
Michelle Monaghan and Susan Sarandon are set to team up for the thriller Still of the Night. Exclusive Media announced today that it would produce and finance the pic, written and to be directed by Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines). Monaghan stars as a career woman who sets out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her sister. She ends up matching wits with a devious criminal, played by Sarandon, in order to save her and her sister. If memory serves me right, Sarandon has never played such a straight-up villain before (I’m counting Stepmom as a half-villain). It should be interesting to see the two talented actresses square off.
Mostow’s last film, the 2009 sci-fi actioner Surrogates, wasn’t exactly a runaway hit with critics or audiences, but he’s off to a great start on Still of the Night by nabbing actors of Monaghan and Sarandon’s caliber. Hit the jump to read the press release.

The Wachowski Siblings and Tom Twyker‘s highly ambitious adaptation of Cloud Atlas now has a release date and a run-time. According to Thompson on Hollywood, Warner Bros. has picked up distribution rights at Cannes for $20 million, and will release the movie on December 6th. Additionally, the movie reportedly runs at 2-hours and 44-minutes, which seems about right when you consider that the movie spans six time periods, and you have an ensemble cast each playing multiple roles. For example, Hugh Grant will be playing six “incredibly evil” characters in the movie, and Halle Berry said one of her roles is a Jewish woman in the 1930s, and another is an old tribal woman.
Hit the jump for a synopsis. Cloud Atlas also stars Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, and Jim Sturgess. Surprisingly, the only other film set to open the same weekend as Cloud Atlas is Hyde Park on Hudson, but the following Friday is the blockbuster one-two punch of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Les Miserables.

We have casting news for two holidays, a mountain, and a last name—or at least four movies that are titled as such.
Hit the jump for details on each project.

From writers/directors Jay and Mark Duplass (Cyrus) comes Jeff Who Lives at Home, a coming of age comedy for two men who are already well beyond their youth. Starring Jason Segel (The Muppets) and Ed Helms (The Hangover) as two brothers, with Susan Sarandon (Thelma & Louise) as their mother, Jeff Who Lives at Home follows Jeff (Segel) as he searches for meaning in his life and inadvertently helps his brother, Pat (Helms) discover a truth of his own. We have three clips from the film that highlight the very funny rapport between Helms and his onscreen wife Judy Greer, a fairly awkward phone conversation between Segel and Sarandon, and the giant Segel uncomfortably riding in a tiny Porche. I was already pretty sold on the dramatic stuff from the trailers, but these clips focus on the lighter side of things and the jokes land solidly, so hopefully that carries over through the entirety of the movie. Jeff Who Lives at Home opens March 16th. Hit the jump to check out the clips.

Paramount has released a batch of new images from the upcoming dramedy Jeff, Who Lives At Home. Written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, the film stars Jason Segel as an adult still living with his mother who, through a series of comedic and unexpected events, crosses paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. While the logline sounds a bit vague, the trailer for the film is excellent. Segel has shown shades of his dramatic talent in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and How I Met Your Mother, but it looks as though he’ll really get a chance to shine in Jeff, Who Lives at Home. You can read Matt’s review of the film here.
Hit the jump to check out the images. The film also stars Ed Helms, Judy Greer, and Susan Sarandon. Jeff, Who Lives at Home opens on March 16th.

Paramount Vantage has released the first trailer for Jeff, Who Lives at Home, the latest from Jay and Mark Duplass (Cyrus). Jason Segel stars as the titular character searching for the meaning of life: “A series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances.” As expected, the movie looks excellent. Segel has been poised for a breakout dramatic role for a while now, and he looks expertly cast in this “dramedy” from the immensely talented Duplass duo. Ed Helms seems to be in fine form as Segel’s slightly more successful brother, and the two have their fair share of dramatic and comedic moments. I’m very encouraged by what this trailer shows of Segel’s performance, and I can’t wait to see more.
The film also stars Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon. Jeff, Who Lives at Home is scheduled for release on March 2, 2012. Watch the trailer after the jump.

With our continuing coverage of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s Spotlight line-up, we’re bringing you some early looks at next year’s films. Hit the jump for synopses and images from writer-director Julie Delpy‘s 2 Days in New York, starring Delpy and Chris Rock; writer-director Nicholas Jarecki‘s Arbitrage, starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth; writer-director Leslye Headland‘s Bachelorette, starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan; and writer-director Josh Radnor‘s Liberal Arts, starring Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen.
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from Thursday, January 19th to Sunday, the 29th. Click here for all our coverage.

Actress Susan Sarandon is currently in negotiations to join the action thriller Snitch. Ric Roman Waugh (Felon) is directing, and Dwayne Johnson is set to star as a father whose teenage son is hit with a 30-year prison sentence due to mandatory minimum drug laws. Johnson takes matters into his own hands and goes undercover to take down a senior drug dealer in order to reduce his son’s sentence. The story is based on a Frontline documentary, and Waugh rewrote Justin Haythe’s script himself.
Heat Vision reports that Sarandon will be playing “an ambitious U.S. attorney who believes that a drug bust can help her political career.” The role was originally envisioned as male, but pairing The Rock with Susan Sarandon was presumably too awesome to turn down so the part was reconfigured. Sarandon recently wrapped the Adam Sandler/Andy Sandberg comedy I Hate You Dad and is currently filming the Wachowskis’ adaptation of Cloud Atlas and Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep.

The Duplass Brothers’ Jeff, Who Lives at Home opens on a terrific note by bashing the silliness of M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. Unfortunately, that’s about as hilarious and insightful as Jeff gets. While the lead performances are solid and there are some funny jokes along the way, the film is saddled with a weak sub-plot and an even weaker subtext. Jeff, Who Lives at Home ends up revering what it originally mocked.

The Wachowski Siblings and Tom Tykwer’s audacious adaptation of David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas has been long in development but it will finally go before cameras in mid-to-late September. Mitchell’s novel spans six different lifetimes across six different eras. The film stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw, and Jim Broadbent. If you’re wondering about the ambition of the project, Weaving said back in May that he was playing six different characters, which sounds like each actor won’t be playing just one character in one time period.
However, the project will also be working with less money. Producer Stefan Ardnt tells THR that the budget for Cloud will be “definitely lower” than then rumored $100 – $120 million, which isn’t too surprising. Speed Racer was a flop and Tykwer has never worked with $100+ budget. However, the production has gotten significant tax breaks by shooting about 80% of the movie in Babelsberg, Berlin and the surrounding area. The film is also getting made due to a unique financing arrangement from Berlin bank IFB and German regional film funding body, the Medienboard. Hit the jump for more details on Cloud Atlas.

Robert Redford continues to fill out the cast for his next directorial project, as Susan Sarandon, Julie Christie and Richard Jenkins are the latest to join The Company You Keep. Redford will direct and star in the film that also features Shia LaBeouf, and recent additions Nick Nolte and Brit Marling. Based on the novel of the same name by Neal Gordon, the story centers on a wanted former Weather Underground militant (Redford) who goes on the run after an ambitious young reporter (LaBeouf) exposes his true identity.
Deadline reports that Sarandon and Christie play ex-Weather Underground members, while Jenkins will play a college professor who is a link to other members in hiding. While the cast is pretty great, I’m hoping Redford tries a decidedly less heavy-handed approach than his last directorial projects. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the novel.

A number of actors have signed on for the family comedy Robot and Frank. Liev Schreiber, Liv Tyler, James Marsden, and Jeremy Strong join previously announced Susan Sarandon and Frank Langella in the Jake Schreier-directed indie. The comedy marks Schreier’s feature directorial debut. The script, by Christopher Ford, is set in the future and centers on an aging curmudgeon (Langella) whose kids (Marsden and Tyler) give him a caretaker robot (voiced by Schreiber), sparking an unlikely friendship with the lonely man. Sarandon plays a librarian who serves as Langella’s only friend.
Hit the jump to read the full press release. The film is currently shooting in New York.

Mark and Jay Dupplass are looking to continue their path towards more mainstream fare after last year’s dramedy Cyrus, starring Jonah Hill, opened to wildly positive reception. The writer/director duo will unveil their next film, the stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home starring Jason Segel and Ed Helms, and produced by Jason Reitman, later this year, and now the pair are shopping the script for their next project, a dramatic thriller. 24 Frames reports that the new film, titled Pitchfork, centers on “the middle-aged mother of an indie rocker who, after her son is killed in a car accident, seeks vengeance on an online blogger who had peddled snark about her son [on the music site Pitchfork].” Things take a turn, however, when the bully turns out to be a teenager (which doesn’t necessarily count as a surprise).
Apparently Susan Sarandon is being sought to take on what is most certainly a very meaty role as the mother, and Hill has talked with the brothers Duplass about possibly playing the blogger. The pair broke onto the scene with 2005’s indie The Puffy Chair, and their subsequent films have been deemed part of the “mumblecore” aesthetic (low-budgets, improvised dialogue, etc.). Jeff Who Lives at Home currently doesn’t have a release date, but is expected to hit theaters later this year.

We’ve got quite a few casting stories for you today. First up, Susan Sarandon has joined the cast of the Adam Sandler/Andy Samberg comedy I Hate You Dad. The comedy revolves around a father who moves in with his son and his son’s fiancé just before they’re about to get married, with Leighton Meester set to play Samberg’s fiancée. THR reports that in addition to Sarandon, Will Forte, Milo Ventimiglia, Eva Amurri (Californication), Blake Clark, Meagan Fay (Party Down), Tony Orlando, Dan Patrick and previously announced James Caan are all in negotiations to join the Sean Anders-directed comedy. Sarandon will play a sexy teacher who is the mother of Samberg’s character.
Additionally, Jennifer Hudson is the latest actor to join the cast of the Farrelly brothers’ The Three Stooges. The film stars Will Sasso as Curly, Sean Hayes as Larry, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe, Jane Lynch, Larry David, Stephen Collins and Craig Bierko. Deadline reports that Hudson will play Sister Rosmary at the orphanage that the Stooges are raised. Lynch and David play two other (presumably evil) nuns at the orphanage. The Three Stooges is currently filming. Hit the jump for the casting news of Johnny Knoxville and a lot more in Fun Size and Seth Green, Michelle Trachtenberg, Katee Sackhoff, Harold Perrineau and Billy Baldwin in Sexy Evil Genius.

Yesterday, we reported some casting news for The Words and The Wachowski Siblings/Tom Tykwer’s adaptation of Cloud Atlas. Turns out those films weren’t quite finished in the casting department. Producer Cassian Elwes has tweeted [via The Playlist] that Zoe Saldana will star alongside Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, and Dennis Quaid in The Words. The drama centers on a celebrated writer (Cooper) who must pay the price for stealing the work of another author (Irons). I imagine the price is somewhat higher than the lawyer’s fees for the litigation that would most likely occur in a less-interesting movie.
In other casting news, ScreenDaily reports that Susan Sarandon and Jim Broadbent are in talks to join Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving, Ben Whishaw, and Halle Berry in Cloud Atlas. The movie is based on David Mitchell’s acclaimed novel that spans the progress of a soul across six separate existences across several centuries. Shooting is planned to begin this September. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the novel.
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