Screen Gems has released the first images from Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 thriller directed by Sam Peckinpah.  James Marsden and Kate Bosworth fill in for Dustin Hoffman and Susan George as the Sumners, “a husband and wife who clash with sadistic small-town Mississippi locals.”  Alexander Skarsgård, Rhys Coiro, James Woods, Laz Alonso, Dominic Purcell, and Walton Goggins also star.

Writer/director Rod Lurie (Nothing But the Truth) recognizes the trickiness in redoing Peckinpah, but the remake doesn’t try to soften the brutal impact of the rape-filled original:

“It’s a fool’s errand to try to outdo Peckinpah on his turf… This is not a soft movie.  People leave this movie saying they need a drink.”

See the images after the jump.

Filming has commenced on director Michael Polish’s (The Astronaut Farmer) adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s Big Sur. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr as Kerouac, Josh Lucas as Neal Cassidy, and Kate Bosworth as Billie, the love interest of both men. Deadline reports that production just recently began on the film, which tells the story of Kerouac’s move from New York City to Northern California.

Polish wrote and is directing the film, which features a supporting cast that includes Anthony Edwards, Rahda Mitchell, Balthazar Getty, Patrick Fischler, Stana Katic, John Robinson and Henry Thomas. This marks the second Kerouac adaptation in a year, as Walter Salles recently filmed an adaptation of On The Road. That film stars Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley, Kirsten Dunst and Viggo Mortensen. Hit the jump for a synopsis of Big Sur.

Now that Len Wiseman’s remake of Total Recall has Colin Farrell in the role originally played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1990 Paul Verhoeven film, the film is casting for the lead female roles.  For those who haven’t seen the original film, the two lead female roles are Douglas Quaid’s (Farrell) wife Lori (played in the original film by Sharon Stone) and the other is Martian freedom fighter Melina (originally played by Rachel Ticotin).

Deadline reports that Diane Kruger and Kate Bosworth have read for the role of Lori; Paula Patton, Jessica Biel, and Eva Green have read for Melina, and Eva Mendes has read for both roles.  Hit the jump for my thoughts on the casting.  Total Recall is set to open on August 3, 2012.

As we make our way to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, we’ll be posting images from the movies playing at the fest.  After the jump you’ll find images and one-line synopses for the in-competition films Little Birds (starring Juno Temple, Kay Panabaker, Leslie Mann, Kate Bosworth, and Kyle Gallner) and On the Ice (starring Josiah Patkotak, Frank Qutuq Irelan, Teddy Kyle Smith, Adamina Kerr, and Sierra Jade Sampson).  You’ll also find links to all of the other Sundance image articles we’ve done so far.  The 2011 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 20 – 30th.

With The Warrior’s Way, writer/director Sngmoo Lee has crafted a tale that explores both Eastern and Western cultures and traditions. In the film, Yang (Jang Dong Gun) is a warrior hero from the East who undertakes an epic journey, meeting other wounded souls along the way. One of those souls is Lynne (Kate Bosworth), a free-spirited carnival knife-thrower who has survived an unthinkable tragedy, in a way that is very reminiscent of a cowgirl from the Old West. When these two cross paths, their chemistry is undeniable, even though they are totally ill-equipped to deal with their feelings, and they work together to defeat the Colonel (Danny Huston), who has been after Lynne since she permanently disfigured his face in an attempt to keep him from raping her when she was just 12 years old.

At the press day for the film, co-stars Kate Bosworth and Danny Huston talked about being attracted to this original fable, training for all of the physical work they do in the film, and working with Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

The Warrior’s Way is a visually stunning, modern martial arts adventure about the world’s greatest swordsman who abandons his warrior clan to start a new life. Setting up an original fable, first-time writer/director Sngmoo Lee tells the story of Yang (Korean superstar Jang Dong Gun), a mysterious man who decides to spare his last remaining enemy, an infant with whom he flees and seeks refuge in a frontier town in the American West. Once there, Yang unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit in Lynne (Kate Bosworth), orphaned by a horrifying act of brutality carried out by the Colonel (Danny Huston) when she was a child. As he teachers her martial arts and she teaches him how to look after the baby, the two form a surprising bond that strikes a balance between their different cultures.

At an interview during the film’s press day, actor Jang Dong Gun and filmmaker Sngmoo Lee talked about what it was like to bring this tale to life, the extensive fight scenes, the challenges of working with green screen and why this is the right time for Korean films and actors to make an impact in Hollywood. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

With director Sngmoo Lee’s The Warrior’s Way getting released on December 3, Relativity Media has provided us with 5 clips and 34 high resolution images from the hyper stylized kung fu western.  According to the official synopsis:

The Warrior’s Way, a visually-stunning modern martial arts western starring Korean actor Jang Dong Gun who plays an Asian warrior assassin forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands. Rounding out the ensemble cast are Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston, and Tony Cox.  The fantasy action film was written and directed by newcomer Sngmoo Lee, and is being produced by Barrie M. Osborne (Lord of the Rings), Jooick Lee (Seven Swords) and Michael Peyser (Hackers).

After watching the clips, this is one of those films that tries to do something very different.  While the footage didn’t excite me the way I’d hoped, I think they’re still worth checking out.  Hit the jump:

This morning we have set photos from three upcoming films.  After the jump you’ll find set photos from Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive, the Sam Worthington heist-thriller Man on a Ledge, and the indie comedy BFF and Baby.  Hit the jump to check out the photos and for a recap on each film.

New images have surfaced for Relativity Media’s The Warrior’s Way. Starring Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston and “international superstar” Jang Dong Gun, the film looks to be of the 300 variety, with stylish action visuals drenched in slow motion set amidst stunning landscapes. The new pics don’t offer anything that wasn’t previously seen in the trailer from September, but they do feature a decidedly red-headed, knife-wielding Bosworth in her first gig since 2008’s poker-drama 21.

The Warrior’s Way is written and directed by Sngmoo Lee, and produced by Barrie Osborne (Lord of the Rings). The film is slated to hit theaters December 3rd. Hit the jump to see the pics.

Relativity Media has released a new trailer for the martial arts western, The Warrior’s Way.  The fantasy action film stars Korean actor Dong-gun Jang as “an Asian warrior assassin forced to hide in a small town in the American Badlands.”  The film also stars Kate Bosworth, Danny Huston, and Geoffrey Rush.  Based on this trailer, the film looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun and pretty crazy.  How crazy?  Well, at one point there is an army of ninjas fighting cowboys in an old west town.  Y ou know you want to watch this trailer now, and you can by hitting the jump.

Rachel Bilson has signed on to costar in the indie comedy BFF and Baby with Krysten Ritter and Kate Bosworth.  Per Variety, the “film revolves around two best friends who fight to maintain normalcy in their lives after Ritter’s character gets pregnant and has a baby.”  Ritter co-wrote the script with director Kat Coiro who’s making her feature debut on the picture.  Shooting is slated to begin on October 19th in Los Angeles.

Earlier today, we reported that Bilson would star in a new series from The O.C. creator Josh Schwartz.  NBC picked up the pilot production deal for the show which centers on a young woman who can talk to the dead.

Here is a bit of casting news for you this morning.  Oscar winner Martin Landau (Ed Wood), Oscar nominee Thomas Haden Church (Sideways), and Ezra Miller (City Island) have joined Sam Levinson’s The Reasonable Bunch.  According to Variety, Landau will play the father of Ellen Barkin’s character, Church will play Barkin’s ex-husband, and Miller will play Barkin’s son.  In addition to these three, Kate Bosworth, Demi Moore, Ellen Burstyn, and the previously mentioned Barkin are also attached to star.

Originally titled Devil in My Shoes, the family drama revolves around “two reckless siblings (Bosworth and Miller) who are dragged to a chaotic family wedding by their overwrought mother (Barkin).”  The Reasonable Bunch will mark the directorial debut of Levinson, the 25-year-old son of Academy Award-winning director Barry Levinson (Rain Man), who will be working from his own script.  Filming is set to commence in Michigan next week.

Actresses Leslie Mann and Kate Bosworth along with Chris Coy (Greenberg) and Kyle Gallner (Jennifer’s Body) have come on board Elgin James’s semi-autobiographical drama Goodnight Moon.  They’ll join AnnaSophia Robb and Juno Temple who play “young girls who find themselves in trouble after they run away to Los Angeles and hook up with skaters and street kids.”  Those skaters and street kids are always up to no good.

According to THR, “Mann plays Temple’s mom, a woman who works at a secondhand clothing store but whose best years are behind her. Bosworth will be Mann’s sister.  Coy will play an opportunistic, sociopathic street kid, and Gallner is a skater; both use the girls to run a scam that goes bad.”  So basically it sounds like a spiritual sequel to Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen.  That’s unfortunate since Thirteen is an unbearable feature-length after-school special.

Usually I can just let news of remakes go.  The complaint against them just becomes repetitive, studios and filmmakers shrug at the critical outcry, and at the end of the day you can just ignore the remake and go back to loving the original.  But with Rod Lurie’s remake of Sam Peckinpah’s “Straw Dogs”, I just can’t do that.  It’s such a fundamentally bad idea that it’s up there with Ted Turner’s decision to colorize old black-and-white movies.  Now Variety reports that Kate Bosworth and Alexander Skarsgard have joined James Marsden on this doomed voyage.  Hit the jump to find out what roles they’ll be play and how they’ll pale in comparison to the ones in the original.