Back in 2010, Zero Dark Thirty director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal were coming off their Oscar wins for The Hurt Locker, and turning their attention to the crime drama Triple Frontier (also known as Sleeping Dogs).  The details of the plot were unknown, but the film was billed as an action-adventure set in a border zone of South America known as “la triple frontera”, a haven for organized crime.  Tom Hanks was attached to play one of the leads, and other stars were rumored for the picture including Johnny Depp, Sean Penn, Denzel Washington, and Javier Bardem.  The plan was to start filming in March 2011.  But then Bigelow and Boal decided to hit pause, and do an indie thriller before Triple Frontier.  It’s worth noting that Variety shot down a rumor that “the plot concerns the hunt for Osama Bin Laden,” even though that rumor ultimately turned out to be true.  However, at that time the indie thriller was about losing Bin Laden in the Tora Bora Mountains; once he was killed, the script had to be updated.

So what happened with Triple Frontier?  Hit the jump for more.

Columbia has released the first trailer for M. Night Shyamalan‘s After Earth.  As you can see from the trailer, the plot centers on a father (Will Smith) and son (Jaden Smith) who crash land on a post-apocalyptic Earth, and it’s to the son to fight for survival when the father is seriously injured.  If there was another director at the helm, I would give this film the benefit of the doubt, even though Jaden Smith fighting digital animals for two hours seems less-than-exciting.  Even though Stephen Gaghan (Traffic) and Gary Whitta (The Book of Eli) had a hand in the screenplay, I simply can’t get my hopes up due to Shyamalan’s involvment.

The film also stars Zoe Kravitz, Sophie Okonedo, and Isabelle Fuhrman.  After Earth opens June 7, 2013.

Though movement is reportedly taking place on two sequels to Roland Emmerich’s 1996 disaster sci-fi film Independence Day, it appears that 20th Century Fox has had a change of heart regarding a 3D re-release of the original.  The post-converted iteration of the Will Smith-starrer had been slated for release on July 3, 2013, but Exhibitor Relations broke the news on Twitter that Fox has now decided not to release the pic.  I’m not sure how far along the conversion had gone, but no reason for the change of heart is given.  This now leaves the 2013 Fourth of July weekend open to Despicable Me 2 and The Lone Ranger.

Lucky for you, I read Playboy (for the articles…) or I never would have come across this interview with visionary director Quentin Tarantino where he talks candidly about all things Django Unchained. Early on, it was reported that Will Smith was in talks for the title role, but passed on the offer for a number of reasons. But did you know that Tarantino also considered Idris Elba (Thor), Chris Tucker (Rush Hour), Terrence Howard (Iron Man) and more, but once he met Jamie Foxx, it was all over? Perhaps you’re worried about Tarantino’s plans to leave filmmaking before he’s an “old man,” or you’re curious to see if you’ve got what it takes to fit his idea for a “perfect wife.” Well, all those answers and more await you after the jump!

Recently seen battling the unded in Resident Evil: Retribution, Boris Kodjoe will next battle sex-addiction in the Lionsgate drama, Addicted.  Paul Hall will produce with Bille Woodruff (Honey) attached to direct.  The picture centers on a supposedly happily-married mother of three children who satisfies her sex addiction by sleeping around.  Sex addiction tales seem to be a trend on the rise (Shame, Thank You For Sharing), all paving the way to the inevitable Fifty Shades of Grey. Variety’s report shares no details as to Kodjoe’s role, so it’s unclear as to which side of the addiction he will be on.  Kodjoe can next be seen in another film that deals with infidelity in brutal ways in director Douglas Aarniokoski’s Nurse 3-D.

Hit the jump for news on the newest addition to Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut, Winter’s Tale, starring Russell Crowe. 

Fans eager to see a vampiric take on the Biblical story of Cain and Abel can now rest easy, as Sony Pictures has agreed to move forward with The Redemption of Cain.  The film, which tells the story of Cain and Abel with, you know, vampires, got a boost this summer when it was reported that Will Smith was looking to possibly make his directorial debut on the project.  The Wrap reports that Sony is moving forward with the pic with an eye towards starting production in July 2013, but there’s no update on whether Smith will direct and/or star.

What is known is that Smith’s Overbrooke Entertainment is producing the film and casting is set to begin in the next few weeks.  Filming will take place in London and Jordan, with exteriors to be shot in Morocco.  Details regarding exactly how vampires will factor into the Cain and Abel story are unknown, but I’m strangely curious to see this project come together.  Hopefully we hear more solid word regarding Smith’s involvement soon.

Yet another Biblical epic from some big name talent looks to be in the works.  Will Smith is eyeing a big screen iteration of the Cain and Abel story as his directorial debut.  The project has been in development for some time with the working title The Redemption of Cain, and when Smith first flirted with the idea of starring the pic was described as a vampiric take on the Biblical tale.  That version of the script was written by Caleeb Pinkett (Jada Pinkett Smith’s brother) and Dan Knauf (Carnavale), but there’s no word on how the project has changed over the years or if it still even involves vampires. Hit the jump for more.

Independence Day 2 is a project that doesn’t exist, but it’s almost existed for quite a few years now.  Director Roland Emmerich and star Will Smith have talked about the various stages of development on the sci-fi follow-up over the years, but as of yet nothing tangible has come to fruition.  Last we heard, Fox was planning back-to-back sequels with or without Smith’s involvement, and now producer Dean Devlin has announced that he and Emmerich are actively working on Independence Day 2.  Moreover, they’re also hoping to continue and ultimately finish the story they began with the 1994 sci-fi film Stargate with two new sequels.  Hit the jump for more.

In 1995, Will Smith starred in the first of three back-to-back films that would rocket his career into superstardom and solidify his status as a box office king.  He kicked things off with Michael Bay’s feature directorial debut, Bad Boys, followed by the large-scale sci-fi actioner Independence Day, and rounded things off with the franchise-starter Men in Black.  The third installment in the sci-fi comedy series, Men in Black 3, just opened in theaters and now Men in Black and Men in Black II have been released on Blu-ray to mark the occasion.  Hit the jump for our review of both films on Blu-ray.

It’s a bit ironic that Men in Black 3 star, Will Smith, was recently quoted as saying, “I don’t want to be the sequel guy,” especially when there are a number of potential franchise sequels with him in the works.  Including a possible Men in Black 4, there are also Independence Day 2, Hancock 2, Bad Boys 3, I, Robot 2 and, of course, I Am Legend 2.  While some of you may be confused by Smith’s possible return in that last one, I’ll point you to the alternate ending of the original 2007 blockbuster.  Hit the jump for a few snippets on sequel work from Smith and an anecdote about why he passed up the title role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

Will Smith will be reclaiming his Fourth of July box office throne next year, but it’ll be with a movie that’s 16 years old.  In addition to dates for the X-Men: First Class sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Robopocalypse, Fox announced today that director Roland Emmerich’s sci-fi invasion pic Independence Day will return to theaters in 3D on July 3rd, 2013.  It’ll be interesting to see how well the film actually does given that the box office climate nowadays is vastly different from that of 1996.  How confused will kids be to see that the humans’ master line of defense involves a now primitive-looking computer virus?

In a world where “dark” and “gritty” blockbusters dominate the marketplace, the slightly goofy and unabashedly fun Independence Day should stand out a bit.  That said, The Avengers is breaking records left and right and that film is packed to the brim with hope, humor, and unbridled joy.  Hit the jump for more, including the film’s original trailer.

After a listless start, Men in Black 3 kicks into a second gear that is as much fun as I wanted from the sequel.  The exact moment when it reaches second gear is at J’s “time jump,” when Will Smith jumps off the Chrysler building and into 1969.  The visuals that flash by as he plummets may be the most thrilling minute-long sequence I see all summer.  While Sony is saving the whole sequence for theaters, we have a new behind-the-scenes featurette that shows how they transported Smith from a small bluescreen room to the heights of the skyscraper.  Additionally, we have two creature featurettes that elaborate on the design of a) a disturbing, gruesome effect that will haunt me forever and b) a big fish.  Watch all three after the break.

Remember a few weeks back when I kicked off the summer movie and wedding seasons simultaneously? Well, I wasn’t kidding about the whole wedding thing. Today marks my second ceremony in three weeks and let’s just say that I’m writing portions of today’s Top 5 from a church while awaiting pictures. To make matters even worse, said church is located on a stretch of old highway that is nowhere near an Internet connection that can support anything better than up to 128k up or down. I never thought I would say this, but I’m currently missing my home DSL connection that is slow and unreliable at best. But enough of my bandwidth-starved complaints…

On tap in this week’s Top 5 is the first trailer for the latest Bond film, Skyfall, Men in Black 3 video interviews with Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and more, G.I. Joe: Retaliation‘s new release date/third dimension, the first trailer and poster for The Great Gatsby, and a plethora of coverage for The Dark Knight Rises. Join me after the break for a brief recap and link to each.

Fifteen years ago, Men in Black was released in theaters.  It further cemented Will Smith‘s star status, gave his high-energy style a perfect foil with Tommy Lee Jones‘ dour-yet-playful performance, and provided a fun, upbeat experience that was delightfully silly and bizarre (I still crack up when Smith tells Jones, “Awww.  You brought that tall man some flowers!”).  Strangely, Men in Black 3 doesn’t draw strength from anything that made the original film an enjoyable experience.  Instead, the latest sequel finds its heart in supporting characters, and letting special-effects makeup guru Rick Baker run absolutely wild as he swings his marvelous alien creations into the 1960s.  It’s a shame that Mr. Smith and Mr. Jones’ performance, and the humor can’t match Baker’s bravado and creativity.

Opening this weekend is the third film in the Men in Black franchise.  Barry Sonnenfeld returns as director and the story finds Will Smith’s Agent J travelling back in time to save Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K.  In addition to Bill Hader as Andy Warhol, Josh Brolin plays a younger version of Jones’ character and does an incredible job.  You’ll absolutely think you’re watching Jones as a young man.  Men in Black 3 also stars Jemaine Clement, Alice Eve, and Emma Thompson.  In addition, make-up effects artist Rick Baker returns to the franchise and you can see some of his creature work here.  For more on the film, here’s all our previous coverage.

Last week I got to speak with most of the cast and every day this week I’ll be posting a new interview.  Yesterday was Tommy Lee Jones and today I’ve got Will Smith.  During the interview we talked about when he knew they could make another Men in Black, the impact Star Wars had on him as a kid, how many takes he likes to do, and more.  In addition, we talked about future projects like M. Night Shyamalan‘s After Earth, and I tried to get updates on Independence Day 2, Bad Boys 3, I Am Legend 2 and Hancock 2.   Hit the jump to watch.