At the recent New York press day for Skyfall, I was able to speak with Dame Judi Dench.  We talked about what’s been the best part of playing M for almost two decades, when she first heard that M would be a big part of Skyfall, what it was like to work with cinematographer Roger Deakins, how she prepares for a role, her upcoming film with Stephen Frears, and a lot more.

I absolutely loved Skyfall.  Director Sam Mendes has crafted one of the best James Bond movies ever made and it’s also one of my favorite films of the year.  While the Bond franchise is now 50 years old, Mendes has shown the best might be yet to come.  I really can’t recommend this film enough.  For all our Skyfall coverage including clips, posters, my set visit and more, click here.  Skyfall stars Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Helen McCrory, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw, Berenice Marlohe, and Naomie Harris.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

A new U.S. trailer and some images have been made available for Stephen Frears’ Lay the Favorite.  While it’s a bit better than the previously released trailer for the film, the comedic beats still seem to be missing their marks.  The film stars Rebecca Hall (The Town) as Beth, a Florida stripper who leaves her job to become a Vegas cocktail waitress until professional sports gambler Dink (Bruce Willis) gives her a better option, placing wagers all over town in an attempt to beat the system.  The plot thickens (or falls apart completely) when Beth is fired, tries to find work with a New York bookie and lands herself in trouble with the law.

Lay the Favorite also stars Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vince Vaughn, Joshua Jackson and Laura Prepon and opens in theaters December 7th.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer and see some new images from the film. 

We previously reported that Stephen Frears (The Queen) is attached to direct Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Film, and from our interview with on the film’s stars, Benjamin Walker, it looks like that will be Frears’ follow-up to the disappointing Lay the Favorite.  The director is also the frontrunner to helm a Freddie Mercury biopic, and now Variety reports that he’s set to direct Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in Philomena.  Based on a true story, the film centers on Philomena Lee (Dench), an Irish woman seeking the illegitimate son she was forced to put up for adoption.  Coogan will play former BBC journalist Martin Sixsmith, who helped Lee locate her son.

Hit the jump for more.

The first UK trailer for director Stephen Frears’ (High Fidelity) new film Lay the Favorite has gone online.  My mind had blanked on the plot before I watched this trailer, and after it was over I was even more confused as to what the film is about.  Moreover, the normally solid Rebecca Hall puts an incredibly grating American voice that I’m assuming doesn’t get less annoying during the film’s two-hour duration.  The pic premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to wildly negative reviews (you can read Matt’s review here), which is surprising given the talent involved.  Hall plays a woman who works for Dink, a high-stakes gambler (Bruce Willis), and takes to the job like a natural, but she begins to fall for Dink, much to the chagrin of Dink’s wife, Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

I was shocked to see such negative reviews for the film out of Sundance, but after watching this trailer it’s not hard to imagine the pic being bad.  Hit the jump to judge for yourself.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

A biopic of Queen frontman Freddie Mercury has been in the works for quite some time.  In an inspired bit of casting, Sacha Baron Cohen is attached to star as the famed rock musician, and now the project is close to landing a director.  Variety reports that Stephen Frears (The Queen) is the frontrunner to land the directing job, though negotiations have yet to begin.  Apparently other filmmakers are still in the mix, but Frears “has the inside track.”  In addition to more serious fare like The Queen and Dangerous Liasons, Frears also directed the excellent 2000 music-centered dramedy High Fidelity.  Hit the jump for more.

At this past weekend’s WonderCon, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov, star Ben Walker and writer Seth Grahame-Smith showed off a new trailer and an extended section of a big action set piece that featured all the principal cast.  If you missed Dave’s recap of the panel, click here.  You can also watch the new trailer here.

Shortly before the panel, I got to sit down with Walker for an extended interview.  We talked about his reaction to the footage he’s seen, what it was like to work with Bekmambetov, what kind of research he did to play Abraham Lincoln, how the 3D be used, and he talks about a particularly gory reshoot and his favorite action scene in the movie.  In addition, with Walker getting ready to film Stephen Frears’ Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight, he revealed who he plays and how excited he is to work his Christopher Plummer.  Hit the jump to watch.

I have some theories regarding Lay the Favorite.  I believe screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis was partly paying attention to the script, partly paying attention to ESPN, and mostly paying attention to soft-core porn.  The talented actress Rebecca Hall must have had her brain switched with adult film star Katie Morgan.  And the director Stephen Frears can’t be the same one who directed High Fidelity, The Queen, and The Grifters.  There must be a different director who is also named Stephen Frears, but who is also far less talented.  These theories are the only way to explain why Lay the Favorite is so freaking terrible.

One of my must-see films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival is Stephen Frears‘ adaptation of Lay the Favorite starring Rebecca Hall and Bruce Willis.  Hall plays a woman who works for Dink, a high-stakes gambler (Willis), and takes to the job like a natural, but she begins to fall for Dink, much to the chagrin of Dink’s wife, Tulip (Catherine Zeta-Jones).  The first clip from the film shows Hall and Willis singing along to The Hollies’ creepy song “The Air That I Breathe” (I know it’s not meant to be creepy, but it just is), driving along the Las Vegas strip, and getting chummy.

Hit the jump for the clip.  The movie reunites Frears’ with his High Fidelity screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis, and co-stars Joshua Jackson, Vince Vaughn, Laura Prepon, and Corbin Bernsen.  Lay the Favorite premieres at Sundance on the 21st and I’ll be there to review it.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

Director Stephen Frears, screenwriter Peter Prince, and producer Jeremy Thomas are planning to North Americanize their 1984 British gangster flick The Hit.  The original film centered on two hitmen (John Hurt and Tim Roth) who are tasked with executing a mob informant (Terence Stamp in one of the best performance of his career), but the attempt to bring him from his Spanish hideaway to Paris is constantly derailed due to the hitmen’s incompetence.  It’s one of Frears’ best and you check out the excellent Criterion Collection DVD.

Thomas tells Variety that the remake is still in the early stages of development, but the plan is to move the setting to Mexico and the U.S.  “The idea is to make it as an American movie about an American gangster, to tell the story against the backdrop of the land of cinema,” says Thomas.  Frears’ latest film, Lay the Favorite (starring Rebecca Hall, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Bruce Willis) will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival in January.  Hit the jump to check out a trailer for The Hit.

Today, the 2012 Sundance Film Festival announced their premieres line-up. Along with the announcement comes a boat load of images from the films set to be showcased at the fest. After the jump we’ve got images and syonpses from Celeste and Jesse Forever (starring Andy Samberg, Rashida Jones, and Elijah Wood), Lay the Favorite (starring Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, and Catherine Zeta-Jones), GOATS (starring David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, and Ty Burrell), and Shadow Dancer (starring Andrea Riseborough, Gillian Anderson, and Clive Owen).

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

Director Stephen Frears and screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis, who teamed up on High Fidelity, are set to work together once again. Variety reports that the duo will tackle an English-language adaptation of the documentary The Bengali Detective for Fox Searchlight. Directed by Philip Cox, the original centers on private eye Rajesh Ji “as he explores Calcutta’s criminal underworld while pursuing his dream to dance on Indian TV.” Ridley and Tony Scott’s Scott Free production banner will produce. While I’m unfamiliar with The Bengali Detective, it sounds like the kind of quirky premise that’s right up Frears and DeVincentis’ alley, with Grosse Pointe Blank coming to mind. Frears and DeVincentis most recently teamed up on Lay the Favorite, an adaptation of Beth Raymer’s memoir. The drama stars Rebecca Hall and centers on Raymer’s rise through the ranks of sports gambling. The cast also includes Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Hit the jump to watch the trailer for the original Bengali Detective.

We’ve received a press release announcing that Stephen Frears’ adaptation of the Beth Raymer’s memoir Lay the Favorite wrapped principal photography today.  The release includes the first official synopsis of the film and there are (unsurprisingly) some variations from the book.  While the book covers Raymer’s rise through the ranks of sports gambling, the movie apparently adds romantic entanglements and drama that, going by the synopsis, seem awfully forced.  But with Frears at the helm and a cast that features Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Joshua Jackson, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, I’m still interested in seeing this flick.

Hit the jump for the full synopsis.

And the casting stories keep on coming. 14-year-old Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) is in early negotiations to join Carlo Carlei’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet. Variety reports that he’s being eyed for the role of Benvolio, Romeo’s cousin. Hailee Steinfeld is attached to star as Juliet, with Ed Westwick poised to play Tybalt and Holly Hunter set to take on the role of The Nurse. Italian director Carlei (Flight of the Innocent) will helm from a script by Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). The key roles of Romeo and Mercutio have yet to be cast, but production is set to begin this summer in Italy.

Additionally, Corbin Bernsen has joined the cast of the indie gambling comedy Lay the Favorite. Based on the memoir of Beth Raymer, the flick stars Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Vince Vaughn and Catherine Zeta-Jones. The story centers on Raymer’s rise from a Las Vegas cocktail waitress to one of the world’s best gamblers. Variety reports that Bernsen will play Hall’s father in the flick. Stephen Frears (High Fidelity) is directing from a script by D.V. De Vincentis. I’m a big fan of Frears, and the cast he’s turning out is pretty impressive. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel.

Vince Vaughn will join Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the gambling drama Lay the Favorite.  The film is based on the memoir of Beth Raymer, played by Hall in the biopic.  Once a Las Vegas cocktail waitress, Raymer became an elite professional gambler: “After falling in love, Raymer soon begins to re-evaluate her life and the profession she has chosen.” Deadline reports Vaughn will play Rosie, a Long Island bookie who employed Raymer.  Willis is Dink Heimowitz, Raymer’s mentor who teaches her the finer points of betting on sports.  Zeta-Jones will play Dink’s wife.

Stephen Frears will direct from a script by D.V. De Vincentis.  I’m always interested in the latest from Frears, and I like the collection of eclectic gathering around Lay the Favorite.  Read a synopsis of Raymer’s memoir after the jump.