The Movie Insider.com

Summit Entertainment announced today that filmmaker Chris Weitz ('The Golden Compass') has been hired to direct the second film in the studio's Twilight film franchise. The film, New Moon, is based on the second book in author Stephenie Meyer's blockbuster book series.

The cast and crew for Marvel Studios' 2011 film The Avengers is coming together quite nicely. Iron Man himself Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle, whose deal to replace Terrence Howard in the Iron Man movies has been finalized, have signed for the actioner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Director Chris Columbus (Rent, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) is in talks with Paramount Pictures about taking the reins of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! The long-gestating project has Jim Carrey set to star as newspaper columnist-explorer Robert Ripley. The project is now getting a complete overhaul, according to Daily Variety, based on a concept that Columbus pitched himself.

Oscar winner Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) has lined up a lead role in the drama Biutiful, according to Daily Variety. The trade paper says that the film is about "a man embroiled in shady dealings who is confronted by a childhood friend, now a policeman." The trade doesn't specify which character Bardem will be playing.

Actor/writer/director Ben Stiller has held early talks to helm The Trial of the Chicago 7, a politcal drama that would mark a departure from his comedic efforts such as Tropic Thunder and "Zoolander." The DreamWorks project revolves around the riots at the Democratic National Convention in 1968 in Chicago, and is a high priority for the newly configured studio, which has been "freed" from Paramount Pictures and now has a distribution deal with Universal Pictures.

Director F. Gary Gray (The Italian Job, Be Cool) has signed on to replace helmer Frank Darabont for legal thriller Law-Abiding Citizen, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Darabont recently exited the project, which will star Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler and is a said to be a "priority" for startup production shingle The Film Department.

Oscar winner Don Cheadle (Traitor, Ocean's Thirteen) is stepping in to replace Terrence Howard (The Hunting Party) in Iron Man 2, Marvel Studios' sequel to its summer blockbuster, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Jon Favreau is returning as director, and Robert Downey Jr. is expected back as billionaire industrialist Stark/Iron Man. Gwyneth Paltrow also is expected to be back as Stark's assistant, Pepper Potts.

Thriller Body of Lies failed to take the top spot at the weekend box office in North America on Sunday, becoming the latest victim of moviegoer aversion to movies dealing with Middle East intrigue. The $70 million Warner Bros. film, starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio as American spies, had to settle for the No. 3 slot with $13.1 million, behind reigning champ Beverly Hills Chihuahua and the new low-budget horror Quarantine.

The newly reinvigorated DreamWorks Pictures has re-optioned the film rights to John Wyndham's sci-fi novel Chocky. Spielberg is said to be keen to make the adaptation his next

Jude Law, who last starred in flops My Blueberry Nights and Breaking and Entering, is in negotiations to join Mr. Popular (aka Robert Downey Jr.) in Sherlock Holmes for Warner Bros. Pictures, according to Daily Variety. The trade says Law is "close to a deal" to play useful sidekick Watson to Downey's Holmes in the Guy Ritchie-directed feature.

Universal Pictures is going to be in bed with Guillermo del Toro for a long time. The Hellboy II: The Golden Army director is now booked with films through 2017, including remakes of Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Slaughterhouse-Five, Daily Variety reported. Universal Pictures—which has a three-year first-look deal with the director—and del Toro are making a long-term commitment by setting up four directing projects.

When Charlie Bartlett listens, everyone talks! MGM Home Entertainment presents one young man's smart, funny and touching battle with the hypocrisies of high school and the modern world when Charlie Bartlett debuts on DVD June 24.

Dimension Films has acquired remake rights to the 1986 sci-fi comedy film Short Circuit, about Number 5, a military robot that develops a conscience and personality after being hit by lightning, Daily Variety reported. S.S. Wilson and Brent Maddock, who created the characters and wrote both Short Circuit films, have been hired to write the remake. David Foster and Ryan E. Heppe will produce with John Hyde.

The heads of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) announced on Tuesday evening that they reached an agreement regarding the contracts with the Hollywood's movie and television companies.

All six major stars of High School Musical have officially signed on for third and big-screen installment of the popular Disney Channel franchise, The Walt Disney Studios announced Monday.

United Artists, which is the mini studio headed by Tom Cruise and his producing partner, has paid seven figures to option the film rights for children's literature series Ranger's Apprentice, a project that could be directed by Oscar-winning Crash filmmaker Paul Haggis, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Sony Screen Gems and Lakeshore Entertainment are moving forward with a prequel to Underworld and Underworld: Evolution. Underworld 3: The Rise of the Lycans will star Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End)and Rhona Mitra (The Number 23). Len Wiseman, who directed the first two films in the franchise, will produce.

One of the most anticipated movies of 2009 finally has a release date! A May 1, 2009 release has been set for the X-Men spin-off X-Men Origins: Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, according to Daily Variety. Gavin Hood (Tsotsi) will in the director's chair.

Leonardo DiCaprio, who has a dozen or so projects in development, is now attached to star in a big-screen version of Beau Willimon's play Farragut North for Warner Bros. Pictures. DiCaprio will serve as producer along with George Clooney, who is actually looking to direct and possibly take a role in the film.

John Cho, who is best known for stoner comedy Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, has been cast as Sulu in the new Star Trek movie, playing a role popularized by George Takei. In addition, Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) has boarded the Paramount project as Scotty, the ship's Scottish chief engineer.