Do You Want to See a Live Action Superman and Batman Movie?

Will superhero fans ever get to see a live action film of the 'World's Finest' -- Batman and Superman -- together at last?Shock Till You Dropasked 'Season of the Witch' producerCharles Rovenjust that in an interview yesterday. Roven is currently working on Christopher Nolan's'The Dark Knight Rises'and Zack Snyder's'Superman,'so it only made sense to find out if a Batman/Superman pairing would be happening any time soon.

Plans to unite the DC icons have failed twice before -- once with 'Troy's' Wolfgang Petersen and a second time with 'Mad Max' director George Miller at the helm -- but much to the chagrin of comic fans, the crossover isn't on Roven's mind at the moment."Right now the Batman lives in his world and the Superman lives in his world. Those stories are those stories and we haven't thought beyond each individual picture,"he told Shock.

This will be Nolan's last Batman film, so chances are a crossover feature would not involve the director or Bale as the Dark Knight. Superman's filmic reputation precedes him as the formulaic good guy. If the movie was based on the comic universe and steers clear of another Superman origin/love story -- instead allowing the Son of Krypton to get his hands dirty and do battle in a sci-fi universe -- the uniting of the two superheroes would feel pretty perfect. Batman and Superman are each great foils for the other -- and the yin and yang balance of their personalities would almost assuredly make for compelling viewing on the big screen.

Warner/DC has been keeping their eye on the Marvel universe ever since'Iron Man'hit and Disney bought the company -- restructuring their approach in an attempt to remain competitive with their arch rivals. Ideally, there'd be a scene in the third 'Batman' movie where the Man of Steel is introducedà la Captain America's shield or Thor's Hammer in 'Iron Man/Iron Man 2.' The chances of that happening are slim to none given Rosen's assertion that each character exists in his own universe. This is one thing that Marvel does so well -- creating synergy between all their different characters through cameos and clever in-jokes. DC might be well advised to start mimicking that approach.

While the absence of Nolan/Bale might dissuade some fans from watching a 'World's Finest' film, there's still bend to the comic story that the movies have barely touched on. The characters have always been larger than the directors and actors who've brought them to the screen, and passing on an opportunity to unite two of the biggest names in the DC universe feels like a gigantic missed opportunity. While some feel (with a definite degree of validity) that the characters are just too big to combine in one universe and that a film featuring both Superman and Batman would shortchange both characters, it's hard not to be intrigued by the idea. Superhero films are all about larger than life spectacle, and what could be larger than seeing the Man of Steel and the Dark Knight taking on a global menace that pushes both of them to the limit of their abilities?

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SnagFilms, Comcast and Vimeo Expand to Portable Movie Streaming

Have an iPad already? If not, here is more incentive to you movie lovers: SnagFilms has justintroduced a free app for the device, allowing you to stream 50 of the most popular documentary titles available through the site. And unlike Netflix Watch Instantly, which also works on the iPad, these films don't cost you anything. Some highly recommended titles offered free through the app: 'The Times of Harvey Milk,' 'Jazz on a Summer's Day,' 'Super Size Me,' 'The Future of Food' and 'Dig!'

Also coming soon is the opportunity for Comcast cable subscribers to stream movies and TV shows on their iPads (and other Apple as well as Android devices) via the Xfinity TV app, which currently appears to solely function as a guide and remote control.According to a press release, this new"play now"feature will bring 3,000 hours of On Demand and live programming to the app. Soon there will also be access to social networks for you to share what you're watching with friends.

Hopefully other cable companies will follow suit -- Time Warner Cable has been teasing about something similar -- but for now there are still plenty of ways to watch feature films on the iPad. iTunes, obviously, is one. Netflix, while not free, has plenty of titles to make the cost worth it. And of course there's always YouTube and Hulu. Even Vimeo, which has been a great venue for shorts so far, is getting into longer form content by offering its Plus members the abilityto now upload 5GB of video.

There are per-title rental apps likemSpotand set-schedule services likeCinema for iPad, both of which appear to have a very mixed bag as far as user reviews go. Meanwhile,Air Videostill seems a good way to stream other video content to your device by way of your PC. There's also aFlixFlingapp for that.

We're sure to hear about more movie apps and services this week as the CES show in Las Vegas continues. Additional teases coming out of the convention includea Boxee appthat will allow its licensed content to be streamed on the iPad. And then there are also the iPad competitors, like the Motorola Xoom, being unveiled that could offer their own alternative and exclusive apps in the future. Either way, the more movies and more ways to watch them, the better.

iPad users: what apps do you use for streaming movies on your device?

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Snipes loses bid to postpone start of prison sentence

Prison-boundWesley Snipeswill spend the upcoming holidays behind bars after a judge denied his request to delay his surrender date until the New Year.

The Blade star and his lawyers have spent two years fighting his 2008 conviction, which found him guilty of failing to file returns or pay tax on earnings of£25.3 million, dating back to 1999.

He lost his appeal and his battle for a retrial and was recently ordered to turn himself in to Pennsylvania authorities by Thursday to begin his three-year sentence for tax evasion.

His attorney Daniel Meachum made a last-ditch attempt to postpone the surrender date last week by asking a federal judge in Florida to push back the start of Snipes' jail term until 6 January.

The actor cited his"four minor children"for the postponement, claiming he didn't want to leave them"in the middle of the holiday season".

But the judge rejected the motion because Snipes was handed the original punishment over two-and-a-half years ago, therefore giving him"all of that time to place his affairs in order"

In documents detailing the ruling, the judge adds,"The sooner he begins his sentence, the sooner it will end."

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Wesley Snipes ordered to prison for tax evasion

Wesley Snipeshas been ordered to surrender at a federal prison in the US state of Pennsylvania to begin a three-year sentence for tax evasion.

The star of the Blade films was ordered to report to a prison in the town of Lewis Run on 9 December.

Snipes asked a judge last week to let him remain free on bail while he appeals to the US Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.

The actor, 48, was convicted in 2008 for failing to file tax returns.

Snipes appealed to a court in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia after being found guilty by a jury in Florida. But the court upheld the conviction and sentence.

The actor's lawyers then argued last month that Snipes had a legal right to remain on bail while they prepared a fresh appeal.

Snipes's lawyers also said at hearing in the town of Ocala in Florida last month that jurors should be interviewed about whether they had perjured themselves by stating during jury selection that they did not have preconceived opinions about the actor.

His lawyer, Daniel Meachum, said he had received e-mails from multiple jurors, who claimed others in the jury believed the actor was guilty before the trial began.

At the time of his conviction in April 2008, prosecutors said Snipes had earned more than $37m (£24m) in gross income between 1999 and 2004, but had not filed tax returns or paid any federal taxes.

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Nolan confirms 'Batman' departure

Christopher Nolanhas confirmed that The Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman film.

The upcoming movie will bring an end to the trilogy of Christian Bale-starring films helmed by the Inception director.

"I must say that I'm glad - I'm very, very glad - to be embarking on the last chapter of our Batman saga without any sense of obligation or duty to the studio,"Nolan told Entertainment Weekly.

"They did very well with Inception. So I'm able to go into finishing our story in a very enthusiastic way."

He added:"I feel very glad that I'm doing another Batman film. I think it would have been daunting to sit down and write an original script after Inception."

"I love working within the realm and rules of our Batman world. It's kind of nice to have someplace to go that I'm super-excited about."

The Warner Bros and DC Entertainment movie is due for release in summer 2012.

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Johnny Depp: 'Disney hated Jack Sparrow'

Johnny Depphas revealed that Disney bosses initially“couldn’t stand” his flamboyant portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, the actor said former chief executive Michael Eisner"couldn't stand"the way he interpreted the role.

However, studio execs didn’t always recognise the genius of the actor's out-of-leftfield take on the beloved antihero.

Depp went on to earn an Oscar nomination for his performance.

A Disney spokesman said the company"could not be happier"with his work.

"The entire team at Disney could not be happier with Johnny Depp's performances in the Pirates trilogy which is why we are so excited to be bringing back a fourth installment to audiences next summer,"he added.

"I think it was Michael Eisner, the head of Disney at the time, who was quoted as saying, 'he's ruining the movie',"Depp said.

One suit, says the actor, even asked him if Captain Jack was"gay."

Depp recalls:"And so I actually told this woman who was the Disney-ite... 'But didn’t you know that all my characters are gay?' Which really made her nervous."

The actor also revealed that Mr Eisner had questioned whether he was"some kind of simpleton"or even drunk when acting in the movie.

Depp famously based the character on the Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards, who appeared in At World's End, the third film in the series, following Dead Man's Chest, which also starred Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom.

Depp is currently filming a fourth installment - On Stranger Tides - which is due out next year.

Depp will next be seen opposite Angelina Jolie in The Tourist, which opens December 10.

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James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host Oscars

ActorsJames FrancoandAnne Hathawaywill cohost this season’s Oscar ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced.

Telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer have decided to continue the two-host trend from last year’s show, when Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin shared emceeing duties. But they clearly seem to be courting a different generation: Franco and Hathaway’s combined age (61) is less than Steve Martin’s.

According to Deadline, an offer has been made to James Franco and Anne Hathaway to co-host this years' Oscars. According to the same source, it"looks like"both actors will accept.

Both are highly talented and I'm sure would do a fine job, though this is a pretty radical departure from the Oscar host line-up going all the way back to before I was born. Since the mid-seventies, the overwhelming majority of hosts have been either comedians or comic actors, and only a few times (Hugh Jackman) has this parade been broken.

Now, Franco and Hathaway are both technically comedic actors as well, as both have appeared in a number of very funny films, but they would be a far cry from the Billy Crystal/Whoopi Goldberg/Steve Martin rotation that was going on for fifteen years. Same goes for Jon Stewart, Ellen Degeneres and Chris Rock, who are funny yes, but a different class of actors than Franco or Hathaway who are actively headlining movies.

The 83rd Academy Awards will be broadcast live on ABC on February 27, 2011.

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