The promising first trailer for the British romantic comedy I Give It a Year has been released online.  The film focuses on a mismatched couple as they struggle to survive their first year of marriage.  Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rafe Spall (Anonymous) star as the newlywed couple, while Simon Baker and Anna Faris appear in supporting roles as temptations for the duo.  The pic actually looks really funny, with strong turns from Byrne and Spall and some big laughs from Stephen Merchant.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here for images and a synopsis for the film.  Written and directed by Dan Mazer (Borat), the film also stars Minnie Driver, Jason Flemyng, Olivia Colman, and Jane Asher.  I Give It A Year opens in the UK on February 8, 2013. 

Things are moving quickly on the sequel to 2011’s horror hit Insidious.  We learned this February that director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell were reteaming for the follow-up, and FilmDistrict announced today that Insidious Chapter 2 will be hitting theaters on August 30, 2013.  Wan is again directing from a script by Whannell, and Jason Blum is back to produce through his Blumhouse Productions company.  Moreover, the first film’s cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins will also be back to reprise their roles.

Not plot details are given, but production on the low-budget sequel is set to begin on January 15, 2013.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

A few weeks ago, Steve attended the American Film Market (AFM) and was able to bring back some promo images, posters, and synopses for a few upcoming films.  Today we have the first images and synopsis for the romantic comedy I Give it a Year, which centers on a mismatched couple as they struggle to survive their first year of marriage.  Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Rafe Spall (Anonymous) star as the newlywed couple, while Simon Baker and Anna Faris appear in supporting roles as temptations for the duo.

Hit the jump to check out the first images and synopsis for the film, which was written and directed by Dan Mazer (Borat, Bruno).  I Give It a Year opens in the UK on February 8, 2013.

If you haven’t gotten enough casting news from us today, we’ve got even more.  First up, THR reports that Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, and Mirando Otto have joined the Australian anthology film, The Turning.  As we previously reported, the film is based off the short story collection by Tim Winton, and will feature 17 short films each from a different director.  Per THR, “All of the stories in The Turning revolve around turning points in the lives of the people of the Australian coastal town of Angelus. While the segments are separate, there are plot and thematic links between them.” Actors Cate Blanchett, Mia Wasikowska, and David Wenham are all set to make their directing debuts on the film.  There’s currently no word on who Byrne, Weaving, and Otto will play or if they’ll be in the same segment.

Hit the jump for casting news on the 80s-set caper flick Electric Slide.

The Toronto Film Festival is widely considered to be the place where a majority of the buzz for so-called “awards films” begins, and this year one of the biggest surprises was Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines.  The pic stars Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper and centers on the intense feud between a professional motorcycle rider turned bank robber (Gosling) and a rookie police officer (Cooper).  The film premiered to an enthusiastically positive response at TIFF, with heavy praise given to the film’s scope and impact; our own Matt Goldberg called it an “epic family saga” in his positive review.

Focus Features acquired the film for 2013 distribution, and many figured the drama would be poised for an awards season release sometime in the fall.  Now Box Office Mojo reports that we’ll see the pic much sooner than expected, as The Place Beyond the Pines has been dated for a limited release on March 29th, 2013.  This is great news for those of us eager to see what everyone was buzzing about back at TIFF, but it’s a little surprising that Focus is dropping this one so early in the year.

More casting additions for you today.  Here they are in brief:

• Stephen Moyer (True Blood) is set to join director Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, a feature starring Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon based on the true life tale of the West Memphis Three.
• Rose Byrne (X-Men: First Class) will star in Shawn Levy’s The Internship, which reunites Wedding Crashers comics, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

Damages remains one of the most underrated, intensely twisted and addicting shows on TV. And for its final season, the series (which changed its home from FX to DirecTV last year) appears to be returning to its roots.

One of the most haunting and compelling images from the show’s first season was that of Ellen (Rose Byrne) covered in blood and running from her apartment (away from the bludgeoned corpse of her ill-fated fiancé). As is often the case with the show, intense imagery propels a season-long mystery, and in the new teaser trailer we see Ellen again bloody in the street, – this time not running, but seemingly lifeless. Hit the jump for the video and more about Damages‘ final season.

While The Hunger Games and Bridesmaids picked up the most nominations for this year’s MTV Movie Awards, the Twilight fanbase continued to show they would vote online until their fingers bled.  At last night’s ceremony, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 took home “Movie of the Year” as well as Best Kiss for Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart.  However, The Hunger Games and Bridesmaids didn’t go home empty-handed.  Melissa McCarthy won Best Comedic Performance for Bridesmaids (the cast also won “Best Gut-Wrenching Performance”), and The Hunger Games won golden popcorn buckets for Best Male Performance (Josh Hutcherson), Best Female Performance (Jennifer Lawrence), Best On-Screen Transformation (Elizabeth Banks), and Best Fight.

Hit the jump for a full list of winners, and click here to check out the footage from The Dark Knight Rises that played during the ceremony.

Two very funny actresses have been added to the cast of the romantic comedy I Give It a Year. Variety reports that Bridesmaids star Rose Bryne and Anna Faris will star alongside Simon Baker and Rafe Spall in the pic, written and directed by Dan Mazer. The story centers on a mismatched couple as they struggle to survive their first year of marriage. Spall and Bryne will play that central couple, while Faris and Baker are set as “strong supporting characters.” While the logline may seem a bit monotonous, Mazer previously worked as a writer-director on Da Ali G Show and is a credited writer on both Borat and Bruno, so I think I Give It a Year will probably be a bit more R-rated than most romantic comedies.

I’m glad to see that Byrne will be given a chance to shine as the comedic lead this time around. She certainly proved her dramatic chops on the TV series Damages and had a dastardly great role in last year’s Bridesmaids, but it was her work in Get Him to the Greek that first hipped me to her comedic talents. She’ll next be seen on the dramatic side of things in Derek Cianfrance’s crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines alongside Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling. Faris next stars in the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy The Dictator.

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.

Coming into 2011, Bridesmaids looked like it might be another in a string of recent Judd Apatow-related misfires. But appearances are deceiving as the film quickly found an audience and was one of the biggest hits of the summer. Boo-yah for director Paul Feig, and co-writer and star Kristen Wiig. They nailed it. The film is a charming and real look at a woman in her thirties whose best friend (Maya Rudolph) is about to get married, and how friendship can be strained – but is often resilient – during such stressful but happy times. Our review of the Blu-ray of Bridesmaids follows after the jump.

Two-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Rose Byrne (FX’s Damages) has agreed to take on a role originally planned for Greta Gerwig in director Derek Cianfrance’s (Blue Valentine) crime drama The Place Beyond the Pines. Although Gerwig had never officially signed onto the film, we reported back in June that the actress was in talks to join. Today, Vulture is reporting that Byrne has officially taken over the part as a result of scheduling conflicts that arose with Gerwig’s film promotion commitments.

For those unfamiliar with the project, The Place Beyond the Pines also stars Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Ray Liotta, and Ben Mendelsohn. The pic centers on a showdown between a cop turned politician (Cooper) and a biker/bank robber (Gosling) and is currently shooting in Schenectady. Per the report, Byrne will play the role of Cooper’s wife. The actress most recently appeared in hits such as X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids. As for Gerwig, she is currently filming Woody Allen’s The Bop Decameron in Rome alongside Alec Baldwin and Jesse Eisenberg.

Last July we learned that the drama series Damages was saved form cancellation by DirecTV and now the premiere of the fourth season (airing exclusively on the satellite service) is nearly upon us with July 13th getting closer everyday. So with the premiere looming, we have two new trailers for the forthcoming season starring Glenn Close and Rose Byrne who will also be joined by John Goodman as a shadowy CEO of a Blackwater-like military contractor and the defendant in a wrongful death suit, Judd Hirsch as a former mentor of Patty’s who has hit bottom and more. Check out both of the new trailers after the jump.

How much do we expect from superhero movies?  Do we ask that they be faithful?  Do we demand they be grittier so we can argue that they’re more mature and therefore better?  Or do we ask that they be fun, disposable entertainment?  That answer probably depends on the property, although the tone and plot of the most famous superhero comics have varied so widely over the years that there’s no single answer.  Keeping this in mind, Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class forges its own path, not just in terms of the X-Men franchise, but in the superhero genre.  The film is stylish and exhilarating, but it’s also darker, more intense, and all the better for it.

With director Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class opening this weekend, I recently attended a press conference in New York City with January Jones, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Zoë Kravitz, Lucas Till and Rose Byrne.  While some press conferences are filled with awful questions and boring answers, the cast was in great spirits and I found the almost thirty minute conversation quite interesting.  They talked about why they wanted to be in the film, how they prepared to play their characters, what it was like to go back to the 60′s, the costumes, what they first thought when they found out they’d been cast, their reaction to seeing the finished film for the first time, what have the fans been telling them, and so much more.  You can either read the transcript or listen to the audio after the jump.