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Jim Carrey's latest vehicle Yes Man has topped the Australian box office chart.

The Peyton Reed-helmed slapstick comedy knocks Brad Pitt's The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button into second place.

Meanwhile, animated canine adventure Bolt enters at four, while Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson's comedy Marley & Me debuts at five.

Adam Sandler and Russell Brand's family fantasy movie Bedtime Stories holds on to third spot.

The top ten in full:

1. (-) Yes Man - $2,966,066
2. (1) The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button - $2,123,609
3. (3) Bedtime Stories - $1,712,911
4. (-) Bolt - $1,702,465
5. (-) Marley & Me - $1,697,535
6. (4) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - $1,448,542
7. (5) Australia - $1,373,076
8. (2) The Day The Earth Stood Still - $1,164,691
9. (6) Twilight - $900,080
10. (9) Slumdog Millionaire - $488,312

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Jimmy Hayward has been hired to direct comic book adaptation Jonah Hex for Warner Bros, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The Horton Hears A Who! director will make his live-action debut on the film, which is described as a supernatural western featuring a disfigured cowboy.

Hayward replaces Crank duo Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor on the film, who wrote the script but quit as directors in November citing creative differences.

W. star Josh Brolin is attached to play the eponymous gunslinger, with the movie expected to begin production in March or April.

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Michael Gambon, Leslie Bibb, Colm Meaney and Theresa Randle have joined the cast of Law Abiding Citizen, says The Hollywood Reporter.

Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx are already on board for the thriller, which focuses on an assistant DA (Butler) who finds himself involved in a vigilante plot masterminded by a victim of the legal system (Foxx).

The Italian Job director F. Gary Gray will helm the movie, which begins filming on January 21 in Philadelphia.

Writers Kurt Wimmer, David Ayer and Frank Darabont, who at one time was in line to direct, have all worked on the Citizen screenplay. Sheldon Turner is working on the latest version of the script.

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A film based on the adventures of comic book hero Captain Marvel has been shelved, according to the project's writer.

John August revealed that he returned from holiday to find that plans to make Shazam had been axed by Warner Bros.

"By 'dead,' I mean that it won’t be happening. I don’t think it’s on the studio’s radar at all," he wrote on his blog. "It may come back in another incarnation, with another writer, but I can say with considerable certainty that it won’t be the version I developed."

The Charlie And The Chocolate Factory scribe admitted that bosses were unhappy with his original action/comedy script and wanted a darker approach following the success of last year's The Dark Knight.

Shazam! centred on teenager Billy Batson, who is selected by the wizard Shazam to have powers that can help save the earth.

Get Smart director Peter Segal had already committed to the project, while Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was tipped to star.

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The Dark Knight and Slumdog Millionaire have been recognised by the Producers Guild of America.

The movies, along with Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, have been nominated for best-produced feature film at the 2009 PGA Awards.

In the documentary category, Man On Wire faces competition from Standard Operating Procedure and Trouble The Water, while Kung Fu Panda, Bolt and WALL-E are nominated for best-produced animated movie.

The PGA Awards, which take place in Los Angeles on January 24, are often seen as an indicator for the Oscars. Last year's best picture winner No Country For Old Men walked away with the 2008 Guild award.

In addition to film, the PGA also honours US TV - Boston Legal, Damages, Dexter, Lost and Mad Men were recognised for drama, with 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Entourage, The Office and Weeds securing nominations in the comedy category.

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The novel written by Jack Torrance in Stanley Kubrick's The Shining has been published as a spoof book.

The 1980 horror film, based on the book by Stephen King, starred Jack Nicholson as a frustrated writer who retreats to a secluded hotel to complete his work. As he slowly descends into madness, his wife Wendy discovers that his manuscript consists only of the words "All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy".

New York artist Phil Buehler has now published a book credited to Torrance, which repeats the words for 80 pages with adjusted formatting on each.

A review of the work, titled All Work And No Play Makes Jack A Dull Boy, said: "One is forced to consider the author, heroically pitting himself against the Sisyphusean sentence. It's that metatextual struggle of Man vs. Typewriter that gives this book its spellbinding power.

"Some will dismiss it as simplistic; that's like dismissing a Pollack canvas as mere splatters of paint."

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Sex And The City stylist Patricia Fields has revealed that a sequel to last year's Sex And The City: The Movie will happen.

However, she warned fans that they would have to be patient because the project is at a "really early" stage.

"I do believe it will happen because [creator] Michael Patrick King himself told me it's gonna happen," she told MTV. "But I haven't received any official information yet.

"King has to write a new script. It's a long process. I don't think it will happen in 2009. But you never know. Maybe the end [of the year]. That's unofficial. I have really no idea. I don't think there's a set date anyway. It's in the really early process."

Kim Cattrall fuelled rumours of a sequel in November when she told The Paul O'Grady Show that it is happening. However, co-stars Cynthia Nixon and Sarah Jessica Parker have both warned that a follow-up is not a done deal.

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Simon Pegg has urged fans not to buy the US DVD release of his film How To Lose Friends And Alienate People.

Pegg and the comedy's director Robert Weide have both blasted US distributor MGM/Fox for omitting deleted scenes from the disc's extra features.

"I was very disappointed when I heard about the lack of extra features on the US DVD, particularly when Bob and I went to great lengths to ensure they were available," Pegg said.

He continued: "On projects where my responsibility was solely as an actor, I have strived to suggest content and have always been slightly ashamed of the discs that offer little. With Bob Weide, a man at pains to collaborate and achieve the very best he possibly can, I was adamant that we work together to produce a DVD that offered a completist's overview of the finished piece."

In a separate statement, Weide said that he had compromised the final cut of the film on the understanding that deleted scenes would be available on all DVD releases.

"It boils down to sloppiness and apathy," he remarked. "All of the material was absolutely cleared for all territories. There were just too many cooks in the kitchen and the left hand failed to communicate with the right hand. The ball was gently placed in those hands, and they dropped it."

The Region 2 (UK) release of How To Lose Friends... will include the deleted scenes.

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Martin Scorsese has offered his backing to an Italian crime film ahead of its release in the US next month.

Gomorrah, which focuses on organised crime in Naples, will now open with the credit "Martin Scorsese presents" when it makes its American debut on February 13.

In a statement, the Oscar-winning director described Matteo Garrone's movie as "a tough, forceful look at the Neapolitan underworld".

He added: "I admire the bluntness of this picture and the devotion of Garrone and his actors in their pursuit of a terrible truth."

Meanwhile, Garrone revealed that he is touched by the news as Scorsese has been a key figure in his "development as a filmmaker".

"I am therefore extremely proud that the film has found such a prestigious adoptive father, and I will certainly cherish this memory for all time," he continued.

The drama is based on a bestselling book of the same name by Roberto Saviano.

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Chris Pine has warned Star Trek fans that J.J. Abrams's forthcoming prequel will not please everyone.

The 28-year-old actor plays Captain Kirk in the big-budget sci-fi production, which marks the eleventh Star Trek movie to be released.

"I’m not well-versed in the Trek canon but we’re venturing into territory that’s only been covered in these paperback novels they sell," he told the Wall Street Journal. "It’s definitely not going to please everyone."

However, Pine revealed that he hopes Abrams's reimagining of the franchise will provide optimism for cinema-goers, despite the film's edgier take on the original characters.

"Unlike other genre movies, Star Trek has always represented an incredible amount of optimism. In the late ‘60s, in a time of unrest, it represented this Utopian world," he said. "As opposed to The Dark Knight, which I enjoyed, but was so bleak and didn’t speak kindly of humanity.

“Kirk is so iconic because he’s the head of this fantastical Utopian team. They aren’t superheroes, they’re men and women trying to achieve something good."

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Twilight star Robert Pattinson has dropped out of the upcoming movie Parts Per Billion.

The 22-year-old was forced to pull out of the project because of a scheduling conflict with New Moon, the highly-anticipated second instalment in the vampire franchise.

"Unfortunately, the prep time and production schedule on New Moon haven't left enough time for Robert to work on Parts Per Billion in the first quarter of this year," his agent Nicholas Frenkel told MTV.

Parts Per Billion, which follows three couples coping with the same life-threatening event, is due to begin filming in Los Angeles later this month.

Rosario Dawson, who is starring in and producing the film, recently expressed her excitement at working with Pattinson.

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Jim Carrey's Yes Man has spent a second week at the top of the UK box office.

The slapstick comedian's latest vehicle holds off competition from Adam Sandler and Russell Brand's family fantasy Bedtime Stories, which remains at two.

Elsewhere, Frank Miller's action drama The Spirit enters at six, while Kate Winslet and Ralph Fiennes's romance The Reader debuts at seven.

Steven Soderbergh's biopic of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara is the only other new entry at nine.

The top ten in full:

1. (1) Yes Man - £2,223,950
2. (2) Bedtime Stories - £1,860,644
3. (4) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa - £1,665,577
4. (3) Australia - £1,511,723
5. (5) Twilight - £1,372,655
6. (-) The Spirit - £1,351,370
7. (-) The Reader - £671,064
8. (6) The Day the Earth Stood Still - £434,482
9. (-) Che: Part One - £429,836
10. (8) Inkheart - £351,541

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Mickey Rourke has become the latest big name to sign up for Sly Stallone's The Expendables, according to Variety.

Rourke will play an arms dealer involved with a band of expendable mercenaries who are attempting to overthrow a South American dictator. Earlier this week, Forest Whittaker agreed to star as a CIA operative.

Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Jason Statham and Randy Couture are also among the cast.

Rourke has previously spoken of his gratitude for Stallone, who gave him a high-profile return to the big screen in his remake of Get Carter in 2000.

Shooting is expected to start in Brazil in March.

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Universal has picked up the movie rights to Danish author Anne Fortier's novel Juliet.

3:10 To Yuma director James Mangold and wife and producing partner Cathy Konrad will oversee the project for the studio, says The Hollywood Reporter.

The book, which will be published in 2010, is inspired by William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo And Juliet. The story moves between medieval Siena and the present day as a woman discovers that she may be a descendant of the doomed lovers.

Mangold's next directing venture is expected to be time travel movie The Archive.

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Kate Winslet has admitted that she is desperate to walk away with an Oscar at this year's Academy Awards.

The 33-year-old has been nominated five times but has yet to win the movie industry's most coveted prize.

She told Reveal: "I want to win, I'm not denying that. I don't want to be sitting there with a fixed grin on my face while someone else wins. But we all do that, don't we?"

Winslet has been tipped to pick up an Oscar for her roles in The Reader and Revolutionary Road. She has secured two Golden Globe nominations for those films.

The nominees for the 81st Academy Awards will be announced on February 2, with the ceremony taking place on February 22 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

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McG has signed up to helm Disney's remake of classic movie 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

The film, which will be named 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo, is being fast-tracked by the studio, according to Variety.

Bill Marsilli, who wrote Deja Vu, has been named as screenwriter, while Tron's Sean Bailey will produce alongside McG's Wonderland Sound and Vision.

The movie, based on the novel by Jules Verne, will follow the adventures of sea commander Captain Nemo as he builds his warship, the Nautilus.

The 1954 original marked the first live-action feature film made by Walt Disney. It became the second-highest grossing film of 1954 and won three Academy Awards.

McG is expected to begin work on 20,000 Leagues following the release of his latest project, Terminator: Salvation, on May 22.

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Garrett Hedlund has been cast as the lead in the sequel to 1982 sci-fi classic Tron.

Hedlund, whose credits include Friday Night Lights and Troy, will play a boy who is sucked into a computer-generated world.

Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner - who starred in the original - and House star Olivia Wilde have already been confirmed for the project.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hedlund beat Chris Pine, Ryan Gosling and Michael Stahl-David to the part.

Disney has ditched working titles Tron 2.0 and TR2N and will apparently use the title Tron for the long-awaited follow-up.

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Lex Luthor has reportedly been axed as the main villain in the potential sequel to Superman Returns.

Warner Bros has requested that writers pitch ideas for an alternative central baddie for the tentatively titled Man Of Steel, according to The Latino Review.

Luthor, most recently played by Kevin Spacey, is traditionally portrayed as the arch-nemesis to Superman but bosses are reportedly eager to take the sequel in a new direction.

However, insiders have revealed that the studio has not yet found a new villain that they are happy with.

Writers have a host of potential baddies to choose from, including military director General Zod, who appeared in Superman and Superman II.

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Star Trek actors Chris Pine and William Shatner will lead the voice cast of 3-D animated film Quantum Quest, reports Variety.

The $10 million production, which is being made with the help of NASA, will also feature the voices of Darth Vader pair James Earl Jones and Hayden Christensen.

Samuel L. Jackson, Amanda Peet, Jason Alexander, Sandra Oh, Mark Hamill, Abigail Breslin, Spencer Breslin and Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong complete the all-star cast.

The story concerns a photon called Dave (Pine) who lives in the sun and becomes involved in a battle between the Core (Shatner) and the Void (Hamill). It will combine animation with footage taken from NASA space missions.

Quantum Quest, directed by Dan St. Pierre and Harry Kloor, will debut on Imax screens this year before rolling out in traditional cinemas later in 2009.

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Lena Headey has signed on to helm forthcoming British thriller Kill Drug.

The Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles actress will make her directorial debut in the low-budget film, about an underground vigilante group in London.

"My ambition to direct has been fuelled over the last 15 years by working alongside great directors. It has also been my film education," she told Empire.

The 35-year-old will also star in the movie, scripted by Tom Bacon. She will play Sally, the daughter of a woman who kills her abusive husband and then founds an underground vigilante network dedicated to murdering the scum of society.

Headey described the film as "smart, articulate, compelling, sexy, fun, dark, deeply poignant and not afraid to laugh at itself. Above all it is a gripping and compelling journey, a study of humanity’s darkest flaws and purest innocence".

Deception actress Charlotte Rampling and The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button's Jason Flemyng have reportedly signed on to co-star in the movie, which is expected to begin filming next January.