When we invent screenwriting programs that can write a screenplay from start to finish, it will crank out something like Chasing Mavericks.  The script is so cynically calculated in its plot beats and character motivations that it’s easy to forget the story is based on a person’s real life.  The biopic of surfing prodigy Jay Moriarty comes off as a disservice to his memory as his character, like everyone else in the movie, is one-dimensional and saddled with stilted dialogue.  The only times when Mavericks truly comes alive is when it embraces the act of surfing; everything else is a wipeout.

As we’re getting into the horror movie season with The Apparition, The Possession and The Tall Man now in theaters, Jennifer Lawrence will be bringing her star power to the screen in House at the End of the Street.  We’ve got a new featurette and clip to share with you that explains a bit of the backstory and explores the relationship between the film’s protagonists.

From director Mark Tonderai and also starring Elisabeth Shue and Max Thieriot, House at the End of the Street opens September 21st.  Hit the jump to check out the new featurette and clip.

Before she takes on the Tributes at the Quarter Quell in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Jennifer Lawrence can be seen in the horror thriller House at the End of the Street this fall.  We have new images of Lawrence (in that same old white tank top) and the rest of the cast for you to check out after the jump.

From director Mark Tonderai (Hush), House at the End of the Street centers on a mother (Elisabeth Shue) and her daughter (Lawrence) who move into a new home next door to a good old fashioned murder house.  When the daughter befriends the surviving boy-next-door (Max Thieriot), she finds there is more of his story left to be told.  House at the End of the Street opens September 21st.  Hit the jump to see the new images.

The first trailer for Curtis Hanson and Michael Apted‘s Chasing Mavericks has gone online.  The film is based on the true story of the relationship between legendary surfer Jay Moriarty (newcomer Jonny Weston) and his mentor, local legend Frosty Hesson (Gerard Butler), and how Moriarty made his name surfing the waves of Mavericks in Northern California.  Judging by the trailer, this looks like a nice movie that won’t blow anyone away, but could make for an enjoyable time at the pictures.  However, I’ve never surfed in my life, so I’d like to know what surfers think of this trailer.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Elisabeth Shue and Abigail Spencer.  Chasing Mavericks opens October 26th.

In order to fill your quota of Jennifer Lawrence screen-time before The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire, comes out in November of next year, we’ve got some new images of Lawrence in the horror thriller, House at the End of the Street.  Lawrence stars as Elissa, a teenager who moves to a small, rural town with her mother, Sarah (Elisabeth Shue).  Against her mother’s wishes, Elissa begins a relationship with the reclusive Ryan (Max Thieriot), the last surviving family member of a brutal murder years earlier.  What’s more important to know is that Lawrence continues to  look mighty fine in that tank top.  House at the End of the Street opens September 21st.  Hit the jump to check out the images.

When your lead actress’ new movie scores $155 million on opening weekend, it’s probably best to capitalize on promoting her next feature.  Jennifer Lawrence is the woman of the hour after The Hunger Games, and Relativity is capitalizing on that hour by releasing the first trailer for her new movie House at the End of the Street.  Lawrence plays a young woman who moves with her mother to a new house that’s next door to the home where a grizzly murder took place years before.  The trailer plays the major beats of the movie in reverse order, which makes the plot intriguing, but also confusing.  After watching it, I don’t know if the entire movie is in reverse order (a la Memento) or just the trailer.  I’m fairly certain it’s only the trailer, but audiences may be left wondering if they’re seeing Memento but with horror and a sweaty, scared Jennifer Lawrence.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, and Gil Bellows.  House at the End of the Street opens September 21st.

Fans of The Hunger Games, and particularly of star Jennifer Lawrence, will want to hit the jump to check out new images of the actress from her new horror/thriller, House at the End of the Street. Yesterday, we brought you the first image of Lawrence from the new movie and now we have two new images plus a pretty decent fan poster. Anything Lawrence-related is hot right now with The Hunger Games dominating the box-office, but anyone who’s seen Winter’s Bone knows that Lawrence has a long, long career ahead of her.

House at the End of the Street, directed by Mark Tonderai (Hush), stars Lawrence and Elisabeth Shue (Hollow Man) as a daughter and mother who have taken up residence next to a murder house in a new town. Lawrence befriends the murdered family’s only remaining survivor, played by Max Thieriot (Jumper), and discovers disturbing secrets within the confines of the house itself. House at the End of the Street opens September 21st. Hit the jump to check out the new images and poster.

While some film pundits are busy speculating how high into the stratosphere Jennifer Lawrence‘s career will go after The Hunger Games, her fans will have a chance to see the actress later this year in the thriller The House at the End of the Street.  Lawrence plays young woman who moves with her mother (Elisabeth Shue) into a house that’s next door to a home where an entire family was murdered.  Because family slaughter really hurts the resell value of a house (especially in this economy!), the family’s lone survivor (Max Thieriot) still lives in the home, and he begins an unlikely friendship with Lawrence’s character.  However, inside his house she discovers some disturbing secrets.

Hit the jump for more including the first image from the film.  The House at the End of the Street opens September 21st. [Update: We've replaced the image with the hi-res version]

CBS’s CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is about to get a new face: Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas). The original show that spawned a franchise has been on TV since 2000 and has seen its share of character turnover: Warrick Brown (Gary Dourdan) was killed off in the eighth season’s finale, Gil Grissom (William Petersen) has been replaced by new characters portrayed by Laurence Fishburne and, current starrer, Ted Danson. Marg Helgenberger, an original leading cast member, will now exit her recurring role to make way for Shue, but is expected to reprise her role as Catherine Willows in future guest appearances. Helgenberger will depart in January and Shue will debut during the episode that airs on February 15^th. For more on Shue’s expected role on CSI, hit the jump.

Inspired by the true story of director/writer David M. Rosenthal, Janie Jones follows rocker Ethan Brand (Alessandro Nivola), whose former flame (Elisabeth Shue) drops a 13-year-old girl (Abigail Breslin) in his lap, with the surprise news that she is his daughter. On the road in an attempt to get his career back, Ethan’s self-destructive behavior not only threatens the group’s future, but also any chance of having a relationship with his child. Once the two are left alone, Janie displays her own musical talent, giving the two something to bond over.

At the film’s press day, actor Alessandro Nivola spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how he was cast in this role only a week prior to shooting, that co-star Frank Whaley’s band The Niagras was the inspiration for his character’s performance style, that he felt the music was really well written for the role, and how natural and uncensored Abigail Breslin is, as an actress. He also talked about his next role in the film Redemption, written by Louis Mellis (who wrote Sexy Beast) and co-starring his real-life wife, Emily Mortimer. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Relativity Media has set Mark Tonderai’s thriller House at the End of the Street for February 3, 2012.  The film stars Jennifer Lawrence as a teenager who moves into a new home with her mother (Elisabeth Shue), but then discovers that their home is next door to the site of a double murder. She makes friends with the massacre’s sole survivor (Max Thieriot). If it turns out he was the person responsible for the double murder, I’ll be very disappointed.

The only other film currently set for release on February 3, 2012 is Fox’s superhero drama Chronicle starring Dane DeHaan.  Presumably, the film will try to build off all the publicity Lawrence will be receiving in the lead-up to her starring role in The Hunger Games, which opens less than two months later. [Update: We've added the press release from Relativity after the jump.]

We have a few acquisition bits to bring you today. First up, Lionsgate has picked up the U.S. distribution rights to Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson’s (Rain Man) found-footage “eco-horror” film, The Bay. Produced by Paranormal Activity alums Oren Peli, Steven Schneider, and Jason Blum, The Bay stars Andy Stahl and Kether Donohue and focuses on “an unprecedented biological disaster unleashed from the waters of the Chesapeake Bay – an isopod parasite, carrying a horrific untreatable disease, that jumps from fish to human hosts.” On its own, the disease sounds pretty rough. When you throw in the “untreatable,” it gets upgraded to “horrific.” The film is shaping up for a release later this year.

Next up, Relativity Media has acquired domestic distribution rights to the thriller House at the End of the Street. Starring former Oscar-nominees Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) and Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas) as well as Max Theriot (My Soul to Take), the film revolves around a mother and daughter (Shue and Lawrence) who move into a new neighborhood only to find that the house next door is the home of a psychotic young girl who murdered her parents. Mark Tonderai directs a script by David Loucka. Also without an official release date, moviegoers may be waiting until 2012 to check out House at the End of the Street.

For more on the projects, hit the jump to check out the official press releases for both acquisitions.

With the 2010 Scream Awards paying tribute to the 25th Anniversary of Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox recently re-shot the teaser trailer for the original film to help promote the event. You can check it out after the jump along with the original teaser, so you can compare them.

I actually got to see Back to the Future last night in a movie theater as I’m in London and Universal rereleased the film in the United Kingdom.  I forgot how perfect the movie is and how well it stands up even after 25 years.  AMC Theaters is re-releasing it stateside later this month.

The 2010 Scream Awards airs October 19 at 9pm on Spike TV with Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Elisabeth Shue reuniting on stage.

It looks like Piranha 3D‘s fake Oscar campaign has worked.  Ving Rhames has won/will win the Acadamy Award for Best Actor in 2011 for his work in Alexandre Aja’s 3D horror-fest.  While this Funny or Die video exists in a wonderful alternate universe, I would like to imagine the day when Ving Rhames will give what looks to be one of the all-time great award acceptance speeches.  And no, I don’t know why he’s holding a tux throughout the speech.

Hit the jump to check out the video.  Piranha 3D is now in theaters.

Just when you think it can’t possibly get any bigger, the annual San Diego Comic-Con manages to do just that. The exponentially growing number of attendees and non-comic book related attractions doesn’t deter it from being one of the biggest draws of the summer for fans of superheroes, sci-fi, action-adventure and all things vampire. Over the last couple of years, people have even decided to camp out on the street under tents, for a better chance to catch a glimpse of the A-list actors and filmmakers that film Hall H with their upcoming blockbusters.

While I understand that Comic-Con ended on July 25^th, I went straight into attending the Television Critics Association Press Tour, where I’ve been every day since, and I haven’t had any time to post these until now. But, I got so many great photos of the folks that I interviewed that, even though Comic-Con ended awhile ago, I think the photos are still of interest.

Throughout my stay at Comic-Con, I took photos of Green Lantern star Ryan Reynolds, Ali Larter & Wentworth Miller from Resident Evil: Afterlife, Chloe Grace Moretz & Kodi Smit-McPhee from Let Me In, the stars of Sons of Anarchy, the cast of Psych, Amber Heard & Nicolas Cage from Drive Angry 3D, Anna Torv & Joshua Jackson from Fringe, Maggie Q & Lyndsy Fonseca from Nikita, Daniel Dae Kim & Grace Park from Hawaii Five-0, Denis O’Hare from True Blood, filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, the cast of the U.K. series Being Human, Elisabeth Shue & Steven McQueen from Piranha 3-D, the cast of The Vampire Diaries, Jensen Ackles from Supernatural, the stars of Castle, Jeff Bridges & Bruce Boxleitner with the new co-stars of Tron: Legacy, and Bruce Willis, Karl Urban & Helen Mirren from RED. Hit the jump for all the photos: