I've said before that a new film from Woody Allen is something like getting a Christmas gift from your eccentric aunt; you never know if you'll get a crocheted toilet paper cozy, or a piece of priceless heirloom jewelry. Fortunately, Allen's newest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, turns out to be more like the latter. The story opens with Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Cristina (Scarlett Johansson), two best friends heading to Barcelona for eight weeks of fun.

Vicky's distant relations Judy (Patricia Clarkson) and Mark (Kevin Dunn) live in Barcelona, and have invited the girls to spend the summer there, where Vicky will do research for her Masters and Cristina will soak up the local culture. Vicky is engaged to be married to Doug (Chris Messina), a stalwart, likable, but rather boring young man, and Cristina is recovering from her latest breakup and looking for an artistic outlet for her pent-up creativity.

I've been hankering for a good crime flick with a women in the lead for a long time (I can't be the only one who thinks that Catherine Zeta Jones' pregnant drug runner deserved way more screen time in Traffic). But, in the grand tradition of most crime movies, women are relegated to the sidelines as either 'the downfall of the anti-hero', or, 'sexy punching bag' -- neither of which is very flattering, but hopefully that will change with Queen of the South. Variety reports that Eva Mendes has signed to star in the big screen adaptation of Arturo Perez Reverte's crime novel, La reina del sur (Queen of the South).

The story is being touted as a "female Scarface," and centers on a woman who flees to Spain when her drug-dealing boyfriend is murdered. Once she arrives, she starts her own narcotics operation to finance revenge against her lover's murderers -- and quickly becomes top dog. Joining Mendes in the cast are Josh Hartnett and Ben Kingsley in as-yet unnamed roles.

News of the flick first surfaced last year, with Mendes, Jennifer Lopez, and Penelope Cruz on the short list for the role, but in the end Mendes won out. Personally I would have liked to see Lopez take on the role (it's been too long since we had the chance to see her be a bad ass), but I guess in a pinch Mendes will do.

Do you think Warners made the right choice with Mendes? Or is there anyone else out there who would have liked to watch Lopez 'tussle' just one more time?

They're still in talks, but everyone is reporting the deal as done, so I will too. Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench are joining Nine, Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the 1982 Broadway musical. The Hollywood Reporter says they'll be joining the already impressive cast of Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren.

Bardem will be playing the lead, a film director juggling the demands of several women in his life. The musical is an adaptation of Federico Fellini's autobiographical 8 1/2. Shooting was supposed to have begun in March, but due to the recent loss of Anthony Minghella, it has now been delayed to September. As Kidman is due to become a mother this summer, it would give her a nice maternity break.

Pictured: Scarlett Johansson in a scene from Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

While it's still too early to say which scenes we'll all be talking about at the end of the year, I'm putting my money on a couple scenes from Woody Allen's upcoming Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Not long ago, word got out that, among other things, the film would feature an all-out threesome between Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Okay. Woody's getting a little nutty in his old age ... but we dig it. Now, according to Page Six, that so-called threesome was just the beginning -- they say the film also includes a "steamy lesbian sex scene" between Johansson and Cruz. Here's my question: Are both these scenes really warranted, or did Woody simply want to see how far he could push his muse sexually?

A source told Page Six, "It is also extremely erotic. People will be blown away and even shocked. Penelope and Scarlett go at it in a red-tinted photography dark room, and it will leave the audience gasping." Personally, I think it will leave the audience feeling a lot of different emotions -- some of which may be explored further in the theater bathroom following the film. (Note to self: Don't sit next to the guy who's placed an empty bucket of popcorn on his ....) The film, which marks Allen's first feature shot in Spain, follows two American tourists who become romantically entangled with a painter. Rebecca Hall, Chris Messina and Patricia Clarkson also star. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is due out later this year, though I imagine it might premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this May if a cut is ready.

A Guide to Lesbian Sex Scenes

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Top 50 Sex Scenes of All Time?

[via Slashfilm]

Most guys probably prefer to look at Penélope Cruz. I think I would rather listen to her. Really, who could resist that cute Spanish-accented voice? I especially like in Vanilla Sky when she says, "I'll tell you in another life, when we are both cats." Well, according to The Hollywood Reporter, I'll get to listen to her voice without seeing her body in the upcoming live-action/animated combo film G-Force. But instead of her being a cat, Cruz is playing a guinea pig named Juarez.

If you remember back to my post from last November, Juarez isn't the only guinea pig in the Jerry Bruckheimer-produced movie. There's also Blaster, a Cavia porcellus (aka guinea pig) voiced by Tracy Morgan. Other animals and their respective voices include a mole named Speckles (Nicolas Cage), a hamster named Bucky (Steve Buscemi) and some humans (Will Arnett, Bill Nighy, Kelli Garner and others).

The humans are, of course, live-action and played by real-life actors. The animals, on the other hand, are computer-generated toons (like Alvin and the Chipmunks, I guess). And they're super-smart commandos that work for the government. And they're out to stop a evil billionaire from taking over the world (isn't it enough to be a billionaire?). As we've told you before, the script for the family-friendly action pic was written by National Treasure team Cormac and Marianne Wibberley (aka The Wibberleys) and it will be helmed by first-time director Hoyt Yeatman, who has two Academy Awards -- one for his visual effects work on The Abyss and one Technical Achievement Award "for the identification and diagnosis leading to the elimination of the 'red fringe' artifact in traveling matte composite photography." We'll have to see if the guy can score another Oscar someday for directing, though I doubt he'll manage that goal with G-Force.

After all of these years, I never thought I would be reading an MTV interview with legendary director Woody Allen, but I guess that times change. MTV recently spoke to Allen about the rumors regarding another possible project with muse-of-the-moment Scarlett Johansson. Turns out Page Six had it all wrong and there is no New York, I Love You film that will reunite the actress and director for the third time in a row. Allen was hard at work doing promotion for Cassandra's Dream with Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor when the subject of the anthology film came up in conversation. Allen told MTV that the whole Page Six story was "A complete and total fabrication. Made up like a poem by Coleridge. Completely untrue. It wasn't even grounded in any conversations or anything." This might lead me to believe that some of those other Johansson casting announcements were a little premature as well.

Allen has just wrapped up his latest film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona with Johansson, Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz. Just because the NY anthology flick is not going to happen, I seriously doubt that Barcelona is the last we will see of the pairing. When it comes to Johansson, it seems like the guy can't stop gushing: "She's very charming, very bright, very amusing. She livens the set up. The minute she walks on the set, the amperage goes up 200 points. She's a great kid and very talented. She can sing. She can do dramatic things and jokes if you need her to. Whenever there's a part she could play, she would probably always be my first choice." But as any Woody Allen fan can tell you, the man loves the ladies and I'm sure her humor and talent aren't the only 'attributes' that the man admires. Vicky Cristina Barcelona hits theaters this fall.

Where there's one Pedro Almodovar, there's usually Penélope Cruz, and this time around is no exception. I'm not even referring to La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I Live In), which Christopher Campbell posted about in January. This is another new one, that's sending the famed director into the world of noir again after 2004's Bad Education. As Variety describes it, his next film will be Los abrazos rotos, which is as Almodovar himself says, a "four-way tale of amour-fou, shot in the style of '50s American film noir at its most hard-boiled."

Heading into pre-production after the ball drops to the new year, the film will star, of course, Penelope Cruz, along with Blanca Portillo (Volver) and Lluis Homar (Vicky Cristina Barcelona). I will include "characters who belong to the world of film," but in a '90s and current-day setting that mixes references to works like "Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place and Vincente Minnelli's The Bad and the Beautiful," with signature Almodovar themes: 'Fate, the mystery of creation, guilt, unscrupulous power, the eternal search of fathers for sons, and sons for fathers,'" as the director told Variety.

As for Cruz, she'll "exchange the era's aprons, cardigans, and the hairdos for an updated look, but one that mixes the transparent turbulence of Gene Tierney and the mistreated, challenging beauty of Linda Darnell in Otto Preminger's Fallen Angel." The director is currently finishing the script, and plans to shoot in the seasonal spring light next year. Personally, I'm hoping some of the aged noir style stays on the characters, as it can work really well even in modern pieces. How about you? Are you ready for Los abrazos rotos?

Variety reports that Peter Sarsgaard and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) have joined the cast of Dark Castle's Orphan. In a nod to Bad Seeds everywhere, the film focuses on a young couple (Sarsgaard and Farmiga) that have recently lost a child and decide to adopt a young girl to fill the void. Of course, nothing is ever that easy and the girl "is not nearly as innocent as she claims to be". David Leslie, a relative newcomer, wrote the screenplay based off an idea by Alex Mace. Already signed to direct is House of Wax helmer, Jaume Collet-Serra. Serra started off directing TV commercials and music videos, and Wax was his first big-budget production. Orphan seems like a definite step up for Serra; when your casting pool goes from Paris Hilton to Peter Sarsgaard you must be doing something right.

Sarsgaard has already completed the Philip Roth adaptation Elegy with Penelope Cruz, and is wrapping up work on two more literary adaptations. First up is In the Electric Mist; based on James Lee Burke's novel about "A detective in the deep South is led into a series of surreal encounters with a troop of Confederate soldiers" and Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Farmiga is currently filming Nothing But The Truth, a political drama with Kate Beckinsale and will next star in a literary adaptation of her own called The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas for Mark Herman (Brassed Off). Orphan is set to start shooting next week on location in Toronto and Montreal, Canada.

According to the New York Daily News, Catherine Zeta-Jones will no longer co-star in Nine, the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, which itself was an adaptation of Fellini's classic film 8 1/2. Zeta-Jones would have played the role of Claudia, "the alluring muse of skirt-chasing director Guido Contini." The reason for the falling out is allegedly -- it's always allegedly with the Daily News -- because director Rob Marshall (the inexplicably Best Picture-winning Chicago) "wouldn't give in to her demand to beef up her role." The script is adapted by Michael Tolkin (The Player), and apparently the creative team wasn't willing to change the story around. A friend of Zeta-Jones told the Daily News "She was never 100% committed to Nine. She had a meeting with Rob. She'd love to work with him again. But she felt she'd done the same sort of role in Chicago. The script wasn't an issue."

Marshall has moved on and is looking for a younger actress to hop in and play Claudia. The list of possibles includes Natalie Portman, Liv Tyler, Keira Knightley, Kate Hudson, and Gwyneth Paltrow. (In what world is Gwyneth Paltrow a reasonable substitute for Zeta-Jones?) The cast of Nine, one of the more attractive bunches of actors in recent memory, features Javier Bardem as Guido, Sophia Loren as Guido's mother, Penelope Cruz as his mistress Carla, and Marion Cotillard as Luisa Contini. Reportedly (another word for "allegedly"), Katie Holmes was "heartbroken" when Marshall turned her down for a role. Who would you guys like to see in the part? We'll keep you posted on how this drama turns out.

Additionally, Variety has announced today that the Weinstein Co. has officially delayed production on Nine due to the script not being ready.

Back in October, Woody Allen changed the title of his next shrouded-in-secrecy film from Midnight in Barcelona to Vicky Cristina Barcelona. While it's not the choice I would have made, considering the 473 titles that the new Rambo flick went through, there's a chance it will get changed again. However, beyond bits of news like that, word on the production has been pretty meager. We know it's about a painter who gets interested in some American tourists, and that his jealous ex isn't too happy about this. Now the painter, one Mr. Javier Bardem, has spoken with MTV about the title of the film and his artsy role in Woody's first bilingual production.

As he confirms, the title comes from the names of the two tourists, Rebecca Hall and Scarlett Johansson's characters. As Bardem describes it: "[They're] the two girls that go to our salon; but I don't know if that is going to be the final title or not." I imagine the "our" is Bardem's character and his ex, played by Penélope Cruz. Early reports have suggested that Cruz is his ex-girlfriend, but Javier says she's his ex-wife in the triangle, but also notes that "it is much more than that."

He paints in the film (Anyone want to make bets that he'll partake in some risque American tourist nudes?), and says he got inspiration for his role from the man who painted the works in the film, as well as from director and artist Julian Schnabel, who worked with him on Before Night Falls. But if you're one of the people allergic to subtitles, he also discusses just how bilingual the film is. While most of his lines are in Spanish, he explains: "It has both, Spanish and English, but most of the time English." We'll get to see what Woody makes of his love for Barcelona some time next year.

Ever since I decided to watch all 8 episodes of the HBO show Tell Me You Love Me this weekend (not the greatest idea, mind you), not only am I searching for a therapist but I also have sex on the mind (how could you not after watching that show?).Over at Nerve, they've gone ahead and satisfied their ever-growing sex addictions by putting together a list comparing the sex scenes in a number of films that have been fortunate enough to undergo the remake treatment over the years. This list is part of their new Film Issue, which happens to contain a plethora of sex-related stuff like sex advice from movie extras, a piece on Fast Times at Ridgemont High as it relates to teenage lust, and something on Ken Russell's phallic fixation ... among other things. But it was this list -- on sex scenes -- that I found the most interesting.

For example, you'd think the obvious choice would be to always side with the original, not the remake. But when it comes to L'Ultimo Bacio, otherwise known as The Last Kiss when it was re-made here in the states starring Zach Braff, it's the remake's sex scene that ultimately wins out. Yes, Zach Braff managed to provide a hotter, steamier sex scene than the very sexy Italian actor Stefano Accorsi (oh, and Rachel Bilson ... words cannot express the thoughts I had while, um ... nevermind). Among some of the films discussed are Swept Away (1974) vs. Swept Away (2002), The End of the Affair (1955) vs. The End of the Affair (1999), Alfie (1966) vs. Alfie (2004) and Open Your Eyes (1997) vs. Vanilla Sky (2001) -- both of which featured a very topless Penelope Cruz. Of course, the folks at Nerve do help you out a bit by providing clips of each sex scene so that you, at home, can decide which was better: the original or the remake. Yes, and that also means there is some NSFW nudity, so keep that in mind before you go clicking like a mad man (or woman).

[Thanks Lauren]

When Woody Allen confirmed the title for his Spanish pic, Midnight in Barcelona, in June, he said that it was his first title, and that it could possibly get changed down the line. Well, now it has been changed, and it leads me to wonder what on earth he could possibly be thinking. While his first choice is no epic grouping of words, it's decent, and gives an idea of what the film is about. However, The Hollywood Reporter has just posted that Allen will be changing it to...wait for it... Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

I understand changing around the title. Sometimes, the title just isn't quite right, or you get a flash of genius and come up with something much, much better. While I know Allen is getting on in years, has some sort of insanity set in? Who dumps "Midnight in Barcelona" for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"? At this rate, since it's a "love letter to Barcelona," he might as well just add "Dear" in front of it. Heck, it would even make sense if he changed it to "Dear Barcelona."

I even googled it to see if it was some specific reference to something in Spain, but it seems to just be something from Allen's moviemaking mind. Is it the name of star Scarlett Johansson? It isn't Penélope Cruz's name, as IMDb lists her as "María Elena." Is it a special nickname made by the male lead, Javier Bardem? Who knows. Obviously, I'm not too thrilled about the name switch, and I'm wearing a face similar to the one up there to the right, but how about you? Should he have changed it? Do you like the new title?

Variety is reporting that director/choreographer Rob Marshall and uber-producer Harvey Weinstein have started putting together a cast for Nine, a film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. Javier Bardem was just offered the role of director Guido Contini, who "experiences a creative and personal crisis as he tries to balance all the women in his life." The musical was inspired by Federico Fellini's classic 8 1/2, and the Contini role was originated onstage by the great Raul Julia. In its recent Broadway revival, Contini was played by Antonio Banderas. I love Bardem, but I have to wonder why Banderas isn't reprising his role here. He played the part in 2003 and he still looks like a million bucks, so the reason can't be that he's gotten too old. Curious.

Regardless, the real appeal of this film is going to be its women. If Marshall gets his first choices, this will be one beautiful cast. Marion Cotillard (Russell Crowe's love interest in A Good Year) is set to play Contini's wife. Penelope Cruz, whom I never thought too highly of until her terrific work in Volver, is in talks to play Contini's mistress, Carla. Marshall hopes to sign his Chicago co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones to play "the director's muse." Zeta-Jones isn't signed yet, but judging by what she told MTV's Movie Blog last month, she's a done deal. Said Jones, "I'd read the phone book with Rob Marshall. To put a musical in a director's hands, for me it can only be [him]." Marshall is also trying to get Sophia Loren, one of the sexiest women of all time, on board to play Contini's mother, who comes to Contini as a ghost. Michael Tolkin, best known for adapting his novel The Player for Robert Altman, is adapting the script. I'm no fan of Marshall, I thought Chicago was insanely overrated, and Mem-Snores of a Geisha was agony to sit through. Still, I dig musicals and it'd be great to see all of these gorgeous women on the big screen at once.

Woody Allen held a press conference in Barcelona Monday to announce some new cast members of his latest film, which begins shooting in the city on July 9. Variety says that "a shroud of silence surrounds pic's title," which is totally untrue. The Guardian confirmed weeks ago that the film's title is Midnight in Barcelona, and at the recent press junket for Goya's Ghosts, I asked Javier Bardem if that was, in fact, the title and he said "Yes, it's called Midnight in Barcelona." I'm really starting to wonder if Variety's reporters know what they're doing. Anyway, the new cast members include Patricia Clarkson, Kevin Dunn and Chris Messina, along with a couple of other names in smaller roles. They'll be joining confirmed cast members Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, and Penelope Cruz.

Woody had the following to say at the press conference: "I hope I can present Barcelona to the world as I see it, the same way I presented Manhattan to the world as I saw it with my eyes. I want to write a love letter to Barcelona and from Barcelona to the world." So far, very few details about the exact nature of the plot have been confirmed, but assuming that this is truly something being done in a love-letter spirit, I'd say expect something lighter in tone than Match Point and Cassandra's Dream, which we've been told is even darker. Stay tuned to Cinematical for all the latest. Maybe Woody will invite us out for a set visit -- yeah, right.

Which one of the following actresses would you like to see playing a badass drug kingpin: Jennifer Lopez, Eva Mendes or Penélope Cruz? I ask this question because those are the three names currently circling the lead role in Queen of the South. Warner Independent has just nabbed Jonathan Jakubowicz (Secuestro Express) to helm the film, which revolves around a "Mexican woman who escaped Spain after her drug mule boyfriend is killed, then becomes a drug kingpin and seeks revenge for her boyfriend's murder." Based on Arturo Perez-Reverte's novel, they're calling this one a female version of Scarface -- which automatically piques my interest -- and appears to be one of the more sought-after female roles out there right now.

If you want my opinion, I'd have to say J-Lo is the frontrunner here. Cruz is too cute and fragile, and Mendes hasn't shown me enough range to take on a role like this -- whereas Lopez is a pretty decent actress when she's given the right material. I know folks love to bash Lopez, but I thoroughly enjoyed her in Out of Sight, really liked her in the soon-to-be-released Bordertown (check out my Berlinale review of that film here), and heard lots of good things about her performance in the upcoming El Cantante. But as a woman with a huge fanbase (who also has a music career to worry about), is "drug kingpin" dangerous territory from a PR standpoint? Would you J-Lo fans like to see her in a role like this? And if not, who would you choose to play the female Scarface? Perhaps we should just dress Pacino in drag, a la Travolta in Hairspray -- whaddya think?