More unusual celeb baby names dept: Director Tim Burton and actress Helena Bonham Carter have named their new baby girl Indiana Rose Burton. Indy was born on Dec 15th.

Burton directed Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which is currently in theatres. He’ll be directing Frankenweenie and The Spook’s Apprentice, both in 2009, and Alice in Wonderland in 2010. He also wrote Frankenweenie, and is producing 9 (2008), Frankenweenie, Alice in Wonderland, and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (2009).

Carter appears in Sweeney Todd, and she’ll reprise her role as Bellatrix Lestrange in 2008’s Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

[sources: Backseat Cuddler, Celebrity Baby Blog]

UPDATE: Celebrity Baby Blog says that this is a rumor, and that this name has not been confirmed.

No kidding dept: It’s been buzzed about in the blogosphere so it comes as no surprise that Cloverfield director Matt Reeves is in talks to direct a Cloverfield sequel. Since I mostly hated Cloverfield, this is definitely something I’m not rushing out to see – unless they ditch the stupid Blair Witch school of cinematography angle. (He has also been signed to direct “The Invisible Woman,” according to Variety, but it will likely come after the Cloverfield sequel.)

The real question is, since the Cloverfield/ Slusho monster – whose origin annoyingly isn’t even hinted at in the movie – has destroyed most of the portions of New York City near the Statue of Liberty, what else is there to destroy that isn’t more of the same? And if the military and air force couldn’t destroy the monster, who can? Where’s John Rambo when you need him? He’d know what to do. If he doesn’t, then the sequel could spawn yet another TV reality series. The Slusho monster destroys a different city each week, and the Extreme Home Makeover crew rebuilds the week after. (Sorry, didn’t take my meds this morning.)

A man posing as Heath Ledger’s father, Kim Ledger, fooled Tom Cruise, the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home, and a number of other people. He managed to talk with Cruise for a while. John Travolta was also contacted but according to his reps, he knew the man was an impostor. Looks as if Cruise didn’t have his superpower ring on.

Daniel Craig, aka the current James Bond, is defending the new Bond 22 movie title, Quantum of Solace, saying that name is important to the plot. [China Daily]

This seems like a month of celebrity passings. Actor Christopher Allport died at age 60 after apparently being trapped in an avalanche. Allport has appeared in numerous movies (TV + theater) and TV shows since 1973. He’ll also appear in 2008’s Garden Party. [EFlux Media via Bitten and Bound]

Linsday Lohan has a $1000/day shopping budget. Must be nice. [Cele|bitchy]

Barry Sonnenfeld won a DGA Awards prize this past Saturday for directing an episode of Pushing Daisies, one of the best new shows on TV. AP says that it’s for “television comedy”, but the show leans more towards dramatic comedy. [AP/Google]

It appears that Guillermo del Toro has not in fact been confirmed for the two upcoming The Hobbit movies. At least considering that the Hollywood Reporter is saying that he’s in talks to direct them back to back. He’s on the shortlist., and considering what he’s done with at least Pan’s Labryinth, Hellboy and Blade 2, I’d love to see him direct. Peter Jackson has previously indicated that because of other obligations, he’s only executive producing.

While there’s only one The Hobbit book, which takes place before The Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy (which Jackson directed), there are two movies planned. The first would follow the book. I’m guessing that the second might be a speculative story that bridges The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
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Kevin Smith has finished casting for his upcoming movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno. In the lead roles are Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, respectively. Also appearing are former pornstar gone legit Traci Lords, Jason Mewes, Craig Robinson, Ricky Mabe, Jeff Anderson, and Katie Morgan.

Rogen is a hot property these days, having produced and appeared in 2007’s Knocked Up and Superbad, and written Superbad. He also voiced Shrek the Third, and will appear in or voice five other movies in 2008: Fanboys, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Pineapple Express (also writing and producing), Kung Fu Panda, and Horton Hears a Who! He has also written Drillbit Taylor, which is in production for this year.

Elizabeth Banks plays Dr. Kim Briggs in Scrubs, was in Fred Claus in 2007, and is appearing in four other movies this year: A Tale of Two Sisters, Starship Dave, Little Big Men, and Definitely, Maybe. She’ll also be in 2009’s Lovely, Still, and in 2010’s The H-Man Cometh.

[sources: Filmwad]

X-Files TV series (and one movie) creator Chris Carter has revealed that the second movie is coming. He’s directing, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will reprise their roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively. What will be different is that there won’t be any alien conspiracy theories (and not because alien lizards have taken over Hollywood). Carter is aiming at potential fans who were turned off by that sub-plotline, so the sequel will focus on paranormal events.

No word yet if Mitch Pileggi will play Walter Skinner, or if William B. Davis will be back as the Smoking Man (he’s a spokesman for the Canadian Cancer Society, believe it or not). Other appearances include Amanda Peet, Callum Keith Rennie, Xzibit, a hilariously filthy-mouth Scottish comedian Billy Connolly.

Now given that this film releases July 25th, it’s a bit surprising so little info has been revealed until now. The still above is from the new movie. The clip below is a fan trailer (the release date is July 30th, not June 19th).

You can read more at 7 Confessions, USA Today, io9, and iWatchStuff.

Sasha Baron Cohen, aka Borat, aka Ali G, might be appearing in a Steven Spielberg film, The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2010). The film is about counter-culture hero Abbie Hoffman (pictured above and in video clip below), who was one of several protesters involved in disrupting the 1968 Democratic convention. Charges against Hoffman and others – conspiring to incite a riot – were dismissed. His death on April 12, 1989 was ruled a suicide.

Cohen is reported to be taking on the role of Abbie Hoffman. He’s currently appearing as a rival barber to Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He’ll also be in Bruno in 2008, and Dinner for Schmucks and Curly Oxide and Vice Thrill, both in 2009.

John Turturro’s 2005 movie Romance and Cigarettes is finally showing in the United States, despite a good reception in Europe and the likes of James Gandolfini (Sopranos), Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet, Steve Buscemi, Mary-Louise Parker, Mandy Moore, Christopher Walken, Eddie Izzard and others. It was the victim of a corporate restructuring when Sony bought a portion of United Artists from MGM. Joel and Ethan Coen are the executive producers; Turturro wrote and directed.

Fans of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels are not generally enamored of the Dune movie that Sting was in (image above), which was made by David Lynch, whose films are always controversial. As a long-time Dune and Herbert fan, I hated Lynch’s movie but loved most of the casting. Also, the movie only covered book 1 and part of book 2. Book 3 wasn’t covered, and books 4-6 that Herbert’s son (I believe) had a hand in weren’t even on the Radar. Well Dune fans rejoice, Peter Berg has apparently confirmed rumors a new Dune movie that he’ll direct, etc.

Berg says that only the writers’ strike is keeping them from working on it, and that there’s room for a remake. No doubt. Hopefully he’ll do three films, to cover the main trilogy. (I didn’t care for books 4-6 or however many else, despite being a fan of many of Herbert’s other books. He was a very thorough writer who’d spend a lot of time researching before creating a new world. I could be wrong, but I don’t think his son is as thorough.)

The Dune books are too complex to be treated lightly in a film, and too much narration (again) could ruin it. There was a TV mini-series in 2000 that I felt was actually much more interesting – easier to do, considering it was several hours longer than Lynch’s movie. (I can’t think of a single Lynch movie I actually liked – ever. So from my point of view, that’s not hard.)

Berg has been an actor (Lions for Lambs, Alias, Corky Romano, Chicago Hope), writer (Hancock, Friday Night Lights, Wonderland, Chicago Hope), producer (Lars and the Real Girl, The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights, Wonderland), director (Hancock, The Kingdom, Friday Night Lights, Wonderland). I’ve actually not watched most of these other than Corky Romano (ugh) and Wonderland, but I’m willing to give him a chance.

There’s no script yet, but no doubt some qualified writers (hey, pick me), a good script, a good ensemble of actors that understand the characters, and state of CGI and special effects today, and we could have something that’s closer to Frank Herbert’s vision.

Since Peter Jackson has other obligations, he’ll not be directing the two upcoming “The Hobbit” movies. He will executive produce The Hobbit, now that he’s settled his lawsuit with New Line Cinema. Directing duties are falling to Sam Raimi, who’s probably best known for directing the first three Spiderman films, Evil Dead, The Messengers, 30 Days of Night (video clip below), and various other horror filcks.

Filming is supposed to start immediately. Raimi is also directing Wizard’s First Rule for 2008, a TV mini-series based on Terry Goodkind’s popular “Sword of Truth” adventure-fantasy novels. In addition, he’s producing several TV series and movies. 2008: Wizard’s First Rule, Drag Me to Hell, Dibbuk Box; 2009: Armored, The Grudge 3, The Evil Dead, Priest, and an untitled project.