I imagine most writers dream of being the star of their novel or screenplay — unless the lead is  some kind of unrepentant serial killer, and even then I suspect it’s still a sleazy kind of catharsis. But unless your name is Jason Segel, your dreams of headlining the poster and getting the girl will never be fulfilled.

But don’t be too bitter. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Segel didn’t nab that sexy of a lead.  He’ll be starring in the untitled Muppet movie he penned for Disney, so the only girls he might get will be made of felt. Not much is known about the film, which will be directed by James Bobin, except that it centers on a man (Segel) who seeks to reunite the Muppets so that they can save their studio.

We can laugh that he penned himself into the leading role, but he does love the Muppets,  so it’s only natural.   I know I dreamed of being of in a Muppet movie. In my heart of hearts, I probably still do.

Then again, he did write and star in Forgetting Sarah Marshall too. Look what that got him.  A posh Hawaiian shoot. Beautiful actresses.  Cool costars. Fame. Fortune. A Muppet movie.  He’s going to have an enviable habit of this, isn’t he?

Oh well.   Again, let’s not begrudge him.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to finish that script about a entertainment reporter who has to choose between  Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, and Viggo Mortensen before nabbing the female lead in a remake of The Outlaw Josey Wales ….

Lots of names come to mind when thinking of the more popular film score composers of the past two decades. Names like Danny Elfman, John Williams, and Quincy Jones have dominated the craft for so long, it’s refreshing when a newcomer joins the ranks. In the last 5 years, Michael Giacchino has earned his slot in the Mount Everest of film composers.

Giacchino has shown his incredible range scoring projects such as LOST, Speed Racer, The Incredibles, Star Trek, and finally getting himself an Oscar for his work on Disney’s Up. It looks like the major studio isn’t letting go of Giacchino any time soon, as they have just hired him to compose the score for the upcoming space adventure John Carter of Mars.

It makes sense that Disney would go with this pick, given his work on their more recent Pixar films, especially with Pixar veteran Andrew Stanton directing the film. While that connection makes the most sense, it could also be attributed to the amazing score Giacchino composed for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, which could easily go down as one of the best sci-fi scores of recent history.

Even with this news, John Carter of Mars is most definitely not shaping up to be a small picture. With Disney backing the film, and a cast made up of Taylor Kitsch, Mark Strong, Willem Dafoe, Bryan Cranston, Dominic West, Polly Walker, Thomas Hayden Church, Samantha Morton and Lynn Collins, you can expect to see big things from the upcoming sci-fi epic.

Though Avatar didn’t pick up the best picture award at the Oscars on Sunday, the filmmakers can console themselves by sobbing into the ridiculous pile of money the film is still making and a few technical awards. Even without a big Oscar win, the 3D juggernaut in Hollywood keeps rolling along, as word is now coming in that Warner Bros. is planning on rebooting the holiest of classics: The Wizard of Oz.

And yes, it will be in 3D. From The LA Times:

The studio is examining two existing “Wizard of Oz” projects, with an eye toward giving one of them a modern gloss and moving it toward the screen.

One project, called “Oz,” currently lives at Warner’s New Line label. It’s being produced by Temple Hill, which is behind a little franchise called “Twilight,” and has a script written by Darren Lemke, a writer on the upcoming “Shrek Forever After.”

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Women, you can’t live with them, you can’t live without them — especially if you’re a grown man-child living in your parent’s basement. That is, until now. The “Women of Marvel” is a year-long celebration of, you guessed it, the women of Marvel Comics.

Marvel intends to celebrate women not only in the superhero realm but also the real life creators and artists. Marvel sees us standing impatiently in lines for Avatar and says, “Hey, maybe she’d like to read something to take her mind off of the 3 hour and $18 dollar ticket price.”

First off, I commend Marvel for spotlighting half of the human population. Yes, we women are out there and some of us are geeks. For the past few years I have been reading about Marvel’s company and comic book events.

I found Civil War to be expertly drawn and relevant, I was thankful that House of M was both brief and Wolverine-centric, and I was patient as Skrullacost (aka Secret Invasion) ended in a forgone conclusion. I was ecstatic when Marvel also dedicated a month to my favorite hairball, Wolvie.

Now that I liked, especially the article about the state of the canuckle’s head when he sat down on the couch for some therapy. It’s safe to say I’m excited about some Marvel events and less so about others, which is fine considering events span the far reaches of the Marvel universe.

However, when I heard about a year-long celebration of a gender I am wholly bias about, a smile spread on my face. Maybe it was due to the fact the most recent San Diego Comic-Con was comprised of 40% women or the line of Twihards stretched for miles, but whatever the cause the impact is slowly changing the marketplace for the well-rounded better and Marney (Marvel + Disney) is diving into the deep end.

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After long months of waiting and after viewing any and all material we could find on Tron Legacy, Disney has released a full blown trailer for the film. Fortunately, the wait seems to be worth it as the trailer looks pretty darn awesome.

In it we get a better idea of the film’s story and meet most of the major players, especially Garret Hedlund as Sam Flynn, Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley and Olivia Wilde as Quorra. We even get a quick glimpse of Academy Award Winner Jeff Bridges as Kevin Flynn. Plus, there’s quite a bit of the awesome look of the film which, even with these few images and sequences, looks great.

In fact, the film looks so visually complex and interesting, I’m actually going to admit it’s one I may want to see in 3D. Although, I’m pretty sure it will looks almost as stunning in plain, old 2D.

Maybe I’ll just have to see it both ways. Heck, while I’m at it, why not IMAX too? Why not indeed.

Check out the trailer after the break and prepare to be blown away. Tron Legacy hits theaters on December 17th.

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While legions of fans are getting ready for Disney and Tim Burton’s release of Alice In Wonderland tonight at midnight, a good portion of the attendees are also going for a special glimpse at Tron: Legacy, which will be attached to the beginning of most screenings. That’s right, Disney is already starting the marketing for the film, which won’t be in theaters for another 9 months.

With that said, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Disney is already planning on expanding the franchise to their TV network geared more towards kids between the ages of 6 and 14. The show reportedly a 10-part Tron micro series that will follow the events of Legacy, and premiere in the fall of 2011.

No word yet on whether the show will be a mix of CG animation and live action, such as it will in the upcoming film, but you can expect it to look as stunning as some of the images and graphics we have seen from Disney on the project thus far.

As well as news coming in about the upcoming animated series, we also recently got our hands on some new stills from the upcoming Tron: Legacy film, which hits theaters this December in 3D and IMAX. Check them out after the jump.

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About a month ago, we brought you news of the first new character to be revealed from Disney’s upcoming Toy Story 3. His name was Mr. Prickelpants, and he was a porcupine in lederhosen, voiced by Timothy Dalton. As if the characters couldn’t get any better than that, we just got word of the next four to be revealed.

Disney has even gone as far as to give descriptions of each new toy, staying in the context of the Toy Story Universe. Each of our favorites are still back, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Wallace Shawn as T. Rex, and John Ratzenberger as Piggy Bank.

Check out each of the descriptions, with exclusive new pics, after the jump. Catch Toy Story 3 in theaters and IMAX across the country on June 18th.

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Now that Rob Marshall has settled in and Disney has confirmed that Johnny Depp will be returning for the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, currently entitled On Stranger Tides, the studio is now looking to fill the cast with other well-known actors to keep the financial ball rolling.

First news on that front was that Penelope Cruz would be joining as Jack Sparrow’s new squeeze. More news is coming in that Ian McShane, the man who made swearing an art form on the series Deadwood, is currently in negotiations to play the pirate Black Beard.

The actor is best known for Deadwood, but has also been seen in other great projects such as NBC’s short-lived Kings, and the Andy Samberg comedy Hot Rod. The British actor was last seen in the film 44-inch Chest.

No word yet when we will get official word on McShane’s involvement with the film, but with other great actors such as Geoffrey Rush and Bill Nighy taking parts in the film, this seems to be right in line with that pattern.

What are your thoughts on Ian McShane as Black Beard? Who else would you like to see in the next Pirates film? Sound off in our comments below.

This week on the radar we’ve got news on Steven Spielberg’s potential return to dinosaurs, the status of the third Mortal Kombat film, NBC gets a Gold in the ratings competition, and what comic book legend may show up on one of our favorite shows, The Big Bang Theory.

Let’s see what blips are on the radar this week.

Boba Fett, finally the deadliest action figure in a galaxy far, far away

If you’re like me, you grew up on the first generation of Star Wars toys and action figures. You know the ones, they had a massive (sarcasm) five points of articulation. Well, one figure that was sort of an urban legend was the missile-firing Boba Fett.  We all heard of it, but rarely saw it.  Well, now it can be yours with the purchase of five other figures!  Offer expires 3/31/2011, while supplies last, only valid in US and Canada…and a whole lot of other legal fine print I’m sure.

Tron: Legacy viral campaign starts to gear up

Disney teased everyone at last year’s Comic Con about a Tron viral campaign. With the highly anticipated film set to open this December online viral goodness have started to trickle out.  The first is a new site with a somewhat enigmatic theme to it.  Can you figure out what it is?  I don’t want to ruin it, but if you must know check this link out.

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Going off to college is never easy. It’s even harder when your most beloved childhood toys get donated to a day care center, and that’s the situation Andy and his toys Woody, Buzz, and the gang are facing in the third installment to Pixar’s oldest franchise, Toy Story 3. A new trailer popped up on the Apple Trailers site today, giving us an even deeper peek at the film.

It’s more than appropriate that Andy would be going off to college, as Toy Story fans (myself included) have all grown up and left our own toys behind. But with the toys also facing big changes like making new friends and learning to use the internet, Toy Story 3 looks like it’ll please both fourth graders and college freshmen.

Directed by Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc.) and starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, John Ratzenberger, Joan Cusack, and Wallace Shawn, Toy Story 3 flies out of the toy box and into theaters and IMAX 3D June 18th. In the meantime, you can watch the brand new trailer after the jump.

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