J.K. Rowling announced on Thursday (July 31) that “Tales of Beedle the Bard,” her brief fictional stories about wizarding within her longer, fictional stories about wizarding, would finally go on sale this Christmas. Here at MTV there was, of course, much rejoicing at this news.

It also got us thinking. Turns out a lot of us here are suckers for the kind of meta-fiction “Tales of Beedle the Bard” represents, what with it being a pretend work getting a real release. But why stop there? We came up with a list of the top five fictional books we’d like to really read next.

“Old Custer” by Eli Cash ( “The Royal Tenenbaums” )

Everyone knows Custer died at Little Bighorn. What this revolutionary book presupposes is … maybe he didn’t? Brilliant. And, besides, book openings don’t get better than this: “The crickets and the rust-beetles scuttled among the nettles of the sage thicket. ‘Vámonos, amigos,’ he whispered, and threw the busted leather flintcraw over the loose weave of the saddlecock. And they rode on in the friscalating dusklight.”

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” by multiple contributors
( “HGTTG” )

A wholly remarkable book that could help you make a Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster, find out the ultimate answer to life, the universe and everything, and even give you tips on scoring with Eccentrica Gallumbits, the “triple-breasted whore of Eroticon 6.” The publication of this book to soon be followed, we hope, by Oolon Colluphid’s blockbuster trilogy: “Where God Went Wrong,” “Some More of God’s Greatest Mistakes” and “Who is This God Person Anyway?”

“Now It Can Be Told and Other Works” by Kilgore Trout (various Kurt Vonnegut novels)

The greatest and most prolific science-fiction author of this century, Kilgore Trout had more good ideas in a day than most authors have in a lifetime. Pity he lived through most of his life unloved and unread. Someone out there needs to change that.

“A Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables” by Cosmo Kramer
( “Seinfeld” )
Not only a great book, it folds out to become its own coffee table.

“Hogwarts: A History” by unknown author and “A History of Magic” by Bathilda Bagshot ( “Harry Potter” )

Now that we’ve got “Tales of Beedle the Bard,” why stop there? If we’re ever going to get J.K. Rowling’s long-promised Harry Potter encyclopedia, chances are it’ll come in the form of one of these two fictional works. They can’t come soon enough.

Other works considered: “Necronomicon” (H.P. Lovecraft), “Handbook for the Recently Deceased” (”Beetlejuice”), “A Match Made in Space” (”Back to the Future”), “The Secret Goldfish” (”The Catcher in the Rye”), “Under the Hood” (”Watchmen”).

Agree with our choices? What fictional book would you like to actually be able to own next? Sound off on your thoughts below.

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Review in a Hurry: Eddie Murphy plays an Eddie Murphy-shaped spaceship named Dave, piloted by a team of tiny aliens led by a miniature, English-accented Eddie Murphy, who's still learning how to control...

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Review in a Hurry: Brendan Fraser takes a break from battling mummies to journey to...well, you know...where he battles a T-Rex, Venus flytraps and fanged fish—oh my! Inspired by the Jules Verne...

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All year long, “Twilight” fans have been preparing themselves for the December movie, as well as the three sequels that will inevitably follow. But could the series actually go five movies deep?

“I really think they’d have to do five movies,” Stephenie Meyers revealed exclusively to MTV News Thursday morning, sitting down with us on the eve of her “Breaking Dawn” release and mini-tour. “Because you can’t do ‘Breaking Dawn’ in one movie, you’d have to split it up.”

Don’t worry, Twilighters – all of our “BD” coverage will remain spoiler-free over the next few days so you can grab the book and read it at your own pace. But still, Meyer said that as you read the final book in the series, you should keep your eyes peeled for the spot where Stephenie wants to separate the “Twilight 4” and “Twilight 5” movies. “And I know right where you’d do it, too,” she laughed.

Sitting down with our own Kim Stolz in New York City, Meyer had plenty to say about the pressures of finishing off the series, the immense enthusiasm of Twilighters, and the scenes from the series that she’s most eager to see committed to film.

“There’s so many things that would be interesting to see,” she said of “Twilight” sequel movies. “One of my favorite scenes of the whole series is in the tent in ‘Eclipse,’ the fire-and-ice chapter. Oh, do I want to see that! There’s a lot of things, visually, that are so much cooler than you can do in a book.”

“Bella cliff-diving would be really fun to watch,” she grinned. “Poor Kristen, the things I make her do!”

Stay tuned, as we’ll be rolling out more from our interview with Stephenie in the next 24 hours, to help you pass the time until tomorrow night! But in the meantime, would you rather see the “Twilight” filmmakers take Stephenie’s advice and make 5 movies, or stick to the 1-1 book-film ratio like most franchises do?

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The horribly named sequel to Tron entitled TR2N was recently announced at Comic-Con. 

Thanks to Jim Hill Media, we now know the writing staff for the much anticipated Tron 2: the Lost writing team of Eddie Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.  Joseph Kosinksi will be directing.

Additional, according to JHM, the footage shown at Comic-Con wasn't actually a trailer but rather a proof of concept "[t]o voncince Disney executives that his vision for "TR2N" was commerciail viable."

Commericlally viable? Of course a Tron sequel will mint money!

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Universal Pictures recently released five TV spots for its upcoming Sci-Fi racing movie, Death Race starring Jason Statham.  Enjoy the following mini-trailers online thanks to YouTube:

Mini Trailer #1

Mini Trailer #2

 

For two more commericials, please follow the jump!

Mini Trailer #3

Mini Trailer #4

Mini Trailer #5

 

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Producer Lucas Foster of Mr & Mrs. Smith fame has bought the option for the rights to The Arms of the Sun, a novel by Roberto Zacco, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The novel is the first pat of a trilogy about the Egyptian pharohs and focuses particularly on Nefertiri, the first royal to believe in as single diety.

This deal will mark the first foreign deal for Foster's Warp Films, which most recently released Street Kings in April.

According to Foster, "This is a cool book about one of history's most intriguing women. It will be the basis for an epic romantic adventure film -- movies like this are why I became a filmmaker."

The film will be produced by Foster and Gallini-Durante and writers for the script are still being screened.  The current plan is to shoot the fil n Moroccco and Dubai for $30 million.

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By Ashley Zimmerman

As if Comic-Con weren’t enough, now the “Twilight” stars are stepping out in style on the red carpet.

“[In 'Twilight'] I play Angela Weber, who is a human,” 17-year-old Christian Serratos said at the recent premiere of “The American Mall,” an “HSM”-like romance-meets-commerce musical. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had to explain that I play a human in a film before! I’m a friend of Bella in the school in Forks, Washington. … It was epic; [the actors] are all well-loved, and for good reason.”

Serratos told us that, like all the rest of the Twilighters out there, she’s dying to know what happens in Stephenie Meyer’s fourth and final book, “Breaking Dawn,” when it comes out Friday night.

“I’ve put mine on hold at Barnes & Noble just like everybody else,” Serratos said. “I’m waiting for my copy. I can’t wait to read it!”

“My favorite parts? In ‘Twilight’ it was the meadow scene,” she remembered of the special moments Meyer has already given fans thus far. “In ‘New Moon,’ I’m really looking forward to seeing the cliff dive. I’m really anxious to see how they do that [in the movie version].”

Serratos also revealed that she’s finally chosen a side in the epic battle between Bella’s beaus. “I love Jacob, but if someone said I had to choose, I would definitely be sporting my ‘Team Edward’ T-shirt,” Serratos giggled.

When asked if real-life actors Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner played into her decision, she assured us that the hunky actors had no influence. “They’re both so sweet, so genuine,” Serratos said. “They’re great.”

Unlike many of the other actors in the film, Serratos has yet to experience any crazed Twilighter fans. “The experience in the hotel [while shooting] was pretty interesting. A lot of fans came to the hotel and came to the set,” she remembered. “But I appreciate it. I’ve never encountered a crazy fan; I think they’re absolutely amazing. The fact that they put so much energy into loving the book is ridiculously amazing.”

Maybe Serratos’ luck will change soon enough: Because in a few days, Angela Weber will walk into a Barnes & Noble, possibly the same one as you, to pick up her copy of “Breaking Dawn.”

If you were to see a “Twilight” star in line with you Friday night, would you bother them, or would you be able to play it cool?

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We got our hands on some production shots from the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li thanks to Legend Films, the production company behind the upcoming Street Fighter.

Now we don't have much faith in this movie due to the disatrous 1994 Street Fighter starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.  However, at least from the follow production shots it looks like we have a hot Chun Li and a scary Balrog:

For the rest of pictures, please check out our Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li photo gallery or click on the following thumbnails to make them larger.

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We got our hands on some production shots from the upcoming Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li thanks to Legend Films, the production company behind the upcoming Street Fighter.

Now we don't have much faith in this movie due to the disatrous 1994 Street Fighter starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.  However, at least from the follow production shots it looks like we have a hot Chun Li and a scary Balrog:

For the rest of pictures, please check out our Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li photo gallery or click on the following thumbnails to make them larger.

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That’s right, we’ve got a cool one for you today: the exclusive trailer premiere for “Sukiyaki Western Django,” the hyper-stylized, samurai-meets-cowboys action flick from “Ichi the Killer” director Takashi Miike and produced by (and co-starring) none other than Quentin Tarantino. Check it out below or click here to watch it in glorious high-definition.

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After we reported rumors in February about a Venom spin-off from Sony's successful Spider-Man franchise, it looks like we might have a little confirmation couresty of The Hollywod Reporter.

Accordring to the Reporter, Sony had commissioned a draft of the script for a potential Venom spinoff from Jacob Estes, the writer from the films Mean Creek and The Gift.  However, Sony is considering going a different route and is seeking writers for a new draft. 

Additionally, Sony is looking for casting beyond Topher Grace who played Venom in Spider-Man 3.  They're worried that the actor could not carry the whole film.  Luckily since Venom is just a parasite that attaches itself to a person in the Spider-Man movies, they could easily cast anyone to play Venom.

Spinoffs for well established franchises seem to be all the rage these days.  Just look at X-Men Origins: Wolverine due out in May without a X-Men 4 even being announced.  Though don't worry Spider-Man fans, Sony will still release Spider-Man 4 by 2011.

What do you guys think.  Could Topher Grace play Venom in his own spinoff movie?

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Here’s one of those meta-bizarre moments that can only happen at a place like Comic-Con. We caught up with Zachary Quinto right after his “Heroes” panel but of course all we wanted to do was grill him for “Trek” info. You can check out the full interview here. Or you can watch it below and catch Zachary checking out the Spock poster for “Star Trek” for the very first time.

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