Disney is closing in on its titular female lead for Cinderella.  The project suffered a bit of a hiccup when director Mark Romanek exited the film this past January over creative differences.  Kenneth Branagh subsequently stepped in to take the helm, only to see Emma Watson come and go from the lead role in the span of a week.  Cate Blanchett is still set to star as the wicked stepmother, and now Branagh has narrowed down the lead to three actresses.  Hit the jump to find out who’s testing for the lead role and which Game of Thrones actor is being eyed to play the Prince.

Check out the latest casting announcements below:

• Andrea Riseborough (Happy-Go-Lucky) has joined the increasingly impressive cast of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s dark comedy Birdman, which already stars Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts and Edward Norton.
• Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows) will join Hugh Grant and Marisa Tomei in an untitled comedy by writer/director Marc Lawrence (Did You Hear About the Morgans?).
• Corey Stoll (The Bourne Legacy) boards This Is Where I Leave You, the Shawn Levy-directed adaptation of the Jonathan Tropper novel that stars Tina Fey and Jason Bateman.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

The famed creator and director of The Sopranos, David Chase, has made his debut as a feature film director (and writer) with the ode to rock ‘n’ roll, Not Fade Away.  Douglas (John Magaro) catches a lucky break when Gene Gaunt (Jack Huston) invites him to join their cover band in 1960’s New Jersey. Though his father (James Gandolfini) doesn’t understand his son’s devotion to music, Douglas immerses himself in the band and in high school dream-girl turned muse Grace Deitz (Bella Heathcote). The film is an homage to rock’n’roll, to music, and to the universal experience of realizing you may not be the next Rolling Stones after all.  For more on the film, here’s 20 images, the trailer and Matt’s review.

At the NYC press day for Not Fade Away, I was able to speak to the three young stars – Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote and John Magaro – about their preparation for these music-intensive roles, their favorite scenes to shoot, some deleted scenes and what’s coming up next.  Hit the jump to watch.

We experience our lives as constant stream.  We remember our lives as turning points.  These turning points weren’t necessarily the most dramatic moments, but they were emblematic.  More than other moments, this one was special.  David Chase, a storyteller who has consistently eschewed traditional narrative structure, looks into the past to see snapshots of lives in his debut feature film, Not Fade Away.  These snapshots aren’t merely of good times and bad times, but acts of creation and destruction set against a backdrop of a world on the brink of survival.  Anchored by strong performances, Not Fade Away manages to break past the clichés of its settings to find compelling characters.  However, Chase’s desire to escape a traditional narrative structure keeps us at an emotional distance.

We have 20 new images to share with you today from writer/director David Chase’s Not Fade Away. The movie centers on a group of friends in New Jersey during the 1960s who want to form a rock band. Since Not Fade Away comes from the creator of The Sopranos, you can expect the film to be anything but a traditional arc from obscurity to stardom.

Starring John Magaro, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Bella Heathcote and James Gandolfini, Not Fade Away opens in limited release starting December 21st. Hit the jump to see the new images.

The first trailer for Not Fade Away has been released.  The film is the feature directorial debut of The Sopranos creator David Chase and tells the story of three best friends growing up in the New Jersey suburbs who decide to start a rock band.  The wonderful tone that Chase hit so well with The Sopranos (dramatic with an air of dark comedy) looks to be on full display here, and the director’s passion for music comes through in spades.  It’ll be interesting to see how he translates his novelized approach to storytelling to a feature film, but this trailer hints at a strong, character-focused first effort with a promising yet familiar turn from James Gandolfini as a patriarch of a different sort.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars John Maragro, Jack Huston, Will Brill, Bella Heathcote, Brad Garrett and Christopher McDonald.  Not Fade Away opens on December 21st. 

Director David Chase will see his film Not Fade Away make its world premiere as the Centerpiece Gala selection of the 50th New York Film Festival; not bad for a debut director!  The Sopranos creator/writer brings this coming-of-age tale, set in 1964 where a group of friends decide to form a rock band, led by new-to-the-scene, John Magaro. With a soundtrack produced by Steven Van Zandt, Not Fade Away also stars Jack Huston, Will Brill, Bella Heathcote, James Gandolfini, Brad Garrett and Christopher McDonald. Look for the film to see limited release starting December 21st.  Hit the jump for the full press release and some new images from the film.

Tim Burton‘s Dark Shadows is a series of flawed assumptions resulting from remarkable incompetence.  Burton believes he’s blended a gothic style with a campy comedy, but his film is neither.  The characters act at being a bunch of kooky, Addams Family-style misfits, but they’re nothing more than vague, one-dimensional sketches or, in the case of the protagonist, a confused contradiction.  Seth Grahame-Smith‘s script thinks it has balanced out the story elements into a compelling narrative, but it’s a poorly plotted mess that eschews character development in favor of a softball joke or clumsy dark humor.  With the exception of a great performance from Eva Green, Dark Shadows flails wildly at concocting a strange brew, and only comes up with weak tea.

With Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows opening May 11, Warner Bros. has provided us with 9 clips and 12 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film.  The film stars Johnny Depp as a vampire who awakens in 1972 after having been buried for 200 years and tries to reconnect with his descendants.  Dark Shadows also stars Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, Gulliver McGrath, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, and Jonny Lee Miller.

While the reaction to the last trailer was mixed, I’m excited by everything I’ve seen and think Depp and Burton look like they had a blast bringing their passion project to life.  In addition, I’ve spoken to a few people that  have seen the movie and all of them have said positive things.  Hit the jump to check out the footage and look for new interviews with the cast soon.

Warner Bros. has released a full gallery of high-resolution images from Tim Burton’s upcoming Dark Shadows.  Johnny Depp stars as a vampire who awakens in 1972 after having been buried for 200 years and tries to reconnect with his descendants.  We’ve seen a couple of these images before, but Warner Bros. also released a number of images of Burton at work on set making artsy hand gestures.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, Gulliver McGrath, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, and Jonny Lee Miller. Dark Shadows opens on May 11th.

Warner Bros. has released nine character banners for Tim Burton‘s comedy Dark Shadows.  These banners are much better than the character posters, which made the entire cast look like albinos for some reason.

Hit the jump to check out the banners.  The film stars Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, Gulliver McGrath, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, and Jonny Lee Miller.  Dark Shadows opens May 11th.

Now that Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry) is set in the director’s chair, producers are working to cast the lead in the MGM/Screen Gems remake of Carrie. Vulture reports that a number of actresses have been shortlisted for the part (including Dakota Fanning and Lily Collins) but Chloe Moretz and Haley Bennett (Marley and Me) are apparently the top two candidates. The remake is said to be more faithful to Stephen King’s source material than Brian De Palma’s 1976 film adaptation, and apparently The Descendants star Shailene Woodley has already passed on the lead role. Hit the jump for more on the new Carrie.

The marketing campaign for Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows is now in full swing with a little less than two months to go before the film’s released. While I was pleasantly surprised by the goofy first trailer, I found the random Alice Cooper cameo to be a little irksome and cheesy. That said, it’s good to see Burton doing comedy again and I’m hoping for the best from this adaptation of the cult soap series. Nine character posters have now been unveiled, giving us a colorful look at this strange, strange family. The plot involves a vampire (Johnny Depp) who awakens in 1972 after having been buried for 200 years and tries to reconnect with his descendants.

Hit the jump to check out the posters. The film also stars Eva Green, Chloe Moretz, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jackie Earle Haley, and Bella Heathcote. Dark Shadows opens on May 11th.

The first trailer for Tim Burton’s feature film version of the cult TV series Dark Shadows has finally arrived. After seeing a bevy of images over the past few months (including some hi-res ones today), we finally get a look at this thing in motion. The plot centers on a vampire (Johnny Depp) who awakens after having been buried for 200 years and tries to reconnect with his descendants. The beginning of the trailer is played straight, and we’re lead to believe that we’re in for another nightmarish tale from Burton, but when Depp wakes up in 1972 things kick into gear. This is very much a comedy, and there are more than a few laughs on display in the trailer. Burton and Depp have a lot of fun with the 1970s setting, and Depp’s reaction to modern technology is amusing. It’s got a goofy tone in the vein of Beetlejuice or Mars Attacks!, and I’m eager to see if the whole film plays like a return to comedic form for Burton.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer. The film also stars Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chloe Moretz, Jackie Earle Haley, Gulliver McGrath, Helena Bonham Carter, Bella Heathcote, Ray Shirley, and Jonny Lee Miller. Dark Shadows opens May 11th. [Update: We've updated the article with a high quality trailer and the film's poster.]

Akiva Goldsman has spent the last several years developing an adaptation of Mark Helprin‘s novel Winter’s Tale.  He signed a deal this time last year to make Winter’s Tale his directorial debut, but the progress was impeded when the budget for the supernatural period thriller became a concern at Warner Bros.  Goldsman turned to a pair of marketable A-listers he’s worked with for help: Russell Crowe (Goldsman wrote A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man) and Will Smith (I, Robot and I Am Legend) have agreed to appear in the film, so the project is back on track with $20 million subtracted from the projected budget.  Goldsman is now looking to cast the young leads: Heat Vision hears Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Tom Hiddleston (Thor), Lily Collins (Abduction), Bella Heathcote (In Time), and Jessica Brown Findlay (Downtown Abbey) will undergo testing over the next two weeks.

The early 20th-century tale centers on “a thief on the run who, when breaking into a wealthy man’s home, strikes up a relationship with the man’s terminally ill daughter.”  Hit the jump for the full book synopsis.