In this, the first official Saturday of fall for countries in the Northern Hemisphere, I’m happy to report that temperatures in the Midwest are down to a brisk 60 degrees Fahrenheit. As someone who can’t be in the sun/heat for more than fifteen minutes without experiencing incapacitating sunburns, this is a welcomed change to be sure. On a separate note, readers of the site may have noticed that my productivity has decreased in the last week. In a bittersweet piece of news, I’ve taken on full-time employment in the wide world of telecommunications thus explaining my absence. Nevertheless, I’m going to do my level best to keep the “Top 5″ coming each and every weekend for as long as I can. As for today…

…In this week’s installment, you can find the new, nearly four-minute trailer for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Community interviews with Chevy Chase, Donald Glover, Danny Pudi, Gillian Jacobs and more, Killer Elite interviews with Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Yvonne Strahovski and director Gary McKendry, the first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar and an ultra-important PSA teaching parents how to talk with their kids about Star Wars. Hit the jump for a brief recap and link to each.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to land an exclusive interview with Director Gary McKendry for his new action-thriller Killer Elite.  Starring Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen and Yvonne Strahovski, the flick centers on a retired special ops agent (Statham) who is tasked with rescuing his mentor (De Niro).   I caught the film at TIFF and if you’re a fan of Statham and the rest of the cast, it’s definitely worth seeing.  Here’s the trailer.

During the interview McKendry talked about being at TIFF, getting the great cast, how the project came together, what it was like to direct De Niro, deleted scenes and what will be on the DVD/Blu-ray, future projects, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

At some point in the script stage, Killer Elite had the potential to be a good movie.  It takes two opposing characters that have equally valid, noble motives and pits them against each other.  Unfortunately, that interesting premise is drowned by paper-thin characters, idiotic writing, action movie clichés, and dull set pieces.  Even as a generic action movie, it falls far short of its low bar.

Open Road Films has provided us with an exclusive image from their upcoming release Killer Elite.  Based on a true story, the film centers on an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) who is tasked with rescuing his mentor (Robert De Niro).  Directed by Gary McKendry, the film stars Statham, De Niro, Clive Owen and Yvonne Strahovski.  Hit the jump to check out the image, featuring Statham and Owen going toe-to-toe. Killer Elite hits theaters on September 23^rd.

Open Road Films, the new surprisingly-legal distribution company created by AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment, has set the release date for its first film.  THR reports that Gary McKendry Killer Elite will open on September 23rd.  The film, which is based on a true story, stars Jason Statham as “a former special ops agent who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). But first he must most complete a near-impossible mission and take down three assassins with a cunning leader (Clive Owen).”

The other three films set to open the weekend of September 23rd are the Taylor Lautner thriller Abduction, the family flick Dolphin Tale 3D, and Bennett Miller’s Moneyball starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

With the Cannes Film Festival in full swing, expect lots of acquisition stories this week. Today, Open Road Films, which is owned by AMC and Regal Entertainment, made its first acquisition with the U.S. rights to Killer Elite. The action-thriller, directed by Gary McKendry, stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. The film is inspired by true events, and centers on a retired special-ops agent (Statham) who must reunite his old team in order to rescue their mentor (De Niro). Killer Elite is set to be released this fall.

In addition, The Weinstein Company has acquired the world rights to martial arts, film noir epic Wu Xia. Directed by Ho-Sun Chan, the film stars Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Tang Wei. Hit the jump to read both press releases.

Clive Owen may not have landed the James Bond gig a few years back, but he hasn’t stopped showing his stuff in his growing resume of action films. Director Gary McKendry’s The Killer Elite will add Owen, according to Variety, and join action star Jason Statham. With shooting set to begin next month in Australia, things are moving fast for the film. Additionally, landing these two actors in lead roles is an impressive feat for a director without a feature length film to his credit, so it will be interesting to see how this turns out.

For more on the film, including the roles of both Statham and Owen, hit the jump.