We have all heard people comparing the film Avatar to Dances With Wolves and other movies, but now there is someone claiming that James Cameron STOLE his story for Avatar. Chinese author Zhou Shaomou has stated that Avatar is based off of a novel that he wrote back in 1997. Here is what he had to say…"80% of the plot and key elements of Avatar are similar to my 1997 science fiction novel Tale Of The Blue Crows. It tells the story of an epic journey taken by six astronauts to a distant planet, which is home to a race of blue-skinned beings. I wrote in my novel that their space journey took them six years but in Cameron's movie the journey takes them five years, nine months and 22 days. I was shocked when I first saw that. It is too close." Zhou is looking for over $145 million dollars due to a breach of copyright.

In a recent story, Jason Momoa revealed he is looking to pack on an extra 10 pounds to play the title role in Conan. He is working with stuntman David Leitch (The Bourne Ultimatum) and stunt coordinator Chad Stahelski (who worked on The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions) to prepare for his part.

-Alice in Wonderland debuted #1 at the box office with $116.3 million. The film also had the highest per theater average of any film in the top 10 with $31,196 per theater. The film's debut was the sixth best of all time (The Dark Knight remains #1 with $158.4 million), was the best ever opening in March by a wide margin, and it is also the best "spring" opening ever for a film. The film's Friday haul of $41 million is the 11th best single day gross ever (The Twilight Saga: New Moon's Friday of $72.7 million is #1).
-Brooklyn's Finest debuted #2 at the box office with $13.5 million.
-Shutter Island dropped two spots to #3 this weekend, earning $13.3 million and raising its three week total to $95.8 million. The film had a budget of $80 million.
-Cop Out dropped two spots to #4 this weekend, earning $9.1 million and raising its two week total to $32.6 million. The film had a budget of $30 million.
-Avatar fell one spot to #5 this weekend, earning $7.7 million and raising its twelve week total to $720.1 million. Worldwide, the film has made an astonishing $2.55 Billion.
-The Crazies dropped three spots to #6 this weekend, earning $7 million and raising its two week total to $27.4 million. The film had a budget of $20 million.
-Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief dropped two spots to #7 this week, earning $5.1 million and raising its four week total to $78 million. The film had a budget of $95 million.
-Valentine's Day dropped two spots to #8 this weekend, earning $4.2 million and raising its four week total to $106.4 million. The film had a budget of $52 million.
-Crazy Heart jumped one spot to #9 this weekend, earning $3.3 million and raising its twelve week total to $29.5 million. The film had a budget of $7 million.
-Dear John dropped three spots to #10 this weekend, earning $2.8 million and raising its five week total to $76.6 million. The film had a budget of $25 million.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN
1. Alice in Wonderland - $116.3 million ($116.3 million)
2. Brooklyn's Finest - $13.5 million ($13.5 million)
3. Shutter Island - $13.3 million ($98.5 million)
4. Cop Out - $9.1 million ($32.6 million)
5. Avatar - $7.7 million ($720.1 million)
6. The Crazies - $7 million ($27.4 million)
7. Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief - $5.1 million ($78 million)
8. Valentine's Day - $4.2 million ($106.4 million)
9. Crazy Heart - $3.3 million ($29.5 million)
10. Dear John - $2.8 million ($76.6 million)

According to Deadline Hollywood, Neil Patrick Harris has been cast as the lead for The Smurfs. NPH will not voice a Smurf, instead he will be the lead human character, appearing opposite of the CGI Smurfs. Filming will begin in April, which is during NPH's break from How I Met Your Mother.

Sacha Baron Cohen has decided not to present an award at the Oscars, because his planned gag with Ben Stiller was nixed...in case it offended James Cameron. According to a report, Cohen was going to come on stage as a female Na'vi from Avatar. Stiller was set to translate for Cohen, but would translate wrong and Cohen would have grown increasingly upset, eventually ripping open his evening gown to reveal that "she" was pregnant with Cameron's baby. Cohen would then confront Cameron. Oscar producer Bill Mechanic put the kibosh on that plan because he feared Cameron would be so offended that he might get up and leave. Mechanic was in charge at Twentieth Century Fox when Titanic went over budget and behind schedule, and he has seen Cameron at his fiery worst. An insider states that "...Cameron isn't known to be, shall we say, self-deprecating." Matt Labov, a spokesman for Cohen, said "I hate to use the term, because it's so ubiquitous, but there were ‘creative differences'. Nothing acrimonious, but both sides felt that since they couldn't agree, [Cohen] might as well remain in London."

According to a report, Stephen Lang (Avatar) has been offered the role of chief villain Khalar Singh in Conan. The role calls for someone who is "commanding in size and manner, a warlord and formidable warrior, brilliant, cruel, weathered and tanned by the many campaigns he has waged and won...His goal is to find the Queen whose blood will bring life to the demonic minions of Acheron while making himself king of this hellish power."

According to sources, Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) has been cast as the next Spider-Man. The report goes on to say that Marc Webb ((500) Days of Summer) is directing, which IMDB confirms, and that Webb has asked James Cameron for the use of his cameras which were used to shoot Avatar

How close are we to getting the movie? It looks like we are getting closer to Indiana Jones V. Harrison Ford recently spoke with the BBC, here are the highlights…On The Basic Idea: "Steven [Spielberg] and George [Lucas] and I are sort of agreed on a germ of an idea and we're seeing what comes of it."
What Is The Creative Process Like: "The process works like this: We come to some basic agreement and then George goes away for a long time and works on it. Then Steven and I get it in some form, some embryonic form. Then if we like it we start working with George on it and at some point down the line it's ready and we do it." Harrison Ford is 67 years old, and Paramount wants to get moving on the film as soon as possible. The fourth film, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, made nearly $800 million worldwide.

Sci Fi Wire recently spoke with Industrial Light & Magic's Scott Benza and Scott Farrar, who said that Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will see some changes in Transformers 3…
Scott Benza On Bumblebee: "Our two lead characters, Optimus and Bumblebee, needed to be updated for the next chapter in the Transformers series. Bumblebee's matured a little bit, so I would just say look for subtle changes to his physique that have him look more mature."
Scott Farrar On Optimus Prime: "[Prime will have] little tiny things that maybe the average viewer isn't going to notice but probably the fanboys will. You actually will run into pieces that are maybe always in the way, and wouldn't it be nice if that part wasn't there? Maybe you make a shift in the shoulder, in the chest or what have you. So it might be proportioning, but it also might be for usability, so [the animators]' task could be easier, too."
Scott Farrar On The Script: "There's an outline and most of the script is done. It hasn't been released to us completely because they want to keep that under wraps, but we certainly know enough. Michael [Bay] turns over sections of the script, and then the art department is full steam ahead right now, the L.A. art department. We also have an ILM art department working on this at the same time. So we take their 2-D work and start turning it into 3-D models, because we like to get a jump-start on this. Any model that looks like it could start, we want to get going, because it'll take us 30 weeks to build it."
Scott Farrar On New Robot Characters: "Yes, we are. We can't say anything, but these are great big difficult movies, and it's a long haul for everybody. It's not easy stuff, so we're pretty pooped when we get done with a movie. We have a little rest time, and I know it's dumb, but some of these new ideas come along and you start to get excited again. Yes, some really great ideas for characters."

Justin Timberlake has joined the cast of Bad Teacher, and will star along side Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, and Lucy Punch. Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) and Molly Shannon have also joined the cast. Timberlake will reportedly play a key role as a substitute teacher, "the scion" of a watch fortune. Doug Belgrad, one of the presidents of Columbia Pictures had the following to say on Timberlake joining the cast…"With Justin, Molly and Eric, joining Cameron, Jason, Lucy and the rest of this dream comedy cast, we couldn't be more excited about this movie. We love what we've seen of Justin's performance in David Fincher's The Social Network and he is a perfect match for this role."

According to Deadline Hollywood, directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted) have signed on to produce Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, a book by Seth Grahame-Smith. Lionsgate is already producing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is also a book by Seth Grahame-Smith, and will star Natalie Portman. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter tells the story of Lincoln's mother being killed by a supernatural creature, which then fuels Lincoln's passim to slay vampires and their slave-owning helpers. Lincoln is described as an axe-throwing, highly trained vampire killer."

According to IGN, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black (Milk) has been hired to write the script for a biopic on legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover for Universal Pictures. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's production company Imagine Entertainment will be involved in the project, which will follow the life of Hoover from the founding of the FBI until the director's death in 1972. Over the years, Hoover has been portrayed by several actors, including: Bob Hoskins, Ernest Borgnine, Jack Warden, Richard Dysart, Treat Williams, Billy Crudup, Broderick Crawford, Harris Yulin, Pat Hingle, Vincent Gardenia, Dolph Sweet and Ned Beatty. As of now, there is no word on who will play the lead in the film

Jennifer Aniston has thrown her hat into the ring of Bond girl wannabes, saying in an interview: "I would love to do an action movie. James Bond, glamour and Daniel Craig…shitloads of fun!"  "Sometimes you're not always thrilled by the movie you're pushing. I don't want to just play the girl trying to get the guy. That doesn't interest me anymore."