DESPITE rampant speculation of his casting, Twilight star Robert Pattinson has dismissed rumors that he's set to appear in The Hunger Games sequel.

The infamously sparkling vampire found himself the subject of unlikely internet chatter that the role of Finnick in the upcoming adaptation of Catching Fire - part two of Suzanne Collins' bestselling book trilogy turned film series - had his name attached to it.

WHILE Marvel's careful world-building has paid off at the box office with its current culmination in the record-breaking Avengers, the page-to-screen journey of DC characters via Warner Bros has been far more haphazard.

Aside from Nolan's Batman saga, Green Lantern didn't glow; Wonder Woman went from Paradise Island to development hell (executives catastrophically failed to support Joss Whedon's efforts to write and direct an adaptation); The Flash isn't running anywhere; and a Justice League film was disbanded.

So what is Warner Bros offering instead? Journey 2: The Mysterious Island filmmaker Brad Peyton is to write and direct an adaptation of superhuman bounty hunter Lobo, who was created as an indictment of antiheroes like Wolverine and Punisher but instead caught on as a cult favourite.

He has no household recognition, of course, but a recent rumor seems to give the concept a bit more clout by suggesting Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - who worked with Peyton on Journey 2 - is up for the title role.

FOR those of you who haven't yet had chance to see The Avengers - or Marvel Avengers Assemble as it's known in the UK - we are about to enter the world of spoilers so here's your one and only warning.

If you are among the masses who have watched the film - and propelled it to record-breaking heights at the box office - you will be aware that there is a teaser scene amid the credits that gives us the first onscreen look at the cosmic baddie Thanos.

We see The Other, leader of alien race the Chitauri (who Loki recruits as his otherworldly army), telling his shadowy master that attacking Earth "would be to court death". The master then turns and gives an evil smile.

FORGET the billion dollars globally in 20 days, forget the hype and endless streams of internet chatter, here's my top five reasons you need to see The Avengers - or in most cases see it again.

Quite possibly the most talked about movie - long before it was even officially confirmed for production - The Avengers has had an unprecedented amount of attention across all forms of media coverage. But now that it's at your local cinema, does it live up to the lofty expectations?

I say yes. Here's why.

NOT only is The Avengers destroying box office records around the world, the film itself is playing the role of superhero and giving a much-needed resurgence to fellow Disney flick and Hollywood flop John Carter.

The pairing of the superhero blockbuster with the adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic tale at US drive-in theaters was enough to push John Carter up 20 spots to No 12 on the US charts.

While that boost is good news for Disney who produced John Carter for around $300 million - not including the marketing dollars - the added revenue of $1.5 million still falls way short of the film's budget, let alone the break-even point where the studio would see a return on their investment.

WITH The Avengers' earth-shattering performance at the box office, Marvel Studios has proven that superheroes can rule the day and that saving the planet is always in safer hands when you bring along friends.

This success has simply fueled the fanboy outcry for Disney - which acquired Marvel for $4billion in 2009 - to buy back the rights to all of its exiled characters. For those hoping to see Wolverine or Spidey make an appearance in the next monstrous team-up, don't hold your breath.

Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures currently posses the feature film rights to several Marvel properties, thus preventing a total amalgamation of the Marvel Universe.

NBC's hit show Grimm offers an updated look at the fairy tale genre, letting viewers behind the curtain revealing just how scary what you don't see really is.

Getting onto that hit show can also be scary. Actors face countless perils as they navigate their profession trying to stake a claim in a medium overflowing with would-be talent.

Series actor Russell Hornsby - who has braved such perils - has already taken us on a tour of his experience as Detective Hank Griffin, the impact of coming up as a theatre rat and the resurgence of fairy tales in entertainment.

Now he'll take us a little deeper into the rabbit hole as fans get a rare and refreshingly honest perspective of acting, media and the arts in the conclusion of our recent conversation.

While some of the language may be adult, the sentiment is universal.

PART procedural cop drama, part fairy tale fantasy, NBC's thriller series Grimm offers an ensemble cast that serves up fun and engaging performances while coloring each story with a supernatural twist torn right from your favorite childhood fables.

Centering on the law enforcement tandem of Nick Burkhardt and Hank Griffin - portrayed by actors David Giuntoli and Russell Hornsby respectively - Grimm asks the question: What if fairy tales were real?

Giuntoli plays a descendent in the long line of hunters who control the mythical creature population, the Grimms. After discovering his affinity for the storybook beasts, Nick begins the crusade of corralling these legendary larcenists.

What separates Grimm from other fantastical programs is its backdrop being firmly set in our reality. Actor Russell Hornsby (pictured right) offers the anchor viewers need as they're asked to suspend their beliefs enough to invest in cops chasing fairy tales.

A self-proclaimed theater rat, Hornsby has taken the more traditional - and currently less traveled - route to his success cutting his teeth on stage. While the phrase "Paying his dues" is about as cliché as it gets when referring to an actor's journey, Russell is its embodiment as he progressed from backroom performances to the bright lights of New York's famed theater district, Broadway.

Hornsby's run the gambit with TV, film and even video game voice work on his resume, with Grimm just his latest success. He took the time recently to talk with me about his hit show, life and acting with an honesty and passion that's rare and underappreciated in today's entertainment landscape.

Here's the first part of our in-depth conversation.

BIG-SCREEN Tolkien authority Peter Jackson has rebuffed criticism of The Hobbit's new 10-minute preview, which was screened at CinemaCon.

As the filmmaker attempts to push technology forward in his latest fantasy epic, attendees at the Las Vegas annual convention for theater owners gave some negative feedback to the director's choice to double the standard filming rate of 24 frames per second.

Also mentioned are the costs that would be needed to upgrade projectors and equipment in many theaters so that they will be able to show the 48 frames per second version.

DESPITE more than a month left before its US and UK release, Snow White and the Huntsman already has rumblings of a sequel.

Deadline is reporting that David Koepp - the pen behind blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Mission: Impossible and War of the Worlds - is in negotiations with Universal to script a follow-up to the fairy tale reworking.

Speculated reasons for the fast-track treatment to franchise a yet-to-be released film suggest the studio is keen to keep director Rupert Sanders onboard.

If true, this serves as high praise for the fledgling director whose credits primarily include short films and advertising work. Were this partnership to occur, it would be the third story by Koepp to feature Huntsman star Kristen Stewart, who appeared in two of his previous works: Panic Room and Zathura.

As to whether Stewart would be appearing or even interested in the continuation of her leading role, she had said to MTV: "To be totally candid and honest with you, when I first signed on to this thing, the idea of doing another franchise was like, 'Wow, [we'll] cross that bridge when it comes.' It was something so far outside my realm of thinking.

"I was so focused on the first one and I thought, 'Maybe, maybe,' but I've got stars in my eyes. I'm literally over the moon about what I'm doing right now," she says of her time on Snow White and the Huntsman, concluding: "Yes, I would love to [do more Snow White films]."

Fellow stars Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron will join Kristen on June 1 as Huntsman looks to topple its predecessor, Tarsem Singh's very different Snow White film Mirror Mirror, as the fairest of them all.