It was announced that Japanese star Ken Watanabe signed up for the film in May, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Watanabe joins a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Cillian Murphy, and Michael Caine.

The Oscar-nominated Japanese actor is reportedly playing the movie’s villain, who is blackmailing DiCaprio.

Watanabe became well known to American audiences for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in Letters from Iwo Jima and Lord Katsumoto in The Last Samurai.

Watanabe previously worked with Nolan in Batman Begins as Ra’s al Ghul’s decoy.

He also played The Chairman in Memoirs of a Geisha.

Inception is slated to be released in July 2010.

I have found abother picture on set of Whip It!

Gallery Links:
Whip It!—On the Set—August 2008

According to /Film, Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut, Whip It!, finally has a release date through Fox Searchlight, the same studio that released Diablo Cody’s Juno. The roller-derby themed film is set to release on Oct. 9.

Earlier last year, Barrymore snagged Juno’s Ellen Page to co-star along with Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, and Eve. The film is based on the book Derby Girl by Shauna Cross, where the blue-haired protagonist Bliss, played by Page, finds a way to deal with her frustrations after she joins a roller derby team in a nearby city.

I have added 102 screencaptures from The Stone Angel where Ellen plays Arlene, and three covers/posters.

Gallery Links:
The Stone Angel (2007)—Screencaptures
The Stone Angel (2007)—Posters & Covers

Halifax-born Ellen Page was a guest on The Simpsons this week, taking on the animated role of Alaska Nebraska—clearly spoofing Miley Cyrus’ character Hannah Montana.

In the episode, titled ”Waverly Hills 9021-Do’h”, Lisa Simpson makes false claims about an existing friendship between her and Ellen’s Alaska character. In the end, the spiky haired Simpson tracks down her pop star hero for help, but discovers that Alaska’s true self is far from teen sunshine.

The role is spot on for Ellen, who first convinced audiences of her affinity for teen angst in her Oscar nominated role as Juno MacGuff. When chatting with actress Yeardley Smith, who plays the voice of Lisa Simpson, Ellen revealed that, ”I’m a massive fan of The Simpsons and to be here, doing this is very surreal.”

This fall Ellen stars in the Drew Barrymore directed Whip It!, where she’ll share the screen with the Grey Gardens actress, as well as ex-rocker Juliette Lewis and Pollock’s Marcia Gay Harden