The English remake of hit Swedish film based on Stieg Larsson’s best-selling novel is nearing production, but the Daniel Craig as investigative journalist Mikael Blomkovist is the only sure actor to play one of the lead roles. But it looks like Emma Watson has plenty of competition for her dream role. Ellen Page, Natalie Portman, Carey Mulligan, Kristen Stewart and Mia Wasikowska have all reportedly given interest for the same role.

Emma Watson recently unveiled her pixie haircut and reportedly auditioned for the film. When she posted a picture of her new haircut on her Facebook page, she wrote: “Cut my hair off a few days ago. Feels incredible… It’s the most liberating thing ever.” Did she cut it for the role? Well according to The Sun, the 20-year-old Harry Potter star wanted to “look the part” of Lisbeth Salander – the genius computer hacker troubled with a traumatic childhood. The character has short hair with a punk/goth style.

If this report is true, Emma has just leveled the playing field with her move. Apparently, Noomi Rapace, the actress who played Lisbeth in the Swedish version, cut her hair to look punky for her audition and eventually landed the role.

Variety confirmed that Rihanna will star alongside Taylor Kitsch (of Friday Night Lights) and Alexander Skarsgard (of True Blood) who will play brothers/naval officers assigned in a multinational task force in the big screen adaptation of the classic naval combat board game.

Peter Berg, who has worked with Taylor on Friday Night Lights, is directing the film, which is currently in production. The movie will take place over the skies, across the seas and on land in a “battle for planet survival against a superior force.”

“Battleship” will mark Rihanna’s first acting gig. The 22-year-old singer has won two Grammy Awards and has several hit songs.

Mark Ruffalo has signed on to bulk up and play The Incredible Hulk in the upcoming movie “The Avengers.”

Deadline.com confirmed that Ruffalo’s role on the film is “a done deal.” Deadline.com said:

“Of course, imagine the Hollywood actor whom you’d least expect to play The Incredible Hulk in The Avengers, and maybe, just maybe, you’d come up with the Ruffalo’s name. He’s always been an actor’s actor and is getting critical raves in Focus Features’ The Kids Are All Right which opened this month. Ruffalo, of course, replaced Edward Norton who replaced Eric Bana as Hulk. Marvel made a pittance of an offer to Edward Norton to continue in the role. But it caught the actor by surprise that the studio decided to replace him altogether with no advance warning. Like Norton, Ruffalo would bring real chops to the role. But, unlike Norton, he won’t be an on-set a**hole.”

Mark Ruffalo will follow the footsteps of actors who played Bruce Banner/Hulk – Eric Bana in 2003 and Edward Norton in 2008.

Earlier this month, Marvel announced that they will not hire Norton back for the The Avengers. Marvel’s Kevin Feige said in a statement: “Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H., Chris E., Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts.”

“The Avengers” will be directed by Joss Whedon and is scheduled to hit theaters May 2012.

The much-anticipated film stars Portman as the cutthroat New York City ballet star and will play alongside “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” star Mila Kunis as her rival.

“Black Swan” will premiere on the Lido di Venezia as part of the festival’s competition in Venice on September 1. Quentin Tarantino will be one of this year’s jury.

Aronofsky also received acclaim in Venice for his work on the 2008 movie “The Wrestler,” landing him the Golden Lion (the top prize). Aronofsky said of the film’s Venice screening: “The cast and crew of Black Swan are both excited and humbled by the selection committee’s invitation. It is an honour to walk the great red carpet on the Lido, and we are excited to premiere our film to the wonderful audiences in Venice.”

Natalie Portman will be joined by her co-stars Winona Ryder, Vincent Cassel and Barbara Hershey at the premiere.

The Venice Film Festival begins September 1 and will continue until September 11.

Angelina Jolie joined the panel for her new movie “Salt” at Comic-Con 2010 Thursday and revealed a little thing about her character.

Dressed in a fitted leather jacket and mini-dress, Angelina Jolie talked about the action film, saying “There’s a part of her that’s not necessarily a good guy, and because of certain things that happened to her, she’s a bit damaged. She’s not just heroic. She’s not even. She’s not just brave.”

The movie was supposed to star Tom Cruise, but the story was changed to suit Jolie. The actress added, “There’s something a little off about her, and maybe there’s something off about me.” Check out the video below for more:

Although the super-hero film will compete against Julia Robert’s “Eat Pray Love” and Sylvester Stallone’s “The Expendables” as it opens at the end of the summer, the original graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O’Malley has a huge following.

Michael Cera plays Scott Pilgrim, who falls in love with the “cool girl” Ramona V. Flowers (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. On the film, Scott Pilgrim has to “fight” with all of Ramona’s former lovers, called as the “seven evil exes.” Instead of a story revolving nerd-boy meets and falls for out-of-his-league girl, the visually compelling storytelling, fight scenes, exaggerated humor and creative music makes the film stand out.

To a packed Hall H, Wright said he was smitten with O’Malley’s books as soon as someone put them in his hands while he was in the United States promoting his 2004 zombiecomedy “Shaun of the Dead.” “It was love at first sight,” he said.

Wright said that when he read O’Malley’s books in 2004, “It was love at first sight.” At the Comic-Con, he introduced the film’s cast including Jason Schwartzman, Anna Kendrick, Brandon Routh and Chris Evans.

Joan Jett (the real one) is such a bad ass. Apparently, she’s been active in seeing that her biopic would be a blast and Joan is concerned that Kristen Stewart (who portrays her in the film) might not be up to the challenge of playing her.

Before the production of “The Runaways,” Joan’s camp made a statement on her website saying, “While Joan is not involved with the casting decisions, she is eager to see Kristen’s work and meet with her about the upcoming role.” And wadjaknow…Jett did made several trips to the set to check out Kristen’s acting chops and if she could pull of being Joan Jett. She also gave first-hand lessons and actually made Kristen Stewart cry on set.

An insider said, “Joan just wants Kristen to play an authentic version of herself, so she needled her a little bit too much. But she apologized when she realized how upset Kristen got. They’re like mother and daughter now.”

I’m not a RPattz fan, but I give him credit for tackling such a controversial role. Are the pictures of Robert Pattinson kissing a guy a turn-off or not?

Yeah, the shirtless Robert Pattinson is a head-turner, but media sites really need to be careful with their posts. Dig up some more – take an extra 30 minutes to look further and you won’t be humiliated. I admit, though, aside from the obviously photoshopped abs Robert Pattinson is sporting on that poster, both of the posters look pretty awesome.

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