It appears that Clint Eastwood has caught the musical bug.  Though the filmmaker has been trying to get his remake of A Star Is Born off the ground for the past couple of years, he’s run into quite a few stumbling blocks along the way.  First production was pushed back when star Beyonce became pregnant, then the multi-talented artist dropped out of the project altogether.  Esperanza Spalding is the latest choice for the female lead, but Eastwood keeps striking out when it comes to filling the male role.  Tom Cruise was courted to star last year, and the project has already seen Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn pass on the gig.

Now it appears that Eastwood has set his sights on another musical film to direct as his next project instead of A Star Is Born, opting to push that long-in-development project back in lieu of the prospect of taking over for Jon Favreau on the Broadway adaptation Jersey Boys.  Hit the jump for more.

Trouble with the Curve came out in late September and died a quick death, not helped by Clint Eastwood’s performance at the Republican National Convention. But though Eastwood was front and center in selling the picture, he didn’t direct it. No, it was helmed by Robert Lorenz, a longtime Eastwood associate who wanted his turn behind the camera. This suggests he won’t get another chance. It’s a modestly charming formula movie that plays like something better suited for old people and television viewings. Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake co-star and our review of the Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Director Clint Eastwood’s remake of A Star Is Born has hit yet another snag.  Production was initially pushed back when star Beyonce Knowles became pregnant, and then Eastwood was having trouble casting his male lead.  The director approached a number of top shelf talent including Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise, Christian Bale, and Bradley Cooper, but failed to land a commitment.  Now Eastwood has lost his female lead, as Knowles has dropped out of the project altogether due to scheduling issues.

Hit the jump for more details including who Eastwood is eyeing for Knowles’ replacement.

With less than $300,000 separating the top three films this weekend, the final order of the domestic top ten has been difficult to call. Sunday’s estimates have End of Watch and House at the End of the Street tied for first with $13 million each. Warner Brother’s Trouble with the Curve is not far behind, however, so more definitive results will have to wait until Monday. One thing we can say for sure? Dredd 3D is off to a rough start.

Welcome to another disappointing weekend at the domestic box office. Four new titles debuted on Friday, but none is expected to reach $15 million by Sunday. That means that overall profits will be down for the fifth frame in a row. Despite the low grosses, Friday’s top five contained a few surprises. Few expected big things from End of Watch, the cop drama starring Jake Gyllenhaal; but after posting a Friday estimate of $4.6 million from just 2,730 runs, the R-rated indie has a shot at winning the weekend with a projected $13.5 million. Relativity’s House at the End of the Street was also a surprise ‘hit’ on Friday, earning an estimated $4.64 million from 3,083 locations to edge out End of Watch for first. The PG-13 thriller with Jennifer Lawrence is expected to fall in the rankings this weekend, but should still end up with $13 million for its first three days. Meanwhile, the film that was supposed to eclipse both of these smaller-releases – Warner Brother’s Trouble with the Curve – will struggle to match them this weekend. The baseball drama starring Clint Eastwood earned $4.1 million from 3,212 locations on Friday, making it unlikely that the PG-13 pic will reach the $18 million first-weekend that was projected. Finally, an enthusiastic reception at Comic-Con promised a solid opening for Lionsgate’s 3D comic reboot Dredd 3D. Instead, the R-rated feature took in just $2.2 million for what looks like a dismal $6.5 million first weekend.  We’ll have full details and analysis tomorrow.

Trouble with the Curve is one of those classic Hollywood movies that will make you laugh, cry and warm your heart.  The drama tells the story of Gus Lobel (Clint Eastwood), one of the best scouts in baseball for decades, but whose age is finally catching up with him.  With an associate director of scouting (Matthew Lillard) chomping at the bit to replace him, in favor of computer predictions of players, his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) joins him on his latest scouting trip, in order to help him save his career, but quickly realizes that they may never be able to mend their strained relationship.

At a press conference to promote the film’s September 21^st release, Clint Eastwood (who is also one of the producers), Amy Adams and Justin Timberlake (who plays rival scout Johnny Flanagan) talked about the pros and cons of aging, working with Eastwood’s longtime producing partner Robert Lorenz on his directorial debut, what they learned about baseball scouts, the interesting triangle that connects their characters, and their impressions of each other.  Eastwood also talked about the reaction to his recent speech at the Republican National Convention and the status of A Star is Born, while Adams talked about what it was like to be a part of The Master, and Timberlake revealed the perks of golfing with the film icon and said that he’d like to return to music again, at some point.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

If thumbing through a bounty of high-resolution images from baseball dramas is your thing, today is your day.  Warner Bros. has released over 50 new images from the upcoming drama Trouble with the Curve, and after the jump you can peruse said bounty of images at your leisure.  The film stars Clint Eastwood as an aging Atlanta Braves scout who is starting to lose his vision.  His daughter, played by Amy Adams, reluctantly agrees to be his eyes on a crucial recruiting trip.  Justin Timberlake also comes into play as a young rival scout who respects Eastwood’s character (and may or may not have the hots for his daughter).

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Robert Lorenz, the film also stars John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Patrick. Trouble with the Curve opens on September 28th.

We’ve got two new posters and a swell international poster to share with our readers today.  Briefly:

• Life of Pi – The new poster for Ang Lee’s gorgeous-looking adaptation of the classic Yann Martel novel is, well, gorgeous.  The story’s tiger looms large while we see Pi and his furry companion on the open sea.  The film hits theaters in 3D on November 21st.
• Trouble with the Curve – A new poster for the Robert Lorenz-directed baseball drama features the film’s three main leads—Clint Eastwood, Amy Adams, and Justin Timberlake—dwarfed by an empty baseball stadium.  The film opens on September 28th.
• Killing Them Softly – Though we just debuted a new poster for this Brad Pitt-fronted crime drama yesterday, this international poster is a must-see if only for the film’s amazing Spanish title: Mátalos Suavemente.  The film opens on October 19th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

I haven’t seen The Expendables 2 yet, but the biggest selling point for the sequel and the original is the cast.  If you were an action movie star, then The Expendables franchise wants you to pick up a gun and blow shit up.  According to Producer Avi Lerner, they’ve already got Nicolas Cage signed up to do just that in The Expendables 3.  It’s worth noting that The Expendables 3 isn’t a done deal.  Lionsgate hasn’t given the third film a greenlight, but the studio will most likely continue the franchise if the upcoming sequel dominates the box office this weekend (and it probably will).

Cage is the latest addition to the cast (all of which are slated to return, according to Lerner), but he may not be the only big name to join the series.  Hit the jump for more.

The first trailer for the baseball drama Trouble with the Curve has been released.  Clint Eastwood stars as an aging scout whose daughter (Amy Adams)  reluctantly agrees to accompany him on one last crucial recruiting trip.  Though the jokes are a bit hokey, the film looks to have a genuinely strong story anchored by the chemistry trifecta of Eastwood, Adams, and Justin Timberlake.  Adams has the chance to shine in a strong female role, and the characters don’t seem to be overshadowed by some win-chasing plot device that propels many sports dramas.  Moreover, 90s staple Matthew Lillard pops up in yet another prestigious drama and somehow fits right in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Robert Lorenz, the film also stars John Goodman, Matt Bush, Robert Patrick and Scott Eastwood.  The film opens on September 28th.

The first images from Robert Lorenz‘ Trouble with the Curve have gone online.  Clint Eastwood stars as “Gus, an aging Atlanta Braves scout (Go Braves!) with vision problems whose daughter, Mickey (Amy Adams), reluctantly agrees to be his eyes on a crucial recruiting trip.”  I assume Gus realizes he needs help when he says it’s time to send pitcher Randall Delgado up to the big leagues because those grand slams he’s giving up are just really blurry foul balls.

The film also stars Justin Timberlake as a young rival scout who respects Gus (and develops feelings for Mickey), John Goodman as the Braves’ clubhouse boss (Go Braves!), and Matthew Lillard as a recruiter who “clashes with Gus over a green power hitter named Bo Gentry (newcomer Joe Massingill), so the veteran embarks on a road trip to follow Gentry and gather more information.”  I don’t know when the film takes place, but right now the Braves have solid power hitting in McCann and Uggla.  What we need is a starting pitcher.  Hit the jump to check out the images.  Trouble with the Curve opens September 28th (Go Braves!).

When Clint Eastwood made Unforgiven in 1992, he was in a transitional period of his career. Though he was still making pop junk like Pink Cadillac and The Rookie, he had also directed Bird – which started his career as an art-house/Oscar friendly director (though that film was mostly ignored). Eastwood was getting old, and there was sense that he had to stop playing these sorts of role. Unforgiven was his great Western standoff, and he assembled a great cast that included Morgan Freeman, Gene Hackman, and Richard Harris in a career-defining work. Our review of the Blu-ray of Unforgiven follows after the jump.

In addition to acting and directing, Clint Eastwood is quite an avid music lover. He’s composed the score to a number of his films and was even awarded an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Berklee College of Music. As such, it came as no surprise when it was announced that Eastwood was planning a remake of A Star Is Born with Beyonce Knowles set to star as a burgeoning young artist.   Production was pushed back due to the star’s pregnancy, but now that Blue Ivy is alive and well, Eastwood is working on casting his male lead.

Our correspondent Sheila Roberts got to speak with A Star Is Born screenwriter Will Fetters during a roundtable interview at the press day for the romantic drama The Lucky One, and the scribe took some time to talk about his approach to the remake—including a heavy inspiration from Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain—and the casting of the male lead. Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Clint Eastwood has morphed from being an action director and a man’s man to the leading purveyor of Oscar bait. It seems now that every year Eastwood has a new film that designed to provoke the Academy voters into rewarding him yet again. And for 2011’s J. Edgar, he assembled an Oscar super group. Working with Brian Grazer as his producer, Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black as his writer, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer and Judi Dench, you’ve got an all-star team that screams Oscar gold. They assembled to make a bio-pic of J. Edgar Hoover, but created one of Eastwood’s worst films. Our review of the Blu-ray of J. Edgar follows after the jump.

Clint Eastwood is gearing up to dip his toe back into the acting game with the upcoming drama Trouble with the Curve, but the director is still pulling things together for his adaptation of A Star Is Born. Production was pushed back when star Beyoncé Knowles became pregnant, then Leonardo DiCaprio—Eastwood’s first choice for the project—passed. Alternates for the male lead were rumored to be Christian Bale and Will Smith, but Variety now reports that Warner Bros. is courting Tom Cruise to take the part. Hit the jump for more.