Opening on Christmas Day is director Tom Hooper’s fantastic adaptation of Les Miserables.  Loaded with great performances and top notch filmmaking, Les Mis is absolutely a contender for all the year end awards and it would shock me if Anne Hathaway doesn’t win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her incredible work as Fantine.  Her one take rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” was incredible and it’s the type of performance that’s unforgettable.  For more on the film, here are five clips and all our previous coverage.

At the recent NYC press day for the film I got to participate in a press conference with Hathaway, Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette), Eddie Redmayne (Marius), and Samantha Barks (Éponine).  They talked about making the film, how they prepared for their roles, their characters, singing live on set, and so much more.  Hit the jump to either listen to the press conference or read the transcript.

The 2013 Sundance Film Festival just announced an absolutely stacked lineup of films for their Premieres program, and we’ve got some new/first images from a few of the included films to share.  Briefly:

• The Look of Love – Directed by Michael Winterbottom, written by Matt Greenhaigh, and starring Steve Coogan, Anna Friel, Imogen Poots, and Tamsin Egerton.
• Lovelace – Directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, written by Andy Bellin, and starring Amanda Seyfried, Peter Sarsgaard, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, James Franco, and Sharon Stone.
• Prince Avalanche – Written and directed by David Gordon Green, starring Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.
• Stoker – Directed by Park Chan-wook, written by Wentworth Miller, and starring Mia Wasikowska, Matthew Goode, Dermot Mulroney, Jacki Weaver, and Nicole Kidman.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.  The 2013 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 17 – 27th.

And the barrage of marketing material for the Oscar hopefuls continues. Two highly anticipated December films—Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty—recently made their screening debuts, and on the heels of much awards buzz we’ve seen a number of materials from said pics hit the web over the past two weeks.  Earlier today we got a look at five extended clips from director Tom Hooper’s musical adaptation Les Miserables, and now Universal has released 18 high-resolution images from the film.  The production value on this thing continues to look fantastic, and I’m eager to experience the 2+ hours of song when the pic hits theaters.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Anne Hathaway.  Les Miserables opens on Christmas Day.

Having just finished his cut of the film at 2 a.m., Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper (A King’s Speech) presented the first screening of Les Miserables to a New York audience this afternoon. Not since 2002′s Chicago has a musical feature been a serious Oscar contender for Best Picture, but early reactions indicate that the trend could change this year. Each musical number was followed by raucous applause with the principal cast taking the stage to a standing ovation at the end of the film. It looks like Christmas has come early for the cast and crew of Les Miserables. 

The film stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Les Miserables opens on December 25th. Hit the jump to read some audience reactions.

A new trailer for the 20th Century Fox animated film Epic has been released.  The story tells of a hidden land deep in the forest where the battle between the forces of good and evil continues under our very noses.  A teenage girl is magically transported into their secret universe by shrinking down to their size, where she must combine forces with an assortment of colorful characters in order to save both worlds.  The pic still looks a little like Ferngully 2013, but I’m not entirely sure that’s a bad thing.  There’s more humor in this trailer than in the first, and the “miniaturized” story device should provide for some fun set pieces in the forest.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film features the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Beyonce Knowles, Pitbull, Jason Sudeikis, Steven Tyler, Aziz Ansari, Blake Anderson, and Judah Friedlander.  Epic opens in 3D on May 24, 2013.

Director Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserables is sure to have audiences leaving the theater humming tunes from the musical, but the film also looks to be a visual feast as well.  The production design and costumes look fantastic in the few pieces of footage we’ve seen in the trailers, and now famed photographer Annie Leibovitz has worked her magic with the main cast.  The result is a batch of gorgeous and moving images of Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Isabelle Allen, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Helena Bonham Carter in character.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  Les Miserables opens in theaters Christmas Day.

A new full-length trailer for director Tom Hooper’s musical adaptation Les Miserables has been released.  This trailer highlights quite a few of the film’s musical numbers, especially showcasing Hooper’s method of recording the actors’ vocal performances live on set rather than in a studio.  The bare performances go hand-in-hand with Hooper’s gorgeous yet grounded set design and atypical camera work, and it should be interesting to see how audiences respond to this approach.  I remain impressed by this new footage and can’t wait to see the full film on a giant screen.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Les Miserables opens on December 25th.

Two new TV spots for director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) highly anticipated musical adaptation Les Miserables have been released.  In addition to inducing even more chills with the film’s music, we get a peek at new footage including some impressive effects work done to enrich a few backgrounds.  Running at 2 hours and 32 minutes long without end credits, fans are sure to be plenty satisfied by Hooper’s lush yet grounded iteration of the wildly popular musical and I’m further encouraged by the visuals displayed in these here TV spots.

Hit the jump to check out both the 30 second and 90 second new TV spots.  The film stars Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, and Sacha Baron Cohen.  Les Miserables opens on December 25th.

We’ve got a couple more casting stories to share this afternoon, straight from the American Film Market (AFM).  First up, Amanda Seyfried and Patrick Dempsey are set to team up for the romantic comedy Wonderful Tonight.  The “feel good” story centers on a wealthy bachelor and a free-spirited woman whose one-night stand results in a child.  The Wrap reports that Christine Jeffs (Sunshine Cleaning) will direct from a script by J. Mills Goodloe (Ride).

Hit the jump for casting news concerning Ray Liotta in a film noir.

Director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) musical adaptation of Les Miserables is one of my most anticipated films of the fall season, and now four gorgeous characters posters have gone online to tease me even further.  The one-sheets show off the fantastic ensemble that Hooper has put together to bring Les Mis to life, with some great visual trickery used to bring out each actor’s eyes.  I assume Universal will be relaseing plenty more character posters in the coming weeks, but right now we’ve got Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Russell Crowe (Javert), Anne Hathaway (Fantine), and Amanda Seyfried (Cosette).

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Helena Bonham Carter.  Les Miserables opens on Christmas Day.

A new TV Spot has gone online for Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserables.  Like the trailer, it’s set to Fantine (Anne Hathaway) singing “I Dreamed a Dream”, but this spot features new footage, and all of which looks good.  The only curious thing about the trailer, the behind-the-scenes featurette, set photos, official images, and now this TV spot is that none of them have showed Thénardiers (played by Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter).  Would Hooper really cut out one of the musical’s most memorable numbers, “Master of the House”?

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot.  The film also stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Samantha Barks.  Les Miserables opens December 25th.

A new trailer for director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) musical adaptation Les Miserables has been released.  At over four-and-a-half minutes long, this behind-the-scenes featurette shows off new footage, video from the set and commentary from the cast and crew regarding the heightened emotional effect of singing live on camera.  Rather than the actors trying to match a predetermined meter for their songs, each of them sets their own pace with each and every take.  It’s damned effective (I get chills every time I hear Anne Hathaway’s part) and this new trailer will make you want to see the whole film even more.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Hugh Jackman (Jean Valjean), Russell Crowe (Javert), Amanda Seyfried (Cosette), Eddie Redmayne (Marius), Samantha Barks (Éponine), Sacha Baron Cohen (Thénardier), and Helena Bonham Carter (Madame Thénardier).  Les Miserables opens on December 25th.

The first trailer and poster for the ensemble romantic comedy The Big Wedding have been released.  The film centers on a divorced couple (Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton) who are forced to pretend like they’re still married when their adopted son’s (Ben Barnes) deeply religious biological mother comes to town for his wedding.  Zaniness ensues.  Though the involvement of Katherine Heigl puts this one immediately on iffy ground, the highlight of the trailer is the chemistry between De Niro and Keaton. If the film focuses mainly on their relationship, we might be in for a fairly amusing rom-com.  That said, the clip definitely plays up the farcical tone and “wacky antics” that occur when everything goes awry, so I’m not exactly holding my breath.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Justin Zackham, the film also stars Amanda Seyfried, Susan Sarandon, Topher Grace, and Robin Williams.  The Big Wedding opens on October 26th.

The first trailer for the animated feature Epic, from 20th Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios, has landed online.  The story tells of a hidden land deep in the forest where the battle between the forces of good and evil continues under our very noses.  A teenage girl is magically transported into their secret universe where she must combine forces with an assortment of colorful characters in order to save both worlds.  In this first trailer at least, the film comes off as a more serious version of Ferngully.  The visuals are pretty great, but the juxtaposition of the super important-sounding Snow Patrol song seemed a bit off.  That said, I’m interested to see how the makers of Ice Age and Rio tackle this fantastical story, especially in the shadow of this year’s Rise of the Guardians.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Chris Wedge (Ice Age), the film features the voices of Beyonce Knowles, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried and Johnny Knoxville.  Epic opens in 3D on May 24th, 2013.

Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios have announced the all-star voice cast for their new 3D CG action-adventure comedy, Epic.  The film, from the creators of Ice Age and Rio, will feature Beyonce, Aziz Ansari, Colin Farrell, Josh Hutcherson, Amanda Seyfried and Johnny Knoxville.  The story tells of a hidden land deep in the forest where the battle between the forces of good and evil continues under our very noses.  A teenage girl is magically transported into their secret universe where she must combine forces with an assortment of colorful characters in order to save both worlds.  In addition to the stellar voices behind the characters, Epic will be directed by Chris Wedge who won an Academy Award for his 1999 short, Bunny and co-director of 2002′s Oscar-nominated  Ice Age.  Epic will transport into theaters May 24, 2013.  Hit the jump for more.