Sacha Baron Cohen to play Freddie Mercury

Deadline reports that Sacha Baron Cohen of Borat and Bruno fame has been cast as singer Freddie Mercury in a biopic looking to begin production in 2011. Peter Morgan, who has written films based on real people before with The Last King of Scotland, The Queen, Frost/Nixon, and The Damned United, will try to tackle the life of the Queen frontman, who died of complications from AIDS in 1991. The producers have also acquired the rights to Queen’s music and the remaining members of the band will be part of the producing team.

The first trailer for The Tourist

Here’s a first look at the Johnny Depp/Angelina Jolie romantic thriller about an American tourist who gets involved with a mysterious woman, only to end up a pawn in a game he doesn’t understand. Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (The Lives of Others) directs from a script by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) and Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects). The Tourist comes to theaters December 10.

Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino, and Pesci: It’s possible.

They have all worked together in different pairings throughout the years though never in one film together, but the story of Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran, a mob hitman, might bring them all together. Deadline reports that Scorsese and De Niro have been working on the project based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, but this is the first mention of Pacino and Pesci.

A first look at David O. Russell's The Fighter

Mark Wahlberg stars as the boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward in this biopic directed by David O. Russell (I Heart Huckabees). Christian Bale plays his troubled half brother and sometime-trainer Dickie, and Amy Adams fills the role of Wahlberg’s love interest. Ward is best known for his three fights with Arturo Gatti, the first of which was called the “Fight of the Century." This week Sony adjusted the release schedule so that The Fighter will now appear as a limited release on December 10 followed by a nationwide rollout on December 17.

Noomi Rapace joins Sherlock Holmes 2

According to THR, Noomi Rapace, the Swedish star who played Lisbeth Salander in the “Millennium Trilogy” films, will star alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes sequel. The nature of Rapace’s role is unknown due to the secrecy surrounding the plot, but speculation is that she will play a French gypsy. Other major roles still must be cast, the most important being that of Holmes’ archenemy Professor Moriarty. Daniel Day Lewis has been rumored, but we’re not holding our breath. Release is currently set for December 16, 2011.

The first trailer for Eastwood’s Hereafter

Matt Damon plays a reluctant psychic, Bryce Dallas Howard his girlfriend, and Cecilia de France a reporter grappling with surviving the 2004 Tsunami in Clint Eastwood’s latest drama, Hereafter. The film investigates the idea of life after death through three stories that eventually come together. Reviews were mixed after its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, so does the trailer compel you to see it when it hits theaters on October 22?

Let Me In gets a second international trailer and a new clip

Let Me In will struggle to separate itself from its acclaimed Swedish counterpart Let the Right One In, but the new film did receive generally good reviews at TIFF. Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) directs two good young actors in Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) in his adaptation of the John Ajvide Lindqvist novel. Below is a new clip from the film (additional clips are here and here), and the latest international trailer.

A new (and better!) Due Date trailer

The new trailer for Todd Phillips’ new comedy starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis reveals more plot details and secondary characters, and is just plain funnier than the first two. Michelle Monaghan plays Downey’s wife, and Danny McBride makes an appearance as a man who really likes Chili’s. See it in theaters November 5.

Mickey Rourke as the Ice Man

THR has Mickey Rourke attached to play Richard "The Ice Man" Kuklinski, who claimed to murder 250 men between 1948 and 1986 while married with children. The film will be based on Philip Carlo’s book The Ice Man: Confessions of a Mafia Contract Killer. David McKenna, who wrote Blow, an account of cocaine dealer George Jung, will write the screenplay.

The first trailer for Casino Jack

Alex Gibney’s documentary Casino Jack and the United States of Money has already been released this year, but now we get the fictionalized version of the same story starring Kevin Spacey as Jack Abramoff, the lobbyist involved in a massive corruption scandal involving fraud, conspiracy, and tax evasion. Kelly Preston plays his wife Pam, and Barry Pepper portrays fellow lobbyist Michael Scanlon. George Hickenlooper (Factory Girl) directs from a script by Norman Snider (Dead Ringers). The film premiered in Toronto this week but its planned release in December does not yet have an exact date.

Country Strong trailer

Gwyneth Paltrow stars as a country singer trying to get her career back on track in Shana Feste’s (The Greatest) Country Strong. She’s joined by Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester as a young country star, Tim McGraw as her husband and manager, and Garret Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) as a singer/songwriter. A limited release is set for December 22, followed by wide release January 7, 2011.

Girls can be hit "men" too

Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) and James Gandolfini will star in Precious writer Geoffrey Fletcher’s feature directorial debut, Violet & Daisy, about a pair of teenage assassins. Variety reveals that Gandolfini will play the intended target, who causes complications for the hitgirls. It is believed that Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls) will play Violet to Ronan’s Daisy.

A theatrical trailer for Saw 3D

Saw 3D (actually the seventh film in the series) brings back survivors of Jigsaw’s crazy games to heal with the aid of a self-help guru played by Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder). We’re guessing he’s not much help. Cary Elwes, Costas Mandylor, Betsy Russell, and James Van Patten all reprise their roles from the previous Saw films, and this time, the sharp objects will be coming at you in 3D. Look for it in theaters on October 29.

Buried TV spot

Ryan Reynolds plays a U.S. contractor in Iraq who after an attack wakes up to find himself buried alive in a coffin with only a lighter and a cell phone to help him get out. The latest TV spot provides a few more wrinkles to the story. Buried will be in select theaters on September 24 and everywhere October 8.

Tangled international trailer

Here’s the international trailer for Tangled, Disney’s take on the Rapunzel fairy tale. The movie tells the story of Rapunzel, a girl with 70 feet of magical hair (voiced by Mandy Moore) and Flynn Rider, a Robin Hood-like thief (voiced by Zachary Levi), who strike a deal and set off together after Flynn seeks refuge in Rapunzel’s tower. See it in 2D or 3D when it come out November 24.

The Nutcracker 3D trailer

In the latest re-imagining of the Nutcracker story, Russian director Andrey Konchalovskiy sets the film in 1920’s Vienna where Mary, played by Elle Fanning, receives a special doll from her uncle (Nathan Lane) on Christmas Eve only to discover that the doll has plans to return to his own world and rescue it from the Rat King. See the film in theaters November 24.

Quick notes: Rumors, release dates, casting news and more

• Surprise, surprise. I’m Still Here is a hoax. - NY Times
• Fox Searchlight will release Terence Malick’s Tree of Life, but not until 2011 - Deadline
• Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Here’s a full list of the winners and the story of the controversy surrounding the awards.
• James Cameron is developing his 1994 film True Lies for TV - Deadline
• A fun rumor surfaced this week: Jon Hamm as Superman. Too bad he then denied it.
• Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under) and Malin Akerman have joined Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston in David Wain’s upcoming comedy Wanderlust - Variety
• Alex Proyas (Dark City) will direct an action-filled 3D adaptation of John Milton’s Paradise Lost - Variety
• Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch will star in William Friedkin’s Killer Joe - THR
• Aimee Teegarden (Friday Night Lights) has been added to the Scream 4 cast - THR
• Gary Ross (Seabiscuit, Pleasantville) is the favorite to helm the first film in the Hunger Games trilogy - Deadline
• Do you want to see a fifth Resident Evil film? - Vulture
• William H. Macy is set to star in the adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s Freaky Deaky, to be directed by Charlie Matthau - Deadline