SYDNEY, July 24, (Agencies): Hollywood star Hugh Jackman will begin filming the next installment of his “X-Men” spin-off movies in Sydney next week, even though the female lead is yet to be confirmed.
“I am so happy to be home. To be shooting a movie of this magnitude here at home to me is one of the great privileges I’ve had in my career,” Jackman told reporters on the set of the film.
Director James Mangold rejected reports that Jessica Biel had pulled out as the female lead at the last minute but refused to comment on who would be playing the role of the villainous mutant Viper.
“The story couldn’t be more of a fantasy,” Mangold said of the reports.
“The Wolverine” sees Jackman reprise his most famous role as the superhero with metal claws and will be shot in Sydney after a Aus$12.8 million (US$13.2 million) dollar grant from the Australian government.

Journey
Jackman, 43, joked that Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who visited the set Tuesday, could have a role in the movie, which sees Wolverine journey to Japan.
“It’s not a traditional role; it’s a stunt double role for myself,” he said.
“We just did a quick audition, she’s incredible. I don’t know if you know about her martial arts background; the movie is set in Japan and she really is very handy with the sword and with the nunchucks.”
Jackman, who admitted struggling to get into shape after packing on the pounds to play Jean Valjean in “Les Miserables”, said his role as Wolverine, which he first played 12 years ago, was “the backbone of my career”. “I love the character. I still love the character,” he said. “I had no choice at the time, I was going to take anything that came along, but I happened to have walked into probably the most interesting and complex of the superhero characters.
“I’ve always loved playing it and when I stop loving it I’ll stop doing it,” he added.


LOS ANGELES: Think of it as “Superman Begins.”
Soaring into theaters on the back of Christopher Nolan’s Batman finale “The Dark Knight Rises,” Warner Bros. is giving audiences their first look at its upcoming superhero reboot, “Man of Steel” with not one, but two trailers.
The images are essentially the same: gauzy looks at a farm and Superman’s day job as a fisherman, but the narrations are different.
In one, Russell Crowe who plays Jor-El, the biological father of the famous defender of “Truth, Justice, and the American Way,” rhapsodizes that Superman will “give the people an ideal to strive towards... in time, you will help them accomplish wonders.”
In the other, Kevin Costner, who is taking on the role of Superman’s adoptive father Jonathan Kent, says, “One day, you’re going to have to make a choice. You’ll have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be. Whoever that man is, good character or bad, is going to change the world.”


Jena Malone is joining the cast “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” Lionsgate said Monday.
She will play Johanna Mason, a female winner of past gladiatorial games. Despite her victories, Johanna bears psychogical scars from her participation in the blood-sports. Best known for her roles in “Into the Wild” and “Sucker Punch,” Malone recently starred in the History Channel’s ratings smash “Hatfields & McCoys.”
But nothing in her resume can rival “The Hunger Games.” The first film in the planned young adult franchise racked up $680 million worldwide and its sequel stands to be one of the mostly hotly anticipated films of next year.
Malone joins a cast that includes returning stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth, as well as newcomers Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amanda Plummer.
“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” will be directed by Francis Lawrence (“I Am Legend”), and produced by Nina Jacobson’s Color Force along with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the second in a trilogy that has over 50 million copies in print in the US.
Lionsgate will release the sequel on Nov 22, 2013.


Bob and Harvey Weinstein are the winners of the 2013 Milestone Award, handed out each year by the Producers Guild of America for achievements in and contributions to the entertainment industry.
The co-chairmen and co-founders of the Weinstein Company will receive the award at next year’s Producers Guild Awards, set for Jan. 26.
“Bob and Harvey consistently seek out, nurture and help bring audiences the stories that others are often afraid to tell,” Michael DeLuca, national board member and awards chair of the PGA, said in a statement.
“Bob and Harvey’s brave dedication to emerging producers and other storytellers have virtually redefined the term ‘independent film,’ making it possible for some of our culture’s most vital stories to break out from the shadows of smaller arthouse theaters into the bright light of large multiplexes around the globe.”
Before starting the Weinstein Company, distributor of the last two Oscar winners for Best Picture – “The King’s Speech” and “The Artist” – they founded Miramax, where they oversaw classics such as “Pulp Fiction” and “The English Patient.” They also operate Dimension Films, a genre label founded by Bob in 1993.
“The King’s Speech” and “The Artist” also won the last two awards for feature film production from the PGA.
Past winners of the Milestone Award include Clint Eastwood, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, Walt Disney and James Cameron.


The Hollywood studio behind the latest Batman movie said it has cancelled red carpet events for its Swiss premieres Monday and called for tighter security at cinemas showing the film.
The decision follows the shooting rampage at a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” in Aurora, Colorado on Friday which left 12 people dead and dozens more wounded.
Ticket-holders will have their bags searched at the studio’s request in line with security measures imposed globally after the Colorado shooting.
The Swiss premieres are being staged on the same day that the suspected gunman James Holmes made his first appearance in court in Colorado.