Fox Searchlight has released the first trailer and poster for director David E. Talbert’s (First Sunday) romantic comedy Baggage Claim.  The film stars Paula Patton as an unmarried flight attendant who becomes determined to find a man before her younger sister’s wedding.  In order to aid her on her quest, her friends at the airport arrange several of her ex-boyfriends to cross her path.  Though the “I need a man to make me feel whole” premise is rather played out and at least a little offensive, Baggage Claim actually looks like it has a few genuine laughs in store for audiences.  Also, Adam Brody plays the “gay best friend” character, so there’s that.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Derek Luke, Taye Diggs, Jill Scott, Boris Kodjoe, Trey Songz, Tia Mowry, LaLa Anthony, and Djimon Hounsou.  Baggage Claim opens on September 27th.

Orlando Bloom and Djimon Hounsou are set to lead Jerome Salle‘s crime thriller Zulu.  Not to be confused with the 1964 Michael Caine movie of the same name, Zulu is based on the novel by Caryl Férey and centers on two Cape Town cops (Bloom, Hounsou) who are called in to investigate the murder of Sprikboks’ rugby team player’s 18-year-old daughter.  While I haven’t seen Salle’s previous films (The Tourist was based on his movie Anthony Zimmer, but he can’t be blamed for that), I like the pairing of Bloom and Hounsou, and this sounds like it could be a good set-up for a nice little thriller.  Screen Daily reports that filming will take place in July.

Hounsou was previously set to play the Angel of Death in the adaptation of Paradise Lost, but Legendary Pictures decided to scrap the picture due to budget concerns, and I assume that’s what made the actor available for Zulu.  Bloom recently signed on to re-team with Kirsten Dunst in the drama Cities, and he’ll be seen at the end of the year reprising his role as Legolas in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories for you this afternoon. First up, Djimon Hounsou has joined the cast of Alex Proyas’ adaptation of John Milton’s classic epic poem Paradise Lost. The film has Bradley Cooper and Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) set to star as Lucifer and the archangel Michael, respectively. Variety reports that Hounsou will take on the role of Abdiel, the angel of death. The story revolves around the epic battle between Michael and Lucifer and Proyas will be utilizing motion capture and 3D in the adaptation. Paradise Lost is targeting a late 2013 release.

Additionally, Tom Wilkinson is in talks to join the cast of Alejandro Monteverde’s (Bella) historical drama Little Boy. The WWII-set story revolves around an 8-year-old boy with developmental problems who is left vulnerable to the cruelty of his classmates when his father, his only friend, leaves to go to war. Variety reports that Wilkinson will join a cast that includes Ben Chaplin, Emily Watson, David Henrie and possibly Kevin James (yes, that Kevin James), though his name is conspicuously absent from the trade’s report. Nevertheless, Little Boy is currently filming in Baja California.

Currently playing in limited release is writer-director Julie Taymor’s The Tempest.  Adapted from William Shakespeare, Taymor has added a twist to The Tempest by switching the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera (Helen Mirren).  In addition, Taymor has brought along an all-star cast featuring Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones, and Tom Conti.

Anyway, over the past week we’ve posted video interviews with Helen Mirren and Russell Brand.  Tonight we’ve got Djimon Hounsou.  During the interview, Hounsou talked about how he got involved in the project, how challenging it was to work with the makeup and the language of Shakespeare, what he has coming up, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch:

In Julie Taymor’s version of William Shakespeare’s final masterpiece The Tempest, the gender of the traditionally male sorcerer Prospero has been changed into the sorceress Prospera and is played by the illustrious Helen Mirren. The film follows the exiled Prospera on a journey from vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her daughter Miranda (Felicity Jones), and unleashes her powers against those who have wronged her. With the assistance of the sometimes unwilling Ariel (Ben Whishaw) and Caliban (Djimon Hounsou), Prospera puts her former tormentors – members of the royal court – through a series of adventures, while the king’s son Ferdinand (Reeve Carney) meets Miranda and falls in love at first sight.

During a press conference at the film’s press day, director Julie Taymor talked about the reasons behind her passion for bringing The Tempest to the big screen, developing the mother-daughter relationship for the film, her decision to cast Russell Brand to do Shakespeare and the importance of not playing up stereotypes. She also gave a brief update on the status of the Broadway production of Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark, currently in previews. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

With writer-director Julie Taymor’s The Tempest opening December 10 in New York and Los Angeles, we’ve been given 5 clips and 15 high resolution images from the film.  Adapted from William Shakespeare, Taymor has added a twist to the material by switching the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera (who is played by Oscar winner Helen Mirren).  In addition, Taymor has brought along an all-star cast featuring Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones, and Tom Conti.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images.  Look for interviews with the cast next week.

New images have been released for the upcoming adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest starring Helen Mirren and Russell Brand.  Written and directed by Julie Taymor, who also helmed 2007’s Across the Universe as well as the fantastic stage adaptation of The Lion King, the Shakesperean comedy features a fantastic cast that includes David Strathairn, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, Chris Cooper and Alan Cumming.  We recently brought you the visually impressive trailer for the film, which hits theaters on December 10^th. Hit the jump to check out the new images.

The trailer for Julie Taymor’s adaptation of William Shakepeare’s The Tempest has gone online.  While Taymor’s impressive visual style is on display, the tone of the film looks all over the place as it ranges from “Passion” to “Treachery” to “Stupidity”.  Despite a great cast that includes Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Russell Brand, and Djimon Hounsou, the film has received poor notices at festivals.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The Tempest opens December 10th.

We’ve got a couple clips to share from non-cinematic comic projects in development.  T’Challa (aka The Black Panther) is getting a animated (er, “motion comic”) series titled Black Panther: Who is the Black Panther?.  The first of twelve episodes premieres June 23 on iTunes, Xbox Live, Microsoft Zune, and the PlayStation Network, and we’ve got a trailer to prove it.

On a related note, when we posted stills from the test footage for a live-action Blue Beetle series, commenter Drew quite rightly opined that he “would need to see it in motion to fully realize it.” Well, Drew, you’re in luck: we have a short clip of just that alongside the Black Panther trailer after the jump.  (Note: readers not named Drew should also click through.)