LOS ANGELES (AP) — This week's "Jack the Giant Slayer," a 3-D retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, contains all the elements of the classic tale: farm boy, beans, giants, etc. But along for the ride is a new character, Princess Isabelle, played by Eleanor Tomlinson.

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Cloud Atlas," the pricey and sprawling adventure tale from Lana and Andy Wachowskis, has surpassed its North American haul at the Chinese box office. As of Thursday, "Cloud Atlas" had taken in $28.6 million with just a few days left in its run in China, just ahead of its overall North American total of $27.1 million. Since opening on October 26, it has grossed $113 million worldwide, $86 million of that coming from foreign markets. Topping its U.S. box office total in China is both a positive and a negative. ...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Movie audiences have flocked to filmmaker Eli Roth's low-budget horror productions like "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel." On Friday, "The Last Exorcism Part II," which Roth produced, will be released. It is the sequel to his 2010 movie about an evangelical minister who let a documentary crew film his last exorcism on a girl named Nell. The 2010 film cost $1.8 million to make and grossed more than $67 million worldwide. The sequel follows Nell as she discovers that the evil force has returned. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - David France's 2012 documentary "How to Survive a Plague" has been optioned by ABC Studios, which is planning to develop the film into a dramatic miniseries. The film, which was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature Film category, chronicled the early days of AIDS activism by the coalitions ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group). France, who wrote and directed the film, will executive produce the miniseries project, along with Howard Gertler (who produced the film) and John Lyons. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - The translation of foreign films for American audiences involves subtleties as much as it does subtitles. The unspoken social norms of a Japanese movie, say, or the lugubrious personal tragedy of a French film work perfectly within their own cultural context, even if American actors and filmmakers wouldn't necessarily be able to pull off the same kind of tone. All of which is to say that "Stoker," the U.S. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - March will not be coming in like a lion at the sputtering 2013 box office, which is already running about 13 percent behind last year. "Jack the Giant Slayer," the CGI action fantasy film directed by Bryan Singer ("X-Men") and written by Chris McQuarrie ("Jack Reacher"), is expected to dominate the weekend and should still wind up No. 1, ahead of three other wide openers: Relativity's R-rated youth comedy "21 and Over," the CBS horror sequel "Last Exorcism, Part II" and RCR Distribution's Ed Harris thriller "Phantom. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Idina Menzel will return to Broadway for the first time since "Wicked" in a new Broadway musical by the team behind "Next to Normal." Titled "If/Then," the musical centers on a woman on the cusp of turning 40, who uproots herself to New York City in search of a fresh start and (presumably) a much more expensive apartment. The show's producers describe the play as being about "how choice and chance collide and how we learn to love the fallout. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - "Mistaken for Strangers" will be the opening night film at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring. The film follows the indie band The National on tour. It was directed by Tom Berninger, who also happens to be the brother of The National's lead singer Matt Berninger. It's an edgier choice to kick off the festival than "The Five-Year Engagement," the Judd Apatow-produced romantic comedy that opened Tribeca last year. "Mistaken for Strangers" also will have its world premiere at the festival. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Fee-fie, ho-hum. "Jack the Giant Slayer" is only incrementally more fun than a spate of other recent action-fantasy movies based on classic fairy tales. It has too much of a whiff of the familiar to stand very tall. This 3D "Jack" follows in the once-upon-a-time footsteps of "Red Riding Hood" (2011), "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012) and last month's "Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters," as well as "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" (2012). ...

BURBANK, Calif. (AP) — There isn't much "Hollywood" about Kevin Tsujihara.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Dale Robertson, the star of scores of Hollywood Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, has died at the age of 89 in Southern California, Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla said on Thursday. Robertson, who was best known for his role of special agent Jim Hardie in the NBC television series "Tales of Wells Fargo" from 1957-1962, died on Tuesday, the hospital said. The "Sitting Bull" star had been in poor health for about two years and had a cancer diagnosis last week, his niece, Nancy Love Robertson, told The Oklahoman newspaper. ...

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - A24 will release Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring" June 14 and James Ponsoldt's Sundance hit is set for "The Spectacular Now" August 2, the independent distributor announced on Thursday. A24 acquired both projects in January - "The Bling Ring" on the eve of Sundance and "Spectacular" after it screened well at the Utah-based festival. Coppola's film stars Emma Watson as one member of a group of real-life kids who tracked celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes. They stole more than $3 million of goods from the likes of Paris Hilton. ...

NEW YORK (TheWrap.com) - Dane Cook will lend his voice to Dusty, the lead character in Disney's upcoming movie "Planes," a spin-off of its "Cars" film franchise, the studio announced on Thursday.] Cook replaces Jon Cryer, who had been attached to the project but bowed out. Dusty dreams of competing as an air racer but has a crippling fear of heights. "Dane Cook brings unmatched charisma and brilliant comedic timing and instincts to the character," Klay Hall, the film's director, said in a statement. "He gives Dusty a great edge. ...

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Mikael Hafstrom will direct a film version of "Tunnels," a fantasy adventure book series, for Relativity Media. Håfström has previously worked on "The Rite" and "1408." Andrew Lobel is rewriting the original screenplay by Joel Bergvall & Simon Sandquist, the studio said. "Tunnels," follows two teenage boys who discover a secret civilization beneath the streets of London. All this subterranean wonder has a downside, however. They also find evil forces who threaten to destroy the world above. Authors Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams have completed five sequels. ...

Your Daily Dispatch of Celebrity Shenanigans!

PARIS (Reuters) - U.S. director Steven Spielberg will preside over the 2013 Cannes film festival jury in May, organizers said on Thursday, an A-list casting that adds Hollywood firepower to the high-brow international festival. Spielberg, whose presidential drama "Lincoln" took home two Oscars at Sunday's Academy Awards, will succeed Italian director and actor Nanni Moretti, who helmed the jury for Cannes' 65th anniversary last year. ...

PARIS (AP) — France's Cannes Film Festival says it has finally snagged Steven Spielberg to serve as president of the award jury.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Rolling Stones picked up two prizes at the NME Music Awards in London on Wednesday, and guitarist Ronnie Wood said the band hoped to play at Britain's Glastonbury music festival in June. The Stones won for best live act and best film, and Wood was on hand to accept a pair of irreverent "middle finger" statuettes. The Stones returned to the stage in late 2012 to celebrate 50 years in business, and their sellout mini-tour of London and the United States was a hit with critics and fans. ...

TOKYO (AP) — The unnerving clicks of dosimeters are constant as people wearing white protective gear quickly visit the radiated no-go zones of decayed farms and empty storefronts. Evacuees huddle on blankets on gymnasium floors, waiting futilely for word of compensation and relocation.