Along with her time as Dr. Abigail Chase in the National Treasure movies, Diane Kruger is arguably best known for playing Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglourious Basterds. That role in Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 movie netted the actress numerous accolades, but it wasn’t easy for Kruger to join the cast. In fact, Kruger recently dripped an f-bomb about her difficult Inglourious Basterds audition, including the fact that Tarantino wasn’t even interested in seeing her.

While discussing on the podcast Reign with Josh Smith how as she’s gotten older, she’s had numerous “fuck you” moments when it comes to people trying to fit her into one type of categorical box, Diane Kruger admitted that there have been times where it’s felt “unfair” that she’s not where she wants to be. She then recalled the hoops she jumped through just to audition for Inglourious Basterds, saying:

Diane Kruger didn’t share which movie it was that Quentin Tarantino didn’t like her in, but evidently it was enough that he wasn’t willing to consider putting her in Inglourious Basterds. Between that, only being called in because she was the last person on the list and having to travel to another continent simply to audition, Kruger could have easily kept looking around for work elsewhere. Instead, she decided to put in the extra effort to show Tarantino that she could play the role, and it paid off, with the actress taking on the role that had previously been lined up for Nastassja Kinski.

With her character being a German film star who becomes a spy for the allies, Diane Kruger appeared alongside Brad Pitt, Christoph Waltz, Mélanie Laurent, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Daniel Brühl and many more in Inglourious Basterds. Released in theaters on August 21, 2009, The Quentin Tarantino World War II flick was met with primarily positive reviews and made over $321 million worldwide off a reported $70 million budget. It later walked away with the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (Waltz) and was nominated in seven other Oscars categories.

Diane Kruger can currently be seen co-starring with Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Fan Bingbing and Sebastian Stan in The 355, which is playing in theaters. Meanwhile, Quentin Tarantino still hasn’t announced what his 10th and final movie will be, but his novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is available to purchase.

15 years ago, Diane Kruger, Nicolas Cage, and Justin Bartha landed another Disney hit when they returned for 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The wildly popular franchise seemed like it was on track for a bright future, or at the very least a third installment that perpetually seems like it's just about to happen. It all leads to a question that’s still very valid: did National Treasure 3 almost happen, and we just didn't know about it? As luck would have it, Ms. Kruger herself filled us in on some of the unknown history to this puzzling fan favorite. 

CinemaBlend was invited to take part in the press day for Universal’s global espionage thriller The 355, and it was then that our own Sean O’Connell asked the Disney franchise vet about that much talked about second sequel. As it turns out, the progress that others like Nic Cage himself were talking up over the years may not have been as promising as we were led to believe. Diane Kruger’s version of this story suggests as much, as you’ll read below: 

Ms. Kruger’s admissions above simultaneously compliment and debunk pieces of the extended history of delays National Treasure 3 has encountered. Confirming that sequel talks started rather quickly after release of National Treasure: Book of Secrets, but stating that “there was never a script” certainly reframes the conversation around this threequel’s time in development hell. Perhaps the most shocking development is that, according to what she’s said above, there may have been a chance that Nicolas Cage’s Ben Gates could have returned, only without Dr. Abigail Chase. 

It was bad enough when it looked like the next history based treasure hunt in Disney’s cinematic catalog seemed to run into troubles when it couldn’t be leveraged as a potential theme park attraction. But to not contact Diane Kruger, even in the early days of discussing a sequel in a franchise she helped propel to stardom? That seems downright cold, and akin to the sort of decision making that gave us The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. As Rachel Weisz’s character was recast for the third crack at the similarly beloved franchise co-starring Brendon Fraser, it threw off the chemistry that made the series so brilliant, derailing what was also a promising box office machine. 

While this sentiment is speculative, having that happen to National Treasure 3 would have been rather off putting. Despite all of the setbacks that this project has endured, the wheels seem to be turning on this long awaited sequel yet again. With producer Jerry Bruckheimer committing to a National Treasure series on Disney+, as well as a big screen continuation that saw Bad Boys For Life writer Chris Bremner attached to its scripting duties. And yet, while Bruckheimer stated that he intends for the whole gang to be back again, Diane Kruger’s update seems to suggest that recent progress may be in more of a rut than we’ve been led to believe. 

You can see Diane Kruger in The 355, which debuts only in theaters this weekend. And if you’re feeling nostalgic for both of the previous National Treasure adventures, you can revisit those thrilling capers on Disney+. For further endeavors into the future of cinema, head over to the 2022 release schedule for a peek at what’s arriving at a theater near you.

“The 355” stars Sebastian Stan, Jessica Chastain and Diane Kruger discuss their action movie influences, fighting in a dress, their admiration for stunt performers and much, much more in this interview with CinemaBlend’s managing director, Sean O’Connell.

Video Chapters

0:00 - Intro./Sebastian Stan admires posters for his own movies.
0:23 - Jessica Chastain on the female action star(s) that inspired her.
1:26 -  Diane Kruger on the female action star(s) that inspired her.
1:56 - Sebastian Stan on his experience in action films.
2:41 - Jessica Chastain on how her character from “Zero Dark Thirty” inspired “The 355.”
3:35 - How Ralph Lauren designed Jessica Chastain’s battle-ready clothing in “The 355.”
4:15 - Sebastian Stan on doing his own stunts, and whether or not the Oscars should have a stunt category.
6:00 - What made Diane Kruger want to step out of her element for an action film.
7:00 - Jessica Chastain on how the actors bonded on set.
7:40 - Who Jessica Chastain would recruit for “The 355’s” sequel.

CinemaBlend participates in affiliate programs with various companies. We may earn a commission when you click on or make purchases via links.

I remember when Brad Pitt was easily the biggest name in the Inglourious Basterds cast (despite not actually being the main character) when it first came out in 2009. Arguably, he still is, but after Christoph Waltz earned his first Oscar, Diane Kruger became a household name, and Michael Fassbender and others started doing superhero movies, Quentin Tarantino’s World War II epic (very, very loosely inspired by the 1978 B-grade period piece The Inglorious Bastards) soon became a star-studded modern classic. Those stars have had a lot of notable movies, TV shows, and more on their plates since changing history with a loud bang, so, let’s see what they are up to these days, starting with our American hero.

Brad Pitt (Lt. Aldo “The Apache” Raine)

Technically, this superstar first collaborated with his Inglourious Basterds director for 1992’s Quentin Tarantino-penned, Tony Scott-directed True Romance before playing Lt. Aldo Raine (one of Brad Pitt’s most badass characters), and his Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time in Hollywood role as Cliff Booth.

He later starred in more grounded World War II-era dramas (2014’s Fury and Allied in 2016), sort of followed X-Men movies star Michael Fassbender’s footsteps by making one of the funniest superhero movie cameos as Vanisher, and even became The Jim Jefferies Show’s Weatherman on Comedy Central. Pitt is reuniting with Deadpool 2 director David Leitch for 2022’s Bullet Train (also starring his Lost City of D co-star Sandra Bullock), is teaming up with Damien Chazelle for the first time with Babylon, and has many upcoming producer credits, such as an adaptation of the horror graphic novel, Black Hole.

Mélanie Laurent (Shosanna Dreyfus)

I believe Inglourious Basterds’ true hero is Shosanna, played by Mélanie Laurent - who was previously known best for having Pierre Laurent, voice actor for the French-language version of The Simpsons, as a father. Playing the resilient Jewish refugee led to roles in more American films, such as the Academy Award-winning Beginners in 2010, the 2013 magic show/heist thriller combo Now You See Me, Denis Villeneuve’s Enemy the same year, a true Nazi-hunting story called Operation Finale, and two Netflix movies - including 6 Underground with Ryan Reynolds and Oxygen in 2021.

Laurent still stars in and even helms French-language films to this day, including The Mad Women’s Ball (premiering exclusively on Amazon Prime September 17, 2021), but also a new English-language directorial feature in the works, called The Nightingale, starring sisters Elle Fanning and Dakota Fanning.

Christoph Waltz (Col. Hans “The Jew Hunter” Landa)

Other than Hitler, of course, the biggest thorn in Aldo and Shosanna’s sides is Col. Hans Landa - played to Academy Award-winning perfection by Austrian-born Christoph Waltz, who also worked almost exclusively in Europe before Inglourious Basterds. Quentin Tarantino directed him in a second (and more heroic) Oscar-winning performance from 2012’s Django Unchained, before Waltz revisited his villainous talent in comedies like Horrible Bosses 2 or even series like Quibi’s Most Dangerous Game, to name a few, in addition to another kindly mentor role in Alita: Battle Angel from 2019.

Next, Waltz is starring in Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch, reprising his Bond villain role in No Time to Die, playing Mikhail Gorbachev opposite Michael Douglas’ Ronald Regan in a miniseries about their 1986 meeting, and is voicing a fox for Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, most notably.

Diane Kruger (Bridget Von Hammersmark)

Secretly working against Landa and the Third Reich is German actress Bridget von Hammersmark - played by German actress Diane Kruger, who actually broke into American cinema pretty early before landing starring roles in films like Troy (opposite Inglourious Basterds' Brad Pitt) and the National Treasure movies with Nicolas Cage. She would then go back and forth between playing more heroes (such as a Texas detective on FX’s The Bridge), more antagonists (like in the 2013 Stephenie Meyer movie The Host), and another World War II-inspired femme fatale in Robert Zemeckis’ Welcome to Marwen from 2018.

Netflix’s The 355 was originally set to be next of Kruger’s 2021 movies before it was postponed to the 2022 movies schedule and, unless Quibi’s serialized Swimming with Sharks remake does not find a new home soon, you will likely see her next in the romantic drama, First Love.

Eli Roth (Sgt. Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz)

While better known for directing and cameoing in horror movies, Eli Roth was appointed by friend and collaborator Quentin Tarantino (who helped produced the Hostel movies) to star in Inglourious Basterds as Sgt. Donny Donowitz and direct Nation’s Pride - the film-within-a-film where its premiere is the setting of the explosive third act. The director has since branched out slightly beyond his typical gore fests to dabble in the action genre (his 2018 Death Wish remake with Bruce Willis), and even family films (The House with a Clock in its Walls) and documentaries (Fin - his upcoming investigation of shark deaths). Speaking of, his AMC docuseries History of Horror has been renewed for a third season you can expect in 2021, and his adaptation of the popular video game Borderlands is expected to hit theaters the following year.

Michael Fassbender (Lt. Archie Hicox)

Appearing as British Army officer and Basterds ally Lt. Archie Hicox for less than 20 minutes in Inglourious Basterds was enough to pave the way for Michael Fassbender to become one of the most acclaimed and busiest actors of his time. Soon after, he would be cast in the Marvel movies (not the MCU, however) as Magneto, earn two Oscar nominations (for the Brad Pitt-produced 12 Years a Slave, and the Aaron Sorkin-penned Steve Jobs), tried his hand at video game movies with Assassin’s Creed, and joined the Alien movies franchise as two different android characters.

Fassbender will next star in Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, appear in a feature-length sequel to the hit Kung Fury short, work with director David Fincher on The Killer, and rumors suggest Mel Gibson’s The Wild Bunch remake may be his latest western.

Daniel Brühl (Fredrick Zoller)

Playing Nazi turned film star Fredrick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds also proved to be a star-making turn for Daniel Brühl, whose biggest role in the American mainstream had been a small part in The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007. His next antagonistic role in a period piece was Formula One racer Niki Lauda (opposite Chris Hemsworth) in Rush before later playing a respectable 19th-Century psychiatrist on the TNT series The Alienist, for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination.

Brühl recently played Baron Zemo a second time in Disney+’s Falcon and the Winter Soldier cast, will star in a different sort of comic book flick with Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service prequel The King’s Man, and is re-enlisting into the German Army for the First World War with a new adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque.

Til Schweiger (Sgt. Hugo Stiglitz)

While a fair share of American audiences might not have known Til Schweiger before Inglourious Basterds burned the name Hugo Stiglitz into their brains, he has been acting in English-language releases since the late 1990s, including 2003’s Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life opposite Angelina Jolie, and the raunchy Rob Schneider comedy Deuce Bigalow: European Gigalo in 2005.

Despite his subsequent fame from films like 2011’s The Three Musketeers or Muppets Most Wanted in 2014 (both also starring Christoph Waltz), the German actor and filmmaker’s most recent American film appearance was in Atomic Blonde from 2018. However, he is still working steadily in front of and behind the camera and will soon appear alongside the likes of Ben Foster and Michael Caine in Medieval - a retelling of Jan Ziska’s defeat of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire in the 14th Century.

B.J. Novak (Smithson "The Little Man" Utivich)

Also known for his work in front of and behind the camera is B.J. Novak, who was best known as a writer, director, and star of The Office cast before playing the unfortunately nicknamed Smithson Utivich in Inglourious Basterds. He would later follow-up his tenure as Ryan Howard by trying his hand at comic book movies (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), biopics directed by John Lee Hancock (Disney’s Saving Mister Banks in 2013 and 2016’s The Founder), and other TV shows like HBO’s The Newsroom or The Mindy Project, which his friend Mindy Kaling created and starred on.

Novak created an anthology series called The Premise (formerly known as Platform) that is premiering to FX in September 2021 and is working on his feature-length debut as a writer and director with the horror film Vengeance, which is currently set for a 2021 release as well.

Mike Myers (Gen. Ed Fenech)

Another Inglourious Basterds star who broke out on a popular comedy series is Saturday Night Live cast veteran Mike Myers, who became one of the most famous comedians in the world thanks to characters like Wayne from Wayne’s World as well as lending his voice to the Shrek movies as the titular Ogre. Thus, it was quite surprising for the almost completely unrecognizable Canadian to make a cameo in a Quentin Tarantino movie until going undercover become more of his thing, such when he hosted the Gong Show reboot as Tommy Maitland or appeared in Bohemian Rhapsody as a fictional record producer. Myers is currently working on Oscar-nominated Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell’s next film and developing a Netflix original comedy series reportedly called The Pentaverate, but whether or not we should expect Austin Powers 4 remains to be determined.

Few filmmakers know how to put a movie cast together as well as Quentin Tarantino. In terms of using each actor appropriately and to the best of their talents, and propelling a few members into extremely successful careers, the Inglourious Basterds cast just may be his masterpiece.

The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus and his partner Diane Kruger have been officially dating since 2017, but you may not have known it or forgotten as they’re good at flying under the radar as far as celebrities are concerned. Reedus and the National Treasure star are pretty private, despite being a pretty powerful Hollywood couple. The two have now made it through isolation together strong as ever, making for a lot more personal inside looks to their life together, and in the process, reminding us all that they're dating.

Norman Reedus and Diane Kruger are both pretty active on social media but, as active as they are, they don’t share very many looks into their personal life as compared to many other celebrities who actively post to social media. On Valentine’s Day though, Kruger shared a very loving image of the couple to her Instagram with the short, but beautifully sentimental, caption of “To Love. Always”, tagging Reedus:

Even though fans may not be constantly reminded that the stars are an item, they love seeing the couple together. Fans are adoring the intimate photo of Diane Kruger with partner Norman Reedus, as the post has what seem like hundreds of heart emojis in the comments.

The couple are not the only ones fans love seeing together, though. Norman Reedus and Diane Kruger share a daughter and, although they have been even more private where she is concerned, they do post the occasional photo involving her, much to the delight of their social media followers.

And when we say glimpses, we mean it! The photos of the couple’s daughter usually only involve her hands or feet and very rarely have we seen her face. Diane Kruger has even chastised paparazzi on the occasion they have released images of their child, asking fans not tot share images in order to maintain the privacy of the child. The couple’s daughter is going on 3-years-old and is so shielded from the fame of her parents that her name has not yet been released to the public.

Norman Reedus and Diane Krugers’ dedication to privacy is worthy of applause and wonder, considering they are still able to actively bring their personalities to the public through their social media. Both celebrities have unique personas surrounding them, which is maybe what makes them such a great couple, and it really shines through o their Instagrams. Reedus’ in particular can be a bit odd, if you don’t count the awesome The Walking Dead behind-the-scenes posts.

It’s also a wonder how Norman Reedus is maintaining a pretty private personal life, as the actor’s career has blown up since his time on The Walking Dead. He plays a huge fan-favorite character and one of the only key characters to be created for the show that does not appear in the comic. And there’s not an immediate end in sight for that Daryl Dixon hype he has going for him. The end of the OG The Walking Dead series may be looming, but Reedus is one of the cast members who has secured his own spinoff.

While Norman Reedus and Diane Kruger should be commended for their efforts to keep their lives their own, it's nice to get a peek into their life together every once in a while. Kruger’s Valentine’s Day post is a lovely reminder that she and Reedus are together and strong as ever, despite their lack of constant internet family photos and the recent pandemic isolation that many couples must deal with. If only there would have been a mini Norman Reedus foot sneaking into the picture, then we would have had a decent family photo.

This is a bittersweet week for The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus. The Daryl Dixon actor and actress Diane Kruger just welcomed their first child together. Obviously that's joyous news for both the couple and The Walking Dead family, and it came at the perfect time -- a new life entering the world just before we lose Rick Grimes.

People confirmed the birth of Norman Reedus' baby with Inglorious Basterds star Diane Kruger. The sex, name, and exact birth date weren't revealed, although fans think an Instagram post from Reedus hinted to a baby girl. He already has a 19-year-old son, Mingus Lucien, from his relationship with Helena Christensen. Here's hoping Reedus names his new little one Little Ass-Kicker, in honor of Judith Grimes' true name.

Rick Grimes is a fictional character, but he's played by Norman Reedus' real-life BFF, Andrew Lincoln. AMC decided to spoil Lincoln's departure way in advance, using the opportunity to tease Lincoln's final episodes as Rick Grimes. As the sun now stands, we don't know how that departure will be resolved, or if Lincoln's Papa Grimes might make a return in some fashion down the line before the series ends. But we know Sunday, Nov. 4 is meant to mark Lincoln's goodbye.

Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln both started on The Walking Dead in Season 1, and had a pact to leave the show together. That ain't happenin' anymore. Instead, there's talk that Reedus may take over the lead role after Lincoln leaves, and even pick up his major salary.

That extra money should come in handy now that there's another little mouth to feed. It's been a while since Norman Reedus raised a baby, but this video should remind you how good his Daryl Dixon was at soothing newborn Judith Grimes:

Speaking of zombie apocalypse babies, The Walking Dead Season 9's time jump has given us an older Judith, plus Maggie Greene-Rhee's new baby Hershel. Andrew Lincoln is a huge loss for the AMC series and we also know Maggie actress Lauren Cohan is stepping away from TWD for her new ABC show, Whiskey Cavalier. She has left the door open for a return, and it sounds like Lincoln will also return to the Georgia set next year, although to direct and not play Rick Grimes. But losing Rick and Maggie... however it happens, and even if they come back, is a serious shake-up for a series that already feels so different from the first few seasons.

The Walking Dead taped Andrew Lincoln's final episode as Rick Grimes several months ago, but it will be raw for viewers this week, with the effects presumably lasting a long time. We'll have to see what the loss of Rick Grimes does for the show's storyline and also its already lower ratings.

TWD Season 9 continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on AMC. Keep up with everything worth watching in our fall TV roundup.

Inglorious Basterds possesses a pretty impressive ensemble of actors. Not only does it star Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Eli Roth, Daniel Bruhl, Diane Kruger, and Michael Fassbender, but Christoph Waltz picked up a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his efforts, too. However, it turns out that there was one member of the above group that Quentin Tarantino really didn't want to audition, because he was so set on casting someone else in the part. That individual was Diane Kruger, and the actress has now opened up about just how grueling a process it was for her to actually be cast as Bridget von Hammersmark in Inglorious Basterds. After being asked how many times she auditioned, Diane Kruger recalled,

Unfortunately, Diane Kruger didn't go into detail about who she managed to usurp for the part. However, it was previously reported that Nastassja Kinski, the German actress who won the Golden Globe for Roman Polanski's Tess, was his first choice. Quentin Tarantino even reportedly flew to Germany to meet the actress, but couldn't work out a deal with her. This is when Diane Kruger swooped in. After reading the script, Diane Kruger believed that the part was "meant" for her. Quentin Tarantino wasn't quite as convinced, though, and Diane Kruger even had to go as far as to fly out to Germany herself towards the end of the casting so that she could talk him into it.

Clearly that was a success, as Diane Kruger was ultimately cast in the film, and the actress has since called the production a "wonderful experience," describing Quentin Tarantino's process as like being "taken over" and "given wings" in front of the camera. She even went as far as to call Quentin Tarantino a "creative genius." Diane Kruger made these comments during her recent interview with Variety.

Released back in 2009, Inglorious Basterds was a big-hit for Quentin Tarantino, as it was met with sterling reviews to the tune of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed $321.5 million at the box office, too, which at that point was the director's highest grossing film ever. Django Unchained's $425.4 million has since toppled that amount, but thanks to its sensational performances and Quentin Tarantino's glorious script and direction, Inglorious Basterds is still just as revered by fans to this day, and in fact it only gets better with repeat viewings.

Quite a few hearts were broken throughout 2016. From iconic, long-lasting marriages to eyebrow-raising flings, a ton of celebrities dealt with some romantic turmoil in the past devastating year. Let's take a look back at all the famous couples who called it quits in 2016.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie

Without a doubt the most shocking breakup of the year was the dissolution of Brangelina, Hollywood's paramount supercouple for over a decade. Angelina Jolie shocked the world when it was announced that she had filed for a divorce from Brad Pitt in September. The couple had become a tabloid fixture from the very start when Pitt reportedly cheated on Jennifer Aniston with Jolie while they were filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith in 2005. They went on to have six children together --- three biological and three adopted from foreign countries.

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris

Taylor Swift is pretty well known for her high profile relationships with famous men, but it looked like she had finally found her perfect match last year when she started dating Clavin Harris. Though they stayed together for over a year, Swift and Harris suddenly split up this summer, and it wasn't exactly the cleanest breakup. Harris went off on Swift on Twitter shortly after the split, accusing his ex's PR team of making him look bad by revealing that she was a writer on his hit track "This Is What You Came For."

Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston

Taylor Swift wasn't alone for long after her breakup with Calvin Harris. The singer quickly started a summer fling with Avengers actor Tom Hiddleston, which wound up fading away with the summer sun come September.

Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

Perhaps the most troubling breakup of the year was Amber Heard's split from husband Johnny Depp. After a year of marriage, Heard filed for divorce from Depp this year, and followed that up with a restraining order and the accusation that he had been verbally and physically abusive to her throughout their relationship.

Demi Lovato and Wilmer Valderrama

Wilmer Valderrama has a history of dating Hollywood's "it" girls, and many probably assumed that when he started dating Demi Lovato back in 2010 it would just be a short fling. However, the couple proved their doubters wrong by staying together for six full years before finally calling it quits this summer.

Lady Gaga and Taylor Kinney

Talk about a "Bad Romance." Lady Gaga ended her five-year relationship with The Vampire Diaries star this summer, a year after they had gotten engaged.

Jennifer Lopez and Casper Smart

J-Lo was ridin' solo for a bit in 2016. The singer ended her five-year relationship with backup dancer Casper Smart back in fall. Although, Jennifer Lopez may have already moved on to a bigger name beau --- Lopez has been snuggling up with Drake recently.

Mariah Carey and James Packer

J-Lo wasn't the only diva to deal with heartache in 2016. Mariah Carey started the year out with an engagement to Australian billionaire James Packer, but in fall the couple announced their split. Packer makes an appearance in Carey's new reality series Mariah's World, which was filmed before the breakup was announced.

Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger

What seemed like one of the most stable relationships in Hollywood hit a bump in 2016. Joshua Jackson and Diane Kruger ended their decade-long relationship this year.

The Weeknd and Bella Hadid

After nearly two years together, young stars The Weeknd and Bella Hadid announced their breakup this fall. As two of the buzziest celebrities right now, it was reportedly too difficult for the singer and model to maintain their relationship in the midst of both of their busy schedules.

Chloe Grace Moretz and Brooklyn Beckham

2016 was an unkind year to young love. Unlike bestie Meghan Trainor who found love with Spy Kids star Daryl Sabara this year, Chloe Grace Moretz broke up with her boyfriend Brooklyn Beckham. So much for getting in with the famous Beckham family...

Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman

After five years together, Drew Barrymore announced that she was filing for a divorce from art consultant Will Kopelman in the summer of 2016. The couple has two children together, and stated that they will continue to co-parent the kids and remain friendly as exes.

Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner

Although their relationship started out full of Glee, Melissa Benoist and Blake Jenner decided to end their three-year marriage at the tail end of 2016. Jenner had recently popped up in a cameo role on Benoist's hit show Supergirl, but soon after the couple cited irreconcilable differences and filed for a divorce.

Two of the hottest stars in television, Lena Dunham and Norman Reedus, are set to make the move to the big screen together with Sky. But do the duo have the screen-presence to excel on the big screen? Or will they be found lacking and only cement their reputation as television stars instead?

We’ll find out with Sky, a thriller/road-movie that will also star Diane Kruger. According to Variety, Lily Sometimes director Fabienne Berthaud will oversee the film, which will be her third feature film. There’s a European vibe running throughout Sky, as it is being part financed by Bertrand Faivre’s French studio Le Bureau as well as Germany’s Pandora. They are also hoping to raise further financing while at the Berlin Film festival.

Diane Kruger will take the lead role in Sky. She will star as Romy who takes a trip to California with her husband, played by Gilles Lellouche. However their journey takes a sadistic turn when Romy accidentally kills her spouse during a fight that turns violent. Rather than doing the honorable thing and admitting to her crime, Romy decides to embark on a road trip across Nevada and California instead. Along the way she is expected to bump into The Walking Dead’s Norman Reedus and Girls’ Lena Dunham.

Emmanuelle Le Courtois, who works for The Bureau Sales and is looking to shop around Sky while in Berlin, has been talking up the thriller. She explained that it’s character-driven with multiple layers, while it’s also about a "woman emancipating herself." Sound intrigued? Sky certainly does have an appeal.

Diane Kruger is a worthy leading lady, however it’s the addition of Lena Dunham and Norman Reedus which means that Sky should have an appeal to US audiences. Dunham has turned into one of the most complex and divisive figures in independent cinema and television. This is mainly due to her work as the lead actor, writer, director and creator of Girls, the HBO dramedy that has blossomed into a pop culture phenomenon. Dunham was given the opportunity to work on Girls thanks to her directorial debut, 2010’s Tiny Furniture. She has also appeared in the likes of Nobody Walks (which she co-wrote), Supporting Characters, This Is 40 and Happy Christmas. Meanwhile Norman Reedus is now an all-round American hero because of his turn as Daryl Dixon on The Walking Dead. Some movie fans have even forgiven him for his work in The Boondocks Saints because of the character’s popularity.

We’ll see if the duo are able to perfectly combine when Sky is released. Fingers crossed it will get the financing it requires over the next few days at the Berlin Film Festival, and that it will hit cinemas at some point in 2016.

While the real world will still have problems with immigration, murder and crooked cops, the fictional world of The Bridge is done with them. FX has confirmed with us that they “will not be moving forward with a third season of The Bridge,” one of the most dark and gritty shows TV had going for it. There were enough deaths on that show that I’m sure there’s a prop tombstone we can use to mourn its absence from this point on.

I was a big fan of The Bridge, though it was hard to actually “like” the nearly fun-free approach to storytelling from creators Meredith Stiehm and Elwood Reid, who adapted it from the Danish/Swedish series Broen/Bron. That lack of attractive qualities certainly made it hard for the series to grow an audience in the two years it was on the air. Cable series have less expectations laid against them than broadcast networks’ shows do, but The Bridge did poorly even by those standards. While the first season premiered for an audience 3 million strong and held on to an average of over 1.5 million viewers for the rest of the season, Season 2’s premiere only brought in 1.5 million, and several episodes dipped beneath a million viewers as the weeks went by. Last months’ finale? Just 1.03 million watched the live airing. (I DVR it.)

Luckily, the fans that the show did earn didn’t have to go through a bunch of heartache over cliffhangers and stories not being tied up. It’s not like every little thing was cleared up, but the season’s two big baddies, the sadistic Eleanor Nacht (Franka Potente) and cartel leader Fausto Galvon (Ramón Franco), were caught. Fausto and Captain Robles would have presumably gone on to cause more hell for people in Season 3, and it’s sort of possible that Eleanor would have done so as well, but she might have been done for after her cathartic scene with her rapey father tied to a tree.

If there’s a silver lining, it’s that Demián Bichir and Diane Kruger can now act in more things with actual happiness in them. Annabeth Gish, who’d already met her maker this season, moved on to Sons of Anarchy last month, though that’s ending soon. Hopefully Thomas M. Wright’s next role allows him to enunciate his words a little better.

FX still has a solid drama lineup set up through the next year. They’ve renewed The Strain, Fargo, Tyrant and The Americans for extra seasons, and let’s not forget Justified is also coming back next year. Plus whatever that American Crime Story is going to be.

Farewell, The Bridge. Let's all tip our passports in memory.

When you’ve got a heavy generation-spanning drama about a mentally ill novelist, it would be a shame to just fill it with one Oscar-winning actor – in this case, Russell Crowe. Voltage Pictures’ upcoming Fathers and Daughters has fixed that problem by adding Best Supporting Actress Octavia James (The Help), Best Actress nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds) to its cast. With The Pursuit of Happyness’ Gabriele Muccino directing, this is one that will probably find its way to an awards show near you in 2015.

Crowe, who is also serving as Fathers and Daughters’ executive producer, will play a brain-marred novelist and widower trying to figure out how to raise a 5-year-old daughter in New York City in 1988. Twenty-five years later, Amanda Seyfried plays the grown-up daughter who is still trying to outlast the problems that comprised her tumultuous childhood, all while in a romance with Aaron Paul.

According to Variety, Spencer will star as the head of a psychiatric clinic where Seyfried works with troubled children. Wallis will play one of Seyfried’s patients that hasn’t uttered a syllable in the year since her mother was murdered. Finally, Kruger will play Crowe’s sister-in-law, who believes that he is to blame for her sister’s death.

There is drama all over the place with this one, and the screenplay written by Brad Desch was one of the entries on the 2012 Black List (the annual list of the most popular unproduced screenplays in Hollywood). Most of the places that one reads about it all refer to the film as a love story between a father and his daughter, but it sounds more like a film that involves more skeletons in the closet than love. But I’m sure it’ll get there in the end.

Spencer had a pretty giant 2013 with starring roles in Fruitvale Station, Lost on Purpose, and Diablo Cody’s directorial debut Paradise> She even voiced a snake in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters. She’ll next be seen in Snowpiercer, assuming it ever comes out, Mike Binder’s custody drama Black and White and the James Brown biography Get On Up. She’s currently filming Adam Collis’ comedy Car Dogs (how's that not an animated movie?)

Wallis, following a bit role in 12 Years a Slave, is now finished filming Will Gluck’s upcoming Annie remake and will voice a character in the upcoming multi-director animated adaptation The Prophet. Kruger, who recently starred in Andrew Niccol’s The Host, has been killing it as the awkward asocial Sonya in the Americanized version of The Bridge on FX. She’ll next play Abraham Lincoln’s older sister Sarah in A.J. Edwards’ biographical drama The Better Angels.

Fathers and Daughters will be heading to Berlin’s European Film Market later this month, and is setting up its pre-production in Pittsburgh, otherwise known as the "New York City of Pennsylvania."

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the Diane Kruger-led pilot, The Bridge. Apparently, sometimes no news is good news, because FX announced today that the network will be moving forward with the detective-based project and will be bringing it to series at the network.

The Bridge is adapted from the Scandinavian series i Bron. In the American version, a Mexican detective and an American detective must learn to work with one another after a serial killer begins taking lives in the U.S. as well as within its border country. Assumedly, the thought is that if the two detective leads share the evidence, they will share the success—that is, if they can catch a killer. National Treasure’s Diane Kruger stars as one detective in the series and Weeds’ Demián Bichir is signed on as the other lead. Additionally, Annabeth Gish, Ted Levine, and Thomas M. Wright co-star in The Bridge.

According to TV Line, FX has signed on for 13 episodes of The Bridge, and quite frankly, the new series should situate itself quite nicely in the network’s dramatic lineup. FX already has a Marshal drama, Justified, and a spy drama, The Americans, in its lineup, and The Bridge’s catch-a-serial-killer premise should fit in quite nicely with the elements of crime and action the network already has going for it in its late-night slots. Audiences will just have to wait and see whether The Bridge will be joining The Americans next season or will be taking over for the recent freshman drama, which suffered from a ratings lapse in its second week.

Anton Yelchin and Diane Kruger have signed on to star in 5 to 7, a new romantic comedy written and directed by Victor Levin. The project is being produced by Mockingbird Pictures and The Solution Entertainment Group.

The film will star Yelchin as a young novelist living in New York who begins an affair with the wife of a French Dipomat, who will be played by Kruger. The press release about the casting news continues from there saying, "Cultures, world views, personal ethics and dietary preferences clash as love deepens, with remarkable results in this romantic comedy." Levin's previous writing credits include the film Win a Date With Tad Hamilton!, and episodes of shows such as Mad Men, Mad About You and The Larry Sander's Show. Production on the new film is gearing to start up in late February 2013.

Said producers Bonnie Curtis and Julie Lynn in a statement about the project, "Vic Levin's script has us in tears -- we're just not sure if it's from laughing or crying. We're excited about the grace and intelligence that he, Diane and Anton will bring to their interpretations of his beautiful story."

Yelchin has been off screen for just about all of 2012 (he did voice a character in the stop-motion film The Pirates! Band of Misfits), but will be coming back strong in 2013. Next year he will star in an adaptation of Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness and The Smurfs 2.

Kruger recently starred in the period drama Farewell, My Queen - in which she played Marie Antoinette - and Pascal Chaumeil's French adventure comedy Un plan parfait. She will next be seen in Andrew Niccol's upcoming adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's The Host, which will be in theaters on March 29th.

FX’s new drama pilot, The Bridge, has found its leading lady in an actress who has never before make an appearance on American television. Diane Kruger, who has starred opposite Brad Pitt twice--in Troy as well as in Inglourious Basterds--has just been cast as the female lead for the cross-border cop drama.

The Bridge focuses on two police detectives, one in the U.S. and one in Mexico. Deadline says Kruger will play the American cop, Sonya North, an El Paso Police homicide detective. She’s described as a cop free of sentimentality, or really any kind of warmth, who speaks her mind and apparently lacks a filter when it comes to calling it like it is. When a serial killer begins taking down victims on both sides of the border, she finds herself joining forces with Mexican detective Marco Ruiz in order to hunt the killer down. The role of Ruiz has yet to be cast.

The Bridge is adapted from a Scandinavian format and the pilot is set to film in El Paso, as well as in Los Angeles, this fall. Kruger has been pretty busy with her film career. She just played Marie Antoinette in Farewell, My Queen and has both The Host and The Green Blade Rises on the horizon (the former is done filming while the latter is just getting production underway). If the FX pilot makes it to series, she’ll be one seriously busy lady, that is, if she keeps up her feature work on the side.

The Twilight saga may be drawing to a close, but Hollywood’s love affair with Stephenie Meyer’s “prose” is just beginning. With word that the merged Lionsgate-Summit powerhouse intends to explore further Twilight adventures on the small screen, casting continues on Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Meyer’s other novel, The Host.

Inglourious Basterds star Diane Kruger is circling the pivotal role of The Seeker, according to Deadline. In Meyer’s science-fiction story, an alien race known as The Souls have taken over the human race. The Seeker agrees to watch over Melanie, a warrior soul (played by Hanna star Saoirse Ronan) who has been taken over by Wanderer, a force that has survived the Soul invasion but is overwhelmed by Melanie’s former memories – which shouldn’t exist.

Remember when Meyer dealt only with chaste vampires and sexually frustrated werewolves? Man, those were simpler times. I think it’s safe to assume that Meyer’s audience will follow her from Twilight to The Host, no matter who ultimately is cast in Niccol’s finished film.

But adding legitimate talents like Ronan and Kruger helps to ensure that The Host won’t be as painful for non-Meyer converts. And while The Host sounds like the umpteenth take on the classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers fable, Niccol wrote The Truman Show and directed the underrated In Time with Justin Timberlake, so he has the ability to spin a conventional plotline in unexpected directions. Let’s hope he’s the collaborator Meyer and her army have been hoping for.

Considering that Len Wiseman's Total Recall is set to start filming in May, the good folks behind the project may want to do something about casting. Guaranteed to be a high profile project - and one with a lot of components - Colin Farrell is the only name currently attached. Though we know that the story will be changed a bit from the 1990 Paul Verhoven version, going by the first film they still need to find actors to play the villainous Cohaagen and Richter, Benny, and George/Kuato, but it looks like they are starting with the women.

Deadline has received a list of actresses vying for the two lead female roles in the film. First there is Lori, played by Sharon Stone in the Verhoven flick, who is Quaid's wife who actually ends up trying to kill him. According to the site, both Kate Bosworth and Diane Kruger are being brought in to test for the role this week. As for the Melina, Quaid's ally and former lover who helps him free the people of Mars, Eva Mendes and Paula Patton are both reading for the part, though Jessica Biel and Eva Green are also possible options (Mendes is being considered for the part of Lori as well).

Not a bad list of actresses if you ask me (though I will admit some options are better than others). I've mentioned before that I am at least slightly curious how they will approach the story, and it appears that they are going at it with the best cast they can get. We'll be sure to report as we get more information.

Since the casting of Henry Cavill as Clark Kent in Zack Snyder’s new Superman, the internet has been deluged with a whole host of casting rumors dedicated to guessing who will be cast as his Lois Lane. Those rumors all assumed one very fundamental thing: That Lois Lane would actually be in the movie. If you’ve been following along with this project at all it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that, maybe she won’t.

The film is reportedly set before Clark Kent gets his job at the Daily Planet, during a time he spends wandering the world experiencing local cultures and impressing people with his ability to eat spicy food. Clark Kent didn’t meet Lois until he went to work at the Daily Planet and if that’s really the plot, then Lois wouldn’t be in the movie. Instead according to Variety the names you’ve been hearing rumored for the Lois Lane part are probably really just contenders for some other unspecified female lead who is not Lois Lane in any way.

Along with the fairly logical conclusion that Lois Lane won’t be in the new Superman movie Variety also drops out their own list of possible female lead frontrunners. They’re going with Alice Eve, Diane Kruger, and Rosamund Pike. All three of those actresses, it’s worth noting, are very blonde and look absolutely nothing like Lois Lane. On the other hand, some of the other actresses rumored definitely seem very Lois like. Here’s the others listed so far: Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, Kristen Stewart (confirmed dropped out), Rachel McAdams, Jessica Biel, Malin Ackerman, Dianna Agron.

Bottom line here, pretty much anyone who claims to know who Snyder’s planning to cast as the film’s female lead, should be treated as a fool and mostly ignored. No one knows. All names are being considered, but if it’s not Lois Lane, does it really matter all that much? Since it’s not Lois we know that whoever they cast will only be in one movie, to be instantly ignored and forgotten in the sequel whenever Lois finally does show up to take her rightful place in Superman’s life. At least this story led you to a really nice Alice Eve photo. You’re welcome.