We’ve got a few casting stories to share this evening.  Briefly:

• Benicio Del Toro will star in the drama adaptation Jimmy Picard.
• Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine joins Keira Knightley and Mark Ruffalo in Can A Song Save Your Life?
• Footloose star Kenny Wormald is set for in the true story indie Kid Cannabis.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

The big sci-fi release of the summer has come and gone, and now it’s time to look at what the rest of these next few “big movie” months have to offer.  Buried between the animated fare and superhero pics is the next film from director Oliver Stone: the crime drama Savages.  While Stone has been relatively off his game for the past few years, Savages looks to be a return to the gritty crime-filled pics of his earlier career.  The story centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.

As part of the film’s marketing campaign, a slew of “interrogation” videos have landed online.  They feature the principal characters of the film in an interrogation environment, and it gives us a chance to get to know these guys a bit more.  Hit the jump to take a look.  The film also stars Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta and Uma Thurman.  Savages opens on July 6th.

Director Terrence Malick is currently in production on his follow-up to the yet-to-be-released follow-up to last year’s The Tree of Life, and some set photos have revealed a new addition to the cast.  While we wait for a release announcement regarding Malick’s Ben Affleck-fronted romantic drama To the Wonder, the director is in the midst of filming Knight of Cups, one of two films he plans to shoot this year (the other is currently untitled, but was previously called Lawless).

Plot details for Knight of Cups are basically non-existent, but we know that Christian Bale stars alongside Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett and possibly Isabel Lucas.  We recently saw set photos of Bale and Portman horsing around on the beach, but new shots show Bale filming scenes with a punked-up Imogen Poots (Fright Night, Jane Eyre).  Hit the jump for more, including set photos and a humorous video of Malick caught on TMZ.

Two new TV spots have been released for Oliver Stone’s upcoming crime drama Savages.  The film centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  I’m a big fan of Kitsch and I’m hoping Savages is a success this year following the commercial disappointments of John Carter and Battleship—he was swell in the criminally underseen John Carter and his charisma is a big part of what makes Battleship semi-enjoyable.  These TV spots confirm that Eminem’s “Til I Collapse” is the unofficial theme song of Savages, and I’m actually really looking forward to an Oliver Stone film for the first time in a long time.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spots.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens on July 6^th.

The first TV spot for director Oliver Stone’s Savages has gone online.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  Though Stone’s recent output hasn’t exactly been stellar, Savages looks to put him back in Platoon/Natural Born Killers territory and I’m eager to see his version of a large-scale action pic.  This TV spot does a fine job of setting up the plot, but I’m not the biggest fan of song choice.  Nevertheless, I like the footage we’ve seen thus far and the very talented Kitsch deserves to have at least one successful release this year.  Here’s hoping for the best.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spot.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens July 6th.

Cameron Diaz and Benicio Del Toro are attached to lead the action-comedy Agent: Century 21.  Diaz will play a real estate agent and recent divorcee who ends up getting kidnapped and thrown into the middle of a Mexican drug war.  She must then use her “maternal instincts and a streak of pure dumb luck” to make it back home.  Action-comedies are well within Diaz’ wheelhouse, but it’s a nice change of pace for Del Toro, who has mostly stuck to dramas and thrillers.  Greg Brooker (Stuart Little) wrote the script, and Adam Hashemi will make his feature directing debut.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Diaz will next be seen in What to Expect When You’re Expecting and Gambit.  A couple days ago we reported that she had signed on to co-star in Ridley Scott‘s drama The Counselor.  As for Del Toro, he’ll be seen in theaters later this summer in Oliver Stone‘s Savages.

After yesterday’s brief teaser, the full trailer for Oliver Stone‘s Savages has gone online.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  The movie looks like a fun change of pace for Stone, and a bit of a throwback to Natural Born Killers, but without the muddled message on violence and media.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Stone has worked in a comment on America’s War on Drugs, but at least it looks like he’s surrounded it with a slam-bang action flick.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens July 6th. [Updated: We've updated the article with a new image from the film]

Earlier this week, we showed you the first poster for Oliver Stone‘s crime-thriller Savages.  Today, teaser footage from the film has been released.  The film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  You won’t gather any of that from the 15-seconds of footage, but you will pick up that Stone has taken a page from Tony Scott‘s playbook of sweaty characters and over-saturated cinematography.

Hit the jump to check out the footage.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens July 6th.

The first poster for Oliver Stone’s adaptation of Don Winslow’s crime novel Savages has gone online.  The pic stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  I was already intrigued by the impressive cast Stone assembled, then Universal moved the film to a prime summer release date after apparently being wowed by a test screening.  This poster hints at an epic and entertaining crime saga, and I’m eager to see Stone have some fun.  I haven’t been wowed by the director’s recent output but when he’s on, he’s on, and I’m hoping Savages is a summer crowd-pleaser.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman and John Travolta. Savages opens on July 6th.

Oliver Stone‘s adaptation of Don Winslow‘s crime novel Savages has been moved up from September 28th to July 6th.  Deadline reports that Universal changed the date after a test screening late last week.  The film centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  The film’s impressive cast also features Benicio Del Toro, Demian Bichir, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, and Emile Hirsch.

Hit the jump for an official synopsis and what Savages will be up against at the box office.

The first image from director Oliver Stone’s Savages has been released, and it’s heavy on the carcinogens. Based on the novel of the same name, the film centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel. This image shows a battered Lively being taunted by a smoke spewing Benicio Del Toro, who plays the cartel’s leader. While Stone has been pretty hit-or-miss the past few years, he seems like the perfect guy to take on the world of drug trafficking. The logline and fantastic cast (John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Salma Hayek, and Emile Hirsch co-star) already had me intrigued, and this new image firmly cements the film as one of my most anticipated of the year. I sincerely hope it harkens back to the more ballsy material of Stone’s early career.

Hit the jump to check out the image. Savages opens September 28th.

Mere days after the interwebs ran rampant with speculation as to whether Benicio Del Toro would be playing Khan in J.J. Abrams’ sequel 2009’s Star Trek, the actor has dropped out of the film altogether. The actor entered negotiations to play the film’s villain earlier this month, followed by rumors that he would be taking on the role of Khan in the sci-fi follow up. Hit the jump for more, including more fuel for the Khan rumor mill.

Director Martin Scorsese is currently doing the rounds for his latest effort, the splendidly fantastic Hugo, but many are wondering which project he’ll tackle next. While he had previously stated that he planned on getting to his adaptation of Shusaku Endo’s novel Silence after Hugo, he recently attached himself to an adaptation of The Snowman and a remake of The Gambler, throwing some doubt on whether or not he would actually get to the 17th Century Japan-set pic. Well now the director has confirmed that Silence will indeed be his next film, and said that they’re currently working to pull everything together. Hit the jump for more, including whether or not Daniel Day-Lewis is still set to star.

Last month, we reported that Benicio Del Toro would be playing the villain in Star Trek 2.  Even before Del Toro’s casting, there has been non-stop speculation on who director J.J. Abrams and screenwriters Damon Lindelof, Roberto Orci, and Alex Kurtzman would choose as the baddie.  The name that kept popping up in fanboy circles was Khan Noonien Singh, the memorable antagonist from arguably the best Star Trek movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.  I thought this was a terrible idea, but unfortunately, it may have won the day.

Latino Review is reporting that Del Toro will play Khan in the upcoming sequel.  Hit the jump for more on Khan and why I hope this news is wrong.  [Update:  Abrams has commented on this rumor.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.]

After recently committing to directing Star Trek 2, J. J. Abrams has apparently found his villain. Benicio Del Toro has been chosen as the antagonist to the sequel of Abrams’ 2009 smash hit. Although most of the original cast is returning, the villain had yet to be chosen by Abrams. Though the deal hasn’t been inked yet, sources say Del Toro should be signed by the end of the weekend. Del Toro himself has previously met with Abrams to discuss his involvement but remains in the dark as to the role for secrecy’s sake.

Del Toro is a fantastic choice for a villain and can next be seen in Oliver Stone’s Savages as the antagonistic leader of a Mexican drug cartel. Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof will return to pen Star Trek 2’s script. The project also stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban and John Cho. Production is scheduled to start in early 2012, but no release date has been announced.  Hit the jump for more. [Clarification: Del Toro is likely to be offered the role , and we believe it's a fair assumption that he'll take it.]