David Gordon Green is making his big studio debut behind the camera with Pineapple Express.

ComingSoon.net recently talked with the director about the Seth Rogen/James Franco comedy. Here are highlights from the interview:

CS: What kind of shape was the script in when you got it? Was the story in place with beginning, middle and end and they knew exactly where it was going to go?
Green: Yeah, but again, it being so highly improvised, there was a different ending, like we improvised that ending. "Well, let's see what happens if we just turn a camera on these guys at a coffee shop afterwards and they recap the movie." That was just an idea, that wasn't in the script. It ended at the barn initially, so it's just all very loose.

Seth Rogen and James Franco light up in Pineapple Express.

CS: While this is a comedy, there's also a lot of violence, which is done in a very realistic and graphic way, but there's also the jokes in between. I was curious about trying to find the right balance of those things so you feel they're in danger but still keep it light.
Green: It was interesting and we were worried about that at first, but we really just followed our instincts about what movie we wanted to see, and started putting that in front of an audience and the more we pushed the audience, the more they responded to it.

The gore we added and the strange humor we added, the weirder the movie became, the more positive the reaction became, so there was really every incentive to maximize its strange qualities and non-traditional qualities and really follow our initial instincts of what that balance would be.

Channing Tatum was named Choice Movie Actor in a Drama at least night's Teen Choice Awards.

The rising star earned the honor for his role on Stop-Loss, but fans can expect him to truly hit it big with next year's G.I. Joe movie.

Australia is a Baz Luhrmann-directed epic starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It comes out on November 14.

In the drama, Kidman portrays English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley, who falls in love with a cattle driver, played by Jackman.

“It’s romantic, adventurous, and huge in scale,” the actor told Entertainment Weekly about the movie. ”That’s what I love about Baz. His movies really are all about breaking society’s rules and love conquering all. Working with Nicole was beyond anything I could have imagined.”

Check out the following pics of the stars getting hot and heavy during scenes from Australia:

Billy Bob Thornton turns 53 today.

No longer simply known as Angelina Jolie's (semi-insane) ex-husband, Thornton has carved out a respectable career for himself.

He won an Academy Award for his writing of Sling Blade, while he earned a Best Actor nomination for his performance in the same movie. Other films on Thornton's resume include...

• Friday Night Lights: Gary Gaines
• Bad Santa: Willie
• Love Actually: The US President
• Armageddon: Truman

As The Dark Knight continues to shatter box office records, and Heath Ledger continues to garner Oscar buzz, rumors are already circulating about what big-name actors will take on the villainous roles in next Batman movie.

According to Great Britain's The Daily Telegraph, two new A-list stars are being talked about for a pair of iconic roles. 

The paper, quoting "unnamed sources," reports that Warner Bros. has targeted Johnny Depp to play The Riddler and Philip Seymour Hoffman to take on the role of The Penguin.

"Producers are convinced that the role of The Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny's a pro. He'll be able to take direction and still make the character his own," the souce said. "And what better Penguin is there than Philip Seymour Hoffman?"

Are we looking at the next Batman baddies?

As film fans know, Jim Carey was the last actor to portray the Riddler (in Batman Forever), while Danny De Vito played the portly penguin in Batman Returns.

It's not hard to imagine Depp or Hoffman in these roles. But do you think the Batman franchise is in danger of its villains overshadowing its hero?

Following this week's release of the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince movie trailer, it's been been announced that the film will premiere as this year's Royal Film Performance.

The big screen adaptation of the sixth Harry Potter book will premiere on November 17, four days prior to the film's Great Britain release.

There's no word yet as to which members of the British royal family will attend.

Ron, Hermione and Harry will receive a royal greeting in England this fall.

Ready to go on a Hell Ride, movie fans?

The Larry Bishop-directed film comes out on August 8. Here's a preview for it:

Robert De Niro is set join Mel Gibson in Edge of Darkness, the Martin Campbell-directed thrilled.

According to Variety, Gibson will portray as Thomas Craven, a straitlaced homicide detective for the Boston Police Deptartment and single father. His 24-year old daughter is murdered on the steps of his home.

Craven assumes he was the target, but his investigation leads in another direction, as he uncovers his daughter's secret life, a corporate cover-up and government collusion.

De Niro will play an operative sent to clean up the evidence.

Here's a look at the full Watchmen panel from last week's Comic-Con. Go crazy, movie fans!

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the following new Terminator Salvation photo. It features Christian Bale (as John Connor) staring down Sam Worthington (as Marcus Wright).

The new Terminator movie opens on May 22, 2009 and also stars Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Moon Bloodgood, Common, Jadagrace and Helena Bonham Carter.