The Weinstein Company has released the first trailer for director Lee Daniels’ (Precious, The Paperboy) historical drama The Butler.  Based on a true story, the film stars Forrest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a butler who served at the White House from 1952 to 1986.  The trailer plays up the film’s awards prospects as we see a flash of famous faces playing the many notable persons who walked the halls of the White House throughout this period (Alan Rickman is particularly striking as President Reagan), and that’s balanced with an overview of Gaines’ life in a racially tense America.  While the film certainly looks like it has the potential to be powerful, cautious optimism is key whenever Lee Daniels is involved.

Hit the jump to watch the debut trailer.  The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Williams.  The Butler opens on October 18th.

FilmDistrict has released ten new clips from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Shooter) upcoming White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).

Hit the jump to check out the clips, and click here for over 25 high-resolution images from the pic.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

Check out new images and synopses for the following films from the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival:

• Adult World – Scott Coffey’s comedy starring Emma Roberts (Celeste and Jesse Forever) and John Cusack (The Raven) that centers on a recent college graduate with dreams of becoming a famous poet who ends up working at an adult book store instead.
• Almost Christmas – Phil Morrison’s comedy features Paul Rudd (This Is 40) and Paul Giamatti (Sideways) as two French Canadian Christmas tree salesmen who travel to New York to sell trees.
• Bottled Up – Previously titled Something in the Water, the Enid Zentelis’ film starring Josh Hamilton (Dark Skies) and Melissa Leo (The Fighter) centers on struggles with addiction.

Hit the jump for the images and synopses.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The pic is one of two similarly-plotted action films that take place in and around the White House that will hit theaters this year, with the other being Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.  Thus far, this film looks like it has a slightly larger scope than Down, but we’ve yet to see a full trailer for the latter.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

Universal Pictures has released a new trailer for director Joseph Kosinski’s upcoming sci-fi film Oblivion. The story takes place on a dystopian Earth and stars Tom Cruise as a drone repairman who holds the future of mankind in his hands after discovering a crashed spaceship.  While the film’s first trailer was a tad underwhelming, this is undoubtedly the best trailer yet.  It does an excellent job of setting up the film’s plot while also teasing some absolutely gorgeous visuals and exciting tech.  We also get a good look at the character played by Melissa Leo, who appears to have some mysterious motives.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, and Morgan Freeman.  Oblivion opens on April 12th exclusively in IMAX theaters, and expands nationwide on April 19th. [Update: Universal has also unveiled a batch of high-resolution images and posters, which are now included after the jump.]

A new trailer and poster have been released for Joseph Kosinski‘s sci-fi action film, Oblivion.  The story takes place on a dystopian Earth, and stars Tom Cruise as a drone repairman who holds the future of mankind in his hands after discovering a crashed spaceship.  The first trailer didn’t do much for me, but this new trailer does a much better job of laying out the plot, the conflict, and the larger world.  Now I’m intrigued, and I hope that Kosinski can deliver on the premise.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer as well as Spanish poster.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, and Melissa Leo.  Oblivion opens April 19th.

The first trailer for director Joseph Kosinski’s (TRON: Legacy) sci-fi film Oblivion has been released.  At first blush, it’s not exactly what I was expecting and I think that bodes well for the picture. Rather than a straight shoot-em-up actioner or a generic survival story, Oblivion looks to have elements of mystery and betrayal all tied into Tom Cruise’s character, Jack Harper.  Olga Kurylenko looks beautiful even dressed-down and Morgan Freeman channels his own version of Laurence Fishburne’s Morpheus. The all-white aesthetic looks sharp and clean against a backdrop of chaos and destruction and the overall design definitely has some nods to TRON. There are also elements of The Fifth Element, Minority Report and The Matrix presented in this introductory trailer, but Oblivion looks to be something all its own. (But what is up with that creature that looks like Darth Vader and sounds like a Tusken raider?)

The film also stars Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Melissa Leo.  Oblivion opens on April 19, 2013.  Hit the jump to watch.

Flight marks the first pairing of Academy Award winners Denzel Washington and director Robert Zemeckis, who returns to live-action dramatic storytelling after a decade of success on the forefront of directing and producing movies utilizing motion capture technology. The screenplay by John Gatins centers on Captain Whip Whitaker (Washington) who miraculously crash lands his plane after a mid-air catastrophe, saving nearly everyone on board, but then becomes the target of a follow-up investigation that raises troubling questions about what really happened. Flight also stars John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Kelly Reilly, and Bruce Greenwood.

At the film’s recent press day, Washington, Zemeckis, Gatins, Goodman, Leo, Reilly, and Greenwood discussed making the dramatic thriller, what drew them to the project, the attraction and challenges of portraying complex, morally ambiguous characters, setting up a pivotal scene that pays homage to Hitchcock, and writing a suspenseful script that invites the audience to ride along with virtually every character while deciding which one to root for. Greenwood also shared his own harrowing tale of a real-life air travel experience he will never forget, and Washington revealed his recurring dream about flying and reminisced about the 20^th anniversary of Malcolm X.

It looks like Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen will get a chance to take down the White House before Roland Emmerich’s White House Down as it is now slated to open first by about three months.  Starring Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House, Olympus Has Fallen will star Aaron Eckhart as the President in Peril. (Emmerich’s film stars Channing Tatum as the heroic Secret Service agent with Jamie Foxx playing the President.)

Olympus Has Fallen also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Rick Yune and will open April 5th, 2013. Hit the jump to read the press release.

Over 20 new images from director Robert Zemeckis’ new drama Flight have been released.  Denzel Washington stars as a commercial airline pilot who is heralded as a hero after safely landing a disabled jet, but then comes under fire for possibly operating the plane under the influence of alcohol.  It’s been ten long years since we’ve seen a live-action effort from Zemeckis, and I’m eager to see his take on this intense-looking character drama.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Don Cheadle, Bruce Greenwood, Kelly Reilly, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, and James Badge Dale.  Flight opens on November 2nd.

A new extended TV spot for director Robert Zemeckis’ drama Flight has been released.  Denzel Washington stars as a commercial airline pilot who is heralded as a hero after safely landing a disabled jet, but then comes under fire for possibly operating the plane under the influence of alcohol.  This clip shows off more of the ridiculously tense plane crash, and it looks to be even more harrowing than the one Zemeckis crafted for Cast Away (which still gives me nightmares).  I’m happy to see Zemeckis back in live-action and Washington looks poised to give an unsurprisingly impressive performance, so hopefully Flight delivers the goods.

Hit the jump to watch the 90-second TV spot.  The film also stars John Goodman, Don Cheadle, James Badge Dale, Melissa Leo and Bruce Greenwood.  Flight opens on November 2nd.

Melissa Leo has joined the cast of the vigilante thriller Prisoners.  Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) is set to direct Hugh Jackman in the story of a working-class Boston father who sets out to track down the man he believes is responsible for kidnapping his daughter and her friend. Along the way, he runs up against the big city detective assigned to the case.  Leo is set to star opposite Jackman, but the nature of her role is not disclosed.  It’d be kind of great to see her nab the detective role and square off against Jackman.  Written by Aaron Guzikowkski (Contraband), production on Prisoners is set to begin early next year for a fall 2013 release.

Leo has made a number of interesting choices following her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for The Fighter.  She’ll next be seen later this year opposite Denzel Washington in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, she recently filmed the Tom Cruise-fronted sci-fi pic Oblivion, and she’s poised to star in the White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  Hit the jump to read the Prisoners press release.

After today’s news that Lionsgate has cast Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the studio is now courting a trio of actors for roles in the upcoming sequel.  It’s being reported that Sam Claflin (Snow White and the Huntsman) is nearing a deal for a role to play Finnick while Oscar-winner Melissa Leo (The Fighter) and three-time Emmy winner Tony Shalhoub (Monk) are frontrunners for Mags and Beetee respectively.  The Hunger Games: Catching Fire will be directed by Francis Lawrence and star Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth when shooting begins this fall.  Hit the jump for more info on the recent casting. [Update: According to Variety's Jeff Sneider, Leo will not be playing Mags.]

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this afternoon.  First up, Oscar winner Melissa Leo and Rick Yune (Die Another Day) have been added to the cast of the White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  Not to be confused with the similarly plotted White House Down, which has Roland Emmerich directing and Channing Tatum starring, Olympus Has Fallen has Gerard Butler playing a secret service agent who becomes the country’s only hope when the White House is overrun by terrorists.  Antoine Fuqua directs, and Heat Vision reports that Leo will be playing a tough Secretary of State while Yune has landed the film’s villain role.  In addition to Die Another Day, Yune played an antagonist in the original The Fast and the Furious.  No other details are known regarding his nefarious plot or why he feels the need to break into the President’s home.

Hit the jump for details on a number of additions to the cast of the biopic Jobs. 

Louis C.K. is one of the most honest and respected comedic voices of his generation, was recently named the world’s greatest comedian by Entertainment Weekly, and has amassed a huge following of fans who enjoy his hilarious stand-up and his FX comedy series Louie, for which he serves as show creator, executive producer, writer, director, editor and star.  Along with the show kicking off Season 3, Louis is going to launch a 39-city tour of his stand-up in October, with tickets all priced at $45 and available for purchase through www.LouieCK.net.

During a recent interview to promote the return of his popular comedy series, Louis C.K. talked about the challenges of juggling everything that he does, the guest stars that he’s excited about this season, how FX really leaves him alone to make the show that he wants, his motivation for selling tickets for his stand-up tour directly through his website, what it’s like to be recognized more often now, and what he typically likes to watch when he has the time.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.