Actors Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn have announced that they will be divorcing. The Hollywood couple were together for 17 years since they first met while working on the set of “State of Grace” and then married for 11 years. They have two children, Dylan and Francis.

This is also the second marriage for both of them. Penn, who won an Academy Award for his performance in “Mystic River”, was married briefly to pop singer Madonna in the 1980s. Wright, who is possibly best known for her role as “The Princess Bride”, was married to actor Dane Witherspoon before meeting her second husband.

Another celebrity duo is also saying that their marriage is over. “Mummy” leading man Brendan Fraser and his wife of 9 years Afton are also divorcing. They have three children together. Fraser will appear in the third “Mummy” movie, “Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”, which comes out next summer.

Will Smith seems to have stuck his foot in his mouth after making comments about one of the most evil men in history. The star of “I Am Legend” was giving an interview to “The Daily Record” when he said the following statement: “Even Hitler didn’t wake up going, ‘let me do the most evil thing I can do today’. I think he woke up in the morning and using a twisted, backwards logic, he set out to do what he thought was ‘good’.”

Smith’s controversial comment drew the ire of the Jewish Defense League who called the actor’s statements “ignorant, detestable and offensive” and immediately began calling movie theaters asking the owners to pull his latest blockbuster. Smith quickly tried to counter the attack by issuing a strongly worded retraction that said that the original newspaper had run a “ludicrous misinterpretation” of what he actually said. “Adolf Hitler was a vile, heinous vicious killer responsible for one of the greatest acts of evil committed on this planet,” said the “Men in Black” and “Independence Day” star.

“We welcome and accept Will Smith’s statement that Hitler was a ‘vicious killer’ and that he did not mean for his remarks about the Nazi leader to be mistaken as praise,” said Anti-Defamation League’s president Abraham H. Foxman shortly after Smith’s counter-claim had been isued. “Once Smith realized that his remarks may have been misunderstood, he took immediate steps to clarify his words and unequivocally condemn Hitler as an evil person. We would have expected no less from a celebrity of his standing in the strata of Hollywood stardom.”

The Vatican has condemned the new adventure movie “The Golden Compass” on the grounds that it believes the movie teaches people to be atheists and look down upon Christianity. Speaking through the l’Osservatore Romano newspaper, the Church said that “The Golden Compass” movie and the novel that it is based upon was ” the most anti-Christmas film possible,” and that it depicts a universe where “there is no salvation but only personal, individualistic capacity to control the situation and dominate events.”

The Catholic Church’s critical assessment of the picture follows a scathing call by the U.S.-based Catholic League to Christians to not see the movie because of its controversial aspects towards religion. “Golden Compass” director Chris Weitz removed all references to the Church from author Philip Pullman’s book when he adapted the material but that still isn’t enough for the clergy who still sees a slanderous connection between the movie’s evil Magisterium organization and their religious body.

In its first weekend of release the Nicole Kidman/Daniel Craig movie took in $26 million dollars. It has now fallen to third place and appears to be failing to earn back the cost of its immense $200 million dollar budget.

Delighting fans of his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy of movies it was announced today that director Peter Jackson will definitely be involved with the production of two movies based on “The Hobbit”. Just like the way Jackson filmed the first three movies set in Middle-earth the two “Hobbit” shows will be filmed at the same time and in 2009. The “King Kong” director will act as executive producer on the “Hobbit” duo together with his wife and writing partner Fran Walsh.

Jackson had been involved with a lawsuit against the company that produced New Line Cinema over royalties that he believed was owed to him for the making of the “Rings” movies. The company has now settled the case for an undisclosed amount and opened the door for Jackson to remain involved with the franchise that made the movie studio over one billion dollars and counting. “I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to put our differences behind us, so that we may begin a new chapter with our old friends at New Line,” said Jackson when the deal was finally announced.

The first of the “Hobbit” movies will be released in 2010 and the next one in 2011. Since it takes place years before the earlier films there are opportunities for select cast members from “The Lord of the Rings” to reprise their parts in “The Hobbit”. At various points in the past Sir Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen and Sir Ian Holm have been asked about if they would appear in the “Hobbit” prequel if it were to happen and all said that they would if Peter Jackson back were to make the next adventure.

Get ready for a blast from the Eighties: Hollywood is moving ahead with plans for a movie version of “The A-Team”. Twentieth Century Fox is attempting to hire director John Singleton (“Boyz N the Hood”, “Four Brothers”) to help them get the classic NBC action series to theaters. A movie story by writer Jayson Rothwell updates the concept of a group of Vietnam special forces soldiers and turns them into Iraq War vets. But don’t worry too much because the same hook that the soldiers were tried by a military court for a crime that they didn’t commit is still there and the A-Team still helps innocents get their revenge from bad guys.

At one point Mel Gibson had been offered the part of Hannibal Smith, the A-Team’s leader. George Peppard played the role in the original TV series. Now Gibson is long gone and the latest rumor is that Singleton’s friend Ice Cube could be the frontrunner to play the part that Mr. T did, B.A. Baracus. Understandably Fox isn’t commenting on the rumor at this time.

“The A-Team” also starred Dwight Schultz as “Howling Mad” Murdock and Dirk Benedict as Templeton “Faceman” Peck. The series was one of the most popular shows on television in the 1980s and ran for five seasons.

Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon and comedian Vince Vaughn aren’t celebrating the festive spirit while making their new comedy “Four Christmases”. According to reports the two actors are squabbling all the time and disrupting the flow of work. The trouble allegedly began when Vaughn began showing up to the set looking like he was out the whole night partying while Witherspoon turns up early and looks ready to begin work. The “Legally Blonde” star is also described as being a perfectionist, wanting to get the shot right in one take and plan every move and line uttered to its maximum potential. That isn’t the way that “The Wedding Crashers” leading man likes to make movies, preferring a more casual, laid back and ad-libbed approach to acting. The two clashing personality types have been at it since the start of production and now it’s threatening to disrupt the rest of the shoot if the matter isn’t resolved soon. According to one anonymous informant Vince will sometimes stand behind Reese and make a face that he wants to kill her!

If the movie ever does get finished filming it will arrive in theaters next holiday season. The film is about a married couple (Witherspoon and Vaughn) that spend December 25 rushing to spend time with each of their divorced parents and their extended families.

One of the Quidditch players from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” has been cast as the young romantic lead in “Twilight”. Based on Stephanie Meyer’s best-selling novel for teenagers, Robert Pattinson will play a young vampire named Edward who attracts the attention of Isabella (Kristen Stewart) who is a new student at a small town high school. The movie is being directed by Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen”) and begins filming in early 2008. The movie is being made by Summit Entertainment and they have plans on making it a new franchise.

Pattinson played the role of Quidditch star Cedric Diggory in the “Goblet of Fire” and “Order of the Phoenix” films. He has just finished working on “Little Ashes” where he plays a young Salvador Dali in 1920s Madrid.

Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway will star in “Bride Wars”, a comedy that will get underway early next year. The two actresses will play lifelong best friends who both discover to their horror that their wedding dates both fall on the same date. As the two ladies compete to find the right caterer and chapel they also start to compete with whose wedding will be the biggest and best, turning the former BFFs into fiendish competitors.

The movie will be directed by Gary Winick (“13 Going on 30”) and Hudson will also help produce the film. She will next be seen in the romantic comedy “Fool’s Gold” opposite Matthew McConaughey which opens in theaters next February. Look out for Anne’s new film “Get Smart” in the summertime.

It should be a time when Nicole Kidman is making news headlines to promote her new movie “The Golden Compass” but instead she is looking to scratch out what she claims are untruths that appeared in “The Daily Telegraph”. The tabloid published a story claiming that the 40-year-old was spotted constantly spritzing herself with Jo Malone’s White Jasmine and Mint perfume while she met with the U.K. press to promote “Compass” recently. Kidman is a celebrity endorser for Chanel No. 5 and receives a handsome $12 million paycheck each year for serving as the spokeswoman for the well known perfume which the Telegraph’s story may have now placed in jeopardy. Kidman rang up her lawyers at Schillings and is now taking legal action against the paper for what the firm claims are “grossly defamatory” and “entirely untrue” statements in the original article. “We have been instructed to obtain an immediate retraction of such allegations and are taking separate action against the Daily Telegraph,” reads part of the statement released by Kidman’s council.

The “Moulin Rouge” and “Dead Calm” star has never been shy of protecting herself using the legal system. Nicole recently testified against an Australian member of the paparazzi that she claims hounded her and her family relentlessly seeking to capture intimate photos from her private life.

The man behind the cape and cowl is in talks to become the salvation of the “Terminator” movie franchise. Christian Bale is in negotiations to play the part of a thirty something John Connor, the leader of the human army that fights the machines in the science fiction movie saga. The character was first mentioned in the original “Terminator” but he hadn’t been born yet. The Terminators are sent back from the future where Connor has almost won the fight against Skynet to try and kill his pregnant mother and then later Connor when he was a child. Edward Furlong played the teenage John in “T2” and then Nick Stahl took over the role in “Terminator 3”.

“Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” will be directed by McG (“Charlie’s Angels”, “We Are Marshall”). Bale is the first actor to be linked to the movie which is scheduled to start filming in the spring of next year. The movie is scheduled for release in summer of 2009.

Bale is finishing up work on his second Batman movie titled “The Dark Knight”. Heath Ledger steps into the clown shoes of Jack Nicholson as The Joker in this new adventure with Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart and Maggie Gyllenhaal rounding out the cast.