Hollywood icon Shirley Temple dies, aged 85

Hollywood icon Shirley Temple has died, aged 85.The former child star’s press officer confirmed her passing to the BBC earlier this morning (February 11). Temple began her film career at the age of 3, becoming one of the most popular film stars of the 1930s.She retired from films in 1950 at the age of 22, before entering the world of politics and serving as a US ambassador.The singer and dancer died on Monday (February 10) at her home in Woodside, California, from natural causes.”She was surrounded by her family and caregivers,” a family statement said. “We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and… our beloved mother, grandmother [and] great-grandmother.” Picture copyright Rex Features /Kazen

Channing Tatum begins work on Magic Mike 2 script

Channing Tatum has started work on the script for Magic Mike 2.The actor-producer posted the below picture on his Twitter account, showing him posing in front of a bust of Matthew McConaughey's character Dallas. What better way to start writing #MagicMike2 than with my old friend Dallas? #runatribe pic.twitter.com/RalS3nQfro — Channing Tatum (@channingtatum) February 10, 2014 Also in the background is a poster for The Girlfriend Experience, the 2009 film directed by Magic Mike's Steven Soderbergh.Soderbergh is not expected to return for the sequel, having retired from making feature films last year. Tatum himself has been named a contender to potentially step into the director's chair.

Runaways could follow Guardians of the Galaxy, says Drew Pearce

Guardians of the Galaxy could pave the way for a Runaways movie, writer Drew Pearce has said.The Iron Man 3 writer has claimed that the Marvel Studios project could still go ahead, depending on the success of its upcoming cosmic ensemble movie. Picture copyright : Marvel Comics

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Delivers Five New Character Banners

Five new character banners are now online from Peter Jackson's upcoming The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Check out new designs below that feature Martin Freeman's Bilbo Baggins, Ian McKellen's Gandalf the Grey, Richard Armitage's Thorin Oakenshield, Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman and the Elven pair of Orlando Bloom's Legolas and Evangeline Lily's Tauriel. The second in a trilogy of films adapting the enduringly popular masterpiece "The Hobbit," by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug continues the adventure of the title character Bilbo Baggins as he journeys with the Wizard Gandalf and thirteen Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield on an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug opens in 3D, 2D and IMAX theaters on December 13.

Machinima Adapting Comic Book Enormous as Online Series

Initially announced over a year ago, it now appears that the comic series "Enormous" is headed for your computers and televisions. Variety reports that Machinima will be branching out their original programming and will adapt "Enormous" as their first comic book based series. Producer Adrian Askarieh has teamed up with the YouTube channel to make a ten-minute pilot based on the series. BenDavid Grabinski will direct the pilot from a script he wrote with Troll Hunter's Andre Ovredal. Casting has already begun with shooting set to begin in December. Created by Tim Daniel and Mehdi Cheggour, the original comic is described as follows: "You are the bottom of the food chain. A fading point of light in the course of evolutionary history. A dying species. You are human. You are a child – and Ellen Grace is coming to collect you. The ‘Enormous’ have ravaged the planet. In their wake of destruction, mankind has fallen. The race to stave off extinction has begun." The initial graphic novel of "Enormous" was published last year by Image Comics, but publisher Fifth World Studios has announced they will be releasing subsequent issues for the series.

First Images of Grant Gustin as Barry Allen in Arrow

Fresh off the heels of the latest announcement about his own TV series, The CW have released the first images of actor Grant Gustin as Barry Allen in his upcoming debut on Arrow. Set to be featured in the eighth episode of the new season, Gustin will appear in two episodes of the hit series before spinning off into his own potential series, "The Flash." Titled "The Scientist," the episode is described as follows: "A seemingly impossible robbery at Queen Consolidated’s Applied Sciences Division brings Central City police scientist Barry Allen (guest star Grant Gustin) to town. Citing a similar case back home, Barry offers to help Oliver and team with the investigation. Oliver senses there is more to Barry than meets the eye, but he’s distracted by the similarities between this current case and something that happened on the island. Meanwhile, Felicity takes a liking to Barry, which doesn’t go unnoticed by Oliver. Sin (guest star Bex Taylor-Klaus) asks Roy for help when a friend of hers goes missing. Roy is surprised when Thea not only encourages him to help, but joins the search. Unfortunately, Sin’s friend is connected to Brother Blood (guest star Kevin Alejandro), and their search ultimately gets one of them seriously injured."

Thor: The Dark World Hits $480 Million Worldwide

While the big story at the weekend box office was the success of Malcolm Lee's ensemble comedy sequel The Best Man Holiday, released by Universal Pictures, it wasn't able to dethrone last week's #1 movie, Thor: The Dark World, starring Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston. The hit superhero sequel dropped 55% to remain on top with $38.4 million, its domestic total of $147 million already at 81% of the total gross of the original Thor after just ten days. Internationally, the movie added another $52.5 million so its international gross of $333 million is still surpassing domestic by 2:1. With a worldwide gross currently at $480 million, it's already surpassed the amount made globally by its predecessor.