By SHARON EBERSON, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Robert Zemeckis may just be the father of the performance-capture, 3-D mania sweeping through Hollywood.

His "Polar Express" inspired DreamWorks animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg to declare, "It was the most exciting experience I'd had in a movie theater."

Big news about Orlando, Fla., theme parks, what with Disney in recent days announcing Star Tours updates and an expansion of Fantasyland, and Universal revealing that its theme park within a theme park, the enormous Wizarding World of Harry Potter, would open in spring 2010.

Stan Lee says he likes to keep busy, and luckily that's never been a problem for the 86-year-old comic-book legend.

From the pages of Marvel comic books, X-Men heroes and villains are introduced to the big screen in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," a prequel to the film trilogy. Bolt, Blob and Emma Frost are among the new mutants onscreen, along with recurring characters such as Cyclops/Scott Summers, originated by James Marsden but now played by Tim Pocock.

Elegant Anne Hathaway shimmered like an Oscar statuette, Kate Winslet channeled Grace Kelly and looked not only fresh but fashion-forward, glamorous Angelina Jolie was draped in black with a heart-shaped bodice and Brad Pitt on her arm, and Meryl Streep, with regally high hair and shoulder-baring elegance, looked like the Hollywood royalty that she is.

I've recently become acquainted with two young men, one named Odd, the other named Bod. They're the perfect companions to facilitate a creepy Halloween experience.

The "Stargate SG-1" franchise's friendship with branches of the U.S. military -- which counts officers with clout as fans of the 10-year TV series -- elevates "Stargate: Continuum," a straight-to-DVD film.

SAN DIEGO -- The setting, even for a city with glorious seascapes, was breathtaking, taking the stars of "Stargate SG-1" where few premieres had gone before: aboard the USS Midway in San Diego harbor, for a red-carpet walk and special screening of "Stargate: Continuum."

The promise and pitfalls of graphic-novel adaptations:

"Wanted" is the latest evidence that filmmakers can't get enough of graphic novels and comic-book series as inspirations for movies.And who can blame them?