Over the years, I’ve written at length at how far too many indie comedies mistake quirk for character.  Characters feel like people.  They have emotions, goals, fears, etc.  A character can have quirks, but they can’t be quirks.  Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini‘s Imogene is yet another example of an indie comedy that derives its comedy not from clever jokes, thoughtful set-ups and payoffs, or believable characters.  It attempts to get laughs from its miserable eponymous protagonist interacting with her goofy family of one-dimensional eccentrics.  As much as Imogene strives to coast on the wackiness of the characters, the best jokes in this shapeless comedy come from the little off-handed moments that slip through the tortured, hollow idiosyncrasies.

We all know him as the lovable bastard on Game of Thrones (who should have taken a roll in the snow with Ygritte (Rose Leslie)), but Kit Harington may soon lend his voice to a more villainous character.  Harington is up for a role in DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2.  The sequel to the 2010 hit features the return of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Craig Ferguson, T.J. Miller, Jonah Hill and more in the vocal cast, in addition to the fine assortment of scaly beasts on screen.  Hit the jump for more on this potential casting addition.

It’s hard to believe the remake of the 1947 comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is finally in front of cameras.  The film has been in the works for well over a decade and gone through a multitude of bankable lead actors including Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen, but Ben Stiller turned out to be the last man standing, and not only is he starring in the flick, but he’s also directing it.  The plot centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader (Stiller) who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  While we previously saw Stiller and co-star Adam Scott playing with a Stretch Armstrong doll, the latest photo is even stranger as it shows a nearly unrecognizable Stiller in old age makeup alongside Kristen Wiig.  I’m not sure where this scene is in the movie (I haven’t seen the Danny Kaye original), but kudos to the makeup department.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is due out December 25, 2013.

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.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

In the pantheon of feature films born out of SNL skits, there’s a big hit-and-miss factor; for every Wayne’s World, there’s three It’s Pat’s.  A film version of MacGruber hit theaters in 2010 and any way you slice it, the movie was a disaster at the box office.  Against a budget of $10 million, the film grossed a total of $9.2 million worldwide.  I wasn’t a huge fan of Will Forte’s MacGruber sketch to begin with, so I wasn’t about to go sit through a 90-minute version in theaters.  However, the film hit DVD and I started hearing from trustworthy friends that it was actually good.

After being commanded to watch it multiple times, I finally relented and watched MacGruber myself.  It turns out that the film is actually pretty fantastic.  The jokes are ridiculously out-there, and Forte and director Jorme Taccone got away with making an insane comedy within the studio system.  So it’s with great enthusiasm that I greeted the news today that Taccone and Forte are working on a follow-up to MacGruber that may or may not come to fruition.  Hit the jump for more.

Warner Bros. is close to setting a female lead opposite Tom Cruise in the sci-fi thriller All You Need Is Kill.  Emily Blunt is in talks to pair up with Cruise in the film, which centers on a soldier in a war against aliens who finds himself reliving his last day over and over after being killed.  In the Source Code-ish story, Cruise’s character becomes a better soldier as a result of the time loop, as he’s essentially in an unending series of rounds of Call of Duty multiplayer.  If I’ve learned anything from COD, it’s that lots and lots of practice makes me slightly less sucky.  Hit the jump for more on All You Need Is Kill and the prospects of Blunt teaming up with Johnny Depp.

We’ve got some new casting updates for you today, including a found-footage film tracking Bigfoot and a new project from Ben Stiller. Here they are at a glance:

• The Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez has added Dora Madison Burge, Samuel Davis, Roger Edwards, Chris Osborn and Denise Williamson to his Bigfoot found-footage film, Exists.
• Kathryn Hahn (Wanderlust) has joined Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Hit the jump for more on both projects. [Update: We've been sent the full press release for Exists, which is now included after the jump.]

It’s time for another shortlist story as apparently every actress in Hollywood is looking to star opposite Johnny Depp in the remake of The Thin Man. Chicago and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall is onboard to helm the adaptation of Dashiell Hammett’s novel, which itself was turned into a 1934 feature film. The story centers on private detective-turned-socialite Nick Charles and his charming wife Nora as they’re drawn into investigating a murder. Depp is, obviously, set to play the dashing detective, and now Marshall is set to meet with a slew of actresses to cast the lovely Nora. Hit the jump to find out who’s up for the gig.

Yesterday came the joyous news that we would finally be getting a sequel to Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.  We know that Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, and Steve Carell will all be reprising their lovably buffoonish character, Adam McKay will return to the director’s chair, and filming is set to begin in February.  If Anchorman 2 returns with only people from the original cast, I have no problem with that.  But sequels usually bring new faces, so I’ve compiled a list of 12 actors who would fit well within the Anchorman universe.  Keep in mind: I have no idea what the plot will be, or if there will be roles for these actors, and how radically McKay will change the look of the first movie.  The Legend of Ron Burgundy has a goofy 70s vibe, but it’s possible they’ll reset the time and place (the first movie ends with Ron and Veronica leaving San Diego to become worldwide news anchors).  Also, I’m not saying that all of these actors should be in the movie.  I’m just saying I can see them fitting into an Anchorman sequel.

Hit the jump for my criteria on making the list and who made the cut.

Holy crap John Hamm is handsome. We’ve been around a lot of mega celebrities but, woah, this guy is made from some sort of interplanetary comet dust that just looks like skin but has mystical properties.

Despite our desires to, we didn’t just gaze into his eyes when we had the good fortune to speak to Kristen Wiig and he this week.  They play one of the side couples in Jennifer Westfeldt‘s very funny and very touching relationship comedy Friends With Kids.  In fact, the “can’t keep their hands off one another” to “drinking and slamming doors” character arc is some of the best (and, alas, truest) stuff in the film.  In the video after the jump you can hear them talk about their characters, making this film post-Bridesmaids and what Kristin Wiig really wants to see on the next season of Mad Men.  Hit the jump to watch and look for more cast interviews later this week.

At today’s press day for the hockey comedy Goon, currently available in VOD and arriving in theaters on March 30^th, Collider was able to talk to the film’s producer/co-writer/actor Jay Baruchel after the roundtables and get quick updates on Jay and Seth vs. the Apocalypse, and the How to Train Your Dragon sequel and Cartoon Network animated series. For his responses about each, check out what he had to say after the jump.

With writer-director Jennifer Westfeldt’s (Kissing Jessica Stein) Friends with Kids opening March 9, we’ve been provided with seven clips from the very funny comedy.  Boasting an incredible cast featuring Westfeldt, Adam Scott, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox and Edward Burns, Friends With Kids centers on a pair of thirtysomething best friends (Scott and Westfeldt) who observe the toll that having kids has taken on the couples they know and resolve to bypass that stress by having a child and then date other people.

Right after the film premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, I landed exclusive interviews with Megan Fox, Jon Hamm and Adam Scott.  Just click the links to read or listen to them.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.

Fresh off their Oscar win for The Descendants in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash have sold an original action-comedy pitch to Indian Paintbrush.  Variety reports that Kristen Wiig—a nominee herself in the Best Original Screenplay section with Bridesmaids—is attached to star.  Details are scarce, but that is already a very talented roster if the deals come together.  Faxon, Rash, and Wiig are all graduates of the Los Angeles improv troupe The Groundlings, so the comedic rapport should come naturally.  But I am curious to hear more about this “action” element.

We are surely in the midst of a Faxon/Rash breakout.  The duo will shoot their directorial debut The Way, Way Back this summer with Sam Rockwell and Allison Janney.  Rash will continue appearing on Community once it returns on March 15, and as long as it can cling to the airwaves.  Additionally, The Live Feed reports Faxon has just signed on to the Fox pilot Ned Fox Is My Manny.  He plays a brother who moves in with his sister (Abby Elliot), a single mother, to help her raise her baby.

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.