Inside Movies The Place Where Movies and Stars Align

Despite having only two previous, supporting feature film roles to her name ('Pride & Predjudice' and 'When Did You Last See Your Father?') before landing the lead in tjhe coming-of-age drama 'An Education,' the spry 24-yr-old Carey Mulligan has become an odds-on favorite to pick up an Oscar nod in the Best Actress category when the nominations are announced on the morning of Feb 2.

After making a splash at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival with her astute portrayal of the naively precocious schoolgirl Jenny, Mulligan has ignited a frenzy of Oscar talk, with critics noting her stand-out performance as "remarkably nuanced" and "star-making." Roger Ebert wrote in his review, "You're pretty sure this is the birth of a star.

(Cough!) (Cough!)

We're surprised nobody alerted the fire department during last night's 'The Jay Leno Show' when 'New Moon' star Dakota Fanning guested, because it looked like the show was about to become part of a four-alarm blaze.

Watch the video after the clip.

Funny how a 'New Moon' rising can bring out a transformation in all of us. Just days after 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' director Chris Weitz admitted during an interview with MovieMaker Magazine that "I have maybe one more film in me," it now appears that he's had a change of heart.

Far from folding up his director's chair, a new interview with New York Magazine reveals that Weitz is blaming all those pesky retirement rumors on -- what else? -- online gossip.

"That's become Internet Chinese whispers," Weitz insists in his chat with NY Mag. "I said something like, 'Oh I'm so tired of doing all these movies,' but that became, 'I'm not doing any more movies now.' There's always a time I say never again, but it's more like a bad hangover."

Looks like someone's gunning to be the next big sci-fi/fantasy icon, judging from a recent report by Mania. After having blasted his way through last summer's 'Terminator: Salvation' and James Cameron's upcoming 'Avatar,' not to mention slicing off heads in next year's 'Clash Of The Titans' remake, 33-year-old Aussie actor Sam Worthington has signed on to co-star in the movie version of Rick Remender's upcoming three-part Radical Comics miniseries 'The Last Days of American Crime,' according to a report in Variety.

From a trip down the rabbit hole to the wilds of the English countryside, Mia Wasikowska is enjoying quite the Hollywood journey. According to Variety, Wasikowska is currently in negotiations to take the titular role in a new adaptation of 'Jane Eyre' to be directed by 'Sin Nombre' helmer Cary Fukunaga.

'Planet 51' – one of those animated movies filled with all-star names in the cast – is a bit of a misfire with critics.

Voiced by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Jessica Biel and Justin Long – there is a reason those names come first, it's to distract from the story and script – 'Planet 51' is set in a faraway world where an American astronaut Capt. Charles T. Baker (Johnson) lands. Twist is, he is the alien in a world inhabited by green people in a 'Leave it to Beaver' version of 1950's suburban America. They don't want Capt. Baker causing trouble on their planet. Thus, Chuck befriends Lem (Long) and a robot dog named Rover to escape being relegated to a museum.

Critics are complaining the originality is lazy, as are the jokes -- a dog peeing acid is a highlight: never great for kids. But a pretty look (even though the characters may appear rudimentary) and a homespun charm may appeal to some. Or you may want to catch it on cable with the kids.

Following the lead of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' and 'Precious,' Hollywood has pulled another best-seller off the shelf for a feature film adaptation with the 'The Blind Side,' opening November 20. Written and directed by John Lee Hancock and based on Michael Lewis' 2006 best-selling sports drama 'The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game,' the film comes to life with Sandra Bullock running the show as Leigh Anne Tuohy, an affluent socialite do-gooder whose family adopts an illiterate and neglected teenage schoolmate of her young son. Motivated by his supportive new family and a host of enviable opportunities, the teen becomes a sought-after college football prospect and eventually a first-round 2009 NFL draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens.

'The Blind Side' sticks to Hollywood's feel-good formula of inspiring audiences with the incredible tale of an unstoppable underdog, an old standby that made classics out of similar sports dramas like 'Rocky' and 'Rudy.' The fact that Hancock's picture is based on a true story gives the feature some added weight, as do solid performances from Bullock and newcomer Quinton Aaron, who Variety says "more than holds his own opposite Bullock" as real-life gridiron hero Michael Oher. Country star Tim McGraw, who scored plenty of cred for his role in the 2004 book-to-flick football drama 'Friday Night Lights,' co-stars as Bullock's husband, and although he looks almost unrecognizable, his acting talents haven't gone unnoticed. Judging from early reviews, despite the film's cookie-cutter storyline, 'The Blind Side' has most critics cheering.