The first trailer for director Carlo Carlei’s adaptation of Romeo & Juliet has landed online.  Written by Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, Gosford Park), the film stars Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) as Juliet and Douglas Booth (The Pillars of the Earth) as Romeo, with a rather impressive supporting cast that includes Paul Giamatti, Stellan Skarsgard, and Homeland’s Damian Lewis.  Carlei maintains the original setting of Shakespeare’s play and looks to be taking a rather classical approach to the storytelling.  Following a rather awkward opening with “movie trailer guy” reciting Shakespeare, the clip sufficiently teases the romantic and intense aspects of Shakespeare’s source material.  However, with a story that’s been told countless times, it’s tough to be excited by a new adaptation unless its told in an original or interesting fashion.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Ed Westwick, Kodi Smit-McPhee (Let Me In) and Natascha McElhone.  Romeo & Juliet is set for release in the U.K on July 26th, but a US distribution deal has yet to be made.

We’re happy to debut the first poster for the upcoming action thriller The Sweeney today.  Directed by Nick Love (Outlaw) and co-written by John Hodge (Trainspotting), the film stars Ray Winstone as Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Ben Drew as his partner George Carter.  The two are “old school crime fighters” who enforce the law in a modern underworld, and with a bank heist in progress and Regan’s old enemy making an appearance on the streets of London, the veteran cop will do whatever it takes to get the job done.   The pic also stars Homeland’s Damian Lewis and Captain America’s Hayley Atwell.  Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The Sweeney will be available in theaters and VOD on March 1st.

As part of the Showtime portion of the TCA Press Tour, President of Entertainment David Nevins took some time to talk about current and upcoming shows for the network, and the end game for a few of their long-time series.  During the interview, he talked about how he felt about the creative direction of Homeland for Season 2, whether he’d consider continuing the series without Damian Lewis, how Dexter is progressing, that the contemporary genre thriller The Vatican (from Paul Attanasio and Ridley Scott) will go into production in April, how John Logan will be writing every episode of Penny Dreadful with the hope that Sam Mendes will direct, that it will be a psychological and highly erotic story set in Victorian London, what fans can expect from The Borgias, when Californication might end, the plan for when Episodes will return, what makes Masters of Sex a compelling series, and the epic feel of the multi-episode event documentary Years of Living Dangerously, from James Cameron.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Good news for a couple of popular series.  First up, hot off the network’s biggest ratings in years, The CW has picked up the superhero adaptation Arrow for a full season.  Much like Smallville, the show puts a television spin on the Green Arrow comic book character and has been met with a relatively enthusiastic audience response.  The series had an impressively strong hold from its premiere numbers of 4.02 million viewers and a 1.3 rating in the coveted 18-49 demo to the second episode, so the order was a no-brainer.  The CW’s pick-up is for a full 22-episode season.

Hit the jump for renewal news concerning the best show on TV, Homeland.

I didn’t take as many notes for this week’s Homeland as I usually do, probably because my hand was tremoring more than Claire Danes‘ chin.  After “Back to Beirut’s” jaw-dropping final moments, it seemed inconceivable that the show could — or would — do anything but back off of the action and take another route before coming back to what Saul had discovered in the bag.  And yet, Homeland did not shy away from addressing that issue in the opening moments at all.  Then to top thing off, it then pulled a twist that made the action double again.  How is it possible that in only the third episode of the season I’m already needing to consider blood pressure medication?  There are so many episodes left in front of us, yet Homeland continues to keep things amped to the maximum drama at all times.  For more on this and why every time you have an argument you can bet Dana is creepin’ in the shadows listening, hit the jump.

The 2012 Primetime Emmy Awards were given out last night, and longtime favorite Mad Men had a pretty rough evening.  Matthew Weiner’s AMC drama was shut out in every category in which it was nominated (Christina Hendricks was robbed), denying the series a record-breaking fifth consecutive Best Drama Series Emmy in favor of Showtime’s excellent freshman series Homeland.  The cable thriller nearly swept the drama series category, even landing Damian Lewis a surprising Best Actor win over perennial favorite Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Mad Men’s way overdue Jon Hamm.  It’s hard to complain, though, as Homeland had a positively stellar first season and star Claire Danes gave a powerhouse performance as a psychologically plagued CIA analyst, for which she was awarded Best Actress.

On the comedy side of things the awards were a tad more predictable, with ABC’s Modern Family pulling off another sweep in the genre. Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home the Best Actress award for her hilarious work on Veep, and Jon Cryer inexplicably won Best Actor in a Comedy for his role in Two and a Half Men despite that show not being funny.  Hit the jump to read the full list of winners.

Howling fans of intrigue and murder packed Ballroom 20 today for a Showtime’s combo Homeland/Dexter panel.  We learned a new locale for Homeland, the dramatic thriller concerning a CIA officer (Claire Danes) and a soldier returning from enemy captivity who may be a threat to the U.S. (Damian Lewis).  And we also met a new face for Dexter.  The show, which will be entering its seventh season this fall, stars Michael C. Hall as the fan-favorite killer with a conscience.  Read more about terrorists and serial killers after the jump.

Television’s Homeland star Damian Lewis has been cast in the adaptation of Romeo and Juliet directed by Carlo Carlei (The Flight of the Innocent). Production is currently underway in Italy, with Paul Giamatti recently joining as Friar Lawrence and with Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth playing the star-crossed lovers. Lewis has been cast as Lord Capulet in the strict adaptation written by Oscar-winner Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey fame. The film, aimed at drawing in a younger audience, also stars Ed Westwick as Tybalt and Kodi Smit-McPhee as Benvolio. Hit the jump to see who else has recently joined the cast of Romeo and Juliet.

In the new Showtime dramatic thriller Homeland, premiering on October 2^nd, Marine Sgt. Nicholas Brody (Damian Lewis) returns home to a hero’s welcome after eight years in enemy confinement. Even though Brody’s wife, Jessica (Morena Baccarin), and two children are shocked, they are happy to learn that he is still alive. However, brilliant but volatile CIA Agent Carrie Mathison (Claire Danes) isn’t buying his story, instead believing that Brody has been turned and is now working for Al Qaeda. With America’s national security at stake, what follows is a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse, leading everyone Carrie knows to question whether her conviction is based on fact or is the product of a delusional obsession.

During a recent interview to promote the original series, London-born actor Damian Lewis talked about being attracted to this story because he enjoys the contradiction that someone could return a hero but possibly be the villain, how thrilled he is to be a part of a compelling American TV series, how important the reality of the torture scenes are, and that cable shows his ass much more than his previous television projects ever did. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Last night The Borgias finished off their first season (and just got picked up for a second season as well), and viewers who tuned in also got a sneak peek at Showtime’s new thriller Homeland.  Starring Clarie Danes, Damian Lewis and Mandy Patinkin, the series follows a taut psychological thriller about a volatile CIA officer (Danes) who becomes convinced that a recently rescued American POW (Lewis) may be connected to an al Qaeda plot to be carried out on U.S. soil. I’m not convinced it looks quite as thrilling as a series like 24, but it looks like it has potential even without Kiefer Sutherland ripping throats. See for yourself by checking out the trailer after the jump.

Universal has released 7 clips for their upcoming hard-R comedy Your Highness.  The film stars Danny McBride as a lazy prince who is forced to go on a quest with his brother (James Franco) to rescue his brother’s fiancée (Zooey Deschanel) from an evil wizard (Justin Theroux).  I haven’t seen the film yet but I’ve heard it’s hilarious and that folks are amazed with what director David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and writers McBride and Ben Best (Eastbound & Down) got away with.

Hit the jump to check out the clips.  The film also stars Natalie Portman, Rasmus Hardiker, Toby Jones, Charles Dance, and Damian Lewis.  Your Highness opens April 8th.

If you like your fantasy adventure movies with a dash of contemporary, low-brow humor (and I know I do), then you’ll definitely want to check out Your Highness. The classic tale of a chivalrous quest to save a kidnapped princess is turned on its head in this story, written by Danny McBride and Ben Best (Eastbound & Down). McBride stars as a deadbeat prince who must accompany his valiant brother Fabious (James Franco) in an effort to rescue the dashing prince’s bride-to-be (Zooey Deschanel). The two brothers are joined in their quest by the rogue warrior, Isabel (Natalie Portman). Your Highness is directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) and produced by Scott Stuber (Scott Pilgrim vs the World).

In addition, we’ve got an exclusive interview with screenwriter Justin Theroux here and a more vulgar (and somehow less effective) red band trailer here. Hit the jump to see the newly cut green band trailer and full synopsis:

The red-band trailer for Your Highness has just been released and it looks every bit as amazing as the film sounds on paper. Directed by David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express), the adventure-comedy tells the story of two brothers on a quest to save their kingdom’s princess from an evil wizard before he has sex with her.  Think The Princess Bride meets Superbad. Danny McBride and James Franco star as the two brothers, and are joined on their quest by the hilarious Natalie Portman (remember her digital shorts on SNL?).  Zooey Deschanel plays the princess and Justin Theroux portrays the evil wizard who steals her away.  McBride and his Eastbound and Down writing partner Ben Best wrote the screenplay.

Justin Theroux, who is also a screenwriter (he wrote Tropic Thunder and Iron Man 2), recently sat down with Steve and discussed the film, which he describes as “insane.”  Your Highness hits theaters April 8^th, 2011. Hit the jump to check out the trailer, the synopsis, and a bunch of images:

Ethan Hawke (Daybreakers) has signed on to star and co-produce the spy thriller The Numbers Station under the direction of Kasper Barfoed (The Candidate).  According to Variety, F. Scott Frazier’s Script centers around a “disgraced black ops agent tasked with a dead-end job of protecting a 20-year-old woman in the middle of the Nevada desert.”  The film will begin lensing in September at the low budget of $10 million.

Hit the jump for details on Matthew Goode (Watchmen) joining the otherwise female cast of Burning Man, the pairing of Ralph Fiennes (The Hurt Locker) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) for Coronet, and how the excellent title Man is Wolf to Man convinced Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers) to sign on.