Naomi Watts has replaced Jessica Chastain in Oliver Hirschbiegel‘s Princess Diana biopic, Caught in Flight.  We reported in November that the film focused on Diana’s real-life secret affair with heart surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Khan, “who was said to be the love of her life.”  However, THR broadens the synopsis by saying the movies takes place “during the last two years of her life,” and “the script charts her search for personal happiness as she turned into a major international campaigner and humanitarian.”  However, since her relationship with Khan reportedly began in 1995 and Diana died in 1997, the timeline still holds.  Presumably, the search for “personal happiness” involved Khan.

Filming on Caught in Flight is set to take place in the UK later this year.  Watts will next be seen in the drama The Impossible, and she’s co-starring opposite Robin Wright in The Grandmothers.

When a studio dumps a horror movie, or any movie, it usually comes after some tinkering. Sometimes things don’t come out the way they were expected, and they try to fix what they can, or make it a harder or softer cut to make it more marketable. With 2011’s Dream House, one expects a terrible movie that was butchered or messed with in such a way that the release version seems a shred of the former movie. The weirdest thing about the film is that it feels like they made the movie they set out to make. Sure, it didn’t turn out well, but at least it’s a complete thought. Jim Sheridan directs Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts and Rachel Weisz in the story of a haunted family that seems like a decade-late riff on The Sixth Sense. Our review of the Dream House Blu-ray follows after jump.

The Impossible was present at the American Film Market in both 2010 and 2011, but we haven’t heard much outside of AFM.  Warner Bros. has released the first teaser trailer—it is stylish and striking and accomplishes everything you want from a teaser trailer.  Impressively, the teaser does all this while dubbed in Spanish.  The Impossible is the English-language debut of Juan Antonio Bayona, director of The Orphanage, which was a massive hit in Bayona’s homeland Spain.  So it makes sense that the first big promotional push is in Spanish.  Luckily for the rest of us, the disaster genre is a universal language.

Led by Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, The Impossible tells the story of a family caught in the tsunami that hit Thailand seven years ago today.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

Naomi Watts and Robin Wright will star in The Grandmothers for director Anne Fontaine (Coco Avant Chanel).  According to THR, The Grandmothers is “the erotic tale of misguided love”—and stop right there.  I think this is a picture for everyone who sees movies when they only know the title (yes, these people exist; you probably know at least one or two of them).  Continue, THR: “—a tale of misguided love and a celebration of the enduring nature of female friendship.”  Aww.  That’s actually kind of sweet.  So what’s the actual plot?  “The Grandmothers tells the story of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s teenage sons.”

Holy crap.  Anne Fontaine is unintentionally turning The Lonely Island’s “Motherlover” into a movie.  Hit the jump for more.

Clint Eastwood paints a broad, meticulous, and shallow portrait of controversial FBI director J. Edgar Hoover in the new biopic J. Edgar.  As seen by Eastwood’s past output from at least the past several years (and arguably even further), the Hollywood veteran seems content to glide along the surface of his subject rather than probe deeper and ask tough questions.  The result for J. Edgar is a movie where at the end of two hours and nineteen minutes you shrug and go, “Yep.  That’s a Napoleon Complex.”  Despite Leonardo DiCaprio acting his heart out as Hoover, and a fine supporting performance from Armie Hammer, J. Edgar is fascinated with its title character but the fascination runs skin-deep.

We’ve got another batch of posters and synopses from the American Film Market, including promo posters and synopses for Tarzan 3D and The Impossible, as well as an official synopsis for the feature film adaptation of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. The new adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic tale Tarzan comes in the form of a 3D animated adaptation. Reinhard Klooss (Animals United) is directing from a script that Klooss co-wrote with Jessica Postigo (The Mortal Instruments). Additionally, The Impossible comes from The Orphanage director J.A. Bayona and stars Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland. The film tells the true story of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, as Watts races to find and save her family from the ensuing flood.

Finally, we’ve got the official synopsis for the feature film adaptation of the popular teen book series The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones. The 3D film stars Lily Collins as a girl who is transported to another world when she meets a mysterious half-angel known as a Shadowhunter. Hit the jump to see the promo posters and synopses.

Naomi Watts and Matt Dillon will star in the independent film Sunlight Jr. Written and directed by Laurie Collyer (Sherrybaby), the movie follows convenience store clerk Melissa (Watts) and her paraplegic boyfriend, Richie (Dillon).  The two “are trapped in a generational cycle of poverty and ignorance. They are genuinely excited when they learn that Melissa is pregnant. But when she loses her job and they are evicted from the motel where they live, things go from bad to worse.”  The press release doesn’t say whether or not the film is a dark comedy or an overwrought, depressing-as-hell drama.  If it turns out to be a drama, the premise sound like it could end up veering into darkly comic territory anyway, but it would be unintentional.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Watts will next be seen in Clint Eastwood‘s J. Edgar, and Dillon is set to co-star in Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep.

You are intrigued by J. Edgar.  Leonardo DiCaprio stars as J. Edgar Hoover, the controversial founding director of the FBI.  The supporting cast—Armie Hammer, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, Josh Lucas, Ken Howard—is more than solid.  And director Clint Eastwood is a reliable octogenarian.  Barring unexpected critical disappointment, J. Edgar is a lock for a Best Picture nomination come Oscar season.

To satisfy that intrigue, Warner Bros. has released 72 (count ‘em, 72) new images from the film.  The collection includes quite a few of DiCaprio in old age makeup (a sight that fascinates me), and several behind-the-scenes shots of Eastwood working out a scene. J. Edgar opens in limited release on November 9, and expands nationwide on November 11.  Bask in the period detail of 72 photos after the jump.

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for the biopic J. Edgar directed by Clint Eastwood.  DiCaprio is spot-on here as J. Edgar Hoover. He’s got the accent down, and I’m liking his intensity (but really, did we expect anything less?). I’m still a bit apprehensive about the film given Eastwood’s less than stellar resume from the past few years, but I like what I’m seeing here. It suits the director to get back to character drama after the ethereal nature of Hereafter, and this seems to be on the right track. The film also looks to be taking a delicate approach to Hoover’s suspected “more-than-friends” relationship with Clyde Tolson, played here by Armie Hammer. Overall, I’m impressed (though DiCaprio’s old-age makeup is a bit, um, questionable), but I’m still keeping my expectations relatively low. The film also stars Naomi Watts, Josh Lucas, Jeffrey Donovan, Ed Westwick, and Judi Dench also star.

J. Edgar opens on November 9.  Check out the trailer after the jump.

It looked like Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar was going to bypass the festival circuit entirely before opening on November 9th, but now it will hit up one fest along the way.  Deadline reports that the J. Edgar Hoover biopic will open this year’s AFI Fest on November 3rd. Warner Bros. insiders say that it’s Eastwood’s best shot at an Oscar since Million Dollar Baby, and it’s really surprising that people who work for the studio distributing J. Edgar would be talking up J. Edgar‘s Oscar chances.  You’ll forgive my skepticism since Eastwood hasn’t directed a great film since Unforgiven (his output since then has ranged from good to unwatchable).  His new M.O. is to take weighty subject matter and let that power the film without actually providing any insight or ambiguity.

However, I’ll end up seeing it since I always turn out for Eastwood.  Hoover is a fascinating and influential figure and I want the film to be good especially since it’s got a great cast in Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Armie Hammer, and Judi Dench.  It’s worth noting that opening AFI Fest doesn’t always get the Oscar ball rolling.  Last year’s opener was Love & Other Drugs.

We have some new images to bring you tonight from a trio of highly-anticipated films. First, Warner Bros. has released a new image from director Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar. The pic gives us our first look at Naomi Watts as Helen Gandy and features Leonardo DiCaprio giving her a look that seems, um, disapproving. Next, Paramount has released a new image of Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield in Martin Scorsese’s Hugo. Finally, Paramount has also released the first image of Charlize Theron in Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s Young Adult. Find the new images, official synopses, and release dates for each of the films after the jump.

The trailer for Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan’s (In the Name of the Father) Dream House has landed online. Starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, and Naomi Watts, the film centers on a family who move into a new home only to discover that a brutal killing took place in the residence years before. After watching the cut, I’m convinced that it either gives too much away or is brilliant in its misdirection. Given the talent of those involved with the pic, I’m inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Dream House opens later this year on September 30th. [Update: We've been sent some new images from the film which you can find after the jump]

With the holiday weekend behind us it’s time to give up the multinational obsession with fireworks and blowing things up so that we all finally can get back to obsessing over pop culture minutia. Fortunately that transition was made a little easier today with the release of four posters for upcoming movies that will soon be plastered all over multiplex lobbies. Today the internet has been graced with pics of the Sundance award-winner Tyrannosaur, as well as the upcoming thrillers Dream House, The Iceman, and Final Destination 5 (yes, shockingly The Final Destination didn’t end up being the final chapter in the franchise after it became a hit. Who could have seen that coming?). Hit the jump to get your required daily dose of teaser poster jollies.

Jesse Eisenberg’s ascension to unlikely geeky movie star was a gradual one that required overtaking Michael Cera’s crown as the king of awkward 20somethings. Though he stood out as a teen in small films like 2002’s Rodger Dodger, the film that put Eisenberg on the map for most people was Noah Baumbach’s acidic divorce comedy The Squid And The Whale. Now famous and Oscar nominated, it looks like Jesse might be reuniting with Baumbach on the upcoming While We’re Young. Details on the film are pretty scarce at this early stage, but a few other interesting casting choices are already in place and the tone should be consistent with Baumbach’s previous films that place complicated personalities into difficult situations to watch them squirm and reveal who they truly are. As he proved by playing Mark Zuckerberg, Eisenberg certainly knows his way around making a character empathetic without ignoring his inherent arrogance and that’s exactly what Baumbach needs from his actors. Hit the jump for more details on the upcoming flick.

Naomi Watts, Liev Schreiber and Christina Hendricks are set to star in the boxing drama The Bleeder.  Per Variety, the film is based on the story of Chuck Wepner, the New Jersey heavyweight boxer who fought 15 rounds with Muhammad Ali and inspired to Sylvester Stallone to write Rocky.  The biopic is the natural transition for documentary filmmaker Jeff Feuerzeig (The Devil and Daniel Johnston) to directing narrative features.  Feuerzeig co-wrote the script with Jerry Stahl (Bad Boys II).

Studio home Hyde Park International is shopping The Bleeder at the Cannes Film Festival this week along with Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vegneance, The Double, Echelon, and Our Idiot Brother.  If I were a billionaire cinephile hanging out in the French Riviera right now, I’d have a hard time passing up the Watts/Schreiber/Hendricks package.  Hit the jump for more on Wepner.