A new trailer for Academy Award-winning writer Geoffrey Fletcher’s (Precious) first directing venture Violet & Daisy has been released.  The film centers on two young female assassins, played by Saiorse Ronan (Atonement) and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), who set out for what they think will be a quick and easy hit, but turns into something much more complicated when their target throws a wrench in the works.  The marketing and posters for the film thus far have seemed to be going for that pulpy and modern pop take on young women in today’s society, like Spring Breakers, but the trailer gives off a tone that seems a bit muddled.  It has elements of quirky comedy and a more serious and dire consequences drama, but not a clear vision that can be derived just from the trailer.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read Matt’s review from TIFF 2011.  The film also stars James Gandolfini, Danny Trejo, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Cody Horn.  Violet & Daisy will be released on June 7th.

Saturday Night Live is closing out their 2012-2013 season strong, bringing back three SNL veterans to host.  Previously announced for the May 4th show was Zach Galifianakis, who has The Hangover Part III coming out next month as well.  Galifianakis has hosted SNL before, and I can only hope he brings out his chops singing Annie again.  SNL has had plenty of opening monologues that involved singing this year, but I can’t help but think that Galifianakis is going to have a stand out one regardless.  The musical guest will be Of Monsters and Men.  Hit the jump for more on the episodes hosted by Kristen Wiig and Ben Affleck.

Here are today’s casting updates:

• Kevin Macdonald’s (The Last King of Scotland) new feature Black Sea, a hot ticket item coming up for Cannes, has Jude Law set to star.  Focus Features has snapped up worldwide rights to the film.

• Nicki Minaj will jump from her American Idol hosting duties to the big screen, making her live-action debut opposite Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, and Nickolaj Coster-Waldau in the Nick Cassavetes-directed The Other Woman.

• Julia Stiles (The Bourne Ultimatum), Scott Speedman (Last Resort), and Stephen Rea (V for Vendetta) will star in the supernatural thriller Out of the Dark, from Spanish director Lluis Quilez.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

While The Avengers 2 is still very much in the pre-production stage and we haven’t heard much movement recently on the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series, everyone will have their Joss Whedon fix very soon.  The UK trailer for his new movie, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, was just released, showing a bit more of the film than the first trailer.  Much Ado tells the story of two stubborn individuals, Beatrice and Benedick, and their haphazard journey to finding love with each other that involves a ridiculous amount of deception and wit.  This one gives glimpses into the interwoven drama with jabs of comedy Whedon is more known for, and I for one am very excited to see him take on an updated but understated version of this classic.  I like that he’s kept the original text, but is playing with the tone and creating a new feel for it.

The cast includes many of Whedon’s mainstays, such as Amy Adams, Alexis Denisof, Clark Gregg, Sean Maher, Nathan Fillion, Fran Kranz, Tom Lenk, Reed Diamond, and Ashley Johnson.  I love seeing Whedon bring back his beloved roster of actors, and I have no doubt that the combination of the cast he’s chosen and his distinctive style of filmmaking and directing will provide something fun and entertaining.  The film is set for a June 7th release.  Hit the jump for the trailer.

Here are a few casting announcements:

• Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) will star alongside Ryan Reynolds in the psychological thriller Voices, with a script from Michael R. Perry (Paranormal Activity) and Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) on board to direct.

• Kate Hudson and Omar Sy (The Intouchables) have joined James Franco in the Henrik Genz (Terribly Happy) helmed film Good People, which will see Genz making his English-language debut.

Hit the jump for more on each of the projects.

While Rebel Wilson’s hosting gig at the MTV Movie Awards this past Sunday may not have been a hit with everyone, her performance with fellow Pitch Perfect cast members must have struck a chord.  Universal announced today during its presentation at CinemaCon that sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit is now in development for a planned 2015 release, and original writer Kay Cannon (30 Rock) is back on board as well.  Pitch Perfect focused on the world of collegiate a capella groups, detailing the struggles of an all-female group, the Barden Bellas, who desperately want to redeem themselves at the national championships.

The cast featured Wilson, Anna Kendrick, Anna Camp, Skylar Astin, Brittany Snow, Ester Dean, Alexis Knapp, Hanna Mae Lee, and Ben Platt.  No word on if the entire cast, director Jason Moore, or producer and cast member Elizabeth Banks are returning, but as development progresses, we can expect those announcements to be released.  Hit the jump for more.

It looks like a Veronica Mars movie will be coming to a theaters near you in 2014.  After a record-breaking month of Kickstarter donations, the feature adaptation of Rob Thomas’ (Party Down) beloved cult TV series has the funding to go into production.  The original goal of $2 million was surpassed in just the first day, but Thomas himself had a personal hope that they would reach $5 million by the end of the month.  While not everyone was fully behind the idea of using Kickstarter to fund the film, it is undeniable that this project shows the power of the fans and viewers.  If there is a dedicated following behind a TV show or film, they would be willing to move mountains and open up their wallets to see unfinished stories get that last chapter.

The Veronica Mars movie has commitments from stars Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring, but hopefully we can also see other cast members such as Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen, and Tina Majorino in the mix.  Hit the jump for more on the project. 

It looks like Rob Cohen is still managing to wrangle in some projects, despite having had less than stellar turnouts for his recent ventures with Alex Cross and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  Word now comes that Cohen will direct the action/adventure film Crash Bandits.  The pic comes from a script by Michael Stokes and is being made by Nu Image/Millienium, and will tell the story of a rivalry between two competing treasure hunters.  While the premise sounds somewhat interesting and Cohen does have a history of exploring similar projects that mix the hyper-real with a streak of action and adventure, I still remain skeptical as to whether or not this is going to actually be pulled off well.  Hit the jump for more on the project.

Director Bryan Singer may have just given X-Men fans a sneak peek of the new look for Beast in X-Men: Days of Future Past.  The story of the film will include not only the characters seen in Matthew Vaughn’s successful X-Men: First Class, but will also incorporate a huge cast of characters from Singer’s original X-Men trilogy.  While the exact details of the film have been under wraps for the most part, the plot from the mythology involves Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat traveling back in time to warn past X-Men of an event that could rock the globe.

Singer recently tweeted an image of what appears to be concept art for Beast, and the design is a bit different from the one seen in X-Men: First Class.  Hit the jump for more, including the image.

The first footage from the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel Under the Dome has been released.  As probably the most anticipated new show coming out this summer, the first look includes scenes from the episodes as well as some behind-the-scenes interviews with King, the creative team, and several of the actors.  Not too much has been revealed about the adaptation, but from what could be gathered during their WonderCon  panel and this first look, it looks like this could very well be a riveting, suspenseful, and imaginative interpretation of the novel.

King himself has been very involved, but also vocal about his support for the show to deviate from the novel and explore other avenues with the characters and the story.  With Brian K. Vaughan (Lost) at the helm of the show and a talented cast that includes Rachelle Lefevre, Mike Vogel, Dean Norris, Britt Robertson, and Keith Harris, I’m expecting a solid and gripping thirteen episodes.  The series will premiere sometime in June.  Hit the jump for the first look.

The first teaser trailer for True Blood has hit the Internet.  While the show hasn’t recently been receiving the critical acclaim that had with its first couple of seasons, it’ll be interesting to see where the show goes now that Alan Ball is no longer the showrunner.  The midseason filming departure of Mark Hudis may not bode very well for the upcoming season, but the trailer itself does present an eerie and unsettling vibe from the fallout of the season five finale that could prove worth exploring.

The shorter episode order for this season could be HBO’s way of weening off of True Blood.  Series star Alexander Skarsgard has certainly used the show as a launching pad for his career in film, and Anna Paquin has been successfully navigating features since her Oscar-winning childhood debut.  True Blood may be able to squeeze out a seventh season, but I don’t personally see it moving beyond that.  With the premiere of the sixth season of the HBO show coming up on June 16th, expect more teasers and promos to be coming throughout the spring.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.

Today’s casting updates include:

• Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) joins Nick Jonas, of Jonas Brothers fame, and Isabel Lucas (Immortals) in Careful What You Wish For.  Elizabeth Allen (Aquamarine) will be directing from a script by Chris Frisina and Gregg Hurwitz.

• Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) has been added to the already stellar cast of David O. Russell’s untitled Abscam movie.  The rest of the cast includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, and Louis CK.

• Katherine Heigl and Patrick Wilson are set to headline the dark comedy North of Hell. Anthony Burns (Skateland) will be writing and directing.

Hit the jump for more on each casting.

Three new “Shorty Shorts” from the animated franchise Cars popped up on Disney’s website today. The original film and its sequel show the adventures of Lightning McQueen, a race car who gets stuck in the town of Radiator Springs, and the friends he makes there. Each of the shorts comprises a “tale from Radiator Springs,” giving the viewer insight into more of the day-to-day goings on of the fictional town from the films. While the first Cars was a big success, Cars 2 wasn’t received as warmly. By putting out these shorts, Disney could be hoping to reach out to a new young fanbase, seeing as how Cars came out in 2006. I doubt that there is a Cars 3 in the works due to the underperformance of the sequel, but keeping an interest in the franchise might lead to a possible TV series or other project that could could build up some revenue.  Hit the jump for the shorts.

Three breakout comedy stars have added new projects to their rosters:

• Dave Franco (21 Jump Street) and Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Superbad) were just added to the impressive cast of Townies, also featuring Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, and possibly Rose Byrne.  The comedy will be directed by Nicholas Stoller (The Five-Year Engagement).

• Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) is in talks to join Melissa McCarthy and Bill Murray in Ted Melfi’s St. Vincent De Van Nuys  After impressive turns with Girls and This is 40, this would see him re-teaming with his Bridesmaids costar McCarthy.

Hit the jump for more on each casting.

A reunion might be in the future for Training Day director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington.  Fuqua, who has his latest directorial effort, Olympus Has Fallen, debuting tomorrow, is in early talks to direct Washington in the thriller The Equalizer.  The film is based on the 1980s crime TV series of the same name and written by Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2).  Sony Pictures is looking to The Equalizer as a possible franchise for Washington, who most recently received an Oscar nomination for playing a beleaguered pilot in Flight.   

While the film deviates from the original series by creating a spin on the story catered to Washington’s talents, teaming him up with Fuqua again could lead to another intense and captivating performance similar to Washington’s in Training Day, which nabbed him a Best Actor Oscar.  Hit the jump for more about the project.