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MOVIE NEWS

Chavez thanks Sean Penn for slamming his critics (AP)

AP - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is grateful that actor Sean Penn has defended him against his critics within the U.S. media.

Fox mulling "Avatar" summer re-release (Reuters)

Reuters - Get ready for "Avatar"-plus.

"Matrix" bad guy eyes "Captain America" villain (Reuters)
Reuters - Australian actor Hugo Weaving, who played bad guy Agent Smith in the "Matrix" franchise, is in talks to join the "Captain America" movie as the villainous Red Skull.

Reynolds, Bateman switch bodies in comedy (Reuters)
Reuters - Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman are teaming for "Change Up," the latest entry in Hollywood's long line of body-switching comedies.

Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess eye "One Day" (Reuters)
Reuters - Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess are in early negotiations to star in "One Day," a romantic drama from the director of "An Education."

Sequels, reboots bring sizzle to summer box office (Reuters)
Reuters - Summertime moviegoers tend to vote early and, if things go well, often.

"Children of Invention" a dramatically tepid tale (Reuters)
Reuters - The loss of childhood illusions and of youthful naivete looms large in this first feature by Chicago-born Tze Chun, whose drama about a struggling, single-mom immigrant takes place in the Boston suburbs where he was raised.

Loud and "Clear" view of Iraq War from U.S. Marine (Reuters)
Reuters - Television journalists might have brought the Vietnam War into our living rooms, but it's the soldiers who are providing the same service these days.

NYC ex-model sues over use of photo in comedy film (AP)
AP - A former model says she's appalled that her nearly decade-old bikini photo became a randy prop in the film "Couple's Retreat."

DreamWorks'"Dragon" has no fire (Reuters)
Reuters - "How to Train Your Dragon" pits dragons against Vikings with one small child standing between them crying, "Why can't we all just get along?"

Showtime signs deal to air DreamWorks films (Reuters)
Reuters - CBS Corp's Showtime Networks Inc said on Thursday it has signed a deal to air movies from DreamWorks Studios, in a long-term agreement that could help restore content Showtime lost when three top studios started their own channel.

"Alice" set to stay No. 1 at box office (Reuters)

Reuters - Reigning champ "Alice in Wonderland" is sure to score an easy victory at the weekend box office in North America despite four wide releases hitting theaters Friday.

Capsule reviews: `Green Zone' and others (AP)
AP - Capsule reviews of films opening this week:

Review: 'Out of League' takes title too literally (AP)

AP - Remember the hoo-ha over whether Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl made a believable couple in Judd Apatow's "Knocked Up"?

Disney to release Indian film in southern dialect (AP)
AP - Encouraged by the reception of its Hindi animated movie, Disney is shooting a new adventure film in the southern Indian dialect of Telugu as it deepens its localization drive in the populous country.

Sushi chef charged with serving illegal whale (AP)

AP - Federal prosecutors filed charges Wednesday against a sushi chef and a Santa Monica restaurant on allegations that they served illegal and endangered whale meat.

3-D boosts box office worldwide to record $30 bln (AP)
AP - The appeal of 3-D movies helped boost movie ticket sales by nearly 8 percent to a record $29.9 billion worldwide in 2009, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

Imax rebounds to profit, sees strong first quarter (Reuters)
Reuters - Giant-screen movie operator Imax Corp said on Thursday a strong slate of films, including the blockbuster "Avatar", helped it bounce back to a fourth-quarter profit and it forecast a "very strong year" ahead.

Tribeca unveils film lineup, Spitzer in spotlight (Reuters)
Reuters - The Tribeca Film Festival on Wednesday unveiled its first group of films for April's event, including one documentary about the prostitution scandal that brought down former New York governor Eliot Spitzer.

Witherspoon: First lady is DC's top fashionista (AP)

AP - Actress Reese Witherspoon says her "Legally Blonde" character Elle Woods has been ousted as the most stylish woman to come to the nation's capital by first lady Michelle Obama.