Gandolfini And Curtola Join "Cogan's Trade"

Former "Sopranos" actors James Gandolfini ('Tony Soprano') and Vincent Curatola ('Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni') will re-unite for "Cogan’s Trade", an adaptation of the crime novel by author George V. Higgins ("The Friends Of Eddie Coyle").

Starring Brad Pitt, the new film will follow mob character 'Jackie Cogan' (Pitt) trying to track down the thieves who ripped off a high-stakes card game. Gandolfini will play a burnt-out alcoholic killer, who is brought in to track the suspects down. Curatola will play a man recently released from jail who seeks revenge on those who sent him to prison.

Additional cast members include Ray Liotta ("Goodfellas") as hustler 'Mark "Markie" Trattman', Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell and Richard Jenkins.

"...'Cogan' is called in when a high-stake card game under the protection of the Mob is heisted. Expertly, with a ruthless businessman’s efficiency, a shrewd sense of other people’s weaknesses, and a style as cold as his stare, Cogan moves with reliable precision to restore the status quo as ill-conceived capers and double-dealing shenanigans erupt into high-voltage violence..."

"Cogan's Trade" will be directed by Andrew Dominick ("The Assassination Of Jesse James").

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Sherlock Holmes Plays "A Game Of Shadows"

Warner Bros. has confirmed that the sequel to director Guy Ritchie's 2009 feature "Sherlock Holmes" will be titled "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows".

"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows", is based on the adventures of the detective 'Sherlock Holmes' created by author Arthur Conan Doyle, produced by Joel Silver, Lionel Wigram, Susan Downey and Dan Lin. Screenplay is by Kieran Mulroney and Michele Mulroney. Actors Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law reprise their roles as 'Sherlock Holmes' and 'Dr. John Watson', as the duo join forces to outwit and bring down their fiercest adversary, 'Professor Moriarty'.

..."'Sherlock Holmes' (Downey, Jr.) and his longtime trusted associate, 'Doctor Watson' (Law) take on their arch-nemesis, 'Professor Moriarty' (Jared Harris), with the help of Holmes' older brother 'Mycroft Holmes' (Stephen Fry)..."

Additional cast includes Noomi Rapace as 'Sim', Rachel McAdams as 'Irene Adler', Eddie Marsan as 'Inspector Lestrade' and Geraldine James as 'Mrs. Hudson'.

From Legendary Pictures, Silver Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures and Playtone, "Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows" will be distributed by Warner Bros. in North America, December 16, 2011.

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Chris Evans Plugs Into "Captain America: Super Soldier"

Actor Chris Evans, starring in the upcoming Marvel Entertainment comic book adaptation "Captain America: The First Avenger", will lend his likenness and voice talents to the tie-in Sega video game, "Captain America: Super Soldier".

Players will become 'Captain America' as he battles the 'Red Skull' and his Third Reich army in a third- person action adventure set during World War II.

Wielding Captain America's shield, gamers will engage in 'free-flowing' combat and acrobatic platforming to infiltrate the castle of 'Hydra' and fight the the infamous 'Iron Cross' forces.

The game is scheduled for a summer 2011 release for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii and Nintendo DS.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Captain America: Super Soldier"...

Michelle Pfeiffer Stakes Out "Dark Shadows"

According to reports, actress Michelle Pfeiffer will reteam with her "Batman Returns" director Tim Burton for the Warners feature film reboot of 1960's horror soap opera TV series "Dark Shadows". Pfeiffer would play matriarch of the 'Collins' clan, 'Elizabeth Collins Stoddard'.

Previously cast are Johnny Depp as 'Barnabas Collins', Eva Green as the witch 'Angelique Bouchard Collins', Jackie Earle Haley as conman 'Willie Loomis' and Bella Heathcoate as 'Victoria Winters', governess of the Collins estate.

The production will start April 2011, with Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Graham King’s GK Films producing.

Screenplay is by Seth Grahame-Smith ("Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"), who drafted a rewrite of a previous screenplay by John August.

"Dark Shadows", created by Dan Curtis ("The Night Stalker"), originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, June 1966 to April 1971. Story 'bible' for the show was written by Art Wallace.

The series became popular a year into its run, with the introduction of Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, playing the 200-year old Barnabas Collins who encounters other vampires, werewolves, ghosts, zombies, man-made monsters, witches and warlocks.

Writer Malcolm Marmorstein, who created the character of Collins, also created series characters 'Sam Hall', 'Gordon Russell' and 'Violet Welles'.

The series often used classic horror stories including "Dracula", "Frankenstein", "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "The Turn of the Screw" and "Wuthering Heights", freely borrowing prose from authors Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry James and H. P. Lovecraft.

Collins was originally the object of desire, circa 1795, for the witch Angelique. In the present day, Collins is released from his coffin by 'Willie Loomis'. Collins then kidnaps waitress 'Maggie Evans', believed to be the reincarnation of lost love 'Josette du Pres'.

Composer Robert Cobert's music score for the series entered the Billboard top 20 national album chart in 1969. The spoken-word instrumental track "Quentin's Theme", earned a Grammy nomination, peaking at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

1,225 episodes of "Dark Shadows" were produced during its TV run, with a feature film, starring Frid, released in 1970.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Dark Shadows"...

Irina Shayk Covers the 2011 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue"

Sports Illustrated Magazine has revealed model Irina Shayk (Shaykhlislamova) as the cover model for the 2011 "Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue":

"...Shayk graces the cover under the headline 'Paradise Found in Hawaii'. She is the first Russian cover model and joins an elite group of Swimsuit models to grace the cover, one that includes Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs, Heidi Klum, Elle MacPherson, Tyra Banks, Petra Nemcova, Marisa Miller and Brooklyn Decker. This year's cover was shot by Bjorn Iooss—son of long-time Sports Illustrated photographer Walter Iooss Jr.—who captured the iconic image with the first shot on his first-ever Sports Illustrated shoot..."

Also joining Shayk in this year's issue is 2010 Swimsuit cover model Brooklyn Decker, currently appearing in the feature "Just Go With It".

Other familiar faces in the 2011 Issue include models Cintia Dicker, Esti Ginzburg, Jessica Gomes, Julie Henderson, Damaris Lewis, Genevieve Morton, Hilary Rhoda, Chrissy Teigen, Anne V and Jessica White.

Newcomers include Alyssa Miller, Izabel Goulart, Kate Upton, Kenza Fourati and Shannan Click.

Shayk, originally from the the Russian village of Yemanzhelinsk, made her "SI Swimsuit" debut in 2007 and has appeared in every Swimsuit issue since.

Shayk's swim suit on the 2011 cover was designed by Sauvage by Elizabeth Southwood, and her bracelet was made by Los Angeles-based Ettika.

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"Arthur": No Work. All Play. - April 8, 2011

Sneak Peek the new poster supporting the upcoming Warners comedy feature "Arthur", starring actors Russell Brand as 'Arthur Bach', Greta Gerwig as 'Linda Marolla', Jennifer Garner as 'Susan Johnson',Helen Mirren as 'Hobson', Nick Nolte as 'Burt Johnson', Luis Guzmán as 'Bitterman' and Jennie Eisenhower as 'Alexisa'.

The remake of the 1981 feature of the same name (starring Dudley Moore) is directed by Jason Winer and written by Peter Baynham.

Produced by Chris Bender, Brand, Michael Tadross, Larry Brezner, Kevin McCormick and J.C. Spink, "Arthur" follows 'lovable drunken playboy' Arthur who stands to lose a wealthy inheritance when he falls for a woman his family doesn't like.

Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Arthur"...