Hugh Jackman is a showman, so it’s not surprising he would want to make a dramatic entrance into Oprah’s show at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. However, he created more drama than was initially anticipated.

The plan was for Jackman to zip line from the top sail of the Opera House down to the stage. Unfortunately reports suggest he was doing roughly 80km/h by this point, and hit the brakes too late. This then caused him to bash his eye into a lighting rig, causing a minor injury.

When taping continued, Jackman commented, “That was so much fun until the end,” he said. Referring the Winfrey’s previous guest, he added with a laugh: “Bono was meant to do this, but they couldn’t afford the insurance.”

See the video below for footage of the incident.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

X Men Origins: Wolverine 2, is in the works and Hugh Jackman is raving about it. According to Perezhilton.com, Hugh Jackman has seen the script and said it’s going to be a lot darker than the previous film.

The film is a sequel to Wolverine, which is a prequel to the X-Men trilogy. Chris McQuarrie, who wrote The Usual Suspects, has written the script for the new film and Darren Aronofsky, (Requiem for a Dream) is set to direct. That already seems like a winning team.

With Aronofsky directing, the film is sure to be a lot darker and more obscure. However, Aronofsky does seem like an odd choice to direct the film. He usually stays within the boundaries of artistic dramas and psychological thrillers, Wolverine is definitely new ground for the director to cover. Additionally, Aronofsky’s new film, Black Swan, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, was praised by nearly all critics. The success of Black Swan will only bring good publicity to Aronofsky and his future films.

It will be interesting to see a more artful take on a superhero franchise. Christopher Nolan attempts to do the same with Batman, but the films lack intriguing dialogue and are drowned with action. Perhaps, Aronofsky and McQuarrie can bend the lines of the superhero genre with Wolverine 2. We’ll just have to wait and see…

The film is set to begin production next year.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

“Twilight’s” Robert Pattinson has been cast in a new movie, an adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s short story “Bel Ami,” as reported by Variety.

The actor revealed the news while in Cannes to promote his next flick “Remember Me.” He also told Variety, to the excitement of female fans, that the female lead hasn’t been cast yet for “Remember Me.” “The girl needs to be literally inspirational,” he says. “I have no qualms saying that she’s a genius.”

“Bel Ami” is scheduled to shoot next year in Paris and will be directed by British theatre director Declan Donnellan. Pattinson also managed to draw some similarities between his character in “Remember Me” and the vampire that made him a star. “They’re both about commitment,” he told Variety, adding that fans will get to see more of Edward through Bella’s “hallucinations” in “New Moon.”

Pattinson is also set to star alongside Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz in the period drama “Unbound Captives,” which tells the story of an American woman (Rachel Weisz) and her murdered husband killed by a Comanche war party. Pattinson will play her son.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

“Wolverine” star Hugh Jackman is set to star in another comic-book movie, this time a big-screen adaptation of the upcoming graphic novel “Ghostopolis.”

According to The Hollywood Producer, Jackman will both star in and co-produce the film through his company, Seed Productions.

Written and illustrated by Doug TenNapel, “Ghostopolis” revolves around a man who works for the Supernatural Immigration Task Force, a fictional government agency that specializes in sending ghosts who have escaped into our world back to Ghostopolis.

When a living boy is accidentally sent to The Other Side, the agent must team up with a female ghost – also his former girlfriend – to retrieve the child.

The movie, which is being set up at Disney, does not have a director or writer attached yet.

A release date also has yet to be announced for the “Ghostopolis” graphic novel, which will be published through Scholastic. TenNapel’s work is in high demand in Hollywood, with three of his other graphic novels – “Tommysaurus Rex,” “Creature Tech” and “Monster Zoo” – already set up at various studios as movie projects.

Fans of Jackman can currently see him on the big screen in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which debuted atop the North American box office last weekend with an estimated $87 million.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

The stars of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” brought a little Hollywood glitz and glamour to Tempe, Arizona as they attended the world premiere screening of the movie on Monday.

The city won the right to host the world premiere via an online voting contest sponsored by Twentieth Century Fox.

According to the Arizona Republic, thousands of people – many of whom camped out the night before – showed up for the event at the Harkins Tempe Marketplace theatre.

Jackman arrived at the premiere in style, riding in on a Harley Davidson motorbike in a nod to his mutant counterpart. He was also presented with a “Wolverine Parking Only” placard from the mayor of Tempe, Hugh Hallman, who proclaimed the day “X-Men Day.”

“I waited three years for this moment and now the world premiere is here in Arizona,” Jackman said. “I’m proud to be here with the cast . . . and show it to you first.”

Fans also went wild at the sight of Jackman’s “Wolverine” co-stars, including Ryan Reynolds, Liev Schreiber, Lynn Collins, will.i.am and Taylor Kitsch.

“I think this is how they should do it from now on. I really do,” said Reynolds, who plays the mutant Deadpool. “L.A. has had their fair share of Hollywood premieres. So has New York. This is the way to do it. You get to be interactive with the fans.”

Following the pre-party, the movie was shown on all 16 screens at the theatre to thousands of lucky fans who’d snagged tickets.

“Wolverine” hits theatres across the U.S. and Canada on Friday.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

Hugh Jackman has revealed he was “heartbroken” after a rough cut of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” leaked last week, a month before the film’s official release.

The Australian actor, who was in Sydney on Wednesday to launch a worldwide promotional tour for the prequel, spoke about the security breach at a press conference.

“It’s a serious crime and there’s no doubt it’s very disappointing.” Jackman told reporters. “I was heartbroken by it because there are a lot of people here in Australia and all over the world working on this film, and to have it out there in that way was very disappointing.”

The A-lister also praised fans who have refused to view the bootleg, which he stressed is not the version that will make it into theatres. “Obviously, people are seeing an unfinished film. It’s like a Ferrari without a paint job.”

However, it wasn’t all serious talk at the publicity event on Sydney Harbour’s Cockatoo Island, where much of the movie was filmed. Jackman arrived on the island in dramatic fashion, flying in by helicopter before zip-lining to the ground, to the delight of fans below.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” which sees Jackman reprise his role as the razor-clawed Marvel superhero, opens in North America on May 1.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

Just one month before its debut, the latest “X-Men” installment has leaked online in an almost complete version according to reports.

Some reviews and comments have already surfaced on the Internet about the film in the few hours the bootleg version is said to have begun circulating.

According to MTV News, 20th Century Fox sent an e-mail on Wednesday morning (April 1) regarding the leak to many sites saying, “This is bad for the industry and ruins the experience for so many people who are excited to see the film.”

But this isn’t the first time a Marvel Comics movie has been leaked before its set release date. A work print version of “The Hulk” leaked two weeks prior to its release, on the Internet, in 2003.

“X-Men Origins: Wolverine” stars Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Taylor Kitsch as Gambit. The action flick is set to hit theatres on May 1.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

The “Sexiest Man Alive” has a new gig.

Hugh Jackman, who was recently bestowed the title by People magazine, will host the 81st annual Oscars on Feb. 22.

The telecast’s producers called the Australian actor “a consummate entertainer and an internationally renowned star.”

“He also has style, elegance and a sense of occasion,” Laurence Mark and Bill Condon said in a joint statement. “Hugh is the ideal choice to host a celebration of the year’s movies — and to have fun doing it.”

Jackman won an Emmy in 2005 for hosting the previous year’s Tony Awards, where he also won the best-actor Tony for the musical “The Boy From Oz.”

He has yet to receive an Oscar nomination, but he was a Golden Globe nominee for his role in 2001′s “Kate & Leopold.”

The Oscars were hosted by Jon Stewart in 2008 and Ellen DeGeneres the year before.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

Aussie actor Hugh Jackman, who brought the mutant Wolverine to life in the “X-Men” movies, will stay within the comic world with his latest venture: a new series called “Nowhere Man.”

Jackman is teaming up with Virgin Comics to create the comic, which will take place in a futuristic world where mankind has surrendered privacy for security.

Jackman will co-write the series with Marc Guggenheim, who previously penned the “Wolverine” and “Amazing Spider-Man” series for Marvel comics.

“I’ve had so much fun in the graphic novel world with the X-Men franchise that I wanted to get even more involved,” Jackman told Variety magazine.

The project, which is being co-produced by Jackman’s Seed Productions, may also be morphed into other mediums.

“We feel the concept is transferable to other arenas, perhaps first as a video game, then as a movie,” said John Palermo of Seed Productions.

Palermo indicated that Jackman would take the lead role in a big-screen adaptation.

Jackman is currently shooting “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” in Australia. That film will hit theatres in May 2009.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance

Marvel has sharpened up it’s plans for the “Wolverine” movie.

Now with a title – “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” – and a release date – May 1, 2009 – the film will star Hugh Jackman as the brooding mutant.

According to “Variety,” the film’s plot could include a young William Stryker, Sabretooth, Weapon X and perhaps some returning characters. It will be directed by Gavin Hood (“Tsotsi”).

Marvel.com will update fans as soon as further decisions are made.

Read more at andPOP. andPOP - POP Culture with Substance