The stars of the original Les Miserables London stage show are set to join Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Taylor Swift and Russell Crowe in director Tom Hooper’s blockbuster movie update.
Colm Wilkinson and Frances Ruffelle, who played Jean Valjean and Eponine onstage at the Barbican in 1985 and later transferred to Broadway, have landed speaking roles in the new film, which starts pre-production next week.
According to the Daily Mail, Wilkinson will play the Bishop of Digne and Ruffelle a whore.

Sergio Mendes, who scored an Oscar nomination for his song Real In Rio, says the animated film will most likely have a sequel. Mendes said Rio director Carlos Saldanha may want to tie the sequel to the 2014 World Cup, which will take place in Brazil. “I think the plan is for the movie to come three or four months before the World Cup,” Mendes said Tuesday afternoon. “Fox has been talking about (it) and it looks like it’s going to happen,” he continued. “We’re going to have a meeting I think next week and Carlos is coming to town to tell us the story, and it looks like it’s a go.” Fox said in an email Wednesday that the “success of the first film was the start of a franchise,” but added that “no script or deals” are in place.

Christmas might be over, but the Batman-related pressies just keep on coming, with Anne Hathaway breaking Chris Nolan’s traditional wall of silence in order to give us an update on what we can expect from The Dark Knight Rises.
“Gotham City is full of grace,” says Hathaway. “You look at Heath’s performance as the Joker, there was a lot of madness there but there was also a grace and he had a code there. There’s a lot of belief and codes of behavior in Gotham and my character has one, too. A lot of the way she moves and interacts with people is informed by her worldview. Chris has given us all such complex, defined, sophisticated worldviews that it’s just a matter of doing your homework and getting underneath the character’s skin.”
“I really got into the comics after I was cast,” she continues, “and I like that when she made her first appearance she meets Bruce Wayne and says ‘Let go of me or I’ll claw your eyes out,’ and he says, ‘Careful, claws in or papa spank’. So I’m glad we’ve come a long way since then. I’m not saying anything against Bob Kane, though!”
And speaking of previous incarnations of the character, Hathaway isn’t remotely concerned by comparisons to Michelle Pfeiffer et al.
“What’s come before doesn’t limit or even affect this new version,” she says. “It doesn’t affect me because each Catwoman – and this is true in the comics as well – she is defined by the context of the Gotham City created around her. Catwoman is so influenced by Gotham and whoever is creating Gotham at the time. Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was informed by Tim Burton’s Gotham and Eartha Kitt was informed by Adam West’s Gotham. You have to live in whatever the reality of the world is and whatever Gotham is.”
Still more intriguing is the description of a scene that precedes the interview in the LA Times. Eyes away now if you don’t want to know what happens…
“Gotham City is a war zone,” begins the description. “A ruthless madman named Bane has ripped away any sense of security and the citizens, haggard and clutching suitcases with refugee anxiety, sit behind barbed wire waiting to see what will blow up next. A hooded prisoner is dragged in – it’s Bruce Wayne, one of Gotham’s most famous faces – but the eyes of the crowd go instead to the woman in black standing at the top of the staircase.”
“‘Sorry to spoil things, boys, but Bane needs these guys himself,’ says sultry Selina Kyle, played here by actress Anne Hathaway, navigating the steps with stiletto heels that, on closer inspection, turn out to have serrated edges capable of leaving nasty claw marks in a fight. She also wears high-tech goggles that, when not in use, flip up and resemble feline ears.”
So Bane and Catwoman are working together? Make of that what you will. The Dark Knight Rises is released in the UK on 20 July 2012.

New Catwoman Anne Hathaway based her performance in the latest Batman movie on Hedy Lamarr, the glamorous 1940s film star who first inspired the character. The Devil Wears Prada star is the latest actress to take on the role of the Caped Crusader’s feline nemesis, following in the footsteps of Julie Newmar, Eartha Kitt and Michelle Pfeiffer, in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Dark Knight Rises. Hathaway has now revealed she went back to the character’s roots for her portrayal, basing her performance on late Hollywood legend Lamarr, who was cited as the inspiration for Catwoman by comic book artist Bob Kane. She tells the Los Angeles Times, “I know this sounds odd, but her breathing is extraordinary. She takes these long, deep, languid breaths and exhales slowly. There’s a shot of her in (1933 film) Ecstasy exhaling a cigarette and I took probably five breaths during her one exhale. So I started working on my breathing a lot.” Hathaway also admits she isn’t fazed by stepping into such a famous role as each actress to have played Catwoman gave the character their own unique stamp. She adds, “What’s come before doesn’t limit or even affect this new version. It doesn’t affect me because each Catwoman – and this is true in the comics as well – she is defined by the context of the Gotham City created around her… Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman was informed by Tim Burton’s Gotham and Eartha Kitt was informed by Adam West’s Gotham. You have to live in whatever the reality of the world is and whatever Gotham is.”

Les Miserables will be shot in 2-D so viewers don’t “physically struggle”. Director Tom Hooper – who won an Oscar for his work on The King’s Speech – was “tempted” to use 3-D technology in the forthcoming blockbuster but decided against it because he wanted to make a film that would “connect with everyone”. He told the BBC: “I can definitely announce it’s good old-fashioned 2-D. “I did test 3-D and I was very tempted – I think it is a very interesting new form. “One of the things I’m most proud of with ‘The King’s Speech’ is how it managed to connect with everyone, whether you’re eight or 80 years old. “So I slightly worry with 3-D that some people will physically struggle with it. If you have a certain type of eyesight it can be more demanding than watching a normal movie. “With a two-and-a-half hour film, I didn’t want to make something that anyone might think ‘That’s not for me, because I don’t like the medium’.” Tom believes the movie – which will star Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway – is strong enough not to need 3-D technology. He added: “I wanted to make a film that would touch everyone. I believe the story is so strong, 3-D is not essential.” The filmmaker is thrilled that such huge actors are desperate to land a role in the movie. He said: “I’ve never done a film where big star actors are as obsessed with being in it as this.”

Director Christopher Nolan is pushing actress Anne Hathaway to the limits when it comes to her Catwoman fight scenes for The Dark Knight Rises. In trying to capture a series of realistic brawls, the actress has already given one stuntman a serious black eye after pummeling the butt of her gun into his eye socket. Now, the girl can’t seem to stay in her latex outfit. The IMAX cameras utilized in shooting The Dark Knight Rises don’t allow for much cheating when it comes to throwing a stage punch, which is demanding that the actors get incredibly physical. Anne Hathaway has taken the challenge to heart, throwing herself into these intense action scenes with all of her might. This aggressive behavoir has now seen her tearing out the ass of her Catwoman costume more than once. It might be easy to make jokes about her weight when first hearing how the new Selina Kyle is tearing through her sexy wardrobe, but the svelte actress has never been in better shape. It is a combination of the materials being used to bring this version of Catwoman to life, mixed with her hyper-physicality, that is actually causing the problem. An insider who was on set had this to say. “Anne was filming a very similar fight scene when her costume split right open right on her bottom. She’s putting everything into this role both physically and emotionally and the wardrobe department is paying the price. She must have gone through a dozen costume changes due to throwing herself around.” Christian Bale and Tom Hardy will be pushed to similar limits when their climactic fight scenes are filmed. Rumor has it that the character Bane will actually break Batman’s spine. If the two actors go at it at the same speed Anne Hathaway has, they better be careful, or someone could get seriously injured.

Director Christopher Nolan is keeping the action down and dirty on the set of The Dark Knight Rises. Actress Anne Hathaway, who is playing Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman), got so carried away shooting a fight scene, she injured her opposing stuntman. Apparently, Anne Hathaway was so lost in the moment, she shoved the butt of her gun full-force into the stunt actor’s eye socket, turning half his face black and blue. An insider who was on set at the time had this to say. “Anne got a bit carried away during a fight scene…He came away with a massive black eye. Anne was mortified.” The stunt actor remained “good natured” about the incident, with Anne Hathaway sending him an engraved silver pin that read, “Remember no one packs a punch like Anne.” The Dark Knight Rises promises to have some of the best, most authentic fight scenes ever captured on film.