The Daily Dish - April 16

-- Megan Fox heads south of the border. Screen Gems announced today that the knock-out actress will take on the lead in the new Mexican-border thriller, The Crossing. The film, written by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi, follows Fox’s character as she smuggles heroin across the heavily armed US-Mexico border in an attempt to free her husband who has been kidnapped by a vicious drug cartel. SG president Clint Culpepper noted that the role “requires a vulnerability to make you care about her but a kind of strength to make you believe she can pull off the things she needs to. And Megan has both a vulnerability about her and an unbelievable strength.” Filming is scheduled to start this July. If you can’t wait until next year to see Fox at a theatre near you then you’re in luck! She’ll be onscreen this summer in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and stars in Jennifer’s Body, Diablo Cody’s follow up to Juno.

-- Will Ferrell goes wild! The prolific funnyman is set to appear with adventurer Bear Grylls in an episode of his popular Discovery Channel program "Man vs. Wild." The unlikely duo spent two days in the mountains and glaciers of Sweden, rappelling down frozen waterfalls, scavenging for food (including reindeer eyeballs!) and making snowshoes out of trees. Both men had nothing but positive things to say about the experience with Ferrell calling it the “thrill of a lifetime” and Grylls going on to voice his approval of Ferrell’s ability to survive in the unforgiving conditions they faced. If you want to catch these two daredevils at play the episode airs in early June alongside the release of Farrell’s new film Land of the Lost on June 5.

-- Slumdog gives back. The filmmakers behind one of the biggest smash hits of the past year, Slumdog Millionaire, have stepped up and put their money where their collective mouths are by donating $747,500 to Plan, a charity devoted to improving the lives of street children in Mumbai. Director Danny Boyle released a statement Thursday expanding on the reasons behind the big give: “Having benefited so much from the hospitality of the people of Mumbai it is only right that some of the success of the movie be plowed back into the city in areas where it is needed most and where it can make a real difference to some lives.” The film, which took home eight Oscars including Best Picture, deals with a young man from the slums of the city and went on to gross over $200 million worldwide.

-- Cannes brings out the big guns. The annual two-week film festival on the French Riviera is set to play host to some of the top international filmmakers when it kicks off May 13. The heavy-hitters, including Ang Lee, Jane Campion, Quentin Tarantino, Ken Loach, Pedro Almodovar, and Lars von Trier, will be going head to head in competition for the prized Palme d'Or. In addition to the bold-name talent, Cannes is bringing in big name films too! Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Lee’s Taking Woodstock, Sam Raimi’s Drag Me to Hell, and Disney/Pixar’s Up are all set to make an appearance while the final list of official festival selections won’t be released until April 23. According to Variety, rumour has it that Terry Gilliam’s highly anticipated The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is set to make its world premiere at Cannes, showcasing Heath Ledger’s final film role (which was eventually shared with Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell). Here’s hoping if the film isn’t ready in time for Cannes that it might make an appearance at TIFF!