The first two episodes of AMC’s post-Civil War Western drama Hell on Wheels almost immediately remedies everything that made it likable but ultimately very uneven fare last year.  I reviewed that first season knowing the series was not Deadwood and couldn’t be, but given the similarities of timeframe and location, comparisons were inevitable.  Though Hell on Wheels‘ primary protagonist Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount), a Confederate vigilante, shares somewhat similar emotional reluctant-hero complexities with Deadwood’s Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), railroad magnate Doc Durant (Colm Meaney) is no Al Swearengen (Ian McShane).  There are plenty of character parallels to be drawn, and Deadwood wins almost all of them, but it doesn’t mean Hell on Wheels isn’t good television.  It’s just not great television.  At least, it wasn’t.  But its second season is already looking up.  Hit the jump for why you should consider tuning in for another dose of this worthy Western.

The domestic trailer for the adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s 1886 novel Bel Ami has gone online.  The film stars Robert Pattinson as an ambitious young journalist who works his way up the social and professional ranks through a series of affairs with influential women.  The trailer basically highlights Pattinson getting his seduction on, then tries to shoehorn in a bit about his character being redeemable.   Call me crazy, but I don’t really find the tale of a liar wooing a bevy of women to be that interesting.  I’m sure Pattinson’s fans will get a kick out of watching his bedroom eyes for two hours, but I’m eager to see the actor stretch his dramatic chops on a project that isn’t focused entirely on sex (or the lack thereof).

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, and Colm Meaney.  Bel Ami will be available VOD on May 4th and opens in theaters on June 8th.

We can only imagine that Team Edward-ers the world over are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to watch Robert Pattinson have his way with the finest beauties 19thC Paris has to offer in Bel Ami. Well, now they’ve got a date to circle, as Magnolia Pictures announced today that it’s acquired the steamy drama with eyes on a June 8 theatrical release.

Based on the celebrated 1886 Guy de Maupassant novel, Bel Ami focuses on ambitious young journalist Georges Duroy (Pattinson), who works his way up the social and professional ranks through a series of affairs with influential women. Directed by theatre vets Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, the film also stars Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, and Colm Meaney. Hit the jump for more, including the full press release.

On the new AMC Western series Hell on Wheels, actor Colm Meaney plays Thomas “Doc” Durant. Based on a real life character, Durant is a rich entrepreneur taking full advantage of the changing times, as he becomes more and more concerned about his place in history.

During this exclusive interview with Collider, Colm Meaney talked about how he thought the pilot for Hell on Wheels was one of the best things he’s ever read, how good writing is very easy to learn and perform, that Durant is a man on a quest, and how show creators Joe and Tony Gayton have been a tremendous help in the research for the time period. He also talked about another historical story he’s a part of, with the drama feature Bel Ami (starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas and Christina Ricci), what it’s like to have been a part of Star Trek (with The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine), and why he loves returning to the theater. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

We at Collider have been thinking a lot about Robert Pattinson in the last couple days thanks to Twilight‘s presence at Comic-Con.  If I may borrow your attention for a second, the trailer for another Pattinson project, Bel Ami, is now online.  The logline says it all:

Bel Ami is the story of Georges Duroy (Pattinson), who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.

Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci, and Colm Meaney also star in Bel Ami, directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod.  Watch the trailer after the jump.

Back in December we learned that AMC had picked up a new western drama called Hell on Wheels for 10-episode first season. This will be their first return to the western genre since their first original programming, Broken Trail. Now with a whole slew of successful shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad in their backpocket, it appears AMC knows no bounds as this new series looks like another winner. The series follows the story of a former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan (Anson Mount) whose quest for vengeance has led him westward to work on the construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad. No date is set, but the series will premiere sometime this year. I’ll let the trailer speak for itself after the jump along with a more detailed synopsis.

Though spinoff Law & Order: Los Angeles gained a name actor in Terrence Howard, it looks like USA’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent is going to lose one of their best: Variety reports that Jeff Goldblum has decided to leave the series after two years leading the crime show.  Though there’s a chance he could change his mind, apparently his decision was “due to the uncertainty” of the show’s future (which means it could be on the verge of cancellation).  There are no hard feelings at Dick Wolf’s production company, but this could push USA away from bringing back the series for a tenth season since its fate hasn’t been decided yet.

After the jump, check out casting news for AMC’s new period drama pilot Hell on Wheels, and a new guest star for NBC’s Chuck.

The first official images from Bel Ami starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci and Colm Meaney have been released and we’ve got them in high resolution after the jump.  The film which also stars Philip Glenister and Holliday Grainger was shot on locations in and around London and Budapest during an eleven week shoot. Shooting wrapped on April 22nd.

Directed by Declan Donnellan and Nick Ormerod, the film is an erotically charged story of ambition, power and seduction. Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson), travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.  Hit the jump for more:

Universal has provided us with a bunch of new images from writer/director Nicholas Stoller’s Get Him to the Greek.  Starring Jonah Hill, Russell Brand, Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney and Sean Combs, the comedy gets released this June and I’m extremely confident we’re all going to love it.  How do I know this?  Well, I’ve seen the awesome red band and green band trailers, and I also got to do a set visit last year where I got to speak with the cast (here’s my interview with Jonah Hill) and writer/director Nicholas Stoller.  Everything I saw and learned on set tells me this is going to be a winner.

Hit the jump to check out all the images Universal has released.  Also, you might notice one image looks out of place.  That’s because one is the online reporters (including me) that got to do the set visit at the Greek Theater.  When we took the photo, we were on stage in front of hundreds of extras watching us.  It was very cool.

The first trailer for Get Him to the Greek has finally been released and if you were a fan of Forgetting Sarah Marshall, you’re going to want to see this.  That’s because Rock Star Aldous Snow (Russell Brand’s character in Sarah Marshall) is back and he’s got 72 hours to get from London to his comeback concert at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Escorting him is Jonah Hill, and as you might imagine…they get into a lot of trouble along the way.  Trust me, this thing looks awesome.

Written and directed by Nicholas Stoller (Sarah Marshall), the film also stars Elisabeth Moss, Rose Byrne, Colm Meaney and Sean Combs.  Hit the jump for a ton of new images, the poster, and the just released trailer:

With director F. Gary Gray’s Law Abiding Citizen hitting DVD/Blu-ray on Febuary 16, we’ve been given an exclusive behind the scenes clip from one of the big action scenes in the movie.  If you’ve seen the film, it’s the cemetery scene where Gerard Butler’s character attacks the convoy with a robot.  If you never saw the film, it’s a welcome return to action for Gerard Butler.

Also, to help promote the film, we’ve been given 5 posters and a Blu-ray (which features the unrated director’s cut with 11 additional minutes of footage) to giveaway to some of our readers.  Hit the jump for the clip and how to enter the giveaway:

Over the last few months, pre-production on Robert Pattinson’s Bel Ami has been charging forward as we’ve covered the casting of Christina Ricci and Uma Thurman/Kristin Scott Thomas.  Now that the casting of the major players has been completed, we’ve been told principal photography on Bel Ami is scheduled to begin February 7 and they’ll be filming in London and Budapest.  Here’s the synopsis:

Bel Ami is the story of Georges Duroy (Robert Pattinson), who travels through 1890s Paris, from cockroach ridden garrets to opulent salons, using his wits and powers of seduction to rise from poverty to wealth, from a prostitute’s embrace to passionate trysts with wealthy beauties, in a world where politics and media jostle for influence, where sex is power and celebrity an obsession.

Based on the synopsis, I think Pattinson’s female fanbase is going to be very happy watching this movie.  Hit the jump for more:

Opening on October 9^th in New York and Los Angeles is director Tom Hooper’s “The Damned United”. The film was written by Peter Morgan and it stars Michael Sheen as Brian Clough – the very famous and very controversial football coach of Leeds United. At least he was for 44 days back in the 1974. Anyway, the film tells the story of where Brian Clough came from and what exactly happened that led to his departure after such a short time. As you might imagine, Michael Sheen is excellent and completely disappears in the part. And while I’m not a huge football (soccer) fan, I really enjoyed “The Damned United” and think if you like any sport, you’ll find a lot in this movie to enjoy. So to help promote the film, we’ve been given 5 clips and you can watch them after the jump. Take a look: