Sony Pictures has given Silver Linings Playbook director David O. Russell’s next film a prime awards season release date later this year.  The untitled project (formerly known as American Bullshit) will hit theaters in limited release on December 13th before going wide on Christmas Day.  The pic is based on a real-life undercover sting operation called Abscam, which was set up in the 1980s by a con artist working for the FBI who rooted out corruption in Congress.

The cast reads like a “Best Of” from Russell’s filmography, as Bradley Cooper and Christian Bale are set in the leads with Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Louis C.K., Jeremy Renner, and Alessandro Nivola (Face/Off) rounding out the ensemble.  Hit the jump for more.

The first trailer for Orlando director Sally Potter’s Ginger & Rosa has gone online.  The film centers on the title characters, played by Elle Fanning (Super 8) and Alice Englert (8) respectively, as they grow up in London in the early 1960s.  Their adolescent interests in boys and hairstyles quickly become marginalized with the advent of the Cuban Missile Crisis looming over their heads.

Ginger & Rosa, also starring Annette Bening, Christina Hendricks and Alessandro Nivola opens in the UK on October 19th.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Production has officially commenced on two upcoming projects.  First up, filming is underway in Atlanta on the real-life drama Devil’s Knot, directed by Atom Egoyan.  The film stars Reese Witherspoon and Colin Firth and follows the true story of the West Memphis 3 case, in which three teenagers were wrongfully charged with murdering three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas in the 1990s.  Witherspoon plays the mother of one of the victims, while Firth plays the private investigator hired to look into the case.  The cast also includes Amy Ryan, Dane DeHaan, and Stephen Moyer.

Additionally, production has begun in New York on the relationship drama Very Good Girls.  Directed by Naomi Foner, the film stars Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen as two best friends determined to lose their virginity, only to fall for the same boy.  The cast also includes Boyd Holbrook, Demi Moore, Ellen Barkin, Richard Dreyfuss, Peter Skarsgaard, and Clark Gregg.  The score will be composed by Jenny Lewis. Hit the jump to read press releases for both films.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories regarding three very promising projects to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Anton Yelchin has been cast in director Jim Jarmusch’s vampire film Only Lovers Left Alive.
• Alfre Woodard joins the impressive ensemble cast for Twelve Years a Slave.
• Alessandro Nivola has scored a pivotal role in the West Mempis Three film Devil’s Knot opposite Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon.

Hit the jump for more on each actor’s casting.

We’ve got a few casting stories to share with you this evening. First up, Luke Wilson and Kevin Connolly have signed on to Elvis & Nixon. The indie drama centers around Elvis’ infamous meeting with President Richard Nixon. The film documents the culture-clash between Elvis and Nixon when the rock and roll superstar asked to be made a “Federal Agent-at-Large” in the bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. Eric Bana is onboard as Elvis and Danny Huston will be taking on the role of Nixon. THR reports that Wilson will play one of Presley’s “Memphis Mafia”, and Connolly will take on the role of a limo driver. It’s a fairly insane premise, and one that could only be brought to life by the directorial debut of Cary Elwes.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and the drama Bomb.

Inspired by the true story of director/writer David M. Rosenthal, Janie Jones follows rocker Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola), whose former flame (Elisabeth Shue) drops a 13-year-old girl (Abigail Breslin) in his lap, with the surprise news that she is his daughter. On the road in an attempt to get his career back, Ethan’s self-destructive behavior not only threatens the group’s future, but also any chance of having a relationship with his child. Once the two are left alone, Janie displays her own musical talent, giving the two something to bond over.

At the film’s press day, actor Alessandro Nivola spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how he was cast in this role only a week prior to shooting, that co-star Frank Whaley’s band The Niagras was the inspiration for his character’s performance style, that he felt the music was really well written for the role, and how natural and uncensored Abigail Breslin is, as an actress. He also talked about his next role in the film Redemption, written by Louis Mellis (who wrote Sexy Beast) and co-starring his real-life wife, Emily Mortimer. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The first trailer for the drama Janie Jones has been released. The film centers on a musician whose life is turned upside down when a daughter he never knew he had is left in his custody. Abigail Breslin and Alessandro Nivola star as the daughter and father, with Elizabeth Shue and Peter Stormare in supporting roles. Breslin looks to be in fine form here, and the tone seems like a cross between Crazy Heart and Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere. It doesn’t appear to be as interesting as those two films, and the trailer’s fairly predictable, but the performances look to be promising.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film opens nationwide and VOD on October 28.

Distributor Oscilloscope will release Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Allen Ginsberg film Howl in theaters and on Video-on-Demand on September 24^th.  The film, which stars James Franco as Ginsberg, centers on the poet’s 1957 public obscenity trial.  The flick, which also stars David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, and Mary-Louise Parker, opened this year’s Sundance Film Festival to mixed reviews.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Opening on April 6, in limited release, is director Jerry Zaks’ Who Do You Love.  The movie is the story of legendary record producer Leonard Chess, founder of Chess Records, the label that helped popularize Blues music during the 1950s and ’60s.

To help promote the film, we’ve been given the poster to premiere, so hit the jump to check it out.  We’ve also posted the full synopsis and cast list.

Every Sundance, there are always a few movies everyone is talking about before the Festival.  You know…the ones with buzz. One of the movies at this year’s Fest that people are talking about is Howl.  The reason…it’s filled with an all star cast consisting of James Franco, Jon Hamm, David Strathairn, Treat Williams, Bob Balaban, Alessandro Nivola, Mary Louise Parker and Jeff Daniels.  Also, you’ve got Franco playing a young Allen Ginsberg and as the synopsis says, “it’s a legal drama, a character study and an animated trip into the magic and madness of the modern world.”

With Sundance set to begin later this week, we’ve landed the first footage from Howl and it’s four clips from the film.  If you’d like a sneak peak at one of the big films from this year’s Fest…take a look.  Also, the film plays this Thursday night in Park City, so reviews will be everywhere on Friday.