via blog.zap2it.com

Last spring, "Smallville" hero Tom Welling filled Zap2it in on his hopes for the series' 10th and final season at the CW's Upfront presentation. When we asked about his hopes for the imminent finale, Welling said quickly, "Clark and Lex. Maybe a Lana/Clark/Lois triangle again, who knows. I want to see a lot of the people that the fans know from the show come back to see those relationships."

At least half of Welling's dream could still come true.

TVLine's Michael Ausiello dishes that "Smallville" producers are still holding out hope to get Michael Rosenbaum back as Lex for the final episodes. Also still on board? Welling. When we caught up with him again at the show's 200th episode party, he remained dedicated to his cause. "I don't know how you end this show without Lex Luthor," he said.

Come on, Rosenbaum. How can you say no to a face like Welling's? Didn't you read our letter?

We do have some not-so-great news to report as well. (Well, depending on which side of the Lana Lang line you stand on.) Ausiello writes that Kristin Kreuk "will definitely not be back."

Looks like the return of the love triangle is a no-go. Though Welling may be disappointed by this, we have to say that we're not. We miss Kreuk on the show, but we're hoping to see Clark and Lois find more stability now that he's popped the question. Nobody wants to see a couple destined to be together breaking up over third-party drama… especially not this close to the final episode.

What do you think, Zap2it readers? Do you think there's hope for a Lex Luthor moment yet? Will you miss Lana as the series winds to a close? Are there any other recurring characters or former regulars you'd like to revisit before the epic finale?

via www.supermansupersite.com

Smallville actress Erica Durance spoke recently to E! Online and stated that, if the opportunity arrose, she is uncertain about taking on any role in upcoming Zack Snyder Superman film.

"I have thought about that, and the… Lois Lane experience that I'm in love with includes all of the people that I work with," she said. "[But] I'm open to everything and I don't know anything [definite]."

Durance went on to say that if the cast of Smallville were involved, she would consider a new Superman related project.

"Get everybody in the same place and then we'll see," she laughed. "It's one of those things where you get [attached]. You kind of have a thing for your own Superman. You don't want to trade him in!"

New episodes of the final season of Smallville return Friday, January 28th at 8PM EST on the CW.

via splashpage.mtv.com

If you're expecting DC Entertainment to follow Marvel Studios' example by combining all of their superheroes into one shared universe, well, don't hold your breath.

"The Dark Knight Rises" and "Superman" producer Charles Roven spoke with Shock Till You Drop and revealed that there are currently no plans to put Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder's comic book adaptations on a collision course with one another.

"That may be in somebody's mind but right now the Batman lives in his world and the Superman lives in his world," said Roven. "Those stories are those stories and we haven't thought beyond each individual picture."

On a related note, Roven acknowledged that Nolan is approaching "The Dark Knight Rises" as the third act in his Batman trilogy: "I think that Chris Nolan has said that he wanted to make a trilogy and this is a trilogy. As far as we all know, this is it. This is the trilogy. 'The Dark Knight Rises' is the third part of what Chris created with 'Batman Begins' and we're not looking past that. I've said this about Chris before: I've never known Chris to do anything but focus on the movie he's making. He gets completely immersed in the movie he's doing and I know that all he's thinking about right now when it comes to Batman, 'The Dark Knight Rises,' is making it the best movie he can. He's not thinking, 'Will there be another one?' And he's already said, in his mind, it's a trilogy. So I think he's just focusing on making this the best he possibly can and that's it."

Nolan's also focused on helping Snyder through his adaptation of "Superman," as Roven explained: "It's a huge workload, but there's a way we've been talking about how to make it work. Hopefully, there will be a little bit of time in-between the start of production on both of them. Right now 'Dark Knight Rises' is coming out in the summer of 2012 and 'Superman' is coming out in the winter of 2012. So hopefully — and we're just at the beginning phases of both of them. We haven't even entered official pre-production on either one of them — there will be a little bit of room. They're both going to be long shoots. I'm sure there's going to be some overlap, but hopefully there'll be as little overlap as possible."

As for rumors that "Superman" might rely on a CGI version of the character, Roven played coy.

"You know, one of the things that you probably know about me and us working on this movie is that the rumors are the rumors and when we have something to say, we'll say it. Until we do, there's nothing to say."

Tell us what you think of the news in the comments section and on Twitter!

via splashpage.mtv.com

We still don't know who Superman will be in Zack Snyder's upcoming reboot, but we know a few things about the movie. Jon Hamm won't be the Man of Steel, nor will anyone around the same age or older. Snyder's Supes won't share a universe with Christopher Nolan's Batman, though the Dark Knight Rises" helmer is producing the reboot.

Today's update has nothing to do with the people involved and everything to do with a location. Vancouver has long been known as one of the shooting locations for Snyder's reboot. That's where production will kick off this summer. Now there's word that at least some of the blockbuster's shoot will edge into Alberta as well.

Nothing is confirmed, but Canadian Culture Minister Lindsay Blackett confirmed to the Calgary Herald on Wednesday: "There might be one that is a $200 million[-budgeted production], but it's probably more like a $35-million Alberta spend. The details are fairly intricate right now. That's a big-budget movie for us. The success of 'Inception' and all the good comments made by the crew and actors and director go a long way. That is a movie that made a lot of money."

Nolan's recently-Oscar-nominated 2010 sci-fi flick shot in Alberta as well, at the Fortress Mountain Ski Resort. If you've seen the film then you can probably guess which bits were shot there: think snow, think giant cement castle-thing, think Tom Hardy blowing up everyone with any explosive he can get his hands on.

Assuming Snyder is looking at similar locations in the Canadian province, this could be where he builds Superman's Arctic home, the Fortress of Solitude. Or it could just be a handful of scenes in Edmonton, serving as a Metropolis stand-in. If Blackett is referring to Superman at all, of course. He notes that an announcement is expected "in the next 60 days," so we'll be hearing more soon.

Let us know what you think of this news in the comment section or on Twitter!

via www.digitalspy.com

Smallville star Erica Durance has revealed her hopes for the upcoming series finale.

The actress told Collider that she is still unsure how the CW drama will wrap up its ten-year run.

"I have no idea what's in the finale," she admitted. "I've thought about this a lot, but [the writers] surprise me, all the time."

Durance added that she has a "wish list" of elements that she would like to see included in the final few episodes.

"I would love to see Lois fly," she said. "Not [by] herself, but with Clark. I would love to see her get married to Clark. I'd love to see her really find herself and… settle down."

She also confessed that she is not looking forward to giving up her role as feisty journalist Lois Lane.

"I look forward to change, but there is a part of me that absolutely dreads it," she explained. "I don't have the exact dates [for filming the finale] but it's probably in the next month or so. We're done [shooting] on March 22."

Smallville returns to The CW on February 4.

With Lois and Clark's wedding day approaching, the Smallville gang, including Chloe (Allison Mack), heads to Metropolis' version of Las Vegas on the February 25 episode for a wild bachelor/bachelorette party weekend that becomes one big, er, Blur!

"It's our fun Hangover episode," says executive producer Brian Peterson. "Clark won't remember what happened the night before." With Supes impervious to the effects of alcohol, it's a spiked bottle of champagne sent by Zatanna that sparks the insanity. "You see the wild side of everybody," adds exec producer Kelly Souders, who hints at a big OMG moment involving Tess and Dr. Emil.

"We all wake up in different places in bizarre situations involving weird outfits and animals," saysErica Durance (Lois). "I wake up out on the train tracks with Oliver and realize I can't find my engagement ring." When they trace the ring back to a casino, Lois and Oliver encounter casino owner Amos Fortune — a supervillain DC Comics first introduced in 1961.

Erica hopes Lois' next outfit will be more traditional. "It is my wish to wear a wedding dress," she says. "I think that would be a fantastic way to end the series." But what's the likelihood of Clark and Lois making it down the aisle? Heading toward the big day "brings out real issues between them," says Souders. "Let's face it, it's not easy to be married to Superman!" I'm also hearing the finale may be a two-hour send-off — with one last visit from Supergirl!

Callum Blue is returning to Smallville, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.

Blue, 33, will reprise his role as Zod, Clark's sworn enemy who tried to take over the world in Season 9. He was last seen being sucked into a one-sided portal that leads to New Krypton.

He'll appear in one of the final five episodes of the series.

Blue is best known for his roles on The Tudors and Dead Like Me.

It appears Supergirl has some unfinished business in Smallville.

Current V alien Laura Vandervoort will reprise her role as Kara Zor-El (a.k.a. Supergirl) in one of Smallville‘s final five episodes, a show rep confirms to TVLine exclusively.

This marks Vandervoort’s second Smallvilleguest stint this season. (Both V andSmallville are produced by Warner Bros., which instantly eliminates a ton of red tape.)

Last week TVGuide.com scooped that Calum Blue (Zod) will also be returning for one of show’s final five episodes.

There’s still no word whether a certain other Smallville alum (cough Michael Rosenbaum cough) will be back. But one thing I know for sure: The clock is ticking. (Dude, just do it. Seriously.)

via www.torontosun.com

PARK CITY, Utah — Before he could fly, Clark Kent only leapt tall buildings in a single bound.

Likewise "little by little, piece by piece" Kristin Kreuk is putting distance between herself and Lana Lang, the girl next door she played for seven seasons on the Superman prequel, Smallville.

"All these little things add up at some point," she says. "And I love doing the smaller roles because they're usually interesting, and I'm not on set every day."

The smaller role in question is her extended cameo in the Canadian co-production Vampire, a weird, atmospheric variation on the familiar blood-thirsty tropes. Vampire is in this year's world cinema dramatic competition at Sundance.

"I don't imagine this will be a huge movie. It's very uncomfortable to watch," Kreuk says. "I only had a day, and it was an interesting director and it was at home and I got to do something I don't get to do very often."

Being home, it turns out, is especially important for the 28-year-old, who has so far avoided moving from Vancouver to Los Angeles.

"I love it (in Vancouver). LA's hard for me. I think I was 18 when I first went to LA when I was testing for Smallville, and I was like, 'I hate it here.' And now I don't. I like it. But I don't love it enough to want to live there. But I think it's probably valuable for me to start spending more time there."

Still, Kreuk, who left Smallville after her contract expired, clearly has a defiant streak. When I call her a rebel, she smiles. "I am, a little bit. I don't seem like a rebel, but I am."

Befitting that, her next role is in Ecstasy, based on the novel by Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting). "Ecstasy will be more mainstream (than Vampire), but it still deals with drugs and drug use and drug smuggling. It's Irvine. He's brilliant and I love the guy, but he's had a crazy life."

CLASH OF THE MUPPETS:

Red carpet, so why not a red monster?

Elmo, joined by his puppeteer Kevin Clash, showed up a long way from Sesame Street for the Sundance premiere of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey.

Directed by Constance Marks, the documentary explores not only Clash's life, but the history of Jim Henson's iconic creations and their enduring power to delight children. As well as, frankly, adults.

Clash explains he agreed to be the subject of the film to reveal "the art under the camera … A lot of times I get a title 'the voice of Elmo' and I'm not a voiceover person, I'm a performer and working with Jim, he looked at the voice as being secondary.

"We started with creating a character and then from out of that, the voice comes."

What Being Elmo also underscores is the critical role Clash's parents had in nurturing his interest in puppetry from an early age.

"They encouraged their kids. Because they were very creative and imaginative themselves so they could connect with it. I had some friends parents who said, 'Puppetry? How you're going to make money or support anybody with that?' Other parents saw it as a hobby, not a career."

Times, though, have changed since Clash was a child, growing up watching Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch and Ernie and Bert. "You can major in (puppetry) in different colleges now. And that's not just now, it's been that way for awhile."

And although he's a fan of computer animation — citing Pixar's The Incredibles as a favourite — the man behind Elmo also wanted "to show the audience the difference. To go out amongst a crowd of kids, holding a character they love, and get that immediacy of love, you can't do that with (animation)."

INDIE SALES ARE UP:

Being Elmo isn't all that's putting smiles on faces at Sundance 2011.

So is the fact that after two sluggish years, the independent film market appears to be rebounding. Movies are again finding distributors, and the consensus is that this year's line-up is strong. Never mind all the Oscar nominations for 2010 Sundance entries (including The Kids Are All Right and Winter's Bone).

Among the movies that have found a home in the past week: Margin Call, I Melt With You, The Devil's Double, Like Crazy and My Idiot Brother.

CANADIAN SHORT DAM IMPRESSIVE:

They came for the hobo, but got a campfire story. Festival-goers who attended the premiere of Hobo with a Shotgun first saw The Legend of Beaver Dam from Montreal's Jerome Sable.

The 12-minute short is a horror musical about a nerd trying to defeat the creature of a campfire ghost story.

Sundance jurors recognized it with an honourable mention in the International Short Filmmaking competition.

kevin.williamson@sunmedia.ca