CBS Films has released the trailer for Jordan Vogt-Roberts‘ dramedy The Kings of Summer (formerly Toy’s House).  The plot centers on Joe (Nick Robinson), Patrick (Gabriel Basso), and Biaggio (Moises Arias), three teenagers who are fed up with their parents and decide to live in a house they build in the woods.  Reported missing, the boys enjoy an idyllic summer until their friendship begins to strain from mistrust and jealousy.  I saw the film a couple weeks ago, and it’s pretty damn funny with Arias being a scene stealer along with Nick Offerman, who plays Joe’s father.  Also, at times it manages to evoke the adventurous, free spirit of Calvin & Hobbes, which is about the highest praise I can give.  The trailer does a good job of selling the film while not giving away too many of the great jokes.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Alison Brie and Megan Mullally.  The Kings of Summer opens May 31st.

CBS Films has released the first teaser trailer for the Sundance gem The Kings of Summer (formerly known as Toy’s House) along with the announcement that the film will now be released on May 31st instead of June 14th.  Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the pic tells the story of three unhappy teens (Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias) who flee to the wilderness, where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny.  I caught the film at Sundance and it is nothing if not original, as Vogt-Roberts strikes an odd tone that’s equal parts comedy and drama.  The pic is essentially Step Brothers in reverse, as the kids start to act like grown ups in every way imaginable as their days in seclusion turn to weeks.

Hit the jump to watch the teaser trailer.  The film also stars Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Alison Brie, and you can watch Steve’s Sundance interviews with these actors here, here, and here.  The Kings of Summer opens on May 31st.

A trio of young actors have landed the lead roles in the indie comedy Toy’s House.  Per Variety, Nick Robinson (Melissa & Joey), Gabriel Basso (The Big C), and Moises Arias (Hannah Montana) will topline the pic, which centers on three unhappy teens “who flee to the wilderness where they build a makeshift house and live off the land as masters of their own destiny.”  Once there, though, they’re faced with the harsh reality of surviving on their own and realize they’re not ready to grow up just yet.  The promising supporting cast includes Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation), Alison Brie (Community), Megan Mullaly (Will & Grace), Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) and Erin Moriarty (The Watch).

Chris Galletta wrote the screenplay, and Funny or Die Presents director Jordan Vogt-Roberts will be taking the helm.  The premise brings to mind shades of a more comedic version of Stand By Me, and hopefully Vogt-Roberts can put together a fun coming-of-age story. Production is set to get underway in July in Cleveland.

J.J. Abrams Super 8 is an echo.  It echoes the innocence of Steven Spielberg’s Amblin films of the 1980s, it echoes the imagined purity of small town America, and it echoes the innocence and coming of age through the lens of aspiring filmmakers.  But Super 8 never makes its own noise. While the film manages to capture the fun, adventure, thrills, laughs, and characters of Spielberg’s movies, Super 8 never conjures its own magic.

With writer/director J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 opening next week, Paramount has released over twenty new images and you can check them out after the jump.  Here’s the synopsis:

In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.

With the embargo lifted, I can tell you Super 8 was great and it made me feel like a kid again.  If I was 12, Super 8 would probably be my favorite movie.  It really deserves the Amblin logo at the beginning…

While I’m not crazy about posting TV spots (if you watch TV, you’re gonna see them and see them often), footage for J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 has been so scarce that I figure this one is worth sharing.  What’s new in this spot that you didn’t see in the trailer?  Cars are missing their fuse boxes and electrical systems!  Kids screaming “Guys, watch out!” and “Oh my God!”  The trailer may have depicted the movie as a nice throwback to Spielberg’s 80s Amblin films, but this TV spot is all about heart-pounding action.

Hit the jump to check out the TV spot.  Super 8 stars Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, and Ryan W. Lee.  It opens June 10th.

I was thrilled with J.J. Abrams’ casting of the superlative Kyle Chandler (alongside Elle Fanning) in the Steven Spielberg-produced Super 8.  Neither Chandler nor Fanning is what you might call a household name, but it turns out they’ll be the most recognizable members of the cast.

According to Risky Business, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, Gabriel Basso, Joel Courtney, Riley Griffiths, Ryan Lee, and Zach Mills round out the main cast of the enigmatic thriller, which is said to revolve around “three siblings who discover footage of an alien in some Super 8 footage they shot.”  The relatively unknown nature of the cast makes for a fun journey on IMDB, which I try to recreate after the jump.