The cast of the long-in-development adaptation of the 1980s TV series The Equalizer is starting to come together.  Denzel Washington has been set for quite some time in the lead role of a former covert operations officer who dedicates his life to helping people in trouble.  The production has seen both Nicolas Winding Refn and Rupert Wyatt enter and exit the director’s chair over the past couple of months, but Washington’s Training Day helmer Antoine Fuqua is now firmly set to bring the film to fruition.  As they move towards a production start date later this year in anticipation of an April 11, 2014 release date, Fuqua has now cast his female lead, and it’s a bit of a surprising choice: Chloe Grace Moretz.

Hit the jump for more, including information on the Taxi Driver-esque character that Moretz will play and a continuation of the original character in book form. 

The nationwide expansion of Harmony Korine‘s Spring Breakers meant that I had the opportunity to catch the film last night at my local theater. We’ll talk a more specifically about our coverage of the film after the jump. For now, I’d like to make a futile attempt at encapsulating my feelings on the pic in the next few sentences. There’s a lot to like about Breakers whether it be the performances (James Franco‘s especially), the music, the slick editing and use of foreshadowing, etc. Nevertheless, for me this isn’t a movie that I “liked” as much as it’s one I respect. It’s beautiful, surreal, challenging, abhorrent, and vapid all at the same time. In other words, it’s art.

I could go on for days about the pic but that’s not why we’re here. In this week’s Top 5 we’ll take a look at our Breakers coverage, some Transformers 4 plot details, Olympus Has Fallen interviews with Gerard Butler and Antoine Fuqua just to name a few, a new trailer and poster for Star Trek Into Darkness, and The Croods interviews with Nicolas Cage and more. As is standard, a brief recap and link to each awaits after the jump.

Opening this weekend is director Antoine Fuqua’s White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  If you’ve been waiting for Butler to return to action, you’re going to be very happy watching Olympus Has Fallen.  Not only is the film a hard R for graphic violence, it features Butler kicking ass in some great action set pieces.  Watch some clips here.

A few days ago I landed an exclusive interview with Fuqua here in Los Angeles.   During our wide-ranging conversation we talked about what it’s been like promoting the film all over the country,  how Seven Samurai was the movie that inspired him to become a filmmaker, the interesting way he got into directing (an art class in college led to him abandoning electrical engineering and pursuing a career in film), making Olympus Has Fallen, deleted scenes, the length of his first cut, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

“It’s Die Hard in the White House” is the high-concept pitch for Olympus Has Fallen.  It’s a good pitch, but it’s only a pitch.  The movie doesn’t understand what makes Die Hard compelling beyond “a hero trapped and alone has to take out bad guys and save hostages”.  It’s about well-written characters and a confident tone, and Olympus Has Fallen has neither.  Director Antoine Fuqua may have his movie paced like a tight action flick, but it’s a confused picture in terms of mood and plot.  Furthermore, it misses the obvious aspect of giving us a hero worth rooting for and a villain worth rooting against.  Olympus Has Fallen sticks us in the crossfire and no one knows how to shoot.

A reunion might be in the future for Training Day director Antoine Fuqua and Denzel Washington.  Fuqua, who has his latest directorial effort, Olympus Has Fallen, debuting tomorrow, is in early talks to direct Washington in the thriller The Equalizer.  The film is based on the 1980s crime TV series of the same name and written by Richard Wenk (The Expendables 2).  Sony Pictures is looking to The Equalizer as a possible franchise for Washington, who most recently received an Oscar nomination for playing a beleaguered pilot in Flight.   

While the film deviates from the original series by creating a spin on the story catered to Washington’s talents, teaming him up with Fuqua again could lead to another intense and captivating performance similar to Washington’s in Training Day, which nabbed him a Best Actor Oscar.  Hit the jump for more about the project.

If you didn’t get enough of Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen with the ten clips released last week, maybe this new red-band clip will satisfy you.  The actioner centers on a hostile takeover of the White House that puts the President (Aaron Eckhart) at risk. Only disgraced Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) can save the day.  This explosive clip shows how it all goes wrong.

Hit the jump to check out the clip, click here for over 25 high-resolution images from the pic and check out Steve’s recent interview with Butler and Fuqua.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

Opening next weekend is director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  If you’ve been waiting for Butler to return to action, you’re going to be very happy watching Olympus Has Fallen.  Not only is the film a hard R for graphic violence, it features Butler kicking ass in some great action set pieces.  Watch some clips here.

During the recent New York City press junket for the film, I got to speak with Butler and Fuqua.  We talked about how the project came together, how I think Butler needs to kick more ass on movie screens, the violence in the film, was it ever going to be PG-13, did they have to pull back on any of the scenes, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

FilmDistrict has released ten new clips from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Shooter) upcoming White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).

Hit the jump to check out the clips, and click here for over 25 high-resolution images from the pic.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

For fans of the Kiefer Sutherland TV Series 24, it has been a mighty long road towards the promised movie, but if Training Day director Antoine Fuqua, who was attached to the project since last year, has anything to say about it, the movie version may have now reached the end of the line.  Hit the jump for the full scoop on the 24 movie.

FilmDistrict has released a batch of new high-resolution images from director Antoine Fuqua’s (Training Day) White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.  The film stars Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House and capture the President (Aaron Eckhart).  The pic is one of two similarly-plotted action films that take place in and around the White House that will hit theaters this year, with the other being Roland Emmerich’s White House Down.  Thus far, this film looks like it has a slightly larger scope than Down, but we’ve yet to see a full trailer for the latter.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Robert Forster, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Rick Yune.  Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.

The game of “hot potato” over the long-in-development boxing drama Southpaw continues.  The pic was initially developed as a starring vehicle for Eminem, centering on a welterweight’s rise to a championship title “as he battles various tragedies in his personal life and wins back the love of his daughter.”  Kurt Sutter (Sons of Anarchy) wrote the script and Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) came aboard to direct in the summer of 2011 only to see DreamWorks back out of producing the film soon thereafter.  MGM and Sony subsequently stepped in to take control of the property, but last spring the studios decided to put the film on the backburner.

Fuqua moved on to helming the upcoming White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen in the meantime, but now another studio looks to be stepping up to get the film back on track: The Weinstein Company.  Hit the jump for more.

The first trailer for Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen is now available online.  In the first of two White House-centric action flicks this year, Fuqua strikes hard and fast to bring down the President of the United States and the symbolic building of his power.  At the same time, he establishes a great foundation for the protagonist’s heroic arc, which makes for a welcome return to action for star Gerard Butler.  There’s a bit of Expendables-style flair and over-the-top effects that are more in line with what we can expect from Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, but Fuqua’s pedigree of bringing out the truth in his characters gives me faith that this will be more than just “Die Hard meets Air Force One on steroids.”

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman, Dylan McDermott and Angela Bassett, Olympus Has Fallen opens on March 22nd.  Hit the jump to check out the first trailer and poster.

We’ve got a couple of release date announcements to attend to this evening.  First up, Universal Pictures has set a September 6, 2013 release date for the upcoming sequel Riddick.  Directed by David Twohy, the Chronicles of Riddick follow-up finds the titular character, played by Vin Diesel, left for dead on a deserted planet filled with predators.  In addition to the release date announcement, Universal has revealed that the sci-fi film will also be released in the IMAX format when it hits theaters.  Currently no other films are slated for that September date.

Additionally, the 2013 White House actioner not directed by Roland Emmerich—Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen—is undergoing a slight release date shift.  FilmDistrict has moved its release up to March 22, 2013 from its previous April 5th date.  Gerard Butler stars as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists attack the White House.  The film now squares off against DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods.  Emmerich’s similarly-plotted film, White House Down, stars Channing Tatum and opens in June.

It looks like Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen will get a chance to take down the White House before Roland Emmerich’s White House Down as it is now slated to open first by about three months.  Starring Gerard Butler as a disgraced Secret Service agent called back to duty when terrorists take over the White House, Olympus Has Fallen will star Aaron Eckhart as the President in Peril. (Emmerich’s film stars Channing Tatum as the heroic Secret Service agent with Jamie Foxx playing the President.)

Olympus Has Fallen also stars Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Cole Hauser, Ashley Judd, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott, Radha Mitchell and Rick Yune and will open April 5th, 2013. Hit the jump to read the press release.

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

• Ashley Judd and Robert Forster are the latest additions to the Gerard Butler-fronted White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen.
• The Raid star Iwo Uwais has joined the cast of Keanu Reeves’ directorial debut Man of Tai Chi.
• Bradley Whitford is in early talks to join Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson in Saving Mr. Banks.

Hit the jump for details on these casting additions.