The dramatic thriller Disconnect shows how ordinary people struggle to find personal connection in today’s world where modern technology is so readily available, and it can both unite and divide us.  While the stories of strangers, neighbors and colleagues collide, the technology that we so often rely upon proves that it can result in unforeseen consequences for those around us.  From first-time narrative feature director Henry-Alex Rubin, the film stars Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgard and Max Thieriot.

At the film’s press day, Collider spoke with actor Alexander Skarsgard at both a press conference and a 1-on-1 interview, in which he talked about what attracted him to Disconnect, how he got into the headspace for the character, the scene he was most concerned about shooting, his own experience in the Navy in Sweden, and how often he disconnects from technology himself.  He also talked about the kinds of roles he looks for, how he feels about being on the hit HBO series True Blood for six seasons now, and whether he’s officially signed on for Tarzan (which was recently halted by Warner Bros.), as the title character.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Director David Yates—who helmed the final four Harry Potter films—is having a bit of trouble getting a post-Potter project off the ground.  He was initially attached to direct the small-scale drama Your Voice in My Head with Emma Watson and Stanley Tucci attached to star, but was subsequently forced to drop out of the director’s chair for personal reasons.  After briefly flirting with a large-scale adaptation of The Stand, Yates then moved on to a reimagining of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan as his next project.

The filmmaker has been developing Tarzan since last summer and recently set True Blood star Alexander Skarsgard as his lead.  We learned last month that Jessica Chastain was circling the Jane role, but now Warner Bros. is putting the brakes on the project due to budget concerns.  Hit the jump for much more.

It appears that Warner Bros. and director David Yates may have settled on who they want to play Jane in the upcoming Tarzan adaptation.  Word on the project has been fairly quiet since Yates committed to it as his next project after helming four Harry Potter films back-to-back.  Last November, it was reported that Alexander Skarsgard was the frontrunner to tackle the title role in the film, with Samuel L. Jackson being eyed for a supporting role as a an ex-mercenary who helps Tarzan save the Congo from a warlord.  Now word comes that recent Best Actress nominee Jessica Chastain is being eyed to tackle the role of Jane in the film.  Hit the jump for more.

We just recently learned that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows director David Yates had finally settled on Warner Bros.’ Tarzan adaptation as his post-Potter project, and now it appears that things are moving rather quickly on the film.  At the time, we heard that Henry Cavill (Man of Steel), Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy), and Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) were in the running for the titular lead role, with WB also interested in Tom Hardy should the actor spark to the idea.  Now it appears that a frontrunner has emerged in the form of the 6’4″ Swede Skarsgard.  Hit the jump for more.

Director David Yates has understandably taken his time in choosing his next project after helming four Harry Potter films back-to-back, but it appears that he’s finally made a decision.  We learned this past June that Yates was interested in Warner Bros.’ adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan, but at the time a few other directors were eyeing the project and no official discussions had taken place.  Now Yates has officially committed to Tarzan as his next project, and he’s already meeting with actors to fill the iconic titular role.  Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got some new posters to share from the American Film Market (AFM).  Briefly:

• Tarzan – A really poorly-made motion capture animated retelling of the classic story.
• InAPPropriate Comedy – A seriously terrible-looking “comedy” that tells the story of a computer tablet “full of the world’s most hilariously offensive apps” that sitrs up cultural anarchy.  The pitiful cast includes Adrien Brody, Rob Schneider, Michelle Rodriguez, and Lindsay Lohan.
• Ip Man: The Final Fight – The next film in the martial arts franchise.
• Switch – An action drama set within the world of art thieving.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and a full synopsis for Switch and InAPPropriate Comedy.

The first trailer for the motion-capture animated adventure film Tarzan 3D has landed online and it’s, well, something.  Directed by Reinhard Kloss, the film stars Kellan Lutz and Spencer Locke as the eponymous Tarzan and Jane, but for some reason the entire film was animated using very, very cheap motion-capture.  The trailer plays like cut-scenes from an early 2000s videogame and I can’t imagine sitting through an entire feature-length film of this.  Somehow it’s even worse than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within despite the fact that technology has advanced a full decade since that film.

Anyways, hit the jump to check out the trailer for yourself.  Tarzan 3D is expected to be released sometime in 2013.

Could Tarzan become the next Snow White?  Hot off the heels of “The Great Snow White Race of 2012,” it appears that another possible Tarzan film has been thrown into the pile of gestating adaptations.  Constantain Films is currently in production on a 3D animated iteration of the “man raised by apes” story starring Kellan Lutz, and now it appears that three high profile directors are eyeing a separate Tarzan project at Warner Bros.  David Yates, who helmed the last four Harry Potter films for WB and Generation Kill’s Susanna White are said to be interested in the new Tarzan pic scripted by Adam Cozad (the Jack Ryan reboot).  Hit the jump for more. [Update: Gary Ross was previously reported to be in the mix but representatives say that he is not pursuing this project.]

Casting news for you today:

• Kellan Lutz (Twilight) and Spencer Locke (Resident Evil: Afterlife) look to play Tarzan and Jane in the Constantin Films production of Tarzan 3D.
• Rashida Jones (I Love You, Man) and Olivia Colman (Tyrannosaur) join Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) in dance-revenge comedy, Cuban Fury.
• Ashley Bell (The Last Exorcism) is set to join the romantic comedy, The Bounceback.
• Renee Olstead (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) has been cast in the indie horror film, The Midnight Game.

Hit the jump for more.

Director/co-writer Craig Brewer decided to take on the remake of the classic ‘80s film Footloose because the original had such an impact on his own life. The story itself has a timelessness that still makes it relevant and significant for today’s audiences and, with his distinct aesthetic and vision, this new version has the realism, grit and passion found in all of Brewer’s work.

At the film’s press day, Brewer talked about what it was that grabbed him, when he first saw the film at 13, how he ended up sharing screenwriting credit with the original film’s writer Dean Pitchford, what made Kenny Wormald and Julianne Hough his perfect lead actors, and holding the “angry dance” sequence for the last three days of shooting, in case any injuries occurred. He also talked about his desire to keep his Tarzan film grounded in the period of the original books. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

I’m going to tell you something you might not believe, but I swear it’s the truth: the remake of Footloose is actually pretty great.  Director Craig Brewer (Black Snake Moan, Hustle & Flow) has taken the original story, made a few changes, added his unique style, and the end result is something that audiences are going to love.  While I wish I could go into more detail about what works and what I thought, I’m under embargo, so for now you’ll just have to trust me.  For a taste of the film, here’s the trailer.

Anyhow, yesterday I got on the phone with Brewer to talk about the remake.  We discussed how relieved he is that the buzz is great, what Footloose means to him, how the teenagers in the movie are portrayed as real kids, the soundtrack, was Kevin Bacon ever going to cameo, what’s up with Tarzan and Mother Trucker, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to check it out.

While covering the red carpet for the 2011 MTV Movie Awards, we were able to get a few minutes with Craig Brewer to discuss his upcoming remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon dance flick, Footloose. While a remake of a gimmicky teen movie isn’t something that Collider would normally be excited for, Footloose stands a better than average chance of standing out thanks to the ample talents of Brewer, who has made a name for himself by crafting films that transcend their tawdry premises with detailed character work and stellar cinematography.

During the interview we discussed what attracted Brewer to the project, the shift from musical numbers to dance numbers, the racial politics of his upcoming Tarzan reboot, the future of his other projects including Mother Trucker and Hustle & Flow 2, and much more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Filmmaker Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow) will direct a new Tarzan film as part of a potential trilogy for Warner Bros.  At the beginning of the year, we told you that Warner Bros. was rebooting or remaking some of its high-profile properties and Tarzan was on that list.  And they have a solid director in Brewer although I’d much rather see him make Mother Trucker (which is about a man who escapes from prison, hijacks an 18-wheeler, and races across the South to see his dying mother) as his follow up to the upcoming remake of Footloose.

Warner Bros. also has screenwriter Adam Cozad (Archangel) working on a separate script for Tarzan, but it remains to be seen which film they’ll move into production.  Deadline reports that this is a passion project for Brewer, and I’ll be interested to see how he plans to interpret a character who has been adapted into countless formats since he was first introduced in Edgar Rice Burrough’s 1914 novel Tarzan of hte Apes.

Warner Bros. has announced a list of films, all of a certain name value, they intend to reboot/remake/re-imagine/re[insert-word-of-choice-here], The list, per Heat Vision, includes Lethal Weapon, Westworld, Oh God, The Dirty Dozen, Tarzan and The Wild Bunch.

The most likely to be green-lit is the Lethal Weapon reboot. Mel Gibson’s troubles have probably grounded whatever chance there was for a Lethal Weapon 5, so Warner Bros. instead seems committed to relaunching the franchise with a new cast and director.  Deadline reports Will Beall has been brought in to write the new Lethal Weapon flick. Beall is most widely known as the author of the acclaimed novel L.A. Rex. He most recently scripted the upcoming period crime film Gangster Squad with Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) on board to direct.  Hit the jump for my thoughts on the matter.

Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan is about to get the 3D treatment.  Variety reports that Germany’s Constantin Film is developing a 3D animated movie based on the classic character.  For those who have never heard of Tarzan (and I find that odd, but whatever), the books are about a boy raised by apes.  In the 1999 animated Disney film, he grows up to have dredlocks, surf vines, and enjoy the music of Phil Collins.

The film is being in-house by Robert Kulzer and Reinhard Klooss.  No writer or director is currently attached, but Kulzer is also a producer on Paul W.S. Anderson’s upcoming 3D movies Resident Evil: Afterlife and The Three Musketeers.  Warner Bros. and producer Jerry Weintraub (Ocean’s Eleven) have been trying to make a live-action Tarzan since 2003, but to no avail.  And somewhere, Casper Van Dien weeps.