“Spider-Man” leading man Tobey Maguire is keen on turning the 1980s Japanese cartoon series “Robotech” into a movie for Warner Bros. Maguire is helping produce the movie for the studio via his company and is also considering taking a part in the expensive sci-fi project. If he does decide to star in “Robotech” it may mean that he is no longer considering donning the Spider-Man costume in any more sequels for Sony Pictures.

“Robotech” was a popular cartoon series 20 years ago when it was broadcast in syndication for American children. Adapted from a series of Japanese shows it is about the nations of the world setting aside their differences in order to investigate a large extraterrestrial vessel that has crash-landed on Earth. As countries develop technology from the alien ship they are able to manufacturer giant robot suits of armor called mecha. When hostile aliens show up demanding that we give them the crashed UFO soldiers don the mecha and take the fight into space against the attacking invaders.

We are very excited to bring ‘Robotech’ to the big screen,” Maguire said to the press about the movie. “There is a rich mythology that will be a great foundation for a sophisticated, smart and entertaining film.” He is producing the film with Drew Crevello and Jason Netter.

A private photo showing “High School Musical” star Vanessa Hudgens nude and standing in front of a mirror may derail her chances of appearing in the movie version of the popular franchise. The scandalous story broke when the photo of the 18-year-old actress first started appearing on the internet this week. Representatives of the Walt Disney Company, which owns the rights to “High School Musical”, were left scrambling as confirmation from Hudgens representatives finally arrived on Friday. “This was a photo which was taken privately. It is a personal matter, and it is unfortunate that this has become public,” said Hudgens representatives in a statement given to the press.

The news comes as a devastating blow for Disney as it prepares to broadcast “High School Musical 2” this weekend. The immensely popular TV specials have been a lucrative cash cow for the company and have elevated the show’s young stars to the forefront of Hollywood and the music industry. Hudgens plays the character of Gabriella on the show, an innocent, sweet science nerd who has a romance with the school’s star quarterback (played by Zac Efron). Disney has turned the TV specials into a live concert, a bestselling soundtrack and is currently preparing a third film which would spin the series off as a feature film.

Whether this latest misstep is one that will help or hinder the film career of Hudgens is hard to pin down at the present time. Based on previous incidents some female celebrities that have undergone similar kind of unwanted public attention have had their careers go bust (“Showgirls” star Elizabeth Berkley) or boom (Paris Hilton).

The latest power deal in Hollywood hints at a movie which will see Leonardo DiCaprio playing the Emperor of the Roman Empire. Producer Scott Rudin now has the movie rights to “I, Claudius”, the historical drama written by Robert Graves and that was turned into a 13-part miniseries in 1976. Derek Jakobi played Claudius, a member of the royal family that schemed his way to the position of Emperor by hiding his mental brilliance behind physical impairments.

Rudin has just finished making “Revolutionary Road” with DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. It’s believed that the producer will reunite with DiCaprio on the “I, Claudius” project and hire “The Departed” screenwriter William Monahan to adapt Graves’ book. Several other Hollywood movie studios wanted to make a movie from the novel but ultimately it was Rudin who won the battle after paying $2 million dollars for the screen rights.

Blonde beauty Scarlett Johansson is keeping busy with a frantic work schedule. The 22-year-old is currently finishing up work in her second Woody Allen movie and then after that will move on to star opposite Jennifer Aniston and Drew Barrymore in the comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You”. Once that job is complete Johansson will then play the sexy siren in the superhero movie adaptation of “The Spirit”. She is also rumored to be in the running to play the female lead in Roman Polanski’s “Pompeii” and as “Mary, Queen of Scots”.

With all that work lined up in front of her it is a wonder that she even found time to appear in Justin Timberlake’s new music video. But appear in the “What Goes Around…Comes Around” video is precisely what she did, as well as attract the attention of the music video’s director Samuel Bayer. When the director was offered the job making his feature length debut he already had someone in mind to play the part of a do-no-gooder. Would you believe Scarlett? “It’s called ‘Brilliance’ and it’s about diamond thieves, and we start shooting this winter,” Bayer told the MTV Blog. “So many things came together in all the right ways. It really was a case of ‘what goes around, comes around.’ In a good way.”

You can next see Scarlett in “The Other Boleyn Girl” where she stars alongside Natalie Portman as the two historical ladies vying for the romantic attention of King Henry VIII (Eric Bana). That picture opens in theaters next February.

The remake of “Halloween” broke box office records this past Labour Day weekend in America. Directed by Rob Zombie and starring Tyler Mane as the psychopathic slasher Michael Myers, “Halloween” made an amazing $31 million dollars over the course of the Friday to Monday long weekend. That beats the former record holder for Labor Day weekend, “Transporter 2”, which earned $20.1 million dollars over the same three-day time period two years ago. The original “Halloween”, which was directed by John Carpenter and premiered in 1978, made $47 million dollars in its day. The highest grossing movie in the “Halloween” franchise was 1997’s “Halloween: H20” in which Jamie Lee Curtis reprised her role as Michael’s sister, Laurie Stroud. That film went on to make $55 million.

Zombie’s “Halloween” is slightly different than the original film. The hard rocker-turned-horror film auteur fleshed out the background story of young Michael Myers and spends considerable time showing the horrible family abuse that he suffered through before becoming a killer. Mane, a 6-foot-8 former professional wrestler, made his movie debut playing the antagonist of Wolverine in “X-Men”. To help him prepare for playing Michael Myers, Mane watched seven of the eight “Halloween” movies so that he could better understand the motivations of the character.

Billy Bob Thornton (“The Astronaut Farmer”), Kim Basinger (“Cellular”) and Brandon Routh (“Superman Returns”) will topline “The Informers”, an ensemble picture following the lives of seven people in 1980s Los Angeles for a week of their lives. Thornton will play a movie studio executive, Basinger will play his wife and Routh will play a vampire. Also joining the trio are Ashley Olsen, Jon Foster, Austin Nichols and Lou Taylor Pucci. The movie is based on a novel by acclaimed writer Bret Easton Ellis (“American Psycho”) and will start filming this October on location in Los Angeles as well as Buenos Ares and Uruguay.

Thornton can next be seen in the comedy “Mr. Woodcock” which opens later this month. Basinger is finishing her work on a thriller titled “While She Was Out” in which she plays a housewife that has to fend off four thugs. Meanwhile, Routh has kept a low profile since the release of “Superman Returns” last year. He has just completed work on two indie films and is scheduled to reprise his role as Clark Kent/Superman in a sequel set for release in 2009.