Note that Film Friday will not appear next week (November 25) because of the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll be back on December 2nd.

The first full trailer for The Hunger Games

The fourth of five Twilight films comes to theaters today, but don’t fret, young-adult fiction fans; a new trilogy is ready to take its place in early 2012. The first full trailer for The Hunger Games introduces a dystopian future controlled by the Capitol which selects one boy and one girl (called tributes) from twelve districts to participate in a televised game in which only one survives. Jennifer Lawrence plays the heroine of the series, Katniss Everdeen, who, upon selection of her younger sister Prim, volunteers herself as the female representative of District 12. Josh Hutcherson plays Peeta Mellark, the male tribute from District 12 who secretly loves Katniss, and Liam Hemsworth plays Gale, Katniss’ best friend. Fans will also recognize Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket, Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickman, Donald Sutherland as President Snow, Lenny Kravitz as Cinna, Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy. The Hunger Games hits theaters March 23, 2012, followed by Catching Fire November 22, 2013.

The fairest of them all?

Last week it was Snow White and the Huntsman; this week, we get a look at Mirror Mirror, director Tarsem Singh’s (Immortals 46) take on the classic fairy tale Snow White. To say that these two films are different in tone might be an understatement. Singh described his version last week as “a very sweet kiddie movie,” and he wasn’t kidding. He has created a brightly colored world of extravagant sets and costumes to tell a whimsical story that directly contrasts the serious tone and armor-clad Snow White of Rupert Sander’s Huntsman. Mirror Mirror's light, almost goofy tone carries over into the performances of Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen, Armie Hammer as the Prince, Lily Collins as Snow White, and those of Nathan Lane and the seven dwarfs. As Deadline reported this week, Tarsem is already attached to what could be his next feature, Killing on Carnival Row, but it will be interesting to see if his vision of Snow White proves to be the fairer of the two when it comes to theaters March 16, 2012.

The first look at Pixar’s Brave

This year saw Pixar’s run of success at the box office continue with Cars 2 57, but, for the first time, Pixar didn’t win over a majority of the critics. The studio’s next feature, Brave, is its first to feature a female lead character and also the first directed by a woman (co-writer Brenda Chapman co-directs with Mark Andrews). The story revolves around Princess Merida, whose independence and love of archery inadvertently threatens her father’s kingdom. The voice talent includes Kelly Macdonald as the princess, Emma Thompson as Queen Elinor, Billy Connolly as King Fergus as well as Kevin McKidd, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, and Craig Ferguson. Will it win back critics? Find out June 22, 2012 when Brave comes to 2D and 3D theaters.

The UK trailer for The Iron Lady

Meryl Streep stars as Margaret Thatcher in this biopic of the legendary and controversial former British Prime Minister. Written by Abi Morgan, who wrote 2008’s Brick Lane 61 as well as this year’s highly anticipated Shame, and directed by Streep’s Mamma Mia! 51 director Phyllida Lloyd, The Iron Lady is another chance for Streep to adopt an accent and get an Oscar nomination. The film will sneak into theaters in New York and Los Angeles on December 30 before expanding wider on January 13.

Paul Dano tries Being Flynn

Based on Nick Flynn’s memoir Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Being Flynn tells the story of Flynn’s reunion with his estranged father at a homeless shelter. Paul Dano plays Nick, and Robert De Niro plays his absentee father. The supporting cast includes Olivia Thirlby as Nick’s love interest and Julianne Moore as his mother. Paul Weitz (About a Boy 75, In Good Company 66, Little Fockers 27) directs from his own script. Look for it in theaters in Spring 2012.

Another look at Shame

While Michael Fassbender’s performance in Shame has been praised (and already rewarded at the Venice Film Festival), it’s Carey Mulligan’s performance of New York, New York that many critics identified as a defining moment in the picture. The latest trailer for Steve McQueen’s second film features a bit of that performance, while giving a glimpse into the world of Fassbender’s sex-addicted character, who also happens to be the brother of Mulligan’s character. The NC-17-rated Shame comes to select theaters December 2.

David Gordon Green and a new red band trailer for The Sitter

David Gordon Green, who prior to directing Pineapple Express 64 was known for making indie films like George Washington 81 and All the Real Girls 71, has one more raucous comedy hitting theaters before he returns to his indie roots. First, the latter film: THR reports that Green will write and direct an adaptation of Evan Mandery’s novel Q. The story is an unconventional romance in which a man’s future self directs him not to marry the love of his life. Much more conventional (and raunchy) is Green’s upcoming comedy The Sitter, starring Jonah Hill as a suspended college student who gets tangled up with drug dealers while babysitting three kids. The latest red-band trailer is heavy on the cursing and includes a few more extended interactions highlighting Hill’s comedic timing. The film features Ari Graynor, Sam Rockwell and J.B. Smoove, and hits theaters December 9.

The Vow

The Vow is ready to take your money on Valentine’s Day. This love story starring Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams, who, the trailer reminds us, starred in the Nicholas Sparks weepies Dear John 43 and The Notebook 53, revolves around McAdams’ inability to remember her husband (Tatum) after a severe car accident. The film is based on the true story of Kim and Krickitt Carpenter (not making that up). Michael Sucsy directs a cast that also includes Scott Speedman, Jessica Lange and Sam Neill. See it in theaters beginning February 10, 2012.

Gone trailer

Amanda Seyfried stars in this thriller as a woman convinced that her sister has been abducted by the same serial killer she escaped from two years prior. Michael Paré, Jennifer Carpenter, Joel David Moore, Wes Bentley, and Sebastian Stan co-star as characters who either believe or doubt Seyfried’s sanity. Gone is directed by Heitor Dhalia and written by Allison Burnett (Untraceable 32). Check it out in theaters beginning February 24, 2012.

A new U.S. trailer for The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Aardman Studio’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits tells the story of Pirate Captain (Hugh Grant), his crew (including Martin Freeman and Brendan Gleeson) and his rivals in the Pirate of the Year competition, Black Bellamy (Jeremy Piven) and Cutlass Liz (Salma Hayek), and the latest trailer shows that it might be a film the whole family can enjoy. Gideon Defoe provides the screenplay from his own series of stories, and Peter Lord, the director of Chicken Run 88, co-directs with Jeff Newitt. See it in 2D or 3D beginning March 30, 2012.

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

• Steven Soderbergh will not direct The Man from U.N.C.L.E. after all. - The Playlist
• Colin Firth could play the villain opposite Josh Brolin in Spike Lee’s remake of Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy. - Twitch
• Sacha Baron Cohen is in talks to play Scotty, “a gambler who buys Django's wife as a female companion,” in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained. - Variety
• Russell Brand will star in and produce the comedy The President Stole My Girlfriend, in which, as the title states and Brand tells THR, “the president steals the girlfriend of a sexy hippie—me, obviously... It was inspired by the night I naively invited Warners president Jeff Robinov for dinner.”
• Variety reports that David Yates, the director of the last four Harry Potter films, will team with the BBC to turn the beloved TV series Dr. Who into a feature film, but don’t get too excited; BBC executives claim it’s not happening anytime soon.
• Like Crazy’s Felicity Jones has been cast in the lead female role in Warren Beatty’s Howard Hughes picture, but as THR reports the production ran into some trouble this week when it lost a financial backer and its casting director. - Deadline
• John Hillcoat’s The Wettest County, the story of a bootlegging family in Prohibition-era Virginia starring Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, and Jason Clark, will be released April 20, 2012.
• The Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell’s follow-up to The Fighter, will be released November 21, 2012. The film is an adaptation of Matthew Quick’s novel about a teacher (Bradley Cooper) recently released from a mental institution and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Julia Stiles, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver and Chris Tucker.
• Tim Burton is in talks to direct an adaptation of Ransom Rigg’s novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, the story of an abandoned orphanage on a mysterious island that was once home to children with special and possibly dangerous abilities. - Deadline
• Kristen Stewart is in talks for the role of Kei in Jaume Collet-Serra’s Akira remake. The character is the love interest of Kaneda, played by Garret Hedlund. Gary Oldman and Helena Bonham Carter also have offers, but the key role of Tetsuo has yet to be cast. - Twitch
• Even though he already has Lincoln and Robopocalypse lined up, Steven Spielberg is in talks to direct a biblical epic about Moses, Gods and Kings. - Twitch
• Although Angelina Jolie filmed an English-language version, her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, will be presented with subtitles (with dialogue spoken in Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian) when it hits U.S. theaters December 23. - Deadline
• With Sandra Bullock unavailable, Amy Adams looks to be Clint Eastwood’s co-star in Trouble with the Curve in which Eastwood plays an aging baseball scout accompanied by his daughter (Adams) on a trip to look at one last prospect. - Variety
• Ice Cube would like to make another Friday movie, but will Chris Tucker be involved? - Deadline
• Ricky Gervais is ready to bring jokes about the holocaust and pedophilia to The Golden Globes. Yep, he’s hosting again. - GoldenGlobes.org
• Luke Wilson and Kevin Connolly have joined Eric Bana and Danny Huston in Elvis & Nixon - THR
• Chuck’s Yvonne Strahovski will play the lead scientist opposite Aaron Eckhart in Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein. - Heat Vision
• Scarlett Johansson will make her directing debut with an adaptation of Truman Capote’s Summer Crossing. - Variety
• Kathryn Bigelow’s still-untitled Bin Laden movie will be released December 19, 2012.