Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Death Defying Acts, starring Guy Pearce, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Saoirse Ronan and Timothy Spall. The film follows famed magician Harry Houdini (Pearce), who, while on a tour of Britain in 1926, enters into a passionate affair with a Scottish psychic (Zeta-Jones). Ah, but this psychic has plans of her own, and, along with her daughter (Ronan), attempt to con the magician by using the one event that's plagued him for many years: the death of his mother. Back when Death Defying Acts premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, our own Scott Weinberg said it was "lovely to look at and packed with some solid doses of charm and wit ... this is full-bore Hollywood fantasy all the way."

Death Defying Acts arrives in theaters in NY and LA on July 11.

You know that man who is playing Howie 'The Captain' Archibald, Nate's dad, in Gossip Girl? It's Sam Robards, the son of Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall, the godson of Katharine Hepburn. And now The Hollywood Reporter posts that he has nabbed the spot of Catherine Zeta-Jones' ex. Robards will play her ex-husband in the upcoming romcom The Rebound, which is coming to us from Bart Freundlich.

This is the story of a woman who becomes a divorced, single mom in New York City. With the world of men at her fingertips, she turns her gaze next door, to her much younger 25-year-old neighbor (played by Justin Bartha), and begins to rebound. THR says that "Robards' character is shocked to discover that his ex is romantically involved with a younger man." As would anyone ... I wonder if young men hold the key to Catherine's heart, of it if makes her bounce right back to Robards?

In the meantime, if you're a fan of the actor, you can check him out on Broadway this summer. He's replacing Charles Edwards in 39 Steps.

He got the honor of acting in the super-successful, critically acclaimed, award-winning Gigli. (I kid.) Then he got to sink his cinematic teeth into two helpings of National Treasure, and one Failure to Launch. Now Justin Bartha is getting to play the young boyfriend of the one and only Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Variety reports that the actor has signed on to star with Zeta-Jones in The Rebound -- a romantic comedy currently filming in New York City that I first posted about last month when the actress signed on. The film stars Zeta-Jones as a mom in Manhattan who starts to date her neighbor (Bartha), a 25-year-old young man. As I noted then, this seems to be project close to writer/director Bart Freundlich's heart. He just so happens to be Julianne Moore's 9-years-younger husband. Funny enough, that is also the age difference between Bartha and Zeta-Jones, who then, in turn, is 25 years younger than her real-life man, Michael Douglas. It's age gaps all around!

This will mark Freundlich's first written/directed feature without Moore, who has acted in his three other features -- The Myth of Fingerprints, World Traveler, and Trust the Man. How he fares with Zeta-Jones, we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, both Catherine and Justin have other films on the way, like her Death Defying Acts and his Shoe at Your Foot.

A bit of Catherine Zeta-Jones' reality is headed to the big-screen, but flipped. As we all know, she's married to Michael Douglas, who is 25* years her senior (exactly, since they were born on the same day). Now The Hollywood Reporter posts that she will star in a new May-December romantic comedy that Bart Freundlich is directing. Freundlich is a director (Trust the Man), but is probably better known for being the husband of actress Julianne Moore.

The romcom doesn't have a title yet, but it will star Zeta-Jones as "a single New York City mom who captures the eye of her new neighbor, a 25-year-old man." Yes, she's getting a taste of Maude, but with a more respectable age difference. This is also a mirror, of sorts, for Freundlich, who is 9 years younger than Moore. Man, it's May-December all around!

Production is scheduled to begin next month on the 17th, but they haven't finalized a male lead yet. Hmm... What 25-year-old would be well-cast as Catherine's paramour? Maybe Robert Buckley? He's already dealing with this whole theme on Lipstick Jungle.

*Math corrected...

It has been a long, long time since former Cinematical EIC Karina Longworth wrote about Catherine Zeta-Jones being cast as Lana Turner in Stompanato. So long, in fact, that I was only a mere commenter at the time, with hopes and dreams of becoming a Cinematical blogger (yes, that was me commenting on her post). And, more importantly, so long that I was pretty sure the project had either disappeared or at least lost its stars, which included Keanu Reeves as Turner's gangster boyfriend Johnny Stompanato. Well, according to The New Zealand Herald, Zeta-Jones is still on board, though the script is also still in development. Also, I've discovered that Reeves did indeed drop out of the film. And I've decided to assume that Adrian Lyne is no longer directing (though maybe he is).

I'm especially excited about this film because I recently read Turner's autobiography, Lana: The Lady, the Legend, the Truth, and finally learned all I needed to know about the Stompanato scandal. For those unfamiliar, I'll keep it simple: Turner, who was married like a million times, had a gangster boyfriend named Johnny Stompanato. Only she didn't know he was a gangster. She didn't even know his name in the beginning. But he was abusive and obsessive and was badly affecting her career, so one day she stabbed him. Oh, wait, that was her teenage daughter, Cheryl, who done it. Yet many people have alleged that Turner was the actual murderer (still in self-defense, of course).

Anyway, one thing I remember from her autobiography is that she wrote about being asked who would play her in a biopic. She didn't say Catherine Zeta-Jones. Actually, she claimed the woman hadn't been born yet. At the time of the claim, Zeta-Jones had already been born. So much for Turner's ability to see the future.

According to the New York Daily News, Catherine Zeta-Jones will no longer co-star in Nine, the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, which itself was an adaptation of Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. Zeta-Jones would have played the role of Claudia, "the alluring muse of skirt-chasing director Guido Contini." The reason for the falling out is allegedly -- it's always allegedly with the Daily News -- because director Rob Marshall (the inexplicably Best Picture-winning Chicago) "wouldn't give in to her demand to beef up her role." The script is adapted by Michael Tolkin (The Player), and apparently the creative team wasn't willing to change the story around. A friend of Zeta-Jones told the Daily News "She was never 100% committed to Nine. She had a meeting with Rob. She'd love to work with him again. But she felt she'd done the same sort of role in Chicago. The script wasn't an issue."

Marshall has moved on and is looking for a younger actress to hop in and play Claudia. The list of possibles includes Natalie Portman, Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow. (In what world is Gwyneth Paltrow a reasonable substitute for Zeta-Jones?) The cast of Nine, one of the more attractive bunches of actors in recent memory, features Javier Bardem as Guido, Sophia Loren as Guido's mother, Penelope Cruz as his mistress Carla, and Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini. Reportedly (another word for "allegedly"), Katie Holmes was "heartbroken" when Marshall turned her down for a role. Who would you guys like to see in the part? We'll keep you posted on how this drama turns out.

Additionally, Variety has announced today that the Weinstein Co. has officially delayed production on Nine due to the script not being ready.

Variety is reporting that director/choreographer Rob Marshall and uber-producer Harvey Weinstein have started putting together a cast for Nine, a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Javier Bardem was just offered the role of director Guido Contini, who "experiences a creative and personal crisis as he tries to balance all the women in his life." The musical was inspired by Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2, and the Contini role was originated onstage by the great Raul Julia. In its recent Broadway revival, Contini was played by Antonio Banderas. I love Bardem, but I have to wonder why Banderas isn't reprising his role here. He played the part in 2003 and he still looks like a million bucks, so the reason can't be that he's gotten too old. Curious.

Regardless, the real appeal of this film is going to be its women. If Marshall gets his first choices, this will be one beautiful cast. Marion Cotillard (Russell Crowe's love interest in A Good Year) is set to play Contini's wife. Penelope Cruz, whom I never thought too highly of until her terrific work in Volver, is in talks to play Contini's mistress, Carla. Marshall hopes to sign his Chicago co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones to play "the director's muse." Zeta-Jones isn't signed yet, but judging by what she told MTV's Movie Blog last month, she's a done deal. Said Jones, "I'd read the phone book with Rob Marshall. To put a musical in a director's hands, for me it can only be [him]." Marshall is also trying to get Sophia Loren, one of the sexiest women of all time, on board to play Contini's mother, who comes to Contini as a ghost. Michael Tolkin, best known for adapting his novel The Player for Robert Altman, is adapting the script. I'm no fan of Marshall, I thought Chicago was insanely overrated, and Mem-Snores of a Geisha was agony to sit through. Still, I dig musicals and it'd be great to see all of these gorgeous women on the big screen at once.

According to Bottlegreen Drinks Co., the most beautiful British woman of all-time is Gone with the Wind star Vivien Leigh. Okay, I imagine you American readers are now wondering, "What is Bottlegreen Drinks Co. and what do they have to do with the movies?" Unfortunately, I can't really give any answers. I'd never heard of Bottlegreen before this news, either, and a quick glance at their website doesn't have me going, "ooooooh, they make _____." As for their expertise on surveys about British celebrity, I can't find a thing.

Nonetheless, the company apparently polled 1,000 men and women, and Leigh, who died nearly forty years ago, topped the list of British beauties. And what about the most handsome British man, you ask? Well, that would be Cary Grant, whose popularity still astounds me (even though he's grown on me, if only because he appears in so many great films), particularly in the looks department (that hair and butt-chin are awful!). If women aren't ignoring his voice when they claim the attraction, then I give up trying to figure out what women want. Unfortunately, the reports of this news don't include a full list of the male runners-up. As for the other nine ladies who followed in the top ten, you can check them out after the jump.

Those of us who don't like looking at Renée Zellweger's ribs tend to agree that one of the best things about Rob Marshall's Chicago was Catherine Zeta-Jones' appearance as Velma. Not only is she unashamedly shaped like an actual woman (Look -- curves! Holy crap! Is that allowed?), but she also has a strong background in stage musicals and can actually sing and dance. For these reasons, it's unsurprising (but nevertheless exciting) to hear that she's in the thick of the rumors that are circulating about Marshall directing a screen version of Gypsy for The Weinstein Company. Though the piece (from the New York Post's eminently *cough* reliable Liz Smith) offers no details on which role Zeta-Jones would play, one assumes she's more a little bit old to play Gypsy and would mostly likely play Mama Rose, a role that has been described as "the pinnacle of all diva roles in musical theater."

Assuming they didn't cast freaking Jessica Alba or something as Gypsy, a movie with Zeta-Jones as Mama Rose has tons of potential, and you know she'd love it -- after all, what musical theater actress doesn't secretly want to take on Ethel Merman (who originated the role on Broadway)?

A random mix today:

• According to Moviehole, an unnamed studio is putting together a remake of 1955's glorious-if-way-too-long film version of Guys and Dolls as a vehicle for Catherine Zeta-Jones. Vin Diesel, who has been interested in the project since it was first mentioned almost three years ago, is angling to play Sky Masterson. Dear me. Vin, I knew Marlon Brando. Marlon Brando was a friend of mine and, while you've got the swagger and can probably even sing better than he did, you're no Marlon Brando.

• Calling all teenage, female, British His Dark Materials fans: New Line is holding a series of open casting calls to find just the right girl to play the starring role of Lyra Belacqua in their film version of The Golden Compass. While you'll undoubtedly freezing your ass sitting in line (if the studio tells you "be prepared to wait a while," you KNOW it's going to be a long time), this is your big chance to become the female Daniel Radcliffe - three movies, baby, not to mention a bigger pile of money than you can possibly imagine.

• In other New Line news, they have acquired the remake rights to Japanese horror flick Infection, and will produce a US version with Vertigo Entertainment. (Vertigo loves them some J-Horror, having produced both Grudges, both Rings, and Dark Water.) In order to make sure the remake is of the highest possible quality, New Line has hired Channing Gibson, the mind behind Cradle 2 the Grave, to write the screenplay. Gee, maybe they'll call this one Infection 4U, or something - he'll be right at home.