I'll admit it; I have a soft spot for Vin Diesel. Feel free to laugh at me, but I can't help myself, it's something about that voice. So you might want to keep my personal bias in mind when I say that Babylon A.D. really doesn't look all that bad. Silly? Yes, but entertaining none the less. Ropes of Silicon found the latest poster for the sci-fi flick from Gothika director Mathieu Kassovitz and if nothing else, it's a step up from the first one-sheet/Oakley ad we saw a few months ago.

Diesel stars as Toorop, a mercenary who takes the job of escorting a woman from Eastern Europe to New York. But if you have seen the trailer, you know that there is a lot more to this lady than meets the eye. Say what you will about the film, but you have to admit, some of those 'Bladerunneresque' shots of the city were pretty impressive. Starring alongside Diesel is the criminally underused Michelle Yeoh as an a**-kicking nun, as well as, Gerard Depardieu, and Charlotte Rampling.

Babylon has had rough time throughout production. The project started back in 2005, when Kassovitz was hired to adapt the novel, Babylon Babies. Originally the French actor Vincent Cassel was expected to take the lead, but Diesel decided to drop out of Hitman (probably not a bad idea all things considered) to lobby for the role. It was even speculated that the move caused bad blood between Cassel and Kassovitz, and ruined a long standing friendship. As if that wasn't enough stress; there were also delays from weather and talk about the film running over budget.

Hopefully all these problems won't be showing up on the screen when Babylon A.D. opens in theaters on August 29th.

It's been a long time since we saw the first trailer for The Duchess, an historical period piece starring Keira Knightley as the real-life 18th century Georgina Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. But the film opens in September, so it's time to start the onslaught of more trailers and clips. First, we have one from the UK (via Empire), which is a little longer than that first U.S. version. One thing that's added in is a nice shot of Knightley's bum.

Another addition is a strange title card connecting Georgina to Princess Diana. It's true that the two ladies were related, though somewhat distantly (Diana was descended from Georgina's brother, George, who doesn't seem to be portrayed in the film), and I guess they were both celebrated as fashion icons. But I have to agree with Empire that pushing the connection "might be considered more than a little crass."

Also, I'm not sure I understand the title card that says "History Repeats Itself." Does it mean that portraying historical events on film is a repeat of those events? Because, to me, it seems more a confirmation of my feeling that we've already seen this movie a million times before.

The Duchess also stars Ralph Fiennes and Charlotte Rampling and will open in the States on September 19.

To be honest, after watching some of that teaser footage for Vin Diesel's latest foray into science fiction, Babylon A.D., I kind of got the impression that the actor's career could be on a downward trajectory. Now, First Showing.net has gotten a first look at the poster for the film during ShowEast ... and in my opinion? Let's just say it's not helping -- to me there is nothing less futuristic-looking than "futuristic sunglasses." I know it's a small thing, but there isn't much else going on in the poster so it's not like I can ignore it. This probably won't be the final poster for the film, and there have also been rumblings about a teaser making an appearance some time in December.

Directed by Gothika's Mathieu Kassovitz, the story centers on Diesel as a veteran-turned-mercenary who signs up to transport a young woman from Russia to China. Of course, in a dystopia nothing is ever that simple, and it turns out that the woman is "host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah." Joining Diesel are Michelle Yeoh, Charlotte Rampling, and RocknRolla's Mark Strong.

Even though Babylon hasn't been getting much press, fans are still holding out for the "return of Diesel." Of course, there is still the possibility that Diesel will be taking over in Terminator 4 -- lord knows he has the emotional range for it. Plus, Fast and The Furious 4 is still on track with Diesel back in the driver's seat. So at least he is going to have a couple more chances at redeeming himself for The Pacifier. Babylon A.D is set for release on February 9th, 2008.

Actor Giovanni Ribisi chose Tuesday's press junket for the upcoming thriller Perfect Stranger to announce that he has been cast as a young Albert Einstein in an upcoming biopic to be helmed by Italian director Liliana Cavani. "I don't know if I should say, but I will, finally, talk about it," Ribisi said. "Einstein. I'm going to be doing Albert Einstein, with Liliana Cavani, who did the Charlotte Rampling film from the 70s, called The Night Porter. It's great and the script is really great, and I'm really excited about it." Ribisi said the film will begin shooting "in July, I think, and there's another movie called The Stanford Prison Experiment after that." The Einstein biopic will be shot in Italy and in Barcelona and "at Princeton, of course," Ribisi said.

"It's a movie that focuses on his relationship with his first wife, Mileva Maric, and I guess it's from the inception of that relationship to the end of his life," Ribisi said, adding that the role of Mileva had not been cast yet. "It's still sort of at the incipient stage," he noted. When a reporter asked, jokingly, if Ribisi's Einstein would be played as "twisted," Ribisi joked back "Yeah, he's gonna be a weirdo, dude. Einstein The Weirdo. I suggested that, and they were like, 'no, just Einstein.'" No further details on the project emerged, but with the start of filming already apparently approaching, expect more details very soon. Cinematical will keep you posted.

According to Screen Daily, French director François Ozon finally has a British project in the works. Ozon, whose recent work includes the much-discussed Swimming Pool (which, though it centered around British characters, was set in France), is already shooting the film in London. Entitled Angel, it is centered on a social climbing woman in early 20th century London "who climbs the social ladder by becoming a famous novelist." Rather disturbingly, the film stars Romola Garai, who shot to international fame with her starring role in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, as Angel Deverell. Yikes. Around to prop her up will be Ozon regular and Berlin jury chair Charlotte Rampling (who happens to have played a novelist in Swimming Pool) and Sam Neill, as well as a couple of young Brits for whom Angel could be a big break.

Though the rights to the film are currently being shopped in Berlin, there's no word on when Ozon hopes to have it ready for release.