Director Gus Van Sant is an auteur capable of dropping an award-winning character-driven film (Good Will Hunting) with big-name actors one year, and small, provocative films where characters barely talk to each other the whole time (Last Days) the next.  No matter which Van Sant flavor is your favorite, the man is great at both of them.  For his latest, Promised Land, he goes the mainstream route – taking A-list actors into a farming community for a fracking debate.  The film was originally supposed to be Matt Damon‘s (School Ties) directorial debut, but scheduling conflicts threw it in Van Sant’s lap with just over a month to prepare.  Despite some solid direction and acting, Promised Land suffers from a few hiccups.  But how does it hold up on Universal’s Blu-ray?  Hit the jump and I’ll tell you all about it.

Your favorite stars have signed on to two exciting television projects:

• Kristen Wiig and Tobey Maguire will star opposite Will Ferrell in the six-episode IFC miniseries The Spoils of Babylon, produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay.
• John Krasinski will guest star on season four of Arrested Development.  The impressive guest roster also boasts Wiig (hey), Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Conan O’Brien, Isla Fisher, Andy Richter, John Slattery, and Terry Crews.

More after the jump.

Disney has released a new trailer for the Monsters, Inc. prequel Monsters University.  The pic focuses on the college years of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman), and this new full-length trailer reveals the film’s plot.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike and Sully joining a fraternity of outcasts, as all of the Greek houses must compete against each other in the Scare Games, which carry dire consequences for the losers.  The film looks like it could be Pixar’s most purely fun movie yet, and early reactions from the screening at CinemaCon had many praising the pic’s heart.  If you missed any of Dave’s coverage from his visit to Pixar, be sure to check out his review from seeing 40 minutes of footage, 35 things to know about the film, and his interview with director Dan Scanlon.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens June 21, 2013.

Even though Monsters University is only a few months away, Pixar has been keeping the voice cast under wraps.  Today, EW is reporting that Nathan Fillion, John Krasinski, and Bonnie Hunt will be voicing new monsters in the upcoming prequel.  Fillion and Krasinski are newcomers to the Pixar world, but Hunt has been a longtime collaborator with the studio having voiced characters in A Bug’s Life, Cars, Toy Story 3, and Monsters, Inc. (although she’ll be voicing a new character).

Hit the jump for descriptions of Fillion, Krasinski, and Hunt’s characters, along with some new images.  The film also features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

Every year, Jimmy Kimmel Live follows the Oscars with a star-studded sketch.  Last year, audiences were treated to a trailer for Movie: The Movie, which featured dozens of movie stars parodying every film genre and cliché.  Naturally, every hit needs a sequel, and JKL has delivered with Movie: The Movie 2V.  I’ll let you be the judge between which trailer is better, but I would say the sequel surpasses the original when it comes to the obligatory Matt Damon joke.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Movie: The Movie 2V opens Arbor Day.

Earlier today we added Michael Rosenbaum to the shortlist to play Peter Quill (aka Star-Lord) in Guardians of the Galaxy alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jim Sturgess, and Zachary Levi.  One more possibility has surfaced for Star-Lord, but the casting rumors have branched out with a shortlist for Drax the Destroyer.  First up: CBM hears that Marvel is “still high on” John Krasinski for Star-Lord, a “master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship.”  Marvel had their eye on Krasinski for Captain America once upon a time.  Although that didn’t work out the studio is still understandably keen on Krasinski.  Peter Quill is set up to be the central character in James Gunn‘s adaptation of the Marvel comic.

For Drax the Destroyer, Marvel is reportedly looking at Isaiah Mustafa, Brian Patrick Wade, and Dave Bautista.  Interesting list: Mustafa is best known as the Old Spice Guy and Bautista is a former WWE professional wrestler.  Wade by comparison is just your typical actor—given his unspectacular resume, we can conclude Marvel is not seeking big names to play Drax, a superhuman warrior created to defeat Thanos.  Hit the jump for character bios.

From director Gus Van Sant, the small town drama Promised Land tells the story of Steve Butler (Matt Damon), a corporate salesman who has been dispatched to the rural town of McKinley with his sales partner (Frances McDormand) to see if the two can get the citizens to sign over the drilling rights to their properties.  But, when an environmental activist (John Krasinski) arrives in town, the residents start to question what’s best for themselves and their community.

At the film’s press day, actor/co-writer John Krasinski talked about what led him to write a story about American identity, how it was to collaborate with co-writer Matt Damon, sending the script to Aaron Sorkin for feedback, and what it was like to get that phone call that Matt Damon was no longer going to be able to direct the film.  He also talked about being in the final stretch of episodes for The Office (they wrap the series in March), his hope that Steve Carell will return before they’re done, how hard the last day of shooting will be, whether he’d ever consider doing another TV show, how he’s currently developing some possible series, and that he’d like to work with his wife, Emily Blunt, at some point.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

From director Gus Van Sant, the small town drama Promised Land tells the story of Steve Butler (Matt Damon), a corporate salesman who has been dispatched to the rural town of McKinley with his sales partner (Frances McDormand) to see if the two can get the citizens to sign over the drilling rights to their properties.  But, when an environmental activist (John Krasinski) arrives in town, the residents start to question what’s best for themselves and their community.  For more on Promised Land, here are seven clips and the trailer.

At the film’s press day, actor Matt Damon talked about how quickly they shot the film, having a rough cut done four weeks ahead of schedule, how he came to collaborate on the script with Krasinski, their process for writing together, working with McDormand, what made Van Sant the right director when he decided he wouldn’t be able to take that on himself, and why this was an important story for him to tell.  He also talked about kissing Michael Douglas in Behind the Candelabra, an HBO movie about the relationship between Liberace and his younger live-in lover, and whether he’d ever consider returning to the role of Jason Bourne.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Opening this weekend in limited release is director Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land.  The film stars Matt Damon and Frances McDormand as natural gas salesmen who try to prey on an economic town in decline only to have their mission complicated by the citizens they encounter and an environmentalist played by John Krasinski.  Damon and Krasinski wrote the screenplay, and the film deals heavily with the consequences of fracking.  The film also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, and Titus Welliver.  For more on Promised Land, here are seven clips and the trailer.

During the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with Krasinski.  He talked about what surprises he learned when researching fracking, how they wanted to make sure the film showed both side of the issue, is he planning on directing a feature soon, Dunkin Donuts (we’re both from New England and L.A. has no locations), and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Salesmanship can be more powerful than the truth.  Tell people what they want to hear, and they won’t look too hard for something that might contradict their belief.  Promised Land tries to come off as a Capra-esque story about a man discovering that he might be doing wrong to the heartland by selling environmentally hazardous natural gas.  But fittingly, in a movie about ulterior motives and the easy manipulation of a pliable audience, the makers of Promised Land might have an ulterior motive of their own, which undermines a film that rarely finds any truth.

We have an early look at director Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land in seven new clips. Starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski, who also wrote the screenplay, Promised Land centers on a natural gas company executive (Damon) who comes up against homegrown opposition in Dustin Noble (Krasinski) when the corporation tries to buy up a small town’s resource rights.

Also starring Frances McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Scoot McNairy and Titus Welliver, Promised Land opens in limited release on December 28th before expanding in January. Hit the jump to check out the new clips.

Focus Features has released seven new character images from director Gus Van Sant’s upcoming drama Promised Land.  The film stars Matt Damon and Frances McDormand as corporate salesmen who try to prey on an economic town in decline only to have their mission complicated by the citizens they encounter, particularly a character played by John Krasinski.  Damon and Krasinski wrote the screenplay, and the film deals heavily with the consequences of fracking.  These new images introduce the many characters that inhabit this Frank Capra-esque story.

Hit the jump to check out the images, and click here to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, and Titus Welliver.  Promised Land opens in limited release on December 28th before expanding in January.

Focus Features has released a batch of new images from director Gus Van Sant’s upcoming drama Promised Land.  The pic was written by Matt Damon and John Krasinski and was originally set to mark Damon’s directorial debut, but scheduling issues forced him to step down and subsequently rope in his Good Will Hunting director Van Sant to take the helm.  Damon and Frances McDormand star as corporate salesmen who try to prey on an economic town in decline only to have their mission complicated by the citizens they encounter, particularly a character played by Krasinski.  The story deals with the consequences of fracking but also looks to have a strong, character-centric bent as well, so I’m eager to see how the political issues are balanced with the story elements.

Hit the jump to check out the new images along with the film’s first trailer in case you missed it.  The film also stars Rosemarie DeWitt, Hal Holbrook, Scoot McNairy, and Titus Welliver.  Promised Land opens in limited release on December 28th before expanding in January.

A couple new clips to share with you this evening:

• Stephen Fung’s Tai Chi Zero, a mash-up of steam-punk and kung-fu, stars Yuan Xiaochao, Angelababy, Tony Leung, Ka Fai and Shu Qi.  Tai Chi Zero opens stateside in limited release on October 19th.  Check out the trailer if you missed it earlier.
• Co-written by Lena Dunham (Girls) and director Ry Russo-Young (You Won’t Miss Me) comes Nobody Walks, starring John Krasinski, Olivia Thirlby, Jane Levy and Rosemarie DeWitt. Nobody Walks also opens October 19th.

Hit the jump to check out the clips. 

Justin Kirkhas earned high praise for his roles on television, in film and on stage.  In Ry Russo-Young’s ensemble drama, Nobody Walks, about a young New York artist (Olivia Thirlby) who moves to Los Angeles and becomes a catalyst for lust, denial and deception, Kirk plays a screenwriter in therapy that’s used to talking his way into anything.  His therapist (Rosemarie DeWitt) finds herself fending off her patient’s projective impulses as her once idyllic existence starts to unravel.

During our roundtable interview, Kirk talked about why it’s fun to portray a well-drawn character that behaves like a cad, why he only lasted a few months the first time he tried therapy, how he enjoyed working opposite DeWitt, why TV is good training ground for the movies, and why he wouldn’t mind making a multi-million dollar movie if the opportunity arose.  He also discussed finishing Weeds, his new television series Animal Practice, and  co-starring with Michael Caine in the upcoming feature film, Mr. Morgan’s Last Love. Hit the jump for the interview.