Strike one big name off from the incredible ensemble director Tyler Perry has been putting together for his next feature. People.com reports that singer-actress Mariah Carey has dropped out of her role in Perry’s upcoming For Colored Girls…

Carey, who earned accolades for her role as a social worker in Lee Daniels’ Precious, was set to star alongside Janet Jackson, but has left the project for undisclosed medical reasons. Cindi Berger, Carey’s rep, wouldn’t say why the star was out at the time, only that “I’m not at liberty to discuss her personal life at this time.”

She later told US Magazine, “”She is not doing the movie because her doctor advised her not to. More than that I cannot comment further.”

Hmmm. The news has already led to speculation on MTV.com that Carey may be pregnant. The We Belong Together singer married comedian Nick Cannon two years ago.

The news is disappointing to fans who were excited to see Carey’s name on the roster of talent Perry is assembling for the film, an adaptation of Ntozake Shange’s 1975 play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf. Along with Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, Phylicia Rashad, Jurnee Smollett, Kimberly Elise, Kerry Washington and a number of other actresses are already committed to the film.

Still set to shoot later this summer, For Colored Girls… has an expected release date of either late 2010 or early 2011.

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The endless speculation about who will next don the webslinger costume continues.

Jamie Bell first captured the hearts of moviegoers with his stunning performance as Billy Elliot – the boy who loved to dance. Now, if rumours are true, he may soon be capturing villains as the new Spider-Man.

The three Spider-Man blockbusters of the past decade have all starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker and his web-swinging alter-ego. But when everyone’s favourite wall-crawler swings back in front of the camera later this year, someone else will be under the mask.

Now the big question is who?

Marvel Studios announced months ago that the fourth Spider-Man film will go back in time to find Parker back in high school and at the very beginning of his crime-fighting career. The 34 year-old Maguire is obviously much to old to play that role effectively, which has left director Marc Webb with the job of casting a new Spidey.

Webb, who directed (500) Days of Summer and is taking over for previous helmer Sam Raimi, has said that he isn’t interested in casting a famous name for the part and would rather cast a relative unknown.

Rumours have been swirling around Tinsel Town about who may or may not be in line for the part, but now the Hollywood Reporter has uncovered a short list of the actors being considered.

At the top of that list is Bell. The 24 year-old has been steadily building an impressive resume over the years, including starring in the upcoming Peter Jackson/Steven Spielberg collaboration The Adventures of Tintin.

But he’s not the only name being considered. Alden Ehrenreich, Frank Dillane, Andre Garfield and Josh Hutcherson – none of whom have very deep resumes – are all being looked at for the role.

For their part, Columbia – the studio teaming with Marvel on the project – is keeping quiet about the casting process. “There have been a number of names floated online and almost every week someone calls with a new rumour,” said a spokesperson. “We are not commenting on the casting process or rumours such as these.”

Thirty-two years after the release of the original movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John, for lovers of movie musicals, Grease is still the word. Now Paramount hopes to bring all those Greasers back for some more hot Summer Nights, this time filled with singing.
In a throwback to the days when neighbourhoods would gather in the park for group sing-a-longs, Paramount is re-releasing the classic film to theatres this summer with one major change: the lyrics to every song will be printed onscreen, allowing audiences to sing along to all their favourites.

The idea has been tried before with great success, but this effort marks the first time the studio will be extending the concept beyond rep houses in trendy cities. For a two-week run Paramount is offering the film to any city that demands it, as they did to spark interest last year in the horror flick Paranormal Activity.

Fans who want to make sure the Grease Sing-A-Long (branded this time around as “The Original High School Musical”) comes to their town need to head to www.greasemovie.com to make their feelings known.

In its first run back in 1978, Grease was the top grossing film of the year. The story of star-crossed teenage lovers, the film catapulted the careers of both Travolta and Newton-John and remains a cult favourite today.

Troubled former child star Lindsay Lohan was back in court on Monday, facing the judge after failing to appear for a mandatory hearing last week. Judge Marsha Revel laid down the law and set up a number of terms and conditions that the actress must meet if she doesn’t want to end up in the slammer.

When LiLo’s lawyer pointed out that some of the terms and conditions – namely the ones that force her to wear an ankle bracelet and attend weekly alcohol education classes – would prevent her from traveling to Texas to shoot a film, heads in Hollywood turned. What film?

Initial speculation suggested the objection was merely a ploy by Lohan’s defence team, but it turns out that Lindsay is actually hoping to make a film in the Lone Star state with country music hero Willie Nelson.

Nelson, it seems, has teamed with actor/buddy Kerry Wallum to form a production company far from the sunny hills of Hollywood, California. The pair plan to produce three to five movies a year, each with a budget of about $3 million bucks.

Wallum told the World Entertainment News Network that for the first of these low-budget indies, The Dry Gulch Kid, he hopes to feature the embattled Mean Girls star. “We are in negotiations with Lindsay and look forward to possibly working with her,” he says. “The Dry Gulch Kid is a really good story and the film will feature myself, Willie Nelson and a host of other well-known names.”

A warrant for Lohan’s arrest was issued last Thursday after the actress skipped the initial hearing. The new conditions for her freedom set down by Revel will keep her in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future as the judge was unsympathetic to the defense team’s objections.

In addition to the ankle bracelet and alcohol education classes Lohan must also subject herself to random drug tests if she wishes to remain free on bail and not end up in the big house.

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Rapper 50 Cent has always been serious about making the transition from musician to serious actor. Now the 34 year-old has proven his commitment to the craft by shedding an incredible 54 pounds for a new role.

50, real name Curtis Jackson, underwent the weight loss for his part in the upcoming cancer-drama Things Fall Apart. Prior to filming, the Get Rich or Die Tryin’ star weighed in at a hefty 214 pounds. For his performance, 50 dropped to a skinny 160.

Jackson revealed to US Weekly that to achieve the weight loss he spent nine long months on a liquid diet and spent at least three-hours a day on a treadmill. A regimen that would challenge even the most disciplined athlete. “I was starving,” Jackson says.

It’s not unheard of in Hollywood to undergo such a dramatic change for the sake of a part. Christian Bale and Tom Hanks are two actors who have lost tremendous amounts of weight for their roles. Bale for The Machinist and then again for Rescue Dawn and Hanks for his role as a hungry man on an island in Castaway.

Conversely, Robert De Niro and Jared Leto both bulked up for parts – De Niro to play the aged Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull and Leto to play Lennon assassin Mark David Chapman in Chapter 27.

50 Cent is already out on tour and reportedly back to being closer to his old weight. “I’ve been eating,” he tells the magazine. “I’ll be back in shape in no time.”

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(We apologize for the headline error! But won’t change it now as the comments thread is well underway!)

News about Kung-Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom continues to emerge faster than Lindsay Lohan on a beer run! Faster than a hacker breaking into your facebook account! Faster than Simon Cowell on his way out the Idol exit! (Sorry Lindsay. We admit that was in poor taste)

First we reported that eccentric auteur filmmaker Charlie Kaufman had been hired to do a polish on the script for the sequel to the animated Jack Black smash. Next it was revealed that revered British actor Gary Oldman was joining Black and a returning Dustin Hoffman on the project.

Now ComingSoon.net reports that one of the greatest action stars of all time has signed on to join the cast. Jean-Claude Van Damme, the star of such brutal cinematic wonders as Bloodsport, Universal Soldier, Hard Target and Timecop will lend his voice to the role of Master Croc.

While we can’t confirm that the character is a crocodile, that’s what we’d put our money on.

Kaboom of Doom is of course the follow up to the 2008 smash hit about a karate-chopping panda named Po. Producer Melissa Cobb says that in the sequel, “Po goes on an amazing personal journey and we are thrilled to have assembled such a talented and well-respected group of actors to bring to life our new characters, who – alongside our returning cast – play such a critical role in Po’s quest and his ultimate triumph over the forces of evil.”

After winning back audiences with a sympathetic portrayal of himself in the genuinely excellent JCVD, Van Damme was reportedly offered a role in the new Sly Stallone film The Expendables, but the Muscles from Brussels turned it down.

Tim Burton’s 3D Disney extravaganza Alice in Wonderland will finally get its Blu-Ray and DVD release next week, but not before setting a record for the highest grossing spring fling of all time.

The Hollywood Reporter has done the math and reports that Alice will become only the sixth film ever to make more than one billion dollars at the worldwide box office.

The family-friendly adventure fantasy debuted in theatres back in March and has since become the biggest film of the year – and one of the biggest grossers of all time.  $332 million has been spent on tickets to see the flick in the US, with another $667 million spent around the world.

It’s Disney’s second biggest tally ever, just behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, whose pirates stole $1.07 billion globally back in 2006.

Disney’s vice president of international distribution says the success demonstrates that the movie business is changing. “It’s an amazing result,” said David Kornblum. “Alice in Wonderland has reinvented the culture of cinema-going in a big way.”

“This was a truly unique result, given the time period, and validates that the movie business is a 52-week business.”

The other five films to ring up a billion box office bucks? Avatar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Dead Man’s Chest and The Dark Knight. Each of those films debuted either during the holidays or the summer, so Alice is the first spring release to break the $billion mark.

After spending the past couple of months carefully avoiding both the public and the paparazzi, Oscar winner and scorned woman Sandra Bullock will reportedly make her return to the spotlight next month at the annual MTV Movie Awards.

Ever since word first broke of the infidelities committed by her husband, noted TV mechanic Jesse James, Bullock has shied away from the cameras. Coming right on the heels of her Academy Awards triumph for her performance in The Blind Side, the gossip captured tabloid headlines and has remained a hot topic ever since.

Now E! Online is reporting that Bullock will attend the MTV Movie Awards in June, making the occasion her first return to public life. Bullock is nominated for two awards at this year’s festivities: Best Female Performance for her role in The Blind Side and Best Comedic Performance for her role in the rom-com hit The Proposal.

The announcement comes just a day after her (soon-to-be-ex) husband James made a tearful mea culpa on ABC’s Nightline. Blaming his issues on a childhood he now says was rife with abuse, James told reporter Vicki Mabrey he has nothing but regrets about his behaviour. But, he says, he’s not a sex addict.

“I don’t think I have a sex addiction where I’m running around trying to have sex with everyone and I can’t stop,” James said. “I think I do things to sabotage myself, including having extramarital affairs, texting, over-working myself, injuring myself, doing stunts and stupid things. I do a lot of things in my life that I shouldn’t be doing that aren’t conducive to being a good husband. The affair is just one of them.”

Texting? Really?

The MTV Movie Awards, hosted by Aziz Ansari, will air live from Los Angeles on June 6.

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Quick: Name a film from the 1980s that isn’t being remade, reimagined, revamped , relaunched, or turned into one of those Broadway jukebox musicals. From Karate Kid to Teen Wolf, Footloose to Fright Night, if it was made in the Reagan decade, chances are someone wants to give it another spin.

One Hollywood star who bought a one-way ticket on this bandwagon is the Italian Stallion Sylvester Stallone. Within the past few years the actor has gone back to both the Rocky and Rambo franchises that made him one of the biggest action movie heroes of all time, back in the original days of acid wash.

Now, according to a report from Music Rooms (via Moviehole.net), Stallone wants to return to the ’80s once more. This time to reunite with Kurt Russell for a sequel to their 1989 action-comedy hit Tango & Cash.

The website quotes those ubiquitous “anonymous sources” that seem to skulk around the corner of every studio lot in Hollywood as saying that Stallone is “desperate” to make the sequel happen. “Sly thinks there is still a story to be told with Tango and Cash and the chemistry between the two characters would be even more interesting now they are older,” the source is quoted as saying.

“Sly is still good friends with Kurt and, like Sly, he is interested in making an old-fashioned detective/buddy movie,” the source added. “There’s a very good chance it will happen.”

Anonymous sources have, of course, been right before. But there’s little else to go on in this case beyond the optimism. The original Tango & Cash featured Sly and Kurt as Lt.s Tango and Cash of the LAPD – two good cops forced to clear their names after being framed for murder.

Well that didn’t take long. Less than a week after it was announced that Megan Fox wouldn’t be reprising her role in the third Transformers film, director Michael Bay has apparently settled on a replacement.

British model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (has there ever been a more British name?) will be clasping hands with Shia LaBeouf while dodging laser blasts and the giant mechanical feet of space robots in Transformers 3 according to a report from Deadline Hollywood.

The website first reported that Huntington-Whiteley was on a very short list for the part, along with actress Sarah Wright and model Brooklyn Decker. Deadline later updated the report to say that Bay has apparently made his decision and, so long as a contract can be agreed upon, Huntington-Whiteley has the gig.

Production has already begun on the third Transformers epic, but Huntington-Whiteley won’t begin shooting with LaBeouf for a couple of weeks (presumably so that the robots can shoot their close-ups first.) The IMDB suggests that the model’s only acting experience has come from stints on the various Victoria’s Secret Fashion Shows where she worked with Bay.

In the meantime, Fox, who was either kicked to the curb by Bay or decided to no longer work for a tyrant – depending on who you believe – has been gathering support in some circles. Feminist blog Jezebel ran a report yesterday suggesting that Bay’s treatment of Fox – and female actresses in general – is evidence of the sexism in Hollywood.

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