ADVENTUROUS ROMAN EPIC "THE EAGLE" WITH CHANNING TATUM, JAMIE BELL AND DONALD SUTHERLAND

Since you know how your HOLLYWOOD SPY loves epics and historical adventures, one of my most anticipated films of 2011 is the Roman epic THE EAGLE (previously titled THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH), which is going to

premiere in cinemas February 25th with great cast including Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Donald Sutherland, Denis O’Hare, Douglas Henshall, Paul Ritter, Ben O’Brien, Tahar Rahim ... The film is directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, STATE OF PLAY).

 The story starts in 140 AD, when two men,  master and slave, venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism…  20 years earlier, Rome’s 5,000-strong Ninth Legion, under

the command of Flavius Aquila (Donald Sutherland), marched north carrying their treasured golden Eagle emblem. They never returned; Legion and Eagle simply vanished into the mists. Hearing a rumor that the Eagle has been seen in a tribal temple in the far north, Flavius’ son Marcus (Channing Tatum), determined to restore the tarnished reputation of his father, is galvanized into

action. Accompanied only by his slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia, the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland, to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father’s memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem the hallowed Eagle of the Ninth. Along the way Marcus realizes that the mystery of his father’s disappearance may well be linked to the secret of his own slave’s identity and loyalty – a secret all the more pressing when the two come face-to-face with the warriors of the fearsome Seal Prince (Tahar Rahim).

NEW ROLES FOR ORLANDO BLOOM, RON LIVINGSTON, ADRIEN BRODY, RACHEL MCADAMS, MICHELLE PFEIFFER, CHRIS PINE, KATHY BATES, CHANNING TATUM, TOM HIDDLESTON...

And this is also almost official now: as rumored, Orlando Bloom (who has just become a father few days ago with top model Miranda Kerr) will again play the magnificent and ethereal Elven archer Legolas in Peter Jackson's THE HOBBIT but he will have just a two minute role for which he will apparently get $1 million. Another official addition to THE HOBBIT cast is Christopher Lee who will again play the evil Saruman. Some other Hobbits from the LORD OF THE RINGS might join the cast from the Middle Earth again as well these days.

Ron Livingston (BAND OF BROTHERS, SEX AND THE CITY)has just scored two new gigs: he will appear in TEN YEAR alongside Channing Tatum, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Lynn Collins and John Krasinski. The

film's about a group of friends who reunite ten years after their high-school graduation. He will also star in a very strange film called THE ODD LIFE OF TIMOTHY GREEN in which he and Jennifer Garner will be a childless couple, unable to conceive, who bury all their wishes for a baby in a box in their backyard. One day, they wake up to find that a child is born, but the child is not all that it appears.

SHORT HEADLINES Blake Lively and Emma Watson will compete for the female role beside Taylor Lautner in YA fantasy film INCARCERON.  Anne Hathaway, Keira Knightley and Jessica Biel will all audition for roles in THE DARK KNIGHT RISES, but it

seems Eva Green and Naomi Watts are the top contenders for female roles in the new Batman film. Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig have been confirmed for JAMES BOND 23.

Michelle Pfeiffer has joined WELCOME TO PEOPLE, in which she will play the mother of a young businessman (Chris Pine),  who returns home after his estranged father's sudden death only to discover a surprising family secret that he has an older sister (Elizabeth Banks) he never knew about and a young nephew. Olivia Wilde will play Chris Pine's girlfriend.

Although I can't stand him, Woody Allen has got himself a nice cast in MIDNIGHT IN PARIS a romantic comedy that follows a family traveling to the city for business. The party includes a young engaged couple that has their lives transformed throughout the journey. The film celebrates a young man’s great love for Paris, and simultaneously explores the illusion people have that a life different from their own is better. The cast includes: Adrien Brody, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Owen Wilson, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Tom Hiddleston ..

And are you excited about HOLLYWOOD SPY'S ANNUAL AWARDS with the gala ceremony this Sunday? Hope your gowns and tuxedos are ready! Live coverage is here on January 16th! Prepare you winning speeches and poses for the photographers!