You may have seen footage of the big fire last week on the Chicago set of "The Dark Knight," but don't worry, boys and girls: Batman himself was never in harm's way. "I haven't started yet," Christian Bale said about acting in the flick. While "Batman Begins" director Christopher Nolan has yet to require Bale's services, the star is excited about setting off some sparks of his own once he slips on the cowl again. "Of course, it's always a pleasant thing when you know that you have everyone's confidence now." Despite speculation as to whether Bale would be an appropriate fit for the bat-suit, 2005's "Begins" became regarded by many as the best Bruce Wayne movie yet, and now Bale expects a decidedly more confident vibe on the set of the sequel. "Whereas we were -- Chris Nolan included -- kind of untested, now we've seen that people have given a nod of approval to what we've done." Adding that "Chris likes to maintain a lot of mystery surrounding it," Bale said he couldn't cough up any plot points, but that he was looking forward to finally taking the series to the dark extremes that fans have long called for. "You have more ... of a support system behind you once you've proved yourself," Bale observed, citing an eagerness to work alongside series newcomers Heath Ledger (the Joker), Maggie Gyllenhaal (taking over Katie Holmes' Rachel Dawes) and Aaron Eckhart (Harvey Dent a.k.a. Two-Face). "Now, you can go wherever you want to go." ...

Just weeks after making headlines leaking one of the few available tidbits about July 27's "The Simpsons Movie," Minnie Driver has more news to break about her cameo: It ain't happening. "It got cut," she revealed this week, clearly saddened by the news. "My whole story line got cut." The "Good Will Hunting" star had recorded her lines months ago -- intended as one of many celeb cameos in the highly anticipated, highly secretive adaptation of TV's longest-running comedy -- but recently got word from the producers that it ended up on the cutting-room floor. "I was playing a grievance counselor," she said of the scene. "It was terribly funny, and it was still one of the funnest afternoons I've ever had, working with them. It was one great scene." Still, the disappointed Driver said she isn't angry at the producers who've left her as lonely as Comic Book Guy on a Friday night. "I haven't seen ['Simpsons' masterminds] Jim Brooks or Matt Groening, but believe me, when I do ... " she teased. "No, I was sad, but I understand. ... I haven't had mad words with them." Still, the optimistic Minnie offered these words of hope for fans: "Maybe I'll be on the DVD," she grinned. "You never know." ...

Note to Jake Gyllenhaal: Don't be checking your mailbox for those "Shazam!" paychecks just yet. "As soon as we signed John August to write it, the next day we saw on the Internet that Jake Gyllenhaal would be a great Captain Marvel and we were already in negotiations with him," laughed director Peter Segal ("50 First Dates") last week. "I said, 'Well, he'd be great, but we've literally just signed the writer!' " Nevertheless, Segal said all is full steam ahead for his big-budget take on one of comicdom's oldest heroes (originally created in 1939), the catchphrase-spewing Captain Marvel. "It's like a combination of 'Big' and 'Superman,' " the comedy director said of the tone he's aiming to capture. "It's a 13-year-old boy who, when he says the word 'Shazam!,' he gets the powers of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Mercury and Achilles. So basically, he can fly, he has superpowers, but when he morphs into a 28-year-old superhero, on the inside he's still 13. So, you get that quality of what Tom Hanks brought to 'Big,' but you also have a kick-ass superhero." The film is being produced by New Line Cinema, and Segal promised it won't be anything like the laughably bad 1970s live-action show (seriously, Google it). "No, we're not going for the cheesy," Segal promised. "I looked at that myself, and I thought, 'The guy with the boots and the red suit -- could we have some fun with this?' but we're going to be really loyal to the origin of the comic book, then definitely liven it up." Oh, and Jake, if you're out there: don't be bummed, because you might just get to play a superhero after all. "It was a pretty good idea," Segal said of the Internet rumor, adding that he'll be casting for real sometime soon. ...

As anyone who has seen "Just Friends" knows, Anna Faris + music = funny. Fans will be excited to know, then, that Faris is busting out her vocal chops again for the flick "Mama's Boy" opposite Jon Heder and Diane Keaton. In the film, Faris' proudly anti-commercial musician Nora will belt out corporate-bashing ballads, including the hilariously titled ode "Bed, Bath and Bullsh--". Making a good thing even better, Warner Bros. Studios has recruited legendary folk singer Billy Bragg to sing the ditty for the film's soundtrack. ...

"War of the Worlds" star Justin Chatwin is getting ready to make his producing debut with "The Pornographer's Poem," a film in which he'll also star. The 24-year-old up-and-comer said he decided to make the flick for one simple reason: A buddy said he never could. "A friend of mine gave [the book] to me; I read it and said, 'This would make a good movie,' and he said it wouldn't -- so I asked if he wanted to bet," Chatwin revealed. "I found the guy who owned the book, called him up and said, 'I'd love to make this with you.' [The writer, Michael Turner] said, 'Get onboard.' " What was the reason behind Chatwin's friend's skepticism, you might ask? Well, in case the title hasn't clued you in, the novel is about a man's initiation into the world of 1970s pornography. Nevertheless, an insistent Chatwin plans to start rolling the cameras on his very own "Boogie Nights" soon enough. ...

Here comes the most unexpected quote you're likely to read today: "You'll see me moonwalk and dance a bit. I trained for, like, two or three months!" It's from the lips of "The Terminal" heartthrob Diego Luna, the 27-year-old Mexican actor who plays a Michael Jackson impersonator in his next film. "Being in the head of someone that doesn't want to be himself but wants to be Michael Jackson -- that's kind of crazy!" he grinned. Tell us about it. The film, "Mister Lonely," co-stars Samantha Morton as a wannabe Marilyn Monroe, alongside other characters who wish they were Abraham Lincoln, James Dean and the Queen of England. Luna said the flick is about "finding the person inside" while "understanding who you are and being OK with that -- which isn't always easy." On a more surface level, however, the return flick from freaky filmmaker Harmony Korine ("Gummo") is about an abnormal family helping each other through tough times. "[My character] falls in love with a Marilyn Monroe impersonator, and she tells him there is an amazing place where there are people like him," Luna explained. "He travels there, and that's where everything happens." The flick was recently selected for the Cannes Film Festival and is expected in theaters later this year.

Check out everything we've got on "The Dark Knight," Christian Bale and "The Simpsons Movie."

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