Some quick casting updates for you today.  Here they are at a glance:

• Michael Emerson (Lost) has joined the cast of Woody Allen’s next film, an untitled picture that he plans to shoot in the US.
• Big Bang Theory co-star Melissa Rauch will join the romantic dramedy, You Are Here, the directorial debut of Mad Men creator, Matt Weiner.
• Ben Schwartz (House of Lies) joins Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake in the gambling drama, Runner,Runner.

Hit the jump for more info on each of these projects and an update on Taylor Kitsch’s status on a possible role as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire.

We’ve got a few casting stories to share this afternoon.  Briefly:

• Multifaceted writer/director/actor Mark Duplass has been added to the already-in-production drama about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden, Zero Dark Thirty, directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
• Rapper T.I. joins Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy in the comedy Identity Theft.
• Bobby Cannavale has been added to the cast of Woody Allen’s untitled next film.

Hit the jump for more details on each casting addition.

Coming on the heels of news that NBC’s 30 Rock will be returning for a 13-episode final season next year, Alec Baldwin appears to be filling his hiatus spots with a couple of projects with familiar friends.  First up, Deadline reports that Baldwin will re-team with Woody Allen on the writer/director’s next untitled project.  Baldwin stars in Allen’s latest film, To Rome with Love, and apparently Allen took a liking to the actor as he’s decided to include him in his next feature.  After spending the past few years shooting abroad, the untitled film is set to shoot in San Francisco and New York this year.

Sally Hawkins (Happy Go-Lucky) is in talks to star as one of two female leads in the dramedy, with Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper apparently eyeing other roles in the pic.  Hit the jump for news concerning Baldwin re-teaming with Russell Brand.

We’ve got some new posters from a multitude of genres for your viewing pleasure today.  Here they are at a glance:

• A new poster for The Expendables 2, this time featuring Scott Adkins.  Be sure to check out the previous character posters featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone and more. The Expendables 2 opens August 17th.
• A great poster for A Fantastic Fear of Everything featuring Simon Pegg. A Fantastic Fear of Everything opens in the UK on June 8th.
• The “Sure to Give You Nightmares” poster category winner goes to The Possession, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick and Natasha Calis. The Possession opens August 31st.
• An official poster for Woody Allen’s To Rome With Love, which Steve premiered right here a couple of weeks ago.  To Rome With Love opens domestically on June 22nd in limited release.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

Writer/director Woody Allen’s follow-up to last year’s Midnight in Paris, the Italy-centered To Rome With Love, is due out in theaters this summer, but as he’s wont to do, Allen is already gearing up to start production on his next project.  Last month we learned that Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett were being eyed to star in the currently untitled film, but now some solidified casting has been announced.  Variety reports that Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky) is in talks to play one of two female leads in the dramedy, a “neurotic who’s fun and rough around the edges.”

Hawkins, who was most recently seen in last year’s Jane Eyre and Submarine, has worked with Allen before on 2007’s Cassandra’s Dream.  Though Copenhagen was previously rumored as Allen’s next location, Variety confirms that he’ll return stateside for this effort and shoot in New York and San Francisco this summer.  Blanchett is still eying the other female lead, a sophisticated woman who has her life together, while Cooper is circling a role in the ensemble.

Opening this weekend, in limited release, is director Richard Linklater’s (Dazed and Confused, School of Rock, Before Sunrise) new film Bernie.  The dark comedy is based on a true story and stars Jack Black as an assistant funeral director of a small Texas town who wooed and then murdered a cantankerous, affluent widow.  Black is surrounded by a terrific supporting cast that includes Shirley MacLaine as said widow and Matthew McConaughey as the one person in town who suspects Bernie of wrongdoing.  While I’ve been less than impressed with Black’s recent film choices, I thought his work in Bernie was incredible and it’ll remind you that when he has the right material, he’s a great actor.  For more on the film, here’s seven clips.

Last week I got to sit down with Richard Linklater for an extended video interview.  We talked about putting Bernie together, how the industry has changed over the past decade, casting, his favorite movies, Woody Allen, how the script changes in rehearsal but not as much on set, what’s the status of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset on Blu-ray, and if we’ll see another chapter in the series.  Hit the jump to watch.

With CinemaCon starting on Monday in Las Vegas (it’s essentially Comic-Con for theater owners), the folks that run the convention are starting to hang the posters and build the displays.  While walking around over the past hour, I managed to get pictures of the first promo posters for Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 , Carl Rinsch’s 47 Ronin, and Seven Psychopaths and The Words. In addition to those promo posters, I came across the first domestic poster for Woody Allen‘s To Rome with Love.

The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and “tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  I believe two of the vignettes are in Italian and the other two are in English.  The film stars Allen, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig. To Rome with Love premieres in the U.S. at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14th, and open in theaters on June 22nd.  Hit the jump to check out the poster and click here to watch the trailer.

Though Woody Allen has head overseas for his more recent film ventures, the filmmaker and comedian loves New York City. However, it doesn’t seem like Louis C.K. is all that fond of his residence there, but this new promo for the third season of his FX comedy series Louie still takes a cue from Allen’s opening credits for Manhattan. Using a track that sounds a little bit like the classic stylings of George Gershwin and some beautiful shots of The Big Apple, it seems like another fitting tribute to the city right to the very end. You’ll see what I mean when you watch the new teaser after the jump along with the aforementioned credit sequence for your reference.  The third season of  Louie premieres on June 28th.

With a few exceptions, Woody Allen has kept mostly to Europe for his new movies.  Today, Variety reports that Allen will be returning stateside for his next feature.  At the Rome premiere of his new movie, To Rome with Love, Allen revealed that he would be shooting his untitled picture mostly in San Francisco with a “tiny bit” in New York.  Like most of Allen’s movies that are in early development, his next picture currently doesn’t have a title and plot details are being kept under wraps.

To Rome with Love involves four separate vignettes, two of which are in Italian and the other two are in English. The film stars Allen, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.  To Rome with Love will premiere in the U.S. at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14th, and open in theaters on June 22nd.

It’s always a fun treat when a now-famous actor pops up in a small role in an older movie you haven’t re-watched in a while.  We previously posted a “Before They Were Famous” supercut, but now someone has edited together a montage of actors in their very first feature film roles. While you’re most likely aware of the majority of these appearances, I’m willing to bet you’ll find at least a few surprises in this video.  I had no idea Jon Hamm was in Clint Eastwood’s “old guys can be astronauts too” movie Space Cowboys, but I now feel compelled to move the pic to the top of my Netflix queue.

Watch Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen, Emma Thompson, Zach Braff and many more make their feature debut after the jump.

The first trailer for Woody Allen’s To Rome with Love has gone online.  Per the synopsis: “The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  The vignette style has its advantages and disadvantages, and I can already tell from the trailer that there will most likely be more than a few stories that could test my patience.  Nevertheless, Allen himself is a standout in this trailer, as is the story involving Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin and Ellen Page.  The same can’t be said for Penelope Cruz or Robert Benigni‘s stories, both of which veer towards the farcical.  Those looking for a Rome take on Midnight in Paris will be sorely disappointed, as To Rome with Love looks to be much more of a straightforward comedy.  I’m a big fan of Allen’s, so I’m really hoping that his vignette pic delivers.  He’s got an impeccable cast to work with, so fingers crossed.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars  Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.  To Rome with Love opens on June 22nd.

Although Woody Allen earned himself another Oscar for his last film, Midnight in Paris, and currently has To Rome With Love due out in theaters in June, the director is currently considering cast members for an upcoming project. On his radar are Cate Blanchett (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as a leading lady and Bradley Cooper (The Hangover) as part of the ensemble. As far as locations go, after Paris and Rome, Deadline also reports that Allen is reportedly looking at Copenhagen for the setting of his next shoot. Details and confirmations are in short order at the moment and there has yet to be a titled assigned to the project. Might I suggest, “Beautiful People in Copenhagen?”

It’s obvious that Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) was the right man for the director’s chair as The Hunger Games is off to a roaring start at the box office. But what would the film have looked like if it were helmed by a different director? Michael Bay, Brett Ratner and Roger Corman would certainly have emphasized the sex appeal and violence. Garry Marshall and Nancy Meyers would probably focus on the romantic side.  How would Terrence Malick, Federico Fellini and Werner Herzog have approached the source material? What about Christopher Nolan or Woody Allen? Thanks to these alternate reality movie posters for The Hunger Games, we can get a glimpse of what might have been. Hit the jump to check them out.

An Italian news segment has provided a glimpse at some of the scenes in Woody Allen‘s To Rome with Love.  Per the synopsis: “The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  The movie will be Allen’s first starring role since Scoop, and you can catch a brief moment of him being his familiar neurotic character on an airplane.  There are also a few quick scenes featuring Roberto Benigni and Penelope Cruz.  The Italian reporter is talking over most of the scenes, but if you can’t wait for a new look at the latest Allen film, this is for you.

Hit the jump to check out the news segment.  The film also stars Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.  To Rome with Love opens June 22nd. [Warning: Video autoplays]

Four new images from Woody Allen‘s To Rome with Love have gone online.  The film is comprised of four separate vignettes and tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.  The outstanding cast includes Allen, Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.  Allen landed a strong hit with Midnight in Paris, so here’s hoping he can carry that momentum into his new feature.

Hit the jump for the new images, and click here for the ten that were released yesterday.  To Rome with Love opens June 22nd.