Michael Caine swings, baby!

Legendary stage and screen actor Michael Caine may be joining the cast of the next film in the Austin Powers franchise, currently titled Austin Powers: Goldmember. If Caine decides to sign on, he would be playing the character of Captain Hendricks, a security specialist with Britain's Royal Navy. The film will see the return of Mike Myers in several roles from the previous two films in addition to a new villain, and is slated to go before cameras sometime in November.

Cage to receive prestigious award

On October 28th, actor Samuel L. Jackson will host the Cinematheque Tribute and Award Presentation in Beverly Hills, an event which celebrates artists that have made significant contributions to the art of motion pictures. This year, the committee has chosen unanimously to present the award to actor Nicholas Cage, based on his past award-winning performances in such films as Leaving Las Vegas. Cage starred recently in Captain Corelli's Mandolin and can be seen in John Woo's upcoming Windtalkers.

Gangs pushed back to 2002

Martin Scorsese's latest film, Gangs of New York has had its release date pushed back from December 21st to sometime early next year. The trade magazine Variety reports that Miramax is "all but certain" the film will be released in the first quarter of 2002 as opposed to its original Christmas release due to the recent attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. However, the studio hasn't committed as of yet because any films that will be considered for next year's Academy Awards must be released prior to December 31st. For this reason, Gangs may see a limited release in New York and Los Angeles during the last part of December.

Bruce Bans the Bombs

Actor Bruce Willis has vowed that he will never be an action hero again following the attacks of last month. Once known only for the reluctant, gun-wielding hero in the Die Hard films, Willis has come into his own as a more dramatic actor in recent years, with serious roles in M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Enjoying his new found success in more complex roles, Willis has ruled out any future action films, saying "I'm not an action hero anymore, and I think it would be inappropriate for me to compare anything that happens in Hollywood and the entertainment industry to the tragic loss of life on September 11th."

Reeve Establishes Education Center

Actor and activist Christopher Reeve has received $2 Million from the Federal government, which he will use to establish an education and resource center for the families and individuals with paralysis. Thanking the Congress for their dedication to the cause even during these critical times, Reeve stated that "One of the greatest fears that people with disabilities have is that we will be pushed to the margins of society." The actor has campaigned for stem-cell research and other causes to help people with paralysis since his tragic horse riding accident that has left him paralyzed since 1995.

O Brother! Clooney and Coens to Re-Unite

Hollywood hunk George Clooney is in talks to re-team with the creators of O Brother, Where Art Thou? for a new film entitled Intolerable Cruelty. The romantic comedy, which will be produced and directed by the Coen brothers, is set to go before cameras sometime in the spring. Clooney is currently shooting his feature directorial-debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and should be finished by the time Cruelty begins filming next year.

Night's latest well underway

Set reports from M. Night Shyamalan's latest film Signs indicate that shooting is now well underway for the supernatural-themed film. The production has been in Bucks county, Pennsylvania for some time now, preparing the sets and casting actors. Mel Gibson stars in the film as Graham Hess, a rural town pastor and father of two who discovers crop circles on his land and begins a quest for the truth behind the phenomenon. Other actors working on the film include Gladiator villain Joaquin Phoenix as Gibson's brother, and Rory Culkin as his young son. The film should be released some time next year.

Hey - Leo likes it!

After receiving initial criticism for his reported panning of Martin Scorsese's new film Gangs of New York, actor Leonardo DiCaprio is denying that he ever said anything negative about it, and is now calling the movie the "highlight of his career." It had been reported earlier by the press that DiCaprio was so disappointed in the final cut of the film, he had asked to renegotiate his contract on it as he was concerned about losing money on the deal. Both he and his agent have denied any talks for renegotiation ever took place.

Barrymore to make some "Confessions"

Perky actress Drew Barrymore has been cast as the female lead in George Clooney's directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The film, which also stars Sam Rockwell and Clooney himself, should go before cameras sometime this fall. The story, written by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich), follows the memoirs of Chuck Barris - a real life game show host who claimed to have doubled as an assassin for the CIA.

De Niro does a little of This, a little of That

Legendary actor Robert De Niro is set to reprise his role as therapy bound mobster Paul Vitti in Analyze That, the sequel to 1999's very popular Analyze This. The film should start principle photography in February, and will reportedly land De Niro a cool $20 million for the role. Ironically, the actor recently dropped plans to play a phobic therapist in director Dean Parisot's upcoming film Scared Guys in order to prepare for the upcoming sequel, which will reteam him with co-stars Billy Crystal and Lisa Kudrow.

Megalopolis delayed due to attacks

Francis Ford Coppola's work in progress Megalopolis has been put on hold while the director reworks the story. The film, which has been a project of Coppola's for the past 15 years, was to be a futuristic story about the rebuilding of New York City after a major disaster. Coppola had reportedly shot 30 hours of second unit footage around the city and had done several script readings with some major Hollywood stars in preparation for filming, which was supposed to have started this past summer. Now reconceiving the story, the director remarked about the irony of this past month's events, saying he felt as though history "had come to my doorstep."

It's Official - Branagh's a Lock

After much speculation - including rumors that actors Hugh Grant and Alan Cumming had been in consideration for the role - Shakespearean thesp Kenneth Branagh has been cast as Gilderoy Lockhart in the follow up to this November's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Pre-production and principal photography has already begun on the sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but a release date for the next film has yet to be announced. Branagh will reportedly film all of his scenes for the movie prior to his engagement next February in a theater production of Richard III in Sheffield, England.

Hanks to receive lifetime achievement award

Beloved screen actor Tom Hanks is reportedly going to be presented with the 30th lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute, an honor that was given to Barbra Streisand last year. The award will be given to the actor to signify his talent and dedication to the craft of acting, as well as his awareness for American history and his support for causes that bring our historic past into the public eye. Hanks has been the focus in recent months of the World War 2 memorial effort in Washington, D.C.

Margulies to voyage on board Ghost Ship

Julianna Margulies, best known for her work as nurse Hathaway on NBC's emmy award-winning drama ER, has been cast in director Steve Beck's (Thirteen Ghosts) next thriller Ghost Ship. The project has been drifting around Hollywood for some time, originally under the name Chimera, and tells the story of a group of people who discover a passenger ship out at sea that went missing fifty years earlier. When the crew boards and begins to haul the ship back to port, strange and ghostly happenings beginning to terrorize those on board. The screenplay is currently being re-worked by the director and the film should arrive in theaters in time for Halloween 2002.

Lara Croft will return - if the script is worth it

Angelina Jolie is set to step back into the shoes of gun-wielding, high kicking adventurer Lara Croft for the sequel to this summer's Tomb Raider, but only if the script is an improvement over the previous film. The summer action flick - based on the popular video game of the same title - did tremendous business over the big movie season this year but was universally blasted by critics as a terrible film. Now, with press junkets for the movie long done, Jolie seems to agree that the movie was not all it could be. The new script is calling for more exotic locations all over the globe, but it being worked to adjust to cast and crew's new reluctance to fly overseas. With a new and improved script, Jolie seems to be up for getting on board again, recently remarking that the film should be a go "if we can make it a hundred times better, if we can do a whole bunch of new things, think of a whole new sequence, get a great script with everything that nobody has ever seen before then we will do it."