LEONARDO DICAPRIO (pix) is to star in a Viking era drama directed by Oscar winner Mel Gibson, Variety reported.

Filming on the yet-to-be-titled movie will start in the second half of next year. The sript is being penned by william Monahan.

"This will be an awe-inspiring story, created with some of the industry’s finest cinematic talent and I’m just over the moon to be making this film with Mel and Leo," said producer Graham King.

It is the first time that DiCaprio and Gibson have worked together on a film.

DiCaprio has just completed the Christopher Nolan-directed Inception, and will next be seen in the Martin Scorsese-directed Shutter Island, which hits screens in February. Gibson just completed the Jodie Foster-directed The Beaver.

JOHNNY DEPP (pix) is to star as Pancho Villa in a new Emir Kusturica biopic about Mexico’s 19th-century bandit-turned-revolutionary.

Playing opposite Mexico’s Salma Hayek, the 46-year-old Depp will play General Villa, El Pais newspaper quoted the Serbian director as saying.

Shooting on the film is to begin early next year, split between Mexico and the Granada region of southern Spain, said Kusturica.

Based on a book about the Mexican hero by American writer James Carlos Blake, the Depp film will tell his story "through the eyes of his friends and the woman he loved", Kusturica said. – dpa

Gurinder Chadha (pix), the Indian director behind the hit Bend It Like Beckham, is one of a trio of Indian-origin women directors wowing the world with their unique style.

But unlike Deepa Mehta or Mira Nair, Chadha makes films with a distinctly earthy feel. Whether it was Beckham or Bhaji on the Beach, the London-based director has explored themes of migration and cultural identity with a healthy dose of humour.

Film box offices were poised to eclipse 2007’s record US$9.68 billion in US and Canadian ticket sales with Hollywood eyeing more than US$10 billion this year as audiences flocked to theatres during the recession. Box offices this month are counting on help from films such as Avatar, Sherlock Holmes and It’s Complicated. – Reuters