Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner are all set to return for Anchorman: The Legend Continues.  Kristen Wiig was rumored to join the cast as Carell’s love interest, an item that just became fact as director Adam McKay confirmed the casting on Twitter:

Just found out Kristen Wiig officially on board for Anchorman 2.  Cannonball!

Anchorman: The Legend Continues, set for release on December 20, 2013, picks up with the San Diego news crew at the dawn of the 24-hour news cycle.

Hit the jump for a casting update for the adaptation of The Book Thief.

With the musical Les Miserables making a big splash this Christmas, older versions of the story inevitably find their way to Blu-Ray at about the same time. There have been a lot of takes on this story, after all: at least a dozen, not counting concert videos of the stage musical. Not least among them is Bille August’s straight-laced production from 1998. It strips the story down to the bones and removes a lot of juicy elements in the process. But bolstered by a strong pair of leads, it also makes for a reliable introduction to the story: a sort of cinematic Cliffs Notes to get you up to speed quickly. Hit the jump for the full review.

In a recent interview with Geoffrey Rush, the Pirates of the Caribbean star confessed he had no idea when the fifth installment would be going forward.  But now we know where it’s going, at least.  Pirates of the Caribbean 5 appears to be headed to Puerto Rico to start shooting this November. That’s good news, since the status of the film is somewhat in flux, with Rob Marshall (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) possibly returning to direct and the script in the process of being finalized. As we all know, the next installment (and the franchise itself) sets its course by its star, Johnny Depp.  Should we expect to see him in Puerto Rico this fall?  Hit the jump for more.

The Australian drama The Eye of the Storm, directed by Fred Schepisi and adapted from the novel by Nobel Prize winner Patrick White, tells the story of Elizabeth Hunter (Charlotte Rampling), as her son and daughter return home to convene at her deathbed.  As Sir Basil (Geoffrey Rush), a famous but struggling actor in London, and Dorothy (Judy Davis), a broke French princess, attempt to reconcile with their formidable and tempestuous mother to ensure their inheritance, all Mrs. Hunter wants to do is choose when and how she will die.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Academy Award-winning actor Geoffrey Rush talked about how he came to be a part of The Eye of the Storm, why he wanted to work with director Fred Schepisi, how gratifying it is to get such great feedback from American audiences about the film, how he went about understanding this character, and the awkwardness of doing sex scenes with the director’s daughter, Alexandra Schepisi, who was his co-star.  He also talked about the best part of being involved with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and that the script for the fifth film is currently in development, what attracts him to projects and roles now, and the film he just completed with Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso), called The Best Offer.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

Working Title is doing its very best to secure an A-list cast for the upcoming Les Miserables adaptation, leading with Hugh Jackman as Valjean.  It’s On The Grid reported last week the studio is courting Russell Crowe for Javert, Geoffrey Rush for Thenardier, and Helena Bonham Carter for Madame Thenardier, respectively.  The site also identified Hayden Panettiere, Miranda Cosgrove, Lucy Hale, and Emma Watson as candidates to play Eponine and Cosette, and suggested Amy Adams and Rebecca Hall were up for the role of Fantine.  Make of all that what you will.  Sorry to do this so soon, but I have to make it more complicated.  Broadway World [via The Playlist] hears Anne Hathaway is set to play Fantine, at the recommendation of Jackman.

Hathaway meets the aforementioned A-list requirement, and she sure can sing.  Of course she’s on the list.  It remains to be seen if the rumor will lead anywhere, but it is believable that the role is Hathaway’s if she wants it.  Director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) is scheduled to shoot Les Miserables early next year, so we should receive a final cast list before the end of the year.  Read the synopsis of the Victor Hugo novel that led to the source musical after the jump. [Update: Entertainment Weekly confirms that Hathaway is in talks to play Fantine.]

No one in their right mind would call The Warrior’s Way a good movie, but if you’re in a properly goofy mindset, it’s sure a lot of fun. That certainly requires a fair amount of audience goodwill. The CGI-heavy environment smacks of undue slickness, counting on a high concept gimmick to pull it through instead of story or characters.  Most of the stars – including Geoffrey Rush, Kate Bosworth and Danny Huston – are madly slumming, and use the opportunity to attain Maximum Ham as often as they can get away with it. The plot is a grab-bag of pop culture references, drawn from Chinese wuxia, Sergio Leone westerns and that period in Fellini’s development when he completely lost his shit and dove head-first into self-indulgence. But if you can forgive all that or indeed, find it all kind of funny, then the pleasures rarely get guiltier. Hit the jump for the full review.

Thanks to Warner Bros. sending over the EPK (electronic press kit) from Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, you can watch 15 minutes of behind the scenes footage.  If you’re trying to stay spoiler free, I urge you not to watch the footage as it’s loaded with potential spoilers.  However, if you’re curious how Green Lantern was made, the footage is awesome.  I especially enjoyed getting to see Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clarke Duncan do their voice over work as Tomar-Re and Kilowog (which is towards the end) and watching Mark Strong become Sinestro in the makeup chair.  You can also see Ryan Reynolds pretending to fly, tons of stunt work, and plenty of Blake Lively and Peter Sarsgaard.  Again, it’s some great footage.  Hit the jump to check it out.  Green Lantern open June 17th.

The wait is almost over. Warner Bros. has released 8 new clips from director Martin Campbell’s Green Lantern, which hits theaters in less than two weeks. Based on the comic book, the film tells the story of Hal Jordan (Reynolds), the first human ever to join the intergalactic peacekeeping Green Lantern Corps. From all the recent trailers that have been released, and the huge batch of high resolution stills showing off finished visual effects, the film looks like it’s going to be pretty fantastic.

Hit the jump to watch the clips. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins. Green Lantern will be released in 3D on June 17^th.

Warner Bros. has released a slew of images from their upcoming superhero flick Green Lantern. Some of the images are new, while a few of them we’ve seen before, but they all reflect finished visual-effects. Also included in the batch are a few official set images featuring director Martin Campbell. The film stars Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, Angela Bassett, and Tim Robbins, and tells the story of Hal Jordan (Reynolds), the first human ever to join the intergalactic peacekeeping Green Lantern Corps.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Green Lantern opens in 3D on June 17th.

As a fan of the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies, it’s going to be tough to find a bigger disappointment in 2011 than Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  While it would be reasonable to expect that the sequel may not be as good as the original trilogy, the extent to which the film misunderstands story, pacing, action scenes, its own history, and its main characters, is mind-boggling.  The film does almost nothing right and it’s a tedious chore that sails through gigantic plotholes, lazy screenwriting, poor characterization, and reduces the scale and creativity of the previous films.  I would rather be cursed by the Aztecs, spend 100 years before the mast serving aboard the Flying Dutchman, and get devoured by a kraken than endure another viewing of On Stranger Tides.

Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech won the Academy Award for Best Picture this year, but that’s not to say that it was the most popular film at the box office in 2010.  In fact, of the films nominated in that category at this year’s Oscar’s, it’d probably be fair to say that The King’s Speech wasn’t amongst the top three or four most-seen films.  The problem is that The King’s Speech looks like it might be a chore to sit through:  you’ve got stuffy British people, an “underdog beats the odds” plotline that many of us have already seen, and a lead actor that isn’t known for being the most electric on-screen presence in Hollywood.  All of this may have kept people from checking the film out when it hit theaters.  But now that it’s won the “Best Picture” Oscar and landed on store shelves, should you give The King’s Speech a chance?  Find out after the jump, folks…

In what was surely one of the biggest premieres of all time, Disneyland was shut down on Saturday, May 7^th so that the entire cast of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, including the monkey, could turn out to greet fans and sign autographs. Thousands of park guests showed up starting at midnight to see all of the special guests at the first-ever outdoor film premiere in 3D, which was also a benefit for Boys & Girls Club of America.

Joining Mickey Mouse himself were cast members Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz , Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Sam Claflin, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Kevin McNally, Óscar Jaenada, Greg Ellis, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, various mermaids and zombies, director Rob Marshall, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, composer Hans Zimmer, book author Tim Powers and Disney Chairman Bob Iger. Other celebs who made appearances on the black carpet were Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Jodie Foster, Desperate Housewives co-stars Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria, Eliza Dushku with boyfriend Rick Fox, Kirstie Alley with Dancing with the Stars partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Martin Short, rocker Steven Tyler, Taboo of the Black Eyed Peas, Emma Roberts, Andy Garcia, Karl Urban and Steven R. McQueen of The Vampire Diaries, among others. Check out all of the exclusive photos after the jump:

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the swashbuckling franchise, hits theater May 20 and darn it if I haven’t missed Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in his five-year absence.  Disney has provided us four clips from the movie, not to mention 10 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage, to mark his return.  The last clip in particular is a great showcase for that guttural yell of Depp’s, a personal favorite.  The clips also highlight Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane’s introduction to the franchise — McShane is awarded an especially badass entry scene as Blackbeard.  Geoffrey Rush, Sam Claflin, and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey also star in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, directed by Rob Marshall (Nine).  Watch everything after the jump.

Disney has released the first clip from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  I’ve always felt like I was in the minority of being interested in a new Pirates film since I don’t know many folks who enjoy the sequels (they’re big, bombastic, and don’t always hit their mark, but they take a lot of chances that pay off).  However, last week, Company Town reported that On Stranger Tides could be the year’s first $100m+ opening weekend because the film is tracking so well.

But this first clip from the film gives me pause.  The way Jack frees himself from the guards with a simple flip of the wrists looks silly and for an escape from the palace, I’m confused as to why he’s going away from the window.  Of course, the big problem with clips is that they lack context, so hopefully this scene will work better when I see the film.  Hit the jump to check out the clip.  The film stars Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, and Geoffrey Rush.  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens in 3D on May 20th.

A couple of new posters have been released today. First up, the international poster for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has hit the web. It’s pretty much a combination of all the separate character posters that have been released so far, as it puts all the four main characters together on the same poster. The film hits theaters in 3D on May 20^th.

Secondly, a new poster for Skateland has been released. The film, starring Ashley Greene, is set in the 80’s and centers on high schoolers and their local roller skating rink. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festvial. Directed by Anthony Burns, Skateland stars Greene, Shiloh Fernandez, Heath Freeman, Brett Cullen, and Taylor Handley. Hit the jump to check out the posters.