This just in to Cinematical headquarters: The Weinstein Co. announced that Kate Hudson has joined Rob Marshall's adaptation of the famed musical, Nine. Hudson will co-star alongside Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Penélope Cruz and Marion Cotillard -- and if that beautiful cast doesn't get asses in seats, I don't know what will. Day-Lewis will play director Guido Contini who, while preparing for his latest picture, has trouble balancing the many women in his life.

Personally, I've been waiting for Hudson to take a little departure from starring in cheesy rom-coms for awhile now, though I'm sure some of you would be happy if she disappeared forever at this point. That said, I still remain a Hudson supporter (damn you Almost Famous!), and I know she's got some good stuff holed up in places we just haven't been fortunate to discover yet. What do you think? A step up for Hudson, or a step down?

The trailer for My Best Friend's Girl (originally known as "Bachelor No. 2"), starring Kate Hudson and Dane Cook, is now online, and the only word that comes to mind is "monstrosity". Why don't you take a look at it up top. Go ahead, I'll wait here.

Are you as horrified as I am? Normally I prefer not to inflict my negativity about upcoming releases on you; if all I have to contribute is whining, I try to leave the blogging to someone else. But I couldn't pass this up. What we seem to have here is: a) the ten-millionth iteration of the plot where X starts a relationship with Y on a bet or a job but ends up falling in love; b) starring Kate Hudson, the reigning queen of the nondescript rom-com (at least Matthew McConaughey is nowhere to be found); c) co-starring Dane Cook, whose very presence is the equivalent of nails on a chalkboard, as a professional a**hole, and Jason Biggs as an awkward nice guy; and d) directed by Howard Deutch, who is responsible for some of the worst comedies of the last ten years. Oh, and it's named after a song. Despite not being dead, the Cars are spinning in their graves.

On one hand, I'd love to be proven wrong about My Best Friend's Girl; on the other hand, I really, really don't want to subject myself to it. Would it be a dereliction of duty to skip the thing?

For the upcoming romantic comedy Bride Wars, we've already got Kate Hudson battling Anne Hathaway. The actresses play best friends who begin warring when they both pick the same wedding date. Instead of compromising, sharing, or figuring out a way to make things work, neither will back down from their chosen date, and they begin competing for everything from venues and services to the guests they hope to score.

Now Variety reports that Candice Bergen has signed on to co-star as Marion St. Claire -- "the queen of all wedding planners." (I wonder if she works with Franck Eggelhoffer?) I think it's safe to say that Ms. Bergen will be someone both women fight to hire, and since she's listed as a co-star, maybe the planner will play both sides of the fence. While Bergen has been busy over the years, from her stint on Sex and the City, to her main gig on Boston Legal, The In-Laws was her last movie gig, in 2003. Now she's got bridal wars and The Women coming our way.

Oh, Lowell, when will you find true love? To me, Thomas Haden Church will always be Lowell, the lovable mechanic from the 90s sitcom Wings, but most movie fans are probably more familiar with his Academy Award-nominated role as Jack, the unfaithful, somewhat sleazy buddy of wine lover Paul Giamatti in Alexander Payne's Sideways. More recently, he became a giant, somewhat bewildered pile of sand in Spider-Man 3. (Sorry, I never quite understood his character in the movie.) Now he's about to star with the adorable, bubbly Kate Hudson -- but it's not the kind of light romantic pairing you might expect.

According to Variety, Church will play Hudson's husband in Big Eyes, a biopic that will be directed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, based on their script. The film will dramatize events in the lives of Walter and Margaret Keane. For many years, Walter reportedly took credit for artwork that his wife had painted. The artwork became quite popular; eventually, though, Margaret sued Walter in order to regain credit, and evidently the lawsuit and trial will be key components in the film.

Whether you find the artwork to be creepy, as Christopher Campbell did, or worthy of museums and one-artist shows (check out the list at Margaret Keane's official site), I think the film stands a good chance of being quite dramatic, especially with the addition of Church. He can be simultaneously charming and sleazy, as he proved in Sideways, so I expect fireworks and sparks to fly when the film is released.

Chemistry. It's a word tossed around in plenty of movie reviews, generally to diagnose whether two actors have it or not. Chemistry can be in the eye of the beholder: some critics may disagree, but if the chemistry is really there, it will show in the way the film catches on. No one can deny that Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan had it in When Harry Met Sally, or that William Powell and Myrna Loy, or Woody Allen and Diane Keaton had it in their many films. But for every hit, there are many, many failed experiments. Here are seven of the most (or least) memorable.

1. Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine in A Damsel in Distress (1937)
For whatever reason, Astaire decided to break up his hit formula with Ginger Rogers and make this movie without her. His new partner? Joan Fontaine, best known for playing mousy, quietly pretty types (Rebecca, Letter from an Unknown Woman, etc.) and definitely not a song-and-dance woman. Poor Joan was taken to the mat for her lack of singing and hoofing, although the film actually isn't that bad. The ultra-witty P.G. Wodehouse adapted his own novel, it won an Oscar for its dance choreography, and it features another great team: George Burns and Gracie Allen.

2. Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock in Two Weeks Notice (2002)
Every so often some Hollywood executive gets the idea to team up two big stars, hoping that their massive appeal will translate into screen chemistry; it mostly doesn't. These two romantic comedy masters, who have been wonderful in other films with other people, came together like a dull, wet flint, unable to strike even the most meager spark. Another infamous example of this type of casting came in 1986: recent Oscar winners Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep came together for Mike Nichols' Heartburn. Before it opened, it had lots of buzz. After it opened, it had more of a stench.

By the time this review is over, I will have spent more time thinking about Fool's Gold than the writers of its script. This...thing...is one of the sloppiest pictures released by a major studio in recent memory. What can you say about a "romance" with no romance, a "comedy" with no laughs, an "adventure" with no excitement? Though I certainly wasn't rubbing my hands together in anticipation walking in to the theater, I thought this would at least succeed at being an enjoyable time waster. "Attractive people wearing few clothes in exotic locales -- I can handle watching that for a few hours," I thought to myself. But I was wrong. So very wrong. The whole affair is about as compelling as a two-hour fart.

I don't ask a great deal from romantic comedies. I don't need every one to be Annie Hall or When Harry Met Sally or Love, Actually. I don't even need them to be particularly good -- I kinda enjoyed The Holiday, for God's sake! Give me a few laughs, appealing leads, a warm squishy feeling, and you've done your job. Plainly, the makers of Fool's Gold did not do their job. Listen, I know Valentine's Day is coming up, so heed this warning -- if you see this crashing bore of a movie on a first date, your relationship is doomed, cursed even. Do not speak on the way home, avoid eye contact, just go your separate ways and don't speak of the evening again.

Oh, if only all biopics were as aptly titled as Big Eyes, a movie about the artist Margaret Keane. If you're not familiar with her work, simply do a Google image search and you'll see why the title makes sense. Of course, I would have gone a little further and named it Creepy Big Eyes. According to Variety, the production has cast Kate Hudson as Keane, who is still alive to possibly assist the actress with the role. The independently financed film was scripted by biopic masters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski (Ed Wood; The People vs. Larry Flynt; Man on the Moon) and it will also be the duo's directorial debut, who will also direct (they last helmed the 2000 comedy Screwed). Scheduled to begin shooting in June, depending on how the SAG contract negotiation goes, Big Eyes will be produced by Dan Halsted (Garden State), Albert Berger (Little Miss Sunshine), Ron Yerxa (Little Miss Sunshine) and financier Andrew Meieran.

Variety reports that Big Eyes will deal with Keane's personal life, specifically her lawsuit against her second husband, Walter Keane, who had taken credit for her mass-produced artwork until the 1960s. Not to give away spoilers, but according to Keane's Wikipedia page, she finally won the rights to her work in divorce proceedings that went all the way to Federal court. How did she prove she was the real talent? She painted in court in front of the judge (Walter meanwhile declined to do the same). I apologize for ruining the ending of the film, but I figured I'd share that info so that when the scene pops up in Big Eyes, you'll know it isn't just some cinematic tool used to make the story more visually interesting.

Regardless of how the movie is received now, though, it's sure to be one of the most popular movies come 2173 (see Woody Allen's Sleeper, which claims that in the future Keane is considered one of the greatest artists of all time)

You know how there are certain roles an actor or actress takes on where, no matter what they do afterward, you'll always reserve a place in your heart for that one movie, that one role, that one moment in film history. Well, for me, Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in Almost Famous is a prime example. It doesn't matter what she does now, or what she did right after Almost Famous, this girl is (and will always be) golden in my mind. I loved this movie, I loved her in this movie and I loved the above scene in which Penny took a whole lot of something and pretty much passed out. Luckily, William (Patrick Fugit) showed up to save her, even though he kind of used the opportunity to tell her the one thing we've known all along. Only Cameron Crowe could make a scene like this romantic and sensual. So, in honor of Hudson returning to screens this weekend in Fool's Gold, we present you with this little gem from a film which featured my gal's greatest performance. Enjoy!

What's your favorite Kate Hudson role?

One thing is for certain, Matthew McConaughey definitely would've been fighting for his right to dance, if he was ever stranded in the land of no dancing with Kevin Bacon. Above you an check out an exclusive outtake from Moviefone's latest Unscripted episode, where McConaughey and Kate Hudson interview each other about their new movie Fool's Gold. Above is a short clip that didn't make a cut, but is a definite must-see for those of you who love Matt, or those who want to hear a little bit about what it's like to have Goldie Hawn as your mom.

After checking that out, you can head to Moviefone and watch this latest Unscripted. There's serious bits about the acting advice Kate received from her family, Matthew's upcoming fatherhood, and a recurring adventure dream, plus Kate's kissing roster and some effervescent treble. To find out what in the world that means, you'll have to check out the clip.

And we're back with another fun-filled installment of Insert Caption! Last week, we celebrated the 10 year anniversary of one of our all-time favorite on-screen couples, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, in You've Got Mail. Things we learned from your captions: Give one character a knife and your imaginations run wild. Give Meg Ryan a knife, and, well ... we won't go there. After we sorted through all the captions (most of which placed Ryan in the shoes of a serial killer), here are the best of the best:

1. You can't be serious! Miss Scarlet, in the solarium with this knife?! -- Erin N.

2. "Meg..relax. I think you misunderstood me. I was talking about my sitcom 'Bosom Buddies'." -- Chaz K.

3. "The self-help section is in Aisle 3, but you're going to have to check your knife." -- Cathy C.

See full image and all captions

Continuing with the memorable on-screen couples theme, this week we're presenting a photo from the upcoming adventure rom-com, Fool's Gold. You fell for them in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and now Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey are back to woo each other ... and remind me that I desperately need an island vacation, like, STAT. The three winning captions from this week will take home one Fool's Gold treasure chest metal coin bank, one Fool's Gold tie-die T-shirt, one bucket hat with embroidered Fool's Gold title treatment and one metal boat desk clock. Dare I say it, but you'd be a damn fool not to enter. Sound off below!

See official rules for this contest