Film News: David Lynch Twin Peaks rumours; Sundance and Cannes news; Bryan Singer talks X-Men: Apocalypse

THE RUMOUR MILL: DAVID LYNCH TO RETURN TO TWIN PEAKS?
The rumours that maverick auteur David Lynch might one day return to the world of his seminal TV series Twin Peaks seem to circle and re-surface every few months – the rumours go all the way back to a specific episode of the show, where the spirit of murdered beauty queen Laura Palmer whispers to Agent Dale Cooper, "See you in 25 years."

2015 marks the show's 25th anniversary, leading to a great deal of speculation about Lynch's possible return to his most beloved characters, especially given his comments last year, which indicated a move away from feature films, possibly to focus on his music career.

"I don't know what my future is. I don't have a clue what I'm going to be able to do in the world of cinema," Lynch told The Independent, following this up by indicating he had not ruled out a return to television: "I like the idea of a continuing story," he said, "and television is way more interesting than cinema now. It seems like the art-house has gone to cable."

This week, the internet rumour mill went into overdrive following the posting of a casting notice, seemingly indicating that a new "Twin Peaks promo", shot by Lynch, is in production. The notice, in full, reads:

"TWIN PEAKS PROMO. Directed by David Lynch. Shoots in Los Angeles on Tuesday, January 7, 2014. Prob a 6 hour or less day. Rate is 150/8. You must live in LA to submit. I don’t think SAG has jurisdiction on this, so SAG and NON can submit. I have called SAG to double check this and I am awaiting a call back to confirm. HOT Caucasian girl – BRUNETTE OR REDHEADS ONLY to play waitress. Age 18-27. MUST have an amazing body. Busty, very period looking face. Please submit two current color photos (one body shot, one face shot), your sizes, union status and contact info to: SandeAlessiCasting@gmail.com."

Some have speculated that this could simply be a 'featurette' being produced for the planned 25th anniversary Twin Peaks box set, while others have run with the rumour, speculating that Lynch could be shooting a whole new season of the acclaimed series. Either way, it will be a significant step in the right direction for fans of the show to have Lynch behind the camera once more, and shooting material set in the Twin Peaks universe. We'll keep you updated as this one goes from rumour to reality!  

FILM FESTIVALS 2014: BEASTIE BOYS, DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE AND OTHERS SCORE FILMS FOR SUNDANCE, JANE CAMPION TO HEAD CANNES JURY
This year's Sundance Film Festival (16-26 Jan) will feature the world premieres of films scored by some big names from the music world. Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys has provided a soundtrack for No-No: A Dockumentary, which tells the story of baseball player Dock Ellis, according to Billboard. Ellis gained fame and notoriety for allegedly playing pro baseball while high on LSD. Meanwhile, Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie has scored Laggies, a dark comedy starring Chloë Grace Moretz and Keira Knightley. Both films receive their world premieres at the festival. 

Also revealed this week – veteran New Zealand director Jane Campion (The Piano) will head up the jury at this year's Cannes Film Festival (14-25 May). The BBC News site quoted Campion as saying she was "truly honoured" to be offered the role. "I can't wait," she told reporters. Campion described Cannes as "a mythical and exciting festival where amazing things can happen, actors are discovered, films are financed, careers are made. I know this because that is what happened to me!"

BRYAN SINGER TALKS X-MEN: APOCALYPSE
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, director Bryan Singer revealed more details of his plans for the follow-up to the imminent time-travelling mutant epic X-Men: Days of Future Past, currently under the working title X-Men: Apocalypse. 

"I’m co-writing the story and I’m producing it,” Singer confirms. “I’m negotiating to direct. We’re in the process. We’re trying to figure it out, schedules. My desire would be to direct it." He also gave fans a heads up to look for the seeds of the Apocalypse story in Days of Future Past, saying: "Something that happens in this movie causes what’s going to happen in that movie." 

Singer goes on to reveal some details of the movie's plot, saying: “It will also address historical mutantcy, meaning the deep past, mutant origins and things like that. It’s something that’s always intrigued me when we think about our Gods and our history and miracles and powers." Evil time-travelling mutant Apocalypse will be the main foe faced by Halle Berry's Storm, Hugh Jackman's Wolverine and others in the planned sequel. 

TRAILERS: KITE, CHEAP THRILLS
Kite was an incredibly violent anime released in 1998, telling the story of an orphaned assasin. A cult hit, a planned live action version has been rumoured for years, and finally it looks like it will see the light of day –here's a trailer for the new film, introduced by its biggest star, Samuel L. Jackson.  

Cheap Thrills is the new film from cult B movie director E.L. Katz, who is a former journalist for Fangoria. It tells the tale of a newly-unemployed auto-mechanic drawn into a violent game of tit for tat in an effort to keep his home and his girlfriend. Looks like a sleeper hit in the making, for fans of dark and violent comedy.