Just when you thought Astro Boy was never going to make it to the big screen, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We have received the official press release from Imagi Studios and Summit Entertainment (who are partnering for the flick) with the full cast for the anime update. Imagi finally found their lead in Freddie Highmore back in February and they have announced that joining Highmore in the cast are Nicolas Cage, Bill Nighy, Nathan Lane, and Eugene Levy. There is no word yet on which characters from the original series will be making an appearance, but I could definitely see Lane doing a respectable job as Hamegg.

Astro Boy is the story of a boy robot looking for love and acceptance after being abandoned by his creator. After a Pinocchio-like journey of servitude in a circus, Astro was whisked off to safety by the understanding Professor Ochanomizu. Of course, Astro also spent his time battling mad scientists and out of control robots in between bouts of abandonment issues.

Cinematical has just received a whole bunch of new images from the upcoming film Swing Vote, starring Kevin Costner, Kelsey Grammer, Dennis Hopper and Paula Patton. I'm loving the concept behind this one -- imagine if an entire presidential election somehow came down to one vote ... and it was yours. That's exactly what happened to Bud Johnson (Kevin Costner), a simple man living a simple life -- and Swing Vote follows Bud, as well as his 12-year-old daughter, when they're suddenly thrust into the national spotlight.

Grammer and Hopper play both presidential candidates, while Nathan Lane and Stanley Tucci chime in as their campaign managers. Additionally, a whole mess of real-life personalities will pop up -- like Larry King, Bill Maher, Arianna Huffington, Tucker Carlson and more. With the country stressing out over our current presidential election, it'll be nice to take in a sweet comedy that pokes fun at this ridiculous process and the even more ridiculous people who take part in it. Can't we just elect an average guy ... like Bud?

Check out the gallery below for a slew of brand new pics from the film. Swing Vote arrives in theaters on August 1.

Talk about a wacky supporting cast, Variety has just announced the names of folks who have just signed on to star opposite Kevin Costner in Swing Vote -- and the list is about as diverse as they come. Dennis Hopper, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer, Stanley Tucci, George Lopez and newbie Madeline Carroll will join Costner in a comedy that revolves around a working-class single dad who becomes the most important man on the planet when the entire presidential election comes down to his vote. I'm not sure how on earth that would ever happen (is he voting after all the votes are counted?), but I'm sure writers Joshua Michael Stern and Jason Richman found a way to make it somewhat believable. Perhaps they can work some of that magic and also make Kevin Costner a bankable star again? Or is that asking a bit too much?

For their part, Hopper and Grammer will play the Democratic and Republican candidates respectively, with Lane and Tucci as their campaign managers. Lopez will show up as a local TV station manager for the town that gets caught up in all the hoopla. Dennis Hopper for President? I can certainly dig it. The film, which will be directed by Joshua Michael Stern, begins shooting in Albuquerque, New Mexico on July 23. I'm curious to see how they spin this one -- will Grammer play villain; the guy who will do just about anything to win Costner's vote? Or will they decide not to choose sides, and simply play up to the difficult decision one small town guy eventually has to make? Costner financed the film himself through his Treehouse Films, and we'll all get to see who the next big-screen President will be when the film hits theaters next year (just in time for our next real presidential election).

Before I get to the meaty center of this news, let's go over John Turturro's career. He first came onto the scene years ago with an uncredited part in Raging Bull. From there, he popped up in many famous films from the 80's -- Desperately Seeking Susan, To Live and Die in LA, Hannah and Her Sisters, The Color of Money and Do the Right Thing. These stints led to a starring role in Barton Fink and from there, he took off, tasting in cinema from Jungle Fever to Transformers. He even kept Christopher Walken dancing with his recent directorial stint -- Romance & Cigarettes. But did you ever imagine that he'd be ... the evil Mouse King?

That's right, the nuts that Turturro will be cracking are of the Tchaikovsky ballet variety. He's signed on to the whopping $65 million dollar adaptation, Nutcracker -- The Untold Story, along with Dakota's little sister, Elle Fanning and everyone's favorite flamboyantly perky actor, Nathan Lane. Based on the story that inspired the ballet, we've got Fanning as the little girl who gets the doll in 1920's Vienna, and Lane as the guy who gives it to her. Russian director Andrei Konchalovsky adapted the story with Chris Solimine, and he will also direct it. But that's not all -- it's a musical. Tim Rice is whipping together lyrics to eight new songs from the ballet's score, and the art director behind V for Vendetta, Kevin Phipps, heading the visuals and sets. According to the director: "I have been trying to make this film for a very long time, and now that CGI and technical wizardry have come so far, I can finally realize my dream." So, he's a happy camper as the project moves towards its July 16th shooting date, but is this the answer to your dreams?

• Doogal - A saccharine, cheap-looking CGI import from Britain about a lazy, cowardly, sugar-addicted pooch (with a mullet cut) who must find a way to save the world from an icy death is not the follow-up to Hoodwinked that Disney escapees Bob and Harvey Weinstein hoped for...or we asked for. At least they've got the swell Over The Hedge in theaters this week. Formerly titled The Magic Roundabout and re-dubbed (Doogal, that is. Not Over The Hedge.)

• Duma - With most arthouse films rated "R", it is always a pleasure when one comes along that culture mavens can take their kids to, and The Black Stallion director Carroll Ballard's latest nature trek -- a visually lovely adventure -- certainly does fit that bill. It is about a 12-year-old South African boy (Alexander Michaletos) who must return his pet cheetah to the wild, encountering and overcoming a number of obstacles along the way, the biggest one being our initial reluctance to accept its premise.
 

At this point, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane just might be regretting they ever worked together in the first place. Despite the fact that both of them had careers (possibly you've heard of a little picture called Ferris Bueller's Day Off? And maybe The Birdcage rings a bell?) Ok, so Lane wasn't exactly a superstar - but still, the man was working!) well before they met, ever since they appeared on stage together in The Producers, they can hardly take a breath without the other one showing up. First there was that giant, massive hit of a stage production, which was followed almost immediately by the very bad movie. Then, just as we thought they'd learned how to quit one another, they decide to co-star in a stage revival of The Odd Couple. And now, since that clearly isn't enough, they're getting stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Together! Call me crazy, fellas, but I really think it's time to move on.

If there was any doubting that Brokeback Mountain has become a full-fledged cultural phenomenon, the rising wave of gay cowboy spoofs and mash-ups should put your nervous mind at ease. Last week, my Nathan Lane allergy prevented me from telling you about this, the musical medley he performed in "tribute" to Ang Lee's film on the David Letterman show; it's my sympathy for the surely-livid porn producers of the world that compels be to bring you this. Bareback Mountain is not the funniest fake trailer I've ever seen, but it does star a guy who looks sort of like a cross between Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, and as far as a one-line cowboy-loves-his-horse joke goes, it certainly could be worse. Plus, that joke about the saddle was totally LOL. Bareback - ha!

[via A Socialite's Life]