Neeson had spent time filming some scenes for the movie in a role as a tattoo artist in the Bangkok based sequel but his short appearance was lost in the editing process. The film’s director Todd Phillips was compelled to do reshoots and by that time Liam Neeson was no longer available for the shooting of the film due to scheduling conflicts.

So the small part was taken up by a handsome gray haired man, who no one will likely recognize, Nick Cassavetes, the director of “The Notebook”.

In an interesting side note, the role of the tattoo artist and cameo appearance has now been cast three times as originally it was supposed to go to veteran actor, Mel Gibson.

However, Mel Gibson has created a great deal of controversy in the past few years and apparently there was an uproar on the set and among the other actors about his possible involvement in the film and therefore Mel Gibson was released and Liam Neeson was chosen for the part.

Todd Phillips, the director for “The Hangover Part II” never divulged who among the cast complained r who wanted Mel Gibson to be released but in a comedy podcast from funnyman Zach Galifianakis indicated that he was having a “deep protest right now with a movie I’m working on, up in arms about something” So rumor has it that he may have been the one with the issue, or maybe even more members of the cast had an issue.

But not matter. Now Gibson is out. Neeson is out. And Nick Cassavetes is in.

“The Hangover Part II” brings back the cast from the first movie, Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis and Justin Bartha. It is scheduled for release on May 16, 2011.

And of course, “The Hangover” was a great success but one must wonder how a sequel will work out. After all everyone loved the first “Speed” movie too.

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Disney has cast the role of Miss Marple, the aging spinster crime sleuth from the Agatha Christie novels however this time she will not be old but she will still be unmarried. The role will be as Jane Marple in her 30′s and 40′s, supposedly getting started on her crime-solving career.

Jennifer Garner has been chosen to play the part. Jennifer solved crimes previously in her role as Sydney Bristow in the television series “Alias”. She has also played in various other movies, including “Juno” and “The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past”. She is married to fellow actor Ben Affleck and they have two young daughters.

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Other roles in the movie that have been cast are Henry Cavill as Clark Kent and Superman, Diane Lane as Superman’s mother, and Kevin Costner as Jonathon Kent, Clark Kent’s father.

The role of Lois Lane has previously been played by Margo Kidder, Teri Hatcher, Erica Durance and Kate Bosworth in various adaptations on the big screen and in television series.

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Actors have often had to take up additional roles to play their parts. Reese Witherspoon did her own singing in “Walk the Line” and she won an Oscar for it. Other actresses who have sang in the movies include Nicole Kidman in “Moulin Rouge” and Gwyneth Paltrow in “Duets” and again in her recent movie “Country Strong”.

Actors have also gained weight, lost weight, changed the color of their hair and even more. And sometimes an actor will do their own stunts and sometimes they will have a body double.

Well this week, coincidentally coinciding with the video release of “Black Swan”, Sarah Lane, the ballerina who was the body double for Natalie Portman in the movie has claimed that only 5% of the dancing was actually performed by Natalie with her doing the rest.

Maybe so. Or not.

But Natalie Portman’s fiance, Benjamin Millepied, who also happens to be a dancer has come to her defense and he claims that more than 85% of the dancing was actually performed by Natalie. The director of the movie, Darren Aronofsky, has also defended Natalie and her dancing and he claims that the majority of the dancing performances were Natalie herself. Mila Kunis, Natalie’s co-star has also come forward to say how hard Natalie worked for the movie and how most of the dancing, excepting only the things that were not possible for a “non-dancer” were performed by Natalie.

The ballet community is concerned that people may not recognize that most ballerina’s have to work for years and years and that it is not really possible to become an accomplished ballerina in just a year.

So did Natalie dance or not? Does it really matter for the performance? After all, Natalie Portman is an actress. She is not a prima ballerina.

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But no more. Utah governor Gary Herbert, recently signed a new law that provides a 25% tax rebate for Hollywood production, which puts the state on equal footing with New Mexico. The scenery in both states is desert-like and beautiful, but Utah does offer the red rocks and more National parks than New Mexico.

The Salt Lake Tribune has an article about the new law. See Motion Picture Tax Incentive

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It was announced today that the role will be played by Oscar nominee Julianne Moore for the new film “Game Change”. No other roles were announced.

See Julianne Moore: Sarah Palin in Game Change.

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Martha Kent was Clark Kent, or perhaps better known as “Superman’s” adoptive mother. She and her husband Jonathon adopted young Clark after he arrived on Earth on a rocket ship from the planet Krypton.

Diane Lane, at age 46, has been chosen to play the role of Martha. The role of Jonathon has yet to be cast.

The role of Martha Kent was previously played by Eva Marie Saint in 2006 when she was 72 years of age and Phyllis Thacker at age 57.

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#1. Your most significant skill is organization. You may already have this skill, frankly it is not an easy skill to teach or learn, however, you can learn how to become more organized. If you have trouble remembering where you put your wallet or even the last time you had the oil changed in your automobile, you will have to have help in this area. Buy a book on how to get organized or even take a course in business.

#2. Having the capability to make fast decisions. Regardless of how well your own plans have been laid, there are a lot of gray areas and changes that may come up during filming. You will run into choices that need to be made in a split second. You can develop this ability by recognizing from the start that you’re in charge, and you will be making all the decisions, any mistakes that are made, you’ll be making. When the decisions turn out to be wrong you will be aware of it in no time. As the movie maker you must act decisively, accepting blame when necessary.

#3. You’ll discover that you’ll be making decisions about everything on the set. Everything will often need to be negotiated. When rates are discussed, know the best price you are able to pay for any one item based on your budget. See if you can lower it even more, you really need to stay in the know. One thing to remember, if you don’t negotiate the right price you can always look somewhere else for it.

#4. Movie makers have to keep the gossip as well as rumors to a minimum. You may have to step in the middle of feuds and conflicts. The trick is not to take sides. You need to practice diplomacy every morning.

To become an excellent movie producer, you will have to have plenty of energy. You will require real energy if you are going to really make it through the length of the film. You need to eat correctly and make sure you are taking vitamins to keep yourself healthy for the long days shooting.

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The hosts, Anne Hathaway and James Franco, were young, hip, easy on the eyes and apparently chosen to appeal to a younger demographic. Even so, the preliminary Oscar ratings showed the broadcast to be down 7% from the Oscar’s 2010 show. Reviews after the show indicate that James Franco fell flat as host and there are some or maybe even many that are hoping for Billy Crystal’s return for the 2012 show.

There were few surprises in the winners category. “The King’s Speech” took home for awards, for best picture, best director, best actor and best original screenplay. And favorite Natalie Portman took the honor for Best Actress for her portrayal of a ballerina in Black Swan. Colin Firth was the Best Actor for “The King’s Speech”.

Christian Bale was the Best Supporting Actor for his role in “The Fighter” and Melissa Leo, his counterpart actress in “The Fighter” took home the Best Supporting Actress for the same movie. Apparently in her surprise and shock she let loose with an “F bomb” but it was just a small “conversation malfunction” as the censors were able to bleep it out almost immediately.

The Best Adapted Screenplay was “The Social Network” and as the award was accepted a big “Thank you” went out to Mark Zuckerburg, the founder of Facebook, of whom the movie was based upon. It was noted that nobody would want a film made about them when they were 19 years old, especially one like “The Social Network” which often portrayed him in a very negative light but apparently he has been a good sport about the whole thing (yes, you would think that being a billionaire may be helpful towards forgiving the ploys of mere mortals!) so he was thanked for his good sportsmanship.

For a complete list of all of last night’s winners see Academy Awards.

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Is she or isn’t she??

Check out the amazing transformation of one of our favorite actresses of all time for the role of the former Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.

Uncanny, is it not?

Add to that the fact that Meryl Streep is an amazing actress, having received the most Academy award nominations of any actor with 16 nominations, 2 wins and also the most Golden Globe nominations of any actor, with 25 nominations and 7 wins. And along with all of that a multitude of other awards.

Meryl has always been able to transform herself into the character and there is no doubt she will do the same with the iconic character of Margaret Thatcher.

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