Roadside Attractions has released a trailer for Lake Bell‘s comedy, In a World…  Bell stars as Carol, a voiceover actress who feels marginalized both by the sexism in her profession and the success of her father (Fred Melamed), who is famous in the voiceover profession.  When I saw the film at Sundance, I enjoyed it despite some glaring flaws, and this trailer gives an idea of what a better movie would have looked like.  It streamlines the themes and the plot of the picture, and wisely leaves out the distracting subplot involving Carol’s sister Dani (Michaela Watkins) and her boyfriend Moe (Rob Corddry).

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Ken Marino, Lucy Punch, Nick Offerman, Eva Longoria,, and Demetri Martin.  In a World… opens in limited release on August 9th.

It’s been a few years since we’ve heard from director Nick Cassavetes (his last effort was 2009′s My Sister’s Keeper) but now we have a first look at his new film, Yellow.  Written by Cassavetes and star Heather Wahlquist (Alpha Dog), Yellow centers on Mary Holmes (Wahlquist), a substitute teacher and mother of four with a drug addiction and a complicated past to say the least.  This new video for Yellow features Wahlquist’s protagonist and a few trippy transition scenes that only twenty tabs of Vicodin can provide. Also starring Max Thieriot, Sienna Miller, Ray Liotta and David Morse, Yellow will be screening at this weekend’s 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  Hit the jump to check out the video and synopsis.

Earlier today, TIFF announced that they were adding new films to their already stellar Galas and Special Presentations line-up.  Among the new additions are:

• Passion (directed by Brian De Palma) Starring Rachel McAdams, Noomi Rapace, Karoline Herfurth, and Paul Anderson.
• Love Is All You Need (directed by Susanne Bier) Starring Pierce Brosnan, Trine Dyrholm, and Paprika Steen.
• Spring Breakers (directed by Harmony Korine) Starring Selena Gomez, James Franco, Vanessa Hudgens, and Heather Morris.
• Yellow (directed by Nick Cassavettes) Starring Sienna Miller, Gena Rowlands, Ray Liotta, David Morse, Lucy Punch, Max Theoriot, Riley Keough, Daveigh Chase, Heather Wahlquist, and Melanie Griffith.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.  The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6 – 16th.

The first trailer is now online for Lee Kirk’s quirky romantic comedy The Giant Mechanical Man. It tells of the oft under-represented love story of a zoo worker and a street performer who are both seeking meaning in this crazy world of ours. The Giant Mechanical Man stars Jenna Fischer, Chris Messina, Malin Akerman, Lucy Punch and a hilariously douchey Topher Grace. You can see what Fischer had to say about the movie, which was directed by her husband, in this interview here. Hit the jump to check out the synopsis and the trailer. 

A box office blessing while being critically commonplace, Columbia Pictures’ Bad Teacher was recently released on DVD and Blu-ray. The Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) picture, starring Cameron Diaz and Justin Timberlake, follows foul-mouthed, gold-digging middle school teacher Elizabeth Halsey (Diaz) in her quest to raise funds for a boob job in hopes of landing a wealthy suitor. That’s about as deep as the film’s plot gets as half-hearted attempts at character development suffer from poor editing and disjointed pacing. Collider’s Matt Goldberg has praised the film’s humor while our Bill Graham pointed out its flaws in his review. Hit the jump to see where I stand and for a look at what you can expect on the DVD.

Jake Kasdan’s Bad Teacher was one of the best surprises in theaters this year.  I assumed that because the TV spots all relied on Jason Segel’s joke about LeBron James, there weren’t many laughs elsewhere.  But I assumed wrong and Bad Teacher turned out to be one of my favorite comedies of the summer.  The film was a hit at the box office and to promote the upcoming Blu-ray and DVD, Sony is offering free screenings of the film tonight and Saturday at midnight.  If you don’t have plans for those two nights, now you do.

Click here to get your ticket.  Bad Teacher hits stores in an unrated edition Blu-ray/DVD combo pack on October 18th.  The film also stars Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, and John Michael Higgins.  Hit the jump for the film’s synopsis and trailer.

Two bits of casting news for you today: one from a Canadian, dark comedy, indie pic while the other is from the fifth installment in a big budget horror franchise. First up, is the addition of Malin Akerman (Watchmen) and Tyler Labine (Tucker and Dale vs Evil) to director Peter Wellington’s Cottage Country. The pair star as a couple vacationing at a family cottage where Todd (Labine) plans to propose, but is derailed by the arrival of his lazy brother and his hippie girlfriend.

In less quaint and subtle cinema, the role of Leon Kennedy will be portrayed by Johann Urb (2012) in Resident Evil: Retribution. This is the latest addition to the cast of the fifth installment in the video game/horror franchise starring Milla Jovovich. The news of his casting comes via her Twitter account when she said, “AND if u checked out my vid yesterday from the table reading u wld hve noticed Johann Urb! He is our Leon Kennedy n looks jst like him BTW!!”

Hit the jump for more info on these two projects.

I didn’t want to write this review because it would involve me giving more thought to repulsive, selfish characters who populate a comedy that’s almost entirely devoid of laughs.  There’s something fascinating about a movie that sets up jokes and then forgets to deliver a punchline.  And because awful character delivering non-jokes isn’t enough, the film is saddled with limp, thoughtless direction that misses every opportunity for a laugh.   When A Good Old Fashioned isn’t being clichéd, it’s being dull, and sometimes it’s both, but it’s hardly ever funny.

We’ve got a few casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Variety reports that Clifton Collins Jr. is the latest actor to join Guillermo del Toro’s next directorial effort Pacific Rim. The film stars Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Charlie Day, Max Martini, and Rob Kazinisky and the director has promised that the pic will feature “the finest fucking monsters ever committed to screen,” so there’s that. Willem Dafoe is also in talks to join the future-set epic, which is scheduled for release on July 12, 2013.

Additionally, the fantastic Chazz Palminteri has joined the cast of the somewhat troubled biopic Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father. Barry Levinson is set to direct the flick which centers on the relationship between John Gotti, Jr. and his mob boss father. Palminteri will play Mafia boss Paul Castellano alongside an ensemble that includes Al Pacino, John Travolta, Kelly Preston, and Ben Foster. Production begins on location in New York on January 3rd. Hit the jump for the casting news of Lucy Punch and two others in the romantic comedy The Wedding Video. 

Samuel Goldwyn Films has sent us over seven new images from A Good Old Fashioned Orgy.  The movie is about a bunch of friends who have had a lot of good times at a beach house but when the house is about to be sold, they decide to go out with a (gang)bang.  The ensemble cast features Jason Sudeikis, Leslie Bibb, Lake Bell, Michelle Borth, Nick Kroll, Tyler Labine, Angela Sarafyan, Lindsay Sloane, Martin Starr, Lucy Punch, and Will Forte.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  A Good Old Fashioned Orgy opens September 2nd.

The trailer for writers/directors Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck’s comedy A Good Old Fashioned Orgy is now available online. Starring Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Lucy Punch, Leslie Bibb, Lindsay Sloane, Tyler Labine, and Lake Bell, the film tells the story of a 30 year-old man/child (Sudeikis) who decides to throw one last bash at the Hampton residence his parents are on the verge of selling. Judging from the trailer, the pic almost looks like an uninterrupted barrage of partying and general immaturity. In short, I’m looking forward to it. That said, I can’t help but wonder how I can get my hands on one of those “Labor Day Orgy” t-shirts.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. A Good Old Fashioned Orgy opens to select theaters this September 2nd.

We live in an interesting world where nearly every studio tries to make sure their staple film is PG-13, yet for comedies, they trend towards being vulgar with an R rating. Columbia Pictures’ Bad Teacher doesn’t buck that trend for R-rated comedies with overly adult-themed ingredients yet it never aspires to anything greater than garnering some easy laughs. Cameron Diaz stars as a superficial middle school teacher that just doesn’t care until she has to take on responsibility when her sugar daddy leaves her. While the headliners might be Diaz and co-star Justin Timberlake, it’s the cast of characters around them that shine and give the film a little charm. Although director Jake Kasdan never gives us more than a few smart laughs outside of mostly coarse jokes, the target audience will likely get a kick from the film. Hit the jump to see what Bad Teacher has in store.

TV wants Kyle Chandler.  He passed on Terra Nova, and the talks between Chandler and FX to star in the series adaptation of the Brian Michael Bendis comic Powers unfortunately led to nothing.  He’ll find a new home where he can be my TV dad soon enough.  In the meantime, let’s talk about Powers, an exciting prospect even independent of Chandler.

Powers centers on two homicide detectives who investigate murders that involve those gifted with superpowers.  Deadline reported last night that Lucy Punch (Bad Teacher) will play rookie detective Deena Pilgrim, and tonight follows up with the news that Jason Patric (The Losers) is set as Deena’s partner Christian Walker.  The casting (particularly Punch) is out there, just enough for me to give the benefit of the doubt to FX.  I love everything the network has produced in the past couple years.  The folks behind the camera are solid.  Charles Eglee (The Walking Dead) scripted the pilot, which Michael Dinner (Justified) will direct.  Plus, Bendis and Powers artist Michael Avon Oeming are on board as producers — always a nice touch.

Read the synopsis for Powers Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?, a collection of the first six issues, after the jump.

[Update: We've been sent the full press release on the film, which includes the additional casting of Charles S. Dutton and Bailee Madison. Full release included after the jump]

I don’t know what to expect from Bad Teacher, but I have high hopes.  From the promotional material, Cameron Diaz appears to pull no punches in her performance as a foul-mouthed, amoral teacher.  That’s commendable, but Diaz is no sure thing as a comedic performer.  I’m in it for the supporting cast.  I don’t know that you can find a more affable duo than Jason Segel and Justin Timberlake.  I can’t claim familiarity with Lucy Punch’s work, but I like her weird energy as an eager fellow teacher in the brief clips we’ve seen.  And in the new international gag reel, it’s John Michael Higgins and Paul Bates that get the biggest laugh.

Directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard), Bad Teacher opens on June 24.  Watch the gag reel after the break.  (Beware of NSFW language.)

Sony has sent over four clips from director Jake Kasdan’s (Walk Hard) Bad Teacher.  Starring Cameron Diaz, Justin Timberlake, Lucy Punch, John Michael Higgins, and Jason Segel, the film’s about a foul-mouthed, ruthless, and inappropriate teacher (Diaz) and what she’s willing to do to get out of her day job.

While Diaz movies have definitely been hit or miss for the last few years, I think Bad Teacher looks really funny.  In addition, I think Timberlake and Segel are great, so I’m really hoping this one is worth our time.  Watch the clips after the jump and look for interviews with the cast very soon.