BBC - Films -news article - High Noon

		Woah, It's, Like, The Dark Knight The Matrix Reloaded star Keanu Reeves wishes he was Batman. Christian Bale has been cast to play the Caped Crusader in Christopher Nolan's franchise reinvention, while Reeves is stuck playing spiritually tormented 'tec Constantine in an adaptation of dark comic book Hellblazer. "Constantine hates both heaven and hell," Reeves told US magazine Entertainment Weekly. "I think that was actually always the attractive thing about Batman. He had some kind of inner demon. But I didn't get to play that guy. Now I'm too old." Michael Keaton was 38 when he first played the Bat. Val Kilmer and George Clooney were both 36. Reeves is youthful-looking 39. Don't tell him, but there's still time.

		Dead Funny? Chicago star Queen Latifah continues to snap up Hollywood projects, with the singer-cum-actress inking for Last Holiday - a remake of an Alec Guinness comedy. The 1950 original saw his terminally ill everyman cash in everything he owned and live it up at an exclusive resort, where his fish-out-of-water mannerisms confused the super-rich. Latifah will play a shop assistant who travels through Europe being "outrageous and irreverent" because she believes she has nothing to lose.

		Rain Man's Bar Mitzvah Rain Man director Barry Levinson will next helm My Italian Story, a based-on-fact drama about a Jewish refugee sneaking through Nazi-occupied Italy in search of a rabbi to conduct his bar mitzvah. Financial suits are currently scurrying over Hollywood's money mountain, hoping to secure funding for a 2004 shoot.

		Films Make Money Shock We report American box office figures every week and frankly High Noon isn't sure anyone cares, but there's not much else to write about today, so we've got to pad our bulletin out with something. So, then: Scary Movie 3 continued to make a mint, scoring $21.1 million to remain in top spot. Disney's 2-D family animation Brother Bear managed a healthy $18.5 million in second, despite featuring six new tracks from Phil Collins. And dismal Meg "Collagen" Ryan 'thriller' In The Cut scraped into 10th place on its second weekend of release. Meanwhile, Richard Curtis' romantic comedy Love Actually previewed to rave responses, suggesting the Four Weddings And A Funeral writer has another huge hit on his hands.

		London Film Festival Another weekend of filmmakers blabbing around Leicester Square at the London Film Festival, with our cameras there to capture them. First up, Neil LaBute "reaches out" to you with the excellent The Shape Of Things. Similarly strong is The Barbarian Invasions, whose director Denys Arcand spared a word. Mockumentary master Christopher Guest looks older than you think, as he talks about A Mighty Wind; Holly Hunter has the most annoying voice in the world, chatting about Thirteen, and Naomi Watts makes Mrs High Noon jealous by being as beautiful in person as she is on screen. High Noon's off for a cold shower and a little lie down. Enjoy.