It looks like things are getting more interesting each day when it comes to the music biopic The Runaways -- and I'm not talking about Joan Jett making Kristen Stewart cry. No, instead, there is news that Alia Shawkat (who will forever be known as Maeby Fünke) is joining the cast as famed bassist and 'Bangle' Micki Steele ... or at the very least an approximation of Steele. Latino Review is reporting that Shawkat has joined the cast as an 18-year-old bass player named Robin (aka Steele), and judging by the photo above, you have to admit that Shawkat would be a great choice to play the sexy bassist. I mean, just look at those lips.

Rather than get into a long and convoluted explanation about the awesomeness that is Steele, here is a little primer: Steele was one of the first members of The Runaways when they were touring the club circuit in L.A. and was considered the 'feminine' one in a group of bad girls. By 1976 she had left the band after the addition of Lita Ford (played in the film by Scout Taylor-Compton) and Cherie Currie (played by Dakota Fanning). Steele would go on to join another famous girl band, The Bangles, and create music history by teaching the world about 'Manic Mondays'.

There has been no word on why Steele isn't going to be named in the film; possibly because the film makers didn't secure the rights to use her image, or maybe her split from The Runaways wasn't an amicable one. My guess is that the character of Robin will be based on Steele, but also be an amalgam of some of the other band members that won't be featured prominently in the film.

The Runaways is still filming on location in L.A., but will arrive in theaters in 2010.

Movie music has certainly changed over the years. What was once the domain of an orchestra and studio musicians is long gone, and now the top-40 soundtrack reigns supreme. Sometimes it works, like in the case of Martin Scorsese's use of pop music, and sometimes it really doesn't -- and that's where today's list comes in. SPIN has compiled what they say are the worst movie songs of all time, so make sure your earplugs are handy because we're about to look back at the Top 10 Worst Movie Songs, Ever!

So let's get right to the list, shall we? Grabbing the top spot for the worst of all time was P. Diddy and Jimmy Page's Kashmir update for Godzilla, Come With Me. But if you thought that song was bad, wait till you get a load of the other nominees, including Vanilla Ice's Ninja Rap, Limp Bizkit's Take a Look Around from Mission Impossible II, and Nickelback's Spider-Man song, Hero. Judging by SPIN's list it seems like 'geek' movies took most of the hits -- although how Evanescence's theme for Daredevil escaped I'll never know. But rather than complain about what wasn't included in SPIN's list, I've decided to make my very own list of great and not-so-great movie songs.

After the jump: My Top 10 Favorite (and most hated) songs from the movies...

If there was ever a marriage made in heaven it would be Tron and Daft Punk, seriously, it's like peanut butter and jelly. But, before anyone gets too excited, it is best if you remember that this is just a rumor at this point...an awesome rumor, but a rumor nonetheless. So even though it may not be the most reliable source, Upcoming Film Scores has announced that the French electronica duo have signed to write and perform the score for the follow-up to the sci-fi classic.

So it would seem that Tron 2 is finally kicking into high gear, now that we finally have more to go on than a few rumored cameos, and various casting announcements. Yesterday, Elisabeth managed to score some plot points from AICN as well as news of yet another title change for the sequel, and I have to tell you; I am right there with Elisabeth when I say that anything would be better than TR2N.

Daft Punk has taken a shot at film scores before, having provided most of the music for an Interstella 5555 anime, and they even directed a film before. Although the film was the nonsensical Electroma, and it didn't feature any of their music, so maybe that one is a wash. But if you are familiar with Daft Punk, then you already know that the guys have a fetish for all things robotic and sci-fi, not to mention that their score just might drag Tron out of the 80's and into the 21st Century.

I'll be keeping my fingers crossed on this one, so stay tuned to Cinematical for the official word.

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Normally when I find out that a feature film is being made from one of my favorite novels, I immediately prepare myself for disappointment. But, when it comes to The Road, I don't know what to tell you -- for once I'm convinced everything is going to work out just fine. Although that's probably the first time that particular sentence was used in conjunction with anything having to do with Cormac McCarthy's novel. BBC4's arts show Today recently profiled the project, and the highlight of the report was the first audio clip of Nick Cave's original score. It's only a short clip, but from what you can hear it's the perfect musical accompaniment to the tale of a father (Viggo Mortensen) and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) traveling through an apocalyptic wasteland.

So even though most of us probably never pay that much attention to the orchestral score to most of the films we watch, you can't ignore a bad one. For me, one of the most distracting things about a film is a bad score -- some of my more hated examples include The Perfect Storm and The Last Samurai. I know there are plenty of reasons why a film might fail to connect with audiences, and I also know that this film is already going to be a hard sell. But, as a former Goth who wore way too much eyeliner while listening to Mr Cave's Murder Ballads on repeat, I have every faith that if there is anyone that can pick the perfect mood music for a downer, it's him.

The Road has yet to find a solid release date, but will hopefully arrive in theaters this fall.

I think most of us were a little shocked when Joaquin Phoenix made the announcement that he was going to quit acting and focus on his music career -- and luckily for us, now we're going to get to follow the long strange journey of Phoenix's crack at the Billboard 100. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Casey Affleck will be directing a documentary about the former actor's stab at a music career. Affleck is married to Joaquin's sister Summer, so it makes sense that if Phoenix was going to agree to a documentary, it would be with someone close to him behind the camera.

Now here's the really weird part: when I heard Phoenix was going to move into the music business, I just assumed that it would be in some kind of rock or country style (I mean, the guy did play Johnny Cash). But, it turns out I couldn't have been more wrong, because according to THR, Phoenix is trying to be a rapper -- and yes, you just read that: Phoenix will be making an album with Sean 'Diddy' Combs (maybe he's bartering acting tips for producing services) and will be making his first public appearance at a Las Vegas club this weekend, which will be the kick-off for Affleck's shoot.

So while there is a big part of me that wants to see Phoenix succeed in his new career, I can't help but wonder if this will be The Return of Bruno all over again, but with a hip-hop beat. I guess if nothing else we are going to get one heck of an interesting documentary out of the deal.

Do you think Phoenix has what it takes to become a successful hip-hop artist? Or, is this a sign that the notoriously eccentric actor has good and truly gone around the bend. Sound off below....

By far, one of the most anticipated movies on the festival circuit this year is Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler. But many have been wondering why the film had secured such an 'undesirable' closing spot at the Venice Film Festival -- could there be trouble ahead with the finished product? But it looks like all that fretting was for nothing, because Aronofsky updated his personal blog with the news that the only reason for the delay in the selection process was that he was awaiting a completed song from Bruce Springsteen for the end of the film.

The Wrestler is the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson (played by an almost unrecognizable Mickey Rourke); a former star of pro-wrestling in the '80s who has been reduced to appearing at high schools and community centers. With a heart condition and early retirement looming, Robinson takes one last shot at the 'big-time' in a match against a former rival. I can't say pro-wrestling is my usual area of interest, but I am pretty excited to see what a visual maestro like Aronofsky can do with that world -- and for a great primer on the difficult life of a pro-wrestler, I highly recommend the documentary Beyond the Mat

According to Aronofsky, "Springsteen wrote a beautiful original song for the closing the film. called THE WRESTLER it is a wonderful acoustic piece. makes me choke up every time i hear it. he really captured the spirit of the film and mickey's character in the piece." The pairing of Springsteen with the film seems to be a perfect fit. Because, if anyone has the knack for singing about the travails of a downtrodden man, it's Springsteen (and that Oscar pedigree probably doesn't hurt either).

The Wrestler will premiere in Venice on September 5th (we'll have a review from Toronto), and is expected to arrive in theaters later this year.

[Thanks: /film]

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.

Until they make Krush Groove: Redux, I guess this will have to do. The Hollywood Reported announced that Def Jam creator and Hip-Hop legend Russell Simmons is shopping around the life story of the Reverend Run (of Run-DMC fame) for the big-screen. Simmons was speaking at a New York conference on money and media when the subject of a feature film about the life of Reverend Run (born Joseph Ward Simmons) first came up.

For those of you out there who aren't that familiar with the awesomeness that is Run-DMC now is your chance to find out. Not only were they the pioneers of mainstream rap and hip-hop, they were the first group (for better or for worse) to cross over to the pop charts with their collaboration with Aerosmith on a remake of Walk this Way. Plus no-one could wear a fedora and Adidas like Run-DMC. After the murder of founding member Jam Master Jay in 2002, the group parted ways and Run was quoted as saying, "No one will want to see Run-DMC without Jam Master Jay. Run-DMC is officially retired." Over the years the surviving members have recorded solo albums and with each other and Run has recently had success with his Osborne-style reality show on MTV, Run's House.

It's a shame that in the flood of musician biopics over the last few years that hip-hop artists have been virtually ignored -- I mean, how long has it taken to get a Notorious B.I.G film into production? Since Simmons is still on the hunt for funding and a studio to produce the picture, it could take awhile before the production gets rolling. But ever the self-promoter, Simmons doesn't seem too worried about the bottom line, telling those in attendance at the conference, "It's gonna make a lot of money". If anyone knows how to make money, it's Simmons. So what other music legends do you think have been overlooked on the big screen?

After the girls, James Bond theme songs are probably one of the hallmarks of the franchise. Yahoo! music is reporting that the Finnish metal band, H.I.M are the front runners to record the theme for Bond 22. According to Yahoo's report, Bond composers David Arnold and Don Black "were allegedly impressed by the band's track 'Wings Of A Butterfly.'" Yahoo! reports that sources told The Daily Star, "David Arnold and Don Black were in deep conversation with [frontman] Ville on the night. They love the song that won him an award. They think he has just the right ear to write a classic Bond hit with them." H.I.M was formed in 1992 and has released six-full length albums, one of which earned them the distinction of being the first Finnish band to go gold in the US.

It might just be me, but what is with the 'hard rock' themes? I was a big fan of Casino Royale; unfortunately, Chris Cornell's contribution to the soundtrack wasn't exactly my idea of a quality Bond theme. Although to be fair, it did snag an award for "Best Original Song Written Directly For A Film". So while I fully get that they are trying to go in for a more "macho" theme for the new Bond, I'm just not convinced that metal power ballads are the way to go. As Bond fans are well aware, Bond 22 is still in production and updates have been few and far between. Although, there is still the off chance of a delay since script-polisher Paul Haggis hinted to Empire magazine that there were some serious re-writes on the way (fingers crossed that they have axed some of the more comical material). Since this is all just speculation, stay tuned for Bond updates as they come our way.

Leave it to the eclectic director Todd Haynes to come up with the wacky idea of getting Cate Blanchett in the role of Bob Dylan -- and if anyone can pull it off it would be Blanchett, who is easily the best actress working today. Ain't it Cool News has a clip from Haynes' Dylan biopic I'm Not There in a scene that shows Dylan (Blanchett) receiving an impromptu pep-talk from the poet Allan Ginsberg, as played by comedian David Cross. Cross is another unlikely casting choice in the movie, but he does bear a passing resemblance to the late great poet. Last month, Erik had news of the first poster for the film, and there had already been a few glimpses of Blanchett decked out as Dylan, but it's something else to see the actress doing a pretty admirable job of channeling the legendary singer.

Haynes is obviously going for poetic spin on the narrative here and the film will feature Dylan's original music, so at least fans aren't going to have to sit through another thinly veiled caricature à la Factory Girl. This is Haynes' second feature film steeped in music history, having also directed Velvet Goldmine, a loose retelling of the relationship between David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Blanchett's role in I'm Not There has garnered the most attention obviously, because of the gender-bending, but the cast also includes well-known names like Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, and Richard Gere -- they're all playing Dylan in different stages of his career. So if you like what you see in this clip, then you'll be happy to know that I'm Not There is set for release on September 21st.