Here’s today’s casting news:

• Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) and Kevin Kline (Dave) are set to star in My Old Lady, directorial debut of playwright and screenwriter Israel Horovitz.
• Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) is in talks to join Chris Hemsworth in Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea.
• Lance Reddick (Fringe) has been cast in his first comedic lead for debut director Scot Armstrong’s Search Party.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement. 

The first trailer for director Roland Emmerich’s presidential thriller White House Down has been released.  While the trailer (and plot) have lots of elements in common with Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen, our first introduction to White House Down comes through the lens of various news outlets reporting an attack on Washington, D.C. rather than centering on the heroic lead; we don’t even seen Channing Tatum until about half-way through.  Emmerich’s usual flare for the dramatic is evident, but then he goes and does something interesting by allowing silence to fill a good portion of the trailer.  It also looks like the danger will come not from an outside enemy, but from within.  There are moments that appear to be more Die Hard in nature (and a few glimpses that could be considered spoilers), but there’s just enough here to warrant some interest even after a movie with the exact same plot was just released.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke, Jake Weber, Lance Reddick and Joey King.  White House Down opens on June 28th, 2013.

All good things must come to an end and so it is with FOX’s spectacular sci-fi series, Fringe, which will conclude its fifth and final season in a two-hour finale on Friday, January 18th starting at 8PM ET/PT.  Created by J.J. Abrams, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, Fringe was an X-Files for a new generation, as it followed a team of specialized investigators into all things paranormal and supernatural.  Though it’s struggled with ratings throughout the years, the show’s smart writing, impressive cast and dark humor have earned Fringe a rabid fan base, one that sadly will not get to see the cast and crew return to Comic-Con any longer.

Starring Anna Torv, Joshua Jackson, John Noble, Lance Reddick, Jasika Nicole and Blair Brown, the two-hour series finale of Fringe will also celebrate its 100th episode.  Your guess is as good as mine as to what the final episode code word will be.  Hit the jump for the full press release. 

This may be the strangest casting article ever written, but here it goes:

• Lance Reddick (Fringe) is in talks to star in Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, starring Channing Tatum as a Secret Service agent.
• Director Gus Van Sant (Good Will Hunting) appears to be starring in The Canyons, from director Paul Schrader and writer Bret Easton Ellis.
• Dolph Lundgren (The Expendables), who starred as the hero He-Man in the 1987 film Masters of the Universe has expressed interest in returning for a different role in the remake.

Hit the jump to get this sorted out.

I love Fringe.  If you haven’t been watching, you’re missing out on a great sci-fi series that’s definitely worth your time.  And unlike The X-Files, which didn’t know how to end a storyline, every season of Fringe has focused on new ideas and mysteries.  It’s been a great ride that ends with a final 13-episode season this fall.

Last night at the Saturn Awards, I was able to speak with Lance Reddick on the red carpet.  We talked about the final season and what it’s about, his feelings on the show ending, what this year’s Comic-Con was like, the Saturn Awards, and how happy he was to meet Robert Kirkman as he’s a big Walking Dead fan.  Hit the jump to watch.

Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic.  Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season.  However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established.  Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season.  Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.

Hit the jump for my review of the fourth season of The Wire.  Click on the corresponding links for my reviews of Season 1, Season 2, and Season 3.

It was announced today that production has wrapped on an apocalyptic thriller directed by Danny DeVito.  The currently untitled project stars William Fichtner (Black Hawk Down), Lance Reddick (Fringe), and Constance Zimmerman (Entourage) as three strangers who must band together in an apocalyptic environment.  The logline is as follows:

The film revolves around a wounded cop, a wounded murderer and a sultry nurse. The three are thrust together, as war rages outside the only possible safe house, an abandoned City Hospital. With no doctors and only a few poor decrepit souls as witnesses, it becomes a rats’ maze as the antagonistic trio get separated, and we find out the real reason they are there.

Rights to the pic will be shopped at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.  Directing-wise, DeVito has been behind the camera on such varied fare as Matilda, Death to Smoochy, and Throw Momma from the Train.  Hit the jump to read the full press release regarding his latest effort.

Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic.  Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season.  However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established.  Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season.  Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.

Hit the jump for my review of the third season of The Wire; here are my reviews for season one and season two.

Up until the past 15 years or so, television series were firmly episodic.  Serialized TV (outside of mini-series) risked alienating viewers since it stopped anyone from coming in mid-season.  However, with the rise of DVDs, OnDemand, and digital downloads, serialized TV series have become firmly established.  Some shows still retain an episodic nature, but some series—particularly dramas—have been built around telling one long story over the course of an entire season.  Our new feature, Seasoned, will review a TV series by season rather than by episode.

And we couldn’t think of a better kick-off to this feature than HBO’s The Wire.  Hit the jump for my review of the groundbreaking drama’s first season.

The Fringe Panel opened with what appeared to be an ordinary ol’ boring sizzle reel. Events from the previous season played out across the screen: the battle between two universes, Olivia trapped on the “other side”, Broyles barking out orders, Walter attempting to save the day, Astrid assisting… all the characters given a moment or two (Lincoln Lee, Nina Sharp, Charlie Francis) everyone except the male lead of the show. Peter Bishop was nowhere to be found. His de-existence branching out to  the very marketing of the show. What happened to Peter? How will he be brought back into existence (i.e. on the show)? Can he be? For the answers to these questions, hit the jump.

While covering the red carpet for the 37^th annual Saturn Awards we were lucky enough to speak to Lance Reddick about the upcoming fourth season of Fringe.  Though he remained tightlipped on the specifics of the next season, Reddick gave us a few tidbits about his character arc subsequent to his doppelganger’s demise, the show’s move away from a monster-of-the-week format, what attracts him most to his character and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

We have a few bits of casting news to bring your way this evening. First up, Miles Teller (Rabbit Hole and the upcoming Footloose remake) has signed on to star in Relativity Media’s R-rated comedy 21 and Over. A couple of weeks ago, we reported that the up-and-coming actor was in talks to star in the film which will act as the directoral debut of The Hangover scribes Scott Moore and Jon Lucas. At that time, it was believed that Teller would play one of two childhood friends who get their straight-laced buddy trashed on his 21st birthday, a night that just so happens to be the day before his all important medical school interview. While the studio’s release doesn’t make specific mention, I suppose it could be safe to assume that Teller will in fact take on that role.

Next, Rosie Perez (White Men Can’t Jump) and Lance Reddick (Fringe) have signed on to director Daniel Barnz’s (Beastly) drama Still I Rise. The pair will join a cast that already includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Holly Hunter, Viola Davis, and Oscar Isaac. As for their respective roles, Variety reports that Perez will play a former teacher who now heads up a school board whereas Reddick will make a turn as Davis’ husband who also happens to be a teacher. Set in Pittsburgh, Still I Rise tells the story of two mothers (Gyllenhaal and Davis) who join forces to transform an inner-city public school. The film is currently eyeing a 2012 release.

The regular TV season is winding down, and it looks like Fox’s death-defiant sci-fi series Fringe is really going to deliver in their season finale. Fox has just released an epic new movie-style trailer for the finale, and it’s pretty crazy. I can’t imagine where this series is going, but I’m glad that a fourth season has already been greenlit so we can see what’s in store down the road. Rather than take up anymore of your time, I’ll just let this fantastic trailer speak for itself.  Check it out after the jump.

After almost giving up  on JJ Abrams’ Fringe after a borderline-mundane first season, I sat down with season two of the series to see if it had improved.  There wasn’t anything wrong with season one, per se, it just didn’t make me feel like I was missing out on much when I didn’t bother DVR’ing season two.  I’m happy to report, then, that not only does Fringe improve in season two, it nearly becomes a completely different show.  Full review’s after the jump, folks.

At last week’s Saturn Awards (yes, I’m still posting interviews from the event), I got to speak with Anna Torv on the red carpet before the show.  As one of the stars of the great FOX show, Fringe, we talked about what happened last season, what does she know about next season, Comic-Con, HBO’s The Pacific,  and Lance Reddick.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.