One of the funniest films I saw at SXSW was Jacob Vaughan‘s Milo.  The juvenile comedy centers on a man (Ken Marino) whose stresses at home and at work causes him extraordinary gastric distress, which isn’t helped by the fact that he has a gremlin-like creature living in his colon.  Today, Magnet has announced that they’ve picked up the film for distribution.  Magnet is definitely a good fit for the film, and I assume the company will go their normal route of releasing the film on VOD before giving it a limited theatrical release.  No release date has been announced, but hopefully audiences will get to see the movie later this year.

Hit the jump for the full press release.  Milo also stars Gillian Jacobs, Patrick Warburton, Mary Kay Place, Peter Stormare, and Stephen Root.

We’re happy to bring you the first clip from DreamWorks new animated series, DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk.  Based on the Academy Award-nominated film,  the series follows the continuing adventures of Hiccup and his faithful dragon, Toothless, along with their human and dragon friends alike as they soar over the Viking island of Berk.  The series features the returning vocal talents of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and T.J. Miller, as well as some veteran newcomers, such as Tim Conway and Mark Hamill.  The sequel to How to Train Your Dragon is set to debut in theaters on June 20th, 2014, but the series airs on Cartoon Network starting Tuesday, September 4th.  Hit the jump to see the clip and view the full press release.

We’ve got a couple more TV casting stories to share with you today. First up, casting for David E. Kelley’s (The Practice) new medical pilot Chelsea General is moving quickly. Just yesterday Alfred Molina signed on to star in the series which centers on “the lives of five surgeons as they push the limits of their abilities and confront their personal and professional failings,” and now Ving Rhames has been added to the cast. Deadline reports that Rhames will play “a physically imposing former professional football player who now is the most celebrated trauma chief in the country.”

Additionally, Stephen Root has signed on for the impending third season of HBO’s Boardwalk Empire. The Live Feed reports that Root is set for a recurring role as “a forger, swindler, and murder suspect who became a Special Investigator for the US Department of Justice.” No word on whether or not his character has the potential to become a regular. Hit the jump for news concerning two recurring characters being promoted to series regulars on Showtime’s Homeland.

Universal has released the first trailer for Ken Kwapis’ feel-good whale-rescue movie Big Miracle.  Formerly titled “Everybody Loves Whales” (not a great title, but far more informative than the generic “Big Miracle”), the story is inspired by the true story of a group effort to get three gray whales back to the ocean after they’re trapped under ice from the Arctic Circle.  Combined with Dolphin Tale and Shark Night, it looks like people are ready to care about sea life again.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Stephen Root, and Ted Danson.  Big Miracle opens February 3, 2012.

I imagine Stephen Root is a joy to work with, the kind of actor that motivates directors to search for a role for him in their next project.  Exhibit A: Root played a small part in The Conspirator, and director Robert Redford promptly signed the actor for his follow-up The Company You Keep.  Redford also stars as “a former militant wanted by the FBI who goes on the run when his identity is exposed by an ambitious young reporter (Shia LaBeouf).”  Brit Marling, Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon, Richard Jenkins, and Julie Christie also star.  According to Variety, Root will play Billy Cusimano, one of Redford’s legal clients before his former identity is revealed.  I fall for most stories set in the 1960s, but the talented cast goes a long way to validate my hopes in this case.

Lem Dobbs (The Score) adapted The Company You Keep from the novel of the same name by Neil Gordon.  Read the synopsis after the jump.

The premise of Cedar Rapids is familiar: small town boy (Ed Helms) goes to the big city, and discovers a lot about himself, and who he thought he was. But in Miguel Arteta’s take,  this story is both smaller and more perilous than previous versions. The big city is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the peril is that the main character tries meth and hangs out with a prostitute. The film also has a killer line up of actors, with Helms playing alongside John C. Reilly, Anne Heche, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith and Thomas Lennon. My review of Cedar Rapids on Blu-ray after the jump.

The trailer and poster have gone online for the upcoming indie comedy Everything Must Go starring Will Ferrell.  Ferrell plays a man who has been laid off from his job and decides to sell all of his material possessions in an epic yard sale.  The movie picked up positive notices last year when it played at the Toronto Film Festival and this trailer has me interested because it shows Will Ferrell but he’s not screaming or stating the obvious or stating the obvious while screaming.  He seems to be giving a genuine, low-key performance and it’s a welcome change-of-pace from his regular, broad comic fare.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The film also stars Rebecca Hall, Michael Peña, Laura Dern, Stephen Root, and Christopher Jordan Wallace.  Everything Must Go opens May 13th.

I’m huge Burn Notice dork and that’s due in large part to the charisma and versatility of its star, Jeffrey Donovan.  With Burn Notice being one of cable’s biggest hits, I’m surprised he hasn’t become a bigger presence in theaters, although that may be due to a number of factors (e.g. scheduling, preference, pay, etc.).  He last graced the big screen in a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and now it looks like he’ll be re-teaming with Eastwood for the upcoming J. Edgar Hoover biopic, J. Edgar starring Leonardo DiCarpio.  Donovan tweeted earlier today:

I fly to LA Sunday. I have been cars as Bobby Kennedy opposite LD in HOOVER. excited. working with Mr Eastwood again. Dreams come true.

Although (to the best of our knowledge) the movie is no longer titled “Hoover”, it’s nevertheless exciting that he’ll be a part of the impressive cast.  J. Edgar also stars Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, Josh Lucas, Stephen Root, and Judi Dench.  As for Donovan, he’ll return in the new season of Burn Notice, which premieres this summer.  He also directed the upcoming Burn Notice spin-off movie, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, which airs on USA on April 17th.

We have two quick pieces of casting news for you this morning.  First up, Peter Stormare (Fargo) has joined Jeremy Renner, Gemma Arterton, and Famke Janssen in Tommy Wirkola’s Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.  The 3D re-imagining of the Grimm fairy tale has the siblings Hansel and Gretel (played by Renner and Arterton) all grown up and still holding a grudge against witches for that whole “trying to cook and eat children” unpleasantness.  According to Deadline, Stormare will play “the villainous town sheriff ‘Berringer’.”

Hit the jump for news about ubiquitous character actor Stephen Root (Office Space) joining Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar.

For the premiere of the animated feature Rango, hundreds of fans lined the streets of Westwood on Valentine’s Day to catch a glimpse of superstar actor Johnny Depp, who was as gracious as ever in the time he spent greeting them, posing for photos and signing autographs.

Re-uniting the actor with his Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, Rango tells the story of a chameleon (Depp) who suddenly finds himself in a situation that has him playing the role of the hero that he has always aspired to be. Many of the film’s voice actors were in attendance at the Western-themed event, including Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Timothy Olyphant, Harry Dean Stanton, Alanna Ubach, Kym Whitley, Stephen Root and Gil Birmingham. Check out all of the exclusive photos after the jump:

Fox Searchlight has sent over 5 clips from director Miguel Arteta’s (Youth in Revolt) Cedar Rapids.  Starring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Mike O’Malley, Rob Corddry, and Seth Morris, the film’s about a small-town Wisconsin man who travels to the big city to represent his company at a regional insurance conference.  While the story isn’t groundbreaking, or something that you haven’t seen before, I thought the movie was really funny and it’s definitely worth checking out when it gets released February 11. The main reason is the chemistry between Helms, Reilly, Heche, and Whitlock Jr. Each one had a moment to shine and Whitlock Jr. got two of the biggest laughs during the premiere at Sundance.  However, John C. Reilly also has a few awesome lines that I loved.

Anyway, for a taste of the film, hit the jump for the clips.  And if you missed my extended video interview with Ed Helms at Sundance last week, click here.

Kevin Smith has released the first teaser trailer for his upcoming horror movie Red State.  Premiering at next month’s Sundance Film Festival, Red State is a huge departure for Smith as the flick is about “a group of misfits [who] encounter extreme fundamentalism in Middle America.”  The film stars Michael Parks, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, John Goodman, Melissa Leo, Kevin Pollak, Anna Gunn, Stephen Root, and Smith’s Hit Somebody lead Nicholas Braun.  Parks is said to play a Fred Phelps-type preacher who leads a family of followers.

If you’ve been following the development of Red State, you know Smith had a really tough time getting the financing together due to the difficult subject matter.  And after watching the trailer, I can see why.  Red State looks nothing like his previous films and I’m definitely catching this at the first press screening at Sundance.  While I loved Smith’s first few films, I’ve been very disappointed with his recent output.  And his attitude about critics hasn’t helped his cause.  Saying all that, I’d love for him to rebound with Red State.  Judge the trailer for yourself after the jump.

Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer for director Miguel Arteta’s (Youth in Revolt) Cedar Rapids.  Premiering at next month’s Sundance Film Festival and getting released nationally February 11, the film is loaded with an all star cast featuring Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Sigourney Weaver, Anne Heche, Stephen Root, Kurtwood Smith, Alia Shawkat, Mike O’Malley, Rob Corddry, and Seth Morris.

While the premise of a small-town Wisconsin man who travels to the big city to represent his company at a regional insurance conference is nothing groundbreaking, I thought Youth in Revolt was very underrated and think Arteta is a director to watch.  Also, the trailer for Cedar Rapids has a line that absolutely killed me.  I won’t spoil it for you…but if you’re a fan of HBO’s The Wire, you will laugh out loud at the end of the trailer.  It’s an awesome moment – especially because of who is saying it.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

Hot off the heels of news that Kevin Smith’s upcoming horror film Red State was recently accepted into the Sundance Film Festival, new images have been revealed from the film and a new poster has been unveiled by Smith himself. The poster was released by Smith via Twitter as a “thank you” to fans who pledged $1000 to The Wayne Foundation in less than 30 minutes. The Wayne Foundation is a charity devoted to stopping pederasts, with a mission to provide young women who have fallen victim to commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking with a means of leaving the sex industry for good.

The poster unveiled by Smith features Red State actress Kerry Bishe, and is one of four posters that Smith plans to release next week starting Monday. The headline of the poster, “The Virgin”, asserts Smith’s statement on his “Red State of the Union” podcast that the film begins very much like an 80’s horror film.  Smith’s podcast has been the source of a great deal of news concerning the film, particularly his description of the flick as essentially about “sex, religion, and politics.”  The images from the film that were released showcase Smith’s stellar cast, and confirm that the film is a drastic departure from his previous catalog of films. Hit the jump the check out the poster and images, as well as a bit more on the flick.

We have two bits of casting news to bring you this morning.  First, Kevin Kline, Diane Keaton, Richard Jenkins, and Elisabeth Moss have all joined Darling Companion.  The film was co-written, along with his wife Meg, by four time Oscar-nominee Lawrence Kasdan.  Companion is meant to be the third installment in a trilogy which includes 1983′s The Big Chill and 1991′s Grand Canyon.  From Risky Business, the film “follows a woman (Keaton) who takes in a stray dog as a companion to fill the void left by her distracted husband (Kline), only to see him lose the mutt after a wedding at their vacation home in the Rockies. A search for the animal includes several guests and a mysterious young woman.”  The report fails to disclose exactly what Jenkins and Moss’ roles may entail thus we are to assume Jenkins will be one of “several guests” with Moss perhaps filling the role of “mysterious young woman.”  Production on Companion is scheduled to begin within the next week in Utah.

To read about Stephen Root’s latest gigs, hit the jump.