A new trailer for Academy Award-winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher’s (Precious) first directing venture Violet & Daisy has been released.  The film centers on two young female assassins, played by Saiorse Ronan (Atonement) and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), who set out for what they think will be a quick and easy hit, but turns into something much more complicated when their target throws a wrench in the works.  The marketing and posters for the film thus far have seemed to be going for that pulpy and modern pop take on young women in today’s society, like Spring Breakers, but the trailer gives off a tone that seems a bit muddled.  It has elements of quirky comedy and a more serious and dire consequences drama, but not a clear vision that can be derived just from the trailer.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read Matt’s review from TIFF 2011.  The film also stars James Gandolfini, Danny Trejo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Cody Horn.  Violet & Daisy will be released on June 7th.

Death Race 3: Inferno, available on DVD/Blu-ray on January 22^nd with deleted scenes and “making of” features, finds the legendary Frankenstein (aka Carl Lucas, played by Luke Goss) – the greatest Death Race driver of all time – battling for his freedom through the South African desert, in a vicious winner-take-all race that pits teams of convicts against each other to the death.  This action-packed thrill-ride also stars Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, Dougray Scott and Tanit Phoenix.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Danny Trejo talked about how much fun it is to be a bad-ass, why he’s enjoyed being a part of the Death Race movies, that he could personally identify with his character, how he loves getting to do action work, getting to have a romance in the film, what it was like to work in South Africa, and that he would definitely be up for doing more Death Race films.  He also talked about his experience on the hit FX drama series Sons of Anarchy, what makes Machete Kills bigger and badder, and all of the roles he has coming up next, including In the Blood with Gina Carano, Force of Execution with Steven Seagal and Reach Me with Sylvester Stallone.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.  

A double-barrel of good news on the Machete Kills front, as the Robert Rodriguez-directed and Danny Trejo-starring sequel has been picked up for North American distribution in 2013 by Open Road Films and has released its first official image!  The second installment in a planned trilogy features Trejo as the former Mexican federale out to stop a madman and a billionaire arms dealer from unleashing war across the globe.

The crazy cast which crowds Trejo out of his screen time features Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.  Hit the jump to check out the first image of Machete Kills.  Mr. Machete, what are you doing to Miss San Antonio?

If you’re a fan of the Death Race franchise, you’re in luck, because director Roel Reine is back again with a new trailer for Death Race 3: Inferno.  The property kicked off in 2008 with Jason Statham as a prisoner racing against other inmates to win his freedom.  The follow-up film was a prequel, introducing Luke Goss as the seemingly invincible racer, Frankenstein.  Death Race 3: Inferno sees the return of Goss as Frankenstein as the competition now heads to a new locale: South Africa’s Kalahari Desert.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer and be sure to pick up Death Race 3: Inferno on Blu-ray and DVD early next year.

The first trailer for the shoot-em-up Western Dead in Tombstone has landed online.  The film stars Danny Trejo as the leader of a gang of outlaws who frees his half-brother (Anthony Michael Hall) from prison in order to loot a mining town. The plan backfires when Hall double crosses Trejo and kills him. Trejo makes a deal with the devil (Mickey Rourke) and comes back from the dead to seek revenge.  The trailer gives us exactly the kind of movie we expect, but I’m not so sure that’s a bad thing.  It doesn’t look good by any means, but Dead in Tombstone seems like it could be a fun entry in the “bad movie marathon” genre.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Roel Reine (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption), the film also stars Dina Meyer.  Dead in Tombstone will be released direct-to-DVD on December 31st.

The career paths of child stars can either end up as inspiring success stories or engrossing train wrecks.  There appears to be no rhyme or reason as to how an individual will handle the fame as they mature, but Alexa Vega (Spy Kids) seems ready to complete her transition into adulthood.  After having recently turned 24, Vega is far from adolescence, but is just now preparing to take on a role that centers on her sexuality.  Starring as KillJoy in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills, Vega surprised her fans and co-workers alike with how far her new character is willing to go.  Hit the jump to see what she had to say about her risque role and embracing her sexuality. 

Here’s a new batch of posters to complement the ones we posted earlier today:

• A look at a Chilean martial artist, Marko Zaror, trading in his fists for a shotgun in Robert Rodriguez’s Machete Kills.  The sequel, starring Danny Trejo in the title role, drops sometime next year.
• Two new Spanish posters from Rich Moore’s animated feature, Wreck-It Ralph.  Featuring the voices of John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer and Jane Lynch, Wreck-It Ralph comes out on November 2nd of this year.
• An official poster for The Sessions from writer/director Ben Lewin.  The Sundance 2012 Audience Award Winner stars John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy.  Look for it in theaters starting October 26th.

Hit the jump for the new posters and synopses.

It’s an all-ladies casting call today.  Here’s what you need to know:

• The Avellan Twins (Electra and Elise) are set to reprise their roles from Machete in the sequel, Machete Kills. Their uncle, Robert Rodriguez, directs star Danny Trejo in the follow-up.
• Cloris Leachman (Young Frankenstein) will join the Raging Bull prequel/sequel, Raging Bull 2, written and directed by Martin Guigui (Cattle Call).
• JoAnna Garcia (Reba) has joined Shawn Levy’s Interns/The Internship, starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Yesterday, we reported that Charlie Sheen would be playing the President in Robert Rodriguez‘ Machete Kills (it’s funny because Charlie Sheen is sleazy).  We also showed you a couple set photos, and now some more have found their way online courtesy of Jessica Alba‘s twitter feed.  There’s nothing revelatory about these set photos, but it looks like everyone is having a good time on set and I’m curious to see how those dancers and musicians factor into the plot.  I’m also curious to see if Machete (Danny Trejo) will be the star of his own film this time.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Machete Kills also stars Edward James Olmos, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Demian Bichir, Michelle Rodriguez, and Mel Gibson.

Who needs elections when you can just appoint Charlie Sheen to play the President of the United States of America in your movie?  That’s what director Robert Rodriguez did recently for Machete Kills, the sequel to the cult hit, Machete. The sequel finds the titular star, an ex-Federale played by Danny Trejo, receiving a request from the President himself to take down a dangerous drug lord who is threatening the U.S. with nuclear attacks.  I cannot wait to see the criminally insane Sheen take on the Presidential role (will he channel Martin Sheen’s The West Wing character? Highly doubtful.) We’ve also got a first look of Machete Kills star Sofia Vergara on set.  Hit the jump to check it out.

Movies keep trying to kill Michelle Rodriguez, but luckily she keeps finding a way to come back.  Rodriguez is set to return in two sequels: one, a true sequel in Machete Kills and one, the sixth installment in the Fast and the Furious franchise.  As for director Robert Rodriguez’s sequel, Michelle Rodriguez will reprise her role as Luz, the leader of an illegal immigrant aid movement known as the Network.  She’ll be starring alongside Mel Gibson who recently joined the cast.

The Fast and the Furious 6, which will feature the directorial return of Justin Lin (Fast Five) and, perhaps more importantly, the return of Rodriguez’s character, Letty, something that was teased at the end of the previous film.  Shooting next month, The Fast and the Furious 6 also stars Dwayne Johnson, Gina Carano, Jordana Brewster and, of course, Vin Diesel. Hit the jump for more, including details on Gibson’s role in Machete Kills.

Director Robert Rodriguez pulled no punches when he said he wanted star power, in the form of Michelle Williams and Mel Gibson, for his sequel, Machete Kills.  It looks like half of that wish is about to come true.  Gibson is reportedly in serious negotiations to join the Machete sequel in a supporting role.  The original starred Danny Trejo in the title role as a former Mexican Federale, but it also featured a number of co-stars that diluted Trejo’s presence on screen, notably Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal and Lindsay Lohan. This time around, the cast may be smaller since Rodriguez is juggling director duty between Machete Kills and Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For. Hit the jump for more, including commentary from Rodriguez regarding his schedule and where his directing loyalties lie.

Yesterday, we reported that directors Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller had finally secured financing for Sin City 2 (officially titled Sin City: A Dame to Kill For), and filming was scheduled to begin this summer.  As you may recall, Rodriguez also has another sequel in the works: Machete Kills.  Back in February, we reported that the plot had Machete (Danny Trejo) “taking down a madman cartel leader and an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has hatched a plan to spread war across the planet with a weapon in space.”

Hit the jump for more on Machete Kills.

A trio of unlikely stars is set to topline the actioner Dead in Tombstone. Mickey Rourke, Danny Trejo and Anthony Michael Hall aren’t exactly the first three names one would think to team up for an action adventure, but Deadline reports that the three are set to star in the action pic from director Roel Reine (The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption). Trejo plays the leader of a gang of outlaws who frees his half-brother (Hall) from prison in order to loot a mining town. The plan backfires when Hall double crosses Trejo and kills him. Trejo makes a deal with the devil (Rourke) and comes back from the dead to seek revenge. In essence, they fucked with the wrong zombie.

Production on Dead in Tombstone begins next week. Given Reine’s pedigree, I expect we’re in for some B-level entertainment. If they don’t play things too straight and have fun with the premise, I think Dead in Tombstone could be a good time. Really, who doesn’t want to see Zombie Danny Trejo go nuts on Anthony Michael Hall and an entire town?

Two trailers and a poster have been released for Bad Ass starring Danny Trejo.  The plot focuses an old guy (Trejo) who becomes an Internet sensation when he beats up a couple of thugs on a commuter bus.  However, he goes on a rampage after his best friend is murdered and the cops don’t do anything about it.  That second part isn’t mentioned in the either trailer.  The trailers are simply: Danny Trejo is old and he kicks the shit out of people.  I have no problem with that, and I doubt this will be another misdirect like Machete.  As a character actor, Trejo has always carried the mantle of “Bad Ass” so it’s only fitting that he should star in a movie with the same title.  You would have to be a bad ass to wear a fanny pack and still come off as threatening.

Hit the jump to check out the trailers and poster.  The film also stars Charles S. Dutton and Ron Perlman.  Bad Ass opens April 13th.