This weekend marks the release of the swashbuckling-fest Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides. If ‘At World’s End’ didn’t quite drive you away from the franchise, feel free to have another go at it. So instead of having Keira Knightley in the flick, this film features Penelope Cruz as the lead. So here she is kicking off this edition of the ELO.

After the jump, William Shatner sings O Canada, Kevin Smith is now trying a new way to cast people in his films, lots of movie sequels related news, Transfomers 3 tidbits and go behind the scenes at a Jerry Bruckheimer pitch meeting!

The Canadian national anthem will never be the same all thanks to a new rendition by William Shatner. (NFB)

Darth Vader announces that Obi-Wan Kenobi is dead. No pictures of the body will be revealed as it is deemed too gruesome for the public. (Galactic Empire Times)

Wait a sec… did Kevin Smith just cast Colin Hanks in Hit Somebody via Twitter??? Who knows, but if he is in the film, it’ll be a fine addition. They just might want to work out a deal or contract that’s a bit longer than 140 characters though. (Slashfilm)

Looks like the next Terminator film isn’t happening soon given now that Ah-nold has decided to put his acting career on hold again… this time for his own um… personal issues. (MSNBC)

Scream 4 may have flopped at the box office, but that never stopped Harvey Weinstein from believing that another sequel to the slasher franchise will happen. (MTV)

It’s barely into production but The Dark Knight Rises has already gone viral! The end result is a first look at Tom Hardy as Bane! (JoBlo)

In the film Thor, there is a special post-credits scene that ties in nicely with the upcoming Avengers flick. Turns out Thor’s director Kenneth Branagh wasn’t the one that filmed the scene. Can you guess who was the man behind the camera for that brief clip? (Empire)

Since it’s the end of the world today, it would be appropriate to check out 9 apocalypse films to help you prepare for all this. (Movieline)

It’s not a Transformers film if it doesn’t get some sort of adjustment to its release date. Just like its predecessors, the third film of the franchise will now come out 2 days early on June 29 2011! (Deadline)

The Transformers equivalent to Jar Jar Binks, Skids and Mudflap (aka The Twins) will not be making an appearance in the new film. How are we so sure? Michael Bay just offered a $25000 bounty for whoever spots them in the movie. (Slashfilm)

Earlier this week, an event took place called “3D: A Transforming Visual Art – A Conversation With Michael Bay and James Cameron.” The point of the event was to discuss the use of 3D in Transformers: Dark of the Moon and how 3D in general has evolved over the last few years. Well since Jim was involved, obviously they also talked about Avatar. The entire video of the discussion isn’t online yet, but have a look at a clip that contains a few looks at Transformers 3 as well. (Hey U Guys)

Just this past week it was the TV upfronts. Not only do we get to know which bubble shows are returning, there’s also first looks at pilots that are picked up for this fall. Well, what better way than to sum it all up by listing the winners and losers from the weeklong event? (The Hollywood Reporter)

Since we’re expecting The Hangover 2 to hit theatres next week, it’s appropriate to take a look at a mashup trailer to demonstrate how the second film is more or less a rehash of the original.

So the Hitler rant scene meme from Downfall has been overplayed but this one is particularly fitting. Director Lars Von Triers was recently banned from Cannes Film Festival for his comment on likening himself to a Nazi. Obviously when the Führer heard about this… he wasn’t pleased.

Ever wonder what goes on in a pitch meeting with Jerry Bruckheimer? Well have a look for yourself and stay tuned for the hilarious ending.