SAM RAIMI JUMPS FROM "SPIDERMAN4" TO "WARCRAFT: THE RISE OF THE LICH KING"

After quitting "Spiderman IV" it seems Sam Raimi's next project will be "Warcraft". Here's what one of the insiders said in an interview for "Ain't it Cool News":
Well, I chatted with someone that knows - and I feel confident in saying that the next film we'll see from Raimi is going to be Warcraft... which after Avatar, the concept of world building that particular universe could be astonishing - especially in 3D - especially after what Cameron just unleashed upon the globe. World creating Science Fiction & Fantasy... done by visionary filmmakers ... well, it is a premium. We got The Hobbit coming, looks like an Avatar 2... but the word I hear is that today - the phone lines were burning between a certain legendary locale (Legendary Pictures producing the movie) and Raimi's folks about firing up the furnaces to forge the weapons of war.

Here's the story of the future "Warcraft: The Rise of The Lich King" movie: Lord of the undead Scourge, wielder of the runeblade Frostmourne, and enemy of the free peoples of Azeroth, The Lich King is an entity of incalculable power and unparalleled malice and his icy soul is utterly consumed by his plans to destroy all life on the World of Warcraft. But it was not always so. Long before his soul was fused with that of the orc shaman Ner'zhul, the Lich King was Arthas Menethil, crown prince of Lordaeron and faithful paladin of the Silver Hand. When a plague of undeath threatened all that he loved, Arthas was driven to pursue an ill-fated quest for a runeblade powerful enough to save his homeland. Yet the object of his search would exact a heavy price from its new master, beginning with a horrifying descent into damnation. Arthas's path would lead him through the arctic northern wastes toward the Frozen Throne, where he would face, at long last, the darkest of destinies.

HOLLYWOOD SPY GETS AN AWARD FROM COMMON SENSE MOVIE REVIEWS

Thanks to our beloved friends HOLLYWOOD SPY has received yet another award. This time, our dear blogger friend TheAnswerMVP2001, worldwide famous expert on James Bond and classic movie vixens :)from Common Sense Movie Reviews has awarded me with Kreativ Bloggers award with the following speech:
"Hollywood Spy - another blogger that's already received acknowledgment on another blog but I would be remiss of I didn't mention him as well. Dezmond is another good blogger friend of mine, and a guy I wouldn't mind meeting face to face (although he'd have to pay to fly me out to Serbia ;P). I thoroughly enjoy his movie news and rumors and also appreciate his witty comments on my own blog. Plus we both agree Requiem For A Dream and Magnolia are horrible films, and for that alone I have respect for him."
My big thanks and gratitude to TheAnswerMVP2001 for this lovely honour ;)

HALLELUYAH! SHOWTIME PICS UP "THE BORGIAS", NEW HISTORICAL SAGA WITH JEREMY IRONS!

Here at HOLLYWOOD SPY we've been reporting for years now how Neil Jordan has been planning a historical movie on famous Borgia family. Many actors have been mentioned in the project - Ewan McGregor, Cristina Riccie, Antonio Banderas, Jude Law, Portia De Rossi ... but now it's official. "The Borgias" will be a stunning and totally decadent new historical show from the best channel out there - "Show time". Jeremy Irons will headline this new 13 episode historical drama replacing the worldwide smash hit "The Tudors" which will end next spring.
"The Borgias" takes place in Italy in 1492 and is centered around a powerful crime family that is headed by patriarch Rodrigo Borgia (Irons)who becomes a pope and has some very problematic children, Cezare and Lucrezia being the most famous among them. With many outrageous twists and turns, blood, lust, political scandals and dark family ties this new epic saga will be produced by amazing Michael Hirst, who has written every episode of "The Tudors". The show is originated at DreamWorks TV and Robert Zemeckis' ImageMovers while Neil Jordan will executive produce the whole show and will direct the first two episodes. Production starts in the spring for an early 2011 run.
This is the most natural replacement for "The Tudors" which have set an extremely high standard for all future historical shows in almost all fields - from acting, directing to costume and set design and cinematography. I'm overwhelmed by this news and can't wait for the casting process to continue!

STUART TOWNSEND LEAVES THE ROLE IN "THOR" TO JOSHUA DALLAS

Huh, Stuart Townsend really doesn't have luck. According to "The Hollywood Reporter", he has left Marvel Comics' movie adaptation of "Thor" over "creative differences". He was supposed to play Fandral, an ally of the Norse god Thor. Just days before the official start of the shooting he has been replaced by equally dashing but pretty much unknown Joshua Dallas.
The weirdest thing in the whole story is the well known fact that Stuart Townsend had the same experience with "The Lord of the Rings" where he had been cast as Aragorn but was similarly replaced at the last minute by Viggo Mortensen.Let's hope Joshua will prove himself a worthy replacement.
As you know at the center of the movie is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

EXCLUSIVE FIRST PIC FROM " YOUR HIGHNESS"

We have the first picture from "Your Highness", an epic comedy adventure set in a fantasy world. Here's the plot for this star studded movie premiering this October:

Thadeous (Danny McBride) has spent his life watching his perfect older brother Fabious (James Franco) embark upon valiant journeys and win the hearts of his people. Tired of being passed over for adventure, adoration and the throne, he’s settled for a life of wizard’s weed, hard booze and easy maidens. But when Fabious’ bride-to-be, Belladonna (Zooey Deschanel), gets kidnapped by the evil wizard Leezar (Justin Theroux), the king gives his deadbeat son an ultimatum: Man up and help rescue her or get cut off.
Half-assedly embarking upon his first quest, Thadeous joins Fabious to trek across the perilous outlands and free the princess. Joined by Isabel (Natalie Portman), an elusive warrior with a dangerous agenda of her own-the brothers must vanquish horrific creatures and traitorous knights before they can reach Belladonna. If Thadeous can find his inner hero, he can help his brother prevent the destruction of his land. Stay a slacker, and not only does he die a coward, he gets front row seats to the dawn of an all-new Dark Ages.

WILL "TWISTER" SHAKE UP CINEMAS AGAIN?

Since people can't wait a bit and see the natural destruction of our planet themselves in a few decades or so :) Hollywood got hooked on apocalyptic movies. Another proof that they really bring money is the latest news about "Twister" getting a sequel. The star of the first 1996 movie Bill Paxton has revealed that he recently had a meeting with producer Kathleen Kennedy about making "Twister 2".

He said they got the idea about the sequel after studying the story about the horrible Tri-State Tornado from 1925: "That tornado still holds all of the records. It was called the Tri-State because it was a mile wide when it came down from the sky on the afternoon of March 16, 1925, and it was a rural area, but, boy, before it was through, it crossed the Mississippi, it cut across southern Illinois, where it hit a lot of towns. The biggest one was Murphysboro, which literally looked like Hiroshima after it hit. And then it went across the Wabash, into Indiana, staying on the ground three and a half hours and cutting a damage path 219 miles long, killing about 700 people. There's actually footage that I found in Murphysboro at their historical society. They had footage from a biplane that the government sent down, just to do aerial footage of all of the destruction and the damage. So we just did that to kind of get some ideas, and from that I kind of extrapolated an idea for a sequel. And I kind of put that together into a format, and now we're kind of waiting to see if that's going to move forward. That would need Steven Spielberg's blessing, ultimately, and they probably won't take it to him 'til there's real studio interest, but I think the 3D applications of that could obviously be pretty amazing."

MICHAEL FASSBENDER AND EWAN MCGREGOR IN STEVEN SODERBERGH'S NEW ACTION MOVIE

Although I don't care much about Michael Douglas nor about martial arts and action movies, I do care a great deal about Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor who have just joined mister Douglas and mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano in Steven Soderbergh's new movie "Knockout".

According to "Movieweb" it will be a revenge action-spy thriller following Mallory Kane (Carano), a black ops super soldier, who, double crossed by someone on her own team, seeks to uncover who has set her up to take the fall for a job that goes bad and involves a murder. Douglas will play a government official, Fassbender will portray a member of Carano's special forces team and McGregor will play the owner of a training facility that Carano's character belongs to.

UPDATE: According to "The Playlist" Channing Tatum will play Aaron, a military specialist who is sent in to try and bring Gina Carano's character back into the fold, once it's believed she has gone rogue. Antonio Banderas is in talks to join the cast as well, playing the head of a European Black-ops squad.

BLAKE LIVELY TO LIGHT UP RYAN REYNOLD'S "GREEN LANTERN"

Just a few days after the studio has officially gave the project a go, it seems that Ryan Reynolds has find a beauty to light up his "Green Lantern". Star of the "Gossip Girl" Blake Lively has impressed the studio and filmmakers with her audition, nabbing the lead female role in Warner Bros superhero movie. Blake will portray Carol Ferris, who runs her father's aerospace company and hires cocky test pilot Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), who later becomes the intergalactic policeman Green Lantern. In the comics, the romance became complicated when an alien race bestowed her the power of a crystal called the Star Sapphire.
According to "The Hollywood Reporter" the casting process will next turn its eye to the roles of Dr. Hector Hammond, one of the key villains, and the alien known as Sinestro. The movie is out June 2011.

HOLLYWOOD SPY SHINES AT EQUINOX AWARD CEREMONY :))

It seems the awards season has started and HOLLYWOOD SPY can proudly inform you that we have received an award ourselves. At the stunning gala ceremony, our dear friend and blogging mogul Ryan aka Univarn (from famous A Life in Equinox blog)has presented us a KREATIV BLOGGER award. I will use this opportunity to thank him on this honour bestowed upon me and praise him for his fresh humour and witty charm.
Here's what he said before giving me the award:
"I'm not sure if there's any blogger as encouraging, optimistic, and fun as Dezmond and his film news blog, Hollywood Spy. You can tell by just reading his blog for a moment Dezmond is in love with movies, tv, and well, just about anything on the entertainment front. Add to that his strong sense of community, getting to know those who follow him, and sharing in return, you got yourself a blogger buddy that outshines most."
Deeply touched by his speech, I went to the wild after-party to Ryan's Equinox mansion ;)with Eva Longoria and hence the above paparazzi picture!

STUNNING JESSICA MARAIS RETURNS AS DENNA IN TOMORROW'S "LEGEND OF THE SEEKER"

Gorgeous Mord'Sith Denna (a stunning performance by lovely and charismatic Jessica Marais), a dangerous beauty dressed in tight blood-red leather who can manipulate any form of magic directed at her, one of the most interesting characters from the first season of the popular fantasy show "Legend of the Seeker" is back this Saturday in the 9th episode of the second season entitled "Resurrection". She comes back with a surprise and Richard the Seeker becomes an unwilling pawn in her plot to control the throne Darken Rahl’s death left vacant. Another TV beauty Jolene Blalock ("Star Trek Enterprise's" T'Pol) will also appear in "Seeker" later this month as a mysterious Sister of the Dark with some serious magical powers and will attempt to end Richard's quest to stop the vile forces from the underworld but her real goal will be to destroy Kahlan.
Meanwhile, you can check out the trailer for tomorrow's episode with Denna.