MUMBAI: The weekend is here, so relax and enjoy the news coming in from the world of Hollywood.

Rosamund Pike, Chris O'Dowd to star in sitcom

Actors Rosamund Pike and Chris O'Dowd have joined the cast of the upcoming sitcom, State of the Union.

The show, penned by Nick Hornby, will have 10 episodes. Each episode will run to 10 minutes, according to some media reports.

State of the Union, produced for See-Saw Films for SundanceTV, follows a couple (played by Pike and O'Dowd) and their weekly meetings in a bar before they head off to couples' therapy.

Excited about the comedy show, Hornby said, "I am so pleased to be working again with (director) Stephen Frears, Pike and O'Dowd. I think they will make a tremendous team."

"State of the Union is an unusual project, so it's all the more gratifying that we have managed to attract talent of this magnitude," added Hornby.

Actress Amy Jackson will produce for See-Saw, with Jamie Laurenson, Hakan Kousetta, who run See-Saw's TV division and are also among the senior producers.

Actor Corey Sligh found guilty of molesting minor

Model-actor Corey Sligh, who appeared on American television show The Young and the Restless, has been found guilty of molesting a minor girl and can face up to 20 years jail term.

Sligh was arrested in his hometown of Canton, Georgia, in 2016 and charged after the victim's parents filed a police complaint against the actor for allegedly touching their daughter, who was less than 10-year-old then, in an inappropriate manner, and asking her to do the same.

On 28 June, the jury found Sligh guilty on one count of molesting a girl younger than 10 years, says a leading media company.

The 31-year-old actor faces five to 20 years in prison and is being held in the Cherokee County jail.

Sligh awaits trial on another similar case in Florida.

Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton to star in zombie comedy 'The Dead Don't Lie'

Actors Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton have bagged roles in Jim Jarmusch's zombie comedy film, The Dead Don't Die.

Being made under a banner of Focus Features, the film will also feature actors Adam Driver, Steve Buscemi, Chloe Sevigny and Selena Gomez.

While the plot for the film is not known, photos from the set depict Murray, Sevigny and Driver dressed as cops, suggest some media reports.

Jarmusch and Murray previously worked together on 2003's Coffee and Cigarettes and 2005's Broken Flowers.

Director Jarmusch's other credits include Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, Mystery Train, Dead Man, and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

The Dead Don't Die will be produced by Joshua Astrachan and Carter Logan.

Jensen Ackles' 'Arrow' dream to come true

Actor Stephen Amell is excited about the seventh season of Arrow but before it premieres later this year, he says Supernatural star Jensen Ackles’ dream will come true.

"This was delivered to my trailer in August of 2012. Just realised that when S6 (season 6) of Arrow gets released on Blu-Ray, we'll have come full circle. Finally, Jensen Ackles' dream will come true," Amell tweeted on Friday along with an image of a signed copy of the sixth season of Supernatural.

He also warned him to stay off the set of Supernatural, which is aired on AXN in India.

Ackles and his on-screen brother Jared Padalecki have often played pranks on Amell. They had once changed Amell's name plate to "Stephen Smells". They also took a photograph of themselves pretending to urinate all over Amell's parking space.

Earlier this year, Amell poked fun at the actors by sitting in their iconic Impala and saying the car smelled like "13 seasons worth of farts".

Supernatural has completed 13 seasons and the shooting for the next has already begun.

Evan Rachel Wood, Sterling K. Brown in talks to voice 'Frozen 2'

Actors Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K. Brown are in talks to lend their voices to characters in Walt Disney's upcoming animated sequel Frozen 2.

Frozen 2 will be directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who has recently named the chief creative head of WDA (Walt Disney Animation), some reports suggest so. 

This is not the first time that these two actors will voice the animated characters. Earlier, Brown had joined the cast of the movie The Angry Birds 2, while Wood's voice credits include the lead character Marianne in Lucasfilm's 2015 animated feature Strange Magic.

Both Wood and Brown marked nominations for this year's Emmy Awards. Wood received a nomination for Westworld while Brown received them for This Is Us and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Frozen 2 is slated to release on 27 November, 2019.

Johansson quits transgender role following criticism

Actress Scarlett Johansson, who has been criticised for playing a transgender in Rub & Tug, has backed out of the film.

The 33-year-old was doing the Rupert Sanders-directed mob drama, in which she was to portray Dante "Tex" Gill, a transgender man who owns a Pittsburgh massage parlour. But she has now decided to quit the role, according to some media reports.  

"In light of recent ethical questions raised surrounding my casting as Dante 'Tex' Gill, I have decided to respectfully withdraw my participation in the project. Our cultural understanding of transgender people continues to advance, and I've learned a lot from the community since making my first statement about my casting and realize it was insensitive," Johansson said to a leading media company.

"While I would have loved the opportunity to bring Dante's story and transition to life, I understand why many feel he should be portrayed by a transgender person, and I am thankful that this casting debate, albeit controversial, has sparked a larger conversation about diversity and representation in film."

Earlier, Johansson was criticized for playing an originally Asian animated character, The Major, in the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell. It was also directed by Sanders.

‘Captain Marvel' writer to pen 'Artemis' movie

Writer Geneva Robertson-Dworet has been roped in to adapt the movie version of author Andy Weir’s science-fiction novel "Artemis."

Phil Lord and Chris Miller are directing. Simon Kinberg and Aditya Sood are producing "Artemis," the follow-up novel by "The Martian" author, according to some media reports.

"Artemis" follows a woman named Jazz, a directionless twenty something constrained by her small town, the titular Artemis - the only city on Moon. With debts to pay and a salary that barely covers the rent, she cannot say no when a life-changing opportunity drops in her lap. But she then finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

Robertson-Dworet's recent credits include Marvel's upcoming Captain Marvel and the reboot of Tomb Raider. She is also working on Spider-Man spinoff Silver & Black.

Josh Hopkins to star in thriller 'Crown Vic'

Actor Josh Hopkins, best known for his role in Quantico, is set to star in the film Crown Vic for writer-director Joel Souza.

Actor Thomas Jane is also set to star, according to some media reports.

Crown Vic follows one night in the life of a seasoned Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) veteran as he takes a young cop out on patrol and shows him the brutal reality of life behind the wheel.

Hopkins plays an unhinged veteran LAPD officer running loose in Jane's patrol zone.

Anjul Nigam is producing under his Brittany House Pictures banner along with Alec Baldwin and his El Dorado Pictures, and Gregg Bello.

(Source :IANS)

Jessica Alba manages to balance work and family

The mother-of-three, Jessica Alba, 37, has always been a great mom. Married to Cash Warren, the American actress and businesswoman has won several awards, and alongside her acting career is handling a consumer goods company while all the time juggling family too. She has now admitted that she didn't feel as if she had enough time in the day to spend with her two daughters when the third one came along, but at the end of it, she feels she is happy doing it all. With both her daughters helping her with the baby around the house, Alba is grateful that she gets to do things that she loves to do.

The third baby gave her time to grab some rest amidst running a company but that did help her bond with her kids. Alba seems to have found a special formula to keep things real and balance her work responsibilities while spending quality time with her family.

Evan Rachel Wood, Sterling K Brown in talks for 'Frozen 2'

Actors Evan Rachel Wood and Sterling K Brown are in negotiations to join the sequel of Disney's Frozen.

Idina Menzel, Kristen Bell, and Josh Gad are returning to reprise their roles as Elsa, Anna, and Olaf, respectively.

Henry Cavill apologises after backlash over his #MeToo comments

Justice League star Henry Cavill has apologised for his comments about the #MeToo movement. The 35-year-old actor, who is currently awaiting the release of Mission: Impossible - Fallout, told a magazine that the #MeToo movement has made him afraid to flirt with women. Henry Cavill had said that men should change their behaviour in some way, but there is different feeling when a man chases and woos a woman. He further also said that may be he is old fashioned in that manner. The actor’s comments faced a lot of backlash and he had sent in an apology.

Amy Schumer is not pregnant

Comedian and actress Amy Schumer took to social media and confirmed that she is not pregnant. She took to Instagram and posted a video wherein she quashed her pregnancy rumours. Rubbishing the rumours, she further said, "Leesa Evans (stylist) and I have created a clothing line for all sizes and shapes at a chill price point. That's what I was trying to allude to, but thank you for thinking of my womb."