
Jeffrey Dean Morgan will reteam with his Texas Killing Fields co-star Chloe Moretz for Karyn Kusama‘s The Rut. According to Variety, the gritty indie drama is described as a cross between Winter’s Bone and Into the Wild, and “follows a teenage girl who aims to win her father’s approval by surrounding herself with danger and adventure as she journeys into the wilderness alone to hunt deer.” Morgan will play the father and Moretz will play the daughter. While I think Kusama misunderstood the tone of Diablo Cody‘s script for Jennifer’s Body, hopefully she’ll have more luck with The Rut. She’s certainly got the talent when it comes to her lead actors.
Morgan will be seen later this year in the long-delayed remake of Red Dawn, the horror thriller The Possession, Bruce Beresford‘s Peace, Love, & Misunderstanding, and Starz’ new TV series, Magic City. As for Moretz, she’ll next be seen in Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows and the atrocious indie film Hick (although she’s good in it).

I did it, folks. I came, saw, and survived yet another Black Friday. This year’s destination of choice was my local Best Buy and I sat outside in moderately chilly temperatures for around six hours for one lonely purpose: to buy things for cheaper than what they were the day before. That’s right, I rocked Best Buy to the tune of two seasons of television on DVD for a combined $15. Now, I know some of you reading this may be thinking, “Wait, Jason waited outside for six hours so that he could buy two seasons of TV on DVD?”. My answer: a resounding “Yes!”. It’s the small things, people. The small things.
But enough of my Black Friday exploits. In this week’s “Top 5″ installment you’ll find interviews for this weekend’s openers The Muppets and Hugo, new images and plot details from The Dark Knight Rises, new images from Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, and Gary Oldman and Colin Firth addressing Akira and Oldboy remake rumors. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

Opening today is Martin Scorsese‘s first 3D film, Hugo. Based on Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret, the film stars Asa Butterfield as a young boy secretly living in a train station in 1931 Paris. As he attempts to piece together a puzzle that he’d been working on with his father, the results transform not only Hugo, but everyone he comes in contact with. The impressive cast also includes Chloe Moretz, Sacha Baron Cohen, Sir Ben Kingsley, Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory, Richard Griffiths, Frances de la Tour, Emily Mortimer, and Michael Stuhlbarg. You can watch a trailer here.
During my interview with Moretz, she talked about how she got involved in the project and how she fooled Scorsese into thinking she was British, the 3D cameras, karaoke, if she got to keep one of the automatons, and whether she prefers one to two takes or the David Fincher method of quite a few more. In addition, with Moretz just having wrapped on Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows, she talked about who she plays and what she has coming up next year. Hit the jump to watch.

The not-so-mystery screening last night at the New York Film Festival was an unfinished cut of Martin Scorsese’s upcoming 3D adventure pic Hugo. In the festival’s history, only one other unfinished film has been chosen and that’s Beauty and the Beast, so that was our first clue that Scorsese had something special on his hands. Reactions to the film ranged from wildly enthusiastic to cautioned praise. The 3D is apparently great, and Scorsese has turned what many believe to be a straight children’s film to an appreciation for the preservation and history of cinema. In short, film nerds should have this on their radar. Hit the jump for more detailed reactions to the film’s screening.

Earlier today, we reported that an unfinished cut of Martin Scorsese’s Hugo would be playing tonight at the New York Film Festival. Now a new featurette has gone online and it makes me more excited to see the film than the trailer. The visuals on display are fantastic and while I’m a little surprised that we’re getting two movies where a boy tries to unlock a mystery left by his deceased father, I’m betting Scorsese’s film will be the better one. In the featurette, the legendary director is genuinely excited (as always) for his first 3D movie and I’m hoping there will be some positive buzz coming out of tonight’s screening.
Hit the jump to check out the featurette. Hugo opens November 23rd and stars Chloe Moretz, Asa Butterfield, Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, and Sacha Baron Cohen.

After the leak of disconcerting photos of Johnny Depp in make-up on the set of Tim Burton’s adaptation of the 1960s cult TV series Dark Shadows, Warner Bros. has released a somewhat-reassuring image of the cast. The look is unmistakably Burton with an emphasis on distinctive costumes (I would say they look retro but the movie is in the 1970s) and daunting architecture. Oh, and there’s Helena Bonham Carter’s ridiculous bright orange hair and white pancake make-up because Burton clearly can’t help himself. As for Depp, you’ll notice the whiteface and big blue sunglasses are gone, but this a promo shot and the set photos are from another scene in the movie where his character, vampire Barnabas Collins, has to go out into broad daylight.
Hit the jump to check out the full image along with the official synopsis and descriptions for some of the character. The film also stars Chloe Moretz, Eva Green, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, Jackie Earle Haley, Jonny Lee Miller, and Michelle Pfeiffer. Dark Shadows opens May 11, 2012.

Walkouts are common at film festivals, especially at press and industry screenings. Why waste your valuable time watching a movie if something better could be about to start in the next auditorium? Walkouts tend to occur for one of two reasons: 1) the film is so divisive that it offends the sensibilities of some viewers and they simply can’t continue on. Those tend to be the good movies, or at least the ones worth seeing through to the end; or 2) the film is such a dull, ill-conceived messed that there’s no end in sight to the tedium. Hick is latter. I don’t walkout on movies, but I was so bored with Derick Martini’s wretched coming-of-age tale that I started counting walkouts just to stay awake.

If you’re into true life murder mystery/thrillers, then you might want to check out the slick new trailer for Ami Canaan Mann’s long-delayed Texas Killing Fields. Starring Sam Worthington and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, the film concerns a small-town cop and a New York City detective who team up to capture a serial killer – one with a knack for disposing the bodies of his victims in a Texas marsh. I’ve been curious about Mann’s film since watching the Italian trailer a few weeks ago. Thankfully this new trailer is in English, and features a nice overall view of the story and characters. Plus it’s got the ever talented Chloe Moretz staring ominously into the camera. What’s not to like?
Texas Killing Fields also stars Jessica Chastain (The Help), Jason Clarke (Public Enemies) and Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire). The film is set to play in competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival and will open on October 7.

We have some new images to bring you tonight from a trio of highly-anticipated films. First, Warner Bros. has released a new image from director Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar. The pic gives us our first look at Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy and features Leonardo DiCaprio giving her a look that seems, um, disapproving. Next, Paramount has released a new image of Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Finally, Paramount has also released the first image of Charlize Theron in Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s Young Adult. Find the new images, official synopses, and release dates for each of the films after the jump.

The Italian trailer for Ami Canaan Mann’s dark thriller Texas Killing Fields (formerly titled The Fields) has gone online. The film stars Sam Worthington as a small-town Texas cop who partners with a New York City detective (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) to hunt down a serial killer who dumps his victims’ bodies in a marsh known to the local as a the “killing fields”. The investigation becomes even more intense when the killer kidnaps a young local girl (Chloe Moretz). I couldn’t understand any of the dialogue since it’s dubbed in Italian, but the visuals look impressive especially when you consider that this is Mann’s debut feature.
Hit the jump to check out the trailer. The film also stars Jessica Chastain (The Tree of Life), Jason Clarke (The Chicago Code), and Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire) Texas Killing Fields will be playing in competition at this year’s Venice Film Festival.

If you’re a movie fan, today is a great day. That’s because thanks to the Toronto International Film festival announcing some of their 2011 schedule, we’ve been inundated with a tremendous amount of new movie images for some of the biggest films arriving later this year. And continuing our coverage, after the jump you can check out the first images from Derick Martini’s Hick (which stars Blake Lively, Chloe Moretz, Alec Baldwin, Juliette Lewis, Eddie Redmayne and Rory Culkin), Jay Duplass and Mark Duplass Jeff, Who Lives at Home (which stars Jason Segel, Ed Helms, Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon) Francis Ford Coppola’s Twixt (starring Val Kilmer, Bruce Dern, Elle Fanning and Ben Chaplin) and the first clip and images from Killer Joe (which stars Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Juno Temple, Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon).

It’s apparently official trailer day, as the first trailer for Martin Scorsese’s Hugo has just been released. The film, previously titled Hugo Cabret, marks the master director’s first foray into 3D as well as his first family-geared outing. I love the magical tone and sense of wonder Scorsese’s conjured up here, and it looks cute, but I don’t necessarily get a grandiose feeling from this first trailer. While his hand is very evident in the camera movements and overall feel of the shots, the footage seems a tad bit underwhelming. It may be the incongruous rock music that plays over 2/3’s of it, or the director may simply not want to reveal too much too soon. Either way, it’s hard to deny that the prospect of Scorsese, one of the foremost authorities on the history of cinema, tooling around with native 3D is pretty damn exciting.
Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film stars Chloe Moretz, Asa Butterfield, Jude Law, Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee and Sacha Baron Cohen. Hugo opens December 9th, 2011.

Warner Bros. has announced that principal photography has begun on Tim Burton’s adaptation of the cult classic TV series Dark Shadows. While I’ve always found announcements about the start of production to be slightly baffling (Movie studio is making movies! Will wonders never cease?!), they sometimes contain useful information. In the case of this Dark Shadows announcement, there are two newsworthy items. First up, Jonny Lee Miller (Dexter) has joined the cast which features Johnny Depp (of course), Helena Bonham Carter (again, of course), Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Gulliver McGrath, Bella Heathcote, and Jackie Earle Haley.
Secondly, Warner Bros. has also released the full synopsis which not only provides plot details (but nothing spoilery) but also details the relationship between all of the characters. Hit the jump to check out the press release, which includes the synopsis. Dark Shadows is set to open May 11, 2012.

New unofficial set photos from the dark coming-of-age indie Hick and George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March have gone online. Hick stars Chloe Moretz as a runaway teen who flees her neglectful parents in Nebraska and tries to make her way in Las Vegas. The film also stars Blake Lively, Eddie Redmayne, and Juliette Lewis.
As for Clooney’s latest directorial feature, The Ides of March stars Ryan Gosling as a young press spokesman who falls prey to backroom politics. Clooney will play the candidate who apparently has no problem re-appropriating Shepherd Fairey’s famous Obama sign. The film also stars Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. The Ides of March is set for release on October 14th. Hit the jump to check out the set photos.

Chloe Moretz is the latest actress to join the burgeoning cast of Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows. The cast now includes Johnny Depp in the lead role, with Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earl Haley, Helena Bonham Carter and Bella Heathcote among those already on the project. Deadline reports that Moretz is in talks to play the daughter of Pfeiffer’s character.
Just the other day, Thomas McDonell joined the cast as the younger version of Depp’s character, and Michael Sheen is rumored to be in contention to play the father of Gulliver McGrath’s (The Lovely Bones) character. The film is a remake of the 1960’s gothic soap opera of the same name.
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES Casts Emma Thompson; Jenna Fischer and Rita Wilson Join KISS ME
SPACE: 1999 to be Revamped for TV as SPACE: 2099
PUSHER Remake Picked Up by Weinstein Co.’s VOD Label, Radius-TWC
Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design ![]()