Anne Hathaway has signed on to star alongside Tobey Maguire in the upcoming Tokyo Suckerpunch, reports say. Based on the novel by Isaac Adamson, the movie is about comic book writer Billy Chaka (Maguire) whose real life turns into an adventure like the ones he writes. Along the way, a romance develops between the writer and his editor (Hathaway). The novel was adapted by screenwriter Ed Solomon, who wrote the scripts for Men In Black and Charlie’s Angels. “It’s a romantic comedy,” Solomon said of the project, “It’s got a lot of action, but it’s mostly a comedy set in Tokyo, about a guy who thinks he’s in love with one woman.” Gary Ross, who directed the Spider-Man star in Pleasantville and Seabiscuit, is attached to helm the project. No start date has been given.

Actress Anne Hathaway has been stuffing her pants with socks to better understand how to portray a man for an upcoming New York theatre production of Twelfth Night. The Hollywood star is due to take to the stage as part of the Big Apple’s Shakespeare in the Park series, which kicks off next month. And she admits she’s been preparing for her role as Viola, a girl who disguises herself as a man called Cesario, by strutting around her Manhattan apartment with an extra prop in her trousers. She says, “I’m having a fun little time with Cesario right now. My character is a girl who’s shipwrecked and she arrives on a strange shore where she doesn’t know anyone, and it occurs to her that the best way to take care of herself is to pretend that she’s a boy. “I’d be lying if I said that I haven’t walked around my apartment with a sock shoved down the front! All of a sudden, you just understand. You stand differently and it’s just like, yeah!” But playing a man convincingly isn’t the only aspect of the role Hathaway is nervous about – the Oscar nominee fears her Shakespearean speech won’t go down well with theatre-goers after realising that mastering the 16th century dialogue isn’t as easy as it seems. She adds, “It’s really tough actually. I used to go to musical theatre camps and at one of them we had a wonderful Shakespearean coach, and when I was 16, I thought I knew everything. So when this opportunity (to do Shakespeare in the Park) came up, I was like, ‘I was great’, it came so naturally. “And it turns out that I was just lying to myself! It’s not easy! At first I was like, wouldn’t it be so cool if I was some like, Shakespearean prodigy and now my expectations are like, wouldn’t it be great if no one threw fruit at me! And now I’m just like, if they do, let the fruit be fresh!”

Anne Hathaway, 26, stars alongside Kate Hudson in the comedy Bride Wars. Hathaway plays Emma, a school teacher who falls out with her best friend, Liv (Hudson) when their eagerly anticipated weddings are scheduled for exactly the same time on the same day at their dream venue, The Plaza Hotel in New York. As the day quickly approaches, each tries to scupper the other’s plans for a perfect wedding day.
It looks like it but was Bride Wars fun to make?
Yes it was but it was a difficult film to make as well. We had a short shooting schedule and had to pack a lot of filming into about two months. But there were certain scenes I would find myself in the middle of where Kate and I would just be yelling at each other about something ridiculous like who gets what wedding date and who was going to move hers, and the absurdity of it always made me laugh. And then of course at the end, when the war has gotten out of control and we physically confront each other, that part was so much fun to shoot. Continue reading…

Here are some of the latest movies to land on DVD, led by a fantasy-thriller that should have received theatrical play.
Passengers (Sony/Blu-ray, 2008, PG-13, $39.95). This showcase for Anne Hathaway is yet another inexplicable example of what major studios send straight to video. It’s a flawed melodrama/fantasy, but it’s certainly better than a lot of recent films that have managed to find their way to theaters. (Such as Hathaway’s own Bride Wars.) Go figure. Hathaway plays a young, perhaps overeducated therapist who is assigned to begin sessions with a group of traumatized airline-crash survivors. The plot unravels in fits and starts and doesn’t seem sure of what it wants to be — is it about a patient’s sudden extra-sensory abilities, is it a conspiracy thriller about an airline covering up the real reasons for the crash, is it a romance as Hathaway’s character crosses ethical lines? Despite these teases and some lapses in logic, however, the film is satisfying most of the way, even if you figure out the big “reveal” as the film morphs into a feature-length Twilight Zone episode. The performances are exceptional, especially Hathaway in a role that requires her to carry the picture, but also Patrick Wilson, Andre Braugher, David Morse, Clea DuVall and especially Dianne Wiest. Extras: widescreen, deleted scenes, audio commentary, featurettes, trailers Thanks to DeserteNews.com for this review!

There are several new candids of Annie and her boyfriend Adam Shulman out in New York City. Happy Watching!