Here are today’s latest release dates:

• Lone Survivor – Though Peter Berg’s Navy SEAL thriller will open wide on January 10, 2014, Lone Survivor, starring Mark Wahlberg and Taylor Kitsch, will open in an awards-qualifying limited release run on December 27th. (Via Deadline)
• Almanac – Michael Bay’s found-footage time-travel film directed by Dean Israelite, written by first-time writers Andrew Stark and Jason Pagan, and starring Jonny Weston and Sofia Black-D’Elia will open one week later on February 28, 2014.
• Pompeii – Paul W.S. Anderson’s historical thriller starring Kit Harington, Emily Browning, Jared Harris, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica Lucas, and Carrie-Anne Moss will now open one week earlier on February 21, 2014. The script was written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes.

*Release date information for Almanac and Pompeii courtesy of Box Office Mojo.

Universal Pictures announced today that it will be releasing director Peter Berg’s (The Rundown) Navy SEAL film Lone Survivor on January 10, 2014.  Based on the bestselling non-fiction book of the same name, the film tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative who are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.  The film’s impressive cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana.

Berg and Kitsch are coming off of last summer’s bomb Battleship, but both have proven themselves to be quite talented in the past, so hopefully Lone Survivor is a return to form.  The film will likely open in New York and Los Angeles at the end of December to qualify for awards season, and will face off against the Sylvester Stallone/Robert De Niro boxing film Grudge Match and the Lionsgate horror pic Jessabelle when it opens wide on January 10th.

The crime thriller Deadfall tells the story of siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde), who get in a car accident after a casino heist gone wrong and decide to split up to make a run for the Canadian border during a Thanksgiving blizzard. While Addison is creating mayhem, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), who’s looking to make amends with his parents over a dinner that will push the bonds of family to the limit.

At the film’s press day, actor Eric Bana spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about why this character stood out to him, what he liked about this unique story structure, how they determined the history of what happened to these siblings prior to when you meet them in the film, and how he viewed the unhealthy dynamic between Addison and Liza. He also talked about what attracts him to a project, why he wanted to work with Peter Berg on Lone Survivor (based on SEAL Team 10′s failed June 28, 2005 mission “Operation Red Wing,” to capture or kill a notorious Taliban leader), and why he wanted to do Beware the Night (about a New York policeman who investigates cases of demon possessions, exorcisms and werewolves) as his next film. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

New photos have surfaced from the set of The Wolverine and Peter Berg’s Lone Survivor.  These low-resolution photos reveal no details about either film, so you don’t have to worry about spoilers unless you think Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) down on the ground is a spoiler.  Actually, that’s probably the key to the whole movie.  Sorry to ruin it.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The Wolverine opens July 26, 2013.  Lone Survivor, which tells the harrowing story of a Navy SEAL team’s fight to stay alive during a Taliban ambush in the midst of their 2005 mission to kill a terrorist leader in Afghanistan, does not currently have a release date.

Premiering at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival was director Sergio Castellitto‘s Twice Born.  Based on the novel of the same name by Margaret Mazzantini, the film stars Penelope Cruz as a single mother who returns with her teen son to present-day Sarajevo where her son’s father (Emile Hirsch) died during the Bosnian conflict of the 1990s.  As she tries to repair the relationship with her son, new revelations force her to rethink everything.  The film also stars Mira Fulran and Jane Birkin and you can watch the first trailer here.

Before the world premiere, I landed an extended video interview with Hirsch.  We talked about premiering at TIFF, why he signed on for the role, how the finished film compares to the script, his research, and more.  In addition, with Hirsch about to start filming Peter Berg‘s Lone Survivor (which films in Mexico for three months), he discussed how he’s getting ready for the role, David Gordon Green‘s Prince Avalanche, and Speed Racer.  Hit the jump to watch. 

We’ve got a few casting stories to share this evening.  Briefly:

• The ridiculously talented Benedict Cumberbatch is set to join Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in the drama adaptation August: Osage County.
• The Killing star Mireille Enos joins the testosterone-fueled thriller Ten with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sam Worthington.
• The Hunger Games star Alexander Ludwig has signed on for Peter Berg’s Navy SEAL drama Lone Survivor.

Hit the jump for more details.

Director Peter Berg (Hancock) is adding yet another impressive actor to the cast for Lone Survivor.  Based on the non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell, the film tells the harrowing story of a Navy SEAL team’s fight to stay alive during a Taliban ambush in the midst of their 2005 mission to kill a terrorist leader in Afghanistan.  Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch and Ben Foster are already set as members of the Navy SEAL team, and now Heat Vision reports that Eric Bana has entered negotiations to play a SEAL lieutenant.

Production on the film is set to begin next month in New Mexico, and Lone Survivor should make for a nice change of pace for Berg (and Kitsch) following Battleship.  Bana will next be seen later this year in Deadfall alongside Olivia Wilde.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for Luttrell’s book.

Director Peter Berg looks to finally have found that last piece of the puzzle for his Lone Survivor cast.  Based on the non-fiction book by Marcus Luttrell, Lone Survivor tells the harrowing story of a Navy SEAL team’s fight to stay alive during a Taliban ambush in the midst of their 2005 mission to kill a terrorist leader in Afghanistan.  Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, and Ben Foster are already set to star, and now Variety reports that Emile Hirsch is in early talks to take the final lead role in the pic.

Though I didn’t dislike Berg’s latest directorial effort (Battleship) near as much as many others, I’m hoping that Lone Survivor gives him the chance to really flaunt his skill for capturing drama in an incredibly realistic manner.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis for the book.

Opening this Friday is director Peter Berg’s adaptation of the board game Battleship.  The action-adventure pic takes place on the seas and centers on a group of Naval officers who must fight to keep an alien force from destroying our world.  Taylor Kitsch leads a cast that includes Alexander Skarsgard, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna, and Liam Neeson.

Our partners at Omelete recently got the chance to speak with Berg about the film, and the director talked about how the project was actually his idea in the first place, how he drew from a lifetime of being a history buff to develop the film, what approach he took to the alien designs, his next film Lone Survivor (also starring Kitsch), and he revealed that his biggest challenge in making the pic was keeping Rihanna from being eaten by a shark.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

It’s been a while since we reported on Lone Survivor, Peter Berg’s adaptation of Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell’s autobiography. Last year, after Universal had made a deal with Berg to fund Lone Survivor if he made Battleship, it looked like the director and star Taylor Kitsch would be teaming up for the Navy SEAL project. While that assumption hasn’t changed, Berg is currently in talks with Mark Wahlberg and Ben Foster to fill in two more of the film’s Navy SEAL quartet. Lone Survivor is the true life story of how Luttrell (Wahlberg) and his SEAL team fought back against a Taliban ambush while on a mission to kill a terrorist leader in Afghanistan. Hit the jump for more on this project.

Peter Berg has been attached to direct an adaptation of Lone Survivor, the autobiography of Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, since 2007.  Berg bonded with Luttrell during the making of The Kingdom, and penned the adaptation after spending a month with a Navy Seal unit.  The idea was to make Lone Survivor his next film, but desert war films (including The Kingdom) were tough sells to moviegoers, and thus to studios.  Universal made a deal with Berg: “You direct Battleship, we’ll fund Lone Survivor.”  Flash forward a few years — Berg is in post-production on Battleship, and the Navy elite are en vogue following the triumphant and cinematic assassination of Osama Bin Laden by “Seal Team 6.”  Disney and Kathryn Bigelow appear to have first dibs on that particular story, but Luttrell’s tale covers the same subject matter with comparable heroism.  Luttrell was one of four Seals on a Bin Laden-related reconnaissance mission to a Taliban stronghold — only Luttrell made it back alive.

Lone Survivor is up and running again at Universal; with a script ready, Berg and the studio are targeting a January start date for production.  Berg reached out to Battleship star Taylor Kitsch to play one of the Seals; he will continue to meet with other actors to fill out the foursome in the coming weeks.

Hit the jump for quotes from Berg on his approach to Luttrell’s story and a tongue-in-cheek response to the Battleship backlash.

If you have ever wondered why directors attach themselves to eight projects at the same time, the reason is you never know which project will get the financing and also land a big name star.  Also, you never know if another project will start getting more attractive.  Whatever the reason, it seems director Peter Berg has officially dropped out of the remake/reboot of “Dune”.  This probably means Berg’s next project will be “Battleship” at Universal. More after the jump:

Universal has set a release date for “Battleship,” the latest in their multiyear deal with Hasbro to release brand-driven films. Peter Berg (“Hancock”) is set to direct, which may mean bad news for some of his other projects like “Hancock 2″ and “Dune”. Get the status on them, and what more to expect from Universal’s board game kick, after the jump.