It would seem that 2012 is the year of the Hardcore Fairy Tale Film: the rise of popular TV shows “Grimm” and “Once Upon a Time” are setting the stage for films like “Mirror, Mirror,” “Snow White and the Huntsman” and now “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.” “Witch Hunters,” which stars Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner as the sibling duo, will show the characters as grown-ups, having survived the witch that wanted to eat them as children and are now intent on killing all witches they come across. Entertainment Weekly has a full interview with the two at their site (which you can get to by clicking here), but what…

I’d like to bet there’s a gift for everyone in this Movie News Cheat Sheet because this week’s edition is packed with a particularly eclectic selection of material. My favorite industry present? Starship Troopers is set to return! Ender’s Game fans will be happy to know that the incredibly talented Hailee Steinfeld was offered the role of Petra Arkanian in the big screen adaptation while those who hold the Where’s Waldo books near and dear to their hearts will be thrilled to find out that the feature production is moving forward with screenwriter Todd Berger. We’ve also got a nice sized package of first looks including images from Wrath of…

Vanessa Redgrave, Gemma Arterton, Terence Stamp and Christopher Eccleston have all signed onto star in the upcoming British comedic drama ‘Song for Marion,’ Collider is reporting. The movie, which is set to start filming on July 18, 2011, will be directed by Paul Andrew Williams, who also wrote the screenplay. Steel Mill Pictures and Coolmore Productions are producing ‘Song for Marion,’ which will be shot in North East England, primarily in County Durham. The film, which is set in London, follows a grumpy retired man named Arthur (played by Stamp), who reluctantly joins a highly unconventional local choir after his wife Marion’s (played by Redgrave) urging. Arthur, who’s at odds…

Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan have been cast as the lead mother and daughter vampires in the upcoming film ‘Byzantium,’ The Hollywood Reporter is claiming. The movie will be helmed by Academy Award-winning director Neil Jordan and will be produced by one of his frequent collaborators, Stephen Woolley. Their previous work together includes another vampire-based movie, the blockbuster 1994 film adaptation of ‘Interview with the Vampire.’ ‘Byzantium’ was crafted by screenwriter Moira Buffini, who penned Arterton’s last movie, ‘Tamara Drewe.’ ‘Byzantium,’ which has an estimated budget of $11 million and is set to begin shooting in October, was initially based on a youth play, but Buffini has made the material…

“Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” finally made it’s way out of the woods and into a comfortable distribution with Paramount and MGM. The upcoming now-3D flick landed into the warm care of the studio and is now under their wing for distribution, set to be released in theaters everywhere on March 2nd, 2012. “Hansel and Gretel,” directed by Tommy Wirkola, has a cast so far that includes Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton and Famke Janssen. The story centers on the two siblings years after surviving their encounter with the horrible witch in the gingerbread house. Now they’ve learned from that experience and are now full-fledged witch hunters, out to protect the…

According to CinemaBlend and Deadline, Famke Janssen is set to play the leader of a band of witches in the film, “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters”. The film, also starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton as Hansel and Gretel, follows the brother and sister duo fifteen years after their incident at the gingerbread house as children. They have now become witch bounty hunters, destined to destroy the witches that nearly killed them in the gingerbread house. Seeing as this film is going to be a fantasy action-adventure film, Janssen is a good match for the project. According to CinemaBlend, Janssen is probably best known from her turn as Jean Grey/Phoenix…

Casting rumors have already begun circulating around ‘Wrath of the Titans,’ the upcoming sequel to last year’s action movie ‘Clash of the Titans,’ Collider.com is reporting. Director Jonathan Liebesman, who is replacing Louis Leterrier for the follow-up after the original received heavy criticism, has already confirmed that Edgar Ramirez and Toby Kebbell have already been cast. They’ll be joining several actors who are returning from the original movie, including Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Other actors currently in talks to join ‘Wrath of the Titans’ are Bill Nighy, who is being considered to portray Greek god Hephaestus. Hayley Atwell, who will appear in the upcoming superhero…

2010 is over. No more. Done. Finito. Some are more than happy to kiss that year goodbye, while others wish it would have never ended. In the realm of movies, 2010 looked great in terms of box office receipts. However, even with the second highest grossing domestic box office of all-time ($10.5 billion) in the books, let’s just say the quality of the product put out, is far from what the numbers suggest in terms of stellar entertainment all year around. Yet 2010 did have a few exceptional moments. With all that said, here’s 20 topics, accompanied by my candid/stripped-down thoughts, on what caught my critical eyes in cinema for…

British actress Gemma Arterton has inadvertently revealed that she will be appearing in Michael Mann’s upcoming biopic about combat photographer Robert Capa, Comingsoon.net is reporting. While accepting Total Film‘s 2010 award for “Hottest Actress,” the ‘Clash of the Titans’ star accidentally said that since she’s aiming to sign onto more diversified roles, the Capa biography “is confirmed.” After adding that she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to be talking about the project yet, Arterton also let it slip that ‘The Social Network’ star Andrew Garfield is also on board for the Capa biopic. In the Sony release, Arterton will appear as Capa’s fellow photographer Gerda Tara, the first female…

Read our roundtable interview with Stephen Frears, who directed the upcoming British romantic ensemble comedy ‘Tamara Drewe.’ The movie is scheduled to begin a limited theatrical release on October 8, 2010, in New York and Los Angeles. The film tells the story of London journalist Tamara Drewe as she goes back to her family farm in the countryside of Ewedown, and follows the infatuations, love and sexual affairs and career ambitions of the people living in the small rural town. Some of his more popular projects include ‘High Fidelity’ and the Academy Award-winning movie ‘The Queen.’ Question (Q): What was your biggest challenge, in terms of keeping true to the…