Once word hit that Tim Burton was taking on the world of Alice in Wonderland, two things were so very inevitable. One: Johnny Depp would get a role, and he nabbed a perfect one at that -- Mad Hatter. Two: Helena Bonham Carter would get one as well. I am not sure why it took so long to release the info, but here it is: The Hollywood Reporter posts that Burton's main squeeze will become the Red Queen, the woman who loves to screech "Off with their heads," while Anne Hathaway will balance her radical redness as the benevolent White Queen, who gets deposed and banished.

Taking a cue from the initial images of Mia Wasikowska as Alice, I'm dying to see what Burton does. Johnny and Helena, Michael Sheen, Matt Lucas, and Ms. Hathaway -- it's one of those mixtures that should thrive under the eye of Burton. Now we just need to get Burton to cast Danny Huston as the Chesire Cat. (He's made for that role!)

What do you think of the cast so far? Is it time for Johnny and Helena to not be in a film together, or are these the perfect roles? How about Helena and Anne as sisters? Weigh in below!

Back when I was in London, word had it Tim Burton was in pre-production on his Alice in Wonderland -- but it seems the director has begun shooting some of his live-action scenes for the film, and a bunch of spy photos featuring Mia Wasikowska (Alice) have arrived online via INF. The images also include shots of Burton's main squeeze Helena Bonham Carter whose baby is all dressed up in period garb ... preparing for a cameo, perhaps? Of course, Johnny Depp was just officially announced as the Mad Hatter, and the final product will be a mix of live action and motion-capture animation. One imagines the scenes featuring Alice before she arrives in Wonderland (ie: these two photos) will be shot in live action, with the majority of the Wonderland stuff all in motion-capture. Oooh, this flick is gonna be freaky ...



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[via Slashfilm]

Helena Bonham Carter gave a few hints on her surprising Terminator: Salvation role to Sci-Fi Wire -- and surprise surprise, it's not a cuddly one! "I kind of play a baddie, definitely a baddie. I don't know how much I'm allowed to say, but I'm a very bad person."

Now, I know there's readers out there who are more up on their Terminator mythology than I am (and it feels weird to even refer to it having a mythology), but were there bad humans? Turncoats who helped the machines? Evil scientists from Skynet? I feel certain this was discussed somewhere in a Kyle Reese monologue, but I may just be filling in gaps. Of course, Bonham Carter could be playing a Terminator (Summer Glau has proved you can be tiny and lethal), but I'm trying to keep all options open.

Given Bonham Carter's late in the game casting, it turns out she was replacing another actress -- Tilda Swinton, who I now want to pop up as a Terminator at some point. (I think I would instantly surrender.)

As for Bonham Carter's own interest, it turns out it was all due to her other half. "Tim [Burton] would have killed me if I hadn't done it, because he's such a Terminator fan. I've been in big movies before ... but I've never been in this kind of big popcorn action movie, a male one, an action one." And honestly, I like that she is in one. I continue to be amazed at the talent who has been attracted to this film, and like the rest of the world, I'm excited to see what becomes of it.

Terminator: Salvation opens May 22, 2009. We must try not to get overdosed on it ... and that's going to be really hard.

The script for Terminator Salvation must be all kinds of magic, because it's attracting the most unlikely of people. The Hollywood Reporter announced today that Helena Bonham Carter is in talks to join the cast, which already includes some pretty fine actors. Exactly who or what she will play is not mentioned, merely that her part is "small, but pivotal."

So, let the speculation begin! As Sarah Connor has morphed to a lovely brunette Lena Headey in The Sarah Connor Chronicles, perhaps she will be playing her in a flashback? (I know, the television show is on a separate mythology/timeline as the films, but I have to consider all the possibilities.) Could she be a Terminator model, despite her petiteness? A vital designer of SkyNet? A baker who comes up with an industrious way to dispose of fallen soldiers and feed what's left of humanity? I'm at a loss here.

Bonham Carter has certainly moved away from her Merchant and Ivory days. Who would have ever thought the adorable Lucy Honeychurch was going to be Bellatrix Lestrange, let alone go post-apocalyptic? Oddly, her attachment interests me far more than even Christian Bale's. And there, I have to hand it to McG -- every time I think my vague interest in this movie is dead, he finds a way to stir it up again.

Terminator Salvation is aiming to hit theatres on May 22nd, 2009. That is going to be one enormous summer, isn't it?

Now if only my parents made up a poster like this for my Bar Mitzvah, the rest of my adult life probably would've gone in a completely different direction. Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Sixty Six (click to enlarge), starring Eddie Marsan, Helena Bonham Carter and Gregg Sulkin. Directed by Paul Weiland, Sixty Six is an adorable little indie from across the pond about a boy who's life gets turned upside down when his Bar Mitzvah just happens to coincide with the classic 1966 World Cup Final between England and West Germany. It was supposed to be the most important event of his life. Unfortunately for him, it clashed with one of the most important events in the history of his country.

Sixty Six already debuted in the UK, but now it's finally making its way to the states and will arrive in theaters on August 1.

Slim pickins this week, no joke!, but at least there's one solid choice:

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
For some it's Stephen Sondheim's classic musical. For others, it's that super-sweet scene from Jersey Girl, and now, for many, it's the slicing and dicing Tim Burton adventure. Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp) is an ex-convict who was wrongly imprisoned. After many years in a penal colony in Australia, he's back in London as Sweeney Todd -- all to get his revenge against Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), the man who sent him away and ruined Barker's family. Teaming up with Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), he whips up some rather unique meat pies and prepares for revenge. It's just the sort of thing that Burton could bring to life on the big screen.

Sure, the film has the usual Burton players, but this is classic Burton material, and Depp and Bonham Carter know the score. (The same cannot be said for their singing, but sometimes, that can be forgiven.) With added helpings of Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, and Sacha Baron Cohen, it's hard not to at least fall for the talents within the film.

Best Actress (Musical or Comedy)

Nominees:

Amy Adams -- Enchanted

Nikki Blonsky -- Hairspray

Helena Bonham Carter -- Sweeney Todd

Marion Cotillard -- La vie en Rose

Ellen Page -- Juno

Predicted Winner: Ellen Page -- Juno

Although screenwriter Diablo Cody is clearly the "breakout" star of the Juno story, I'm sure she'd admit that without Ellen Page, the movie wouldn't be quite so special. Movie fans first took note of the diminutive gal's talents in the chilling Hard Candy, and the blockbuster fanboys fell for her hard in X-Men: The Last Stand -- but it's pretty safe to say that Juno is her "star-making" role -- and it couldn't happen to a cooler girl. We predict a Globe win, an Oscar nomination, and ... well, let's not jinx the woman!

Now it's your turn to vote ...

Even though I know he has sung before on screen, I've got to tell you -- I'm not accustomed to listening to Johnny Depp sing Sondheim. The official website for Tim Burton's big-screen version of Sweeney Todd has undergone a makeover and is now packed with musical clips, downloads, and the behind-the-scenes featurette that was making the rounds on the net recently.

The film stars Depp as the murderous Barber of Fleet Street and Burton's latest muse (and wife) Helena Bonham Carter, as Todd's partner in crime, Mrs. Lovett. Based on the musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler, the story follows Sweeney Todd, who returns home to London after escaping the life imprisonment of Benjamin Barker only to find his wife and daughter Johanna have suffered at the hands of the man who had him falsely imprisoned (Alan Rickman). With the help of his former landlady (Carter), Sweeney launches a plan for revenge.

So if you are like me and aren't quite used to the idea of a musical Johnny Depp, then this is your chance. Because unlike most of the TV spots for the film, the web site is all about the music; in fact, you can't get away from it even if you wanted to. Depp has been quoted as saying that he took a "punk rock approach" to his singing parts in the film, and you can definitely hear a little Johnny Rotten mixed in there along with the Broadway stylings. So even though I'm not a huge fan of musicals, the combination of Burton, Depp, and Carter (who has always been one of my favorite actresses) is perfect for the black humor needed to make this film work. I'll keep my fingers crossed when Sweeney Todd hits theaters on December 21st.

I guess it goes to show how little I've been paying attention, but I could have sworn Narcissa Malfoy already showed up in the Harry Potter movies. Of course, it could also mean I'm easily mixing up the books and the adaptations, because I must be thinking of the character's first appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire -- the novel not the film. But Narcissa, who is mother to Draco (Tom Felton), wife to Lucius (Jason Isaacs) and cousin to Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) features prominently in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- the novel -- and so she will be making her cinematic introduction in the movie version. And now we've got word on who will be playing the role. According to BBC, Helen McCrory will play Narcissa, who in Half-Blood Prince is dealing with her husband being a prisoner of Azkaban and her son being a teenage brat.

Audiences are likely most familiar with McCrory through her role as British first lady Cherie Blair in The Queen. She also appeared recently in Becoming Jane, as Mrs. Radcliffe (somewhat a Potter-riffic name, right?), and Casanova, in which she played mother to Heath Ledger's title character. The interesting thing now is that McCrory is actually playing the sister of the character she was originally all set to play. If you remember back to the original casting announcements of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, McCrory was first attached to play Bellatrix Lestrange, a part that went to Helena Bonham Carter when McCrory became pregnant and had to bow out. And you may recall that earlier this year, the part of Narcissa was linked to Naomi Watts, whose reps quickly denied her involvement. As much as I loved the idea of Watts playing the role, I'm intrigued to see McCrory take it on. I wonder, though, will she have to dye her hair, or am I once again revealing my lack of attention to the books? Half-Blood Prince, which is currently in production at the helm of Order of the Phoenix director David Yates, is set to hit theaters in little over a year from now (21 Nov. 2008)

Remaking a film, whether it's a classic or not, can be a tricky thing: The source material needs to be solid, there has to be an audience that will want to see the film, and -- most importantly -- there has to be a legitimate reason for an update. Regarding the final point, this "legitimate reason" cannot be making a crap-ton of money by fast-tracking a dud. It should be, as in the case of 2005's King Kong, that an update adds something to the original, such as kick-ass special effects that weren't available back in the '70s (the last time Kong graced screens), or simply makes it more accessible to modern audiences. Alas, too few movies heed this final point, and that is why so many remakes, from Planet of the Apes to Psycho, fall short of expectations.

Moviefone has ranked the 25 Worst Movie Remakes of all time, beginning with the moderately misguided and finishing up with the flagrantly bad and unnecessary. Check out the list, then share your picks for the worst remakes. Did we miss any stinkers? Did we include any that, in your opinion, are brilliant reimaginings? And, lastly, do you think Helena Bonham Carter still looks hot as an ape?