With writer-director Shane Black‘s Iron Man 3 now playing around the world and opening in America this weekend, I recently got to speak with the cast and filmmakers here in Los Angeles.  During my video interview with Guy Pearce and Rebecca Hall, we talked about how their families reacted when they were cast, script changes during production, how it’s hard to talk about the movie without giving away some of the twists and turns, what it was like working with Shane Black, and more.  In addition, I tried to get Hall to talk about Wally Pfister‘s Transcendence (it didn’t work), and Pearce talks briefly about The Rover with Robert Pattinson.  Hit the jump to watch.

The first image from director David Michod’s (Animal Kingdom) second feature film, The Rover, has been released online.  The futuristic western takes place in the Australian desert following a worldwide economic collapse and stars Guy Pearce as Eric, a man who has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness behind him when a gang steals his last possession.  Eric sets out to track them down and along the way is forced to enlist the help of a naïve, injured member of the gang named Rey (Robert Pattinson).  Though the phrase “near-future, Australian-set western” automatically brings to mind George Miller’s masterful Mad Max series, Michod promises that The Rover is going to be “way more chillingly authentic and menacing” than those films.  That’s some strong talk, but considering how great Animal Kingdom is, I’m inclined to take Michod’s word for it.

Hit the jump to take a look at the image.  The film also stars Scoot McNairy (Argo), Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom), Gillian Jones (Oscar and Lucinda), Anthony Hayes (Burning Man) and David Field (Chopper).  The Rover opens later this year.

Check out the latest casting news for the following pictures:

• Eva Mendes (Sin City) joins How to Catch a Monster, the directorial debut of Ryan Gosling that stars Christina Hendricks and Ben Mendelsohn.
• Jane Levy (Evil Dead) will join the horror thriller In a Dark Place, directed by Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day).
• The Rover begins production and rounds out their cast with Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom), Gillian Jones (Oscar and Lucinda), Anthony Hayes (Burning Man) and David Field (Chopper).
• Son of a Gun also adds new cast members by way of Alicia Vikander (Anna Karenina), Jacek Koman (The Great Gatsby) and Brenton Thwaites (Maleficent).

Hit the jump for more on each picture and casting announcement.

A few casting notices:

• Benicio del Toro is in final negotiations to play Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost, which is not exactly a Pablo Escobar biopic.
• Scoot McNairy booked two roles.  He will star opposite Michael Fassbender in Frank, and joins Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in The Rover.
• The full cast list for Reach Me features Tom Berenger, Kevin Connolly, Thomas Jane, Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Kelsey Grammer, Nelly, Terry Crews, Ryan Kwanten, and more.

Details on each project after the jump.

Now that he’s done filming The Twilight Saga, Robert Pattinson is on a wonderful mission: use his star power to help directors we like get their movies made.  The first notable example is Cosmopolis, the latest off-kilter film from director David Cronenberg that hits theaters on August 17.  The next is The Rover, the second feature by Animal Kingdom director David Michod that co-stars Guy Pearce.  According to THR, Screen Australia has stepped up to finance the The Rover.  Here is why you should care:

“Set in the Australian desert, the futuristic western tells the story of Eric, who has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness behind him, as he’s forced to join an injured gang member, Rey, to hunt down Rey’s gang after they steal the last of Eric’s possessions.”

I was hooked by word eight.  Screen Australia will also finance Felony starring Joel Edgerton, Healing starring Hugo Weaving, and the Kim Jong-il movie Aim High in Creation.  Hit the jump for details.