CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (Cast News)

• CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Last week we heard a little rumour that Frank Grillo was testing for the role of Crossbones in the Captain America sequel.

Frank Grillo as CrossBones

Now Variety has confirmed that Grillo, who appeared earlier this year in The Grey, will play Brock Rumlow, better known as Crossbones, in Marvel Studios' Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

First introduced in the comics in the late 1980's, Crossbones is better known today for his major role in Ed Brubaker's modern arc on "Captain America." A highly trained mercenary working for the Red Skull, Crossbones played a major role in the assassination of Steve Rogers following Marvel's "Civil War."

Many fans are excited for Crossbones addition to the film, as many fans speculated that Crossbones would be featured in the film, along with Baron Zemo. Nothing as been confirmed to Zemo’s inclusion in the film, but we sure we will here something solid pretty soon.

Director Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The Grey) tweeted a few days ago saying: @carnojoe “A friend of a friend who witnessed @FrankGrillo's Marvel screen test in person said 'He made the other actors look like extras...” Well that sounds like Grillo will have quite the memorable performance.

Maria Hill, Nick Fury and Black Widow

In more Winter Soldier news, Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) will be aided by some familiar faces as Variety has learned that Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Cobie Smulders will reprise their respective roles as Nick Fury, Black Widow and Agent Maria Hill.

And we have news that Jessica Brown Findlay, who plays Lady Sybil Branson in "Downton Abbey," is rumored to be the frontrunner for the role of Captain America's leading lady, which we all thinking is Sharon Carter.

Jessica Brown Findlay

Other actresses who are reportedly competing for the role include Alison Brie from "Mad Men" and "Community," and Emilia Clarke from "Game of Thrones.

The Winter Soldier will be directed by Anthony and Joe Russo, with Chris Evans and Anthony Mackie set to star in the film that’s planned to hit theaters on April 4, 2014.

KRISTY (Cast News)

Haley Bennett

• KRISTY

Oliver Blackburn, who made his feature film debut with 2008's Donkey Punch, has lined up his next project as a director with Kristy, a suspense thriller from screenwriters Gary Fielder, Scott Rosenberg and Anthony Jaswinski. Now Variety reports that the project has locked its lead in actress Haley Bennett.

Bennett will star as the titular college student who, remaining on campus over Thanksgiving break, becomes the target of a violent gang.

Bennett is known for roles in films like Marley & Me, The Haunting of Molly Hartley and The Hole and will soon appear in Terrence Malick's still-untitled next film (formerly known as Lawless).

Lynette Howell, David Kirschner, Jamie Patricof and Corey Sienega will produce Kristy.

RED 2 (Images)

• RED 2

Red 2

Production is currently underway on the action-comedy sequel Red 2 in London (doubling for Moscow), and some new images from the set have surfaced.

Dean Parisot  (Galaxy Quest) directs the film which brings back a cast that includes Bruce Willis, John Malkovich, Mary Louise-Parker, and Helen Mirren. Newcomers Catherine Zeta-Jones, Anthony Hopkins, and Byung-Hun will be joining the cast this time around. 

The film also stars David Thewlis and Neal McDonough.  Red 2 opens on August 2nd, 2013.

MONUMENTS OF MEN (Cast News)

• MONUMENTS OF MEN

George Clooney has been quite the busy man, procuring quite the stellar cast for his latest film, Monuments Men.

George Clooney 

The story centers on a group of art experts selected by the U.S. Government to chase down the stolen art of Europe during World War II. 

Aside from the terrific premise, Clooney, who co-wrote the film with partner Grant Heslov, will star alongside a cast that includes Daniel Craig, Jean Dujardin, Bill Murray, and Cate Blanchett.  Dujardin, Murray, and Blanchett had previously been mentioned in connection with the film, and Craig is a strong addition along with other new cast members John Goodman, Bob Balaban, and Hugh Bonneville.

Jean Dujardin, Daniel Craig & Bill Murray

According to Deadline, filming is set to begin on March 1st, and Alexandre Desplat will be handling the score.  The rest of the crew from Argo will be on board as well.

Here’s the synopsis for the source material, Robert M. Edsel‘s non-fiction novel The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History:

At the same time Adolf Hitler was attempting to take over the western world, his armies were methodically seeking and hoarding the finest art treasures in Europe. The Fuehrer had begun cataloguing the art he planned to collect as well as the art he would destroy: “degenerate” works he despised.

In a race against time, behind enemy lines, often unarmed, a special force of American and British museum directors, curators, art historians, and others, called the Momuments Men, risked their lives scouring Europe to prevent the destruction of thousands of years of culture.

Cate Blanchett

Focusing on the eleven-month period between D-Day and V-E Day, this fascinating account follows six Monuments Men and their impossible mission to save the world’s great art from the Nazis.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5 (Cruise Updates)

• MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 5

Brad Bird's Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, is hailed by many to be the best MI film in the series which spans four films, however its only a matter of time before we see the fifth MI film hit the big screen.

Tom Cruise recently took some time out of his busy schedule to talk a little about the Mission Impossible franchise and this is what he had to say:

“I started Mission: Impossible hoping I could make many of them. It’s a character that I can grow with. At that time it was the most expensive film in the history of Paramount Pictures, and the first film I was producing.

It’s been pretty exciting. I’ll make a bunch of those. I’ll make as many as people want to see... because they’re very challenging, and so much fun to make.”

He was then asked about any plot details or locations that we would see in the fifth film, to which Cruise responded by saying:

“We’re already working on different images. Talking conceptually. I love travelling around promoting different movies because I’m always looking at different places, and I always walk around to see the city. I look at architecture, subways… coming up with different sequences.”