Two years ago, there was some frothy chatter about a comedy action script called 'El Presidente' that Tom Cruise was considering, with Jack Nicholson sounded out as a possible co-star. Warner Bros. denied anyone was seriously involved and not much has been heard since. But now the rumour has once more broken the surface of the development seas, with Cruise’s name still being dropped, Robert Downey Jr a mooted co-star and Jay Roach in talks to direct.

The story, written by former Daily Show producer and current Parks And Recreation staff member Dan Goor, follows a gung-ho, by-the-book secret service agent assigned to guard a bumbling, sleazy former president. Though he’s resigned to a life of fixing small messes and dealing with his annoying new boss, the agent gets a taste of real problems when a threat is made on the man’s life.

According to Vulture, Roach is in negotiations to handle the megaphone, while the script will get another polish. And we’d stress that no formal offers have been made, though the studio is interested in both actors, not least because it would like to stay in business with Downey Jr between Sherlock jobs and Cruise has been getting good notices for his work in Rock Of Ages. Still, the role of the upright agent sounds like it still fits Cruise and Downey Jr would be a great choice for a sleazy git of a former president. We’ll see if this one actually ends up coming true…

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Robert Downey Jr. tries to go incognito as he buys his wife Susan Downey Mother's Day gifts from upscale boutique Tory Burch at the Malibu Lumber Yard shopping center.

Of course Tony Stark wasn’t satisfied with just one weekend of headlines!

After its record-demolishing $207.4 million debut last weekend, The Avengers easily stayed atop the box office in its second frame, soaring to $103.2 million (a drop of only 50 percent) over the Friday-to-Sunday period. That figure crushes the second weekend box office record, which was formerly held by Avatar with its $75.6 million sophomore frame.

Incredibly, The Avengers‘ 50 percent drop is the smallest second-weekend decline of any film that achieved one of the Top 10 opening weekends of all time. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 fell by 72 percent after its $169.1 million debut. The Dark Knight dipped 53 percent after its $158.4 million start. The Hunger Games and Spider-Man 3 both sank by 62 percent after their debuts of $152.5 million and $151.1 million, respectively. Those sorts of drops are just expected when dealing with gargantuan openings like these, but Avengers started much higher and fell by much less — a clear indicator of positive audience reception.

The superhero ensemble, which has grossed $373.2 million total domestically, also broke a slew of other records this weekend as well. Not only did The Avengers score the best second Friday ($29.1 million), Saturday ($43.1 million), and Sunday ($30.9 million) in box office history, but it became the fastest film to ever pass $300 million on Saturday, its ninth day of release (The Dark Knight accomplished this in 10 days). And today, on its 10th day in North American theaters, Avengers became the fastest film to ever pass $350 million, zooming by The Dark Knight‘s record of 14 days.

I've added amazing new photo Robert did recently with his Avengers co-stars Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo and Samuel L. Jackson for People Magazine. They were photographed by Emily Shur during the press junket at the restaurant at the Four Seasons. Enjoy!

GALLERY LINKS:

[x001] Studio Photoshoots > Photoshoots from 2012 > Session #05 - Emily Shur

What's a superhero movie without a sequel? The record shattering "Avengers" will be back for more action, as Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger announced that its Marvel Entertainment group is already in development on a sequel.

The first installment to the "Avengers" franchise raked in $207 million in its first three days of release in the United States, bringing its global box office to around $702 million.

"It's a great illustration of why we like Marvel so much -- great characters, great storytelling and a wonderful ability for them to bring their characters and stories to the big screen so effectively," Iger told analysts Tuesday during the company's quarterly earnings call.

Disney is making good use out of their 2009 acquisition of Marvel for $4 billion, as they have announced the release of "Iron Man 3" and "Thor 2" next year, Iger said, with a sequel to "Captain America: The First Avenger" due out in 2014, according to the Los Angeles Times.

But while all of those movies are sure to score big for Marvel-Disney, the super movie making company will have to work out some pretty problematic logistics in order to make all pieces fit together.

I've uploaded four great new stills of Tony Stark with Pepper Potts from The Avengers. Enjoy!

Hollywood's latest adaptation from the world of comics, The Avengers, has smashed the box office record for the biggest US opening weekend by a margin befitting a film trading heavily on cacophonous superhero-style walloping.

The $200.3m (£124m) debut is by far the biggest American opening to date, shooting past the $169.2m record for the debut of last year's Harry Potter finale. A $200m take from all new movies is considered a great weekend for the business as a whole, so The Avengers has effectively redefined the standards for a blockbuster debut.

"If The Avengers is any indication, we're going to see a leap rather than a gentle little nudge into new territory, and the lineup is there to justify it going forward," said Greg Foster, chairman and president of the Imax cinema chain.

The film – renamed Avengers Assemble for the UK and Irish market, to avoid confusion with the vintage TV series – opened in 39 countries, excluding the US, last week. Crowds in the US were so anxious to see the film on giant Imax screens that Foster said the company had only one problem: it ran out of seats to sell.

The record weekend was the culmination of years of careful planning by Marvel Studios, which has included teasers for an Avengers dream team collaboration in its solo superhero adventures.

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