Ladies and gents, brace yourselves….

The first promo for the Fifty Shades of Grey film has arrived with fans of the best-selling novel finally getting a glimpse of what to expect on the big-screen.

Based on the hugely-successful erotic book series by EL James, the film focuses on the sexual love affair between student Anastastia Steele and seductive businessman Christian Grey.

Irish actor Jamie Dornan (The Fall) plays Grey with newcomer Dakota Johnson (The Social Network, Need for Speed) tackling the female lead role.

Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson (Nowhere Boy), the film’s support cast includes musician Rita Ora as well as complex actresses like Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Prejudice, The King’s Speech) and Oscar-winner Marcia Gay Harden (Pollock, Mystic River).

The Fifity Shades series has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, and been translated into 52 different languages.

The Fifty Shades of Grey film will be released in cinemas on Valentine’s Day 2015.

Last year was rather packed British actor Benedict Cumberbatch as he produced sterling performances in well-received films like Star Trek into Darkness, The Fifth Estate and 12 Years a Slave.

But the Sherlock star is now looking to be taken more seriously as a leading star as he takes on the challenging role of real-life pioneer Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

The upcoming war-drama unveiled its official trailer earlier today.

Directed by Morten Tyldum (Fallen Angels, Headhunters), the film charts the life of Turing, a renowned mathematician/scientist who used code-breaking tactics to help defeat Germany during World War II.

However he was lambasted by his colleagues for his homosexuality which eventually led to tragic circumstances.

Making a welcoming comeback to lucrative projects, Keira Knightley (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement) co-stars as Turing’s close friend Joan Clarke with additional acting support coming from Matthew Goode (A Single Man, Stoker), Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Charles Dance (Last Action Hero, Game of Thrones).

With the Weinstein Company backing it for awards season, the film is set to open this year’s BFI Film Festival with a release date scheduled for November 14th.

Since landing Oscar glory with his award-winning thriller Argo in 2013, Ben Affleck has been keeping a low profile lately. Well that’s not quite true….especially when he’s recently landed the titular role of Batman in the upcoming blockbuster Batman vs Superman!

But while he continues to prep for that film, the previously-ridiculed actor/director is back to front-man status with another intriguing new feature from renowned director David Fincher (Se7en, The Social Network).

Adapted from Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel, the crime-thriller Gone Girl has unveiled an official trailer online.

Affleck (Pearl Harbor, The Town) portrays Nick Dunne, a man whose marriage is rocked when his wife Amy (played by An Education and Made in Dagenham star Rosaumund Pike) disappears on their fifth wedding anniversary.

The plot unravels from the viewpoint of both characters with Nick facing media ridicule over his possible involvement in the disappearance.

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, A Million Ways to Die in the West), Tyler Perry (Madea’s Family Reunion, Alex Cross) and Kim Dickens (Winter’s Bone, Breaking Bad) also feature in the chilling drama.

The film will be released in cinemas on October 3rd.

The last eighteen months has been very quiet for the majestic Jessica Chastain (The Help, Lawless) particularly since we saw her take down Osama Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty (2012). Thankfully Hollywood’s favourite red-head is set to front some fascinating-looking films that are due out in the next few months.

Amongst those is the romantic drama The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, an ambitious film that has the rare accomplishment of being released as a two-parter entitled Him and Her.

The first official trailer for the double feature premiered online earlier today.

Helmed by rookie director Ned Benson, the film sees Jessica play Eleanor, a woman who returns to college and ends up falling in love with fellow student Conor (played by the equally-talented James McAvoy (Filth, X-Men: Days of Future Past)). But between the two stories, the couple’s happiness ultimately leads to a devastating breakup. They must try to reclaim the love they once knew before it is too late.

Viola Davis (The Help, Prisoners), William Hurt (Kiss of the Spider Woman, Children of a Lesser God), Bill Hader (Superbad, Saturday Night Live), Ciaran Hinds (Munich, Game of Thrones) and Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher, Amour) are amongst the renowned names to feature in the support cast.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby will be released in cinemas on September 26th.

Lady Chastain’s other projects that are due out soon include the period drama Miss Julie, the crime thriller A Most Violent Year and Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Interstellar.

Back in 2009, Brad Pitt portrayed a Nazi-killing general in Quentin Tarantino’s war romp Inglorious Basterds, one of the few films from that genre to stand out in recent years.

Five years on, the Oscar-winning star of Se7en (1995), Moneyball (2011) and last year’s 12 Years a Slave (2013) is set to play another superior man in war as he stars in the upcoming WWII drama Fury.

Shot mostly in the UK, the film has premiered its official trailer online.

Directed by David Ayer (Harsh Times, End of Watch), the plot sees Pitt play an army sergeant who leads his five-man crew on a potential suicide mission as they go up against Nazi forces in 1945.

Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, Nymphomaniac), Michael Pena (Crash, American Hustle), Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief, The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter series, Awake) are amongst the stellar support cast.

The film will be released in the UK on October 24th.

1915-2014

“Having the critics praise you is like having the hangman say you’ve got a pretty neck.”

Eli Wallach, the veteran character actor who starred in some of the greatest film westerns, has died at the age of 98.

His death was confirmed earlier today by his daughter Katherine.

Born in Brooklyn, he initially served in the army before turning to theatre acting where he appeared in several renowned productions including The Rose Tattoo and The Diary of Anne Frank.

He eventually made it onto the big-screen and won praise for his performance in Baby Doll (1956) which helped land him the BAFTA for Most Promising Newcomer.

He would ultimately make a name of himself a few years later with his numerous roles of playing scoundrels in the Western genre.

The first of those was his turn as the Guido in The Misfits (1961) before following that up with his villainous role as Calvera in the classic flick The Magnificent Seven (1963).

However it was his portrayal of the cunning Tuco in Sergio Leone’s legendary western The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (1966) that won him many admirers. Below is one of his greatest moments from the film.

From then on, Wallach indulged himself in various roles with one of those being his two-episode appearance as Mr Freeze in the 1960s Batman TV series.

Between then and 1990, he mostly appeared in low budget films and television shows but ended up playing a significant role as veteran mafia boss Don Altobello in the concluding gangster sequel The Godfather Part III (1990).

He eventually acted into his 90s and made various appearances in the likes of Mystic River (2003), The Holiday (2006) and New York I Love You (2008) with his last screen role being the part of Julie Steinhardt in the Wall Street sequel Money Never Sleeps (2010).

Around that time, the Academy honoured him for his contribution to cinema by presenting him with an honourary Oscar in 2011.

Wallach is survived by his wife, actress Anne Jackson, to whom he was married for 66 years; three children and many grandchildren.