Get your first look at the new Three Stooges
Ever wondered how the Three Stooges would assimilate modern society? Or how their particular brand of slapstick comedy would play for modern audiences? Well, wonder no more. The Farrelly Brothers have finally realized their vision of bringing the Three Stooges to the big screen, but don’t expect a return to the former glory of There’s Something About Mary 69. The Stooges are played by Sean Hayes (Larry), Will Sasso (Curly), and Chris Diamantopoulos (Moe). Supporting players include Larry David (playing a nun), Sofia Vergara, Jane Lynch, Jennifer Hudson, and Snooki (yes, the one you're thinking of). The Three Stooges comes to theaters April 13, 2012.
That sinking feeling: A new Battleship trailer
You've played the board game, and you've seen the teaser trailer. What could make your life more complete? How about the new official trailer for Battleship, directed by Peter Berg at a reported cost in excess of $200 million (or, the amount of money it would take you to purchase 11,117,287 copies of the board game for you and your closest friends). Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Asano Tadanobu, and Liam Neeson, and you can expect it in theaters on May 18, 2012.
An engaging first trailer for The Five-Year Engagement
If you enjoyed Forgetting Sarah Marshall 67, there’s a good chance you’ll enjoy The Five-Year Engagement. The film reunites writer/director Nicholas Stoller with writer/star Jason Segel in a romantic comedy about a couple who are continually delaying their wedding. Emily Blunt plays Segel’s fiancé, Alison Brie plays her sister, and Jacki Weaver plays her mother. Filling out the funny supporting cast are Rhys Ifans, Chris Pratt, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, and Chris Parnell. Check it out in theaters beginning April 27, 2012.
Were you expecting What to Expect when You’re Expecting?
With New Year’s Eve gracing theaters with its beatific presence this week, it makes complete synergistic sense to release the first trailer for another high concept, star-stuffed, multi-story film to capture the hearts and wallets of all movie-going couples. Kirk Jones (Everybody’s Fine 47) directs a cast that includes Elizabeth Banks, Anna Kendrick, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Brooklyn Decker, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Morrison, Rodrigo Santoro, Chris Rock, Thomas Lennon, Chace Crawford, and many more. With actors that have good comedic performances in their past, What to Expect When You’re Expecting hopes to offend less than New Year’s Eve or Valentine’s Day when it hits theaters May 11, 2012.
Star Trek 2: Che out, Buckaroo Banzai in, Carlos the Jackal next?
According to Vulture, Benicio del Toro will not play the main villain in J.J. Abrams’ untitled Star Trek 83 sequel after an agreement could not be reached on the actor’s pay. Reports quickly surfaced on Variety that Edgar Ramirez (Carlos 94) is the director’s next choice, with Jordi Molla (Colombiana 45) also a possibility. Who will this actor play? Conflicting rumors still seem to point toward Khan as being the villain for the sequel, but it has not been confirmed (much like General Zod was long rumored for Man of Steel). One new cast member that has been confirmed is Robocop star Peter Weller. The great Buckaroo Banzai will join the Star Trek universe in a role that was described to EW as being “substantial” and that of a “C.E.O.” Sounds villainous to me.
A first look at Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
For the third installment of the successful animation series (Madagascar 57, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 61), Alex the Lion (Ben Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Chris Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith), and Melman the Giraffe (David Schwimmer) are on the run in Europe, being chased by Captain Chantel DuBois (Frances McDormand), and hiding with a traveling circus led by Vitaly the Tiger (Zach Braff). Eric Darnell directs without his co-director on the first two, Tom McGrath. Somewhat surprisingly, the script (or at least major re-writes) comes from the pen of Noah Baumbach (Fantastic Mr. Fox 83, Greenberg 76). Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted comes to 2D and 3D theaters June 8, 2012.
Does the prospect of a new Nicholas Sparks film make you want to cry?
Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling star in The Lucky One, the latest in a long string of movies based on Nicholas Sparks novels that began with Message in a Bottle 39, continued with A Walk to Remember 35, reached its “peak” with The Notebook 53, and shows no signs of slowing down with both Dear John 43 and The Last Song 33 being released in 2010. The Lucky One tells the story of an Iraq War vet (Efron) who searches for an unknown woman (Schilling) whose picture he believes saved his life. Scott Hicks, who once earned praise for Shine 87, directs. See it in theaters beginning April 20, 2012.
Remember The Cabin in the Woods? It finally has a trailer
Back in 2009, Drew Goddard, the writer of Cloverfield 64, directed The Cabin in the Woods, which he co-wrote with Joss Whedon. Shelved due to the unrelated financial problems of its original distributor MGM, the thriller will finally come to theaters on April 13, 2012. Cabin stars a pre-Thor Chris Hemsworth, Jesse Williams, Fran Kranz, Kristen Connolly, and Anna Hutchison as kids just looking to have a good time at a secluded cabin. Unfortunately for them, they’re starring in a horror film.
Angelina Jolie: acting, directing, and getting sued
Deadline reports that Angelina Jolie is in talks to headline Luc Besson’s next large-scale dramatic thriller. Details are scarce, but it would be Jolie’s next film, coming before she teams up with Ridley Scott on the historical biopic about Gertrude Bell, tackles Cleopatra, or stars in Maleficient (a new take on Sleeping Beauty). Meanwhile, Jolie is currently preparing for the release of her directorial debut In the Land of Blood and Honey on December 23 and, unfortunately, getting sued because of it. 24 Frames has the latest on the lawsuit from James Braddock (aka Josip J. Knezevic) and Jolie’s response, which basically comes down to “It's par for the course. It happens on almost every film.” Maybe it does, James Cameron was sued this week over Avatar 83.
A new look at Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
In this adaptation of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, Thomas Horn plays a precocious boy who searches to find the meaning of a key left by his father who died during the September 11 attacks. Tom Hanks plays his father, Sandra Bullock plays his mother, and the supporting cast includes Max von Sydow, John Goodman, Viola Davis, and Jeffrey Wright. Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot 74, The Hours 81, The Reader 58) directs from a script by Eric Roth (Munich 74, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 70). Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close comes to a few theaters in Los Angeles and New York on Christmas Day before opening wider on January 20, 2012.
The Iron Lady
Having already been awarded Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle, Meryl Streep is basically a shoo-in for another Oscar nomination for her portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, even if early reviews haven’t been kind to the film as a whole. Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Streep in Mamma Mia! 51, is at the helm, and she has enlisted a solid cast of British actors including Jim Broadbent as Thatcher’s husband. The screenplay is by Abi Morgan, who also wrote Shame 71. See it in theaters beginning December 30.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: new controversy, new trailer, new enigma
A new eight-minute trailer premiered this week for David Fincher’s adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, with new scenes and more music from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’ score, but the real news surrounded the embargo-breaking review by David Denby of The New Yorker. While positive, producer Scott Rudin did not take kindly to Denby breaking the embargo. The Playlist published a series of emails between Rudin and Denby (even Fincher put in his own two cents), and on The New York Times Carpetbagger blog, Melena Ryzik examined the fallout. Any publicity is good publicity in this case—for both Sony and The New Yorker. Not to be outdone, the film's viral marketing campaign unleased its latest video: a fake 1980s-era Hard Copy segment about the murder being investigated in the film. Enjoy the hype and check out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in theaters beginning December 21.
A new trailer for The Lorax
Danny DeVito, as the titular character, introduces the latest trailer for Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, and the new twists to the beloved children’s story are prominently featured. Hopefully, the heart of the classic children’s book survives. In this version, Ted (voiced by Zac Efron) goes searching for a tree to impress Ashley (Taylor Swift), only to learn about the story of The Lorax (Danny DeVito) and his nemesis, the tree chopping Once-ler (Ed Helms). Chris Renaud (Despicable Me 72) and Kyle Balda direct from a script by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul. Check it out in 2D or 3D when it comes to theaters March 2, 2012.
The year in film, in montage form
Want to spend six or seven minutes watching a montage of bits of nearly every film released over the past year? The first two of what will no doubt be many supercuts to come have surfaced on YouTube:
Sequel and remake news
A spate of sequels and remakes were announced or at least speculated about this week. On Tuesday, Variety broke the news that a sequel for the Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 30 was in the works. If it happens, it would be Sandler’s first sequel (it only seems like he keeps making the same movie over and over). On the same day, Variety reported that Lionsgate is working on a sequel to this year’s Matthew McConaughey-starring Lincoln Lawyer 63. In addition to the sequel, Michael Connelly, whose novels are the basis for the film, and screenwriter John Romano will write a TV pilot for ABC. Lionsgate also announced on Thursday that Noble Jones will write and direct a remake of Mary Harron’s American Psycho, which was an adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis’ 1991 novel. Since its release, the film, starring Christian Bale, has grown in cult status. The new version would update the story to modern times, but it’s still in the early stages of development.
Sequel and remake news: The sequel
Not to be outdone on sequel news, The Wrap revealed that New Line has already attached the team behind Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (director Brad Peyton, and writers Brian and Mark Gunn) to a possible Journey 3. Journey 2 doesn’t hit theaters until February 10, 2012, and there’s no word on whether any of the cast (Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Dwayne Johnson) would return. If those four sequel options don’t sound promising, Robin Williams, in an interview with MovieHole, shot down possible sequels to Mrs. Doubtfire 53, but left the door open for a sequel to The Birdcage 72, the 1996 comedy based on La Cage Aux Folles. After a year that saw more sequels hit the theaters than ever before, studios aren’t about to change their course, and if the above news isn’t depressing enough, the Evil Dead remake will be in theaters April 12, 2013 as well.
Quick notes: Rumors, release dates, casting news and more
- Guy Ritchie will take over directing duties on The Man from U.N.C.L.E. after Steven Soderbergh walked away from the project a few weeks ago. - Deadline
- Captain Phillips, the story of the Somali pirate raid on the Maersk Alabama and the Navy SEALs’ subsequent rescue of the hostages, will hit theaters March 22, 2013. The film stars Tom Hanks and will be directed by Paul Greengrass.
- According to Vulture, Michael Bay might not be finished telling his version of the Transformers story, but Bay says he’s undecided on making a fourth film. What he will be doing is shooting Pain and Gain based on the true story of a group of Florida bodybuilders whose extortion plan goes horribly wrong. Dwayne Johnson looks to be in, but Mark Wahlberg has passed on the film. - Variety
- Sparkle, starring Jordin Sparks, Whitney Houston, and Derek Luke, will be released August 10, 2012.
- M. Night Shyamalan recently joined Twitter (oops, we forgot to preface that with "Spoiler alert:") and announced that his next film, originally called 1000 A.E., will now be titled After Earth. M. Neezie (as he’s called by Will Smith) is also in talks with Zoe Kravitz and Sophie Okoneo to play the daughter and wife to leads Will and Jaden Smith. - THR
- According to TMZ, Sofia Coppola’s next film could be based on the true story of the Hollywood Burglar Bunch (aka the Bling Ring), a group of teenagers who stole more than $3 million from Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, Orlando Bloom, and other celebrities.
- Martin Scorsese’s next film will be his long-gestating adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s novel Silence, about Jesuit missionaries in 17th Century Japan. - Bleeding Cool
- William Hurt has joined Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel in the cast of Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s The Host. - EW
- That didn’t last very long: Patty Jenkins (Monster) will not direct Thor 2. She has left the project due to “creative difference,” but according to Deadline she still has a good relationship with Marvel and could end up working on another of their films.
- Juno Temple and Wes Bentley have joined Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, and Sharon Stone in the Linda Lovelace biopic, Lovelace. - Variety
- Armie Hammer will star opposite Eric Bana in Sheldon Turner’s directorial debut, By Virtue Fall. - Deadline
- After playing his stepfather in the Will Farrell/John C. Reilly comedy Step Brothers, Richard Jenkins will get to play Adam Scott’s father in the comedy A.C.O.D. (Adult Children Of Divorce). - Deadline
- Benjamin Bratt will face off against Dwayne Johnson in the drug-themed action-thriller Snitch. - Variety
- Sacha Baron Cohen will sing again. He played Pirelli in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and now he will play Monsieur Thenardier in Tom Hooper’s musical adaptation of Les Miserables. He joins the already impressive cast of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, and fellow Sweeney star Helena Bonham Carter. - LondonNet/The Playlist
- Harrison Ford is wanted for the role of Branch Rickey in the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42. - Deadline
- Holly Hunter has joined Julianne Hough, Russell Brand and Octavia Spencer in Diablo Cody’s directorial debut about a “sheltered young woman (Hough) who loses her faith after a plane crash and heads to Vegas to experience the wild side of life. Hunter will play her conservative and overprotective mother.” - Deadline
- Ben Kingsley will join his Hugo co-star Asa Butterfield and True Grit star Hailee Steinfeld in the big screen adaptation of Ender’s Game. - Heat Vision
- OperationEarlyBird.com teases The Dark Knight Rises prologue.
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