One more casting addition has been made to Seth MacFarlane’s second live-action directorial project, the Western comedy A Million Ways to Die in the West.  Universal Pictures and Media Rights Capital announced the film’s official release date today, and within the press release is the film’s release date and news that Neil Patrick Harris has joined the cast.  MacFarlane leads the ensemble, which also includes Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Sarah Silverman, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Here’s the official synopsis:

After a cowardly sheep farmer backs out of a gunfight, his fickle girlfriend leaves him for another man.  When a mysterious and beautiful woman rides into town, she helps him find his courage and they begin to fall in love.  But when her husband, a notorious outlaw, arrives seeking revenge, the farmer must put his newfound courage to the test.

MacFarlane co-wrote the script with his Ted scribes Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, and in addition to starring he will also produce and direct.   A Million Ways to Die in the West opens on May 30, 2014, opposite Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur.

Get ready for a double-barrel shot of casting for Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West!  Word has it that Liam Neeson (Taken) is in negotiations to play the film’s nefarious outlaw whose wife teaches a cowardly farmer the ways of gun-fighting in order for him to win back his lady love.  Giovanni Ribisi (Gangster Squad) is also on board the comedy Western as the protag’s equally-spineless best friend.  A Million Ways to Die in the West also stars Charlize Theron (Prometheus) and Amanda Seyfried (Les Miserables), making the principal cast just about set.  Hit the jump for more.

It’s a bit disappointing that Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad can live in such a rich setting and still feel so light.  As seen through a grand tradition of films dating back over 70 years, post-war Los Angeles was boozy, hedonistic, dangerous, and dark.  Gangster Squad waters down this colorful world, and simply coasts on being an amusing, frivolous action film.  There’s nothing wrong with that, and with a strong cast at his disposal, Fleischer finds a nice blend between the style he brought to Zombieland and the spirit of the time period.  Unfortunately, a thin plot and even thinner characters make Gangster Squad as intense as a drive-by shooting and just as fleeting.

With the film set to hit theaters tomorrow, a final extended trailer for director Ruben Fleischer’s crime drama Gangster Squad has been released online.  It looks to be mostly made up of footage that we’ve seen before, but this is the most comprehensive look at the film we’ve been given thus far.  If you missed any of our recent coverage, be sure to check out Steve’s extended interview with star Josh Brolin and Christina’s coverage of the press conference that included Fleischer, Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.  Look for more interviews over the next few days.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, Robert Patrick and Mireille Enos.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

Warner Bros. has released six clips from director Ruben Fleischer’s upcoming period crime drama Gangster Squad.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  If you missed it, be sure to check out our set visit coverage here, and a bounty of images from the film right here.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

A new behind-the-scenes featurette has gone online for director Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad. In addition to a wealth of new footage, the video features commentary from the cast as they talk about gangster movies, the plot of Gangster Squad specifically and the lengths to which each of their characters will go to rid their city of crime, even becoming close to criminals themselves. Be sure to check out a host of images here and get caught up on Andre’s set visit here.

The movie stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sean Penn as the villainous Mickey Cohen.  Gangster Squad opens January 11, 2013. Hit the jump to check out the new featurette.

I offered a similar sentiment following the tragedy at Aurora, CO back in July and I’ll do the same today: the event that unfolded yesterday in Newtown, CT is inexcusable and genuinely heartbreaking, even from a distance. The optimist in me wants to believe that any negative situation can be used to educate and improve the world we live in going forward. In this case, I’m hopeful but unsure that’s possible. On behalf of everyone here at Collider, I want to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of those who were lost yesterday.

As petty as it may seem, I feel fortunate to be able to offer a bit of diversion to your day with this week’s Top 5. Included in a trailer-heavy rotation this week is a new cut from Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel, The Hobbit interviews with Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis and more, the first trailer for Guillermo del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, Andre’s coverage from his Gangster Squad set visit, and the first look at Will Smith and Jaden Smith gallivanting across the human unfriendly Mother Earth found in M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth. A brief recap and link to each will greet you after the jump.

Warner Bros. has released a large batch of new images from director Ruben Fleischer’s upcoming period drama Gangster Squad.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  If you missed it, be sure to check out all of our set visit coverage including 15 things to know and our interviews with Fleischer, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Giovanni Ribisi, and producers Dan Lin and Kevin McCormick.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Ryan Gosling, Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, and Emma Stone.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

Though there was a while there where they tried to turn him into a star, Giovanni Ribisi has settled into to being a great character actor, and as a supporting player, he’s proved himself to be one of the most reliable supporting performers working today. In Gangster Squad he plays the techie, which if the film is to be compared to The Untouchables, is the Charles Martin Smith role. But Ribisi was ready to play and we talked about his character and acting in our interview, which follows after the jump.

A batch of character banners for director Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) upcoming crime drama Gangster Squad has been released.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  All of the characters get to look super cool and/or badass in their own character banners here except for poor Giovanni Ribisi, who’s left fiddling with a film canister for some reason.  It seems like forever ago that the film’s release was pushed back in the wake of this summer’s theater shootings, but the pic will finally hit theaters in a couple of months.

Hit the jump to check out the character banners.  The film also stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

Five new character posters for director Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) period crime drama Gangster Squad have landed online.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  The pic is undergoing a bit of a marketing reboot after being pushed from its fall release date to January in the wake of the tragic theater shootings this summer.  We saw a new trailer yesterday, and these new posters do a fine job of highlighting Fleischer’s stylish take on the period setting (reminiscent of this previously released banner).  The only issue is that they still carry the old September release date.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film also stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi. Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

A new trailer for director Ruben Fleischer’s crime drama Gangster Squad has been released.  I was interested in checking out Gangster Squad before the reshoots forced the release date to be pushed back and this trailer hasn’t swayed me one way or the other.  Sean Penn looks positively fierce as gangster Mickey Cohen, but Josh Brolin appears hard-boiled enough to take him on.  Ryan Gosling plays it almost too cool for school, bordering on emotionless, and leading lady Emma Stone is just too innocent to make convincing arm candy for a gangster (I’m talking Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface type of girl here).  Penn will dominate his scenes, but I’m interested to see what dramatic turns Gosling and Stone have in store for us.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

A number of actors have been lined up to join the “anti-romantic comedy” A Many Splintered Thing.  The pic stars Chris Evans as a man burned by past lovers who meets an engaged woman (Michelle Monaghan) and decides to feign a platonic relationship in order to keep seeing her as he tries to win her over.  Variety reports that Anthony Mackie (The Adjustment Bureau), Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Recreation), Giovanni Ribisi (Ted) and Philip Baker Hall (50/50) are all in various stages of negotiations to join the cast, while Deadline adds that Topher Grace is also joining the mix.

Grace will play Evans’ best friend who eggs him on during his quest, but details regarding the other actors’ roles aren’t given.  It’s an eclectic group of actors for a promising premise, and it’s nice to see Evans still willing to tackle risky roles in the wake of his Marvel success (Mackie also stars as Falcon in the Captain America sequel).  Justin Reardon is directing from a Black List script by Chris Shafer and Paul Vicknair.  Production begins later this month.

A new international trailer for Zombieland-director Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad has gone online.  While it’s a shorter, tighter cut of the previously released trailer, the new version does feature a few seconds of new footage.  Sean Penn stars as Mickey Cohen, a New York gangster who takes his criminal enterprise to Los Angeles.  Standing in his way are Sgt. John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who are tasked with disrupting Cohen’s stranglehold under the orders of Bill Parker (Nick Nolte).  Gangster Squad also stars Emma Stone, Giovanni Ribisi, Anthony Mackie, Mireille Enos, Frank Grillo and Michael Pena. The film opens September 7th.  Hit the jump to check out the new trailer.

You know his voice from Family Guy, but Seth MacFarlane will now be lending his signature sound to a walking, talking, pot-smoking teddy bear in Ted.   If you’ve already seen this red-band trailer, then you know what you’re in for with the following clips from the movie.  Ted stars Mark Wahlberg as a grown man who can’t seem to let go of his stuffed best friend, Ted (MacFarlane).  MacFarlane also co-wrote the screenplay and will make his feature directing debut with the comedy.  Ted, also starring Mila Kunis, Patrick Warburton, Giovanni Ribisi, Laura Vandervoort and Joel McHale, opens June 29th.  Hit the jump to view the clips.