Here’s today’s latest casting news:

• Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) will star in the action picture Aurora Rising, which follows a test pilot storyline based on a screenplay by Christian Gudegast (A Man Apart).
• Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) has joined the mobster biopic Gotti for director Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger).
• Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) joins Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here, funded partially from crowd-sourced money via Kickstarter.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

New posters have been released from The Lone Ranger, Red 2, Star Trek Into Darkness, and I, Frankenstein.  Briefly, The Lone Ranger international poster has the Lone Ranger in danger of falling into Helena Bonham Carter‘s cleavage, the gang is all there in the Red 2 poster, the Enterprise is still seriously screwed in the latest poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, and then there’s the first poster for I, Frankenstein.  It’s a “motion poster”, but it will be holographic when you see it at your local theater.  It doesn’t have a close-up of Aaron Eckhart as the monster, but at a distance, he’s the most handsome iteration of the creature to date.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The Lone Ranger opens on July 3rd.  Red 2 opens July 19th.  Star Trek Into Darkness opens in IMAX 3D on Wednesday and in 2D and 3D on Thursday.  I, Frankenstein opens in 3D on January 24th. [Update: The Star Trek Into Darkness poster was not approved by the studio, and we have removed it at their request.]

Summit Entertainment has released a new trailer for director Dean Parisot’s (Galaxy Quest) action-comedy sequel Red 2.  The spy follow-up pits ex-CIA operative Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) against Victoria (Helen Mirren) when MI6 greenlights his assassination as Interpol’s “Most Wanted.”  This trailer introduces us to the film’s new characters, as Anthony Hopkins plays a living MacGuffin (similar to John Hurt‘s character in Crystal Skull) and Catherine Zeta-Jones plays an old flame of Willis’ character who joins the group to combat a common enemy.  Byung Hun Lee appears to bring some freshness to the film’s action sequences, and the humorous tone is spot-on thanks to the sensibilities of Parisot.  All in all, Red 2 looks to be quite the fun ride.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Mary-Louise Parker and John Malkovich.  Red 2 opens on July 19th.

And Phase Two is off and running.  With the release of Iron Man 3 just over a week away, Disney and Marvel unveiled the first teaser trailer for this fall’s sequel Thor: The Dark World this morning.  While Marvel dipped its toe into the fantastical realm with the first Thor, it’s clear from this debut trailer that director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) follow-up is very heavy on the fantasy.  We’ve gone through the new trailer and screengrabbed a batch of images, giving us a better look at the world of Thor 2 and its characters.  Christopher Eccleston’s villain Malekith looks especially sinister, and I can’t get enough of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki reveal.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and if you somehow missed the trailer click here.  The film also stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Marvel has released the first trailer for director Alan Taylor’s (Game of Thrones) sequel Thor: The Dark World and it looks great.  Like every well cut trailer, it showcases a ton of impressive looking action, while revealing new details about the story.  I especially liked the reveal of how Loki (Tom Hiddleston) will be involved in the sequel.   If you dug the first Thor, you’re going to love this trailer.  Hit the jump to watch and let me know what you think in the comments.  

Thor: The Dark World stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Christopher Eccleston,Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, and Anthony Hopkins.  Thor: The Dark World opens in 3D on November 8th.

Summit Entertainment has unveiled a new poster for director Dean Parisot’s (Galaxy Quest) upcoming sequel Red 2.  The spy follow-up pits ex-CIA operative Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) against Victoria (Helen Mirren) when MI6 greenlights his assassination as Interpol’s “Most Wanted.”  Mary-Louise Parker and John Malkovich reprise their characters from the first film as they’re joined by a bevy of newcomers that includes Catherine Zeta-Jones, Byung Hun Lee, and Anthony Hopkins.  This poster asks onlookers to test their knowledge of the aforementioned actors’ backsides, as the assembled cast is shown facing the opposite direction and striking some rather intimidating poses.

Hit the jump to take a look at the new poster.  Red 2 opens on August 2nd.

The retired and extremely dangerous gang from Red return in this new teaser trailer for Red 2.  Directed by Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest), the spy sequel pits ex-CIA operative Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) against Victoria (Helen Mirren) when MI6 greenlights his assassination as Interpol’s “Most Wanted.”  Mary-Louise Parker and John Malkovich return in fine form, providing some of the funnier moments in the new trailer.  Joining the sequel will be Catherine Zeta-Jones, Byung Hun Lee and Anthony Hopkins.  Red 2 opens August 2, 2013.  Hit the jump to check out the teaser trailer and poster for Red 2.

With awards season in full swing and Hitchcock already earning nominations, Collider was invited to chat with make-up effects artist Howard Berger (co-founder of KNB Effects, along with Greg Nicotero) and hair department head Martin Samuel recently.  The film takes a look behind cinema icon Alfred Hitchcock’s camera to explore the little known romantic and creative relationship between the filmmaker (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).

During the interview, Howard Berger and Martin Samuel talked about the process for determining how Anthony Hopkins would look as Alfred Hitchcock, getting the make-up down to 90 minutes, the stress of working in such a competitive field, how great it is to do what they love for a living, working on bigger films with no limitations versus the restrictions of smaller films, and the projects that they’re most proud of.  Berger also talked about teaming up with Sam Raimi again for Oz: The Great and Powerful, and the challenge of producing a mini-movie every week for The Walking Dead.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

When Alfred Hitchcock made Psycho, he built a foundation for the movie—woman steals money and tries to get away—before kicking the legs out from under it to leads us into an entirely new and exciting picture.  Sacha Gervasi‘s Hitchcock sets up no such foundation as it leaps into the marital difficulties between the Master of Suspense and his wife/partner, Alma Reville.  We’re led into a relationship already at the brink, and in an attempt to humanize a legend like Hitchcock, he comes off as small and a bit cartoonish.  We see his quirks and his insecurities, but rarely taken to a thoughtful or dangerous place.  Despite the strong performances, especially from the always-reliable Helen Mirren, Hitchcock pushes us away from the eponymous filmmaker and into a sad, predictable marriage spat.

The 2013 awards race is in full swing, and what better way to spend the Thanksgiving holiday then to take a closer look at how the categories are shaping up thus far?  Over the next few days we’re providing a bit of an overview of what the state of the race looks like at this point in time.  Yesterday we ran down the contenders for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, and today we’ll be taking a look at the fiercely competitive categories for Best Actor and Best Actress.  Hit the jump to read on.

A new batch of images for Sacha Gervasi’s Hitchcock has gone online, along with a new poster and clip from the film. Everything we’ve seen so far emphasizes the central focus of Hitchcock: not the famed director’s films, but rather his relationship with wife and creative partner, Alma Reville (Helen Mirren). The new clip highlights another of their snappy bits of dialogue. The images include Mirren’s Alma alongside Scarlett Johansson’s Janet Leigh and as Hitchcock himself, Anthony Hopkins.

The film also stars Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Danny Huston, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens on November 23rd. Hit the jump to check out the new images, poster and clip.

A new international trailer for Hitchcock has gone online.  While this trailer centers on the drama revolving around the making of Hitchcock’s Psycho, that’s not really the thrust of the movie.  It’s more of a backdrop to the film’s central (and less interesting) conflict between Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and wife/partner Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  This trailer shows only a hint of the marital tension between the two characters, which serves as the basis for most of the movie.  Going into Hitchcock thinking you’re about to see a riveting tale about the making of Psycho is a recipe for disappointment.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, Michael Stuhlbarg, James D’Arcy, Michael Wincott, Richard Portnow, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens in limited release on November 23rd.

The first featurette for director Sacha Gervasi’s real-life drama Hitchcock has been released.  The film takes place during the troubled development and production of Psycho, specifically focusing on the relationship between Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  This featurette boasts a great deal of new footage and centers on the complex collaboration and relationship between Hitch and Alma.  Mirren has already garnered plenty of awards buzz for her performance as Hitch’s “other half,” and it’s easy to see why based on this footage.

Hit the jump to watch the featurette.  The film also stars Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Danny Huston, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens on November 23rd.

Fox Searchlight has released 8 new images from the upcoming drama Hitchcock.  Directed by Sacha Gervasi, the film stars Anthony Hopkins as legendary director Alfred Hitchcock and chronicles the development and production of Psycho, specifically focusing on Hitchcock’s strained relationship with his wife and collaborator Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  These new images give us fresh looks at the prolific couple as well as the Psycho cast: Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles, and James D’Arcy as Anthony Perkins.  The film received a mixed-to-positive reception following its world premiere at AFI Fest, though Mirren’s performance as Reville has drawn near universal praise.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Danny Huston, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens on November 23rd.

Director Sacha Gervasi’s much anticipated Hitchcock will have its world premiere at AFI Fest tonight, and the first brief clip from the film has now landed online.  The pic focuses on the legendary filmmaker’s production of Psycho, specifically centering on his relationship with his wife and collaborator Alma Reville (Helen Mirren).  This brief clip shows Anthony Hopkins as Hitchcock aggressively directing Psycho’s classic shower scene, with Scarlett Johansson playing Janet Leigh.  After seeing the stellar first trailer, I’m really, really looking forward to this one.

Hit the jump to watch the clip.  The film also stars Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Kurtwood Smith.  Hitchcock opens on November 23rd.