By the end of the week, you’ll be able to jam along to the new Metallica album. The hard rockers are releasing their new album Death Magnetic for Guitar Hero III. On Friday, you’ll be able to download and play the entire 10 track album. You’ll also get two exclusive renditions of “Suicide & Redemption” with extended solos by James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett. And guess what? All the songs on Death Magnetic will be forward compatible with Guitar Hero World Tour when it launches this October. Be sure to check it out, Metallica just loves it when you download their music.

As you may already know, the next Harry Potter movie has been pushed back to next summer. Well, the game is getting a few extra months as well. Electronic Arts has officially announced that the Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince game will be released concurrently with the flick next summer. Gamers will be able to participate in wizard duels, brew magic potions, and play Quidditch. And EA says the game will be an “interactive extension” of the movie. I hope this extra time helps both projects.

The Sky Crawlers are soaring across the Pacific towards North America. The Sky Crawlers, by Ghost In The Shell director Mamoru Oshii, has just been picked up by Sony Pictures Worldwide for distribution here in North America. The Sky Crawlers tells the story of a dark future in which war is treated like a sporting event. No word yet on a release date.

It looks like Max Payne inflicts too much pain for the MPAA. The Motion Picture Association Of America has given the film version of the Max Payne videogame an R rating, much to the dismay of director John Moore. Moore says that his film is not any worse than The Dark Knight, which received a PG-13, and that filmmakers are now suffering a Batman blowback from the MPAA. Considering that the game was Mature rated, it doesn’t seem that far-fetched for the film to receive the equivalent film rating. I guess we’ll all find out on October 17th when the movie is released.

Come get some. It looks like Evil Dead: The Musical is heading to the big screen. The musical’s producer and partners are currently in talks with director Sam Raimi to present a 3D version of the necromantic musical on the silver screen. Producers hope to resolve all the rights issues soon so they can begin production in Toronto next spring.

Will Smith has a new job. The Hancock star is turning in his superhero tights to become a Pharaoh of ancient Egypt. Smith will play Taharqa, a pharaoh who must rally his troops to battle Assyrian invaders.

Rumours of a new Spider-Man movie are heating up. Reports are surfacing that Tobey Maguire and director Sam Raimi have signed on to do Spider-Man 4. Nothing official has been announced, but if the rumours are true, Sony Pictures is considering filming Spider-Man 4 and 5 back-to-back. Apparently Kirsten Dunst has not yet agreed to reprise her role as Spidey squeeze Mary-Jane Watson, but the studio wants her back. No word on the villains yet. Like we said, all very unofficial, but if all turns out to be true, we may see Spider-Man 4 by 2011.

You know how Stand Up To Cancer held that Ebay auction for a walk-on role in Spider-Man 4? Well, now they’ve got one for the next Iron Man movie. Like Spider-Man 4, an Iron Man sequel hasn’t been officially announced, but we all know it’s coming. The winner of the auction will receive a visit to the set, a small walk on role in the film, and a ticket to the premiere in Los Angeles.

The Coen Brothers are back filming in Minnesota. The Burn After Reading duo, are now filming A Serious Man in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. The film tells the story of a professor whose life falls apart. The quirky classic Fargo was also filmed in Minnesota by the Coen brothers.

Speaking of the Coen brothers. No Country For Old Men star Tommy Lee Jones has filed a 10 million dollar lawsuit against Paramount. The actor claims that the studio hasn’t paid him bonuses for his role in No Country For Old Men. Jones is asking for an independent reviewer to go over the film’s books. The movie took in 160 million at the box office and won four Oscars, including best picture.

Remember that video of the two guys who visited the lion they released back into the wild? Well, it seems that the YouTube video has touched the hearts of Sony Pictures as well. Sony is attempting to secure the rights to the book, A Lion Called Christian, based on the experience of the two men, and turn it into a film.

Have you caught the new Seinfeld Microsoft commercial? The ad shows Microsoft boss Bill Gates and comedian Jerry Seinfeld shopping for a pair of discount shoes. Strangely, no Microsoft products are pitched, and in fact, the company name is only mentioned once. We’re not sure what the point of this is. Microsoft recruited Seinfeld in an effort to make them cool and combat those “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” commercials. I think the jury is still out on this one.

Nintendo has just unveiled their WiFi Network Adapter. Nintendo’s Japanese website features all the specs for the new DS and Wii device. And although it is set for release on September 18th, we don’t know if that is only for Japanese consumers. We’ll keep our eyes on this one.

Contrary to earlier reports, Belkin is not working on a gamepad for the iPhone. The rumour mill had Belkin working on the JoyPod, a frame that gives your iPhone a gamepad. Too bad, because Belkin makes some great iPhone accessories.

Apple has finally acknowledged the true inventor of the iPod. Apparently, Kane Kramer invented the technology almost 30 years ago, but when he couldn’t raise the money required to renew worldwide patents in 1988, the technology became public property. Unfortunately, as a result, Kramer hasn’t seen a dime from the invention.