Ever since Bryan Singer gave his first major interview about Fox’s prequel to its X-Men movie franchise, X-Men: First Class, fans have been clamoring for more information about the project. Singer was initially going to direct First Class, but he had to back out due to other commitments, which opened the door for Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass) to take the helm. Still involved as a co-producer, Singer subsequently revealed that the plot would revolve around the early relationship between Prof. Charles Xavier, aka Prof. X (to be played by James McAvoy), and Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto (Michael Fassbender), but that still left many questions. Now, Singer has provided several major details about First Class, including the time period the movie will be set in, if the young mutants will wear costumes, and what villain Kevin Bacon will be portraying.

According to AICN, Singer revealed during a recent phone conversation that First Class will not follow the comic book origin of the X-Men, but it will be set during the time period when the comic book was originally published.

The film takes place in the 1960′s…. There is a spirit of a hopeful future that was prevalent in that time. We will see how Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr met—and how they dreamt of a future with Mutant & Human kind. They’re going to be in their late twenties. Xavier—as played by James McAvoy will not be in his wheelchair to begin the film — but we will see how he wound up in a wheelchair…. We’ll see McAvoy and Fassbender’s Magneto formulate what it is they are attempting by creating the X-Men.

Singer also revealed that, unlike the Matrix-inspired black leather costumes the X-Men wore in the original movie trilogy, the costumes in First Class will be “far more comic bookish” in design, with some costumes revealed “in about a month, if not sooner.” Singer also said that the technology used by the X-Men will be “inspired by James Bond’s tech of the time.”

What is sure to be disappointing to many fans of the comic books and of the original movie trilogy is the fact that Scott Summers, aka Cyclops, and Jean Grey, aka Marvel Girl, two of the original five founding members of the X-Men, will not be appearing in the movie. However, Singer revealed for the first time that Kevin Bacon will be playing Sebastian Shaw, the Black King of the secret society known as the Hellfire Club.

Although screenwriter Jane Goldman recently said that principal photography on First Class was “about three weeks” away, which would have put the start date in the first week of September, Singer apparently told AICN that the start date would be August 31st. The initial setting will be Oxford University, but the production will shoot in both England and the United States, with other locales represented, including Russia, for a more “international flavor” in keeping with the “James Bond vibe” that Vaughn is going for.

Next Showing: X-Men: First Class opens June 3, 2011

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More than 50 British actors including James McAvoy, Emily Blunt and Bill Nighy have teamed up to fight a decision to shut down the UK Film Council (UKFC).

The UKFC, which was established to develop and promote British cinema, has fallen victim to massive spending cuts as the country’s new government attempts to curb spiralling debt.

But the stars credit the organisation with their career successes – and claim axing the council will destroy the “backbone” of Britain’s film industry.

A joint letter from the stars to Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reads: “We all owe any success we have had in our acting careers, to varying degrees, to films supported by the UK Film Council.

“But it is not out of personal gratitude that we are dismayed that the UKFC is facing the axe; it is because we fear the impact on the British film industry as a whole.

“It is our camera crews, lighting experts, set builders and a whole host of other skilled people who give our film industry such an edge.

“Their expertise and experience, which the UKFC has done so much to foster, is the main reason why so many top Hollywood directors choose to make films here in Britain.

“We should think long and hard about getting rid of one of the major factors behind a great British success story.”

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Congratulations to James for being placed at #27 in Empire’s annual 100 Sexiest Movie Stars list!

What is it about this diminutive Scot? Even as a bloody Narnian fawn, he managed to exude charisma, magnestism and, dare we say it, a big dollop of sex appeal. So when he used that twinkly eye to devastating effect in the heartbreaking Atonement, that was it.

Sexiest Moment
Rough but oh-so tender sex in the library with Keira Knightley. Atonement raises the bar on movie eroticism.

Did You Know…?
Before he went into acting, McAvoy wanted to join the Navy.

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Robert Redford’s Lincoln assassination tale “The Conspirator” will premiere at September’s Toronto International Film Festival.

A showcase for potential Academy Awards contenders, the Toronto festival announced many of the titles Tuesday that will have their world premieres at the event Sept. 9-19.

Director Redford’s “The Conspirator” stars James McAvoy, Robin Wright Penn, Kevin Kline and Evan Rachel Wood in a tale of a union war hero defending a woman accused of aiding her son in Lincoln’s assassination.

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In a story from Production Weekly, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, James McAvoy, Ian McKellen and Natalie Portman have all been offered roles in Cloud Atlas.

The film is being directed by Tom Tykwer (The International). He is presently writing the screenplay. It is based on the book by David Mitchell. The plan is for the film to go into production next spring.

Cloud Atlas intertwines history, science, suspense, humor and pathos through six separate but loosely related narratives. Each of theses narratives takes place in a different time and place, each is written in a very different prose style, and each is broken off mid-action and brought to conclusion in the second half of the book.

There isn’t any word yet on which actor will tackle what role but as usual, when we know we will be sure to post that information.

Cloud Atlas is in development . The film is directed by Tom Tykwer.

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