Summit Entertainment and OddLot Entertainment announced today that production has begun on director Ivan Reitman’s sports dramedy Draft Day.  The film takes place within the span of one day, the day of the NFL Draft, as Kevin Costner plays a general manger who has the opportunity to save football in Cleveland when he trades for the number one pick.  As the day’s events unfold, “he must quickly decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL.”

Filming is underway in New York, where the production will shoot some scenes at the actual 2013 NFL Draft.  Once that is complete, filming will move to Cleveland.  The ensemble includes Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Langella, Josh Pence, Rosanna Arquette, Timothy Simons and 42 star Chadwick Boseman, and the start-of-production press release notes that Terry Crews and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs have also joined the cast.  Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the entire cast listing.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this afternoon.  First up, Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Rick Yune (Die Another Day) have been added to the cast of the White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  Not to be confused with the similarly plotted White House Down, which has Roland Emmerich directing and Channing Tatum starring, Olympus Has Fallen has Gerard Butler playing a secret service agent who becomes the country’s only hope when the White House is overrun by terrorists.  Antoine Fuqua directs, and Heat Vision reports that Leo will be playing a tough Secretary of State while Yune has landed the film’s villain role.  In addition to Die Another Day, Yune played an antagonist in the original The Fast and the Furious.  No other details are known regarding his nefarious plot or why he feels the need to break into the President’s home.

Hit the jump for details on a number of additions to the cast of the biopic Jobs. 

HBO has released a new trailer for David Milch and Michael Mann’s upcoming horse-gambling drama Luck.  If Milch (Deadwood) and Mann (Heat) didn’t already get you excited for the show, here’s the cast: Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Richard Kind, Kevin Dunn, and Michael Gambon.  The main plotline focuses on as Ace Bernstain (Hoffman) a man who, after three years in prison, teams with his longtime chauffeur and muscle (Farina), to craft a complex plan involving the Santa Anita racetrack.  Of course, this is HBO where there are 3 or 4 plotlines per episode and you have to learn the names of 18 or 19 regular cast members.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Luck premieres January 2012.

A last-minute trailer for Transformers: Dark of the Moon has been released, along with a couple of new posters. There’s quite a few new shots to be seen here, and this one really ramps up the action. With Michael Bay doing all he can to ensure that the 3D prints are projected at the highest quality possible, this is gonna be one hell of a visual experience.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and posters. The film stars Shia LaBeouf, John Turturro, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Patrick Dempsey, Kevin Dunn, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand.  Transformers: Dark of the Moon opens in 3D on June 29th.

When you look at the caliber of talent behind the pilot for the horse racing drama Luck, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that HBO would order it to series.  Michael Mann directed the pilot from a script by Deadwood creator David Milch, with a cast toplined by Dustin Hoffman.  See what I mean?

According to The Live Feed, the cast is rounded out by Dennis Farina, John Ortiz, Kevin Dunn, Richard Kind, Jason Gedrick, Ritchie Coster, Ian Hart, Tom Payne, Kerry Condon, Gary Stevens, and Nick Nolte.  Production begins this fall, so Luck should debut on HBO sometime next year along with the fantasy series Game of Thrones.  Meanwhile, the Martin Scorsese-directed first episode of the Prohibition-era gangster series Boardwalk Empire premieres September 19th on the network.

Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Dollhouse) has joined the cast of Transformers 3 according to thewrap.  While the studio is keeping the story and his character under wraps, I’m hoping Michael Bay is going to use him in a fun role and not something dark and serious.  Because if you’ve seen his work on Firefly, you know that’s the type of role he’s great in.

Tudyk joins a cast that includes Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, Ken Jeong, Josh Duhamel and Tyrese Gibson.

Director Michael Bay is shooting Transformers 3 around the United States and even in Moscow.  Transformers 3 hits theaters July 1, 2011.

While principle photography hasn’t yet begun on Michael Bay’s Transformers 3, the production was doing some sort of early filming in Los Angeles today.  Since some of the filming involved Megan Fox, paparazzi were on hand and they snapped a few shots.  So if you’d like to see Megan Fox standing around (with one shot of Bumblebee) hit the jump.  Transformers 3 gets released July 1, 2011.  No info on the story has been released.

Kevin Dunn and Julie White will return to play Sam Witwicky’s (Shia LaBeouf) parents in Michael Bay’s Transformers 3.  So for those wondering if these minor comic relief characters would once again dazzle us with their presence, you can now put your mind at ease.  Variety reports that the actors have closed their deals as the film moves through pre-production.  Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, and Tyrese Gibson will also return and they’ll be joined by new cast members John Malkovich, Frances McDormand, and Ken Jeong.  Shooting is set to begin in May.

Transformers 3 is slated to hit theaters on July 1, 2011.

The cast of David Milch (Deadwood) and Michael Mann’s (Heat) horse-racing and gambling drama Luck continues to expand as Kevin Dunn (Transformers) , Kerry Condon (The Last Station), and Tom Payne (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day) have all joined the cast.  The HBO drama series will feature Dustin Hoffman as Ace Bernstain, a man who, after three years in prison, teams with his longtime chauffeur and muscle (played by Dennis Farina), to craft a complex plan involving the Santa Anita racetrack.

THR reports that Dunn will play the prodigious misanthrope who is the ringmaster of a syndicate of misfits. Condon will play an exercise rider who is interested in “Bug Boy” (Payne), an apprentice jockey.

As we reported earlier today, Nick Nolte has also just joined the cast and will play a formerly famous trainer known as “The Old Man”.

Just a few hours ago, Paramount/DreamWorks held two press conferences here in Los Angeles to promote “Transformers Revenge of the Fallen”. Since I’m not going to have the time to transcribe the interviews tonight, for all the people that wanted to hear what the cast and filmmakers said, I’m offering you the audio files right now.

The first press conference was Scott Farrar (ILM), Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura and screenwriters Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman.

The second press conference was director Michael Bay, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Kevin Dunn, and Ramon Rodriguez.

While the first one will be informative if you want to hear what went on behind the scenes at ILM and how the script came together, the second one is where it’s at. That’s because the cast was saying some very funny stuff and Michael Bay is…well…Michael Bay. You can never go wrong listening to Bay.

So if you’d like to hear them, here’s the link for the first one, and here’s the link for the second. Look for a lot more from today’s junket very soon.