A minor yet amusing piece of news regarding the 21 Jump Street sequel has been announced.  Embedded in a press release that announced a remake of the French film A Prophet produced by Neal Moritz, Sony has revealed that the title of the Jump Street sequel will be, appropriately enough, 22 Jump Street.  Not too much is known about the follow-up as of now, but directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are expected to return, and the story will find Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill’s characters infiltrating a college campus.  Moreover, Moritz previously told us that Ice Cube will indeed be reprising his fantastic role as Captain Dickson.  22 Jump Street will open in theaters on June 13, 2014.

With director Louis Leterrier’s (The Incredible Hulk) magician-centered thriller Now You See Me opening May 31st, I recently went to New Orleans to interview the cast.  For those unfamiliar, the story follows an FBI squad on the heels of a team of bank-robbing magicians who share their profits with the audience, and the pic boasts an impressive ensemble cast that includes Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Melanie Laurent and Morgan Freeman.  For more on the film, watch six clips, or check out all our previous coverage. 

During my interview with Dave Franco, he talked about how much fun he had making the movie, what he learned about magic, what it was like working for Louis Leterrier and  his always moving camera, and more.  In addition, he talked about if he’ll be in the 21 Jump Street sequel, and reveals Nicholas Stoller‘s Townies features tons of male nudity.  Hit the jump to watch.

The production delay for Jurassic Park 4 has scuttled Universal’s plans for a June 13, 2014 release date.  But you can’t let a good release day go to waste, and Sony has wasted no time in moving the 21 Jump Street sequel into that vacated spot.  This move makes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the only wide release on June 6, 2014.  Filming on TMNT is currently underway with Megan Fox on a trampoline.

As for the sequel to 21 Jump Street, filming is set to begin this fall.  Phil Lord and Chris Miller will return to direct; Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum will reprise their roles as Officers Schmidt and Jenko.  Korean Jesus be praised.

While Sony is patiently awaiting Oren Uziel’s rewrite on the 21 Jump Street sequel, the studio has also tapped the screenwriter to pen another installment in the Men in Black franchise.  Little is known about the logline for Men in Black 4, though the studio was apparently pleased enough with Uziel’s pitch to give him the go-ahead.  It’s unclear at this time just how involved Will Smith would be with a fourth film and there are currently no deals for either Josh Brolin or Emma Thompson to return.  After Men in Black 3 went on to earn a franchise-best $624 million, the studio is obviously eager to get another film in development.  Uziel, however, will have to finish his draft on the 21 Jump Street sequel first, which Sony has already slated for a June 6, 2014 release.  Hit the jump for more.

One of the most pleasant surprises of 2012 was Sony’s 21 Jump Street adaptation.  While remakes and reboots are usually developed with an eye towards appealing to the widest possible audience, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller crafted a wonderfully peculiar and hilarious comedy that benefitted from some excellent chemistry between stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill.  As the R-rated film grossed over $200 million worldwide, both fans and Sony were keen on moving forward with a sequel.  Screenwriter Michael Bacall has been working on the script for the follow-up alongside Hill, and Sony recently announced that they’re planning the film for a 2014 release.

Steve recently sat down for a lengthy interview with producer Neal Moritz, and during their wide-ranging conversation Moritz talked quite a bit about 21 Jump Street 2.  He confirmed that the story finds Tatum and Hill infiltrating a college campus, Ice Cube is set to return as Captain Dickson, and he also noted that Lord and Miller are attached to direct with an eye towards a summer 2014 release date.  Hit the jump to read on.

Last summer, Sony announced they were preparing a 21 Jump Street sequel.  Jonah Hill followed up to say he was working on the script with Michael Bacall and expected to start filming in September 2013.  It looks like all is going according to plan, as Sony announced 21 Jump Street 2 as part of their 2014 slate at CinemaCon.  21 Jump Street was too funny to leave alone and lends itself to a case-of-the-week comedy franchise, so I look forward to another adventure.  (21 Jump Street: The College Years?)

Hill and Channing Tatum are expected to reprise their starring roles.  Dave Franco says that despite plot logistics, he heard there is a place for him in the sequel.  Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller are currently hard at work on the Lego movie, but it sounds like there will be room in their schedule to return to Jump Street.

Poor Dave Franco. The charming younger brother of James just can’t seem to catch a break in films. In Fright Night and 21 Jump Street, he’s the “other guy” – all the ladies choosing a different suitor, leaving ol’ Franco to either a.) get eaten by a vampire Colin Farrell or b.) go to prison. Not the greatest of options. I wish I could say things turn out differently for Franco in this week’s zombie rom-com Warm Bodies – but by the ten-minute mark, the poor kid’s zombie food and then somehow things get more tragic for his character. It’s a testament that even in a film as a light-hearted as Warm Bodies, Dave Franco still gets the short stick.

In the following interview with Franco, he discusses his character’s tragic arc, the plight of never getting the girl and whether or not he’ll be back for the 21 Jump Street sequel. For the full interview, hit the jump.

21 Jump Street was one of the biggest surprises of 2012 both critically and commercially – so it should come as no surprise that a sequel has been in the works for awhile now (our previous coverage can be found here  and here).  At the press junket for Warm Bodies, I had the opportunity to speak briefly with co-star Dave Franco about coping with the film’s surprising popularity and his involvement in the inevitable sequel.  At the end of the film, Franco’s character Eric was in precarious waters having been caught and presumably sent away to prison — but Franco said that he’ll still have a presence in the upcoming sequel.  Per Franco:

“I’ve heard little things… They claim I’ll be around.  Who knows how much they can use me because I’m in jail at this point but I’m hoping they can find a creative way to have me be a pivotal part of the story.”

For Franco’s full thoughts on 21 Jump Street, hit the jump.  Look for the full interview soon.

It’s January 1, 2013, which means that 2012 is now officially in the rear-view mirror.  Quality-wise, it was a stellar year in film, and with over a month to go before the Oscars there’s still an exciting air of unpredictability surrounding the awards contenders.  2012 wasn’t so shabby box office-wise either, and we thought today would be a nice time to take a look back at the year’s highest grossing films, lowest grossing films, and everything in between.  This year saw a few comedy surprises, the highest grossing Steven Spielberg drama in a long time, a couple of superhero megahits, and the glorious disaster that was Oogieloves.  Hit the jump to take a look at 2012’s Box Office in Review.

There’s a bit of silliness to a “Top 10″ list.  It’s similar to giving letter grades to movies.  We’re grading art, and trying to standardize a subjective appraisal.  But perhaps the grade can be instructive.  I always hope that my grade will guide you to read the full review, and then to the movie whether I liked it or not.  I think people should see as many movies as possible, but I know that’s not realistic.  Tickets cost too much, audiences are increasingly rude (I can’t remember the last time I went to a non-press or non-Drafthouse screening, and someone didn’t take out his or her cell phone), and the amount of entertainment options can be overwhelming.  That’s where I think a Top 10 list matters.  If you see only ten movies this year, these are the ones you should check out.  I found them moving, funny, thoughtful, and enduring.  I hope you’ll feel the same way.

Hit the jump for my Top 10 films of 2012.  Please note that to make the list, the film had to receive a theatrical release in 2012.  Click on the respective links for my Best of 2012, Top 10 Trailers, Dave’s Top 10 Films, and Adam’s Top 10 Films.

It became clear around September that putting together a Top 10 list this year was going to be incredibly difficult.  We’ve been provided with an embarrassment of riches throughout the year, and so the prospect of whittling it down to a list of my ten favorites proved daunting.  2012 seems destined to go down in history as “one of those years” like 1999, 1994, or 1977, where a large number of the year’s offerings will stand the test of time.  Though this list expresses what films I connected with most out of the past 12 months, there are at least 10 or 15 other movies that I also really enjoyed waiting just outside the wings.  If forced to pick my ten favorites from 2012, though, this is what I’ve come up with.  Hit the jump to take a look.

In past years for my “Best of” list, I’ve been able to provide fun categories like “Best Kill” and “Best Quotes”, but sadly, that won’t be happening this year.  I keep notes throughout the year, but in July, my hard drive crashed, and because I am a foolish person, I didn’t back up the notes to a separate drive.  However, I do have enough information to do the traditional categories as well as Breakthrough Performance, “A Very Good Year”, Best Villain, Best Surprises, Biggest Disappointments, and a new category, “Best Movie You Probably Missed This Year.”  One final note: unlike previous years, the film had to come out in 2012; festival-only flicks don’t count, so that’s why there’s no love for The Place Beyond the Pines on this year’s list.

Hit the jump to check out my miscellaneous “Best of 2012″ picks.  Be sure to keep checking back this week as we’ll be running Top 10 lists from Adam, Dave, and me.

With Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball and 21 Jump Street, directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller have become two of my favorite filmmakers.  Their comic sensibilities fall in line with my own, so I’m ecstatic that they’re handling the Lego movie, Lego: Piece of Resistance.  Like many people, I played with Lego as a kid, and I want to see the property treated right.

Steve recently spoke with producer Dan Lin for the upcoming release of the crime drama Gangster Squad, and Lin also talked about Lego, how the animation is coming, the development process, and wrangling other IPs into the movie.  Hit the jump for what Lin had to say.

Opening tomorrow is director Akiva Schaffer’s (Hot Rod) sci-fi comedy The Watch (previously titled Neighborhood Watch).  The film stars Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller and Richard Ayoade as a group of neighbors who form a local neighborhood watch group and end up stumbling onto an alien plot to destroy the world.  The film also stars Billy Crudup, Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun.  For more on the film, here’s the latest trailer, a red band trailer, an outtake reel, my video interview with Schaffer, and all our previous coverage.

The other day I got to speak with Stiller, Vaughn, Hill and Ayoade.  We talked about the filthy dialogue, what was in the script versus improv, what scene had the most takes, and who broke the most during filming.  In addition, at the end of the interview I got updates on the 21 Jump Street sequel, Zoolander 2, The Internship and The Double.  Hit the jump to watch.

We’re currently more than halfway through 2012, and 21 Jump Street remains one of the best and most entertaining films of the year.  Though those who had seen directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller‘s Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs had high hopes for the film, a lot of moviegoers were caught off guard by just how great 21 Jump Street was.  Miller and Lord’s offbeat sense of humor was buoyed by a smart script and hilarious performances from Jonah Hill and, yes, Channing Tatum.  It’s an all-around great time at the movies, and naturally audiences were left wanting more.

Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad recently confirmed that the 21 Jump Street sequel was in development, but he confused quite a few people by saying that production would begin this fall, even though there’s no finished script and no director(s) firmly attached.  Steve recently got to speak with Hill during the press day for the upcoming sci-fi comedy The Watch, and the actor set the record straight regarding the status of the follow-up.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.