A new trailer has gone online for Deadfall, the debut crime-thriller from screenwriter Zach Dean  that stars Eric Bana (Star Trek) and Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy).   Directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters), Deadfall follows a brother (Bana) and sister (Wilde) who flee from a casino robbery gone wrong.  Making a run for the border, they draw an innocent family and the local law enforcement into their ordeal.  Deadfall also stars Charlie Hunnam, Kate Mara, Sissy Spacek, Kris Kristofferson and Treat Williams.  The film opens December 7th.  Hit the jump to check out the synopsis, trailer and poster.

The Criterion Collection has some of the most anal-retentive fans in the history of collecting. So I wonder how fans might stock 3 Women and The Four Feathers. Perhaps just by the number in the catalog, but with 3 Women – the Robert Altman film from 1977 starring Sissy Spacek and Shelly Duvall – does it get to go in a number section or in the T’s? And if you have a number section, shouldn’t Four Feathers – the 1939 adventure spectacle from Zoltan Korda, starring John Clements and Ralph Richardson – go in it? However you file them both are now out on Blu-ray and our reviews follow after the jump.

Movies that take place during the Civil Rights era have become their own genre and one that sometimes diminishes the characters and their stories by making everyone into a hero, a villain, or a martyr.  The Help tries to expand those roles by showing that not all southern white people in 1960s Jackson, Mississippi are vile racists, not all black people are born courageous activists, and that while the battle lines were clearly defined as right and wrong, some people had to do some soul-searching to find where they stood.  The movie stumbles when it forgets to shade its characters and by being too faithful to the book at the expense of effectively translating the story to the screen.  But despite these missteps, The Help manages to deliver some powerful emotional moments due in large part to yet another tremendous performance from Viola Davis.

Dakota Fanning and Sundance breakout Elizabeth Olsen have joined the cast of Very Good Girls alongside Dustin Hoffman, Sissy Spacek and Peter Sarsgaard. Written and to be directed by Namoi Foner (Running on Empty), the film tells the story of two teenage girls in New York City who decide to lose their virginity the summer after they graduate high school. Things get complicated, however, when they both fall for the same charismatic street artist (I hate it when that happens).

Olsen broke out in a big way at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, thanks in part to her harrowing turn in the drama Martha Marcy May Marlene, the creepy trailer for which was just released last week. Variety reports that production on Very Good Girls starts this September.

After years of turning in terrific performances in front of the camera (Coal Miner’s Daughter and Carrie come to mind), Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek is poised to release her first effort from the director’s chair. 24 Frames reports that Spacek will helm Buttermilk Sky, a 1930s drama to be based upon Julia Oliver’s short story collection Goodbye to the Buttermilk Sky. Per the report, Oliver’s “supernaturally inflected” collection of 15 short stories “centers on various families and relationships in Depression-era Alabama.” No production timetable is given, however, casting news regarding Buttermilk Sky is expected to follow in the next few days (Spacek is not expected to take on any roles).

For more info on the project, hit the jump to check out a brief overview of Oliver’s collection. Spacek can be seen alongside Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howard, Viola Davis, and Jessica Chastain in the upcoming drama The Help. That film hits theaters this summer on August 12. [Update: 24 Frames has updated their story to report that the film has been retitled to "Sweet Tea" and that C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond) wrote the script.]

We have a couple of quick casting stories for you this morning.  First up, Jimmi Simpson (Date Night) has joined the cast of Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter .  Variety reports that Simpson will be playing Lincoln’s right-hand man.  While I’m sure he’ll do a fine job assisting Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) in his political/vampire-slaying duties, I’ll continue to struggle seeing Simpson as anyone other than the creepy McPoyle brother he plays on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter also stars Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Shooting is expected to begin next month.  The film is due out in 3D on June 22, 2012.  Hit the jump for news on Kate Mara and Treat Williams joining Blackbird.

DreamWorks has provided us with the first images along with the official synopsis for the upcoming 1960s drama The Help.  The film, which is based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett, was directed by Tate Taylor and stars Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Sissy Spacek, Allison Janney, Octavia Spencer, and Bryce Dallas Howard.

Hit the jump to check out nine high-resolution images from the film plus the official synopsis.  The Help is set to open on August 12, 2011.

An 8-year labor of love for producer Dean Zanuck (Road to Perdition), Get Low is an entertaining and colorful story about one man’s last-ditch quest for redemption inspired by an eccentric 1930s Tennessee hermit known as Felix “Bush,” who famously came out of hiding to throw his own funeral party while he was still very much alive and kicking.

Based on a screenplay written by Chris Provenzano (Mad Men) and C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond), Get Low is directed by Aaron Schneider, a talented young filmmaker who makes his feature debut after winning the Academy Award for his short, Two Soldiers. The film features a terrific cast that includes Robert Duvall as the mysterious backwoods recluse, Bill Murray as the fast-talking funeral home owner who senses a big payday in the offing, Lucas Black as his young apprentice, and Sissy Spacek as a lonely widow and the only person in town who ever got close to Felix.

We sat down this week with Dean and Aaron to talk about their new film. They told us about the long evolution of their project, how a well written screenplay attracted such wonderful, iconic actors, and why a combination of good fortune, good timing and good instincts led to success. They also gave us an entertaining account of how they managed to wrangle one of the most elusive actor in Hollywood into their stellar cast.

To get Get Low off the ground, the filmmakers knew they would need a highly skillful and creative actor in the lead role of Felix – someone capable of making a character who seems right out of a backwoods fable feel palpably real and alive. They found that quality in Robert Duvall, one of America’s most diverse and respected actors, and winner of the Academy Award for his performance as a broken-down country singer trying to turn his life around in Bruce Beresford’s Tender Mercies.

Sissy Spacek, an Oscar winner for her incisive portrait of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner’s Daughter and whose work has been a staple of modern American filmmaking, was another important casting choice for the role of the strong, independent widow, Maddie, the old flame who thinks she is the only person on earth to have ever loved Felix, only to discover the terrible and long-hidden reason he never fully loved her back.  More after the jump:

Inspired by an American folktale that’s been passed down by storytellers for decades, Get Low is an entertaining and colorful tale about one man’s last-ditch quest for redemption.  The film is based on an eccentric 1930s Tennessee hermit known as Felix “Bush,” who famously came out of hiding to throw his own funeral party while he was still very much alive and kicking.  To draw a crowd to his highly irregular memorial, Felix sold lottery tickets offering his valuable plot of land as the prize.

An 8-year labor of love for producer Dean Zanuck (Road to Perdition), Get Low is directed by Aaron Schneider who makes his feature debut after winning the Academy Award for his short, Two Soldiers. Written by Chris Provenzano (Mad Men) and C. Gaby Mitchell (Blood Diamond), the film features a stellar cast that includes Robert Duvall as the mysterious backwoods recluse, Bill Murray as the fast-talking funeral home owner who senses a big payday in the offing, Lucas Black as his young apprentice, and Sissy Spacek as a lonely widow and the only person in town who ever got close to Felix.

We sat down this week with Dean Zanuck, Aaron Schneider, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek and Lucas Black to talk about their new film. They told us how they first got involved with the project, what it was like to work together on location in Georgia, and what they hope an audience will take from their film.  Hit the jump to watch the interviews:

I don’t know what to make of this trailer for Get Low.  It starts off looking like a quirky comedy about an old man (Robert Duvall) wanting a funeral party while he’s still alive.  But as the trailer progresses, the tone gets increasingly darker.  In her review from the Toronto Film Festival, Monika said the movie was, “undeniably smart, funny, and heart-wrenching piece.” Scott Weinberg over at Cinematical also saw the flick at TIFF and said the film was, “an excellent little dramatic piece that’s awash in humanity, warmth, insight, and wit.”  The Playlist‘s Luke Gorham said it was, “crowd-pleasing and solid, if ultimately unexceptional film.“  I’m certainly interested in seeing it and it looks like Duvall is going to turn in another great performance.  However, he does remind me of the SNL sketch where he played a character on a game show called, “Who’s More Grizzled?”  Sadly, I couldn’t find the video but here’s the transcript.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and the official synopsis.  Get Low hits theaters on July 30th.

Sometimes patience is a virtue. While I’m not one to say “wait it out” often, I now implore you to keep you eye out for “Get Low,” see it at your earliest convenience, and be patient. This isn’t some quick-start film of immediate laughs and intrigue. Instead, it’s a wonderfully paced story that builds from the smallest morsel into an undeniably smart, funny, and heart-wrenching piece about one man’s quest to heal the pains of his past. And if big names are what will get you interested in the film, so be it: Robert Duvall. Bill Murray. Lucas Black. Sissy Spacek. Read on to learn about the magic of Aaron Schneider’s “Get Low.”

Over the last week I’ve posted tons of new images from all the movies premiering at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. While I thought I was done, this morning I was able to snag a few new images from “Get Low” and “Mother and Child”. Both films have great casts, and Bill Murray is in “Get Low”, which means you should care about it. What can I say, huge fan. Anyway, after the jump check out the images along with synopsis’ for both films.