Steve walked the floor at the American Film Market (AFM) early this morning and managed to bring back some detailed synopses for the following films:

• Jane Got a Gun – A Western starring Natalie Portman and Michael Fassbender
• Parkland – A drama about the JFK assassination starring Billy Bob Thornton, Paul Giamatti, and Jacki Weaver.
• The Green Inferno – The next directorial project from Eli Roth.
• A Walk Among the Tombstones – A crime thriller starring Liam Neeson.
• Agent: Century 21 – An action comedy starring Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro.

Hit the jump to check out all the detailed synopses, which include production start dates.

Director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) has reportedly decided not to direct the sequel, X-Men: Days of Future Past.  At this time, there is no explanation for Vaughn’s departure, but this doesn’t mark the first change of heart in the director’s history.  He previously toyed with the notion of dropping out of helming 2010′s Kick-Ass before changing his mind and returning. He then opted out of directing the sequel, which is currently being directed by Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down).  Fox wants to keep their July 18th, 2014 release date and will have to move on landing a new director soon, especially since the original cast, including Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, are all expected to return.  Tops on their list is Bryan Singer (X-Men, X2).  Hit the jump for more. 

With just a few short weeks to go until the Revolutionary War-centric third title in the Assassin’s Creed video game series is released, the feature film adaptation is moving closer to reality.  We learned this past July that Michael Fassbender had signed on to star in and co-produce the project with Ubisoft, and now the film has found a financier and distributor in New Regency.  Hit the jump for more.

New set photos have come out from director Terrence Malick’s Untitled Film that feature more looks at star Natalie Portman and famed professional freak, Erik “The Lizardman” Sprague.  Not sure what Lizardman is doing there, but Portman is starring in a film ”set against the music scene of Austin, and tells the story of two intersecting love triangles and the obsession and betrayal that follows.”  And, as is the case in Malick’s films, any or all of these characters and scenes might be cut from the finished film at the drop of a cowboy hat.  As an added bonus, we have a set photo from director Tom Hooper’s musical feature, Les Miserables, that shows how a modern British landmark was turned into 19th century French setpiece.  Hit the jump to check them out.

Another day, another batch of blurry set photos featuring some of your favorite barely recognizable stars.  Today, we have our first look at Kick-Ass 2 star Christopher Mintz-Plasse in costume as The Motherfucker.  He doesn’t appear to be dressed in the same black-and-orange duds we saw him in at the end of Kick-Ass, but it’s hard to get a decent look in these lo-res images.  We’ve also got first looks at Michael Fassbender and Javier Bardem in Ridley Scott’s The Counselor.  I didn’t think it possible, but Bardem looks even stranger here than he does in Skyfall.  Maybe it’s just the pocket-fan.  Hit the jump to check out the set photos.

Next month, Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus will hit Blu-ray, and it will contain a slew of special features including 15 minutes of deleted scenes.  One of those scenes will let us listen to the Engineer’s voice.  You may recall [spoilers for those who haven't seen the movie yet] that the Engineer stays silent when David speaks to him (click here for what David (Michael Fassbender) said).  In the deleted scene, we hear that the Engineer speaks in a guttural voice, which fits the character’s size and build, but doesn’t feel too original.  Prometheus has a lot of problems, but letting the Engineer stay silent and mysterious isn’t one of them.

An unused track from the film has also leaked online, and it was reportedly supposed to be used during the scene where Shaw (Noomi Rapace) ventures out into a storm to retrieve the decapitated head of an Engineer.  I’m not sure if the music would have fit the scene (I only saw the movie once), but it would certainly fit a bevy of trailers for sci-fi action movies.  Hit the jump to check out the deleted scene and the unused track.  Prometheus hits Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, DVD, and digital download on October 11th.

The incredibly talented (not to mention charming) Michael Fassbender is looking to try his hand at comedy.  Variety reports that Fassbender and Domhnall Gleeson (Harry Potter) are attached to star in director Lenny Abrahamson’s rock comedy Frank.  The film is loosely based on the life of musician/comedian Chris Sievey and will center on an aspiring musician (Gleeson) “who finds himself in over his head when he joins an eccentric rock band fronted by Fassbender.”  Gleeson is probably best known for his turn as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter films, but he also had memorable parts in True Grit and Never Let Me Go.  He appears in this fall’s Dredd and Anna Karenina.

Fassbender recently wrapped a re-team with Shame director Steve McQueen on Twelve Years a Slave and is currently filming Ridley Scott’s drama The Counselor.  He’ll return for the X-Men: First Class sequel early next year, and he’s also set to produce and star in an adaptation of Assassin’s Creed.  No word on when he’ll be available to squeeze Frank into his tight schedule, but I’m interested to see the actor’s comedic chops.

Michael Fassbender is a very busy man, and he looks to be showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.  This summer he’s been filming a supporting role in Steve McQueen’s period pic Twelve Years a Slave and the lead in Ridley Scott’s star-studded drama The Counselor, he recently signed on to star in and co-produce a film iteration of Assassin’s Creed, and he’s developing a pic based on Celtic warrior Cuchulainn.  Now it appears the Shame actor is looking to add Western to his varied resume, as reports have Fassbender looking at starring opposite Natalie Portman in the incredibly promising Western Jane Got a Gun.  Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got a few casting notes to share with you.  Here they are in brief:

• Terrence Howard (Iron Man) will join A Girl and a Gun, a modern LA thriller from writer/director Filip Jan Rymsza that also stars Juno Temple, Luis Guzman and Christopher Walken.  
• Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones) has been cast in The Counselor alongside Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz, Michael Fassbender and Brad Pitt.  Ridley Scott directs from a Cormac McCarthy script.  
• Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) joins The Freezer as a kidnapping victim who is more than he appears.  The story, written by Tom Doganoglu and Shane Weisfeld, will be directed by Mikael Salomon.

Hit the jump for more details on each casting assignment.

It looks as if the Prometheus sequel is indeed moving forward.  Anticipation for Ridley Scott’s Alien-esque sci-fi pic was at a fever pitch when the film hit theaters, but reaction was enthusiastically polarized.  Some loved that Scott left many questions unanswered and tackled large ideas, while others were distracted by the script’s plot holes and ridiculously inept scientists.  I fell somewhere in between, but I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t interested in seeing where Scott plans to go for the follow-up.

Fresh off the film’s healthy box office take (especially for an R-rated sci-fi movie), Fox has now revealed that they are actively moving forward with the Prometheus sequel, and screenwriter Damon Lindelof may not be returning this time around.  Hit the jump for more.

Here is a bit of end-of-the-week casting news for you at a glance:

• John Goodman (The Big Lebowski) and Eric Andre (The Invention of Lying) have joined the cast of director Shawn Levy’s The Internship.  The comedy reunites Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two out of work salesmen who reinvent themselves by taking an internship at a tech company.
• Rosie Perez (Pineapple Express) has joined the stellar cast of director Ridley Scott’s The Counselor.  Following the tale of a lawyer who takes to drug trafficking to score some extra cash, The Counselor also stars Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Dean Norris.

Hit the jump for more casting details.

Last fall, we reported that Sony Pictures was set to adapt Ubisoft’s popular video game, Assassin’s Creed, but that the project was stalling due to Ubisoft’s demands for control.  The negotiations between the studios were put on hold as Ubisoft looked to develop the film independently.  However, the assassination looks to be back on in a big way as Michael Fassbender is set to star in and co-produce the flick.  And just like that, I’m interested in an adaptation of Assassin’s Creed.

Hit the jump for more.  Fassbender will be seen next year in Steve McQueen‘s Twelve Years a Slave and Ridley Scott‘s The Counselor.

Yet another interesting tidbit from that sci-fi film that people are still debating has come to light.  We recently got a look at an unseen alien from Prometheus courtesy of some behind-the-scenes images, and we also shared a couple of featurettes that reveal how the opening sequence of Ridley Scott’s thriller was created.  Now some information has come to light that answers one of the more pressing questions audiences were left with when the film ended: what exactly did David say to the Engineer towards the end of the film?

Hit the jump to find out.  Obviously spoilers for Prometheus follow.

One of the most anticipated films of the year has now finally been unveiled to the moviegoing public, and boy is there a whole lot of discussion going on.  Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was met with a passionately mixed-to-positive reaction, with those on both sides of the fence ardently stating their case for why Prometheus is awesome and/or terrible.  Interviews with many of the key creative people involved—including Scott and co-writer Damon Lindelof—began to hit the interwebs days before the films release, and I’m assuming a good many of you (like me) steered clear of any and all Prometheus related interviews for fear of spoiling the film before seeing it yourself.  As such, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

Those who saw the film were probably left with quite a few unanswered questions.  It’s no secret that Scott really wants to make a follow-up to Prometheus in which some of those questions are further explored and answered, so we’ve rounded up what we know so far about said possible Prometheus sequel.  Hit the jump for a recap.  Obviously MASSIVE SPOILERS for Prometheus follow.

With Prometheus now playing, 20th Century Fox held a massive press junket in London last week where I was able to interview most of the cast and director Ridley Scott.  Here’s are my print interviews with Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Michael Fassbender and Scott, and here are my on camera interviews with Charlize Theron and Guy Pearce, Logan Marshall-Green and Damon Lindelof.  For more on the film, here’s four clips and five minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and Matt’s review.

During my on camera interview with Fassbender and Rapace, they talked about their reaction to the finished film, the amazing production design by Arthur Max, deleted scenes, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.