A new featurette for writer/director/producer Judd Apatow’s upcoming comedy This Is 40 has been released.  The film picks up five years after the events of Apatow’s Knocked Up and centers on the relationship between the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.  In this featurette, Apatow explains how he decided to bring those characters back for this “sort-of sequel,” and Mann and Rudd talk about the real-life problems facing their characters.  We also get to see quite a bit of new footage that showcases more of the film’s humor, but I’m really interested to see how Apatow balances the film’s dramatic elements.  He’s got two incredibly talented leads in Rudd and Mann, so here’s hoping the film nails that comedy/drama sweet spot.

Hit the jump to watch the featurette.  The film also stars Albert Brooks, John Lithgow, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow, Megan Fox, Jason Segel, Robert Smigel, and Charlyne Yi.  This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

We have word that Shawn Levy (Real Steel) is stepping in to direct the ensemble comedy,  This Is Where I Leave You as a replacement for Adam Shankman (Rock of Ages).  Shankman was attached to the Warner Bros. film as recently as this past summer, but he departed the picture along with star Jason Bateman.  The studio then put the picture in limbo, but have recently entered final negotiations with Levy to direct.  The original cast also featured Jason Sudeikis, Malin Akerman, Zac Efron and Leslie Mann, but it’s not yet clear whether their schedules can accommodate the shoot.  Hit the jump for more.

This weekend’s release of ParaNorman will afford me the rare opportunity to share an afternoon in the theater with two of my nephews, ages 8 and 10. Granted, they’re a little disappointed that we’re not checking it out in 3D, but I just can’t bring myself to foster any sort of affinity for the technology in their young and impressionable minds. The last movie we watched in theaters together was 2009′s Up and it was an experience that I’ll never forget as its brilliant opening sequence brought tears to both of their eyes at the ripe ages of 5 and 7. It was a glowing example of the cinema’s ability to touch young and old alike and while ParaNorman will likely be unable to touch that moment, I’m looking forward to it a ton nonetheless.

My weekend plans aside, in a three-fifths ode to our action heroes of yesteryear, this week’s Top 5 includes video interviews with the cast of The Expendables 2, video interviews with the cast and directors of ParaNorman, the first poster and trailer for Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s The Last Stand, David Cronenberg vs. the superhero genre, and the first trailer for Sly Stallone and director Walter Hill‘s revenge tale, Bullet to the Head. As always, a brief recap and link to each greets you after the jump.

LAIKA’s awesome 3D stop-motion feature, ParaNorman opens this Friday.  Directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, the film centers on a young boy who can see the dead and must use this gift to lift a curse that threatens his small town.  ParaNorman features the voices of Kodi-Smit McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann, Jodelle Ferland and more.  For more on the film, here’s six clips, a very cool featurette called Time Lapse, and all our previous coverage.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I spoke to Leslie Mann.  We talked about making ParaNorman, her reaction to the finished film, and Judd Apatow‘s This Is 40.  Hit the jump to watch.

With directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell’s ParaNorman opening in a couple weeks, we’ve been given some swag to send off to one lucky reader.  The 3D stop-motion picture centers on a young boy who can see the dead and must use this gift to lift a curse that threatens his small town.  ParaNorman features the voices of Kodi-Smit McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann, Jodelle Ferland and more.  The stop-motion animated flick opens August 17th.  Hit the jump to see how you can win some swag.

A new trailer and images for director Judd Apatow‘s new film This Is 40 have been released.  The film follows Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann‘s characters from Knocked Up as they approach middle age.  The laughs aren’t as big here as they were in the first trailer, but I’m encouraged by the promise of a really sweet and candid story about family.  Rudd and Mann can walk the line between comedy and drama like few others, and Apatow has been trying to nail that James L. Brooks balance with his previous directorial features to varying degrees of success.  There’s a clear emotional throughline with This Is 40 that I think could be the key, and the pairing of Albert Brooks and Rudd as father and son is an inspired move that I’m eager to see play out.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer and see the images.  The film also stars Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Ryan Lee, Charlene Yi, Robert Smigel, Wyatt Russell, Melissa McCarthy and Jason Segel.  This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

We previously brought you these six new clips from the upcoming 3D, stop-motion animated film, ParaNorman, but now we can give you a quick look at how the feature came together.  This behind-the-scenes featurette gives you an idea of the technology involved (3D printing of character molds), the meticulous nature of filming each individual scene and the sheer manpower involved with pulling off a feature of this complexity.

ParaNorman, directed by Chris Butler and Sam Fell, and starring the vocal talents of Kodi Smit-McPhee, John Goodman, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Casey Affleck, Leslie Mann and Jeff Garlin, opens in 3D on August 17th.  Hit the jump to check out the behind-the-scenes time-lapse video.

The visually stunning ParaNorman opens in theaters August 17th, but we have six new clips to tease you with today.  If you missed Steve’s set visit to LAIKA studios, do yourself a favor and check it out.  The technology and man-power involved in the making of this 3D, stop-motion animated adventure comedy is astonishing.  The following clips highlight the film’s technical beauty and give glimpses of its characters, plot and humor.

ParaNorman, from directors Chris Butler and Sam Fell, features the voices of Kodi-Smit McPhee, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman and Alex Borstein. Hit the jump to view the clips.

The stop-motion animated film ParaNorman already boasts cutting-edge visuals, but new viral newsletters serve to flesh out the story of the characters behind the puppets.  ParaNorman centers on the title character, voiced by Kodi Smit-McPhee, a gifted but misunderstood young boy who has the power to speak to the ghostly residents of his hometown of Blithe Hollow.  We’ve already seen the gorgeous character and scene work in these images, TV spots, posters and trailers; Steve got an even closer look at the animation process during his set visit to LAIKA Studios.  Now, thanks to these viral newsletters, we get to see a little more background story on on the inhabitants of the cursed little town.

ParaNorman also features the voices of Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, and Alex Borstein.  The movie opens in 3D on August 17th.  Hit the jump to check out the newsletters.

Director Adam Shankman large-scale movie musical Rock of Ages hits theaters next month, but he’s already lining up an impressive cast for his next project.  Deadline reports that Jason Bateman, Zac Efron, Goldie Hawn, and Leslie Mann are in talks to star in Shankman’s adaptation of the Jonathan Tropper novel This Is Where I Leave You.  The book tells the story of a dysfunctional family that is forced to reunite when their father requests they sit Shivah for seven days following his death.  Harry Potter director David Yates was previously considering the Warner Bros. project as his post-Potter film, so this one’s a bit of a hot property for the studio.  [Update: Malin Akerman and Jason Sudeikis are also in talks to join.]  Hit the jump for more, including a synopsis of the book.

On the heels of the film’s first trailer being released, a new poster has popped up for This Is 40, writer-director Judd Apatow’s “sort-of sequel to Knocked Up.” After supporting roles in the first film, Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann step into the spotlight this time around as Apatow explores the comically embattled couple’s aging relationship, and their attempts to escape the domestic hell illustrated on this poster. It features Mann looking on in exhausted disgust as an oblivious Rudd sits on the toilet not ten feet away, snuffing out any shred of mystique that was left in their relationship. A well-constructed visual gag that cannily expresses the film’s relatable premise.

Hit the jump to check it out. This Is 40 also stars Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Ryan Lee, Charlene Yi, and Wyatt Russell, with appearances by Jason Segel (reprising his role from Knocked Up) and Melissa McCarthy. It opens on December 21.  [Update: We've been informed that the poster was not approved for release and have been asked by the studio to take it down.  We'll have the official poster up once it's released]

The first trailer for Judd Apatow’s fourth directorial effort, This Is 40, has gone online.  The film is a semi-spinoff of Apatow’s Knocked Up, as it follows the lives of the characters played by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann.  The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a new classic, I was a big fan of Knocked Up, and while Funny People certainly had its issues, I enjoyed it for the most part.  That said, this trailer for This Is 40 shows huge promise.  We already know that Rudd and Mann have impeccable chemistry, but I love the idea of Apatow tackling the issues of aging and mid-adulthood through his dramedic eye.  We get a look at a couple of the bit parts from Jason Segel and Melissa McCarthy (to great comedic effect) and the end showcases Rudd’s penchant for spot-on delivery.  It’s safe to say that in a very crowded holiday release schedule, This Is 40 just jumped up towards the top of my most anticipated list.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Ryan Lee, Charlene Yi, and Wyatt Russell.  This Is 40 opens on December 21st.

The first trailer for the indie drama Little Birds has gone online.  The film premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and stars Juno Temple and Kay Panabaker as two young girls who leave home for Los Angeles, only to discover that the boredom of their hometown may be better than trying to survive in a big city.  This is a really well-crafted trailer for the indie-inclined, as it highlights all the right notes for its target audience.  The performances look great, the visuals striking, and the story seems familiar yet unique.  Color me intrigued.  Furthermore, since its Sundance premiere Temple has becoming somewhat of a rising star, with roles in the upcoming Lovelace and The Dark Knight Rises.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Kate Bosworth, Kyle Gallner, and Leslie Mann.

Following on from the US trailer and poster out earlier this month, Focus Features have now released a new, longer international trailer for their stop-motion zombie horror, ParaNorman. When a small town is besieged by zombies, responsibility falls upon Norman, a local boy with the unique ability to speak to the dead, to save everyone from a centuries-old curse.

ParaNorman is Coraline writer Chris Butler‘s directorial debut, although Sam Fell (The Tale of Despereaux) is also co-directing. The film features the voices of Kodi Smit-McPhee, Casey Affleck, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Leslie Mann, Jeff Garlin, John Goodman, and Alex Borstein. The movie opens in 3D on August 17th. Hit the jump for the trailer.

Casting appears to be moving quickly on Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring now that Emma Watson is set as the lead. We recently learned that American Horror Story star Taissa Farmiga joined the ensemble cast, and now THR reports that Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard (Flipped), Katie Chang, Claire Pfister and Georgia Rock have been added. Written by Coppola, the film is based on the true story of a group of teenagers who robbed the homes of the rich and famous between October 2008 and August 2009, coming away with over $3 million worth of loot from the likes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsay Lohan.

Mann will play a mom of two of the girls involved in the thievery, and Broussard is set as the male lead. Besides Watson and Farmiga, Coppola seems to have gone with relative newcomers to play the group of teens. Broussard seems to have the most experience of the four other young ‘uns, most recently starring in The Chaperone with Triple H. I’m always happy to see Mann onscreen, and I’m eager to see Coppola’s take on celebrity/fame obsession. Production is set to begin this spring in Los Angeles.