The list of names for the upcoming Max Payne movie adaptation continues to grow as Stargate SG-1's Beau Bridges has become the latest actor to join the cast, following the addition last week of That 70s Show and Family Guy's Mila Kunis as an as-yet-unnamed assassin.

Bridges looks to step into an altogether different role as a character named B.B. Hensley, which The Hollywood Reporter describes as "a former cop and mentor figure to Max Payne, who helps him track down a cunning, ruthless killer." The storied actor has played a number of different roles over the course of his career, but after three years of associating his face with that of Stargate's Major General Hank Landry, it's difficult for us to imagine him watching Mark Wahlberg's back without wanting him to pull out random quotes from Patton or Dr. Phil.

We're going to be honest and admit that we still don't get the Max Payne movie project. It's been five years since the last game in the series, and the brand power in the mass market has to be hovering around nil. We weren't even sure we believed it last month when we heard that filming was to start this month. That was, until we received this pic of Mark Wahlberg on the set of the film.

To us he looks ... well, like Mark Wahlberg in a dark jacket. But since Max's face has looked completely different in both of his games, we don't know exactly what we expected. But if you're in the Toronto area, you may be able to help us get a better idea of how things are coming along. One of our readers sent in a list of shooting locales and times where you might be able to catch a glimpse, we've put it right after the jump. You know where to send it if you find anything juicy.

[Via Eurogamer]

Rockstar's line of PC games are now available for download on Valve's Steam digital distribution service with an additional 10% off during this launch week. The whole Grand Theft Auto series is available, including Midnight Club II, Manhunt, Wild Metal Country and the Max Payne games. Oh Max, dearest of all our friends, we wish you'd come back.

Almost every game except for GTA: San Andreas is under $10. Go ahead and gift a title to a gamer buddy you forgot this holiday season -- these actually are some great deals if you somehow missed any of these titles.

We know it's been a while since you've heard anything about the Max Payne series of games, and don't worry: You won't be breaking your streak today. What you are going to hear about is an upcoming Max Payne film starring ... wait for it ... Mark Wahlberg. Yes, the former Funky Bunch CEO is reportedly going to be grimacing his way through an adventure based on the noir series. John Moore of Flight of the Phoenix and Behind Enemy Lines fame will direct.

What's just as (if not more) exciting to us it that we doubt Rockstar will miss the opportunity to cash in on the film with a new Max Payne, and, frankly, he's been gone too long.

The latest issue of Game Informer has details on 3D Realms' Earth No More, likely one of their two "big announcements" expected within the next six months. The title is being developed for PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 by Recoil Gamers, reportedly made up of former Max Payne developers.

Earth No More centers around a New Englander caught in the middle of an outbreak in a town surrounded by poison, terraforming vines -- it may sound a lot like War of the Worlds, but these vines are (gasp!) part of a man-made catastrophe!

The game will play out without cutscenes, à la Half-Life 2, and the article (via CVG) claims that human interaction will be the focus of the title, "with a conversation mechanic said to rival that of Mass Effect." Bit of a bold statement, given that BioWare's RPG is still not finalized (or dated, for that matter). There will also be online co-op.

Earth No More is tentatively set for a 2009, or 12 A.D. (i.e. After Duke Nukem Forever was announced), release.

3D Realms has some big announcements coming in the next six months, but nothing about Duke Nukem Forever, according to new creative director Raphael Van Lierop.

"I can say that we have a big announcement coming in the next four weeks, and I'm not sure, but I believe we have another major announcement coming in the next four to six months," he said in an interview with Gamasutra. "While I can't say exactly what these are, are they about Duke Nukem Forever? No."

Since beginning the DNF project just over a decade ago, the company has managed to release 12 titles, which can be summed up as Prey, two Max Paynes and nine Duke Nukem iterations. Van Lierop said that their business model benefits from a "very collaborative relationship" with other developers.

If DNF isn't one of the company's next two big announcements, then we'll likely see another partnership, perhaps the Prey sequel that 3DR's CEO Scott Miller told Firing Squad in February was already mapped out from a "high-level story standpoint." The first big announcement will coincide with this year's E3 Media and Business Summit.

Fun fact: In the span of two questions, or 521 words, in the interview, there are 9 mentions to Duke Nukem Forever, totaling 27 words (with only one of those references by the interviewer). That's over 5% of the words used in that section!

The Hollywood Byte is a weekly column on Yahoo! covering the convergence of video games and movies. This week they talk with Scott Faye, producer of the movie adaptations of American McGee's Alice and Max Payne. Though they've been in development for about 6 and 8 years, respectively, Faye is confident they'll get made soon.

He says Alice could begin shooting as early as this summer, with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the lead role, and be ready for a 2007 release. The adaptation of Max Payne is a little more tenuous. A screenwriter has just been hired, and they hope to begin filming late 2006, early 2007. We're not holding our breath at this point.

[Via Cathode Tan]