Director Steven Soderbergh is currently shooting his next film, Contagion, in Chicago with stars Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kate Winslet.  But from the sound of it, Contagion may be among Soderbergh’s last endeavors as a filmmaker.  Damon explains:

“After this movie [Soderbergh and I] are doing Liberace next summer with Michael Douglas, and then he might do one more movie after that with George [Clooney], and then after that he’s retiring.”

More after the jump:

Warner Bros. has released their preview kit for 2011 and along with it they’re providing the first look at Sherlock Holmes II, The Hangover Part II, and Horrible Bosses. There’s also images for The Rite, Unknown, Hall Pass, Red Riding Hood, Sucker Punch, Born to Be Wild, Something Borrowed, Apparition, Final Destination 5, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  Hit the jump to check out the high-resolution synopses and images from these films plus synopses  for Crazy Stupid Love, Green Lantern, Dolphin Tale, Contagion, Happy Feet 2, and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island.

Universal is moving ahead with the Jason Bourne franchise and they’re doing it without Matt Damon.  As we previously reported, Tony Gilroy will direct The Bourne Legacy from his own script and the movie will be Bourne-less.  While initial reports seemed the show that Damon was miffed at his exclusion, in a recent interview with EW, he explains that he thinks it’s a smart move and it opens the door for a future Bourne movie directed by Paul Greengrass (who helmed The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum).  Said Damon:

As I understand it, Jason Bourne is alive in the world that Tony’s going to create. I don’t appear in it, but it’s very much that world. As far as Paul and I are concerned, as long as there’s room for us to come in and do another one, we’re thrilled.

Hit the jump for more on what Damon had to say regarding his schedule concerning Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and Liberace biopic, and Cameron Crowe’s We Built a Zoo.

We have a few bits of casting news for you this morning.  First up, veteran actor Philip Baker Hall (Magnolia) has joined Mark Waters’ (Mean Girls) family comedy Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  Hall joins Jim Carrey who will star in the title role as a man who inherits six penguins which eventually help teach him valuable life lessons.  Both Carla Gugino and Ophelia Lovibond were recently cast in the film as Mr. Popper’s wife and personal assistant respectively.  As for Hall, per TheWrap, he will play Franklin, “a deep-pocketed, no-nonsense investor who agrees to finance the Carrey’s wacky schemes.”  Penguins is currently in production in New York.  Hall plays alongside Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst in the upcoming film  All Good Things.  In spite of his prevalent acting career, he’ll always be “Bookman” the Library cop from Seinfeld to me.

Hit the jump to read about Sanaa Lathan’s (Love & Basketball) new role in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion.

At a certain point, you have to guess that someone might make a movie just about the casting for Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film Contagion. Bryan Cranston and Demetri Martin will join Jennifer Ehle and Elliott Gould as the latest additions to the virus thriller, according to The Playlist, and they will find their place among the already ridiculous cast. The quartet joins Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, John Hawkes, Chin Han, and Josie Ho. Meanwhile, we have some updates on the Gina Carano-centered espionage thriller previously titled Knockout and why Contagion won’t be filmed in 3D; join me after the break for full details.

Contagion didn’t really need anything more to intrigue.  Director Stephen Soderbergh is re-teaming with The Informant! scribe Scott Z. Burns, with a cast that includes Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Jude Law for his first 3D movie, about a viral outbreak.  That’s already, like, seventy-eight degrees of awesome.  But according to Variety, Warner Bros. has added another degree by signing Laurence Fishburne to co-star. [Update–The Playlist reported on Fisburne in Contation back in February and in March reported that he was playing “Dr. Ellis Cheever, the head of the Center for Disease Control.”  This one is shaping up to be excellent when it premieres on October 21, 2011.

Hit the jump for casting details on Gillian Anderson in sequel Johnny English Reborn, and Hina Abdullah in 30 Minutes or Less.

Even after the onslaught of release dates we saw yesterday, it turns out Warner Bros. has more to add to the pile.  The studio has now slated release dates for a ton of movies in 2011.  Here’s the list:

• The Factory 1/28/11
• Unknown White Male (2011) 1/7/11
• Hall Pass 2/25/11
• Horrible Bosses 7/29/11
• The Rite 1/28/11
• Born to Be Wild (IMAX) 4/8/11
• Red Riding Hood 4/22/11
• Late Bloomer 8/12/11
• Final Destination 5 8/26/11
• The Apparition 9/9/11
• Journey to the Center of the Earth 2 (3D) 9/23/11
• Contagion (3D) 10/21/11
• New Year’s Eve 12/9/11

For more details on the WB movies coming in 2011, hit the jump.

Yesterday I was able to participate in a small roundtable interview with Matt Damon for his new movie Green Zone.  While I’ll have the full interview posted closer to release, we were able to get updates on a ton of his upcoming projects like the Coen Brothers True Grit, Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion, the Gary Ross’s Robert Kennedy project (Damon would play Kennedy), Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter, playing a New York Yankees pitcher with Ben Affleck, and Liberace.  And on top of updates on his future projects, he talked about being nominated for an Oscar on Invictus, and how he’s incredibly excited to direct his first feature.

If you’d like to hear more…hit the jump:

Matt Damon has been cast to play Robert F. Kennedy in a biopic about the late politician.  Deadline reports that the film will be based on the Evan Thomas biography His Life. Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) will direct from a screenplay by Steven Knight (Eastern Promises).  The biopic will span Kennedy’s ascent from his brother’s shadow to a powerful nation figure before being assassinated during his 1968 campaign for President.

This may finally be Damon’s shot at a long-deserved Oscar.  Obviously, I haven’t read the script and a million things can happen between now and the finished film, but on paper, you have a respected, talented, and bankable actor playing a larger-than-life American icon.  The Academy becomes filled with tiny orgasms over that kind of project.  While Damon was nominated this year for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of South African rugby star Francois Pienaar in Clint Eastwood’s Invictus, that doesn’t even begin to compare to playing Robert F. Kennedy.  Damon is the goods and RFK’s story is worth telling so it falls to Ross and Knight to live up to the potential of this project.

Damon is currently set to star in Contagion for Steven Soderbergh, True Grit for the Coen Brothers, Hereafter for Clint Eastwood, and will next be seen in Paul Greengrass’ Green Zone, which hits theaters on March 12th.

We have a few quick casting notes for you today.  First up, writer-director Duncan Jones revealed via his Twitter feed that Jeffrey Wright has join the cast of his upcoming film Source Code.  The film follows a soldier (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) who signs up for an experimental government program that places his consciousness into the body of a civilian who experiences a train bombing. Gyllenhaal’s character must live and re-live the bombing until he finds out who set it up.  Vera Farmiga and Michelle Monaghan co-star.

The other brief bit of casting news is The Playlist reporting that Laurence Fisburne is in talks to play a “major role” in the star-powered cast of Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming film, Contagion.  The film follows an outbreak across four continents and is told from the perspective of various characters with intersecting plotlines.  Contagion was picked up yesterday by Warner Bros. and Participant for $60 million, which is a steal when you consider that the film already stars Matt Damon, Martion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kate Winslet.

Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, Contagion, has quickly garnered quite a cast and now has a buyer in Warner Bros. to help bring the quickly-spreading film to life, according to Deadline. The film was in a bidding war, with Summit Entertainment (Twilight) falling short, and Warner will be helped by Participant Media, who is co-financing the $60 million budget. The eclectic cast already assembled seems to continue to grow, as it was announced yesterday that Gwyneth Paltrow would join Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Jude Law.

If Soderbergh and that cast alone doesn’t grab your attention, join me after the break to see why the film brings screenplay writing chops to the table as well.

Deadline reports and The Playlist confirms that Gwyneth Paltrow will join Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Martin Cotillard, and Jude Law in Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion.  The film, reported the be budgeted at $60 million, is told from multiple and intertwined perspectives and revolves around the outbreak of deadly virus taking place on four continents.  No word yet if the film will take a page from Outbreak and have a character going to someone’s house to tranq a monkey.

Soderbergh and screenwriter Scott Z. Burns had discussed the idea but it was catalyzed when someone sneezed on the set of The Informant! Someone sneezed and a movie not only goes into production, but it takes priority over Soderbergh’s planned biopic of Liberace starring Michael Douglas and Damon (which would be Damon’s sixth collaboration with Soderbergh).

The Playlist reports that Steven Soderbergh, the hardest working man in show business, has once again lengthened his to-do list.  Soderbergh will re-team with The Informant! scripter Scott Z. Burns for Contagion, an “action-thriller about the outbreak of a deadly virus.”  The film doesn’t have a distribution deal yet, but with such heavy hitters as Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Marion Cotillard attached to star, you can expect a bidding war for the rights.  More on the origins of Contagion and the rest of Soderbergh’s slate after the break.