Mel Gibson in M. Night Shyamalan's Signs

After that film, Gibson’s life actually became a tad more exciting, directing the 2004 blockbuster The Passion of the Christ and the 2006 tribal epic Apocalypto. Then some, err… other things happened. He was arrested for drunk driving and was put inside a police car, all the while hurling obscene anti-Semitic remarks to the police on scene. Not exactly a memory that endears someone like Mel Gibson to the public, especially after directing the critically-acclaimed aforementioned Passion… shortly before that.

But cultural pariah or not, Mel Gibson is back — and in front of the camera this time — after 7 1/2 years off it. The new movie is dubbed The Edge of Darkness, a police thriller about a Boston detective seeking revenge for the murder of his 24-year-old daughter. While the movie reviews are not exactly raves at this point, it puts Gibson in a pretty familiar role, as the movie is similar with past violence-packed films such as Ransom and the franchise series Lethal Weapon.

Lethal Weapon series, Mel Gibson's most successful run

Will the movie be accommodated by long-time Gibson fans? Or will his past antics finally put the final nail on a very remarkable career? Here’s the movie trailer for your viewing pleasure:

The Edge of Darkness officially opened January 29, 2010 and is running in your favorite cinemas at the moment via Warner Bros. BestFlick.com will most likely have a review for you shortly, on whether you should go out and see it, or wait ’til it comes out in Blu-ray or DVD.

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Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver are revving up a new version of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for the big screen. A script is being created for the action figure-turned-animated-hero, but He-Man’s original creator Mattel Toys will have final approval over the script. In the past, Mattel has said no to another proposed film version of their franchise.

The idea this time is to make He-Man in the style of the recent Warner Bros. smash 300, rather than hewing in any way to the 1987 Dolph Lundgren starring flop. That’s something to watch out for…

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In 2003 actor Christopher Lee‘s character Saruman was cut from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Redemption but was eventually found via Jackson’s Extended DVD version.

Now, Playbill Magazine is reporting that several ghost characters added into Tim Burton’s film version of the musical Sweeney Todd have been cut out, including a Gentleman Ghost to have been played by Lee. No hard feelings, though, as this time the erstwhile Dracula hasn’t filmed his scenes yet.

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Joan Cusack, Chris O’Donnell and Julia Ormond are on  board Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery, the first movie based on the popular American Girl line of dolls with Abigail Breslin in the title role.

“Kit Kittredge” tells the story of a clever, resourceful 10-year-old who helps her mother (Ormond) run a Cincinnati boardinghouse when her father (O’Donnell) loses his job. Cusack will play a nurse who moves into the boardinghouse. Patricia Rozema will direct and Julia Roberts is an executive producer.

Tags: Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp, Julia Roberts, Chris O’Donnell

“I just think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period,” she tells the magazine. “Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness.”

Barrymore, 32, graces the cover of the issue that hits newsstands Friday. It’s her fourth time on the list, but first as cover girl.

Making the cover “made my peacock feathers shine in the golden-hour light and extend to the heavens,” says Barrymore, who stars in the upcoming Warner Bros. film “Lucky You,” opposite Eric Bana.

Inside, she weighs in on a host of beauty-related topics. Her beauty rules for dating? “The only fundamental rule for me is to just be yourself,” she says. “Let your freak-flag fly, and if someone doesn’t get you, move on.”

Barrymore is one of 11 celebrities including Eva Longoria and the three Jessicas (Simpson, Alba and Biel) photographed for the issue without makeup.

“I find that men, in my past, have preferred me without it,” Biel, 25, says of makeup.

Also making the “Beautiful People” list are celebrity do-gooders Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Sandra Bullock, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tyra Banks and Nicole Kidman.

Other good-looking list-makers include Jennifer Garner, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, Carrie Underwood and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz.

Drew Barrymore replaces Angelina Jolie in this year’s list of People Magazine Most Beautiful People.

Drew Barrymore

People Magazine

100 Most Beautiful

Disturbia star, Shia Lebeouf, who was recently cast to play Harrison Ford‘s son in Indiana Jones 4 is now busy preparing for the role. The actor says he’s gained 15 pounds from his daily 3-hour workout: I’ll run for an hour and then I’ll do two hours of weights,” he says. “I have definitely not trained like this for anything in my life. I’m preparing like I’m going into battle.”

Kathy Bates reteams with her Titanic partners, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, for the 1950s drama “Revolutionary Road.” Bates will play Mrs. Givings, who sells the couple their home and introduces them to the town. The movie, set to film this summer, will be directed by Winslet’s husband Sam Mendes.

Meanwhile, Aaron Eckhart has been cast as Gotham City district attorney Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight (the new Batman movie), who will return as the insane villain, Two-Face, in the third movie if there will be one. It has been earlier reported that Maggie Gyllenhaal will replace Katie Holmes as D.A. Rachel Dawes, and Heath Ledger will play Batman’s enemy, The Joker. The Dark Knight will have Christian Bale returning as Bruce Wayne and Chris Nolan directing.

In another comic superhero franchise news, actor-director Edward Norton has been tapped to play Dr. Bruce Banner in the new Incredible Hulk movie. Eric Bana signed for sequels when he was cast in the first film, but it is unlikely he or any other actor from the original will return. Producers will not call it The Hulk 2 but will have the title ‘The Incredible Hulk’ saying this will attempt to reboot the first installment. Planned movie release is June 2008.

Tags: Movie Cast News, The Dark Knight, Incredible Hulk, Shia LeBeouf, Edward Norton

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back with his crazy bunch of pirates and antics. The story picks up where Pirates 2: The Dead Man’s Chest left off as Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) are allied with Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) in a desperate quest to free Sparrow from his mind-bending trap in Davy Jones’ (Bill Nighy) locker, while the terrifying ghost ship, The Flying Dutchman and Davy Jones, under the control of the East India Trading Company, wreaks havoc across the Seven Seas.

Navigating through treachery, betrayal and wild waters, they must forge their way to exotic Singapore and confront the cunning Chinese Pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat). Now headed beyond the very ends of the earth, each must ultimately choose a side in a final, titanic battle, as not only their lives and fortunes, but the entire future of the freedom-loving Pirate way, hangs in the balance.

It has also been confirmed that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards will be playing a cameo in the third ‘Pirates’ movie as Jack Sparrow’s father. As movie fans know, Depp used Richards as inspiration in his portrayal of Jack Sparrow.

Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World’s End is set for May 25th, 2007 worldwide release.

Watch Pirates of The Caribbean 3: At World’s End movie trailer >>

Tags: Pirates of the Caribbean 3, New Movies, Movie Preview, Movie Trailer, Johnny Depp