We’ve got some sci-fi, some comedy, some animated family fun and some drama in our poster round-up today.  Let’s get to it:

• Looper, from director Rian Johnson and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, opens September 28th.
• That’s What She Said, a raunchy comedy starring Anne Heche, Alia Shawkat and Marcia Debonis, opens October 19th.
• Monsters, Inc. 3D will be re-released in theaters starting Wednesday, December 19th (just in time for the holidays).
• Arbitrage, a dramatic thriller starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Brit Marling, opens September 14th.

Hit the jump to see the new posters (via IMPAwards) along with the films’ synopses.

Like I did last year, I had a great time at the Sundance Film Festival.  It’s tough to complain about weather conditions or getting around when you have the privilege to watch and discover new movies all day.  Even better, plenty of Sundance 2012 films turned out to be pretty damn good.  For me, there weren’t any quite as excellent as Martha Marcy May Marlene or Project Nim from last year, but those movies set an incredibly high bar.  Many of my peers felt they saw something truly special with Beasts of the Southern Wild and I can understand the love even if it didn’t hit me with as much emotional impact.  Most of my peers also loved Liberal Arts and Sleepwalk With Me, and I’m sorry I missed those.  But all in all, the festival ran as smoothly as last year, the volunteers (especially those in the press tent) were awesome, and it’s always a joy to hang out with people from other movie websites.

Hit the jump for my festival scorecard where you can see an organized list of my ratings for the movies I saw (although I highly encourage you to read the full review rather than just glance at a letter).  While this is my wrap-up, Steve will be posting his Sundance interviews throughout the week so keep an eye out for those.

As the 2012 Sundance Film Festival rolls on, we’ve got a couple more sales to report this morning. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have acquired the financial drama Arbitrage, while Millenium Entertainment has picked up the paranormal thriller Red Lights. Deadline reports that Lionsgate and Roadside have acquired the rights to Arbitrage for a figure north of $2 million. The studios plan to release the Richard Gere-starred financial drama for an awards season push later this year, building the buzz around Gere’s performance.

Gere plays a hedge-fund magnate in over his head, desperately trying to complete the sale of his trading empire before the depths of his fraud are revealed. Matt was frustrated by the dueling storylines in the film, and you can read his review here. The film also stars Susan Sarandon, Tim Roth, and Brit Marling. Hit the jump for acquisition news concerning the Robert De Niro-starred paranormal thriller Red Lights.

There are two movies living inside Nicolas Jarecki‘s Arbitrage.  Both films are about justice and a wealthy man’s struggle to elude it.  They both appeal to our hope that one day the truth will out and that no one can hide their dark secrets forever no matter how desperately they might try.  Both stories transcend class because we can all relate to a character who will stop at nothing when he’s at risk of losing everything.  But only one story helps Arbitrage stand apart by intelligently showcasing a crime we rarely see depicted in film and embracing the rich drama of family betrayal.  The other story is a dull episode of Law & Order.

In September, we reported that the Sundance Film Festival would be taking its show on the road by offering a handful of festival selections to theaters across the country.  Sundance has now announced the nine films that might be coming to your city provided your city is Ann Arbor, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Houston, Nashville, Orlando, San Francisco, or Tuscon.  This year’s Sundance Film Festival USA slate includes movies featuring Frank Langella, Chris Rock, Elizabeth Olsen, Vera Farmiga, Rashida Jones, Andy Samberg, Isla Fischer, Adam Scott, and many more.

Hit the jump for the line-up and theater which each film will be playing.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival will run from January 19 – 29th.  All Sundance Film Festival USA screenings will take place on January 26th.

With our continuing coverage of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival’s Spotlight line-up, we’re bringing you some early looks at next year’s films. Hit the jump for synopses and images from writer-director Julie Delpy‘s 2 Days in New York, starring Delpy and Chris Rock; writer-director Nicholas Jarecki‘s Arbitrage, starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth; writer-director Leslye Headland‘s Bachelorette, starring Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher and Lizzy Caplan; and writer-director Josh Radnor‘s Liberal Arts, starring Radnor and Elizabeth Olsen.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from Thursday, January 19^th to Sunday, the 29^th.  Click here for all our coverage.

Last week, we learned what the 2012 Sundance Film Festival had lined-up in its In-Competition categories, plus the out-of-competition Spotlight, Park City at Midnight, Next <=>, and New Frontier selections. But today Sundance has announced the heavy-hitters with the “Premieres” category.  That’s not to say these are the best films or the ones that will get the biggest buzz.  But they’re the ones that will pack the gigantic Eccles Theater bright and early every morning.

The Premieres category will include Spike Lee‘s Red Hook Summer, Rodrigo Cortes‘ Red Lights, Stephen Frears‘ Lay the Favorite, James Marsh‘s Shadow Dancer, Ice-T‘s Something from Nothing: The Art of Wrap, and the Peter Jackson-produced West Memphis Three documentary, West of Memphis.  There’s plenty more than these few films and you can check out the entire line-up after the jump.  The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs from January 19 – 29th.

Another Earth is a compelling and thought-provoking sci-fi drama about a world just like ours, that suddenly and mysteriously has a similar planet – dubbed Earth 2 – appear overnight. When Rhoda (Brit Marling) gets behind the wheel after a night of partying, a tragic accident halts her dreams and leaves her with no sense of the future. She is drawn to the man whose life she irrevocably changed, wanting to make things different for him. As Rhoda and John Burroughs (William Mapother) become involved in a risky love affair, and she gets the incredible chance to travel to Earth 2, she feels the need to tell him of their true connection.

With Another Earth, the film’s lead actress, Brit Marling – who also produced the provocative piece and co-wrote the script with director Mike Cahill – proved that she is a talent to keep an eye on. At the film’s press day, the rising star, who began writing scripts so that she had films to act in, did this exclusive interview with Collider, in which she talked about what drew her to the sci-fi genre, what led her from being an economics major to an actress, balancing an intimate love story with such an epic concept, and how “positive dissatisfaction” keeps her grounded. She also talked about selling both Another Earth and the equally compelling Sound of My Voice (which she co-write with director Zal Batmanglij) to Fox Searchlight, how she envisioned Sound of My Voice as a trilogy that she hopes to someday complete, what made her want to be a part of Arbitrage and act from someone else’s script, and how she’d love to continue to work outside of her comfort zone. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

Tim Roth is the latest actor to join the cast of writer/director Nicholas Jarecki’s indie drama Arbitrage. The film stars Richard Gere stars as “a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.” Variety reports that Roth will play a detective who’s investigating a murder.

The film now boasts an impressive cast that includes Gere, Susan Sarandon, Eva Green, Aubrey Graham (also known as rapper Drake), and Sundance darling Brit Marling. Jarecki, who helmed the documentary The Outsider, is the brother of filmmakers Andrew and Eugene (Capturing the Friedmans). The cast that he’s assembled is intriguing, especially Marling, who was a breakout hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival having co-written and starred in two films that were featured: Another Earth and Sound of My Voice. Arbitrage is set to start filming this month in New York City.

We have a couple of quick casting stories for you this afternoon.  One of the break-out stars from this year’s indie film scene is actress Brit Marling.  She has played critically acclaimed roles in Zal Batmanglij’s Sound of My Voice and Mike Cahill’s Another Earth and now she tells Movieline that she’ll co-star in Nicholas Jarecki’s Arbitrage.  The film stars Richard Gere stars as “a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.”  The film also stars Eva Green and Susan Sarandon.  Filming is expected to begin in April.  Marling, who co-wrote Another Earth and Sound of My Voice, also says she plans to reunite with Batmanglij and Cahill for future projects.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Gabriele Muccino’s Playing the Field.

We have two pieces of casting news for you this afternoon.  First up, Variety reports that Diane Kruger and Lea Seydoux (Robin Hood) have joined the French period drama Les Adieux a la reine. The film is based on the novel by Chantal Thomas and centers on “the three decisive days of the French Revolution in July 1789, told from the point of view of Marie Antoinette’s reader.”  Kruger will play Antoinette in the film, which also stars Gerard Depardieu and Noe­mie Lovski (The French Kissers).  Benoit Jacquot will direct.

Hit the jump for news on Richard Gere joining Arbitrage.

Teen-actor-turned-hip-hop-star Drake may soon be returning to his former profession.  The former Degrassi: The Next Generation star is currently in talks to join writer/director Nicholas Jarecki’s (The Informers) financial thriller Arbitrage.  If the deal goes through, Drake (whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham) would join a solid cast that already features Eva Green and Susan Sarandon.

According to TheWrap, Arbitrage will center on a hedge fund magnate who is “desperate to complete the sale of his shady trading empire before his fraud is revealed.”  As the story goes, an unexpected turn of events causes him to look for help from an unlikely source.  The film is currently scheduled to begin shooting this March in New York.  As for Drake, he has a previous film credit due to a minor role in 2007′s Charlie Bartlett.  [Update: This story has been revised to reflect our understanding that Al Pacino is no longer attached to star. ]

Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, and Eva Green have signed on to star in the financial thriller Arbitrage, written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki (The Informers).  Here’s the outline courtesy of Variety:

“Arbitrage stars Pacino as a hedge fund magnate who is in over his head and desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before his fraud is revealed. But an unexpected, bloody error forces him to turn to the most unlikely corner for help.”

“Bloody” in the British expletive sense (i.e. bloody hell!)?  Or in the spilling of bodily fluid (i.e. bloody knife)?  Either’s fine by me: I’m in it for the economic theory.

Pacino will next be seen in the police thriller Son of No One and (for some reason) the Adam Sandler comedy Jack & Jill, with a starring turn in David Mamet’s Phil Spector biopic on the horizon at HBO.  Sarandon has lined up a role in the Duplass brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home.  Green, meanwhile, is filming the first season of the Starz period epic Camelot.