Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesRumors have been buzzing for months about who will star in the upcoming film version of E.L. James's steamy bestseller "50 Shades of Grey." But on Friday a reputable source served up inside information on something just as important in bringing the story to the screen: who will direct the film.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Joe Wright is in talks to direct "50 Shades," and is the front runner among the decision makers at Focus Features and Universal Pictures, who snapped up the film rights to the novel.

'Gravity' (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures)Sandra Bullock and George Clooney find space travel to be mighty perilous in "Gravity," the new sci-fi thriller from director Alfonso Cuaron and the filmmaker's first feature in seven years.

Bullock is taking a major step out of her comfort zone in her first-ever sci-fi film. At one point in the teaser trailer, Bullock, dressed in full astronaut gear and floating away in space says in a panic, "I'm spinning. ... Can't breathe!"

The new trailer opens with Clooney and Bullock sharing an idyllic moment in space, with Clooney musing over how "terrific" the sunrise is from their particular position. A title card then tells us that the duo is 372 miles above the surface of the Earth, seemingly involved in repairing a satellite. It's all very pleasant and set to soothing piano music until some sort of debris smashes into their space shuttle, and from there it's an "Apollo 13" kind of crisis ... except the astronauts are actually outside their ship in this scenario.

James McAvoy in 'X-Men' now (left) and in the 2011 installment (Photo: @BryanSinger/Twitter/Everett Collection)In true "X-Men: Days of Future Past" form, director Bryan Singer has tweeted yet another on-set peek at one of his comic book movie characters. This time he posted a pic of James McAvoy as Charles Xavier on Thursday with the note "#Serpico" – clearly a wink to the 34-year-old Scottish actor's '70s garb.

Lintao Zhang/Getty ImagesZhang Yimou is one of China's most famous and respected filmmakers and the guy who was in charge of the Beijing Olympics' amazing opening and closing ceremonies. However, he's making headlines today for something that has nothing to do with show biz.

Reports surfaced Thursday that Chinese officials are investigating allegations that Zhang has violated the nation's strict family planning laws, and has fathered as many as seven children with four different women. While such behavior might generate a minor scandal in the United States or Europe, it's against the law in China, where the state carefully monitors population growth. China permits most couples to have only one child, offers rewards for couples that have no children, and levies severe fines against those who opt to have larger families. Penalties are determined based on the offender's income and number of offspring; in Zhang's case, the filmmaker could face a penalty of 160 million Yuan, or roughly $26 million.

Zhang is one of

'Divergent' author Veronica Roth (Photo: veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com)

Although its 2014 release date is a long ways out, the excitement surrounding the big screen adaptation of dystopian bestseller "Divergent" continues to build, with each completed day of filming and other assorted bits of news that break about the project.

Today we have two assorted bits of "Divergent" news, the first being that author Veronica Roth stopped by the "Today Show" to reveal the cover of "Allegiant," her third and final book in the trilogy and the second, Yahoo! Movies was lucky enough to speak with Roth just ahead of the big reveal to get an update on how her novel is coming to life.

MarvelAny and all Marvel fans that may have been seething with rage over the fact that the Chinese release of "Iron Man 3" runs 'round three minutes longer than the U.S. version are in luck: the additional footage will make its way into an upcoming short film, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

There are currently no plans as to how the short film, which currently has the working title of "The Prologue," will be released, though it's highly likely that it will be featured on the future Blu-ray/DVD release of "Iron Man 3."

DisneyDisney is expanding its lucrative comic book universe with a shift from live-action to animation with its first animated Marvel movie, "Big Hero 6."

"Big Hero 6" is based on the comic book series created in 1998 by Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau that chronicles the adventures of a Japanese government-sanctioned team of superheroes. The story mostly centers on Hiro Takachiho, a 13-year-old tech genius and reluctant new member of the team, and his synthetic bodyguard/sidekick, Baymax.

Jeff Nichols and Michael Shannon arrives at the 2012 Film Independent Spirit Awards on February 25, 2012 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)Rising star Michael Shannon is teaming up with writer and director Jeff Nichols for a big science fiction project, with Warner Bros. on board to finance and distribute.

It was revealed Wednesday that Nichols, the filmmaker behind the recent independent success "Mud," has struck a deal with Warner Bros. for his next project. Shannon, who starred in Nichols' first two films, "Shotgun Stories" and "Take Shelter," is on board to play the male lead.