and was a co-writer on ‘Blazing Saddles), is reportedly on board to pen the series adaptation. He is also executive producing.

The film centered on Clark Kellogg, an NYU freshman, played by Broderick, who unwittingly becomes an errand boy for a Mafia boss played, of course, by Brando. Brando parodies his portrayal of ‘The Godfather’ mafia boss Don Corleone with the character of Carmine Sabatini. Carmine’s business is the sale of endangered species as specialty food items. At one point in the film, Kellogg is required to transport a Komodo dragon.

Sony TV has been rifling through its vault recently and, in addition to ‘The Freshman,’ the studio has set up remake plans for both the cult classic feature ‘Heathers’ and the Brat Pack flick, ‘St. Elmo’s Fire.’

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Must be nice to be Taylor Lautner right now.

Variety says Summit Entertainment and producers Temple Hill are crafting an action vehicle just for the ‘Twilight’ star. The trade magazine says Summit has acquired an untitled script that is best described as a teen-aged “‘Taken’ meets ‘Die Hard.’”

Taylor’s father, Dan Lautner, plans to produce with Temple Hill partners Wyck Godfrey and Marty Bowen. The project will be ht first for the father/son team and their Tailor Made Entertainment production company, which they formed to develop film and TV vehicles.

Variety says the story follows a teen who goes to college after an injury sidelines his plans to be an elite soldier. He joins a group on a spring break trip to Cancun, where his traveling partners are kidnapped and ransomed for the freedom of a drug cartel leader about to be extradited. The college student calls upon his warrior skills to rescue them.
Apparently the project grew out of Lautner’s desire to do a film in the genre of ‘Taken,’ the 2008 action flick, which stars Liam Neeson as Brian Mills, a man on a mission to rescue his kidnapped teenaged daughter.

The project offers Lautner, a now17-year-old former karate champ, the opportunity to use his physical skills as well as the hard-earned brawn he acquired to portray the buff werewolf Jacob Black in ‘New Moon.’

Wyck Godfrey reportedly said, “We wanted to continue working with Taylor and feel he’s got the chops to become a big action star.”

It was also recently reported that Lautner had become attached to Paramount’s ‘Max Steel,’ which would bring the animated teen action hero and Mattel Toy Max Steel to life. But this other project may come first.

Meanwhile, Lautner will reprise his role of Jacob in ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn’ in late 2010.