Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe face off in first Les Miserables trailer

Anne Hathaway cropped her hair for the role and went on a dramatic crash diet. Picture: Universal Pictures Source: The Daily Telegraph

Vicky Roach, The Daily Telegraph, reports

After swapping his mutton chop Wolverine sideburns for the full follicle fizz, Hugh Jackman looks suitably grim in the latest images to be released from the hotly-anticipated film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Les Miserables.

And Russell Crowe appears to be lending considerable heft to the role of Inspector Javert, arch nemesis to Jackman's character Jean Valjean in Victor Hugo's 19th Century classic.

But Anne Hathaway luminous beauty transcends the brutal, sheep shorn haircut she is sporting for the role of Fantine.

The 29-year-old actress sings her rendition of I Dreamed A Dream in the just- released official trailer for the film, directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech).

The new movie version of the hit stage musical is scheduled to open on December 14 in the US for maximum awards impact, lining up alongside Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby and Peter Jackson's first Hobbit film.

In Australia, the film is scheduled for a Boxing Day release.

Shot at England's Pinewood Studios, and on location in the UK and France, Les Miserables also stars Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Helena Bonham Carter.

Hugh Jackman barely recognisable on the set of Tom Hooper's new film version of Les Miserables

Where's the sexiest man alive gone ... Hugh Jackman as prisoner Jean Valjean on set in Les Miserables. Picture: Splash Images Source: The Daily Telegraph

Annette Sharp, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Dressed in filthy rags, his handsome face gaunt and dark hair hacked to the scalp, one time Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman is barely recognisable on the set of Tom Hooper's new film version of Les Miserables.

Having shed kilos while appearing in sold-out Broadway stageshow Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway this year, director Hooper is making the most of 43-year-old Jackman's leanness for his role of an impoverished Frenchman jailed for stealing a loaf of bread.

Based on the 19th century novel by Victor Hugo, Les Miserables is shooting in London with Jackman as Jean Valjean, a former prisoner who becomes mayor of a town but is hounded for much of his life by police.

Cast opposite Jackman as the tenacious Inspector Javert is countryman Russell Crowe.

According to sources on set, Jackman is so far enjoying the shoot as it has afforded him a rare opportunity to throw punches at Crowe, much to the amusement of the crew.

"The crew find it hilarious as Crowe would obviously sweep the floor with Jackman in real life," a source said.

The film's cast includes Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter.

No Borat at lunch for Baron Cohen's birthday

Family day ... Isla Fisher and husband Sacha Baron Cohen on Sydney Harbour / Pic: Splash Source: The Daily Telegraph

Article in The Daily Telegraph

HE rodeoed as Kazakastani Borat and attended sex parties as Austrian fashionista Bruno, but a quiet, alter ego-free family affair was served up for the 40th birthday of Sacha Baron Cohen this week.

The enigmatic funnyman celebrated the landmark occasion on Thursday with wife Isla Fisher and daughters Olive, 3, and Elula, 1, over lunch at Catalina in Rose Bay after arriving in Sydney at the weekend.

Afterwards the foursome headed out for a yacht trip around Sydney Harbour, albeit in overcast weather.

Safety first, the children were strapped into life vests before setting off and Fisher – back to shoot The Great Gatsby - even helped push the boat off the sand.

Cohen has been concentrating on acting of late as opposed to creating a new controversial character.

He will play Freddie Mercury in a Queen biopic A Kind of Magic and he's got a role in the new Martin Scorcese project, Hugo.

Isla Fisher arrives in Sydney with hubby Sacha Baron Cohen and their brood

The Sunday Telegraph reports

ISLA Fisher and her brood arrived in Sydney this week, with the actress getting set to begin work on The Great Gatsby.

The flame-haired Australian star was joined by husband Sacha Baron Cohen and their two daughters Olive and Elula at Sydney Airport, having said goodbye to their LA home while Fisher works on the Baz Luhrmann period film currently being shot at Fox Studios.

Dressed in colourful PJs and clutching a bright teddy bear, three-year-old Olive was carried through the arrivals terminal by Cohen, who has been busy filming his new movie The Dictator since June.

Fisher, who will play Myrtle Wilson in The Great Gatsby, seemed just as reluctant to be photographed as her shy co-stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire as she rushed to a waiting car wearing oversized sunglasses and carrying one-year-old Elula.

The family will be busy with birthday celebrations over the next two weeks, with Baron Cohen turning 40 this Thursday and Olive celebrating her fourth birthday a week later.