Deadline now reports that Marvel Studios has reached a last-minute deal for Mark Ruffalo to play Bruce Banner, which should allow the actor to fly to San Diego to be introduced with the rest of The Avengers cast at Saturday afternoon’s Comic-Con International panel.

Ruffalo replaces The Incredible Hulk star Edward Norton, who was publicly rejected two weeks ago in an unflattering statement released by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. His pointed remarks seemed to lend credence to widely circulated, but frequently denied, reports that Norton had fought with studio executives over the final edits to 2008 film.

The 42-year-old Ruffalo, who’s been described as an “actor’s actor,” has been receiving rave reviews for role in The Kids Are All Right. Reports emerged just last week that he was in “late-stage discussions” to play Banner, so it would seem the pieces fell together rather quickly. Contracts might’ve been singed a little sooner, but The Wrap earlier today asserted that pay and the number of films to which Ruffalo would commit had become sticking points.

If all goes according to plan, Ruffalo should appear Saturday at the Marvel Studios panel with newly confirmed Avengers director Joss Whedon, and cast members Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson. There’s a good chance that we’ll also see Jeremy Renner, but probably not Nathan Fillion.

I know I’ve been a bad webmistress lately, and I’m sorry for that. I promise I’ll be doing some good updates here soon. Tonight I have, thanks to Maria, screencaptures of brief Mark’s appearance on movie Date Night.

Film Portfolio > (2010) Date Night > Screencaptures

Enjoy it!

Actor Mark Ruffalo is reportedly deep into negotiations with Marvel Studios to join the cast of the upcoming superhero film “The Avengers.” The film has been in the headlines all week after contentious reports about who would be filling the role of The Hulk in the upcoming film.

The film will be directed by Joss Whedon who will have an all star line up at his disposal with Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury). Whedon and Ruffalo are discussing the possibility of him joining to play the role of Bruce Banner-The Hulk, but apparently the deal is not a done deal just yet.

The upcoming “Avengers” film made headlines earlier this week when Marvel put out a rather scathing statement when announcing they would not be casting Edward Norton in the role of the Hulk. Marvel appeared to insinuate that while Norton was a great actor and played the role of the Hulk fabulously in the 2008 film “The Incredible Hulk;” they nonetheless had fears he would not mesh well with the other actors on set. Ruffalo can currently be seen on the big screen in “The Kids Are All Right.”

Source: Deadline

Collide interviewed Mark Ruffalo, when cast and crew were promoting “The Kids Are All Right”, and it was a great interview! Mark talks about how he got involved in “The Kids”, the difference between promoting something you’re proud and something you’re not, about Zodiac, and updates on Kenneth Lonergan’s delayed Margaret. Watch it below:

Thanks Virginia from reelzchannel.com for the heads up!

I have a few photos, videos, and links to add here. Sorry for my late. Will do it this weekend!

2010 looks like being a good year for the unpretentious leading man
By Tim Robey to Telegraph.Co.Uk

From his first major role, as the feckless prodigal brother in You Can Count On Me (2000), Mark Ruffalo has had a unique presence on screen, exuding a combination of scruffy-sexy charisma and a kind of hunched, hangdog sincerity which can often disguise how much terrific acting he’s doing.

He hasn’t fought shy of challenging work with serious-minded filmmakers — as a brooding cop in Jane Campion’s In the Cut (2003), an Updikian adulterer in We Don’t Live Here Anymore (2004), the one good thing in Terry George’s Reservation Road (2007) as a devastated hit-and-run driver, and close to complete burn-out as the fatigued chief investigator in David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007).

But what’s specifically lovable about Ruffalo is his unpretentiousness. He’s been a gift at least twice to candy-coloured romcoms — the jolly 13 Going on 30 (2004), and the rather ickier Just Like Heaven (2005), because he stumbles in looking so completely rumpled and bemused.

When the vast majority of romantic leads have an air of arrogantly gym-buffed and groomed entitlement, of having earned their right to poster prominence, Ruffalo always looks as though he’s turned up on set by accident, often without taking the time to shave or put a comb through his hair.

Not even he can save the truly garish or misguided ones – he looks merely unfortunate in View from the Top (2003) and Rumor Has It (2005) — but in a genre that needs all the off-hand unpredictability it can get, he’s a godsend.

On the whole, this is a good year for Ruffalo fans, whether or not you found his function in Scorsese’s Shutter Island as disappointingly constricted as I did. He popped up in Date Night, though not for long. Never fear: his role in Lisa Cholodenko’s Sundance smash The Kids Are All Right, as the sperm donor to Annette Bening and Julianne Moore’s lesbian couple, must count as one of his most delightful ever, from the moment he’s seen nonchalantly trundling around an LA vegetable garden with a pallet of tomatoes.

Mark Ruffalo as a scruffy, bemused organic restaurateur bonding with his teenage progeny? I was sold.

According to the newest issue of Production Weekly, Ethan Hawke, Marion Cotillard and Mark Ruffalo are attached to star in a tragic-sounding low-budget indie drama called, “Second Coming,” from producers Richard N. Gladstein (two-time Academy Award nominated for “Finding Neverland” and “The Cider House Rules”), Laura Bickford (“Traffic,” “Che”) and French producer Ludovic Dardenay. Anjelica Huston and Thandie Newton are also attached to star according to a Spanish newspaper. Here’s the synopsis.

Actor John Zener becomes an even bigger media obsession after releasing a controversial film on the 2nd Coming of Christ. This obsession results in the death of his wife and daughter in a paparazzi caused accident forcing John to question for the first time the choices he has made. Teetering between delusion and sanity, John embarks on a journey through NYC, France and Spain to free himself of everything that symbolized his former life. It is through his journey that John finds transcendence and embraces the empathy that was missing in his life.

Apparently the film did pop up on Marion Cotillard and Ruffalo’s IMDB page in January of this year and it says Ruffalo plays the male lead, John, and Cotillard apparently plays his wife, but this is the first that most people are hearing about it. And evidently Cotillard is actually the star and is also an executive-producer. The film will evidently be the feature-film directorial debut of rookie filmmaker Nenad Cicin-Sain. The project was also briefly mentioned in a Variety article from Cannes this week, as it is eligible for French tax rebates, so it’s definitely in active development.

Source: The Playlist