Can you believe it's almost May? Another month of 2008 is almost over, and we've got more casting news, courtesy of Variety:

• New York, I Love You already has a flipping huge and intrigue-inducing cast that ranges from Ethan Hawke to Julie Christie. Now we've got two more players in the mix. Both Carla Gugino (Sin City) and Goran Visnjic (Elektra) have signed on for a segment directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev. There's no word on what this segment will focus on, but I'll go out on a limb and say it'll feature some sort of love in New York City.
• Then there's a young actress by the name of Emilie De Ravin. If you're one of those Lost fiends out there, she's Claire Littleton in the series. On the big screen side of things, she had a lead gig in The Hills Have Eyes. But now she gets to deal with some Public Enemies. While enemies usually aren't a desirable sort of group to hang with, this melange has Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Channing Tatum, Billy Crudup, Giovanni Ribisi, Stephen Dorff, Rory Cochrane, David Wenham ... basically, a ton of great actors, plus a bunch of beloved indie boys from the '90s. According to IMDb, she'll play Anna Patzke.
• Finally, there's the girl who made the world of Gossip Girl all the more intriguing -- Ms. Serena van der Woodsen herself, Blake Lively. She's picked up a lead role in the upcoming film The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, which stars Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder. There's no word on who she will play in the feature.

The girl-empowerment flick Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants was a mild hit at the box office, pulling in $37 million and received warm reviews from some critics and from fans of the original teen novel series by Ann Brashares. The film also helped launch the career of America Ferrera (TV's Ugly Betty). Variety recently confirmed that Warner Bros. is now putting together a sequel to the 2005 film, with an early shooting date planned. The original cast (Ferrera, Amber Tamblyn, Blake Lively, and Alexis Bledel) is currently in talks to return, and set to direct is Sanaa Hamri, who is known for helming music videos by Mariah Carey and Jay-Z, among others; she also made her feature directing debut on the film Something New. The film is being penned by co-writer of the original, Elizabeth Chandler.

The story will be based on the fourth book of Brashare's series (Forever in Blue) and meets up with the four girls, now in their college years, as a pair of jeans sees them through some tough times. Since the girls are growing up, the film is planning on a PG-13 rating this time around -- while still keeping the subject matter family-friendly I'm sure. WB hopes to start shooting on location this June in locations around the world including New York, Turkey, Greece, Providence, and Vermont but WB is apparently willing to accommodate the TV shooting schedules of the principle cast. Ferrera is returning to another season of Ugly Betty, Bledel is apparently going to be coming back for another year of Gilmore Girls, and Tamblyn is working on a drama pilot for CBS. That seems like quite a few schedules to co-ordinate so it might take some time before they can finally agree on a date.