In case you weren't aware, Owen Wilson's first interview since being holed up in a hospital following an apparent suicide attempt took place the other day via MySpace's Artist on Artist series. The interview itself was finally posted online somewhere around 10pm EST last night, and after watching it, I must say it's definitely one of the most awkward interviews I've ever seen. Basically, director Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson talk to one another about The Darjeeling Limited -- only problem is, they're not together in the same room. They're miles upon miles apart, and through some special effects magic, it appears as if both are sitting next to each other having a conversation. I tried embedding the actual interview into this post, but for some reason it wasn't working ... and our tech folks are normal people who have off on the weekend. Unlike myself. So you can check out the interview for yourself over here.

Of course, everyone and their publicist was wondering whether Owen would open up at all and talk about what went down a few months ago. I'll save you all the time now: he did not. And the reason why the interview seemed awkward probably had to do with the fact that both men were not together in the same room (although at one point it was funny to see them play off that). Owen seemed tired, and a tad out of touch, as if it took hours to convince him to do this. Anderson tried his best to remain lively, tossing questions out to Owen, following up on them, but the whole thing just seemed forced. That's nothing against The Darjeeling Limited -- I happen to be one of the few who actually loved the flick -- but I wish the boys got into it a little more. Perhaps I'm reading into it too much (and feel free to tell me that), but something definitely seemed off here. Let us know what you think.

So it seems Dumbledore has inspired other fictional characters to start coming forward, sharing their sexual preference with the world. The latest in what's sure to be a long line of recently-outed imaginary characters appears to be the new Predalien from Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. John Campea, of Movie Blog fame, first reported the major late-breaking scoop. Co-director Colin Strause explains: "You see, instead of just some boring old mindless force of nature killing machine that he was going to be, now he's a socially rejected and misunderstood person who is figuring out how to deal with being different in this new world where many don't accept him just because of who he is. It's very touching." It's certainly an interesting route for the franchise, and one I feel will bring in more of the female audience. But will the Predalien's gayness turn off the film's core male teenage audience? I guess we'll find out when the film officially hits theaters on Christmas Day.

Once in a while, us movie bloggers like to have a little fun with the characters and movies coming out down the line. We can't be serious all of the time, and so when I called into The Movie Blog's weekly podcast last night, myself and the crew somehow went from "So what do you think of the new Predalien" to "I always thought the Predator was a chick" to "Perhaps the new Predalien is gay" to "Campea, you need to write an editorial." Thus, we've wound up here. Yes, it's a joke, and of course Cinematical wishes the folks behind Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem a happy and healthy Merry Box Office ... but every once in awhile we like to have a little, tiny bit of fun. That's allowed, right? Check out Campea's story here, and feel free to chime in with your own theories ...

[Gay pride Predalien photo courtesy of The Movie Blog]

One of the most talked-about films of the fall (due to its popular run on the festival circuit) is Jason Reitman's Juno. I've heard from several different people that it's "this year's Little Miss Sunshine," and I have yet to meet one person who did not like it. With lots and lots of buzz, Fox Searchlight has decided to push Juno's release date up a bit to capitalize on all the good word, deciding to send their baby out into the world on December 5 (in NY and LA only, before tacking on additional theaters across the country in the weeks to follow). The film was originally set to arrive in limited release on December 14. For those of you who are dying to see Juno, and do not live in either NY or LA, fear not -- Searchlight has set up a number of free promotional screenings in several different cities.

Ah, but if you live in NYC, and want to take advantage of those free promotional screenings, your sh*t out of luck -- they're all booked. Seriously, I took a look at the list and every other screening across the country is open except the four or so screenings in NYC. What gives? Do people in NYC just watch more movies than everyone else? And are they hipper to the stuff that's free? Who knows, and perhaps Searchlight will add a few more screenings in the Big Apple. Directed by Jason Reitman (Thank You for Smoking) Juno stars Ellen Page as a teenager who's accidentally knocked up by her awkward best friend (Michael Cera), and subsequently decides to give the child away to an adorable-looking married couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner). For more on the film, and to check out the trailer, head on over to Juno's official website.

Not for nothing, but if I was going to do something really cool like merge a Predator with an Alien for the first time, I'm not sure I would reveal a ton of pics of the thing before the movie comes out. Ya know, leave a little to the imagination -- tease people, make them cough up the dough to see more. But I'm not in charge, and since these crazy photos just arrived courtesy of USA Today, it's my job to bring them to you. That said, USA Today has a gallery full of movie stills featuring the new Predalien, a mix-up job of the Predator and Alien that looks absolutely terrifying. Seeing this photo reminds me of Wednesday's South Park episode, where the Alien and Predator wreak havoc in imagination land. Too bad this thing wasn't around yet; the boys would've had a field day.

Looking for some fun Predalien facts? How about this one: "Unlike the original aliens, the predalien doesn't lay eggs, which are then transported by a 'face hugger.' The new creature can just regurgitate in its victim's mouth." Yum. Talk about using a bit too much tongue. Directed by Colin and Greg Strause, the brothers are intent on making this one "as serious and dark as the originals." According to them, they've cut back significantly on the special effects, saying, "You're not going to see 50 digital creatures running around. We want to bring the franchise back to basics. That's what made them so frightening in the first place." I totally agree, and I truly hope the brothers score a hit with AVP2. What do you think of the Predalien? Is it spooky enough? Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem arrives in theaters Christmas Day. (Leave cookies out for Santa? Check. Open presents with the kids? Check. Watch a Predalien regurgitate into its victims mouth? Triple check!)

Word has it this morning that Wonder Woman has finally -- thank the friggin' Lord, I tell ya! -- been cast in the upcoming live-action Justice League of America. Moviehole reports (via the director of one of the gal's most recent flicks) that Teresa Palmer has, in fact, landed the role. I'm going out on a limb here, but I'd say the director Moviehole spoke with was Ron Hardy, who worked with Palmer on December Boys. Since that was an Aussie pic, and Clint from Moviehole is an Aussie, I'd imagine he's pretty close to the production. But I could be wrong, and if I am, Clint will send us an email.

Anyway, this looks to be a bit stronger than any other rumor -- Clint has already updated the post telling us an Aussie newspaper is running the rumor today, and the entire online community is buzzing. Could we finally have our first official (damn you Biel!) Justice League cast member? Palmer is an up-and-comer; she got her start in Wolf Creek as a background actress, before going to do films like The Grudge 2, December Boys and the upcoming Kids in America. She's Australian, which automatically makes her sexy enough for this role in my book, and she's 21-years-old. Nothing is set in stone yet, but you might as well start debating -- is Teresa Palmer a good fit for Wonder Woman?

As we approach Halloween, we're not the only ones shelling out all types of scary movie-related content. Which reminds me, have you checked out the 25 days worth of Halloween madness we've already written? It's good stuff. Read up, get scared. Boo. Anyway, those freaky folks from Cracked have put together a list of the top seven most easily escapable movie monsters. For example, both Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees aren't very fast when it comes to following their intended victims. In order to avoid being killed by one of them, all you really need to do is find an open field and run ... fast. Of course, according to our Friday the 13th death count, this didn't work out so well for 153 people.

Among the different movie monsters on their list are Samara Morgan from The Ring. In that film, there's a tape, there's a time of death and she crawls out of the television. Easily avoidable, says Cracked: "One would think the obvious thing to do would be to step outside and leave the TV behind. Co camping maybe." Or how about The Blair Witch, who apparently likes to stick people in the corner as push them over. Here's what Cracked suggests: "The Blair Witch is, however, old, dead and picks on children. If you are reading this distinctly adult-oriented site, you should be old enough to just punch her in the face and stroll away, possibly walking on her lawn in the process." I've always thought Chuckie would be pretty easy to get away from -- after all, he's a friggin' doll. How hard could it be to escape from a doll? Or what about zombies? I always loved that scene in Shaun of the Dead where they just pretend to be fellow zombies and cruise through the crowd. That's not too hard, just go a day without caffeine and most of us automatically turn into zombies. In your opinion, which movie monsters do you think are the most easily escapable?

He's faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and yet the folks in charge are moving slower than a snail when it comes to casting the Man of Steel in Justice League of America. Additionally, it may take years before we get another solo Supes flick after Superman Returns writers Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty were tossed aside while the studio sought out some new blood. Here are two updates on both fronts:

The other day we told you how someone wrote in to Dark Horizons claiming to have information on the casting of Superman in the Justice League movie. According to the scooper, Brit actor Rupert Evans had landed the part. Not so fast says IESB, who spent hours upon hours trying to get a hold of someone who represents Evans. Eventually they did, and were told the rumor is indeed false. Exact quote: "We don't know where that rumor started, there's no truth to the rumor at all." When asked if Evans had even auditioned, they replied, "No, not at all." Yay, another ridiculous rumor spreads like wildfire and then gets squashed -- how fun! No other casting tidbits to report at this time, sorry.

About that long-delayed follow-up to Superman Returns. I suggested a long time ago that this project was being delayed and delayed for a reason, and all you readers did was yell at me -- bow down to Bryan Singer -- and call me all sorts of devilish names. Well, look where we are now: the original writers were yanked off the film, and Warners is looking for some new writers to most likely reboot the franchise, a la The Incredible Hulk. I like to call these "movie do-overs." The first candidate to pop up was writer Mark Millar (Wanted), who went after this project with full force. Unfortunately, because he had done some work for Marvel (and is still under contract with them), he cannot cross over to work on a DC property. So there goes that. Will Warners seduce Kurtzman and Orci into taking on Superman? They'll probably try, but as it stands right now, we've got nada ... and I'd expect Singer to be off the project too. Back to the drawing board ... and how about this time we scratch Brandon Routh and bring in Channing Tatum. He'd make a much better Superman; whaddya think?

Director Oliver Stone is lining up one helluva juicy cast for his latest trip back to Vietnam. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Woody Harrelson has become the latest actor to join Pinkville, for United Artists, and this will mark the first time Harrelson has worked with Stone since the very nutty Natural Born Killers. Harrelson will co-star alongside Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum and Michael Pena in the mystery drama which is "based on the infamous 1968 My Lai Massacre, in which upward of 500 people -- mostly women, children and the elderly -- were killed by U.S. soldiers." Harrelson will take on the role of Col. Henderson, "the conflicted officer in charge of the task force that committed the massacre."

When Cinematical had a chance to visit the set of Fighting recently, we spoke a bit with Channing Tatum about starring in Pinkville. In the flick, he'll be playing a helicopter pilot who helped the villagers and later testified against the soldiers. Tatum, who's about two films away from becoming "the next big thing" (mark my words) had this to say: "I'm going to work with Oliver Stone; he's a veteran, literally, he's a Vietnam vet -- and I'm gonna go do a Vietnam story with him. It's his last sort of revisit to Vietnam -- or so he says -- so we'll see." This will mark Stone's fourth Vietnam-related film, after already giving us Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth. Will it be his last? Who knows. But when he does head to Vietnam, he comes back with some terrific movies -- chances are, with this cast, the same will happen here.

Okay, so George Miller is crazy enough to believe he can cast and shoot a live action Justice League of America film before the potential strike at the end of May, and now Moviehole reports that he's adding another flick to the mix; his long-awaited sequel: Mad Max 4. That's right, according to the site, the film is back on -- it has officially been green-lit, and the production offices have opened back up at Fox Studios in Sydney this week. Titled Mad Max: Fury Road, this isn't the first time the sequel has been attempted. The film was originally given a budget of $100 million, back when Mel Gibson was still attached to star, but conflicts in Africa (where the film was to be shot) pushed production into hiatus. For the past few years, Miller has been eager to re-start Fury Road, claiming back in March that he was still moving ahead, but without Gibson in the lead role -- opting instead for a "younger face."

Now, as Moviehole points out (via one of their very reliable sources), pre-production on Mad Max: Fury Road shall commence immediately, and there's also a possibility it will be released in theaters before Justice League. If two films aren't enough, why not throw on a third? Yep, aside from JLA and Mad Max, Miller has also begun pre-production on Happy Feet 2. Of course, the animated pic will take a few years to make, so I can't see that taking up too much of his time this winter. There's no word yet on what the Mad Max sequel will be about, but I imagine since Miller's looked at almost all of Young Hollywood for potential roles in JLA, he may have already found his Gibson replacement. What do you think about all this? Is Miller getting too far ahead of himself by taking on both projects at the same time? And, admit it, but don't you kind of wish that whole Justice League thing would just quietly go away? Personally, I'd much rather see a Mad Max sequel, regardless of Gibson's involvement. But that's me.

Not long ago, we told you how George Clooney had dropped out of Joe Carnahan's adaptation of White Jazz due to scheduling conflicts. Before that, another actor Carnahan was interested in, Chris Pine, opted to become the new Captain Kirk over a co-starring role in Jazz. Now, considering these new developments, Carnahan is reaching out to readers of his blog for advice on how to move forward. As it stands, he has two films that are ready to roll into production: White Jazz (based on a James Ellroy novel) and Killing Pablo (based on a book by Mark Bowden, that takes a look back at the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar). According to Carnahan, the potential writer's strike doesn't hurt either project, as the scripts are pretty much done. However, there's a rival Escobar pic (from Oliver Stone) gaining steam, and so Carnahan is afraid he'll lose foreign buyers if he rolls in as number two.

Okay, so naturally you'd think Killing Pablo would be the way to go. Well, problem is that would mean Javier Bardem would not be able to star as Escobar (due to a another project he's currently attached to) and, additionally, Carnahan isn't crazy about ditching LA at the moment in order to go shoot on location in South America (he's like to stay close to his family for the time being). But, according to the director, he has it figured out: "I've got a plan to base out of LA and I [am] hoping the financiers will see the upside and spend the extra money to keep us relatively local until we've got to hit Argentina or Venezuela or Brazil (Colombia's gonna be ROUGH) and shoot the remainder of the film on location." As far as casting goes, he claims to have the perfect replacement for Bardem, but won't shell out any names.

But what about all the work that's been done on White Jazz, including some wicked-looking concept art of old school Los Angeles that Carnahan displayed on his blog recently? We're not entirely sure; as it stands, it appears there's more pressure to shoot Pablo first because of this rival project, and perhaps the casting woes on Jazz are a sign that Pablo should come up to bat before Jazz. I'd personally like to see White Jazz go first, but that's me. What do you think he should do?

UPDATE: Joe Carnahan is nutty as all hell. In a rare move, he published both the White Jazz script and the Killing Pablo script on his website, asking readers which one he should make. He's since taken them both down after his management company advised him to, but Slashfilm grabbed them and has links to both scripts. I won't give you those links, because we'd be asked to take them down almost immediately (I know it), so head on over to Slashfilm instead to check them out.

Well you didn't expect that much time to pass before folks started having a bit of fun with this whole Dumbledore is gay thing. As you may recall, late last week J.K. Rowling outed the character during a reading of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, sparking much debate on this blog and across these great internets. So, you might be wondering, what's left to discuss? How about a list of some other memorable childhood characters who, quite possibly, wouldn't surprise us in their coming out of the closet. Yes, both Vulture and Radar went there, providing readers with two different lists full of fictional characters who could -- dun dun dun -- be ... gay!

Over on Vulture, they target such beloved characters as Fozzie Bear from The Muppet Show, Schroeder from Peanuts, The Flash (is it because he's flaming?), Spock from Star Trek, and -- here's the shocker -- Lando Calrissian from The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. (I think the cape is what does him in, but that's me.) Radar, on the other hand, has Willy Wonka (a fine choice, if I may say so myself) on their list, as well as Happy from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Samwise Gangee from Lord of the Rings (Sam's not gay, he's just ... emotional), The Grinch from How the Grinch Stole Christmas and Mr. Tumnus from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Check out both lists and let us know what you think -- is this taking it a bit too far? Or, are there characters they're missing?

Back in January, we were invited to visit the set of The Golden Compass, which was wrapping up its final week of shooting at that time. Since then, a number of photos have hit the net, in addition to two trailers, a few posters and a whole lot of buzz. Based on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, The Golden Compass (originally titled Northern Lights when it was released in Britain) is the first of three books New Line hopes to adapt for the big screen. Unlike New Line's Lord of the Rings franchise, all three His Dark Materials films (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass) are not being shot at the same time. While plans to make The Subtle Knife are currently in the works, it's believed the studio will wait to see how well The Golden Compass does in theaters before moving on to its sequel.

Earlier this month, director Chris Weitz dropped somewhat of a bomb on fans (in a letter to the His Dark Materials fansite), letting them know that he, along with Scholastic, New Line and Philip Pullman, have decided to cut out the last three chapters of Book I from the film, and will instead use the material for The Subtle Knife (even though footage from those last three chapters does appear in the trailer for Compass). For those of you that have read The Golden Compass, you'll know that the book ends on a pretty big cliffhanger (with both a major death and a betrayal). The consensus from fans is that this was a good choice, and will make for a better overall cinematic experience. Additionally, it also means there's a very good chance The Subtle Knife will be made into a film as well ... and what a beginning it will have! The Golden Compass opens nationwide on December 7th; below you'll find a gallery of pics from our set visit and make sure to read on after the jump to find out how this monstrous production was pieced together.

Gallery: The Golden Compass Set Visit

Ever since I found this story earlier today, I've been singing Purple Rain to myself all morning. And this is one of those songs I don't have memorized, so if you were near me you'd hear something like this: [To Purple Rain tune] "Don't tell me ... you could ever see me again -- Purple Rain ... Purrrple Rain." C'mon, like I'm the only person out there who fudges the words to songs. Guaranteed you will start humming this tune now, it's that addictive. Just don't blame me. Anyway, Vanity Fair magazine decided to list the 50 greatest movie soundtracks of all time, and at the top sits Purple Rain -- which consists of such memorable Prince tunes like Let's Go Crazy, When Doves Cry and I Would Die 4 U, among others. Personally, I think the soundtrack is great (even if the movie was kind of terrible), but I'm not crazy about giving the top spot to a soundtrack that featured one artist. Or perhaps that's more of a reason to reward it? Here's Vanity Fair's reasoning behind the choice: "[The] Purple Rain soundtrack was a flawless combination of funk, R&B, pop, metal, and even psychedelia into a sound that defined the '80s."

Be that as it may, but should Prince beat out, say, The Beatles? Yes, coming in at number two on their list is A Hard Day's Night, followed by an interesting choice in The Harder They Come. The rest of the top ten is as follows: Pulp Fiction, The Graduate, Superfly, Trainspotting, Saturday Night Fever, American Graffiti and The Big Chill. All very good soundtracks, although I may have pushed Pulp Fiction higher up on the list ... but I'm just a sucker for the music from that film. Unfortunately, Zach Braff's Garden State soundtrack did not reach the top 10. Sorry kids. And what's The Big Chill doing all the way at number 10? I mean, c'mon -- that soundtrack ruled (and as he says that, he opens up iTunes in a separate window). What do you think? Did they get the top 10 right? Would you have shifted things around. And please tell me which songs are now stuck in your head after reading this ...

She's 35 and he's 20, but in this film he's 17 ... and she's his wife? Before you Zac Efron fans go a little nuts with this news, you should know that I'm talking about his new film 17, which is like a reversal of the Tom Hanks film Big in that Efron's character was an adult (who was in his thirties and married to Leslie Mann), but then because of (insert crucial plot point here), he becomes 17 again and must somehow navigate his way through the war zone that is high school. The Hollywood Reporter tells us Mann, who recently played wife to Paul Rudd in Knocked Up, will star opposite Efron in the New Line teen comedy.

Jason Filardi (Bringing Down the House) wrote the script and Burr Steers (Igby Goes Down) will direct, while Adam Shankman and Jennifer Gibgot produce. I'm not sure how exactly they'll handle this one -- will the 17-year-old kid be able to convince his wife that he's, well, her husband? And if so, will they ... do stuff? And since Efron's adult self is married, does that mean we won't see a teen romance blossom and then fall apart once it's time for him to go back to being old? Will he go back to being old? Part of what made Big so touching and emotional was when he had to say goodbye to this older, adult romance in order to transform back into a kid again. Granted, teen romances aren't as -- how shall I say -- poignant, but I'll be curious to see how they go about it. Is he running away from a struggling marriage? Will being 17 again help revive the relationship, and bring a little more energy into the equation. And will Efron break out into song at some point? These are the questions we need answered people! I guess we'll have to wait until 17 arrives in theaters at some point next year.

A day does not go by without someone receiving a scoop regarding casting for the new Justice League of America film. Just this morning, I met a kid outside while walking my dog who claimed to be "close to a few studio execs." I asked him if he knew anything about Justice League, and he claimed to know who had been cast as Batman. "Oh really?" I replied. "Who?" That's when he smirked, spit something out of his mouth and said, "Your Mothah! Oh, Snaps!" Gotta love New York. Anyway, the latest rumors come to us from Dark Horizons, who received an anonymous email from someone claiming to be "in the know" when it came to JLA casting sessions over in London. And what do they know, you ask?

Well, for starters, they claim British actor Rupert Evans has landed the part of Superman in the live-action flick. Here's a quote from the email (which may or may not be legit): "Anyway after going through a whole bunch of British actors, I heard today that one of them has been cast as Superman. Anyway, the guy everyone is talking about is called Rupert Evans." ANYway, who knows what the deal is -- right after that sentence, the person claimed Jesus Christ himself had been cast as Martian Manhunter ... SO take it all with a grain of salt. (Actually I'm kidding about the Christ stuff, but wouldn't that be an interesting move?) Evans starred in the 2004 film Hellboy, and he certainly has those cute, boy-ish, All-American looks ... except for the fact that he's not American, he's British. Which brings me to my next question: Are you cool with a Brit playing Superman? Of course he won't speak with a British accent, but would it bother you hardcore Supes fans at all if you knew the actor portraying him was not American? Think about it over coffee, debate with your co-workers and leave a comment.