Cher Sort of Getting Serious Again About Movies

· After a decade away (except for that otherworldly cameo in Stuck on You), Cher plans to return to the movies in two roles that won't necessarily challenge her Oscar-winning acting chops. Unless, that is, the Academy suddenly comes up with a Best Zoo-Animal Voiceover for her upcoming part in the Kevin James/Rosario Dawson comedy The Zookeeper, in which case she'll have to compete against the film's other confirmed voice talent including Adam Sandler, Jon Favreau, Sylvester Stallone and Judd Apatow. And come on -- everyone knows that's Stallone's award to lose. [Variety]

After the jump: Cher's other comeback vehicle, the reemergence of John Grisham, and much more Hollywood Ink.

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More Leaked Images Confirm Avatar Will Cure Cancer, Usher In Bold New Era of Galactic Peace

· Behold the stunning dino-Jeep-topia vision of James Cameron's Avatar.
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EXCLUSIVE: First Details on Benicio del Toro's Role in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere

When the pop band Rooney recently blogged that some of its members would be appearing in Somewhere, the next film directed by Sofia Coppola (the lead singer, Robert Schwartzman, is Coppola's cousin), an intriguing bit of potential scoop was let out of the bag. Focus Features has already announced the film's eclectic cast -- Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, and Jackass stuntman Chris Pontius are its topliners -- but the blog post seemed to reveal that Somewhere also starred Benicio del Toro. Movieline can now confirm that del Toro is indeed in the film, as well as shed light on his role.
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Who Voices Transformers 2's Gold-Toothed Autobot?

TMZ recently obtained a juicy email sent from Michael Bay to Paramount brass in May, when the director was fretting that not enough had been done to promote Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. We agree, as the film's gold-toothed breakout character "Skids" is at least as deserving of a Rolling Stone cover as Jar-Jar Binks once was. After watching Skids tussle with his Autobot brother, declare things like, "I'm gonna bust a cap in yo' ass" and admit that he could not read, we were left wondering who voiced this magical creature. The answer? Surprising!
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Buzz Break: Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Anna Faris

· Congratulations to Anna Faris, who married Parks & Recreation's Chris Pratt this weekend in Maui (confirming her desire to stand by him no matter his choice in swim trunks).

· Has Benicio del Toro decided to return to the scene of his Scarlett Johansson-sexing crime by accepting a role in Sofia Coppola's Chateau Marmont-set Somewhere?

· Now that they've shot their series finale (set to air in 2011, the actors of Nip/Tuck take time out to lovingly reflect on just how bad the show has become.

· Simon Cowell confesses his realization about Susan Boyle: "Christ, she doesn't know how to deal with not winning."

· #16 on the list of ways to celebrate Meryl Streep's 60th birthday: "Memorize the entire Miranda Priestley 'Cerulean' monologue." Done and done!

Internet Shocked That Tim Burton Would Make Something Weird Out of Alice in Wonderland

As we all know, Tim Burton has a sober sensibility that surely will ground his upcoming 3-D motion-captured Alice in Wonderland in quotidian, naturalistic visuals. Oh wait, we don't know that? Because Tim Burton actually has a history of making things look weird all the time? So why is everybody freaking out about the trippy Alice in Wonderland character photos released today?
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Transformers Wreaks Robotic Mayhem at Foreign Box Office

· Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen rocketed to a massive $19.9 million opening over the weekend in Japan and the U.K. And those countries didn't even have the benefit of Michael Bay-flavored M&M's to lift it to blockbuster status! Surely we can expect a five-day record when the film opens here Wednesday. [The Wrap]

More Transformers, more Paramount fallout, and more Hollywood Ink after the jump...

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Why Did Brad Pitt, Steven Soderbergh, and Moneyball Strike Out?

Speculation surges this morning as to why Sony would pull the plug on Moneyball, Steven Soderbergh and Brad Pitt's adaptation of the best-selling baseball tome, mere days before it was scheduled to begin principal photography. One theory suggests studio boss Amy Pascal wasn't happy with Soderbergh's latest script draft; another says she simply wanted to prove she could say "no" in the deadliest economic era in generations. (A strategy that worked out so well for John Lesher at Paramount, but I digress.) There's something to both ideas, but I can think of at least a few others that would make my own inner mogul flash the hold sign.
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'Can Yooou...Find Me Another Proposal?'

Welcome to Movieline's Weekend Receipts, where we overturn the communal register and tally up the cash, hairballs and "Sorry About Charging You Twice and Calling It IMAX -- Have a Free Movie On Us" coupons that tumble therefrom. In today's edition, the fearsome beast known as The Romcom reascends to its rightful place atop the Hollywood food chain. Behold its mighty power to make chicks go, "Awwww."

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Friday Box Office: Reintroducing Sandra Bullock

In a year when box office analysts have cast doubt on star power (and comrades like Julia Roberts have gone down in flames), one wouldn't necessarily expect Sandra Bullock to bust out her biggest opening ever, but with The Proposal, she did. In fact, she practically beat her prior weekend record ($17.6 million for Premonition, a film we all forgot existed) on Friday alone. Meanwhile, Year One came in at the high end of expectations; with an $8.5 million Friday, at least it's assured of opening better than Land of the Lost, our current flop comedy watermark.

THE PROPOSAL: $12,400,000 (new)

YEAR ONE: $8,500,000 (new)

THE HANGOVER: $8,465,000 ($134,529,000)

UP: $6,100,000 ($208,876,000)

THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1 2 3: $3,200,000 ($35,232,000)

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: BATTLE OF THE SMITHSONIAN: $2,150,000 ($150,803,000)

STAR TREK: $1,250,000 ($235,994,000)

LAND OF THE LOST: $1,237,000 ($40,934,000)

IMAGINE THAT: $990,000 ($9,241,000)

TERMINATOR SALVATION: $840,000 ($117,283,000)

Forever Ferosh

Take the scenic route through the week that was, when Robert Pattinson cheated death, Paul McCartney flirted with Hollywood, the Ferosh Hulk broke out and Betty White won our hearts (again). It's all after the jump. Have a great weekend!

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Reports: John Lesher, Vantage Staff Out at Paramount

John Lesher's short, turbulent ride in the cockpit of the Paramount Film Group has reportedly come to an end today, and with it, that of the co-president of production, Brad Weston. Production boss Adam Goodman is set to replace Lesher. Observers detected engine trouble for months now, not so long after Lesher's prodigious spending drove Paramount Vantage to awards-season glory (No Country For Old Men, There Will Be Blood, An Inconvenient Truth, Babel) and massive cash woes. Nikki Finke, who broke the story, points to Lesher's indecision on the greenlighting front (and inefficiency in developing fare including Beverly Hills Cop 4) among the primary reasons for his ouster, but off he goes with a production deal on the lot. Weston, too, will work his connections with a production deal at the 'Mount.

Meanwhile, another unconfirmed report from inside the studio notes that the entire remaining Vantage staff is out as well, leaving its upcoming slate -- including The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard and Neil Jordan's fantasy Ondine -- in a bit of limbo. Developing...

Can Yooou...

· CanYooou.com gives Hollywood assistants a handy place to vent about the outrageous things their baby-gobbling bosses subject them to. There's some highly entertaining ones in there: "Today my boss turned off the lights when she left the office even though I'm still in here. It's Friday and she's done this every day this week." [CanYooou]
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Our Commenters of the Week Win Time Share Ownership of Ryan Reynolds's Abs

Congratulations to the commenters who authored the five best comments this week, as they will be granted time-share ownership of the abs Ryan Reynolds so proudly displayed on the cover of EW to prove that he is not, in fact a sex symbol. Enjoy the view!

So, who are our winners?

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Pixar Makes Up House Call, Fulfills Girl's Dying Wish

This story is amazing, and I'm just going to get out of its way: A Pixar representative last week fulfilled a terminally ill Huntington Beach girl's dying wish to see Up at home when she was too frail to visit a multiplex. She passed away seven hours after the film ended -- she was 10 years old.
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