Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy, Robert Pattinson, Garrett Hedlund, Chris Pine, Michael Fassbender -- all wanted for "Akira"

After adapting "Book of Eli" to the big screen, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are currently developing to make movie version of Katsuhiro Otomo's 6 volume graphic novel "Akira". Albert Hughes has been appointed to direct it, while Steve Kloves (who wrote ALL of "Harry Potter" movie franchise and currently "The Amazing Spider-Man") writes the screenplay. Now thanks to Deadline, the list of actors that are 'wanted' to star in the movie version is revealed.

There are two main characters based on the graphic novel: Tetsuo and Kaneda. For the Tetsuo role, studio has given the script to the British talents Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, and James McAvoy; while for Kaneda, the script has been sent to Garret Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake, and Joaquin Phoenix. The story takes place in New Manhattan where a leader of a biker gang saves his friend from a medical experiment. Seems like the two leading characters will be likely played by an actor from each group. Hmmm, it's interesting!

So, since I haven't even read the graphic novel, I think I'm a bit biased on this. Of course I'm going to support Garfield or McAvoy for Tetsuo, and Hedlund or Pine for Kaneda. Steve Kloves has been working with Garfield for "The Amazing Spider-Man", so I think his involvement is somewhat beneficial for Garfield. But if the studio had to choose based on each actor's fame to 'blow up' the buzz of this adaptation, then maybe they'll take Pattinson and Timberlake more for consideration.

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C. Thomas Howell confirms that the 'Lizard' is the main villain in "The Amazing Spider-Man"

Face it Tiger... You got Lizard as your enemy! As the media is buzzing about which villain is going to be beaten up by Peter Parker in "The Amazing Spider-Man", C. Thomas Howell has finally confirmed that Dr. Curt Connors, Peter's lecturer himself, aka The Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans) will be the one. Howell explains about the character he plays as well, which is rather small but has a strong relevance to Spider-Man.

Here's what Howell said on The Retroradio, "There is not a whole lot to talk about. Sony wants us to be hush-hush right now. I play a relatively small role. I play a construction worker who's son is caught in the middle of a battle between the Lizard and Spider-Man on the Manhattan bridge. Spider-Man helps me get my son back from this perilous situation. There is some payback there at the end of the movie. Spider-man is kind of hurting. I help him when all of the other people won't. Part of the story is, the nation thinks he might be a bad guy. They don't know what to think. Because of my experience on the bridge with my kid, I know he is a good guy. I pitch in and help out at the end. That is the best way,".

Well if the Lizard is the enemy then does it mean that Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) won't be dead yet? But recalling from Howell's explanation about the fight on the Manhattan Bridge, maybe it will differ from the original comic book story that Gwen was killed by the Green Goblin (still hoping so!). I just have to say this because I'm more of a Peter & Mary Jane shipper -- they are the real true love! Speaking of Mary Jane Watson, I'm still locking my choice Evan Rachel Wood to play the role. Just dye her hair red and give her green contact lenses then you'll have the Mary Jane Watson! I'm pretty much sure that she and Andrew Garfield, the Spider-Man, will have a great chemistry. Afterall, both are highly acclaimed actors and will make the famous love story even edgier. At least that's what I think.

"The Amazing Spider-Man" comes to theatre in 3D on July 3, 2012.

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Andrew Garfield to star in "The Robber"?

The uber-talented British actor Andrew Garfield is rumored to star in "The Robber", a crime drama adapted from the Germany film with the same title. However this news hasn't been confirmed yet, but as a Garfield fan I personally hope that this will turn out to be true!

Laura Ziskin, one of the producers of Garfield's in-the-work biggest project yet (as he had been always involved in small-budget indie films), "The Amazing Spider-Man" is apparently also behind "The Robber" movie. So if Garfield is actually involved in this project then this could be true (and I hope the official announcement will be released soon!).

"The Robber" is a movie based on a true story about bank robber Johann Rettenberger, a marathon runner who robs a bank for sport. The original Germany movie was released in 2010, with Andreas Lust as Johann. If the Garfield rumor is true then Garfield will play Johann in the English version. The original movie received decent reception, and was directed by Benjamin Heisenberg.

This movie is more drama than action like most bank robbery themed movies. And it's a good thing because Garfield was involved in this kind of project before, "Boy A" (2007) and "The Red Riding" (2009) trilogy, in which he received 2008 BAFTA Best Actor in the first and highly praised in both.

Garfield is currently filming "The Amazing Spider-Man", which to be released in July 3, 2012. He's also joining a book-to-screen adaptation "Back Roads" alongside Jennifer Garner and Marcia Gay Haden, which likely will start to shoot after "The Amazing Spider-Man" finishes filming.

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Spidey gets a title "The Amazing Spider-Man"

To be honest, this was the first news I found when I browsed the internet earlier this morning. WHAT A GREAT ONE! Marc Webb-directed "Spider-Man" movie is officially titled "The Amazing Spider-Man", where we will see Andrew Garfield as the new Peter Parker/ the web slinger. Sony Pictures released a press statement regarding to this, with a pretty great bonus of a new Spidey still.


The movie also launched a new official website in http://www.theamazingspiderman-movie.com, and I proudly have signed up to their newsletters. I really don't want to miss any updates of this soon-to-be-amazing movie.

The Spidey will hit theaters in July 3, 2012 in 3D.

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The Hottest Stars are on the Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue cover

Vanity Fair's March Hollywood Issue cover: too hot to be true!

You might have seen the super hot cover of Vanity Fair's next month Hollywood Issue, which I really like! All of the people on the covers are my favorites, and I'm so happy that they have received such amazing reception last year, and will shine on again this year. Let's check out each actor's achievement and upcoming projects from left to right (special extended introduction for the four main actors on the cover)!

Ryan Reynolds. Named as Sexiest Man Alive by People Magazine last year, he's also probably an actor with the sexiest career. Movie goers started to recognize him more since 2009, where he appeared in four famous hits, from an indie feature "Adventureland", the summer blockbuster "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" where he played one of the X-heroes Deadpool, a romantic-comedy "The Proposal" alongside Sandra Bullock, and a critically-acclaimed indie drama "Paper Man". In 2010 he appeared in a thrilling movie "Buried", in which he had to deal with claustrophobic death trap while he is buried alive inside a coffin. He was cast as one of the most famous DC Comics character Green Lantern which will come out this summer, and a comedy "The Change Up" with Jason Bateman. He is currently signed for four projects, "RIPD", "The Croods", "Most Wanted", and "Safe House", and announced to star in X-Men's spin-off about "Deadpool" in 2012. Way to go, Ryan!

Jake Gyllenhaal. The Academy Award nominated actor (thanks to "Brokeback Mountain") was up for Golden Globe Awards earlier this year for his role in "Love and Other Drugs" (which eventually went to Paul Giamatti in "Barney's Vision"). He appeared in last year's summer blockbuster "Prince of Persia" as the iconic hero Prince Dastan. The Maggie Gyllenhaal's younger brother won't stop pleasing his loyal audience, by starring in upcoming sci-fi thriller "Source Code", alongside Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan, and later a comedy titled "Nailed" with Jessica Biel, James Marsden, and Catherine Keener. Ever since he starred in the mystery "Donnie Darko", his career never stop climbing. "The Day After Tomorrow", "Jarhead", and "Zodiac" in which he starred as the leading role were all hits. He was back then rumored to replace Tobey Maguire for "Spider-Man", and although it didn't happen, he and Tobey starred in 2009's drama "Brothers" (as brothers, of course) with Natalie Portman and it received many positive receptions from movie critics. Looking forward for new Gyllenhaal movies!

Anne Hathaway. For me, she'll always be the "Princess Amelia of Genovia". "Princess Diaries" was the first movie where I caught Anne for the first time, and I liked her immediately. She's likeable, funny, and witty, there's no reason to hate her. From "Bride Wars" to "The Devil Wears Prada", seems like she really fits in playing any role she wants. But she proved that she is also capable in doing dramatic roles, by getting an Academy Award nomination for her role in "Rachel Getting Married". She starred in 'serious' movies like "Havoc" (with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as well — and there was a LOT of nudity, I was kinda shocked that Anne was willing to star in this kind of movie!) and "Brokeback Mountain" (as Jake Gyllenhaal's wife). And just like Gyllenhaal, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for "Love and Other Drugs" in which she starred with Gyllenhaal, again. She is currently signed to play Batman's famous lover/enemy Catwoman in upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises", and she is set to host the Oscars this month with the guy who's on her right...

James Franco. Forget about Harry Osborn the Spider-Man's frienemy, the UCLA attendee has been stepping into the more mature and classier role. Remember his great portrayal of Harvey Milk's gay-lover Scott Smith in "Milk" with Sean Penn? Well yes, I'm talking about a true talent. In 2010 he appeared in five movies; "Date Night", "Howl", a leading role in "William Vincent", "Eat Pray Love", and the movie which made him receive an Oscar nomination this year, "127 Hours". More invasion of James Franco this year, again with five movies; "Your Highness", "Rise of the Apes", "The Broken Tower", "Lovelace", and "The Iceman". Well I don't think the host will win the Oscar (afterall, people are already rooting for Colin Firth in "The King's Speech"), but this is an inevitable achievement for the actor who's currently enrolling as a college student. Watching he and Anne host the Oscar will be lovely!

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List of Screen Actors Guild Awards presenters!

Thanks to Associated Press we now have the full list of Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards) presenters! The show will be held Monday, January 31st. I'm so happy that my favorites are included, Andrew Garfield and Natalie Portman. Check out the list below:

Amy Adams, Annette Bening, Helena Bonham Carter, Jesse Eisenberg, Colin Firth, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Mila Kunis, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Geoffrey Rush, Justin Timberlake, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, Jason Bateman, Jeff Bridges, Rosario Dawson, Josh Duhamel, Jon Hamm, Angie Harmon, Nicole Kidman, Eva Longoria, Cory Monteith, Amy Poehler, Jeremy Renner, Hilary Swank, Sofia Vergara, Betty White and Robin Wright.

Follow SAG Awards' twitter @SAGawards for full coverage of the event.

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"The Social Network" won Best Picture at Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Andrew Garfield at Los Angeles
Film Association Awards event.

Oops, "The Social Network" did it again! The Los Angeles Film Critics Association awarded the Best Picture to the David Fincher's directed movie last night, as well as Best Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin. The Best Director award was given to two tied-winners, David Fincher and Olivier Assayas for "Carlos", which was the runner-up for Best Picture. Another tied-award for "The Social Network" is Best Music Score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross along with Alexandre Displat for "The Ghost Writer".

Colin Firth and Kim Hye-Ja were the Best Actor and Actress respectively, with Edgar Ramirez from "Carlos" and Jennifer Lawrence from "Winter's Bone" as the runner-ups. "Toy Story 3" won Best Animation, while "Inception" won only an award for Best Production Design. Please click here for the full list of LAFCA winners.

After LAFCA Awards ended, the stars were gathered in a Golden Globes afternoon tea in an event held by cooperation of BAFTA/LA. The Golden Globes nominees were having a good time even though they will be contending tomorrow at the award show. From Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner, Nicole Kidman, Diane Warren (composer of "Burlesque"), Jane Lynch, Tom Hooper (director of "The King's Speech"), Vanessa Williams, Ryan Gosling, and Michelle Williams were spotted spending a nice time together.

"The King's Speech" director Tom Hooper with Andrew Garfield at the BAFTA/LA Awards Season Tea at Four Seasons. Both are nominated for Golden Globes Award, aired tomorrow.

Andrew Garfield (hmm, yeah, my favorite), who's nominated as Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes, was spotted with his British actor pal Eddie Redmayne (star of "The Yellow Handkerchief" and "Pillars Of The Earth"). "It's nice being in a room with such inspiring, wonderful people to talk to," Andrew said. He also expressed he couldn't believe that he's been invited to attend such honorable award shows ever since "The Social Network" came out to a blast.

Trust me Andrew, if you keep playing like you did in "The Social Network", "Boy A", and "Never Let Me Go", they will keep inviting and nominating you to those great award shows until you become a grandfather.

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Quote Of The Day: Andrew Garfield

I hope I never blow up. I hope that I have to audition for every single job I want. I hope that I’m always struggling, really. You develop when you’re struggling. When you’re struggling, you get stronger. —Andrew Garfield

Source: DETAILS Magazine

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Critics' Choice Movie Awards: "Inception" and "The Social Network" are the King and Queen!

Cast and crew of "The Social Network", winner of Best Picture.

After the disappointing Best Movie winner selection of People's Choice Awards earlier this month (it went to "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse"—surprise, surprise!), I am so glad that finally the real deal came up in this award season. Critics' Choice Awards which was held in Hollywood Paladium last night, and it truly chose the best of the best winners.

Natalie Portman

"Inception" led the night with 5 awards; Best Action Movie, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, and Best Visual Effects. While "The Social Network" came in behind with 4 awards; Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Score, and the ultimate award Best Picture. Colin Firth and Natalie Portman won Best Actor and Best Actress respectively, while the Best Supporting Actor & Actress went to Christian Bale and Melissa Leo.

"Alice In Wonderland" won Best Costume Design and Best Makeup, "Toy Story 3" is the Best Animated Movie, and "Easy A" won Best Comedy. Matt Damon and Quentin Tarantino both won the Honorary Awards, the John Siegel Award and Music + Film Award respectively.

Christian Bale

What attracts me the most is that it gave an award special to young talents called Best Young Actor/ Actress, which went to Hailee Steinfeld for "True Grit". Chloe G. Moretz was nominated for this award in her two movies "Kick-Ass" and "Let Me In". Her "Let Me In" co-star Kodi Smit-McPhee was also nominated, as well as the "Winter Bone" star Jennifer Lawrence and Dakota Fanning's little sister Elle Fanning in "Somewhere".

This award reminds me that I have to watch "Black Swan", "The Fighter", "True Grit", and "The King's Speech" as soon as possible, because I don't want to miss anymore wonderful movies of 2010. Especially I gotta do this before the Oscars.

Full winners list and acceptance videos are available here on Critics' Choice Awards official site.

Photos from the red carpet are available under the cut. Click Read More! :)

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My Favorite Actors in "W" Magazine's Best Performances of 2010

The year 2010 might not be a blockbuster year like what happened back in 2007 (but "Toy Story 3", "Inception", "Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part I", and even "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" had significant numbers in box office), but it truly had a LOT of new talent discoveries and ground-breaking movies. "W" Magazine listed 20 Best Performances of 2010 and I'm really glad that they included some of my favorite young actors.

Other seniors like Julianne Moore, Helena Bonham-Carter, Javier Bardem, Michael Douglas, and Colin Firth also made the list.

NATALIE PORTMAN IN “BLACK SWAN”

“The movie that I watched the most when I was growing up was Dirty Dancing. I always loved Penny, probably because I was really like Baby. I was a Jewish girl from a Jewish family, so of course I liked the tall, skinny blond girl.”

JESSE EISENBERG IN “THE SOCIAL NETWORK”
“I started acting to be included in a group, because I felt excluded in school. The final product was out of my control, so it didn’t really matter to me. I just liked being in a group of people that didn’t kick my shin.”


JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE & ANDREW GARFIELD IN “THE SOCIAL NETWORK”
“What if Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker suffered from the same insecurity and fear and paranoia? Mark dealt with those feelings by inventing Facebook. And my character, Sean Parker, invented Sean Parker. He created his own persona.”—Justin Timberlake

“I found The Goonies very inspiring. I identified with every character: Mikey, the leader; Mouth, the trickster; Data, the inventor; and Chunk, this lovely, beautiful, sad, misunderstood, slightly larger kid. The Goonies is boys needing to be boys on their path to manhood. It’s a classic.”—Andrew Garfield


JONAH HILL IN “CYRUS”
“I connect most with things that are uncomfortable and heartbreaking. And I think comedy is very uncomfortable and heartbreaking. Discomfort is extremely amusing to me.”


DAKOTA FANNING IN “THE RUNAWAYS”
“It was important for me to go to a normal high school. I have a locker, which was a big deal. My mom had to buy me a lock and teach me how to use it. It’s the little things: Where do you go at lunch? How do you open the locker? I wanted a yearbook! Now I have a lot of signatures in my yearbook—‘Have a good summer’ and all that.”


MILA KUNIS IN “BLACK SWAN”
“Before Black Swan, I had never danced in my life, and I will never dance again. I lost 20 pounds in three months, danced five hours a day, for seven days a week. I tore a ligament. I dislocated my shoulder. I have two scars on my back. It was worth every minute, but I will never put on toe shoes again.”


ELLE FANNING IN “SOMEWHERE”
“The first movie I really fell in love with was The Seven Year Itch. I love Marilyn Monroe. I went as her in the white dress for Halloween. I did the mole and the little cat eye.”

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Movie Review: "I'm Here"

I just watched Spike Jonze's short-movie titled "I'm Here". No words can describe my feelings, it was simply beautiful! The 30 minutes movie tells about a love story between two robots named Sheldon (Andrew Garfield) and Francesca (Sienna Guillory).

Sheldon is described as a lonely boy with a plainly boring life. He spends his every day life working at the library, riding a bus because he can't drive. One day when he's standing at the bus station, he sees Francesca for the first time, who's driving her car miserably but seems like she's having so much fun. They meet again the next day at the same place, but this time Francesca isn't alone. She's with three friends who invite Sheldon to join them.

While Francesca's friends are having fun, Sheldon takes a walk with Francesca and get to know each other. Francesca attaches some papers in which she drew herself and wrote "I'm Here" on the planks. Francesca falls and injures her knee, but Sheldon repairs it by his own toolkit. Francesca shows him her favorite CD, and Sheldon seems to fascinate her. The next day, they meet again in front of Sheldon's work place and spend more time together. In short, they begin to date.

And this is where the real story begins. I don't want to talk any more details because I'll be spoiling you. So basically, the love story may be familiar for those who loves to watch romance movies (especially the likes of Korean movie themes). It's simply sweet, meaningful, and touchy. But what makes this movie different is the idea of using robots instead of human as the principal characters. The robots themselves are not perfectly formed, their heads are CPU (like Sheldon's), so you can see the CD-Rom and Floppy A drive. But they have a pair of expressive eyes—you can really tell their feelings.

Andrew Garfield as Sheldon

Andrew once again did a good job (in making me cry as well). He totally fits into the character of Sheldon. We can't see his face, but his voice is so vulnerable, and his gesture is so assuring that we can understand what kind of guy Sheldon is. Sienna is also able to portray a cheerful-but-miserable type of girl in the robotic form. This robot couple can complete each other; Francesca brings the fun to Sheldon, while Sheldon brings her the true meaning of loving, that he's willing to sacrifice everything to her. Another cute thing is, that this movie location is Los Angeles, but Andrew and Sienna speak in British accents, which is awesome!

And you may not question Spike Jonze's ability. His movies "Being John Malkovich", "Adaptation.", and "Where The Wild Things Are" are all critically acclaimed. I enjoyed all of them, because Spike seems to emphasize the actors' expressions & the leading characters instead of the screenplay. Hopefully he will make more movies like these!

You can watch "I'm Here" on its official website, or you can see it below.

I'm Here from nappyafro on Vimeo.

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First Official Photo of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man!

This is such an exciting news! The photo of Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man finally unveiled! Check out the photo of him wearing the Spidey suit without the mask. Seems like he just had a huge fight, no? And he still brings his backpack, so cute. I think the costume is slightly darker than the previous movies, and Andrew himself has skinnier and more slender figure than Tobey Maguire. But I really love it.

According to articles I read, the "Spider-Man" reboot will be based on The Ultimate Spider-Man comics, with The Lizard (played by Rhys Ifans) as the enemy. Gwen Stacy (played by Emma Stone) will be featured as Peter's love interest, and there will be no Mary Jane Watson according to reports. It's pretty sad since I personally love Mary Jane more than Gwen, so hopefully in the first reboot they will kill Gwen and bring Mary Jane to the next installment.

Marc Webb was chosen to direct this movie, and to be released in July 3, 2012 also in 3D.

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