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.

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.

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.

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

• Ashley Judd and Robert Forster are the latest additions to the Gerard Butler-fronted White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.
• The Raid star Iwo Uwais has joined the cast of Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut Man of Tai Chi.
• Bradley Whitford is in early talks to join Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks.

Hit the jump for details on these casting additions.

Living in paradise is not as glamorous or care free as many outsiders may believe, and the King family is a perfect example of it.  The Descendants, an Alexander Payne film adapted from the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings, follows Hawaii-based lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) on his painful, yet often comedic quest to reunite his family after his wife suffers a tragic accident.  While the film tugs on heart strings towards the end, it mostly infuses audiences with almost uncomfortable laughter and anticipation for when the story will kick into gear.  Hit the jump for our review of The Descendants on Blu-ray.

Production has completed on the neo noir caper Hotel Noir, and the first image from the film has been released.  Snakes on a Plane screenwriter Sebastián Gutiérrez tries his hand as a director at the noir genre in the 1950s-set film that centers on a detective holed up in a downtown hotel waiting for assassins to kill him.  We follow the detective through the night as he meets and converses with various characters who have haunted pasts of their own.  This being a Gutiérrez film, it’s described as a “sexually charged” crime film.  The cast is fairly impressive and includes Rufus Sewell, Carla Gugino, Danny DeVito, Rosario Dawson, Malin Akerman, and Robert Forster.  The pic is currently without distribution, but it will be shopped to international buyers in Cannes.

Hit the jump to read the press release and to check out the first image from the film.

The cast and creative team behind freshman Fox drama Alcatraz were on hand at WonderCon 2012 to talk about what fans can expect from the season finale. In a mystery/action combination that has drawn parallels to Lost, Alcatraz follows a federal agent (Sam Neill of Jurassic Park) who enlists a police detective and an expert on the history of the island prison to help him track down a group of inmates that disappeared in 1963 and have since returned in present-day San Francisco to continue their criminal activities. The stars present at the panel were Jorge Garcia (Lost), Sarah Jones (Big Love), Parminder Nagra (E.R.), Jonny Coyne (The Bill) and Robert Forster (Heroes). Also present were executive producers Jennifer Johnson and Daniel Pyne, as well as co-creators Steven Lilien and Bryan Wynbrandt. Hit the jump to check out our panel recap for Alcatraz.

[This review is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.]

It’s been a long seven years since Alexander Payne‘s Sideways hit theaters and his new film The Descendants shows that it’s damn good to have him back. Tackling materials that could have easily fallen into mawkishness and enough saccharine moments to give diabetes to a small country, The Descendants is instead a sweet, tender movie that never lunges for the heart-strings. It creates an emotional connection through a charming blend of humor, honesty, and a breakthrough turn from young actress Shailene Woodley, and one of the best performances of George Clooney‘s career.

“Just because we live in paradise, people think we’re somehow immune to life.” I’m paraphrasing a line from The Descendants because it sums up what the film is about more succinctly than I ever could. It was taken from George Clooney’s narration over the new trailer, which features scenes of discord amongst the King family against a backdrop of Hawaiian beauty. The new comedy/drama from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) was a hit with our editors at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and looks to continue the tradition of Payne’s unique storytelling style.

The Descendants stars Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, and Matthew Lillard. It opens in theaters on November 18th. Hit the jump for a new trailer and synopsis.

Alexander Payne’s first film in seven years, The Descendants, has been gathering some very high praise from the film festival as it heads towards its November release date, but the writer-director has run into a bit of trouble on his next project. We reported back in January that Payne had chosen to make the drama Nebraska his next film. The pic centers on an aging alcoholic father who decides to take a road trip from Montana to Nebraska to collect what he believes to be a million dollar Publisher’s Clearing House prize. His estranged son decides to accompany his father in order to keep him out of trouble.

Payne was planning on beginning production in April, but Paramount had some issues. Primary among them was Payne’s insistence that the film be shot in black and white. Hit the jump to see where things stand now, including what actors are being considered to play the lead and my choice of who should land the role.

It may not feature angry 3D sharks, but Alexander Payne’s new film The Descendants might be a better movie.  The film stars George Clooney as the “back-up” parent to two daughters.  He must step up when his wife suffers a serious boating accident off of Waikiki, and then he learns the hard truth that she was cheating on him.  Judging by the trailer, the flick looks to have the same strong character relationships tinged with humor and sadness as seen in Payne’s previous films.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Beau Bridges, and Robert Forster.  The Descendants opens December 16th.

The trailer for Girl Walks into a Bar has gone online.  The film has an impressive cast that includes Carla Gugino, Zachary Quinto, Danny DeVito, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, Alexis Bledel, and Robert Forster.  Based solely on the trailer, I have no idea was to what the movie’s about.  But Girl‘s hook doesn’t seem to be it’s cast or its story, but rather its distribution method.  Girl Walks into a Bar will be presented by Lexus and YouTube for free, exclusively on YouTube.  The money quote in the press release comes from Lexus VP of Marketing Dave Nordstrom:

“It seems fitting to support this initiative as we launch our most unconfined vehicle yet—the CT 200h hybrid —in a space that we know will reach an unconventional, sophisticated audience.” (emphasis mine)

Clearly, Mr. Nordstrom has never been on YouTube.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer, four images from the film, and the full press release.  Girl Walks into a Bar goes online March 11th.

Sideways director Alexander Payne Payne recently finished up with The Descendants starring George Clooney and is now turning his attention to the drama Nebraska.  According to The Playlist, the story centers on,

“an aging alcoholic father who thinks he’s won a million dollar Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes prize. He is unbowed when his family tries to dissaude him from making the long trip from Montana to Nebraska to cash in his winnings. So his estranged 20-something son—who doesn’t believe the ticket is a winner—is forced to go along with him for the ride to keep him out of trouble, providing an opportunity to bond with his father after years of separation.”

Hit the jump for more details Nebraska.  The Descendants is due to be released later this year.

Judy Greer (Arrested Development), Beau Bridges (Stargate: SG1), Matthew Lillard (Scooby Doo), and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) have joined the cast of Alexander Payne’s (Election, Sideways) upcoming film, The Descendants.  According to THR, their roles are currently unknown, but they will now be joining the previously announced cast which includes George Clooney (Return of the Killer Tomatoes!) , Mary Birdsong (Reno 911!), and Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager).

The film just started filming in Hawaii and you can check out some images from the set after the jump along with the film’s synopsis.

You know what I hate? Snarky reviewers that are more interested in trying to appear clever than doing an actual review. Those reviewers are also so prejudiced by the current breeze of opinion that they will trash a movie based on who the actors are dating or if their last movie was a bomb. That’s why I was looking forward to reviewing the DVD of Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. On the surface this movie looks like a winner. Likeable stars, Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, and a killer supporting cast of Michael Douglas, Emma Stone, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster and Anne Archer.  Couple that with a great concept of reworking the classic Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”. How could you go wrong? Well you can. My review after the jump: