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

• Jon Hamm will be lending his voice to one of the lead roles opposite Sandra Bullock in Illumination Entertainment’s spinoff Minions.
• Fresh off her turn in Oblivion, actress Olga Kurylenko has joined the cast of director Mark Waters’ (Mean Girls) YA adaptation Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters.
• Andy Garcia and Ray Romano are joining the cast of the crime drama Rob the Mob.

Hit the jump for more details.

Joeseph Kosinski‘s new Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman starrer Oblivion is the rarest of all things, a big budget scifi film aimed squarely at adults.  While the trailers might seem like they give away the whole movie, I assure you they only scratch the surface. Things get really weird and far more ambitious than the I Am Legend-style one sheet implies.

Last week, Collide sat down with Olga Kurylenko and Andrea Riseborough to discuss their surprising and twist-filled roles.  During the interview they talked about shooting in Iceland, wanting to switch parts, the massive and elaborate sets and much more.

When science fiction wants to present thoughtful subtext, it can’t go broad.  The freedom to construct a world has to come down to precise themes.  The world can be derivative (or “inspired by” if you want to be charitable), and the themes can be universal, but they have to be cohesive.  In casting a wide net for influences, Joseph Kosinski‘s Oblivion mashes-up the ideas from better movies, and doesn’t put them towards abstraction or ambiguity, but towards ambivalence.  The film is more concerned with its gorgeous visuals and rousing score while the emotions become lost in a shuffle of reveals and fragmented ideas.

Olga Kurylenko plays a crash-landing traveler who crosses time and space in search of true love in Joseph Kosinski’s new sci-fi thriller, Oblivion.  The action-adventure saga is set in the year 2077 after a massive war has left Earth in ruins and uninhabitable.  The Ukrainian actress and former Bond girl who made a scorching impression in Quantum of Solace was game for the tough role of Julia and turns in a compelling performance opposite Tom Cruise.  Opening in theaters on April 19^th, the film also stars Andrea Riseborough, Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo.

At the recent press day, Kurylenko discussed what attracted her to the mysterious role, how Cruise and she collaborated with Kosinski on their characters, why she found Cruise to be a generous acting partner, how she got used to flying in the Bubbleship, how her Bond experience helped with the action sequences, what it’s like to have worked with two of Hollywood’s biggest action actors, what Cruise and Daniel Craig share in common, how making Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder compared to Oblivion, and more.  Hit the jump to read the interview.

We’ve got 27 new hi-res images from writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi thriller Oblivion to share with you today.  You may have seen some of these visual treats in previous gallery articles, but now we have them in the highest of resolutions so that you might enjoy zooming in on each of Morgan Freeman’s freckles.  There are also some bonus behind-the-scenes shots from the set of Oblivion that features Kosinski looking rather pensive.

Starring Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, NIkolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo and Zoe Bell, Oblivion opens April 19th in IMAX and traditional screenings.  Hit the jump to partake of the new images.

With writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion opening April 19th, we’ve been provided with four clips from the sci-fi film.  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. Oblivion also stars Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Melissa Leo. 

Over the past few months we’ve seen tons of images, posters, images, and featurettes.  Based on what I’ve seen thus far, I’m counting down the days, especially since Kosinski told us that Oblivion will be presented “in IMAX will be full frame 1.9 through the whole thing.”  Needless to say, if you’re going to see the film, see it in IMAX!  Hit the jump to watch the clips and look for my video interviews with the cast week of release.

The folks at Universal, in conjunction with IMAX, have released two new featurettes for their post-apocalyptic, sci-fi thriller Oblivion.  The film, directed by Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy), stars Tom Cruise as Jack Harper, a veteran sent on a mission to Earth 60 years after everything on the planet has been obliterated.  The first of these featurettes shows the visually-stunning canvas that encompasses the world of Oblivion, while Cruise and Kosinski talk about its “haunting beauty” and the decision to make the film in IMAX full frame.  The second featurette is a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film in the desolate, volcanic landscapes of Iceland.  The stunning setting is sure to be a hit with IMAX viewers and quite the treat for the eyes.

Hit the jump to watch the featurettes.  Oblivion opens in theaters April 19, 2013 and also stars Morgan Freeman, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Olga Kurylenko.

New images from writer/director Joseph Kosinski’s sci-fi epic Oblivion are now available.  In addition to the futuristic tech and machinery showcased here, we get new looks at characters played by Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Morgan Freeman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.  Oblivion finds drone repairman Jack Harper (Cruise) scavenging Earth for scarce resources when a beautiful stranger (Kurylenko) crash lands and turns his world upside-down.

The film also stars Andrea Riseborough, and Melissa Leo.  Oblivion opens in traditional and IMAX theaters on April 19th.  Hit the jump to view the new images.

A batch of new images and a poster for the long-delayed thriller Erased have been released online.  Directed by Philipp Stolzl, the film stars Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA agent who moves to Belgium with his estranged 15-year-old daughter (Liana Liberato) and takes a job as a security consultant at a multinational corporation.  He soon discovers that his co-workers are gone, the corporation no longer exists, and his assistant is actually a trained operative trying to kill him.  The film was originally shot a couple of years ago and received a foreign released under the title The Expatriate last fall, but now the pic is finally getting a release stateside this year.  If you missed the first trailer, click here.

Hit the jump to check out the images and poster.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko and Alexander Fehling.  Erased will be released VOD on April 5th and hits theaters on May 10th.

The U.S. theatrical trailer for Terrence Malick’s To the Wonder is now available.  The mesmerizing trailer isn’t shy about touting the main theme of the film: love, in all of its dynamic incarnations.  In between shots of the main characters in the throes of passion or struggling with a relationship that’s lost its fire, a sermon on love narrates the changing nature and transformative power of the complicated emotion.  What’s starts out as a big-budget version of a jewelry advertisement eventually sinks its hooks into you if you let it.

Starring Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem and Rachel McAdams, To the Wonder opens on April 12th.  You can read Matt’s review of the film here.  Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.

The first clip from Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder has been released.  In the vague semblance of a plot, Olga Kurylenko plays a woman who travels to Oklahoma to be with the man (Ben Affleck) she loves only to discover that their relationship isn’t as strong as they previously thought.  There’s also a story involving a priest (Javier Bardem) who grapples with his loneliness and has almost no narrative relation to the other plotline.  This clip does play to the amount of silence in the film, but it’s a hollow silence that carries almost no dramatic weight.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, and click here to read my review of the film from TIFF.  To the Wonder opens April 12th.

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.]

The first trailer for director Philipp Stolzl’s long-delayed action thriller Erased (formerly titled The Expatriate) has finally been released online.  The film stars Aaron Eckhart as a former CIA agent who moves to Belgium with his estranged 15-year-old daughter (Liana Liberato) and takes a job as a security consultant at a multinational corporation.  He soon discovers that his co-workers are gone, the corporation no longer exists and his assistant is actually a trained operative trying to kill him.  The trailer gives off a very strong Taken vibe, and certain aspects of the pic actually look pretty interesting.  That said, when a film has been sitting on the shelf for over two years, it’s usually not a good sign.  One thing’s for sure, though: messing with people’s daughters is a good way to provoke a disproportionate (and unfortunate) response from the father.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Olga Kurylenko and Alexander Fehling.  Erased opens on May 10th.

A couple of new featurettes for writer/director Terrence Malick’s upcoming romantic drama To the Wonder have made their way online.  The story involves a woman (Olga Kurylenko) traveling to Oklahoma to be with the man she loves (Ben Affleck), only to discover their relationship being tested by his childhood friend (Rachel McAdams) and a wayward priest (Javier Bardem).  These featurettes are beyond fascinating for any cinephile, as they give us a peek inside the filmmaking process of elusive director Terrence Malick.  The cast and crew talk about Malick’s atypical, improvisational filmmaking process, as many of them are never given a script and have to react to things Malick says while they’re filming a take.

Hit the jump to watch the featurettes, and click here to read Matt’s review.  To the Wonder opens on April 12th.

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.