So for starters, the newest photos from Valkyrie manage to make Tom Cruise look a lot more dashing. Good thing, too, because the only other photo release prompted a flurry of cheap shots aimed at everybody's favorite tabloid whipping boy. Empire now has three new studio stills from Bryan Singer's historical drama about the infamous July 20th plot to assassinate Hitler. Joining Cruise are Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Izzard and Terrence Stamp. There are also some extra shots in the newsstand edition of Empire this month, along with an interview with Singer.

Cruise stars as German Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg. In 1944, Stauffenberg along with other high-ranking officers in the Nazi party attempted to assassinate Adolph Hitler. Stauffenberg and his crew attempted to kill Hitler with a bomb planted in a briefcase. Obviously they failed, and the key players were rounded up almost immediately. By 1945, most of the men involved had committed suicide or had been executed in a variety of nasty ways.

Editor's note: Roger Ebert, in spite of health problems last year, was at Ebertfest from start to finish last year, and Perfume was one of the films screened there. You'll find links to our coverage of last year's fest after the jump.

After so many years of watching movies, Roger Ebert, 65, knows that the show must go on. And so he has announced his plans to appear in person at the10th annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, a.k.a. Ebertfest, which will take place April 23-27 in Champaign-Urbana, home of the University of Illinois.

Ebert has rarely made public appearances in recent years due to thyroid cancer, which has robbed him of his voice. He is still selecting this year's lineup, culled from films he has reviewed and has deemed overlooked in some form, but he has definitely announced a rare 70mm screening of Kenneth Branagh's magnificent 4-hour Hamlet (1996). (It's the only movie ever made with a lousy performance from Jack Lemmon and a brilliant one by Billy Crystal.)

It was over a year ago that news first surfaced about Richard Curtis' (Love Actually) rock 'n' roll comedy, The Boat that Rocked. But at the time, there was no cast in sight. Well, we've waited long enough, and now it looks Curtis has finally found his stars. Variety reports that Rhys Ifans and Kenneth Branagh have signed to star in the musical flick for Universal and Working Title Productions.

The story is set in the wild and heady times known as the 1970s. The two men will play pirate radio DJ's who run their station from a leaky boat out at sea. When an American woman comes to visit the deejays, she falls for her boyfriend's pal (Ifans) and chaos ensues. Joining Branagh and Ifans is January Jones (best know as the depressed hausfrau on TV's Mad Men) as the beguiling American gal.

Curtis wrote the script himself and will also direct. The story has been described as "Animal House meets Titanic," which probably isn't the most likely pairing of styles, but what can you do? Ifans has made a name for himself in ensemble comedies playing characters that are a little -- shall we say, 'out there'? Branagh, on the other hand, might not seem to be the obvious choice for a comedy, but if you have seen A Midwinter's Tale, then you know that he has a few giggles up his sleeve. So in the end, it seems that the two actors make a good fit for the seemingly 'wacky' flick. The Boat that Rocked is set to start shooting in early March on location in London.

The release dates, they are a-changing! Universal just moved the release of the action flick Wanted, which stars Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy, from March to June 27th, 2008. That June release date was also held by Pixar's new one, WALL-E, and the Tom Cruise "Hitler assassination plot" flick -- Valkyrie. According to Coming Soon, Valkyrie has officially budged (though I think it would have absolutely crushed Wanted and it's courting a different audience than Wall-E). United Artists will now release the film on October 3rd of 2008 -- a date also held by less intense competition -- Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and Guy Ritchie's Gerald Butler drama RocknRolla.

Valkyrie is directed by Bryan Singer and written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander. Tom Cruise has become everyone's favorite punching bag lately, and reaction to the trailer, particularly Cruise's lack of a German accent, was pretty hostile. (Although probably not as hostile as it would have been had he...attempted a German accent!) But the plot sounds awesome, Singer is a great director (Superman Returns aside), and it's got a hell of a cast -- including Bill Nighy, Kenneth Branagh, Stephen Fry, Eddie lzzard, Terence Stamp, Tom Wilkinson, and Black Book's stunning Carice Van Houton. How bad could it be? It's got to be better than Wanted -- have you seen the trailer for that thing? Haven't I seen that movie, oh, a thousand times already?

Not only is playing a Harry Potter character one of the most sought after jobs for British actors, it apparently is a gig some of them wish they could keep. In an interview with MTV, Kenneth Branagh, who played Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, revealed that he was hoping to see his character's name prominently featured in the seventh and final book, Deathly Hallows. That way he could return to the movie franchise, something he had also hoped for with the making of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (the character appears briefly in that book). But Branagh didn't simply want a little cameo in the final movie, he jokes that he should have been revealed to be Harry's dad. At least, I think that's what he meant. I'm not sure how that plot revelation would have worked out, but I guess since the actor-director was kidding, it doesn't matter.

Branagh did also reveal that he was considered to direct Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, but it ended up going to Alfonso Cuarón. He said the main reason he wanted to direct an installment was because of the kids, who he liked working with a lot. He thought they had more potential than they were exhibiting -- perhaps he can cast some of them in one of his Shakespeare adaptations down the line? I think Emma Watson would make an excellent Viola/Cesario -- which I personally think they finally got to show in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, under Mike Newell's direction. However, when asked whether or not he'd like to helm the adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Branagh said he thinks Warner Bros. will likely choose one of the series' previous directors (Columbus, Cuarón, Newell or Yates), any of whom he thinks would do nicely. Anyway, Shawn over at MTV Movies Blog put out the question of what character the fans most wanted to see reappear in the movies. You could leave him a comment about that over there, or feel free to tell us below.

We've seen pictures, a featurette went live on Apple yesterday, and now Yahoo has the first official trailer for this summer's Valkyrie, directed by Bryan Singer, and starring one heckuva cast including Tom Cruise, Carice van Houten, Bill Nighy, Terrence Stamp, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson and Eddie Izzard. Apart from it being a tad weird to watch English and American actors play a group of high-ranking German officers, the film looks great. I've been looking forward to Singer stepping away from the superhero world for a bit; I absolutely loved The Usual Suspects and it's been ten years since the guy came out with something on the big screen that wasn't based on a comic book. Coincidentally (or not), Singer's last hardcore drama (Apt Pupil) also dealt with Nazi themes, but this time the director decided to take it one step further and set his film in Germany, during World War II.

Based on a true story, Valkyrie (which was written by Christopher McQuarrie, who also penned Suspects) follows a group of German officers who, in 1944, conspired to assassinate Adolf Hitler in an attempt to end the war. The trailer looks sharp, cold, and though Cruise seems a bit out of place (then again, maybe it's just me), the rest of the cast look solid in their roles. Additionally, as freak-ish as it might sound, Cruise looks exactly like the real-life character he's portraying, Col. Claus von Stauffenberg. Valkyrie will attempt to find a home stuffed between two giant comic-related films (The Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight), but I have a feeling it'll do just fine when the film hits theaters on July 27.

It didn't start off too smoothly, but it looks like Valkyrie, the thriller about Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler during World War II, has found it's groove. As things got going, Stauffenberg's offspring were complaining about Tom Cruise playing Claus, there were issues in securing locations, and even extras hurt on set. For the last little while, however, things seem to be going smoothly, and now MGM has released a featurette for the film over at apple.com.

It's a pretty slick clip, not one of those grainy, behind-the-scenes glimpses shot on a hand-held. Writer Christopher McQuarrie talks about the man at the center of the story, and how the film is split up. He says that the first half of the movie will focus on who the players are, while the second half will focus solely on the "July 20 Plot" to take Hitler's life. Kenneth Branagh is a one-man PR machine through much of it, and even describes how the script made his palms sweaty with excitement. Either he's overly exuberant, or that bodes well for the film, since they have to work against what we already know -- that the attempt failed.

The featurette shows all the main players in the film, although I really would've liked to see something on Stephen Fry or David Bamber, and they've done quite a job on Eddie Izzard. Apparently, everyone is "pitch perfect" in their roles, and they show the side-by-side of von Stauffenberg and Cruise, which is pretty spot-on, but it would've been nice to see the others. All in all, it's looking to be a slick thriller -- and with that cast, it would be a shame if it wasn't.

It's probably no secret by now that Germans have a 'complicated' relationship with superstar Tom Cruise. But they seem to be softening just a little. Variety reports that Bryan Singer's Valkyrie will be given the go-ahead to film at the historic location of Bendlerblock; a memorial shrine to the German officers who conspired to assassinate Adolf Hitler, and the location of their executions. The site is maintained by the German finance ministry and initial requests from director Bryan Singer to film on location at the site were refused. According to Thorsten Albig, a spokesman for the finance ministry, "The latest request by the film team was given a positive answer...There was a different feeling about the project. We will take a closer look with director Bryan Singer at the location and, while ensuring that the dignity of the shrine is protected, see what's possible and what's not".

Valkyrie is the story of Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg, and the failed attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler on July 20, 1944. Joining Cruise are Tom Wilkinson, Bill Neighy, and Kenneth Branagh. Written by Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) and Nathan Alexander, the historical drama has had its share of complaints from both antecedents of von Stauffenberg as well as those who were worried that Cruise would be using the film to promote Scientology. But according to Variety, opinions have changed, saying that the initial refusal to allow Singer into Bendlerblock "...sparked a wave of support for the film from leading German newspaper columnists and filmmakers, including Wolfgang Petersen. They admonished their countrymen for being small minded, ignoring the chance to share von Stauffenberg's story with a global audience and demonstrate that there was in fact resistance to Hitler". Valkyrie is currently shooting on location in Berlin, and set for release on June 27th, 2008.

Is there a statute of limitations for 'spoiling' a movie? Is there anyone of passing cultural literacy who does not already know that the great man's dying words spoke of his fondest childhood memory, that the astronaut was on Earth all along, that the low-grade crook was making the whole story up off the bulletin board? And is there a certain point where you can't help but spoil a movie if you're going to talk about it honestly? And what if the movie under consideration is a remake?

Kenneth Branagh's new film of Sleuth brings all of those questions to mind. Based on Anthony Shaffer's play, previously filmed in 1972, Sleuth starts simple and stays small: The older Andrew Wyke is visited by the younger Milo Tindle. The older man has position, power, privilege; the younger man has none of those things -- but he is sleeping with the older man's wife. The younger man has come to ask the older man to grant his wife a divorce -- and, maybe, see what the old fool's made of. The older man is not willing to grant the divorce -- but, he might as well see what this young bastard's like. In the original 1972 version of Sleuth, Laurence Olivier was the older man, and Michael Caine the younger; now, Caine plays the cuckolded husband and Jude Law the bright young adulterer.

While filming Tom Cruise's WWII film Valkyrie in Berlin, one man was seriously injured and ten more suffered cuts and bruises when the side of a vehicle carrying the extras burst open as it drove around a corner, the BBC reports. (Either that was one sharp corner taken with speed, or some shoddy craftsmanship is going on over there.) The seriously injured extra has been taken to the hospital, and according to the BBC story, the truck is "now being inspected for technical defects as part of a police investigation." I would hope so. While accidents happen, I think extras who pile into the back of a truck expect the walls holding them in to be sturdy. The kicker in this report, for me: "Police said there were 'no findings to suggest anyone famous was involved.'" Oh, thank goodness. I was worried, just for a bit, that a celebrity might have been hurt!

This whole deal reminds me of that one scene in Overnight Delivery, where Tripps is taken hostage by Killer Beez, and the cops are deciding whether or not to shoot. "He's only an undergrad, sir," one says. It's a goofy line, but it made me smirk. Why? Because there is a ring of truth in it. Sure, it would be even more newsworthy had Cruise or co-star Kenneth Branagh been injured in this accident, but come on, give the unknowns a little respect. They might not be starring, but I'm sure the movie wouldn't be half as good if we never saw anyone but the stars. It would be an empty, post-apocalyptic World War Two. Hopefully the seriously injured extra will mend well and safely.