Following her Best Actress Oscar victory for The Black Swan, Natalie Portman took maternity leave so she could raise her child, like any responsible mother would. After a year, the hiatus is over: Deadline reports that she's just signed on to star in two Terrence Malick films, both set to shoot this year. For the first, Knights of the Cups, she'll join Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Isabel Lucas; in the second, Lawless, she'll be alongside Bale, Blanchett, Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennett. No plot details are forthcoming, of course, just the way Malick likes it. 

You might have seen the story from last week about Christian Bale's run-in with the Chinese government, but if not, here's the recap: Bale was in China promoting his new movie, The Flowers of War. In his off time, he invited a CNN camera crew to watch him as he went countryside to hopefully talk to activist Chen Guangcheng, a blind self-taught lawyer recently emerged from a four-year jail sentence on charges of blocking traffic (so, totally bogus).

Natalie Portman's having quite the 2012. First, she won the Best Actress Oscar for her hysterical/weepy performance in Black Swan. Then she had a baby, or something. But the finest honor was announced today: Portman's topped the list of IMDB's Top Stars of 2011, as decided by user hits on an actor's IMDB page. She unseated Johnny Depp, who's apparently ranked #1 for six of the last seven years -- he moves to #3, while Mila Kunis shoots into the #2 slot. 

● One clever TSA agent let Freddie Gibbs slip by with what looks like a sock full of weed, sending the rapper through inspection with but a note, that read, "C'mon Son." TSA bosses didn't think the joke was so funny, though. "TSA takes all allegations of inappropriate conduct seriously and is investigating this claim," assures a spokesman, warning that "TSA will take appropriate disciplinary steps and refer the alleged possession of an illegal substance to law enforcement." [Pitchfork]

Christopher Nolan has been uncharacteristically open about his desire to end his version of the Batman storyline, and Christian Bale has followed suit by acknowledging The Dark Knight Rises will be the last time he dons the rubber suit and cape. But some folks are wondering if this means that Batman may meet his mortal end at the hands of Bane, the tough-guy villain played by Tom Hardy. The new poster for the film adds to the suspicion.

For those of you who can’t get enough Christian Bale leading up to the release of The Dark Knight Rises comes the trailer for a new film starring the actor, Flowers of War.  Directed by Zhang Yimou, it has the largest movie budget ever in China, coming in with a $94 million price tag.  

The news that Lionsgate is working on an American Psycho remake is, uh, strange. First of all: the original came out barely a decade ago. Secondly: really? As if one trip through the world of Patrick Bateman wasn't enough, Lionsgate hired Noble Jones, who previously worked as a second unit director on The Social Network, to write and direct the film. There's no potential casting or release date, so maybe this thing will die in development, as greenlit remakes often do. Won't the studio eventually remember there's another Saw movie to make? Oh yeah, they will.

Holy end of an era, Batman fans.  Christian Bale has said goodbye to the rubber costume for good.  The Dark Knight Rises star finished filming days ago and has preempted anyone asking him to come back for another flick by announcing he has no plans to return to the franchise.

Christopher Nolan is a notoriously secretive filmmaker. Despite filming scenes of The Dark Knight Rises in the middle of city streets, no one is quite sure of what to expect from Nolan’s final Batman movie. Is Occupy Wall Street involved? Why does Catwoman’s costume look so stupid? Why is there a Catwoman in the first place? Christopher Nolan sat down with Empire Magazine and finally gave a small glimpse into what the newest Dark Knight will be all about.

Christopher Nolan’s latest Batman installment, The Dark Knight Rises, is the most anticipated movie of next year. Whenever the film shoots on location—be it in Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, or, most recently, New York—Twitter explodes with people gleefully bragging, “There are Gotham PD cars outside my office!” Another way to tell if Nolan’s traveling circus has come to town is by the flash flood of spy videos that proliferate online. This weekend, two videos of a massive brawl in downtown New York hit the web, and they’re very similar to those earlier brawls we saw being shot in Pittsburgh. This might be your last look at amateur footage of TDKR before the real things hits theaters in the form of a six-minute preview ahead of IMAX screenings of Mission: Impossible—Ghost Protocol, this December.