We have a few casting stories for you this afternoon.  First up, Bruce Willis is set to lead the thriller Expiration.  According to Variety, Willis plays “a hitman who is poisoned and has to find a cure before he expires.”  So it’s like D.O.A. but probably with a lot more killing of other people.  The film is currently in negotiations for a director, and the script is from Broken City scribe Brian Tucker.  What’s slightly damning about this production is that it’s from producers Randall Emmett and George Furla.  The duo previously produced the Willis films Setup and Fire with Fire.  While Willis didn’t lead those movies, they still went direct-to-DVD.  Then again, they also co-starred talking mannequin 50 Cent, so perhaps Expiration will be better if they leave him out of it.

Hit the jump for casting news on Anita and Mojave.

Screenwriter Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play) is ready to make his directorial debut with the Chicago crime thriller Violent Talent.  Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) has signed on to star—Margot Robbie (Pan Am), Tony Kebbell (War Horse), and Riz Ahmed (Four Lions) will take supporting roles.  Per Deadline, Carnahan’s script centers on “Eamon (Hedlund) as he and his two oldest friends Angel and Quan (Kebbell and Ahmed) try to build a criminal empire in a contemporary Chicago where he feels crime might be the most honest job around.”

Hedlund is from the Midwest (Minnesota), but I find it curious to cast two Brits (Kebbell, Ahmed) and an Aussie (Robbie) around him when the setting is so heavily accented.  Better to surround him with good actors than good accents, though, and I like what I’ve seen of Kebbell, Ahmed, and Robbie.  Plus, Robbie’s American accent was good enough for me in Pan Am and, more importantly, good enough for Martin Scorsese to cast her as the female lead in The Wolf of Wall Street.  Carnahan’s work will next be seen (amid rewrites) in World War Z, opening June 26.

Ahead of the film’s Cannes Film Festival debut later this month, a new red-band trailer and debut poster for writers/directors Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film Inside Llewyn Davis have been released online.  The film takes place in the folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village in the 1960s, and while this trailer isn’t wholly different from the previous one we saw, there are a few bits of R-rated new footage here and there that are spot-on Coen brothers.  Set against the appropriate musical stylings of one Bob Dylan, the trailer highlights impressive turns from stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan, as well as yet another great Coen brothers performance from John Goodman.  December feels like an eternity away knowing that Inside Llewyn Davis is just waiting for us.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and to see the new poster.  The film also stars Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham, Garrett Hedlund, and Adam Driver.  Inside Llewyn Davis will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month and opens in theaters December 6th.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  On the Road opens today in limited release.]

Jack Kerouac‘s On the Road is a novel that inspired a generation of restless young men and women to break free from their comfort zones, broaden their horizons, and look to the majesty of America. Walter Salles‘ On the Road is a film adaptation that will inspire a generation of lazy high school kids to watch the movie instead of reading the book. Salles snaps up the words of Kerouac’s novel, but not their spirit. The movie shouldn’t simply regurgitate the book because adaptation should be a work of inspiration and not imitation. But there’s nothing inspired about Salles’ picture. It’s safe where it should be dangerous. It’s lugubrious when it should be explosive. It’s derivative when it should be daring. Despite glimmers of an emotionally moving story, On the Road rarely has the energy to get up and bravely venture forth beyond the plot constraints of a book that’s not driven by its plot.

Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Walter Salles (The Motorcycle Diaries) and based on the iconic novel by Jack Kerouac, On the Road tells the provocative story of Sal Paradise (Sam Riley), a young writer whose life is shaken and ultimately redefined by the arrival of the free-spirited and fearless Dean Moriarty (Garrett Hedlund) and his girl, Marylou (Kristen Stewart). As they travel across the country on a personal quest for freedom from the conformity and conservatism that engulfed many during that time, the duo encounter a mix of eclectic individuals who forever change them. The film also stars Viggo Mortensen, Kristen Dunst, Amy Adams, Tom Sturridge, Elisabeth Moss and Alice Braga.  Click here for all our previous coverage.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Garrett Hedlund and Kristen Stewart talked about why they were so passionate about this project, how challenging it was to stay attached over the years, how they broke the nudity in the film to their parents, the ideals of the time period that they can most relate to, their favorite locations on the shoot, what the younger fans of Twilight might think of this film, and what can make a great road trip. Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Just last week, we learned that the in-development sequel to TRON: Legacy has been given a boost, as Disney is keen on moving forward with the project with Jesse Wigutow tapped to pen the latest draft of the script.  Now, in “no shit” news, Legacy star Garrett Hedlund has confirmed in an interview with NextMovie that he’s set to return for the Joseph Kosinski-helmed follow-up:

“Yeah, are we gonna break this now? Disney’s very excited. That’s about that. You know, yeah, I’m very excited, Disney’s very excited.”

With all big studio projects that have franchise potential, actors are signed to multi-picture deals in which they are contractually obligated to return for further sequels whether they want to or not, so obviously if Disney is moving ahead with Tron 3 it will be with Hedlund in tow.  You can also expect Olivia Wilde to be coming back, as the ending of Legacy set up a nice tease for the future of the two characters.  New Disney Studios head Alan Horn sees the Legacy sequel as a priority for the Mouse House, so expect more news on the sequel sooner rather than later.

The sequel to Tron: Legacy looks to be back on track.  Disney has been developing a follow-up to the 2010 Tron sequel for a couple of years now, though movement had slowed considerably as of late.  Apparently new Disney Studios head Alan Horn sees the sequel as a priority, with Heat Vision reporting that Jesse Wigutow being tapped to pen the latest draft of the script as development on the project moves forward “with a renewed urgency.”  Legacy director Joseph Kosinski is set to helm this next installment, though a timetable for production isn’t given.  Kosinski is currently finishing up post-production on the Tom Cruise-led sci-fi pic Oblivion.

Last we heard, David DiGilio was writing a new draft of the script for Tron 3.  Legacy screenwriters Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz stepped back to a producer role on the follow-up given their commitment to the ABC series Once Upon a Time, which they created and run.  With this “renewed urgency” on the project, we should hear more about the sequel sooner rather than later.

While rumors continue to swirl around Disney’s Star Wars, Marvel is busy looking for their Star-Lord. A shortlist of actors is reportedly being tested for the lead role in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn (Super). Included on that list are Joel Edgerton (Warrior), Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire), Jim Sturgess (Cloud Atlas), Lee Pace (Lincoln) and Eddie Redmayne (My Week with Marilyn). The leader of the Guardians, Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, was born of a human mother and alien father. He’s a master strategist and combat expert who wears an ability-enhancing suit and pilots a psychically-linked ship. Sounds like a fun role for any one of these guys to make their own, but there have been even more names thrown into the competition. Hit the jump to check them out.

On the eve of the release of the final installment in the Twilight franchise, we’ve got a Kristen Stewart news bit of a different sort to share: a new trailer for the Jack Kerouac adaptation On the Road.  Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, and Sam Riley star as the central characters Marylou, Dean, and Sal, respectively, and this impressive trailer takes a more character-centric approach to the story, attempting to relay at least a little of what the film’s about.  I’m interested to see how Kerouac’s Beat Generation portrait translates to film (read Matt’s review right here), but I continue to be impressed by the brief glimpses of Hedlund’s performance that we’ve seen in the trailers thus far.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, and Elizabeth Moss.  On the Road opens on December 21st.

A couple of new posters and related images to share with you today.  We’ve got the first poster and a new image from director John Moore’s A Good Day to Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis as John McClane alongside his estranged son (Jai Courtney) as they take on those evil Commies no-goodniks Russian bad guys.  A twist on McClane’s signature catch phrase lets us know what he thinks of their country.  If you missed the trailer, check it out here. A Good Day to Die Hard opens February 14th, 2013.

We’ve also got the US poster for Walter Salles’ On the Road, starring Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart and Sam Riley. An adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel,  On the Road drives into theaters on December 21st.  Hit the jump to check out the new posters and images for each film. 

We’ve already seen a number of trailers for director Walter Salles’ (The Motorcycle Diaries) adaptation of the Jack Kerouac novel On the Road, but the first official U.S. trailer has just now made its debut.  Kristen Stewart, Garrett Hedlund, and Sam Riley star as the central characters Marylou, Dean, and Sal, respectively, and this trailer is much more frenetic than what we’ve seen before.  It’s billed as a teaser trailer and thus is light on dialogue and heavy on fast cuts.  The film premiered earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival where it received mixed reviews (read a round-up of the reactions right here), but Salles has apparently re-cut the film for its theatrical release.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, and Elizabeth Moss.  On the Road will screen at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival and opens in U.S. theaters on December 21st.

A new trailer for director Walter Salles’ (The Motorcycle Diaries) adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s On the Road has landed online.  This trailer starts off pretty fast and loose, but then slows down a bit to give us a better sense of the characters and story.  It also features critic quotes from the film’s Cannes premiere and a peek at the scene where Kristen Stewart’s character, um, “services” Garrett Hedlund and Sam Riley’s characters in the car.  I’m really impressed by what we’ve seen of Hedlund as Dean thus far, and this more character-driven trailer gives me hope that Salles found a way of translating Kerouac’s seminal novel for the big screen.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, and Elizabeth Moss.  A U.S. release date has yet to be announced.

Recently, Robert Pattinson (Twilight) put rumors to rest and confirmed he would not be jumping franchises to join The Hunger Games sequel, Catching Fire.  The role in question was that of Finnick Odair, a fellow contestant in the games of the second book from Suzanne Collins’ bestselling trilogy.  It’s now looking like the frontrunners for the role may be Taylor Kitsch (Battleship), Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) and Armie Hammer (Mirror Mirror).  While the casting might seem a bit premature at the moment, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is on a bit of a short schedule owing to star Jennifer Lawrence’s prior commitments and a screen debut of November 22nd, 2013.  Presumably returning for the sequel to Lionsgate’s newest moneymaker are Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Lenny Kravitz and Donald Sutherland with director Francis Lawrence.  Hit the jump for more on the casting of Catching Fire.

The long-awaited first feature film adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s novel On the Road is finally hitting theaters later this year, and two clips have landed online.  One clip features a scene between Garrett Hedlund’s Dean and Kirsten Dunst’s Camille, while the other clip centers on Kristen Stewart’s character.  As you may or may not have heard, Stewart tackles the sexually charged character of Marylou head-on with more than one nude scene, and it’s clear from the first reactions to the film that some of her young Twilight fans may be a bit shocked to see their beloved Bella promiscuously taking part in three-ways—if they’re old enough to get into the R-rated film in the first place, that is.

On the Road premiered yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival, and we’ve rounded up some choice quotes from the first reviews.  Hit the jump to check out the clips and to see how director Walter Salles’ adaptation was received at Cannes.

Debut feature director Andrew Levitas has landed quite the cast for his upcoming comedy/drama, Lullaby.  Directing from his own script, Levitas will boast Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) and Oscar-nominees Richard Jenkins (The Visitor), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow) and Amy Adams (Junebug, Doubt, The Fighter).  Lullaby also stars up-and-comers Garrett Hedlund (TRON: Legacy) and Jessica Brown Findlay (Downton Abbey) in a comedic drama that looks at the transformative moments in life, a picture that draws from Levitas’ career as a fine artist.  Cast and crew are set to shoot this June in New York City.  Hit the jump for the synopsis and more on the cast.