The fourth installment of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible franchise already has a star (Cruise) a producer (J.J. Abrams) and even a release date (May 27, 2011.) So what is it missing? Well for starters, a director.

Rumours have circled for months about who might get the call, but one name that has cropped up recently is raising eyebrows around Tinseltown. The Hollywood Reporter says Brad Bird, one of the world’s great animation directors is apparently as interested in the project as the project is in him.

Bird, who directed The Iron Giant for Warner Bros. and The Incredibles and Ratatouille for Pixar — both of which won Best Animated Feature Oscars – has never before made a live-action film. Even so, Cruise and Abrams are reportedly very interested in what Bird, whose films are known for their kinetic action scenes and hilarious dialogue, could bring to the Mission Impossible series.

Other directors being considered include Zombieland’s Ruben Fleischer and Edgar Wright of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead fame.

Based on the 1960s TV series of the same name, each of the Mission Impossible films have thus far been smash hits. Work on the fourth installment had been underway for some time with Abrams developing story ideas. That work intensified when Cruise announced in February that stepping back into Ethan Hunt’s shoes for MI:4 would be his next project.

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Riding high off the box office and critical success of Tim Burton’s re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland, Disney is now looking to develop another live-action film with a new take on a classic character.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that screenwriter Linda Woolverton, who penned the new Alice, has been tapped to write a script for Maleficent, based on one of Disney’s greatest villains. Tim Burton, the eccentric director who has become something of a favourite around The House of Mouse may even get on board to direct.

Maleficent, the “Mistress of All Evil,” is the lithe, green-skinned antagonist of beloved princess Sleeping Beauty. Capable of all sorts of awful things, including turning into a giant, terrifying dragon, Maleficent has remained a fan favourite for decades.

Though Disney has refused to comment on rumours, reports say that Woolverton’s take on the story will be a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale, told from the Evil Queen’s point of view. So, essentially, Wicked, but with less flying monkeys.

Burton is said to be considering a number of future projects and has not yet signed on to develop the film. Among the projects he’s considering are a 3D animation of The Addams Family and a new take on the ’60s gothic soap Dark Shadows. His next movie, just getting into production now, will be a full-length take on Frankenweenie, his infamous early short turned cult classic.

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Few celebrities today have the sort of rabid following enjoyed by 23-year old Twilight star Robert Pattinson. But as much as his fans may love him, evidence continues to mount that the feeling may not be mutual.

Fans have been swarming around the star in frenzies reminiscent of Beatlemania since the first Twilight film was released. Last year, while filming Remember Me in New York, he was reportedly mobbed every day on set, at one point chased across the street and clipped by a taxi. The stress was said to be taking a toll on his wellbeing.

R-Pattz, as he’s known among the faithful, has long been candid about his discomfort with the trappings of fame, and has expressed his fear of the mob. Contact Music recently quoted him as saying, “People ask me to bite them and want to touch my hair. I just don’t want someone to have a needle and give me HIV and I don’t want to get shot or stabbed.”

Now it seems that Edward Cullen’s alter-ego has yet another concern: that the shouting and screaming of his young fans might be causing damage to his hearing. “I’m almost completely deaf anyway. So I’m worried. I’m very worried.”

Life is tough for the young Hollywood heartthrob, currently said to be dating fellow Twilight star Kristen Stewart. If it’s not the screaming fans troubling him, it’s the confusion caused by his own popularity. Asked about being dubbed People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive in 2009, Pattinson shrugged off the title.

“I don’t feel that I’m sexy at all. I don’t feel connected to that kind of talk. People say it but I’ve never thought like that,” he told The Sun. “It’s funny because even the girls that think like that, if you talk to one of them for five minutes the illusion is gone.”

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Kevin Smith, a man known recently for his Twitter tirades as much as for his films, will be following up Cop Out with something new for the funny man – a horror flick.

Despite being almost a dozen films into his career, Smith has never made a film that wasn’t some variation on a comedy. Red State, which the director says will begin shooting in the summer, will mark the first time Smith has stretched his talents into another genre.

According to Empire Online, the story, which Smith has described as “so bleak that it makes The Dark Knight look like Strawberry Shortcake,” will focus on a character based at least somewhat on controversial American figure Fred Phelps. Phelps is the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church notorious for anti-gay protests and claims that natural disasters and terrorist attacks are God’s punishment for a society that tolerates homosexuality. Phelps has been known to use the funerals of dead American soldiers as platforms to stage these protests.

Smith has reportedly said that Red State will take a close look at the social and political issues of our times, while also being “horrifying and scary.”

It’s a project near and dear to the director’s heart, as it’s taken him almost three years to find financing for what is likely, in true Smith style, to be a very controversial film. No word yet on casting.

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There are few young actresses in Hollywood these days whose stars are rising as quickly as Emma Stone’s. Now, according to Entertainment Weekly, Dreamworks has confirmed that the actress is in talks to take on one of the lead roles in their adaptation of the best-seller The Help.

After capturing audiences’ attention as the object of Jonah Hill’s affection in Superbad, Stone followed-up with an audacious turn in last year’s Zombieland cementing her reputation as one of the spunkiest young actresses of her generation.

Dreamworks is working quickly to move into production on The Help, which is being adapted from Kathryn Stockett’s controversial novel. The story concerns a young white woman, Skeeter Phelan, living in Mississippi in the early 1960s. Her decision to interview a local black maid about the difficulties of her life creates a series of repercussions that shake up the small town in which both women live. Stone, should she sign on, would play Skeeter.

The script for the film has already been written by Tate Taylor, a childhood friend of Stockett’s. Taylor is also on board to direct the film.

Stone is in high demand these days as rumours continue to swirl that she’ll be joining the cast of Steve Carell’s new comedy Crazy, Stupid Love. She’ll next be seen on the big screen in Marmaduke, a comedy based on the comic strip. The giant dog will be voiced by Owen Wilson.

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There was a time when every kid in every schoolyard could sing the opening theme of the old Popeye cartoon. Now the question is whether or not the old sailor has what it takes to capture the attention of a younger generation.

The crusty old fist-swinging rascal is plotting a comeback in the most modern of ways: via 3D CGI animation. Producer Avi Arad and Sony Pictures Animation are behind the relaunch of the venerable character while former Variety writer Mike Jones is at work on the script.

“I’m an unabashed, lifelong Popeye fan,” Jones told Variety. “Introducing this squinty-eyed sailor to a new generation also means reintroducing him to those who, like me, grew up with him.”

The famous spinach eater first appeared in newspapers back in 1929, drawn by his creator E.C. Segar. He made his small screen debut in a series of cartoons produced by legendary Fleischer Studios throughout the 1930s.

In 1980, Robert Altman directed Robin Williams in the role in a picture that bombed at the time but has since been revived as a cult classic. Arad says the new film “Will cover the themes of friendship, love, greed and life, and focus on human strengths and human frailties” which sounds fine and all, so long as Popeye opens up a big ol’ can of spinach on Bluto at least a couple times.

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Legendary film and television producer Garry Marshall has revealed that Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx is writing the script for Marshall’s planned big-screen remake of Laverne & Shirley.

Foxx and Marshall have been developing the idea since working together on Marshall’s rom-com hit Valentine’s Day. During shooting, Foxx noted a chemistry between co-stars Jessica Alba and Jennifer Garner. In February, Perez Hilton reported Foxx saying “They were doing stuff off-screen that reminded me of Laverne & Shirley. They had some energy and I mentioned that to Garry Marshall.”

According to TV Guide, Marshall has now announced that plans to bring the idea forward are moving right ahead with Foxx at the writer’s desk. “Jamie and I are trying to do it,” Marshall said. “He’s writing it. It’s a whole different modern day take on how they came up on the streets during difficult times. Laverne would be this very tough girl with a big ‘L’ tattooed on her arm.” Marshall says Garner will play the brash Laverne, while Alba will take on the role of the quieter Shirley.

The original Laverne & Shirley was a Happy Days spin-off that ran on ABC for eight seasons, eventually spawning an animated spin-off of its own. The show starred Cindy Williams and Marshall’s sister Penny as a pair of roommates working in a brewery in the 1950s.

For Foxx, the script would mark the first time the former stand-up has written for the screen. A Best Actor winner for his performance in Ray, Foxx has proven his ability to wear different hats. He has recorded four albums and had a smash hit last year with the R&B single Blame It.

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After suffering the sting of rejection when The Love Guru bombed at the box office, Mike Myers is returning to familiar territory. Director Jay Roach told MTV that Myers is currently at work prepping a fourth installment of his beloved Austin Powers franchise.

While being honoured as “Comedy Director of the Decade” at industry convention ShoWest in Las Vegas, Roach – who has helmed all three Powers films – said Myers is busy crafting story ideas for the film.

“[Mike is] working on ideas for it, people are definitely talking about it and I’m all good for it,” Roach told MTV. “I love those characters.” In the late 90s, Powers became the most quoted fictional character this side of Homer Simpson as his trademark catchphrase “Yeah, baby!” crossed almost everyone’s lips.

With the first three films of the series — Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember — Myer’s buck-toothed, swinging spy rang up box office receipts totalling over $676 million worldwide. Numbers that must look pretty attractive following audiences utter rejection of 2008’s Guru.

Also a critical disaster, Guru won three Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Film, Worst Screenplay and Worst Actor.

Aside from the Powers movies, Jay Roach also directed the first two films in the Meet the Parents franchise (the upcoming third will be helmed by Paul Weitz). Roach’s next project to hit screens will be Dinner For Schmucks on July 23.

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Anyone who’s ever tried to throw a dinner party but been unable to get their friends to agree on a date can relate to Will Ferrell’s woes trying to put together a sequel to Anchorman:The Legend of Ron Burgundy.

The 2004 original starred Ferrell alongside Paul Rudd and Steve Carell – two men whose stars have sky-rocketed in the six years since. Efforts to get the band back together have proven so difficult Ferrell told Zoo magazine that plans for the sequel are now on hold.

“I thought we were doing it,” Ferrell said. “I was told it was happening and now I’ve heard it’s going to be too hard to get everyone together.”

The first film told the hilarious story of Burgundy — a 1970s-era newsman with a crippling reliance on Teleprompters — who bristles when presented with his new partner, a woman (unheard of at the anchor desk!), played by Christina Applegate. A ribald send-up of the disco decade, the picture was a smash hit that introduced the catchphrases “I’m kind of a big deal” and “Stay classy San Diego.”

Despite the delay, Ferrell says not to write off Anchorman 2 completely. “If they’re going to pay us to do it, then why not, right?”

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When Wes Craven’s Scream was unleashed on an unsuspecting public back in 1996 the film scored high as a send up of horror movie conventions and helped launch a generation of genre spoofs. Now Craven is bringing the franchise back for a fourth installment.

Dimension Films has announced that Scream 4 will be stabbing…er…shooting this spring. Series original Neve Campbell will return as Sidney Prescott – the young woman constantly on the run from a knife-wielding maniac – while David Arquette and Courteney Cox will also return to their now somewhat iconic roles. Craven himself will be back in the director’s seat. The veteran cast will be joined by new talent, says the press release, posted on MovieHole.net.

Original Scream scribe and Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson has already written a script, but the story is being kept under wraps. In the press release, Craven said “” Working with Courteney, David and Neve was a blast ten years ago and I’m sure it will be again. And I can’t wait to find the talent that will bring new blood to the screen as well. Kevin is right on his game with the new script – the characters and story crackle with energy and originality – to say nothing of some of the most hair-raising scares I’ve seen in a script since… well, since the original Scream series. Let me at it.”

The three previous films in the series have generated over $500 million at the box office. Scream 4 is expected to hit theatres on April 15, 2011.