A trio of actors have been set to topline the road trip drama Wild Side.  Deadline reports that Nicolas Cage, Juno Temple, and Johnny Knoxville will star in the Jesse Baget-directed (Breathelss) drama which centers on “a small town southern beauty queen who is on the run from a ruthless killer determined to retrieve diamonds he stole during a murderous heist.”  The beauty queen plans to escape New Orleans with the diamonds, but first she must elude authorities, a news reporter, and Odel, “a self-described wolf determined to hunt her down and recover his swag.”

It’s assumed that Temple will be playing said beauty queen, but Deadline’s report doesn’t specify which roles Cage and Knoxville will take.  Easy money would be on Cage playing the ruthless killer (Cage Rage!), but I could also see him playing a quirky news reporter with that classic Cage spin.  The actor recently wrapped the serial killer drama Frozen Ground opposite John Cusack, and he’ll next shoot a sure-to-be-memorable role in Charlie Kaufman’s Frank or Francis.  Temple recently wrapped Lovelace and stars in this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises.

Small Apartments deserves credit for getting inside your head through force of strangeness alone, and it has enough going on to merit at least some kind of interpretation.  You can argue with yourself to no end about whether or not director Jonas Åkerlund has made a subversive slam against trying to find human connection when our own baggage shuts us off from the world, or if he’s delivered a pat, mawkish ending that doesn’t fit with previous moments of derision towards sentiment.  Rather than leave your head spinning, Small Apartments just leaves your head aching.

The 2012 SXSW Film Festival has announced some exciting additions to their already-stellar line-up.  The Sundance flicks Searching for Sugar Man, Chasing Ice, Monsieur Lazhar (my review), Safety Not Guaranteed (my review), Shut Up and Play the Hits, and Sleepwalk with Me will all be showing up at this year’s SXSW.  I heard nothing but good things about Chasing Ice and Sleepwalk with Me, and I’m glad I’ll have a second chance to see them.  SXSW 2012 will also have the world premiere of Steve Taylor‘s Blue Like Jazz, and Todd Rohal‘s Nature Calls starring Patton Oswalt, Johnny Knoxville, and Rob Riggle.  

Hit the jump for more on all of the new additions.  The 2012 SXSW Film Festival runs from March 9 – 17th.

The first trailer for Men in Black 3 has gone online.  The plot for the sequel involves J (Will Smith) going back in time to rescue K (Tommy Lee Jones).  If I didn’t know that the script was most likely a mess, I would be slightly excited after seeing this trailer.  Smith is back with his full-blown charisma and Josh Brolin is a pitch perfect young K.  Maybe there’s a chance that somehow the script worked itself out?  I’d certainly rather see a good MIB movie than a bad one.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Alice Eve, Emma Thompson, Johnny Knoxville, and Jemaine Clement.  Men in Black 3 opens in 3D on May 25th.

We’ve got another round up of stuff from the American Film Market to share with you today in the way of promo posters for Ass Backwards, Thunder Run, and Carnaval. Thunder Run is the 3D motion-capture war film starring Gerard Butler, Sam Worthington, and Matthew McConaughey. Directed by Simon West (Con Air), the film centers on the 2003 capture of Baghdad. The comedy Ass Backwards stars Alicia Silverstone, Jon Cryer, Casey Wilson (Happy Endings) and Vincent D’Onofrio and centers on two best friends who head back to their hometown in an attempt to win a pageant they never won as children.

Carnaval stars John Cusack and Johnny Knoxville and centers on a sports scout (Cusack) who is forced to head down to Rio de Janeiro to recruit the world’s top soccer player. The scout’s best friend (Knoxville) comes along for the trip, and hijinks ensue. Josh Stern (Swing Vote) will direct.  Hit the jump to check out the promo posters.

New set photos have gone online for the 1940s crime drama Gangster Squad, and for Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s comeback film The Last Stand.  Back in September, we saw Gangster Squad set photos of co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone enjoying a lovely day in the park.  The new set photos show Stone and co-star Sean Penn sharing a scene, and Stone looks particularly glamorous.  I’m a big fan of the setting, and the costumes look terrific.

And some costumes look a little stranger.  The first set photo from Kim Ji-Woon‘s The Last Stand shows Schwarzenegger along with co-stars Luis Guzman, Johnny Knoxville, and Jaimie Alexander.  I’m not sure why Alexander and Schwarzenegger are holding tommy guns if the film is set in the present day, but I’m even more confused by Knoxville’s outfit.  It looks like a modified version of Kang-ho Song’s costume from Ji-Woon’s The Good, the Bad, the Weird.  While I work out my bafflement, hit the jump to check out the set photos.  Gangster Squad opens October 19, 2012.  The Last Stand opens January 18, 2013.

John Cusack and Johnny Knoxville will co-star in Josh Stern’s comedy Carnaval.  According to THR, Cusack will play sports scout who, in order to inherit his agency, must heads to Rio de Janeiro to recruit the world’s top soccer player.  However, he has to do it during the madness of the city’s annual festival, Carnaval.  Knoxville will play his best friend who comes along for the trip, but ends up having an affair with the soccer star’s girlfriend and this is how conflict happens.

Stern will also re-write the script from former agent David Styne.  Shooting is expected to begin this January.  Cusack will next be seen playing Edgar Allan Poe in the thriller The Raven and he’s signed on to star in Lee Daniels’ The Paperboy.  Knoxville’s slate continues to fill up as he’s set to co-star with Patton Oswalt in an untitled comedy from Todd Rohal, and earlier this week we learned Knoxville was on board Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback film, The Last Stand.

Filming has begun on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s comeback film The Last Stand and the movie has added two more actors to its cast.  Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker and masochist Johnny Knoxville have signed on to Kim Jee-Woon’s crime drama.  Schwarzenegger will play sheriff of a sleepy border town who serves as the last line of defense against a drug cartel leader (Eduardo Noriega) headed for the Mexican border.  Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, and Luis Guzman have also been announced to co-star.

There’s currently no word on who any of the supporting actors other than Noriega will play.  Whitaker recently signed on to star in the voodoo thriller Vipka, and Knoxville will co-star with Patton Oswalt in an untitled comedy from Todd Rohal.   The Last Stand also stars Harry Dean Stanton, Rodrigo Santoro, Luis Guzman, Zach Gilford, and Jaimie Alexander.  Hit the jump for the press release, which includes the full synopsis.

Patton Oswalt is one of my favorite comedians working today and his star in Hollywood is slowly on the rise.  After a searing performance in 2009′s Big Fan, he’s had recurring supporting roles on Caprica and United States of Tara.  He’ll be seen back in theaters this December alongside Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson in Jason Reitman’s Young Adult as well as the less-prestigious but probably-funnier A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas.  Oh, and his new comedy album, Finest Hour, hits stores on September 20th.  Now Oswalt has a starring role opposite the charismatic Johnny Knoxville for an untitled comedy for writer-director Todd Rohal (The Catechism Cataclysm).

The press release describes the plot as “an outlandish yet poignant comedy about a pair of battling brothers who attempt to honor their ailing father by taking a troop of boys on a last ditch camping trip that goes wildly wrong.”  As long as it’s no one says “It’s in the vein of Bushwhacked!” I’ll be happy. The flick’s also got a solid supporting cast featuring Rob Riggle, Maura Tierney, and Patrice O’Neal.  Rohal wrote the script under the title Scout Master and filming begins this week.  Hit the jump for the press release.

A promotional onslaught is in effect for director Trent Cooper’s comedy Father of Invention as a new trailer, poster, and a slew of new images from the film have gone online. Starring Kevin Spacey, Heather Graham, Craig Robinson, Virginia Madsen, Johnny Knoxville, John Stamos, and Camilla Belle, the film centers on a former infomercial guru (Spacey) who finds himself in prison after a design flaw in one of his inventions de-fingers many of his customers. From there, Father of Invention looks to document Spacey’s attempted return to “As Seen on TV” glory.

The pic looks a little formulaic in its “Guy A is a bad person who must first learn how to change himself before he can really make any sort of difference” approach. Nevertheless, the cast is great and when compared to Cooper’s last directorial effort, Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, I’m sure Father of Invention is awards-season material. Hit the jump to check out the trailer, poster, images, and an official synopsis for the film. Father of Invention opens on October 14th.

MTV is coming to Comic-Con, and today they announced what shows they’ll be bringing. Celebrating the triumphant return of Beavis and Butthead, Mike Judge will be on-hand for a panel focusing on the all new episodes with Johnny Knoxville acting as moderator. The cast and producers of Teen Wolf will appear for the new series’ panel, and Wes Craven will talk to the cast and producers of the new horror-comedy Death Valley.

In addition, there will be a panel for David Gordon Green’s (Pineapple Express) new animated series Good Vibes, with voice-cast members Adam Brody, Alan Tudyuk, Tony Hale, Debi Mazar and Jake Busey making an appearance alongside Green. Finally, a panel entitled “MTV Geek!” will feature Stan Lee revealing the story behind the new MTV Comics title The Seekers. Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the schedule and location for each panel.

Two upcoming Relativity Media films may not have titles, but they now have release dates.  First up, James McTeigue’s Untitled Raven Project (previously titled The Raven) will open on March 9, 2012.  Per the press release, “The film is a gritty thriller in which Edgar Allan Poe (John Cusack) joins forces with a young Baltimore detective (Luke Evans) to hunt down a mad serial killer who’s using Poe’s own works as the basis in a string of brutal murders.”  The untitled movie also stars Alice Eve, Brendan Gleeson, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.

Relativity has also set the date for the Untitled Farrelly/Wessler Comedy that has an absolutely ridiculous cast starring in a series of interconnected stories.  Just some of the names on board include Johnny Knoxville, Gerard Butler, Anna Faris, Seann Hugh Jackman, Richard Gere, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Terrence Howard, Liev Schreiber, Elizabeth Banks, Justin Long, Kristen Bell, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Stephen Merchant.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

For those not wanting to watch selected clips from Jackass 3.5 on Joost every week, Paramount Home Video has just set a June 14 release for Jackass 3.5 on Blu-ray and DVD.  While the DVD will be available nationwide, the Blu-ray is a Best Buy exclusive.  According to the press release:

The Blu-ray and DVD boast over 30 minutes of exclusive, never-before-seen footage.  Bonus features include outrageous outtakes and deleted scenes, as well as a look at the origins of the Jackass franchise and footage from the Jackass European tour where the troupe brought mayhem across the pond to England, Ireland and Spain while filming more of their insanely inventive stunts.

I caught a screening of Jackass 3.5 and thought it could have had a limited theatrical run as there are a few very funny skits.   Hit the jump for the press release and cover art.

If you’re a fan of Jackass, April 1st is Christmas Day.  That’s because while Jackass 3.5 could have been released in theaters, it’s going to be showing for free on Joost.com!  According to director Jeff Tremaine, every Tuesday and Friday, between one to three segments from Jackass 3.5 will be showing on Joost, and it’ll continue until it’s done.  Down the road, you can expect it to be released on DVD/Blu-ray.  I caught a screening of the entire film a few days ago and it’s extremely funny and it’s got a few amazing stunts.  I’m actually surprised they didn’t release it in theaters.

Anyway, a few days ago I sat down with Tremaine to talk about all things Jackass.  We discussed why didn’t Jackass 3.5 hit theaters first, the future of Jackass, how much deleted footage is still in the vaults, did they ever stop a stunt due to being too dangerous, his upcoming scripted-feature directorial debut, Revenge of the Jocks, and a lot more.  I’ve listed the highlights of the interview as bullet points and I’ve also time indexed the entire interview so you can watch the parts that interest you.  Hit the jump to watch:

Last week, we reported that Jackass star Johnny Knoxville was in talks to play Moe in The Farrelly Brothers’ The Three Stooges.  However, THR is now reporting that while the Knoxville expressed interest in joining the project, no formal offer was made and the actor is considering two other projects over at Paramount.

As we reported at the beginning of the month, the two projects are Mustache Riders and First Man. Mustache Riders, would have Knoxville reuniting with his Jackass co-stars Bam Margera and Ryan Dunn and the Broken Lizard team for a comedy about a gang of crooks who set out to find a buried treasure alongside a grizzled outlaw.  As for First Man, Knoxville would play the husband of a woman who is running for President.