The Weinstein Company has released the first trailer for director Lee Daniels’ (Precious, The Paperboy) historical drama The Butler.  Based on a true story, the film stars Forrest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a butler who served at the White House from 1952 to 1986.  The trailer plays up the film’s awards prospects as we see a flash of famous faces playing the many notable persons who walked the halls of the White House throughout this period (Alan Rickman is particularly striking as President Reagan), and that’s balanced with an overview of Gaines’ life in a racially tense America.  While the film certainly looks like it has the potential to be powerful, cautious optimism is key whenever Lee Daniels is involved.

Hit the jump to watch the debut trailer.  The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Williams.  The Butler opens on October 18th.

Director Robert Rodriguez’s sequel Machete Kills now has a release date, as the continued adventures of the titular Machete will commence on September 13th of this year.  The pic is the second in a planned trilogy (the third film supposedly takes place in space) and centers on Machete’s (Danny Trejo) quest to stop an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has plans to spread war and anarchy across the planet.  On the September release date, the pic will open opposite the dancing film Battle of the Year and the Aaron Eckhart-led action horror adaptation I, Frankenstein.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.  The colorful cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alex Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror, and of course Mel Gibson.

Two bits of casting news today for some lovely leading ladies (although only one of the roles is actually a lead).  Here are the headlines:

• Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is set to join Tracks for director John Curran (The Painted Veil).  The Australian-set picture is based on Robyn Davidson’s trek across the heart of the island continent.
• Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) will join Precious director Lee Daniels‘ historical drama, The Butler, based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served on the White House staff from 1952 to 1986.

Hit the jump for more.

Director Lee Daniels’ historical drama The Butler is shaping up to be one of the more exciting projects on the horizon.  The film tells the true story of Eugene Allen, a butler who served at the White House from 1952 to 1986. Daniels is casting a slew of stars to take small roles as the famous men and women who come through the White House over the years, with Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, and Oprah Winfrey set as the three leads.

Jane Fonda and John Cusack are already onboard, apparently in the roles of Nancy Reagan and President Richard Nixon, and now a number of high profile actors are circling the project as the rights are poised to go up for sale at the Cannes Film Festival next week. Hit the jump to see who else is looking to take on the roles of some historical figures.

Cuba Gooding, Jr. is heading to the small screen. The actor is set to star in the legal drama pilot Guilty for Fox. THR reports that Goodling will play “an ethically questionable defense attorney who uses his unique methods to solve cases he’s been banned from handling after he’s stripped of his license to practice law after being falsely convicted of fraud.” The protagonist uses his “unorthodox techniques” to solve cases and plan out his revenge on those who set him up.

Essentially this is the premise of pretty much every procedural on television, but what separates the good from the bad is an interesting character. Gooding is a charismatic actor, so if the writing’s there then I think Guilty has potential. Greg Berlanti (Everwood, No Ordinary Family) set the series up at Fox, and McG (This Means War) is set to helm the pilot and executive produce the show should the network choose to pick it up to series. This would mark the first TV series for Gooding.

With director Anthony Hemingway‘s World War II action-drama Red Tails opening January 20, 20th Century Fox has provided us with six clips and fifty-two images from the film.  Produced by George Lucas, the movie is based on the real-life story of the first all African-American squadron and their fight to defend our country.  They were given second-hand planes and the most dangerous missions, and it makes their story all the more incredible.

I actually spoke to someone tonight that recently saw the film and they said the action scenes are incredible and the film was better than they expected.  Which is always good to hear.  Red Tails stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelly, Tristan Wilds, Cliff Smith, Rick Otto, Daniela Ruah, and Michael B. Jordan.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

The latest trailer for the World War II film Red Tails finally has found the right balance between drama and action.  The movie is based on the real-life story of the first all African-American squadron and their fight to defend our country.  They were given second-hand planes and the most dangerous missions, and it makes their story all the more incredible.  The new trailer is the most exciting so far because it while it still has the grandiose language, it feels more comfortable when couched in an exciting action film (and that action looks spectacular).

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film was produced by George Lucas and stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

A new trailer Anthony Hemingway’s World War II action-drama Red Tails. The pic tells the true story of the Tuskeegee Airmen, the first African American military aviators in the United States armed forces. The group was given second-rate aircraft and supplies, but shined through the adversity and accomplished some of the most dangerous missions of World War II. I’m still not sold on the film as a whole (the cheese factor comes through a bit too often), but the visual effects and aerial battles look top-notch. Hopefully there’s more character development to be found in the full feature.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer. The film was produced by George Lucas and stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

A new featurette for Red Tails has gone online.  Were you wondering if the cast enjoyed working with each other?  Did you stay up late at night thinking, “Can these actors have fun while still respecting the serious story of the first squadron African-American World War II fighter pilots?”  Well this featurette has got some obvious answers for you.

Hit the jump to check out the featurette.  The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, David Oyelowo, Kevin Phillips, Nate Parker, Daniela Ruah, Michael B. Jordan, Tristan Wilds, Cliff Smith, Rick Otto, and Bryan Cranston.

20th Century Fox has released a new trailer and poster for Anthony Hemingway’s World War II action-drama Red Tails.  The film tells the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black squadron in American history.  Despite given second-hand planes and equipment, the squadron still managed to accomplish some of the war’s most dangerous missions.  I far prefer this new trailer to the previous one.  Instead of heaping on the historical importance (and it was indisputably significant to American history, but we already know it before we’ve even see the movie), this new trailer plays up the characters and the action.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer along with the poster.  The film was produced by George Lucas and stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

The first trailer has been release for the action-drama Red Tails.  Produced by George Lucas and directed by Anthony Hemingway, the movie is based on the true story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all-black African-American combat squadron who fought in World War II.  Red Tails has been in development for years but now it looks like it has finally become a reality and that reality is filled with cool aerial combat and grandiose speeches.  No one in this trailer makes a statement that is not of monumental importance to the dignity of our nation and the history of the human race.  But that’s what the trailer is designed to sell: action and gravitas but I hope the film is, at least where the dialogue is concerned, a little more grounded.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson, and Nate Parker.  Red Tails opens January 20, 2012.

Anthony Hemingway’s World War II film, Red Tails, has managed to keep a low profile ever since it began casting back in April 2009.  While there was a report back in February that the film was undergoing massive re-shoots directed by Lucas, that report later turned out to be false.  Now, the first images from the set have come online.  For those who don’t know, Red Tails (which is being produced by George Lucas), is about the United States’ first all African-American air combat squadron, The Tuskegee Airmen.  The film stars Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Bryan Cranston (who spoke with Steve back in March about his role in the film).

These set photos focus mainly on the cameras and the set design, but what’s really impressive are the fighter planes.  You should hit the jump to check out those bad boys alone, but we’ve included all the images for your viewing pleasure after the jump.

A week ago, the online community was in a tizzy when reports that the African American WWII airplane drama Red Tails was in a tailspin and that George Lucas would step it to make a hefty overhaul of the film in place of director Anthony Hemingway. Now, according to Nicole Sperling in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly [via The Playlist], much of that was grossly exaggerated.  Sperling reports that the reshoots are quite normal and this is nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, how Lucas and company plan to get the cast back together is something of a mystery, if in fact these reshoots weren’t worked into the schedule beforehand.

For a deeper explanation of the madness and why this story might not quite be finished, hit the jump.

There was reason to be excited for George Lucas’ next movie, Red Tails.  It didn’t take place in a galaxy far, far away, but in 20th century U.S. history and told the compelling story of America’s first African-American air combat squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen.  Best of all, Lucas didn’t write or direct it.  He was only going to produce.

And then FirstShowing had to go and ruin my day. The site reports that Lucas is unhappy with director Anthony Hemingway’s work (shooting wrapped in November), and is now conducting extensive re-writes in preparation for massive re-shoots.

Hit the jump for details on how Lucas plans to bring his “magic” to this project.