When you think of ‘Dracula’ on the silver screen Christopher Lee and Gary Oldman spring to mind. Now it is being reported that ‘Avatar’ hero Sam Worthington has signed on to star as the vampire legend in ‘Dracula: Year Zero’ directed by Alex Proyas.

The film will  focus on the story of how Prince Vlad of Transylvania became the famous bloodsucker.

The producer of the film Mike de Luca said  “These writers came up with what I think is an ingenious-approach combining historical Dracula with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. “I think vampires are endlessly appropriate candidates for reinvention because there’s something in the DNA in that mythology that appeals to every generation. Every generation owns their own version of the vampire myth.”

Worthington seems to be increasingly busy these days what with the proposed sequels to ‘Avatar’ and ‘Clash Of The Titans’ in the pipeline. He will next be seen in ‘The Debt’ where he stars alongside screen legend Helen Mirren and opens in the UK on 11 February 2011. [Source]

At the Giffoni Experience in Italy this week, the largest and oldest children’s film festival, Sam Worthington received an award and told 3000 kids from 43 countries about his newest project.

 The star of Avatar, which screened at the 40th annual event, said that in November he will star in the fantasy film, The Last Days of American Crime, which he will also produce. Based on an American comic book, the story centers on the US government’s secret plans to broadcast a signal making it impossible for anyone to commit unlawful acts.

Susan Sarandon and Samuel L. Jackson also visited this year’s fest in the town of Giffoni Valle Piana near Salerno, which ends this weekend. With children’s films all the rage, the 162 screened included Despicable Me, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Shrek Forever After, Toy Story 3 and the upcoming Step-Up 3D.

Worthington (Clash of the Titans) will next be seen this year in the action thriller The Debt with Helen Mirren premiering at the Toronto Film Festival and the romantic drama Last Night co-starring Keira Knightly and Eva Mendes (The Other Guys) due in November. Also, set for release in 2011, The Fields with Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass). [Source]

Finally, we got some new photos of Sam Worthington here so, I added the pics to the gallery. You can go there to take a look and enjoy! UPDATE: I added 26 new HQ photos

Gallery Link:
– Giffoni Experience 2010: 40th Edition – Day 11

For an actor who fell into acting “accidentally,” Sam Worthington is doing quite well for himself! The hunky star of Avatar and Clash of the Titans made an appearance at the Giffoni Experience 2010 on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy.

He proudly showed off his award while taking time to meet fans and sign autographs. He even ignored handlers who tried to get him to hurry past the red carpet and ended up spending a total of 32 minutes showing everyone a lot of love.

What a sweetie!  Read full article.

Warner Bros has officially signed Sam Worthington to star in upcoming space adventure film Dan Dare.

Clash of the Titans producer Basil Iwanyk is behind the project, reports Variety.

The movie is based on the sci-fi comic book character created by Frank Hampson in 1950.

A director and supporting cast has not yet been announced for the film.

Worthington recently signed a deal for his Full Clip Productions to develop content for comic books and films with Radical Publishing. [Source]

1950s British science fiction comic hero Dan Dare is coming to America, whether you’ve heard of him or not. Warner Bros. just acquired the feature rights to ‘Dare,’ described as “the British equivalent of Buck Rogers,” and Sam Worthington (Clash of the Titans, Avatar) is attached to star.

The “Dan Dare” character was created by Frank Hampson more than half a century ago, appearing first as a comic in 1950 and later getting a radio show and TV series “Dan Dare: Pilot of the Future.” Worthington will play the intrepid star pilot and Colonel in the Interplanet Space Fleet, who engages with various forms of extraterrestrial life in his adventures. 

This seems like an odd choice to me, but that’s coming from a Yankee who’s never heard of Dan Dare. Perhaps there are some DD apologists out there who would be willing to set me straight? As it stands, I don’t see why Warner Bros. couldn’t develop a similar movie for Worthington without the Dan Dare licensing. I don’t think many people stateside have heard of him anyway, so there won’t be any ‘nostalgia factor’ to play on. Then again, Hollywood is increasingly seeing its profits (even on domestic flops like Prince of Persia) coming from overseas, so I’ll hold off on any final judgment for now.

The rights for the property were obtained from Dan Dare Inc. by Colin Frewin, who will exec produce along with Dan Lin. Basil Iwgnyk (Clash of the Titans) will produce. [Source]