In case you haven’t had your fill of trailers today, we’ve got yet another one for you: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Directed by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love), the film centers on a group of retirees who decide to spend their retirement at a luxurious resort in India, only to find that the actual structure isn’t exactly what they were expecting. The trailer actually looks pretty good, bolstered by a stellar ensemble of British actors including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Maggie Smith, and Dev Patel. Some of the humor is a bit easy, but there’s actually a hint of the balance between drama and comedy that Madden perfected with Shakespeare in Love.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel opens March 9th, 2012.

Dustin Hoffman is looking to finally try his hand at directing, as the Academy Award-winning actor is set to make his feature directorial debut with Quartet. Based on the stage play of the same name, the film centers on a quartet of celebrated opera singers whose yearly plans to put on a concert in order to raise funds for their opera singers-only retirement home go awry when four of the finest singers in English operatic history living under one roof leads to trouble.

Hoffman has assembled a cast of British veterans that includes Maggie Smith, Billy Connolly, Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins, Sheridan Smith, and Michael Gambon. Production got underway today in and around Buckinghamshire and will last for nine weeks. Hit the jump to read the full press release.

What will I miss most about the Harry Potter franchise?  Probably the 800 posters that accompany every single film.  There have already been seven released for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, but apparently that’s not enough so here are 11 more.  That’s 18 in total and we both know there are more on the way.  Hit the jump to check them out and puzzle over who has the most pained expression (I vote Grint).  The film opens in 3D on July 15th.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.  There’s really only one word to sum up this trailer, however cliched its use might be: epic. It begins with a warped version of the Harry Potter theme that we’ve all come to know and love, generating some fantastic tension for what’s ahead. Fans of the book will not be disappointed and may let out a shriek or two at some of the memorable moments glimpsed in the trailer. I’m loving the operatic feel that Part 2 looks to embody, and can’t wait to see how David Yates and Co. wrap up the most successful franchise in film history this summer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Ralph Fiennes.  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opens in 3D on July 15th.

Our ongoing AFM (American Film Market) coverage continues as Steve grabbed a shot of the promo poster and synopsis for Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut Quartet.  It’s hard to believe that Hoffman has never officially helmed a film until now, but it’s exciting to see what he’ll come up with.  He’s also got a great cast with Maggie Smith, Albert Finney, and Tom Courtenay set to star.

Hit the jump to check out the promo poster and synopsis.

UPDATE: The studio has asked us to remove the poster. Sorry if you missed it.

Fox Searchlight has just announced (via press release) that principal photography for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will begin on October 10th in India.  John Madden (Shakespeare in Love) will direct an all star cast featuring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy and Dev Patel. When we last reported on the film, Peter O’Toole was rumored for a role and there was no mention of Tom Wilkinson.  It’s pretty clear Wilkinson is going to play O’Toole’s role.   Here’s the official synopsis:

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel follows a group of British retirees who decide to “outsource” their retirement to less expensive and seemingly exotic India.  Enticed by advertisements for the newly restored Marigold Hotel and bolstered with visions of a life of leisure, they arrive to find the palace a shell of its former self. Though the new environment is less luxurious than imagined, they are forever transformed by their shared experiences, discovering that life and love can begin again when you let go of the past.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Fox Searchlight Pictures has worldwide rights.

Touchstone Pictures has released the first trailer for their upcoming animated film, Gnomeo and Juliet.  As you’ve probably already guessed, the film is a retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet… only with gnomes.  The film will feature music by Elton John and the voice cast includes James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Michael Caine, Jason Statham, Maggie Smith, Patrick Stewart, Ashley Jensen, Stephen Merchant, Matt Lucas, Jim Cummings, Julie Walters, Richard Wilson, and Ozzy Osbourne.  You can hit the jump to watch the trailer and to see the first image from the film.

One of the most amazing things about 1981′s Clash of the Titans is how out of time it feels. It’s a film that was definitely sold to children partly because of the great success of Star Wars, but other than the mechanical owl Bubo, it doesn’t feel very Star Wars-y, and it definitely doesn’t feel like a film of the 1980′s. And for an 80′s film, it’s loaded with a cast of British stars like Laurence Olivier as Zeus, Claire Bloom as Hera, and Maggie Smith as Thetis, alongside Americans like Harry Hamlin as Perseus, and Burgess Meredith as Ammon, so it doesn’t feel entirely British or American. Director Desmond Davis directs with all the precision of an Amicus film from the early 70′s, so it has a slightly stagey, kinda television feel. But the stop motion animation of Ray Harryhausen is timeless. And when Perseus does battle with the Medusa, or giant scorpions, it’s great to see the maestro get one last big movie. My review of 1981′s Clash of the Titans after the jump.