Pixar has released the first clip from Monsters University.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman) joining a fraternity of outcasts as all of the Greek houses must compete against each other in the Scare Games, which carry dire consequences for the losers.  The clip shows the roommates Mike and Sulley and how their bunk-bed situation has led to an awkward first moment involving shedding and humble stable boys.  It’s cute and funny, and it’s a hopeful sign for the rest of the picture.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21, 2013.

Here’s the latest TV casting news:

• Billy Crystal (When Harry Met Sally) is set to star in The Comedians, a new comedy pilot on FX from showrunners Larry Charles (Seinfeld), Matt Nix (Burn Notice) and Ben Wexler (Community, Arrested Development).
• Logan Marshall-Green (Prometheus) will star in the Cinemax pilot, Quarry, based on the Max Allan Collins’ book about a Vietnam veteran.
• Emma Roberts (Aquamarine) will join the cast of the third season of FX’s horror anthology, American Horror Story: Coven.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

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

• The very funny Bill Hader is in talks to star in the indie comedy Lawless, produced by Mike White and David Bernad.
• Hailee Steinfeld has been tapped to star opposite Sam Worthington in director Phillip Noyce’s thriller For the Dogs.
• Billy Crystal will lead the retirement community sex comedy Winter’s Discontent for director Frank Oz.
• Shameless star Jeremy Allen White has landed the lead in DreamWorks’ found-footage time travel film Glimmer.

Hit the jump for more on all of the aforementioned films.

Disney has released a new trailer for the Monsters, Inc. prequel Monsters University.  The pic focuses on the college years of Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sully (John Goodman), and this new full-length trailer reveals the film’s plot.  The Revenge of the Nerds-esque story finds Mike and Sully joining a fraternity of outcasts, as all of the Greek houses must compete against each other in the Scare Games, which carry dire consequences for the losers.  The film looks like it could be Pixar’s most purely fun movie yet, and early reactions from the screening at CinemaCon had many praising the pic’s heart.  If you missed any of Dave’s coverage from his visit to Pixar, be sure to check out his review from seeing 40 minutes of footage, 35 things to know about the film, and his interview with director Dan Scanlon.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, John Krasinski, Nathan Fillion, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger. Monsters University opens June 21, 2013.

Even though Monsters University is only a few months away, Pixar has been keeping the voice cast under wraps.  Today, EW is reporting that Nathan Fillion, John Krasinski, and Bonnie Hunt will be voicing new monsters in the upcoming prequel.  Fillion and Krasinski are newcomers to the Pixar world, but Hunt has been a longtime collaborator with the studio having voiced characters in A Bug’s Life, Cars, Toy Story 3, and Monsters, Inc. (although she’ll be voicing a new character).

Hit the jump for descriptions of Fillion, Krasinski, and Hunt’s characters, along with some new images.  The film also features the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Dave Foley, Sean Hayes, Joel Murray, Peter Sohn, Aubrey Plaza, Tyler Labine, Bobby Moynihan, Julie Sweeney, Alfred Molina, Beth Behrs, and of course, John Ratzenberger.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

John Goodman was a guest on last night’s episode of Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel, and he brought a clip from his upcoming film, Monsters University.  The film goes back to Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan’s (Goodman) college days, and shows how the two overcame their differences and became BFFs.  In the clip, we see the first meeting between the two, and how Mike was uptight, Sulley was laid-back, and an escaped monster-pig was involved.  The clip doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence, but the latest trailer had some good moments, so let’s keep hope alive.

Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray, and Peter Sohn.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st.

The full trailer for Monsters University has been released.  The film goes back to Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan’s (John Goodman) college days, and shows how the two overcame their differences and became BFFs.  We previously showed you an extended featurette that explained the plot points, but this new trailer avoids spoiling the story, and instead goes for laughs.  There are some good jokes in here, and I’m hoping the movie will offer plenty more.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray, and Peter Sohn.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21st. [Update: We've added four new banners for the film that celebrate the Chinese New Year]

Pixar’s Monsters University is capitalizing on college bowl games in order to recruit new students/viewers.  A new TV spot for the Monsters, Inc. prequel debuted during the Rose Bowl today and invited the best and brightest young monsters to visit their campus.  You can get a virtual tour by heading over to the film’s fantastic website complete with campus store.

Directed by Dan Scanlon (Tracy) and featuring the returning voices of John Goodman, Billy Crystal and Steve Buscemi, Monsters University opens June 21st.  Hit the jump to watch the recruitment commercial.

Opening Christmas Day is director Andy Fickman’s (You Again) family comedy Parental Guidance.  The film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott play the parents.  For more on the film, here’s the trailer.

During the recent Los Angeles press day I spoke to Crystal and Midler.  They talked about how the project came together, how much was improvised, what it was like working with the kids, Twitter, Facebook, and Crystal talked about Pixar’s Monsters University.  Hit the jump to watch.

With the 3D re-release of Monsters, Inc. on the way, Disney is making sure to tie in the marketing for the upcoming prequel, Monsters University, and have released a couple of posters.  The film goes back to Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal) and James P. “Sulley” Sullivan’s (John Goodman) college days and shows how the two overcame their differences and became BFFs.  These posters show both sides of the friendship, and how it’s probably best to not give the bigger guy the top bunk.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also features the voices of Steve Buscemi, Dave Foley, Julia Sweeney, Joel Murray, and Peter Sohn.  Monsters, Inc. 3D opens December 19th.  Monsters University opens in 3D on June 21, 2013.

This past weekend, I was invited to participate in a collegiate experience for Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University, the prequel to 2001′s Monsters, Inc. Directed by Dan Scanlon (Tracy), Monsters University features the returning vocal talent of John Goodman as Sulley, Billy Crystal as Mike Wazowski and Steve Buscemi as Randall Boggs and takes place when the monsters were cutting their teeth in college. To get into the school spirit, we were invited to USC’s campus to attend a tailgate and the game against #1 ranked Notre Dame. But the real highlight of the day was getting to see not only a post-converted scene from the upcoming re-release of Monsters, Inc. in 3D, but the first footage from Monsters University itself!

Monsters, Inc. 3D screams into theaters starting December 19th, which will have to tide you over until the release of Monsters University on June 21st, 2013. Hit the jump for my review of the sneak peek footage. 

A new trailer for the family comedy Parental Guidance has been released.  Directed by Andy Fickman, the film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  This trailer ups the ante in the physical comedy department, as it features all the hallmarks of a very lame family comedy in under two minutes: nutshots, someone’s pants getting sprayed with water, kids going crazy after eating sugar, etc.  Most of the gags and jokes seem really dated, and I’m not exactly sure Crystal and Midler’s comedy will translate well to modern audiences.  Nevertheless, I’m sure parents will eat this one up.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott.  Parental Guidance opens on Christmas Day.

It’s been “Back-to-School” time for kids for a little while now and the students at Disney/Pixar’s Monsters University are no exception.  The official website for the Monsters, Inc. prequel is a brilliantly designed marketing scheme fronted by the MU admissions and welcome page. The fully-functional website includes links for prospective students, alumni and faculty, as well as a breakdown of the various schools (ie School of Scaring, School of Liberal Arts & Monstrosities) and even an events calendar.  Why, they’ve even got a fully functional store so you can buy some gear from your favorite fictional alma mater! Someone definitely had fun with this site.  If you’re a fan of Monsters, Inc., you’re going to enjoy it!

Director Dan Scanlon’s Monsters University, featuring the voices of Billy Crystal, John Goodman and Steve Buscemi, opens June 21st, 2013.  Hit the jump for images from the site. 

The first trailer for the family comedy Parental Guidance has been released.  The film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  The predictable one-liners and nut shots are prevalent in this trailer, but there also looks to be a bit of genuine heart to the film that’s kind of appealing.  The story seems less about the shenanigans that occur when the grandparents babysit and more about the generational gap between their style of parenting and how their daughter raises her children.  When thinking over the library of family films that we’ve all been dragged to during the holidays over the years, Parental Guidance could be worse.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Andy Fickman (You Again), the film also stars Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott.  Parental Guidance opens on Christmas Day.

The first trailer for Monsters Inc. 3D has been released.  Since the smashing success of the 3D re-release of The Lion King, Disney has committed to bringing a number of the studio’s classics back to theaters in the 3D format.  Pixar’s bounty of films is a natural fit, and in addition to Finding Nemo 3D later this month we’ll see the return of the loveable duo of Mike and Sully from Monsters. Inc this December.  The Pete Docter-directed comedy ranks high on my personal list of Pixar favorites so I’m jazzed to see it on the big screen once again.  Moreover, the engagement will act as a nice refresher before the release of Pixar’s prequel, Monsters University, next summer.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Monsters Inc. 3D opens on December 19th.