Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy have signed on to star in a buddy cop movie that Paul Feig (Bridesmaids) will direct.  The script by Katie Dippold (Parks and Recreation) centers on “the strained working relationship between a high-strung FBI agent (Bullock) and an unconventional Boston cop (McCarthy) who team up to take down a Russian gangster.”  The logline is nothing special, but the talent attached is.  According to Variety, the Fox production is expected to shoot during McCarthy’s next hiatus from her sitcom, Mike & Molly.  Hit the jump for the rundown on the rest of their upcoming projects.

Movies like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close are difficult to review.  On the one hand, part of me wants to rip Stephen Daldry’s film to shreds and call it a manipulative, corny, over-the-top, Oscar-seeking mess.  But the other part of me wants to drop the cynicism and enjoy the heartfelt emotional journey for what it aspires to be: a film that attempts to cope with the aftershocks of 9/11, and mourn those we lost in the fire.

Watching Extremely Loud on Blu-ray over the weekend, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.  While not exactly the masterpiece it thinks it is, Daldry’s film at least sidesteps the problems I had with the director’s previous efforts, especially the overtly saccharine The Reader and the morbid, depressing The Hours – both of which tried to do too much and therefore lacked focus.  Hit the jump for my review.

Alfonso Cuaron’s upcoming sci-fi film Gravity has already made some bold moves.  The film reportedly has little dialogue, long takes, and now Sandra Bullock says the actors won’t be wearing make-up.  That may not seem like a big deal, but imagine your face blown up to the size of a movie screen and then projected in 3D.  Of course, it’s not a totally bizarre choice since the movie takes place in outer space and centers on an astronaut (Bullock) who’s struggling to find a way home after her space station is damaged.  Putting on eye-shadow and lipstick probably isn’t “Priority #1″ in that situation.

Hit the jump for what Bullock had to say about filming as well as her elaboration on why co-star George Clooney doesn’t plan on doing another 3D movie after this one.  Gravity opens November 21st.

Warner Bros. has released five clips from Stephen Daldry‘s adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.  I found the film surprisingly moving and well-made, but I recognize that it’s one of the most divisive flicks this year.  The people who hate the movie really hate it and I can understand where they’re coming from.  The characters’ odd affectations will either push you out of the story to where you’re no longer willing to come back or they’ll intrigue you until the film has your full attention till the final frame.  Watching individual clips isn’t the best way to sell the flick since the scenes work better in context, which is why the trailers are so terrible.  But if you’re itching to see more footage from the flick, we’ve got your covered.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film stars Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, and Max Von Sydow.  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is currently playing in limited release.  It opens in wide release on January 20, 2012.

September 11^th, like any tragedy, can be easily exploited.  It can be exploited for profit, for political gain, and for an easy strike at your emotional soft spots.  But it can also be handled in a mature, thoughtful manner like Paul Greengrass‘ United 93.  It’s been over ten years since 9/11 and we must start accepting that the event can be used in a story that’s not directly about 9/11.  That’s an incredibly tricky proposition because of the easy route to exploiting our national tragedy, and that’s where Stephen Daldry‘s adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close seems to be going at its outset.  Daldry has to scale a mountain of negative expectations as we struggle to see how 9/11 could be absolutely essential to the story.  We must also contend with a painfully affected character played by a child actor gives a off-putting, robotic performance.  But Daldry’s brilliant direction ultimately brings the 9/11 plot point and the bizarre lead performance together to create an emotional finale.

A large batch of new images from the upcoming drama Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has been released. The film is based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer and tells the story of a nine-year-old boy who sets out to find the lock that fits a key left to him by his father, who perished in the 9/11 attacks. I’m a big fan of the book so I’ve been looking forward to this one for quite a while. The cast is great and director Stephen Daldry has a pretty nifty track record, so I’m hoping everything comes together well. The pic has already started screening, but it’s under a strict embargo after the whole Girl with the Dragon Tattoo fiasco (plus Scott Rudin is also the producer of Extremely Loud).

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film stars Thomas Horn, Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and John Goodman. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens in limited release on December 25th, then expands nationwide on January 20th.

A new trailer for director Stephen Daldry’s (The Reader) adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close has been released. Based on the book by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film follows nine-year-old Oskar Schell (newcomer Thomas Horn) who sets out to find the lock that fits a key left to him by his father who perished in the 9/11 attacks. This trailer gets into the plot a bit more, but it plays little too heavy-handed. Having read the book, I can say that the film undeniably rests on Horn’s performance. He seems to have the peculiarities of the odd Schell down, so I’m hopeful he’s got the goods. Von Sydow also looks promising in a very crucial (and sweet) role. This is an adaptation that could end up being fantastically original and moving, or terribly sappy and maudlin. Daldry has a pretty great track record, so I’m really hoping it’s the former.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Sandra Bullock, Tom Hanks, Max von Sydow, Viola Davis, Jeffrey Wright, and John Goodman. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens in limited release on December 25th, then expands nationwide on January 20th.

Ah, November. Leaves are falling, colder weather is here (depending on where you live), and the 2011 movie season is coming to a close. While angry shoppers and red Starbucks cups generally mean it’s time to start preparing for the many awkward/tense family encounters that are sure to come, it’s also time to start thinking Oscar. We’ve seen a few contenders throughout the year, but a plethora of heavyhitters will be opening over the next 5 weeks.

To aid in your Oscar polls (or to quench your curiosity) we’ve compiled a state of the race preview as of this lovely Thanksgiving week. Granted, a lot can change from now until February, but a good portion of the major players have already been screened and we’re starting to get a sense of how it could all play out. We’ll be examining all the major categories over the next four days, kicking things off with the infamously unpredictable Best Supporting Actor and Actress. Hit the jump to see where things stand.

With the holiday movie season upon us, a few new images from some of the upcoming Oscar contenders have been unveiled. We’ve got a new look at Michael Fassbender in the extremely well-received drama Shame. Fassbender plays a sex-addict opposite Carey Mulligan, and our own Matt Goldberg loved the flick. There’s also a new image of Rooney Mara from David Fincher’s highly anticipated adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, another look at Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, and an ominous image of Gary Oldman from the spy thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Additionally, we’ve got another look at Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, and an image of Sandra Bullock and Thomas Horn in the adaptation of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

But that’s not all! We’ve also got new images from We Bought a Zoo, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, Haywire, Underworld: Awakening, In the Land of Blood and Honey, New Year’s Eve, and One for the Money. Hit the jump to check them out.

While Clint Eastwood’s next directorial project, a remake of A Star is Born, is on hold for Beyonce’s pregnancy, the 81-year-old is plotting a return to acting to fill the gap. He’s set to star in the drama Trouble with the Curve for director Robert Lorenz (who also happens to be Eastwood’s longtime assistant director), and now it looks like they’ve found their female lead. While Sandra Bullock was initially eyed for the role, her schedule is too packed to fit the movie in so now Amy Adams has been offered the part. The story centers on “an aging baseball scout who’s losing his sight and decides to take a road trip to Atlanta with his daughter to eye a hot prospect.”

Variety reports that Bullock and Adams were eyed from the get-go, and now it’s Adams’ turn to see if she can move her schedule around to take the part. Adams is currently filming Man of Steel and will next be seen in The Muppets.

Alfonso Cuaron‘s sci-fi feature Gravity is easily one of my most anticipated films of 2012.  The movie, which is Cuaron’s first since Children of Men, centers on “a female astronaut (played by Sandra Bullock) stranded on a space station after satellite debris slams into it and wipes out the rest of the crew.”  She then has to find a way to return home.  George Clooney plays a fellow astronaut who only features in the first act, but his role is reportedly “pivotal”.  Cloooney provided some brief elaboration to USA Today on his role, explaining his and Bullock’s characters “are tethered together, floating through space.”

Clooney also spoke about the challenges in the script (there’s reportedly very little dialogue) and about his first time starring in a 3D movie.  Hit the jump for what he had to say.  Gravity opens November 21, 2012.

Last week, we reported that Clint Eastwood was planning to return to acting by signing on to star in Trouble with the Curve.  Eastwood had previously claimed that Gran Torino would be his last performance, but it looks like he’ll return to help out his longtime assistant director Robert Lorenz on his directorial debut, especially since Eastwood’s next directing gig, A Star Is Born, has been delayed due to Beyonce’s pregnancy.  Curve would have Eastwood playing aging baseball scout who’s losing his eyesight and takes his daughter on a road trip to help evaluate a young prospect.

Twitch is now reporting that Sandra Bullock is in talks to play the daughter.  If Bullock takes the role, expect this flick to hit the pipeline fast.  The Oscar-winning actress will next be seen in Stephen Daldry’s Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and next year she stars in Alfonso Cuaron’s long-awaited sci-fi film Gravity.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Jonathan Safran Foer.  The movie centers on Oskar, a boy who is convinced his father, who died in the 9/11 attacks, hid a final message somewhere in the city: “Oskar begins searching New York City for the lock that fits a mysterious key he found in his father’s closet.”  Thomas Horn, Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, and James Gandolfini star in the film directed by Stephen Daldry (The Reader).  Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close opens in limited release on December 25, and expands wide on January 20, 2012.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

Thank the Maker for YouTube. With the advent of the video-on-demand digital age, no longer is that TV movie role that Actor X did when he was 11-years-old lost forever, and now someone’s put together a compilation of 25 “before they were famous” first roles for our viewing pleasure. Did you know that Daniel Craig was in A Kid in King Arthur’s Court? How about Joseph Gordon-Levitt on Roseanne or Jake Gyllenhaal in City Slickers? No need to hit up Netflix, some choice scenes are now all in one place.

Hit the jump to watch the montage, which includes 25 sometimes painful scenes featuring Jim Carrey, Denzel Washington, Angelina Jolie, Ryan Gosling, Keanu Reeves, Nicole Kidman, Seth Rogen, Jake Gyllenhaal, Harrison Ford and more.

New set photos from The Hunger Games, Piranha 3DD, and Gravity have leaked online.  The Hunger Games photos show some of the buildings like the Hall of Justice, an insignia that fans of the book will probably recognize (I’m reading the book soon!  I have a long plane ride ahead of me!), and a first look at Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket.  The Piranha 3DD set photos show the water park where the sequel’s mayhem will go down (how does a freshwater fish survive in a chlorinated water park?  Fuck you, that’s how) as well as some grisly corpses.  Finally, the set photos from Gravity aren’t really set photos as much as they simply provide a first look at Sandra Bullock with her character’s short hair and bruise make-up.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The Hunger Games is set for March 23, 2012.  Piranha 3DD opens November 23rd.  Gravity currently has no release date, but expect it in 2012.

[Update: We've been asked to remove the set images from The Hunger Games]