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.

New posters for two highly anticipated upcoming holiday releases have landed online.  The new one-sheet for director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) large-scale musical adaptation Les Miserables features the young Cosette graced by the words “Fight. Dream. Hope. Love.”  The stacked cast includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway, and the latest featurette highlighting the fact that the actors sang live on set rather than lip syncing to a pre-recorded track teases a raw and powerful adaptation from Hooper.  The film opens on December 25th.

Additionally, a new poster for director Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey features Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins in a pose reminiscent of the one-sheets for Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.  This being a Warner Bros. film, we can expect a multitude of other character posters to follow in the coming months.  The return to Middle Earth begins on December 14th.  Hit the jump to check out the posters.

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.

Universal has made a slight release date shift for director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) large-scale musical adaptation Les Miserables.  After seeing a recent cut of the film, the studio has decided that Les Mis is an appropriate fit for Christmas Day rather than its December 14th date, putting the film up against Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the Seth Rogen/Barbara Streisand road trip comedy The Guilt Trip, and the Billy Crystal/Bette Midler generational family film Parental Guidance.

The pic was previously set to open directly against The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but Warner Bros. pushed The Great Gatsby off of the December 25th date to next summer, creating an opening for a big film to square off against Tarantino.  Hooper’s star-studded pic is expected to be a major contender this awards season (it’s my early blind pick for Best Picture), and the December 25th date is actually a genius spot to launch the film, which I imagine will be quite the box office success.  Hit the jump to rewatch the stunning first trailer.

Universal has released the first trailer for director Tom Hooper‘s Les Misérables and it looks fantastic.  Loaded with an all-star cast, the trailer for Les Mis features gorgeous cinematography by Danny Cohen (The King’s Speech) cut to Anne Hathaway as Fantine singing “I Dreamed a Dream.”  When I was at this year’s CinemaCon, we were shown a rough version of this trailer and told all the actors sang live on set.  While I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hooper’s film, I love the way everything looks and I think it’s a very safe bet that Les Mis is going to be a contender for all the awards at the end of the year.  Hit the jump to check it out for yourself and let me know what you think in the comments.

Les Misérables 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).

With CinemaCon kicking off on Monday, we’ll be bringing you lots of coverage from the event throughout next week including interviews, panel recaps, and more.  Steve is already in Las Vegas for the event, and while walking the floor he came across the very first promo poster for The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s big-budget movie musical Les Miserables.  For those unaware, CinemaCon is a convention put on for all the major theater owners in order to get a look at what the studios have to offer for the rest of the year; it’s basically Comic-Con for theater owners.  As such, this is just a very simple promo poster that’s pretty much just advertising the stellar cast and the fact that Les Mis is headed to the big screen this year.

Hit the jump to take a look at the promo poster, which is surely the first of many posters and standees we’ll be bringing you over the next few days.  If you missed it, be sure to check out the recent set photos and videos which feature Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway singing the finale song.  Les Miserables opens on December 14th.

Update: We’ve come across another version of the Les Miserable promo poster and added it after the jump

Yesterday, new set photos from Tom Hooper‘s Les Miserables went online and now three set videos have followed.  A couple of the videos are pretty standard stuff.  One video has Javert (Russell Crowe) riding around on horseback, and another has Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) charging out of a church and ripping up a piece of paper while singing the last note of a song, although I’m not sure which one (perhaps “What Have I Done?”).  But the most exciting video is the cast singing part of the show’s finale.

Hit the jump to check out the videos.  The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, and Helena Bonham Carter.  Les Miserables opens December 14th.

If you love Anne Hathaway for her long, flowing locks, you might want to look away.  Hathaway chopped off a good chunk of her hair to play factory worker Fantine in Tom Hooper’s adaptation of Les Miserables.  We’ve got set photos of her singing alongside Hugh Jackman, who stars as Jean Valjean.  Jackman has certainly cleaned himself up compared to prior photos; we also previously posted shots of Russell Crowe as Javert and Eddie Redmayne as Marius.  This appears to be the first look at a dramatically gaunt Hathaway and, for those who aren’t familiar with the story, is certainly an appropriate look for her character’s arc throughout the film.  Les Miserables also stars Amanda Seyfried, Sacha Baron Cohen, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barks, Helena Bonham Carter, and opens December 14th.  Hit the jump to see the set photos.

2012 is shaping up to be a killer year for movies. We were recently tantalized by a bevy of Prometheus goodness, we’ve got the one-two superhero punch of The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, and towards the end of the year we’ve got some promising stuff from Quentin Tarantino, Peter Jackson, Judd Apatow, Kathryn Bigelow and Baz Luhrmann. One of the more high profile projects coming later this year is director Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech follow-up: a large-scale movie musical adaptation of Les Miserables. The all-star cast is lead by Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe, and today the first image of Jackman as Jean Valjean has surfaced.

The actor is obviously filming the Valjean scenes that involve his imprisonment, as Jackman is looking incredibly dirty and scraggly. Gone are those perfectly coiffed locks of hair, replaced by a bad buzzcut and nasty beard. It’s a fun look at one of the more exciting productions of 2012, and I’m interested to get a look at Crowe as the nefarious Javert. Hit the jump to check out Jackman’s Valjean. The film also stars Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried and Helena Bonham Carter. Les Miserables opens on December 14th. [Update: We've added a couple more images to the article after the jump]

In the curtly titled Gone, Amanda Seyfried stars as Jill, a pill-popping, suicidal chronic liar whose sister may or may not have been kidnapped by the same mystery-man that abducted Seyfried (or did he?) two years prior. The lack of conviction in the previous sentence could be due to any of the aforementioned pill-abusing/emotionally unstable/duplicitous attribute(s) of the character.  But Seyfried/Jill sure does seem convinced that something terrible is afoot. It honestly doesn’t matter if Jill’s right/wrong/crazy/lying/all-of-the-above — because you can’t help but want her to be true. Reality doesn’t matter, only conviction.

In the following interview, Amanda Seyfried discusses the morally grey nature of Jill and the difficulties in playing a scene all by your lonesome. Seyfried was also more than excited to discuss Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables – in particular the live recordings for the musical. Gone opens everywhere this Friday. For the full interview, hit the jump.

When last we reported on the female lead casting of director Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables, we told you that Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!) had been offered the role of Cosette and Taylor Swift (Valentine’s Day) had been asked to play Eponine.  While Seyfried has accepted, Deadline is reporting that stage performer Samantha Barks has bested Swift for the role of Eponine. She previously performed the role in 2010’s London production of Les Miserables as well as the 25^th anniversary concert last year. Barks will join Russell Crowe, Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit and Seyfried for the December 7^th release. Click here to see all of our previous coverage on Les Miserables. Hit the jump for more casting news concerning Piper Perabo (Coyote Ugly) joining the David Hackl (Saw II) thriller, Red Machine.

With recent word that director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) would be recording live vocals from his actors rather than pre-recording them, it made sense to pad his line-up with actors who possessed some singing talent. Or singers who possessed some acting talent. Well, in this case, he’s done both, as Amanda Seyfried (In Time) and Taylor Swift (Valentine’s Day) have been offered roles in the cinematic musical, Les Miserables. Seyfried has been offered the role of Cosette, a part in which her operatic background should come in handy. Country singer Swift has been offered the role of Eponine, having beaten out such actresses as Lea Michele (Glee), Scarlett Johansson (We Bought a Zoo) and Evan Rachel Wood (The Ides of March). Hit the jump for more on Les Miserables. [Update: Deadline reports Seyfried has signed on to play Cosette]

For those of you hoping for a 3D rendition of “On My Own” from director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) movie musical Les Miserables, prepare to be disappointed. Back in September, star Hugh Jackman told Steve that 3D was being discussed as a possibility for the adaptation. He revealed that Hooper would probably be shooting some tests to see if the format was a good fit for the film. Now comes word that the director has decided against Les Mis 3D. Hit the jump to find out why.

Hugh Jackman is an expert at making men the world over look bad.  Not only is he incredibly nice, good-looking, talented, charming, and funny, but he can also sing and dance like nobody’s business.  What an asshole.  Steve recently sat down with the gracious actor to talk about his upcoming sci-fi flick Real Steel, but during the conversation Jackman spoke a bit about his upcoming role in The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper’s movie musical Les Miserables.   Jackman is taking on the starring role of Jean Valjean in the pic opposite Russell Crowe as the nefarious Javert.  The actor confirmed that filming begins next March and they’re getting ready to do some tests to determine whether Hooper will shoot the film in 3D or not.  Hit the jump to see what he had to say.

Prepare to get your Broadway on. Universal has set director Tom Hooper’s (The King’s Speech) adaptation of Les Miserables for a December 7, 2012 release date. Not only that, but Deadline’s report confirms that Russell Crowe will be starring as the nefarious Javert opposite Hugh Jackman’s Jean Valjean. This is quite an impressive roundup for the musical flick, and if any of the other casting rumors end up to be true it only gets better. William Nicholson (Elizabeth: The Golden Age) wrote the script based on Victor Hugo’s novel and the stage musical.

This news comes on the heels of word that production on James Mangold’s The Wolverine has been pushed back to next year. Mark Bomback is currently rewriting Christopher McQuarrie’s screenplay. Although I wasn’t the biggest fan of The King’s Speech, count me as one of those excited for this adaptation. Crowe’s no stranger to the music scene, as he takes his band “Russell Crowe and the Ordinary Fear of God” very seriously.

[Update: THR also reports that Helena Bonham Carter is now officially in talks to star in the film as Thenardier's greedy wife]