Fresh off the release of an extended 12-minute featurette, a new UK trailer and a batch of new images from director Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming Liberace film Behind the Candelaba have landed online.  The plot centers on the tempestuous relationship between the musician (Michael Douglas) and his lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) throughout their secretive five-year love affair that began in 1977.  This UK trailer goes deeper into the film’s story, as we see the beginnings of the relationship and start to see some of the great interplay between Douglas and Damon. You can go ahead and wrap up Douglas’ Emmy right about now.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and to see the new images.  The film also stars Rob Lowe, Debbie Reynolds, Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Cheyenne Jackson, Paul Reiser, and Boyd Holbrook.  Behind the Candelabra will premiere on HBO on May 26th at 9pm/8c.

HBO has released a new extended featurette for director Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming Liberace film Behind the Candelabra.  The 12-minute video takes us behind-the-scenes of Soderbergh’s possibly final feature film, as we get an intimate look into how the filmmaker crafted his chronicle of the tempestuous relationship between Liberace (Michael Douglas) and his lover Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) throughout their secretive five-year love affair that began in 1977.  Much of the featurette’s focus is on the insane costume and production design of the film, but we also get some footage of Sodbergh operating the camera himself and of a nearly unrecognizable Rob Lowe as Liberace’s plastic surgeon.

Hit the jump to watch the featurette.  The film also stars Debbie Reynolds, Scott Bakula, Dan Aykroyd, Cheyenne Jackson, Paul Reiser, and Boyd Holbrook.  Behind the Candelabra will premiere on HBO on May 26th at 9pm/8c.

If nothing else, you knew Steven Soderbergh would cull a great ensemble for the Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra.  Michael Douglas is Liberace, with Matt Damon as his lover Scott Thorson—a great foundation.  Dan Aykroyd and Singin’ in the Rain darling Debbie Reynolds next joined the cast.  The Playlist adds Rob Lowe, Cheyenne Jackson, and Boyd Holbrook to the mix, but it’s Variety that reported my favorite name yet: Scott Bakula.  I mean that literally—Bakula is my favorite name.  But I also love the soulful actor, and am excited to see Bakula reunite with Soderbergh after nailing his small part in The Informant!.  Hit the jump for details on each role.

It’s always a fun treat when a now-famous actor pops up in a small role in an older movie you haven’t re-watched in a while.  We previously posted a “Before They Were Famous” supercut, but now someone has edited together a montage of actors in their very first feature film roles. While you’re most likely aware of the majority of these appearances, I’m willing to bet you’ll find at least a few surprises in this video.  I had no idea Jon Hamm was in Clint Eastwood’s “old guys can be astronauts too” movie Space Cowboys, but I now feel compelled to move the pic to the top of my Netflix queue.

Watch Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, Zach Braff and many more make their feature debut after the jump.

We’re happy to debut an exclusive TV spot for the drama I Melt With You today. The film tells the story of four lifelong friends (Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, and Christian McKay) who gather for their annual get-together in Big Sur, only to be confronted by the current state of their lives darkened by a promise from their past. This spot is much more commercial than the incredibly dark trailers and promos we’ve seen before, but I’m still intrigued by the project. The cast is great, and it looks to be a pretty compelling drama.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spot. I Melt With You will be available on Magnolia On-Demand November 4th, followed by its theatrical release on December 9th.

Each year, a number of films are presented and sold at the American Film Market in Santa Monica. The 2011 AFM takes place this week, and in preparation for the AFM, Lionsgate has compiled production information and synopses for the properties that they plan to sell at the convention to both domestic and international buyers (for the territories that they have the rights). Lucky for us, that info is now public, and we’ve pulled together cast, director, and writer information as well as official synopses for some high profile 2012 Lionsgate films. We’ve got info on the Evil Dead remake, Spike Lee’s English-language adaptation of the now classic Park Chan-wook film Old Boy, Diablo Cody’s directorial debut, the comedy Murder of a Cat starring Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, and Rob Lowe, and much more. Hit the jump for all the details.

When the NBC comedy series first started, Parks and Recreation only seemed to be riding on the coattails of The Office with its mockumentary style and somewhat weak start in the first season. However, two season later the show has quickly found its footing, crafted some spectacular characters, fantastic comedy and a series that has actually surpassed the quality of the series it once seemed to simply copy. Aside from previous series regulars like Amy Poehler, Nick Offerman and Aziz Ansari consistently delivering some of the best comedic performances on television, the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe as series regulars also bring some magic to Pawnee, Indiana. For a more in-depth analysis of the third season of Parks and Recreation, hit the jump.

The red band trailer for the drama I Melt With You has gone online. The film centers on four lifelong friends (Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, Jeremy Piven, and Christian McKay) that gather for their annual get-together in Big Sur, only to be confronted by their own shortcomings in life and a past secret. The trailer is rather strange. It almost seems a bit like St. Elmo’s Fire meets Requiem for a Dream. It features lots of drugs and close-ups and music, then there’s that secret. I don’t know what it is, but for some reason I need to know. The performances look intense, with some non-Ari shouting from Piven, so expect plenty of drama. I’m a bit biased here, given my heterosexual man-crush on Lowe, but it looks like a weird little flick and my interest is piqued.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. Directed by Mark Pellington, the film will be available on Magnolia On-Demand on November 4th, followed by a theatrical release on December 9th.

The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival has announced the films playing in their Canadian Features line-up and the seven films from first-time filmmakers in the “Canada First!” line-up.  Notable movies in the Canadian Features program include Edwin Boyd (starring Scott Speedman, Kevin Durand, and Brian Cox), Goon (starring Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, and Liev Schreiber), and Guy Maddin’s new film Keyhole (starring Jason Patric and Isabella Rossellini).  Previously announced films A Dangerous Method and Take This Waltz will play as part of the Canadian Galas program.

Hit the jump to check out the full line-up for the Canadian Features and Canada First! programs.  Click here for the Galas and Special Presentations and click here for the Documentaries, Midnight Madness, and other TIFF programs.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th.

After those extremely creepy teasers that were released for Mark Pellington’s (The Mothman Prophecies) polarizingly dark drama I Melt With You, I really wasn’t sure what to expect from the actual film. Well, now the trailer for the flick has been released, and it’s equally creepy. It appears to be a very twisted version of The Big Chill, with Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe and Jeremy Piven starring as three friends who share a vital secret. They go away together and apparently go insane. Magnolia acquired the film at Sundance and is set to release it sometime this year. Hit the jump to check out the trailer for I Melt With You.

Rob Lowe is kind of on fire these days. He’s killing it every week on Parks and Recreation, he has a New York Times best-selling memoir flying off shelves, and he recently signed on to return to his West Wing roots as a political operative in Knife Fight. Now, he’s taking his talents to horror. Candy bar horror, to be more specific. Lowe will be directing a 25-minute short film for Butterfinger called Butterfinger the 13^th. The horror-comedy is set to be released on October 13^th, just in time for Halloween.

Hit the jump to check out the sweet (zing!) teaser trailer for the film, as well as a tongue-in-cheek press release.

One of Rob Lowe’s most famous roles was as the idealistic and brilliant communications deputy Sam Seaborn on Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing.  Now it looks like he’s going to a much darker place in the political spectrum as Deadline reports that he’s signed on to star in Knife Fight.  Lowe will play the “lead role of a political crisis specialist who plays hard and tough in dealing with various October campaign surprises.”  Lowe clearly has the versatility to make such a role come alive and I’ll be interested to see what he does with it.  In the meantime, you can still see him playing a character involved in politics (or at least governance) as he’s been killing it on Parks and Recreation all season long.

Knife Fight is set to hit theaters in October 2012 to capitalize on the reality show we call our Presidential election.

Rob Lowe really livened up an already stellar comedy series when he joined the cast of Parks and Recreation towards the end of the second season. Well, unfortunately no one bothered to tell Rob Lowe that he wasn’t going to be on TV while the show was on hiatus waiting for its third season to begin and that dude is pissed. Funny or Die was on set to catch Rob Lowe’s outburst that resulted in him dropping some F-bombs and throwing coffee in Aziz Ansari’s face, and you can check out the explosive footage below. The third season premieres on NBC this Thursday, January 20th at 9:30/8:30c right after The Office, so I hope these guys patch things up before then.

Continuing our coverage of the films that will be featured at the Sundance Film Festival in January, today we bring you images from two dramatic films that will premiere out-of-competition at the festival: I Melt With You and Perfect Sense. I Melt With You stars Rob Lowe, Thomas Jane, Jeremy Piven, Carla Gugino and Christian McKay. Directed by Mark Pellington (The Mothman Prophecies), the film focuses on four lifelong friends who, during their annual get-together, realize that their lives haven’t exactly turned out the way they expected.

Perfect Sense stars Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Ewan Bremner, Stephen Dillane, and Connie Nielsen. From director David Mackenzie (Young Adam), the film is described as a “poetic and magnetic love story.” Hit the jump to check out the images, as well as a brief synopsis for both films.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

The History Channel’s WWII in HD is an epic ten-part documentary that comprehensively details America’s participation in the Second World War. It originally aired from November 15 to November 19, 2009 before being released on Blu-ray and DVD. It features ten hours’ worth of rare and never-before-seen color footage shot across the globe throughout WWII, all of which has been converted for presentation in glorious HD. And you NEED to watch it on Blu-ray. Hit the jump for more.