Cinema Retro has received the following notice from film historian Bruce Crawford:

The Wrap web site reports that Will Smith is living up to the title of one of his hit films, I Am Legend. Now filming Men in Black III in New York, Smith is suffering the slings and arrows of unfavorable press. Seems his ego is in overdrive. He has a humongous trailer on the set that costs $9,000 a month- despite the fact that Smith has an apartment less than a mile away. He apparently is interfering with the production design on the set and has been accused of ordering a set dismantled and replaced with one of his own design. He allegedly improvised changes to a key scene that required costly reshoots with co-star Tommy Lee Jones. Predictably, Sony is pouring cold water on some of these stories, but MIB III is already being called a "runaway production", with a budget that is expected to far exceed $200 million. For more click here

Young Beatty at the 1963 premiere of How the West Was Won.

Amidst rumors that he is flirting with reviving the character of Dick Tracy, Paramount has confirmed that Warren Beatty will write, produce, direct and star in a new comedy film. No details were released but rumors says Beatty will play Howard Hughes, though the story isn't a biopic of the legendary billionaire. Beatty, who appears on screen as often as Halley's Comet soars by, has not made a film appearance since his much-troubled, over-budgeted 2001 comedy Town and Country laid an egg at the box-office. While an indisputable Hollywood legend, the Oscar-winner may find he has a tough time getting younger audiences interested in his new film, as they probably have little recognition of his previous cinematic achievements. For more click here

Mad Men star Jared Harris is playing the role of legendary villain Prof. Moriarty in the new film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in the sequel to the smash hit recent revival of the great detective on cinema screens. Harris says he will bring more nuance to the role of Moriarty and not play him as an outright villain. Click here for more

Monty Python's outrageous 1979 film The Life of Brian will be the subject of a BBC drama, Holy Flying Circus. The original film satirizes organized religion, Christianity in particular, and set off a storm of protests by many church-goers at the time of its release. The new documentary, which the Pythoners apparently approve of, will document the protests against the film, which continue to this day. Click here for more

Writer Robert J. Elisberg relates a fascinating story behind a long-forgotten Broadway musical titled Where's Charley? that premiered in 1948. The play, with a score by legendary composer Frank Loesser, starred Ray Bolger, then at the height of his career and launched the classic love song Once in Love With Amy. Yet, the show spawned a bizarre legacy that seemed destined to bury any trace of its origins - which is very strange because the production was a sizable hit, running for two years on the Great White Way. Seems Loesser was never crazy about his work on this musical and felt it didn't represent him at his best. In fact, a cast album was never made of the show, an astonishing decision in an era in which virtually every hit musical spawned an album. The show was adapted into a 1952 movie by Warner Brothers. Elisberg says the film was never released theatrically, but this is apparently not the case. The IMDB site gives specific dates for when the movie debuted in various countries. What is clear is that it was pulled from circulation both theatrically and on TV in the 1970s at the behest of Loesser's widow. It has never been released on home video. Now, however, it appears as though Where's Charley? may finally see the light of day. A key clip of Bolger singing Once in Love With Amy has surfaced and it appears as though there may be efforts taking place to finally release the film on video. Click here to view clip and for more

The first appearance of Spiderman recently sold for more than $1 million but there is relatively little interest in buying the current line of comic books featuring legendary super heroes.

There was a time when comic books were an integral ingredient of growing up in America. Boys tended to read super hero comics and girls favored Archie and love comics. Nevertheless, the common ingredient was a love for the medium. Ironically, today comic books are merely loss leader breeding grounds for future screen heroes. Even as movie blockbusters based on comics gross hundreds of millions of dollars, the comic books that spawned the heroes are mostly neglected. Yet as recently as 1993 America was comic book crazy. However, a witches brew of speculation, greed, distribution inefficiencies and watered-down content combined to virtually drive the industry out of business. Weekly Standard writer Jonathan V. Last gives a comprehensive analysis of the great comic book crash of 1993. Click here to read

The dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch became almost as iconic as the star herself. That's because it was worn in the legendary photo in which the dress is seen billowing from a subway air vent as Monroe tries (not too hard) to keep it from revealing her nether regions. The dress recently sold for a whopping $4.6 million at auction. Adding even more interest to the story is the fact that it's most recent owner was another Hollywood legend, Debbie Reynolds. Click here for more

A decision by director John Lasseter regarding the identity of the bad guys in his new animated film Cars 2 has led to an unlikely scenario. The animated kid's spy movie depicts Big Oil as the villain of the piece in the environmentally-themed screenplay. This has some conservative bloggers and political commentators outraged, with one calling the film "evil" and a brainwashing tool of the political left. Click here for more

You've got to hand it to Sly Stallone...he's come back from straight-to-DVD hell, an amazing accomplishment for a leading man who faced slipping into oblivion. Suddenly in-demand again, Sly will top-line a sequel to last year's The Expendables, which he also directed. This time around, Simon West will helm the film. For more click here

Deadline Hollywood Daily reportst that Cameron Mackintosh intends to bring his blockbuster stage production of Les Miserables to the big screen- and he wants Hugh Jackman and Paul Bettany to star. There have been numerous other film adaptations of Victor Hugo's classic novel but this would be the first musical version. For more click here

Russell Crowe may be inheriting the role played by Marlon Brando.

Oscar winner Russell Crowe is seriously considering signing on to play the role of Jor-El, father of Superman, in the latest big screen epic based on the Man of Steel's adventures. Kevin Costner has already signed to play Jonathan Kent, Supey's earth-based dad, in the new film. Marlon Brando memorably played Jor-El in the 1978 Superman blockbuster. Click here for more

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has announced some major new rules concerning Oscar nominations. The primary change is that nominees for Best Picture must have garnered at least 5% of the votes to qualify. Thus, there will be a varying number of Best Picture nominees year-to-year with a minimum number of 5 movies nominated and a maximum of 10. Click here for more

Tom Hanks will star in a big screen adventure based on the Mattel action figure Major Matt Mason, which was a hot-seller in the 1960s. Hanks, who has a weakness for all space-related projects, will co-script and he hopes to get Robert Zemeckis to direct. At the studio pitch meeting, Hanks brought his own personal collection of Matt Mason toys!  For more click here

Cinema Retro has received the following notice from Screen Archives:

Screen Archives wants to buy your unwanted and used CD's – send your lists to info@screenarchives.com

If you are in the US we will even pay the postage it costs to send your CD's to us, on top of the offer!

Don’t think we are just looking for rare CD's – we even take new stuff, common releases, or even older editions of expanded editions. We can take promos or cut outs.

The only thing we can’t use is boots, CDr's or song compilations.

We will buy any size collection.

Just send your list with the title, label number and condition.

For additional details please click HERE!

The classic costume sported by Christopher Reeve in the Superman big screen films will be modified for the new comic book version.

In the near future, the image of Superman may be decidedly different from the traditional Man of Steel. D.C. Comics is continuing its overhaul of its most popular superhero comic books and Supey will be among those getting a different costume design. Additionally, D.C. plans to relaunch Action Comics, where Superman made his debut in 1938 and will publish a brand new Action Comics #1. For more click here

Movieline reports that the unpredictable Warren Beatty is pursuing the possibility of bringing another Dick Tracy film to the screen. The industry is agog at the prospect. The big budget 1990 film in which Beatty played the titular character was deemed a box-office disappointment by Disney at the time, despite an all-star cast and decent reviews. Beatty is now 74 years old, and given his penchant for indecisiveness toward film projects, he'd be older than Father Time before the movie hits theater screens. However, Beatty has not said whether he would play the role or would rather produce or direct the project. Cilck here for more

Freeman and Eastwood at the premiere of their most recent collaboration, Invictus.

Last Thursday, the American Film Institute honored Morgan Freeman with its lifetime achievement award. You know you are considered acting royalty when your award ceremony is book-ended by testimonials from the likes of Sidney Poitier and Clint Eastwood. Click here for report

Sylvester Stallone is teaming with two other industry veterans- producer Joel Silver and director Walter Hill- for Bullet to the Head, a crime thriller about two cops obsessed with hunting down the assassins of their partners. Click here for more

A new trailer has been released for one of the most anticipated action films of the year: Cowboys & Aliens. The film, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, is a rare example of genuine star power in a contemporary movie. The bizarre plot blends Western and sci-fi film genres. Click here to view

Forget about the fact that more people probably attended your last birthday party than paid to see the Catwoman feature film. Still, there's no denying that Halle Berry certainly looked great in that eye-popping costume. She's one of a number of actresses featured in the Huffington Post's slide show tribute to the sexiest big screen female super heroes. Click here to view

Jonathan Frid starred as vampire Barnabas Collins in the original version of Dark Shadows.

Director Tim Burton's long-awaited big screen adapation of the 1960s TV soap opera Dark Shadows has begun filming at Pinewood Studios, England. Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer and Eva Green star. For more click here

The new book Furious Love, which chronicles the tempestuous love affairs and marriages between Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, has been optioned for a possible screen project for Martin Scorsese. Burton's estate is cooperating with the producers and it's hoped that Taylor's heirs will, too. The couple caused a worldwide scandal with their "in your face" affair on the set of Cleopatra (both were married to other people at the time) and their subsequent two marriages. Although they would frequently rant against each other in public, the couple never fell out of love. For more click here

Director Michael Mann is pursuing his long-time goal of bringing a big budget story about the Le Mans racing circuit to the screen. He has optioned author A.J. Baime's book Go Like Hell: Ford, Ferrari, and their Battle For Speed and Glory at Le Mans, a  historical account of the 1966 races that pitted Henry Ford II against Enzo Ferrari in a battle between auto titans to have their respective brand emerge as the favored vehicle from the race. Racing car epics have had a decidedly mixed reception with audiences over the years. John Frankenheimer's 1966 MGM film Grand Prix was deemed a major hit, but Steve McQueen's Le Mans, made a few years later, was one of the biggest bombs of the actor's career. Tom Cruise's 1990 pic Days of Thunder was also considered an under-performer. Perhaps the historical backdrop of this real-life story will give Mann's flick an edge. For more click here