Here are today’s casting updates:

• Kevin Macdonald’s (The Last King of Scotland) new feature Black Sea, a hot ticket item coming up for Cannes, has Jude Law set to star.  Focus Features has snapped up worldwide rights to the film.

• Nicki Minaj will jump from her American Idol hosting duties to the big screen, making her live-action debut opposite Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, and Nickolaj Coster-Waldau in the Nick Cassavetes-directed The Other Woman.

• Julia Stiles (The Bourne Ultimatum), Scott Speedman (Last Resort), and Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta) will star in the supernatural thriller Out of the Dark, from Spanish director Lluis Quilez.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Expanding this weekend in more theaters is director Juan Antonio Bayona’s The Impossible.  Based on a true story, the film stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor as the parents of three boys vacationing in Thailand in 2004 when the tsunami hit.  Having survived, but finding themselves separated, the family members search for each other amidst the chaos, encountering strangers caught up in the same situation along the way.  The film also stars Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, and Oaklee Pendergast.  For more on The Impossible, here are eight clips and the trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak to Tom Holland.  We talked about how he got involved in the movie, the transition from stage to screen, what surprised him about making a movie, and more.  In addition, Holland talked about Kevin Macdonald’s How I Live Now which also stars Saoirse Ronan.  Hit the jump to watch.

After taking an innovative approach to documentary making with the world-chronicling Life in a Day, director Kevin Macdonald went much more traditional with Marley, and the results are revealing and mostly satisfying—albeit somewhat exhaustive.

For this long-overdue movie about the reggae legend, MacDonald could have easily have made this a bloated mess, packed with stars and critics further analyzing Bob Marley‘s life. Instead, he uses remarkable access to Marley’s friends, family and bandmates to make this an often intimate, always entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking view of the man himself.  Hit the jump for a review of Kevin Macdonald’s Marley on Blu-ray.

For nearly half a century, Bob Marley’s music and his message have resonated powerfully on a global level that remains unparalleled. Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald’s new documentary, Marley, is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, Marley features rare footage, incredible performances and revealing interviews with the people that knew him best. The film also gives the audience a more emotional connection to Marley’s life as a man.  Magnolia Pictures will release Marley theatrically and on VOD on Friday, April 20th.

At the press day for Marley, we sat down with Macdonald for an exclusive interview.  We talked about what inspired him to make a documentary about the enigmatic Bob Marley who transcended music to become a cultural, political and social icon for change. He told us about what he hoped to achieve by making this film, how he set out to reveal a human side of a towering figure in musical history, and why he thinks Marley still speaks to people around the world today as powerfully as he did when he was alive and more profoundly than any other rock artist or popular music artist. Macdonald also discussed his upcoming projects including How I Live Now with Saoirse Ronan, Bobby Fischer Goes to War and Black Sea.

In a discussion concerning influential figures from the musical profession, it’s hard not to mention Bob Marley. In director Kevin Macdonald’s (The Last King of Scotland) new documentary, titled simply Marley, he attempts to chronicle the artist’s life from his early days to his rise to stardom and, ultimately, to his death. We recently brought you the first poster for Marley, but now we have the official US trailer to show you as well. Marley features rare performance footage, archival interviews and commentary from his friends and family.

Marley will make its world premiere this month at the Berlin Film Festival and will make SXSW its North American debut. Look for Marley in theaters and on VOD in a Magnolia Pictures release on April 20^th. Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

The alcoholism drama Smashed and the Bob Marley documentary Marley have now found a way to you.  According to The Wrap, Sony Pictures Classics will distribute Smashed, which features a powerful performance from Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an alcoholic who’s struggling to get sober.  I caught the film at Sundance and was blown away by Winstead as well as her co-star Aaron Paul.  As for Marley, the film was directed by Kevin Macdonald (Life in a Day) and will tell the legendary musician’s life story with unprecedented support from Marley’s family.  The film will make its US premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in March.

Hit the jump for the press release for Marley.

Young actress Saoirse Ronan is set to star in an adaptation of Meg Rosoff’s novel How I Live Now. Variety reports that The Last King of Scotland helmer Kevin Macdonald is onboard to direct, from a script by Jeremy Brock (The Last King of Scotland) and Tony Grisoni (best name ever). The period drama tells the story of Daisy, a teenage girl from New York City who travels to England in order to spend the summer with family. World War II breaks out and Daisy and another young girl find themselves attempting to survive alone in the woods as they search for safety.

Ronan was fantastic in this year’s Hanna, and this role sounds like it’s right in her wheelhouse. The actress has been busy as of late, as she’s currently filming Neil Jordan’s Byzantium. Ronan is also set to star in Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of the Stephanie Meyer sci-fi novel The Host. Hit the jump to read a synopsis for How I Live Now.

The new documentary Senna chronicles the brief but incredible life of Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna.  Through him we see not only the sport of European Formula One racing (far more dangerous than the Indy 500) during the 1980s and early 90s, but we see it through the eyes of one of its most celebrated and revered figures. Senna is notable not only for its subject matter, but because it dispenses with ordinary documentary conventions of talking head interviews and keeps narration to a minimum.  All of the footage is archival and the racing scenes in particular demand to be viewed in a theater.

I interviewed screenwriter Manish Pandey about the decision to use only archival footage, what fascinated him about Senna, the lasting impact of Senna in his home country of Brazil, and much more.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Senna opens this weekend.

When one hears the name “Channing Tatum”, many things come to mind:  rippling abs, an affected homeboy-like cadence, a backwards ballcap, those oft-murmured rumors about Tatum’s former life as a male stripper (not a joke).  Something one doesn’t tend to think upon hearing the name “Channing Tatum” is:  brilliant actor.  Kevin MacDonald’s The Eagle– starring Tatum, in addition to Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland– is the latest attempt from Camp Tatum to change the way we think of the former Step Up 2: Tha Streets star.  Many of you avoided The Eagle when it hit theaters in February, but now that it’s on DVD, we’re free to discover what– if anything– we missed.  What’d we think?  Find out after the jump, folks…

About a week ago I sat down with Jamie Bell for an extended video interview as he was in Los Angeles promoting director Kevin Macdonald’s The Eagle (synopsis and clips here).  During our fifteen minute conversation, he discussed how he got involved in the project, what kind of research he did and does research really matter, filming on location, and training for the role.  In addition, Bell also gave me updates on what it was like to make The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn for Peter Jackson and Steve Spielberg, the challenges of motion capture, what it was like to work with Andy Serkis (he says Serkis “is the Gandalf of motion capture.”), when does he think they might film Tintin 2, and he also discusses his work in Jane Eyre, Man on a Ledge.  Hit the jump to watch what he said:

My high school European History teacher joked that the Holy Roman Empire wasn’t holy, Roman, or an Empire.  Similarly, Kevin Macdonald’s The Eagle is a dramatic Roman action flick than isn’t particularly dramatic, Roman, or action-packed.  Everywhere The Eagle could make its mark, it comes up short.  The relationship between the main characters is underdeveloped, there’s very little sense of consistency or setting, and the action is poorly-shot and awkwardly-bloodless.  Despite the presence of actor Jamie Bell and the usually reliable Macdonald at the helm, The Eagle never manages to take flight.

Opening this weekend is director Kevin Macdonald’s (Last King of Scotland, State of Play) The Eagle. The films based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel The Eagle of the Ninth and it stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, and Donald Sutherland.  Here’s part of the synopsis:

In 2^nd-Century Britain, two men – master and slave – venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism.

The other day I sat down with Macdonald for an extended video interview.  During our conversation, we talked about his very famous grandfather Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes), how The Eagle came together, and we also discussed his upcoming Bob Marley documentary.  Hit the jump to watch:

Opening February 11 is director Kevin Macdonald’s (Last King of Scotland, State of Play) The Eagle which is based on Rosemary Sutcliff’s novel The Eagle of the Ninth and it stars Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland and Tahar Rahim.  Here’s part of the synopsis:

In 2^nd-Century Britain, two men – master and slave – venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism.

While most of you have already watched the trailer, Focus has provided us with four clips and you can check them out after the jump – along with a more detailed synopsis.  Look for interviews with the cast and director Macdonald very soon.

Director Kevin Macdonald has been tapped to take on the upcoming Bob Marley documentary Marley. Macdonald won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature with his 2000 film One Day in September, and he was also behind 2009’s State of Play and 2006’s The Last King of Scotland. Per the press release, Marley will be “the ultimate, authorized documentary film on the life, legacy and global impact of a true legend, one of the most influential singers, songwriters, musicians and activists in history.” Macdonald had this to say regarding taking the reins of the film:

“I was already intrigued by the Marley story but the way in which this film is developing, as we delve through the archive materials and interview key characters in his life, has surpassed my expectations.  What made Bob tick is probably unanswerable but viewers will certainly feel that they know him a little better after seeing our documentary.  I am grateful to the Marley family for entrusting me with their heritage.”

Hit the jump to read the full press release. Marley is set to be released sometime this fall to mark the 30^th anniversary of the singer’s passing.

Focus Features has released a new featurette titled “Romans and Celts” for the sword-and-sandal adventure The Eagle.  The phrase is pulled from a quote by producer Duncan Kenworthy (“This world of Romans and Celts two thousand years ago was very, very alien.”) as he describes the attention to detail to the production design.  There’s impressive footage to support his claims, but the cultural setting of The Eagle is only mentioned in passing.

Much more time is spent on director Kevin MacDonald (State of Play) and stars Channing Tatum (Dear John) and Jamie Bell (Jumper) making a case for the strength of character and story.  MacDonald puts it best: “There aren’t many great stories in the world which just take hold of your throat and lead you the entire way.  I think this is one of those great stories.”  Watch the featurette after the break.