Quite the action team-up is taking place for the upcoming film Heatseekers.  A couple of years ago, we reported that Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes studio had acquired a spec script called Heatseekers for Paramount Pictures.  The story centered on aerial “pirates” and was likened to Fast & Furious and Point Break.  Now word comes that that Wanted and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter helmer Timur Bekmambetov has come aboard the action project to direct, with Bay maintaining his producer role.  Hit the jump for more details.

Hot on the heels of the first trailer for the significantly delayed genre pic Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, a witch hunting film of a different sort may have found its lead.  The Wrap reports that Vin Diesel is in talks to star in The Crazies director Breck Eisner’s The Last Witch Hunter.  Diesel would play one of the last remaining witch hunters who is tasked with “discouraging a group of witches and warlocks from reproducing.”  Vin Diesel: Cock Blocker was previously set up as a directing vehicle for Wanted’s Timur Bekmambetov, but he’s now only onboard in a producer role.  The script for the Lionsgate/Summit film was written by Cory Goodman (Priest).

Diesel is currently in London filming the Justin Lin-helmed sequel Fast & Furious 6, and he recently wrapped the third installment in his Chronicles of Riddick series, Riddick.  The actor is also attached to star in the Iron Giant-esque possible franchise-starter The Machine, in which he’ll play a government-created machine that must protect the family who’s harboring him.

This weekend’s box office turned out to be pretty predictable. Brave, the thirteenth feature from fan-favorite Pixar studios, came out on top with an estimated $66.7 million from 4,127 locations. Easy to see that one coming. More of a question mark was Fox’s R-rated counter-programmer Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Many expected the film to crash in epic fashion; and while $16.5 million from 3,106 locations is not great, it is better than Rock of Ages and That’s My Boy managed last weekend so… yay?

Earlier this week I literally dreamed about The Dark Knight Rises. Not that I was in the movie. Not that I was Batman. Just that I was in the theater watching it for the first time. And I woke up with a sense of joy that followed me around for hours. Even now I can’t decide exactly what this says about me or whether it’s a good or bad thing that I’m so excited for a single moviegoing experience. Part of me is a little disappointed in my subconscious for dreaming on such a micro level. Another part is encouraged that it finds such joy in the “little things”. Regardless, those precious two hours and forty-five minutes or so on midnight of July 20th can’t get here soon enough.

All personal issues aside, this week’s iteration of the Top 5 includes the new trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson‘s The Master, Brave interviews with John Lasseter, director Mark Andrews and more, Brendan’s latest Cinemath feature, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World interviews with Steve Carell, Keira Knightley and more, and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter interviews with Tim Burton and co. The search for a brief recap and link to each concludes after the jump.

Thirteen is looking like a lucky number for Pixar. Brave, the studio’s thirteenth release, will keep their perfect streak of number one debuts very much intact. From a Pixar-record of 4,164 locations (67% in 3D) Brave earned an estimated $24.5 million on Friday. That puts the PG-rated feature on track for an opening weekend of almost $70 million – slightly more than Pixar’s last movie, Cars 2, realized on this weekend in 2011. Projections are not quite as sanguine for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Though Fox’s R-rated genre-bender should avoid becoming a Jonah Hex-sized embarrassment, it also looks unlikely that director Timur Bekmambetov’s latest will taste success. From 3,106 locations, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter earned an estimated $6.3 million on Friday. Projections put the film just under $15 million for the weekend, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see that figure fall further. We’ll have full details tomorrow.

Opening this weekend is director Timur Bekmambetov‘s (Wanted) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Based on the book of the same name from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith and produced by Tim Burton, the film imagines that Lincoln’s mother and grandfather were killed by a vampire and that the president’s resolve to end slavery was due in part to the “fact” that vampires were involved with the slave trade.  Playing Lincoln is newcomer Benjamin Walker and he stars alongside Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. For more on the film, here’s all our previous coverageand three clips with twenty minutes of behind-the-scenes footage.

A few days ago I got to speak with Timur Bekmambetov and Seth Grahame-Smith in New York City.  We talked about making Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, what historical events from Lincoln’s life they felt needed to be included, what was cut due to budgetary reasons, their favorite movies, and Bekmambetov gave a Wanted 2 update.  Hit the jump to watch.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter attempts to walk the line between solemn grit and bombastic action.  The film stumbles around the line, falls off of it, gropes in the dark to find the line again, give a big goofy smile at no one in particular, regains a wobbly balance before taking a proud stride forward only to constantly repeat this bizarre range of motions.  The film is an exercise in pushing the limits of going big while keeping a straight face.  In its action scenes, there’s not a shred of doubt that director Timur Bekmambetov is trying to find laughs in lunacy to make up for the dearth of humor in the “serious” scenes.  But what appears to be an attempt at balance simply comes off as measured schizophrenia, and what should be a fun twist on half-remembered American history instead becomes a dark twist on historiography.

We’ve been provided with three clips and 20 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Based on the Seth Grahame-Smith novel of the same name, the film delves into the “secret” past of our nation’s 16^th president and documents his quest to cut as many vampires in half as possible after they murder his mother.  Wanted helmer Timur Bekmambetov directs with producer Tim Burton onboard to make sure things stay strange, which is crucial when your film’s title is Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  Be sure to check out Steve’s set visit coverage including 30 things to know plus a video blog, and interviews with Bekmambetov, Benjamin Walker, and Dominic Cooper.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens in 3D on June 22^nd.

For anyone who was clamoring for Wanted 2, it’s been a disappointing past four years.  After listening to Mark Millar talk out of his ass about how far the sequel is coming along, Angelina Jolie dropped out, but then there was a glimmer of progress when original writers Derek Haas and Michael Brandt signed on last fall.  Since then, word has been quiet, but director Timur Bekmambetov provided an update on the project this past weekend at the press junket for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Hit the jump for more.

Apologies for the lack of a Top 5 last weekend. I was so busy prepping to get married, and eventually getting married, that I had to cash in a “sick day” on the best weekend job a person could ask for. The good news is that I have no intention on making this a routine (either the “sick day” or the getting married) so we should be good to go on the regular Top 5 installments for the foreseeable future. The bad news is that I doubt the substantial pile of wedding cards filled with cash/gift cards will catch on as a routine either. You win some you lose some, I guess.

In this week’s return edition you can find a recap of our Total Recall set visit coverage, a new trailer for Breaking Bad Season 5 alongside a fan-made recap of Seasons 1-4, continuing coverage of Prometheus such as Blu-ray details, a sequel recap and more, the first full trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution, and our Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter set visit. Keep reading for a brief recap and link to each.

Last summer, when director Timur Bekmambetov‘s (Wanted, Night Watch) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was filming in New Orleans, I got to visit the set with a few other online reporters.  Based on the book Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith and produced by Tim Burton, the film re-imagines that Lincoln’s mother and grandfather were killed by a vampire and that the president’s resolve to end slavery was due in part to the “fact” that vampires were involved with the slave trade.  Playing Lincoln is newcomer Benjamin Walker and he stars alongside Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

While on set we got to interview some of the cast, the filmmakers, and I walked away thinking the film could be really cool.  Hit the jump for a list of things to know about the film and my video blog recap.

When you think of one of the most famous men in American history, you don’t immediately consider Russian director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) as the one who should tell his story.  But when you’re movie imagines Abraham Lincoln fighting vampires, perhaps it makes a little more sense.  In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Benjamin Walker plays of one of our greatest Presidents with one small change to his life story: he fought vampires.  While it might sound a bit crazy, the secret to why it should work is that everything else is grounded in reality.  It’s one of the reasons Marvel movies work.  In Iron Man, everything is realistic except for the fact that you’re asked to believe a man can fly around in a metal suit.  Same with Hulk.  Everything is real except you’re asked to believe a man bombarded with gamma rays could become this green monster.   With Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, everything is historically accurate except for the vampires.

Last summer I got to visit the production when they were filming in New Orleans. I participated in a group interview with Bekmambetov and producer Jim Lemley.  They talked about grounding the film in reality, why they made certain casting decisions, the vampires, filming in New Orleans, the look of the film, the 3D, how they get involved, and so much more.  Hit the jump for more.

A new green band trailer for director Timur Bekmambetov’s Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter has landed online.  While I’ve been pretty iffy about the stylized historical reimagining thus far, the most recent red band trailer and this green band one show promise.  In lieu of the jarring, quick-cut action sequences from the first few trailers, this clip slows things down a bit and features some nice sweeping shots and more character-driven dialogue.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens in 3D on June 22nd.

I’ve been running cold on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but Fox has now released a new red-band trailer for the film, and I’m starting to warm up to the flick.  While it looks like half of the movie will be speed-ramped, I can now make out the action on screen, and characters are actually talking to each other.  I’m also surprised at how bloody this looks, and I’m starting to wonder if Fox will release two R-rated blockbusters this summer (the other is Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus).  Keep in mind that director Timur Bekmambetov‘s previous film, Wanted, went out in the summer of 2008 with an R-rating and raked in $341 million worldwide, although having Angelina Jolie in your movie doesn’t hurt.

Hit the jump to check out the “Red-Band” (unrated would be a more accurate description) trailer.  The film stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter opens in 3D on June 22nd.

After starring in this weekend’s Dark Shadows, Chloe Grace Moretz may return as one of the undead in the father-daughter zombie film, Maggie.  Originally picked up by producer Timur Bekmambetov as a Black List spec script by John Scott 3, Maggie deals with a zombie apocalypse in which the titular 16-year-old becomes infected.  The story further deals with the unconditional love of a father for his daughter, as Maggie remains with the family over the six-month course of her transformation.  Fittingly, The Walking Dead title/credits designer Henry Hobson will make his directorial debut on this feature.  Moretz is in negotiations to play the title role while Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) is in talks to play the father.  Maggie plans to start production this September.  Hit the jump for more on Moretz.