Scarlett Johansson has been offered the lead role in the live-action adaptation of Masamune Shirow's classic sci-fi manga series Ghost in the Shell. The project has been long in the making but now seems to have gathered steam with the arrival of director Rupert Sanders and, if the casting of Johansson is confirmed, production could begin as early as next year.

The iconic manga series, published between 1989 and 1991, follows the adventures of Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg and member of the counter-cyberterrorist organization Public Security Section 9, who is on the trail of a cyber-criminal known as The Puppeteer. Set in 2029, the manga series features humans whose brains have been enhanced by the addition of cybernetic parts. Motoko herself is sporting a full-body prosthesis and a 'cyberbrain'. But, just as our computers nowadays, they became vulnerable to hackers, who can alter their memory or take over their senses. The Puppeteer is considered responsible for implanting false memories into the cyberbrains of unsuspecting individuals.

The manga series has been successfully adapted by filmmaker Mamoru Oshii, who released Ghost in the Shell in 1995 and Ghost in the Shell 2 in 2004. Similarly, the manga novels have inspired video games and at least one animated series. This live-action adaptation, however, will mark a return to Shirow's popular manga novels.

Playing out-of-this-world characters seems to have become somewhat of a specialty for Scarlett Johansson. Her most recent films have seen the actress portray a sentient OS in Spike Jonze's Her (2013), a man-eating alien in Jonathan Glazer's thought-provoking, visually impressive experiment Under the Skin (2013) and a superhuman in Luc Besson's Lucy (2014). So, those familiar with Scarlett Johansson's latest projects will surely find that the role of a cyborg fits her like a glove.

This would-be sci-fi blockbuster is due to be a thriller filmed in 3D under the direction of British filmmaker Rupert Sanders, man behind Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). This is the first time Shirow's seminal manga will be given a Made in Hollywood remake.

As often happens in Tinseltown, the makers of Ghost in the Shell initially had someone else in mind for the role of Motoko Kusanagi. Margot Robbie, who recently signed up for a role in DC's superhero feature Suicide Squad had been attached to the project since September but pulled out, leaving the role up for grabs. It was reported that DreamWorks offered Johansson $10m for the role and the chance to become a common fixture on the Comic-Con circuit.

Source: TV Muse

On 19th November Universal will release the first season by Ray Donovan on both DVD and Blu-ray.

Creator: Ann Biderman

Stars: Liev Schreiber, Paula Malcomson, Eddie Marsan

Ray Donovan, a professional "fixer" for the rich and famous in LA, can make anyone's problems disappear except those created by his own family

Official "Blood-Diamond"-Video, taken from the 2014 album "BLOOD".

Filmed by The Silent View.

Cut and editing by Peter Spilles.

After the great success of the desert hit A Fistful Of Desert Blues, Lydia Lunch & Cypress Grove meet the nihilist folk of Spiritual Front.

Twin Horses is the encounter between two intense musical souls. Miss Lunch’s melancholic Acoustic Blues meets Simone Salvatori’s Sensual and Cathartic Folk.

Lydia Lunch’s voice has never been so touching and moving; on the other side there is an inspired Spiritual Front that does not settle but goes beyond the soul of “suicide pop” to give us it’s new acoustic soul. On Twin Horses, besides unedited pieces, Lydia and Cypress interpret the Eagles’ song “Hotel California” in a desert blues style and Simone plays his version of W.A.S.P.’s “Love Machine” in folk style.

A fundamental album for two wonderful thoroughbreads.

TRACKLISTING:

LYDIA LUNCH & CYPRESS GROVE

1. Death Is Hanging Over Me

2. Unholy Ghosts

3. Rising Moon

4. Put You Down

5. Hotel California (Eagles Cover)

SPIRITUAL FRONT

6. Buried friend

7. My love won’t fade

8. L.o.v.e Machine (WASP Cover)

9. Dear Lucifer

10. Fado

Arrow Films’ Noir label continues to scour the globe bringing UK viewers the very best in foreign language film and television. Following the incredible success of Danish dramas The Killing, Borgen and The Bridge, and French title Braquo, Nordic Noir are pleased to announce the arrival of a host of new Italian shows to their roster of Noir titles.

Such is the strength of Italian crime television that Arrow Films have launched Criminale Italia, an exciting new subsidiary of their Noir label. Alongside the upcoming and acclaimed modern-day Italian gangster epic Gomorrah, the label will release the hugely popular Italian shows Inspector Nardone and Fog & Crimes on DVD from 27th October.

Inspector Nardone synopsis

Post-war Milan is the ideal breeding ground for a new wave of criminal activity. A crime-scene that is very different from what we are used to today: an old-fashioned system of organized crime, made up of thieves and outlaws who share a specific moral code, which absolutely condemns homicide. A new chief officer is assigned to the Milan Police Department, as if to settle a score for having exposed his corrupt colleagues. This is just one of the various difficulties that Mario Nardone, an authentic Neapolitan, must face in the sophisticated and urbane Milan. A city which, nevertheless, Nardone loves unconditionally, and where he plans to bring up his beloved, albeit somewhat neglected, children.

Based on a real figure, Mario Nardone was a true legend in Milan during the 50’s and 60’s. Straightforward, persistently stubborn but also endowed with a strong moral code and a great sense of humanity, Nardone has deep loves; including his long-suffering family, good cuisine and cracking jokes at every opportunity.

Fogs and Crimes synopsis

Inspired by the four famous novels by Valerio Varesi, each episode follows an investigation by Soneri, Ferrara Police Chief. He works with a faithful squad on a series of crimes, each hiding a disturbing mystery, with the startling and grotesque undertones of the apparently calm world of the wealthy countryside.