The longevity of Paul Feig and Judd Apatow’s short-lived 1999 series Freaks and Geeks is both astounding and ironic.  The show was ahead of its time and faced considerable opposition from its home network, NBC, throughout its one-season run.  Over the years, though, Freaks and Geeks has amassed a legion of fans and acted as the launching pad for countless careers.  The main cast of James Franco, Jason Segel, and Seth Rogen now reads like an all-star comedy lineup, not to mention the ridiculous number of stars that had bit parts in the series like Rashida Jones, Jason Schwartzman, Shia LaBeouf, Ben Foster, Lizzy Caplan, and David Krumholtz.

Most of the show’s cast came together for a reunion at PaleyFest last year, but for the upcoming comedy issue of Vanity Fair (guest edited by Apatow), the entire cast and crew was assembled for “An Oral History of Freaks and Geeks.”  In addition to the fascinating article itself, VF has released a number of cast reunion images.  Hit the jump to take a look.

The nominations for the 2013 Independent Spirit Awards have been announced, and Oscar hopefuls Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom lead the pack.  Both films picked up nominations for Best Feature, Director, and Screenplay with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper landing acting noms for SLP and Bruce Willis garnering a swell Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Moonrise Kingdom.  Beasts of the Southern Wild, Bernie, and Keep the Lights On round out the Best Feature nominees, while The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Safety Not Guaranteed were singled out for the Best First Feature award.  Also, Matthew McConaughey pulled double nominations for his stellar work in this year’s Magic Mike and Killer Joe, landing a Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor nod, respectively.  Notably shut out of the race entirely was Leos Carax‘s critically-lauded Holy Motors.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of nominations.  The winners of the 2013 Spirit Awards will be announced on Saturday, February 23, 2013.

A trailer for the drama Return has gone online. The film stars Linda Cardellini (Freaks and Geeks) as a returned soldier struggling to fit back into the life she left behind. It’s a familiar story that’s been told quite a few times before, but Return tells it from a female’s point of view. It’s hard to judge the movie based on the trailer as its success will likely hinge on the performances, but Cardellini looks to be doing some solid work here. We don’t see much of co-stars Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire) and John Slattery (Mad Men), but the trailer’s more a mood piece than a full-on plot explanation.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Directed by Liza Johnson, Return opens in select theaters February 10th and will be available VOD on February 28th.

Anchor Bay has released a trailer and poster for their new crime thriller Kill the Irishman.  The film centers on real-life Irish mobster Danny Greene (played by Ray Stevenson) who decided to stop being a loan shark for the Italian mob and go into business for himself.  Not surprisingly, the mafia didn’t take too kindly to that career change and they tried to blow him up.  A lot.  There are about 14 explosions over the course of this two-and-a-half minute trailer.  However, the film does look like a nice showcase for Stevenson and Stevenson’s mustache.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  Kill the Irishman also stars Vincent D’Onofrio, Val Kilmer, and Christopher Walken.  It opens March 11, 2011.

Fans of Judd Apatow who knew his name well before The 40 Year-Old Virgin hit theaters in 2005 should hold onto their hats. Variety is reporting, though unofficially, that a 10-year reunion for the cast of Freaks and Geeks — the coming-of-age high school series that survived only one season from the year 2000 — will be staged for an event at PaleyFest 2011. Apparently Apatow revealed the reunion through his Twitter over the weekend and the Paley Center has since confirmed the fact that a Q&A with the cast and producers is definitely in the cards. The official announcement regarding the TV festival won’t hit until next week, but this sounds like a done deal.

Since many of the series stars like Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and James Franco have since catapulted into stardom this should be quite the reunion. Other cast members include Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Martin Starr, Samm Levine and Busy Phillips, and surely they’ll be along for the reunion too. I’m wondering if they’ll get Shia LaBeouf or Rashida Jones involved since they each had bit parts in a few episodes back in the day. Either way, this will be an event you don’t want to miss, so if you have the means, make sure you make it to PaleyFest 2011.

We have four brief casting stories for you this morning.  First up, the Winnipeg Free Press reports [via Bloody Disgusting] that Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League) has replaced Margarita Levieva in David Brooks’ ATM.  Described as “Hitchcockian”, the film (written by Buried screenwriter Chris Sparling), centers on three co-workers (Eve, Brian Geraghty, and Peck) who make a late-night visit to an ATM and end up in a desperate fight for their lives when they become trapped by an unknown man.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Ray Liotta in Wanderlust, John Slattery in Return, and Martin Freeman in Animals.

We got two pieces of casting news for you this late morning/early afternoon.  First up, Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) and Anton Yelchin (Star Trek) will star in the indie romantic Like Crazy.  According to 24 Frames, the indie romantic drama centers on “young college students who fall in love at first sight. They then go their separate ways for years, before a dramatic (and complicated) reunion.”  The film also stars Felicity Jones (Cemetery Junction), Chris Messina (Julie & Julia), and Charlie Bewley (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse).

Hit the jump for news on Linda Cardellini, Michael Shannon, and Tim Blake Nelson teaming up for Return, and Demi Moore joining Margin Call.

James Gunn is building himself a strong little cadre of performers for his upcoming twist on the superhero genre, Super.  We knew that Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, and Kevin Bacon were on board, but today we’ve learned that Gunn has some more great actors up his sleeve.  The cast now includes Nathan Fillion, Linda Cardellini, and Michael Rooker.  A new James Gunn movie was already cause for celebration, but with this cast Super has now become the title-duper.  Here’s the official synopsis:

Wilson plays Frank, a seemingly average Joe who is madly in love with his troubled wife Sarah (Tyler). But when Sarah leaves Frank for Jacques (Bacon), a smooth-talking drug dealer, Frank transforms into pseudo superhero The Crimson Bolt, stakes out Jacques sleazy hideaway, and wages a one-man war on crime. What he lacks in superpowers, he makes up for with a trusty pipe wrench. Every superhero needs a sidekick and so enters Libby (Page), a cute sociopathic teen working at the local comic book store, who morphs into ‘Boltie’ and teams with Frank to take Jacques down.

Fillion will play, “a pop-icon who inspires Frank to don his tights,” Cardellini as “the woman who ultimately delivers love to Frank and [Mikaela] Hoover, and Rooker is “Abe, Jacques’s henchman.”  Hit the jump for the full press release.  Filming is currently underway in Louisiana.