The Daily Dish: June 10

- Knightley, Farrell join London Boulevard William Monahan, best known for his award-winning screenplay for The Departed, is stacking the deck in a big way for his directorial debut. Variety reports that both Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley have signed on to star in the drama, joining existing talented Brits David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Ben Chaplin and Ray Winstone. The film will be based on the Ken Bruen novel of the same name, an adaptation completed by Monahan himself, and deals with the exploits of a newly-released London criminal who strikes up a relationship with a reclusive actress. No release date has been announced.

- Tim Burton becomes a MoMA exhibitionist! New York’s Museum of Modern Art has announced plans to host an exhibition of the director’s visually stunning work beginning November 22. Over 700 display pieces, which include never-before-seen paintings, drawings, storyboards, maquettes, and puppets from his childhood all the way to the present day, will be showcased for six months alongside all 14 of Burton’s big screen ventures. Sponsored by the SciFi Channel, MoMA will also run a retrospective of films that have inspired the inventive artist including James Whale's Frankenstein and Roger Corman's The Pit and the Pendulum. Burton shared that at first he thought the whole scenario was an elaborate joke but a rep for the museum insisted they were on the level. "There is no other living filmmaker possessing Tim Burton's level of accomplishment and reputation whose full body of work has been so well hidden from public view," assistant curator, Ron Maggliozi said. Burton admits to being both honoured and anxious as the opening date approaches, confessing; "[W]hen you make a film, you feel exposed in a way, and this feels even more exposing." Opening night jitters are to be expected, but judging from the loyalty of his fans and his industry admirers, he really has nothing to be worried about.

- Pre-School Pararazzi Crush Well, the paparazzi have done it again. And by done, I mean “crossed” and by “it” I mean “the line”. Apparently a number of the photographers have been staking out a Santa Monica pre-school in hopes of grabbing a shot of celebrities and their famous tots, leading to a slew of complaints to authorities from other parents at the nursery. The school counts Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s daughter Violet and Meg Ryan’s daughter Daisy among their charges. More than 30 complaints have been filed with the state claiming the constant crush of photogs presents a safety risk to the children and a nuisance to neighbourhood traffic. Local councilman Richard Bloom has insisted the daily intrusive incidents will be investigated and agrees that while Hollywood stars may be used to the invasion, the current state of affairs qualifies as an “intolerable situation.”

- SAG members accept studio deal. After months of back and forth and rumours of imminent strikes, officials of the Screens Actors Guild have voted to accept a new deal from Hollywood’s major studios. Members of the industry guild voted overwhelmingly in favour of the two-year contract which would cover payment for films and TV and would see their pay increase by 3 per cent. Noticeably absent from the final terms was any mention of internet appearance compensation – the main point of contention throughout the long and, at times, vitriolic negotiations. Although the deal itself was endorsed by power players George Clooney and Tom Hanks, Guild President Alan Rosenberg has come out in opposition to it, saying he finds the offered terms "devastatingly unsatisfactory”. So I guess we should look for the whole thing to blow up again come 2011…excellent.