Film News: Ring Stars Return for Hobbit, Disney Flick Packs Star Power

- Guillermo del Toro has confirmed that Hugo Weaving will again play Elrond in the upcoming Hobbit movies. Weaving joins fellow Lord of the Rings alums Andy Serkis (Gollum/Smeagol) and Ian McKellen (Gandalf), who have also signed on to reprise their roles for the two Hobbit films. [Entertainment Weekly]

- Disney's You Again has signed on a heck of a cast. In the movie, a young woman "finds out that her brother is planning to marry the girl who made her high school years a living hell and tries to convince him that his finacee is not the nice girl she pretends to be." Kristen Bell plays the young woman. Sigourney Weaver's addition to the cast was reported on Pop Wenches earlier this month, and she will play Bell's aunt. Rounding out the family tree are Jamie Lee Curtis and Victor Garber as Bell's parents, and Betty White as her grandmother. Odette Yustman (The Unborn, Cloverfield) plays the high school diva and the brother's finacee. [Hollywood Reporter]

- The official trailer for The Time Traveler's Wife (starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams) is now online:

- A new starring vehicle for Leonardo DiCaprio is under development. The untitled movie will be set in the world of online casinos based in Costa Rica. DiCaprio is slated to star and produce the film. [Variety]

- Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins (Gambit and Kayla Silverfox, respectively, in Wolverine) will star in John Carter of Mars, an upcoming adaptation of an Edgar Rice Burroughs' pulp sci-fi novel. Carter (Kitsch) is "an American Civil War veteran who finds himself transported to Mars under mysterious circumstances and gets pulled into a war between races." Andrew Stanton (WALL-E, Finding Nemo) is onboard to direct. [MTV]

- Natalie Portman may have breathed new life into Darren Aronofsky's stalled Black Swan film by signing on as the lead. Described as the story of a veteran ballerina who may be competing against a rival who is either supernatural or the product of her own imagination, the thriller seems to share the same the tone as films like The Others. [Reuters via Yahoo! News]

- A trilogy of "family fantasy adventure" films may return Roy Rogers to the silver screen. [Variety]

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Yet More Film News: 9 Art and Video, Del Toro Talks Hobbit

- MTV has some exclusive video and artwork from the upcoming CG animation movie 9, which features the voice talents of Elijah Wood, Martin Landau, Jennifer Connelly and John C. Reilly. Click here to check out the two-minute video clip and the artwork. [MTV Movies Blog]

- Guillermo del Toro discussed the whole gamut of his upcoming projects with BBC News. The interesting interview includes the director's thoughts on his film versions of The Hobbit, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, along with his new series of vampire horror novels cowritten with Chuck Hogan. [BBC News]

- Clint Eastwood's latest feature, the Nelson Mandela story Invictus, has been given a December 11 release date by Warner Bros. Morgan Freeman stars in the film, which focuses on "Mandela's attempt to use the 1995 Rugby World Cup to heal his nation following his release from prison, the fall of apartheid and his election as president of South Africa." Matt Damon plays Francois Pienaar, captain of the South African rugby team. [Variety]

- John Stamos evidently has a burning desire to bring both The Jeffersons and Full House to the bigscreen. Oh. Dear. [Entertainment Weekly]

Holy cow, there's been a ton of film news this week!

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