News: Renée Zellweger

Once again playing the English Rose in this week’s Miss Potter, Zellweger will be reverting to her natural Texan drawl for her next three pics.

First up, due for release in the US in August, is Case 39 – seemingly one of those Oscar-hungry “message” pics, but with a turn towards something a bit darker, as Zellweger plays a social worker trying to rescue a young girl from apparently abusive parents, only to discover there’s more to the situation than meets the eye.

Then, due out in the States in November, comes the film that billionaire comic Jerry Seinfeld is hoping will give him yet another big cheque, animated comedy The Bee Movie. Zellweger plays the New York florist who saves Seinfeld’s bee’s life and shows him that humans are not as bad as he thinks – until he discovers that we eat honey and decides to sue us. The all-star voice cast also includes the likes of Chris Rock, Matthew Broderick, John Goodman, Kathy Bates, Alan Arkin, Eddie Izzard, Larry King and Oprah Winfrey.

Finally, and due for a 2008 release, she will crop up in George Clooney’s next effort as writer/director/star, 1920s-set American Football-based romantic comedy Leatherheads. Little information is as yet available, but it looks likely that she and big George will be hooking up on screen – and based on Clooney’s previous outings as director, it should be one to look out for.

News: John Malkovich

On typically over-the-top form as another evil baddie in this week’s dragon-based kids’ drama Eragon, and he has a fair few other fantasy pieces in the works, not least the much-anticipated, Ray Winstone-starring Beowulf, due November 2007, and the similarly medieval Love and Virtue, based on the ancient Song of Roland, due 2008, and looking to be equally promising if the casting rumours are true.

Also likely to do well is The Great Buck Howard, also due next year, where Malkovich will play the titular illusionist who takes on young Colin Hanks as his assistant – much to the consternation of the boy’s father – played by Hanks’ real-life dad, perennial favourite Tom. Still on a fantasy bent, though rather less promising, Malkovich will also be appearing in sci-fi actioner The Mutant Chronicles – which, no doubt, will be great fun if you like that sort of thing…

In more “serious” film news, somehow the top-notch Colour Me Kubrick, based around a real-life fraudster who pretended to be reclusive uberdirector Stanley Kubrick to get star treatment and made nearly two years ago now, has still not been picked up by a UK distributor, despite receiving unanimously good reviews. Also unlikely to see a proper cinema release is art flick Drunkboat, co-starring John Goodman, which seems to have hit some editing trouble.

Most promising of the non-fantasy flicks, though, is likely to be Disgrace, due out next year and based on the novel of post-Apartheid politics by Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee. If Malkovich plays it right, it could have just the right mix to finally win him that Oscar…