July
12 Updates: Persepolis, Spacey, summer b.o.

* Sean Penn and Iggy Pop have signed on to do voices for the English-language version of "Persepolis." The animated pic, based on the acclaimed graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, has been a hit in France, grossing $3.7 million in its first two weekends. U.S. release is being handled by Sony Pictures Classics.

* Kevin Spacey has agreed to reprise his role as Lex Luthor in "Superman: The Man of Steel." Michael Dougherty, who co-scripted "Superman Returns" and "X2" for director Bryan Singer, is writing the screenplay. Plans are for Singer to shoot the pic next year — after he completes "Valkyrie" and "The Mayor of Castro Street" — for a 2009 release.

* The box office was been taken over last week by "Transformers" and this week by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," but "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" managed to gross $4.2 million last weekend to bring its domestic cume to $124 million. "Spider-Man 3" is near the end of its run, with a domestic gross of $334 million.

* A much-cited report from a rival trade paper says "Spider-Man 3" director Sam Raimi is set to meet soon with producer Laura Ziskin to discuss the future of the franchise. At this point, more "Spidey" pics are a sure thing. It's whether Raimi will continue with the series or bow out, likely taking stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst with him. Don't expect a final decision until some kind of script is set. The same can't be said about "X-Men," for which there are no plans for a fourth installment right now. Instead, the long-promised spinoffs, "Wolverine" and "Magneto," will continue that franchise. That may be the route Fox also takes with "Fantastic Four," with a "Silver Surfer" spinoff pic coming before a third FF movie, which is being considered but not yet in development.