SMALLVILLE

The busy weekend brings new info about the hit WB series. First, there's low resolution screen captures of upcoming episode "Hypnotic," as well as a spoiler-centric official network description of the April 6th episode "Void."

BLADE

CBR was on hand to get all the inside info on the new live action series, including screen grabs from the DVD trailer which was passed out to the panel's audience.

KING CONAN

The Arnold Fans website is rumormongering that "it now seems that Andy and Larry Wachowski --the Wachowski Brothers as they are known-- are being courted by the WB to direct 'KING CONAN: CROWN OF IRON' a.k.a. 'CONAN THE CONQUEROR.' They were once going to produce and write 'King Conan' under Milius before they left the project to pursue other things."

AQUAMAN

A new casting note from Aquaman TV says that actress Amber McDonald plays Eva, the best friend of lead character AC. They note, "Some of the background of the character seems to have changed over the development of the series, but what we do know for sure is that Eva and A.C. have known each other for a while."

X-MEN 3: THE LAST STAND

Actor Kelsey Grammer talked to IGN's FilmForce about bringing Dr. Henry McCoy to life, saying "Fans of the comic know that he can fight pretty well. His physical prowess should, I think, surprise and delight the audience. He's doing his best not to have to resort to violence or to enter any kind of a physical confrontation. He believes that diplomacy is the best way to way to work, until things come to a head. And then there's only one answer, and that's to stand shoulder to shoulder with his comrades and fight against a clear danger. I deal with Magneto, and I deal with a character called Calisto. I can't divulge too much, but [Beast] will do his best to do the world some good in whatever capacity he can find."

Actor Vinnie Jones spoke to MTV about his hopes to make his way into one of the spinoff films. I said this to Brett the other day, and he was saying that they'll probably use a lot of the characters," Jones said, implying that the director will also return alongside star Hugh Jackman in "Wolverine." "Hopefully [the Wolverine/ Juggernaut rivalry] will come into it. There might be something for me and him to get together. We have some great scenes. When I first got the part I didn't know there was gonna be a suit. I thought in six weeks I can work out and then [be huge]. And then all of a sudden they said, said, 'No, he's got to be seriously big.' With all the steroids in the world I wouldn't have got up there in six weeks."

There's two sets of photos for you to check out, with some new ones mixed in amongst older shots. There's also some shaky cam bootleg video of the footage shown at Showest last week.

Speaking of, Entertainment Weekly talked to actor Hugh Jackman who talked about spinning off his character. "Wolverine substantiates a feature film," Jackman said. "I mean, he's a really intriguing, mysterious, enigmatic character, ˆ la Mad Max, Dirty Harry, Han Solo -- he's that kind of screen antihero. I'd love to get into the origins of that character and find out what he's really made of. So that was always my idea ... Benioff came in with a pitch that was so brilliant, I was so excited, I actually tried to get Fox to make it [before 'X-Men 3']. But they said, 'No, no, no, we have a trilogy, let's finish that. You never know. 'Wolverine' might be a prequel."

SUPERMAN RETURNS

While we're still in the area of Showest, how about some shaky bootleg footage of that film from the Vegas convention? How about that, holmes? IESB also has an image gallery showing toys from the film which were shown at the Wizard World Los Angeles convention.

Latino Review has an interview with the film's star, Brandon Routh, from the Las Vegas SHowest convention. "Bryan (Singer) confided in me that I was this guy," Routh said. "He wanted me to have this job, but it was up to a few other people to okay it before it was written in stone, so from that point I really started to think about it. I did it pretty rationally but I didnÕt freak out or anything. ItÕs a huge thing but every day you take in more and you take in more and then you understand everyday more and more what it means."

Finally, Wolfgang Petersen talked to IESB and said that his original "Superman vs. Batman" project is "on the shelf right now," he did confirm that "at one point" he might do it.

SPIDER-MAN 3

The Defamer Blog has an update on the movie's production. "Production of 'Spider-Man 3' has moved to Paramount's own New York Street (right near Stage 32) until next Tuesday. From what I gathered snooping around the set, they're filming a scene in a newly-built club called 'The Jazz Room' set on one of the street corners. From what I also gathered, Tobey Maguire has a helluva lot more clout than Kirsten Dunst; His state-of-the-art trailer is located right across the street from the shoot, while hers is all the way over by the the Sherry Lansing Theater." There's also five sets of photos from the sets: one, two, three, four, five. So enjoy.

V FOR VENDETTA

Just for fun, let's check in. The official website has been updated with ... well, a lotta stuff, honestly. Oh, and by the way, Box Office Mojo reports that the film took the top spot in the weekend's box office tallies with a $26.1 million opening.

GHOST RIDER

Actor Sam Elliot talked to the LA Daily News, saying that he plays "a guy named Caretaker who takes care of the cemetery. Ghost Rider comes there seeking solace and safety, and I provide him with information." When asked about the future, he said, "I hope it does well. I happened to like Nicolas a lot. I think he's great at what he does, and once again, he's incredible in this thing. Should the box office warrant a 'Ghost Rider' sequel, I'll certainly be there if they call me."

THE CASTING COUCH

Here's where you get in on the action. Did you see a link we didn't catch? Have you snuck into a closed movie set, and have inside data? Maybe your cousin is dating somebody who knows something, and they had to tell you? Whatever it is, we wanna know it all -- fire off an email and let us know whether you want your name used or your contributions to geekdom to go down anonymously. Broadcasting live from Los Angeles, this is novelist/karaoke host/all-around lunatic Hannibal Tabu saying thanks for your time and indulgence, and [tagline sent back to development hell until something hipper can be dreamed up].