It’s hard to believe the remake of the 1947 comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is finally in front of cameras.  The film has been in the works for well over a decade and gone through a multitude of bankable lead actors including Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen, but Ben Stiller turned out to be the last man standing, and not only is he starring in the flick, but he’s also directing it.  The plot centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader (Stiller) who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  While we previously saw Stiller and co-star Adam Scott playing with a Stretch Armstrong doll, the latest photo is even stranger as it shows a nearly unrecognizable Stiller in old age makeup alongside Kristen Wiig.  I’m not sure where this scene is in the movie (I haven’t seen the Danny Kaye original), but kudos to the makeup department.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is due out December 25, 2013.

We’ve got just a few more release date shuffles to share on this unofficial “Release Date Thursday.”  Following release date news for the X-Men: First Class sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Robopocalypse, as well as Independence Day 3D, here’s a brief rundown of a few more dates:

• Disney’s Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp has been moved from May 31st to July 3rd, 2013.
• Marvel’s Thor 2 is shifting slightly from November 15th to November 8th.
• The sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been pushed back to August 16th from March 15th, 2013.
• The Ben Stiller-directed remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will land on Christmas Day, 2013.
• The currently untitled comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig has been set for April 5th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of the aforementioned films.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

A new trailer for director Akiva Schaffer’s (Hot Rod) sci-fi comedy The Watch (previously titled Neighborhood Watch) has been released.  The film stars Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Ben Stiller and Richard Ayoade as a group of neighbors who form a local neighborhood watch group and end up stumbling onto an alien plot to destroy the world.  This trailer is essentially an all-ages version of the red band trailer that was released a few weeks ago, with a few bits of new footage interspersed throughout; we also get our first look at the aliens.  This trailer has a few laughs, but as we saw with the red band cut the pic is a pretty hard-R so it’s hard to get a gist of the comedy when it’s cleaned up.  That said, I’m really looking forward to seeing this ensemble of great comedic talents play off of each other with the filter taken off.  Moreover, Hot Rod is wonderfully underrated and I’m eager to see Schaffer bring his brand of weird to a big commercial comedy.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Billy Crudup, Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun. The Watch opens July 27th.

We’ve got a couple of set photos to share this morning.  First up is Scarlett Johansson in Hitchcock. Last month we got our first look at Anthony Hopkins in his full, uncanny makeup as legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock for the film.  Directed by Sacha Gervasi, the pic follows Hitchcock through the troubled production of Psycho, and we now have our first look at Johansson as the film’s “star” Janet Leigh.  It’s not the best image, but Johansson does certainly look the part.  This project is incredibly high on my most anticipated list, especially with a stacked cast that includes Helen Mirren, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston and more.

Additionally, we’ve got our first images of Ben Stiller and a fake beareded-Adam Scott fighting over a Stretch Armstrong doll for some reason in the remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Stiller is directing the project, which also stars Kristin Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, and Patton Oswalt.  Hit the jump to check out the images.

The comedy previously known as Neighborhood Watch now has a new red band trailer and a new title.  To distance itself from the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, director Akiva Schaffer’s (Hot Rod) sci-fi comedy is now simply titled The Watch.  Nevertheless, this trailer exactly what I was hoping would come out of a Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Ben Stiller team-up.  Thankfully, it appears they’re going full-R on this one based on the a high number of f-bombs and dick jokes thrown into this red band clip.  The film stars Vaughn, Hill, Stiller and Richard Ayoade as a group of neighbors who form a local watch group and end up stumbling onto an alien plot to destroy the world.

I’m a huge fan of Hot Rod, and it looks like Schaffer is bringing some of the same oddball humor to this film. The sci-fi aspect is played way up in this trailer, and I especially love how the characters react after stumbling upon an unknown alien weapon.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Billy Crudup, Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun. The Watch opens July 27th.

Ben Stiller is assembling quite the cast for his remake of the 1947 comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Stiller is directing and starring in the pic, which centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn are all set to star, and now Deadline reports that Sean Penn is in talks to appear in a small yet pivotal role as a photographer.

This is Stiller’s first directorial effort since 2008’s smash hit Tropic Thunder, and I’m really excited about the cast that he’s put together.  Not only is every actor a terrific comedian, but they all have proven dramatic chops as well.  Penn will be seen later this year in Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) period crime drama The Gangster Squad and he’s being courted to star in one Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Flim-Flam Man and The Revenant.  Production on Walter Mitty begins soon in New York and Iceland.

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you this evening.  Briefly:

• On the Road – New character posters showcasing Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund from director Walter Salles’ adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel.
• Rock of Ages – An ensemble poster from the 80s rock musical starring Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Alec Baldwin, and Russell Brand.
• Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter – A new poster from the blood-filled twist on the story of our nation’s 16th President.  Benjamin Walker, Rufus Sewell, and Anthony Mackie star.
• Neighborhood Watch – A new poster for the sci-fi comedy starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade as bored men who join a neighborhood watch group for fun.

Hit the jump to check out the new posters.

We’ve got some new casting updates for you today, including a found-footage film tracking Bigfoot and a new project from Ben Stiller. Here they are at a glance:

• The Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez has added Dora Madison Burge, Samuel Davis, Roger Edwards, Chris Osborn and Denise Williamson to his Bigfoot found-footage film, Exists.
• Kathryn Hahn (Wanderlust) has joined Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Hit the jump for more on both projects. [Update: We've been sent the full press release for Exists, which is now included after the jump.]

A new trailer and poster for Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted have gone online.  The Madagascar movies aren’t going to redefine animation or family films, but I still giggled thoughtout this trailer.  I found the first movie surprisingly enjoyable, but the sequel was a letdown.  Judging by the trailer, Europe’s Most Wanted looks like a bit of silly fun, and I’m absolutely fine with that.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and check out the poster. The film features the voices of Ben Stiller, David Schwimmer, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Jessica Chastain and Martin Short. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted opens on June 8th.

Just the other day we got a look at a teaser poster for the comedy Neighborhood Watch, and now a teaser trailer has hit the web. The film stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade who are in over their heads as a group of neighbors who form a local watch group and end up stumbling onto an alien plot to destroy the world. This trailer is very much a teaser, as it’s mostly just the four leads riding around in a minivan blasting Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. As if the cast wasn’t enough to entice me to see Neighborhood Watch, The Lonely Island member and Hot Rod director Akiva Schaffer is at the helm. If this movie is even half as goofy and twisted as Hot Rod, I think we’ll be in for a good time.

Hit the jump to check out the teaser. The film also stars Billy Crudup, Will Forte, Rosemarie DeWitt, and Nicholas Braun. Neighborhood Watch opens July 27th. [Update: We've added images and the UK poster]

We’re only a few short days away from the 84th Academy Awards, which means all that prognosticating and “fake controversy” business will finally come to an end on Monday morning. Until next year, that is. Nevertheless, a number of presenters have been announced over the past few weeks and we figured we’d bring you a full list of all the pretty celebrities scheduled to appear during Sunday night’s telecast. Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Emma Stone, The Muppets and the leading ladies from Bridesmaids will (hopefully) be bringing the funny, and today the Academy announced that last year’s winners in the acting categories will return to present. I really, really liked the way the awards were given out a few years back with past winners speaking directly to each of the nominees, so I’m hoping Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Natalie Portman, and Colin Firth will be doing something similar.

Hit the jump to read the full list of presenters and performers, and be sure to check back this weekend to see how yours truly and Matt Goldberg think the awards will stack up in our predictions feature. Billy Crystal hosts the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26th.

“Men on a mission” films and the heist genre (arguably the same thing) in general are virtually impossible to screw up. Even Brett Ratner, a director that (perhaps unfairly) gets beaten up regularly for the insensitive things he says in the press, and his party-boy image can deliver a film like Tower Heist, and it plays fairly well at home. You’ve got an ensemble of actors with Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy playing against Michael Pena, Casey Affleck, Mathew Broderick, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe and Alan Alda, and with that cast you’re not going to get bored, even if you can see where the film needed a little more oomph. It’s all about seeing a plan come together, and how that plan gets complicated. And if the film isn’t as great as it could have been, well there’s that, but it’s just good enough. Our review of Tower Heist on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

Coming off a terrific dramatic turn in Jason Reitman’s Young Adult, Patton Oswalt is now looking to star in Ben Stiller’s next directorial project. Showblitz reports that Oswalt is in talks to star in Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The film is a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film which centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite. Stiller stars as the proofreader, Kristin Wiig is onboard as his love interest, and Shirley MacLaine is set as Stiller’s mother. Oswalt will play Todd, “a friendly eHarmony counselor who helps the protagonist create an online dating profile.”

It seems like a perfectly suitable role for Oswalt, who I sincerely hope gets the chance to shine after holding his own opposite Charlize Theron in Young Adult. Oswalt will next be seen in the Dean Koontz adaptation Odd Thomas, and also stars alongside Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Production on Walter Mitty will begin in April in New York and Iceland.

With his new film Rampart (which ranked #4 on my Top 10 of 2011 list), writer-director Oren Moverman took the corrupt-cop genre and twisted it just like he did with The Messenger‘s soldier-PTSD story.  He’s one of the more exciting filmmakers working today because of his ability to play against expectations and come out with a more powerful, realistic story as a result.

I got the chance to interview Moverman about the film and we talked about where the real Rampart scandal came into the story, re-teaming with Woody Harrelson, shooting the movie as if it were two different films, and more.  Moverman also spoke about his collaboration with Ben Stiller for a David O. Selznic biopic for HBO, and we discussed his script for Steve Buscemi‘s upcoming film, Queer.  Hit the jump to check out the interview.  Rampart opens in select cities this Friday.  Click here to read my full review.