andPOP - Pop Culture With Substance

Leonardo DiCaprio’s company Appian Way, in conjunction with Warner Bros., is producing a film based on the television series The Twilight Zone, reports Variety.

Rand Ravich, who penned the television series Life and the movie Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, will write the film. Ravich previously directed Johnny Depp in The Astronaut’s Wife.

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There’s something about certain male actors over the age of 40 (but have yet to hit the 50 mark) that makes ladies and men of all ages goo-goo-gaa-gaa for them.

You know who these men are. They are the actors that straight men will shamelessly admit that even they would fantasize about these stars.

These men are charming, attractive and, most importantly, talented.

So whether you are fifteen years their junior or ten years their senior, here are five (although there are many more) contemporary actors who still capture our hearts and make us blush like little schoolgirls.

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“Pirates of the Caribbean” director Gore Verbinski has jumped off deck and will not be directing the fourth installment of the Disney film, according to Variety.

“I had a fantastic time bringing ‘Pirates’ to life, and I am eternally grateful to Jerry [Bruckheimer], Johnny and the rest of the creative and production team,” Verbinski said to Variety. “I’m looking forward to all of us crossing paths again in the future.” 

Instead, Verbinski is set to work on “Bioshock,” based on the video game, according to Variety.The game tells the story of a man stranded in an underwater city.

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Johnny Depp will be the highest paid actor in history after the fourth instalment of “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Reports vary, but Depp is said to be banking between $56 and $61 million for the upcoming film.

Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley will reportedly not be involved with the film, or the big payday.

Tom Hanks is second, being paid $29 million for the coming “Da Vinci Code” sequel.

Cap’n Jack is back. The witty, rum drinking, sword fighting pirate character played by A-list actor Johnny Depp, will be back for more adventures in a fourth “Pirates of the Caribbean” film.

According to Variety, the 45-year-old actor has signed on for a fourth installment for the Disney franchise which has earned a combined $2.6 billion at the box office. However, the film is believed to be focusing on solely Jack Sparrow, as co-stars Orlando Bloom (Will Turner) and Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Swan) have insisted that they’re finished with the franchise.

As a result, the movie which is supposedly set to start production in 2011, will likely consist of Sparrow setting sail on his own story line, possibly for the Fountain of Youth.

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton are teaming up once again.

Disney announced Wednesday that Depp will play the Mad Hatter in Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” which will be a live-action/CG reworking of the classic Lewis Carroll tale.

Australian actress Mia Wasikowska (HBO’s “In Treatment”) had previously been cast as Alice, while Matt Lucas (”Little Britain USA”) will play the dual roles of Tweedledum and Tweedledee.

Burton is shooting the film in 3-D and will combine performance-capture imagery, similar to last year’s “Beowulf,” with live-action footage.

The film is set for a March 2010 release date.

Depp and Burton first worked together in 1990’s “Edward Scissorhands” and have since racked up a number of collaborations, including “Sleepy Hollow,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and, most recently, “Sweeney Todd.”

Could Cher be the newest addition to the Batman franchise?

The UK Telegraph reports that the singer is in talks to star as Catwoman in the upcoming sequel.

“Cher is Nolan’s first choice to play Catwoman,” said an unnamed studio exec. “He wants to her to portray her like a vamp in her twilight years. The new Catwoman will be the absolute opposite of Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry’s purring creations.”

Johnny Depp is also reportedly being signed on as the Riddler for the sequal, tentatively titled “The Caped Crusader.” It should begin filming early next year in Vancouver.

“The Dark Knight” is expected to gross $530 million.

It’s take two for Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp’s film, “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.”

Seven years ago, the film’s production was shut down just five days into filming after a slew of misfortunes, including the set washing away in a flash flood.

Despite their past trials, the “Fear And Loathing” team “are now confident that they can finish the production this time,” according to Hello Magazine.

Depp will play “advertising executive who travels back in time.”

Their first failed attempt was the subject of the 2002 documentary, “Lost in La Mancha.”

It’s official: Ellen Page and her pregnant alter-ego “Juno” are Oscar worthy.

The film received nods in several category where it will be the only comedy competing against some huge, heavy-hitter dramas. 20-year-old Page is up against the likes of Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age), Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose) and Laura Linney (The Savages) for Best Actress.

“Juno” is nominated for Best Picture against the critical favourites “Atonement,” “Michael Clayton,” “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood.”

Screenwriter Diablo Cody and Canadian director Jason Reitman also scored a nomination for “Juno.”

Sarah Polley will also be representing Canada at the awards. She was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for her film, “Away From Her.”

With so many fantastic performances, it will be especially hard to guess the winners this year. The Best Actor category is an exciting list: George Clooney (Michael Clayton), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises) and Tommy Lee Jones (In The Valley of Elah).

Other notable nominations are 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) and Casey Affleck (The Assassination of Jesse James?).

James McAvoy and Keira Knightley were noticably snubbed for their lead performances in “Atonement.”

Here is a complete list of the nominations:

BEST PICTURE
“Atonement”
“Juno”
“Michael Clayton”
“No Country for Old Men”
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Julie Christie, “Away From Her”
Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Laura Linney, “The Savages”
Ellen Page, “Juno”

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney, “Michael Clayton”
Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Johnny Depp, “Sweeney Todd”
Viggo Mortensen, “Eastern Promises”
Tommy Lee Jones, “In the Valley of Elah”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, “I’m Not There”
Ruby Dee, “American Gangster”
Saoirse Ronan, “Atonement”
Amy Ryan, “Gone Baby Gone”
Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Casey Affleck, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford”
Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Hal Holbrook, “Into The Wild”
Tommy Lee Jones, “No Country For Old Men”
Philip Seymour Hoffman, “Charlie Wilson’s War”
Tom Wilkinson, “Michael Clayton”

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Julian Schnabel, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Jason Reitman, “Juno”

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Nancy Oliver, “Lars and the Real Girl”
Tony Gilroy, “Michael Clayton”
Brad Bird, Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird, “Ratatouille”
Tamara Jenkins, “The Savages”

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson, “There Will Be Blood”
Christopher Hampton, “Atonement”
Ronald Harwood, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Sarah Polley, “Away From Her”

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
“Beaufort” (Israel)
“The Counterfeiters” (Austria)
“Katyn” (Poland)
“Mongol” (Kazakhstan)
“12″ (Russia)

BEST ANIMATED FILM
“Persepolis”
“Ratatouille”
“Surf’s Up”

BEST ART DIRECTION
“American Gangster”
“Atonement”
“The Golden Compass”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“There Will Be Blood”

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” Roger Deakins
“Atonement,” Seamus Mcgarvey
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Janusz Kaminski
“No Country For Old Men,” Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood,” Robert Elswit

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
“Across the Universe,” Albert Wolsky
“Atonement,” Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie En Rose,” Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street,” Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“No End in Sight”
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience”
“Sicko”
“Taxi to the Dark Side”
“War/Dance”

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT
“Freeheld”
“La Corona” (”The Crown”)
“Salim Baba”
“Sari’s Mother”

BEST FILM EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum,” Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly,” Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild,” Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men,” Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood,” Dylan Tichenor

BEST MAKEUP
“La Vie en Rose”
“Norbit”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
“Atonement”, Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner”, Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton”, James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille”, Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma”, Marco Beltrami

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
“So Close” from “Enchanted”
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”

BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM
“I Met the Walrus”
“Madame Tutli-Putli”
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)”
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)”
“Peter & the Wolf”

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM
“At Night”
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)”
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)”
“Tanghi Argentini”
“The Tonto Woman”

BEST SOUND EDITING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“There Will Be Blood”
“Transformers”

BEST SOUND MIXING
“The Bourne Ultimatum”
“No Country For Old Men”
“Ratatouille”
“3:10 to Yuma”
“Transformers”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Golden Compass”
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
“Transformers”

Who says a pirate can’t be generous? Johnny Depp donated £1 million yesterday to the hospital that saved his eight-year-old daughter’s life.

The Daily Mail reports that Depp visited Great Ormond Street Hospital unexpectedly yesterday to personally thank the staff. Last year, Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose, contracted E. coli poisoning so severe that her kidneys failed. Production of “Sweeney Todd” had to be halted as Lily-Rose’s condition took a turn for the worse. But doctors at Great Ormond were able to save her.

“It was the most frightening thing we have ever been through,” Depp later said of Lily-Rose’s illness. “It was hell. But the magic is that she pulled through beautifully. Great Ormond Street was terrific, a great hospital.”

This isn’t the first time Depp has surprised the residents of Great Ormond. On Nov. 29, Depp donned his Jack Sparrow costume (which he had flown over from Los Angeles) and read bedtime stories to patients for four hours.