Tobey Maguire has denied rumours that he will be playing Hobbit Bilbo Baggins in Guillermo Del Toro’s forthcoming adaptation of the Tolkien classic. The rumour – which we reported two days ago – originated on Latin Review.

Casting rumours for the new film adaptation of The Hobbit are a daily occurrence. The latest from the rumour mill is that Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) might play protagonist Bilbo Baggins.

Despite the considerable hype surrounding it, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit is still yet to be green-lit by a studio, with reports now suggesting filming won’t get off the ground till summer 2010 at the earliest.

On December 11th, The Lovely Bones gets a limited release Stateside, with the full shebang rolling out a whole month later on the 15th. Over in the land of Blightly, we’ll get our fill of Peter Jackson’s latest a full six weeks later on January 29th, pretty much last in the world release queue. Not that we should feel maligned – the release date has been endlessly shunted about (it was originally slated for March 2008), ostensibly to ensure The Lovely Bones a spot on the Oscars shortlist.

You may have picked up on a recent bit of harrumphing from certain quarters concerning Guilliermo del Toro’s Hobbit film: namely, production has been delayed, it hasn’t been formally greenlit by any studio yet, ergo we’re never going to see it and the world will surely be engulfed by a cleansing fire should a hairy-footed teaser trailer ever make it to Youtube.

If, like all of us, you spend most of your time wondering when you’ll finally get to see the new 3D Tintin film, we’re sorry to tell you that the wait..

Following in the footsteps of Simons Callow and Pegg, Hollywood star Brian Cox is rumoured to have signed up for a guest spot in the upcoming Christmas episodes of Doctor Who. The actor, probably best known for his portrayal of a pre-Hopkins Hannibal Lecter in Michael Mann’s Manhunter, is to provide the voice for an as-yet unidentified alien in the specials.