It looks like Larry David’s comedy feature set up to debut on HBO finally has a name: Clear History.  More important than that oddly ambiguous title is the all-star cast that David and director Greg Mottola (Superbad) have lined up.  We previously reported that Jon Hamm (Mad Men) and Michael Keaton (Batman) were attached to star, but a slew of others have joined the production.  Clear History will also feature Kate Hudson, Bill Hader, Amy Ryan, Eva Mendes, JB Smoove, Danny McBride and Phillip Michael Hall.  Hit the jump for more on Clear History.

The second full trailer for Ice Age: Continental Drift has been released.  The fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise finds the kooky characters attempting to survive the breakup of Pangea, when Earth’s supercontinent begins to rift.  Though I’m not the biggest fan of the series, there are more than a few laughs to be found in this latest trailer.  The MVP of the franchise has always been John Leguizamo’s Sid the Sloth, and he shines in this latest clip.  We also get a glimpse of the film’s antagonists, a gang of pirates led by a prehistoric orangutan voiced by Peter Dinklage.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The voice-cast includes Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj. Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.

After Sony’s The Smurfs grossed a grand total of $563 million at the global box office last year, they waited a grand total of 12 days before green lighting a sequel.  The studio has released an official logo (above) for the sequel, titled The Smurfs 2, but there was another surprising Smurf-related development today.  Apparently, Sony has enough confidence in their sequel writers Karey Kirkpatrick and Chris Poche, that they’re now giving the go-ahead on The Smurfs 3. Given that the production of The Smurfs 2 is already underway with much of the original cast returning (plus a few new faces), things must be coming along quite nicely.

Raja Gosnell, who helmed the first Smurfs film, returns as director for the sequel which also stars Sofia Vergara, Jonathan Winters, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin and John Oliver. The Smurfs 2 is set for release on July 31st, 2013.  Hit the jump for news on The Smurfs 3.

Sacha Baron Cohen’s The Dictator has released a few images of Megan Fox and Anna Faris to drum up interest for their May 16th release date.  Having been buried under coverage of some sort of blockbuster superhero movie, The Dictator will have to pull a few more tricks out of his sleeve to grab headlines.  We’ve already seen the trailer, the opening of the film, a poster for General Aladeen’s (Cohen) visit to New York and the spilling of Kim Jong-Il’s ashes on the red carpet. The Dictator also boasts a solid supporting cast with John C. Reilly, Sir Ben Kingsley, B.J. Novak and J.B. Smoove. But, pictures of Megan Fox and Anna Faris certainly don’t hurt.  Hit the jump to check them out along with a few other actors from The Dictator.

In case you forgot, a sequel to last year’s The Smurfs is on its way (sigh).  Nearly the entire cast from the first pic—including Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Hank Azaria and Katy Perry—are returning, and now THR reports that Brendan Gleeson and J.B. Smoove will be joining the cast as newcomers.  In addition, THR noted a few days ago that Christina Ricci will also come onboard.  Ricci will be playing Vexy, an evil version of the lovely Smurfette (Perry), while Smoove will voice a new character named “Hackus” who is described as “naughty” (the Smurfs have always walked a fine line between children’s fare and inappropriate).  Gleeson, meanwhile, will play Harris’ stepfather, Victor Doyle.  Given that this is a kids’ film, I can only assume that the stepfather will be somewhat evil.

Raja Gosnell, who helmed the first Smurfs film, returns as director for the sequel which also stars Sofia Vergara, Jonathan Winters, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin and John Oliver. The Smurfs 2 is set for release on July 31st, 2013.

A new trailer for the fourth installment in the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift, has gone online. In this adventure, Scrat accidentally triggers the breakup of Pangea and thus the splitting of the continents while pursuing that ever-elusive acorn (seriously, there are other acorns in the world, Scrat). This trailer highlights this entry’s newest inhabitants: the Gigantopithecus (an extinct genus of ape). I’m not the biggest fan of the series, but kids seem to love it and the movies make a great deal of money at the box office so I guess there’s an audience for the fourth entry.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The voice-cast includes Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Wedge, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari, Nick Frost, Joy Behar, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, Heather Morris, Josh Gad, Kunal Nayyar, Alain Chabat, and hip/hop artist Nicki Minaj. Ice Age: Continental Drift opens in 3D on July 13th.

Paramount has released the first trailer for the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator.  Cohen stars as a despot who “risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”  The trailer has a lot of great jokes.  Cohen is like Mike Myers if Myers was still funny, relevant, had smarter comedy, and–most importantly–was willing to offend the shit out of people.  This trailer doesn’t pull any punches and I love that it’s a green band that will play to families across America this holiday season.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, J.B. Smoove, and John C. Reilly.  The Dictator opens May 11, 2012. [We've updated the story with the teaser poster, which you can also check out after the jump.]

20th Century Fox has sent over 5 clips from The Sitter, the new R-rated comedy led by Jonah Hill.  Here’s the logline:

“When the world’s most irresponsible babysitter takes three of the world’s worst kids on an unforgettable overnight adventure through the streets of New York City, it’s anyone’s guess who’s going to make it home in one piece.”

Sam Rockwell, Ari Graynor, and J.B. Smoove also star in the comedy directed by David Gordon Green (Your Highness).  The Sitter opens on December 9.  Watch the clips after the jump.

A new red band trailer for the comedy The Sitter has been released. Directed by Pineapple Express’ David Gordon Green, the film stars Jonah Hill in what’s essentially an R-rated version of Adventures in Babysitting. This new red band trailer is pretty funny, and elaborates on some of the quick scenes we saw in the first trailer. We also get more of Sam Rockwell which is definitely a good thing. While I’m still not feeling like it’ll be up to the same standard as Pineapple Express, it should be good for a few laughs.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Ari Graynor and J.B. Smoove. The Sitter opens November 9th.

20th Century Fox has released the first trailer and poster for Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo.  Based on the memoir by Benjamin Mee, the film tells the story of a man who decides to buy and run a zoo with his family following the death of his wife. The cast includes Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Patrick Fugit (Almost Famous), Elle Fanning (Somewhere), Thomas Haden Church, J.B. Smoove (Date Night) and John Michael Higgins (Yes Man).

The trailer starts off strong enough but right about the time a Damon voiceover explains “You don’t need any sort of special knowledge to run a zoo, just a lot of heart” it loses me. I’m no expert, but I’d like to think running a zoo does require some sort of special knowledge. On the bright side, the film looks to have plenty of heartwarming moments and Church’s work seems to be as strong as ever. We Bought a Zoo opens December 23.  Check out the trailer and poster after the jump.

We have several bits of casting news to bring your way tonight. First up, Scoot McNairy (upcoming Cogan’s Trade) has joined the cast of director/star Ben Affleck’s Argo. In addition to Affleck, McNairy will also appear alongside Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, and Alan Arkin in the Warner Bros. pic that is based upon a 2007 article from Wired magazine. Chris Terrio adapted the Joshuah Bearman piece entitled “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran” which tells the rescue story of six U.S. diplomats in 1979. Variety scooped the news of McNairy’s casting, but doesn’t divulge any details regrading his character. The film is currently eyeing a 2012 release.

Next up, High School Musical‘s Corbin Bleu is taking his talents from an educational setting to a medical one.  The actor has signed on to star alongside Paz De La Huerta and 30 Rock‘s Katrina Bowden in Lionsgate’s horror flick Nurse 3D. According to Variety, Bleu will take on the role of Bowden’s boyfriend (poor guy), who gets caught up in (a.k.a. most likely murdered) the violent outbursts of De La Huerta’s character, Abby. In case you want to learn a little more about the film, this NSFW concept art should pretty much tell you all you need to know. Nurse 3D is also aiming for an unspecified 2012 release. To read about the approximately one thousand names joining Nick Frost in Ice Age: Continental Drift, hit the jump.

The red-band trailer for David Gordon Green’s The Sitter has gone online.  As star Jonah Hill says in the intro to the trailer, “It’s the filthiest R-rated babysitter movie ever made,” and then he tells some rude children to “Try a little ‘Shut-the-Fuck-Up’ next time.”  As for the trailer itself, it’s got a bunch of great jokes, and I really hope I like it more than Green’s last film, Your Highness.  The guy has a talent with foul-mouthed comedy (he’s directed the majority of Eastbound and Down episodes) but with Your Highness and to a lesser extent Pineapple Express, the execution couldn’t live up to the concept.  But children who act like adult ass-holes are always good for laugh and so is Hill.

Hit the jump to check out the red-band trailer.  The Sitter opens December 9th.

Hollywood is quickly learning there is no comedy that won’t benefit from the motormouthed presence of J.B. Smoove.  According to THR, The Dictator is the latest film to catch on.  Sacha Baron Cohen stars as a despot who “risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.”  From the photos we’ve seen so far, the dictator looks to be another memorably ostentatious character from the man who gave us Borat.  Little is known about Smoove’s character other than the name, “Usher.”  Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, and Jason Mantzoukas also star in The Dictator, helmed by Borat/Bruno director Larry Charles.  Megan Fox and John C. Reilly are set for cameos.

Smoove will reprise the role of Leon Black for season eight of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which premieres July 10 on HBO.  The actor will next be seen theatrically in The Sitter (December 9) and We Bought a Zoo (December 23).  In an effort to conquer all screens, Smoove is launching an “original comedy website” under the name TheRuckus.com later this month.

Hit the jump for details on Rodrigo Santoro’s new role in What to Expect When You’re Expecting.

The Farrelly Brothers have exhausted any goodwill they built up during the 90s.  They once were modestly successful with gross-out humor that was disgusting but also slightly clever.  Most gross-out comedies don’t go for a bull semen joke, but Kingpin just casually threw one into the mix.  Unfortunately, the glory days of that film and There’s Something About Mary are well behind them and their 2007 remake of The Heartbreak Kid was unbearable.  With their latest effort, Hall Pass, they regain some of their footing, but the laziness of the humor combined with the inability to find what works makes for a film that’s barely passable.

Actor and comedian J.B. Smoove has joined Cameron Crowe’s upcoming film We Bought a Zoo.  Adapted from the Benjamin Mee novel, the film tells the story of a widowed father who moves to England and buys a run-down zoo as a means of making a fresh start for he and his children.  In addition to Smoove, We Bought a Zoo will also star Matt Damon as the father, Scarlett Johansson as Damon’s love interest, Thomas Haden Church as his brother, Angus MacFayden as the head zookeeper, and Patrick Fugit and Elle Fanning as zoo employees.

Although The Playlist is unable to confirm details of Smoove’s role in the film, they do well to point out his busy 2011 slate.  In addition to Zoo, Smoove will also return to HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, is currently filming David Gordon Green’s The Sitter alongside Jonah Hill, and can be seen with Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis in the Farrelly Brothers’ soon-to-be-released Hall Pass (opens February 25th).  We Bought a Zoo will begin shooting this spring and is scheduled to hit theaters almost a year from now on December 23rd.