Paramount Pictures has released the first Hot Tub Time Machine 2 red-band trailer for director Steve Pink’s comedy sequel.  The film sees the return of Clark Duke, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Chevy Chase, with Adam Scott filling the ensemble spot left vacant by John Cusack.  As a fan of the ridiculousness of the first film, I find this follow-up trailer sufficiently swell.  Pink and Co. take the time travel conceit and go a few steps further, as Corddry, Robinson, and Duke’s characters find themselves transported to the future.  The jokes are on point, the visual gags are great, and the characters are still just as mean-spirited.

Hit the jump to watch the Hot Tub Time Machine 2 red-band trailer.  The film opens in theaters on December 25th.

Opening this weekend is the comedy Sex Tape.  Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel play a married couple who film a sex tape to spice up their love life.  Their video is accidentally uploaded to “the cloud,” which sends the couple through a series of hijinks to prevent everyone they know from seeing the video.  Ellie Kemper, Rob Corddry, and Rob Loweco-star in director Jake Kasdan‘s follow-up to Bad Teacher.  For more on the film, watch the regular or red-band trailer.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I landed an exclusive video interview with Rob Corddry and Ellie Kemper.  We talked about Dunkin Donuts finally coming to L.A., what they’re willing to do for a laugh, what it was like working with Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel, how Hot Tub Time Machine 2 won’t win any Academy Awards, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

It appears that the Hot Tub Time Machine sequel will be hitting theaters sooner rather than later.  Production on Hot Tub Time Machine 2 took place this past summer with Steve Pink returning to direct and Clark Duke, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Chevy Chase reprising their roles from the 2010 time travel comedy, but Adam Scott took over the lead role from John Cusack, playing the grown-up son of Cusack’s character.  While the film was expected to be in theaters sometime next year, we recently interviewed Scott and Clark in anticipation of the release of the comedy A.C.O.D., and the duo revealed that Hot Tub Time Machine 2 may be in theaters by March 2014.

“I think Hot Tub comes out in the spring,” said Scott, after which Duke chimed in and clarified, “In March.”  A specific date is unclear, but the first film hit theaters on March 26, 2010 and became a modest box office hit.  Look for our full interview with Scott and Duke on Collider soon.

Check out the latest casting news below:

• Brenton Thwaites (Blue Lagoon: The Awakening) is now set to star opposite Jeff Bridges in Philip Noyce’s adaptation of Lois Lowry’s award-winning story, The Giver.
• Dylan Minnette (Let Me In) and Kerry Dorsey (Moneyball) have joined Miguel Arteta’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, starring Ed Oxenbould (Julian), Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner.
• Bianca Haase (How I Met Your Mother) is the latest addition to Steve Pink’s Hot Tub Time Machine 2, starring Adam Scott, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase and Clark Duke.

Hit the jump for more on each picture.

Here’s today’s latest casting news:

• Tye Sheridan has graduated from Mud and will move on to Grass Stains, a coming-of-age indie from writer-director Kyle Wilamowski.  Kaitlyn Dever (Last Man Standing) is also in negotiations to star.
• Community co-stars Chevy Chase and Gillian Jacobs will reunite in Hot Tub Time Machine 2.  Chase will reprise his role as the advice-dispensing repairman while Jacobs will take on the female lead.
• Bill Irwin (Rachel Getting Married) will join Christopher Nolan’s upcoming sci-fi film, Interstellar.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement. 

There’s an interesting pairing schematic to this week’s Tyler Perry produced comedy Peeples. Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington star as a seemingly perfect couple… The only hitch: she’s yet to introduce her beau to the family (David Alan Grier & S. Epatha Merkerson). Both Robinson and Grier are primarily thought of as comedians, the former – a utility player in pretty much every comedy of the past five years, the latter – a founding member of one of the great sketch comedy shows: In Living Color. Their other halves however are played by dramatic actresses: Washington – the elusive object of affection in Django Unchained, Merkerson – the longest running cast member of Law & Order. The intermingling of drama and comedy performers lends the film a strong balance as a ‘dramedy’. Sure Peeples is a familiar riff on Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner/Meet the Parents; but it’s also a surprisingly charming film – and that can all be attributed to the cast and their interplay within.

In the following interview with Robinson and Washington, the duo discuss how Peeples allowed them to branch out from their comfort zones and how they choose film projects given their heavy television schedules. Robinson also discusses his penchant for playing children’s teachers (the comedian has a background in education) and gives a brief update on the status of Hot Tub Time Machine 2. For the full interview, hit the jump.

A bit of a casting change is being made for the sequel to the 2010 comedy Hot Tub Time Machine.  Unfortunately John Cusack—the star of the first film—is not returning for follow-up, but on the plus side the very funny Adam Scott is in talks to take over the leading role in the sequel.  The Parks and Recreation star is in early negotiations to play an entirely new leading man in the film, as it appears that Cusack’s character will be written out.  Original cast members Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, and Clark Duke are all nearing deals to return, as is director Steve Pink.  Hit the jump for more.

At WonderCon a few days ago, I landed an extended video interview with Craig Robinson.  While he was in attendance to help promote Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s awesome-looking end of the world comedy, This Is the End (click here for the red band trailer and our panel recap), we also talked about the Hot Tub Time Machine sequel (which he says starts to film in June, and John Cusack may return), and his NBC pilot that’s now called Mr. Robinson.

For those not familiar with This is the End, the R rated comedy stars everyone in Hollywood (Rogen, Jonah Hill, James Franco, Jason Segel, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Jay Baruchel, Mindy Kaling, Kevin Hart, Martin Starr, and more), and it looks to be one of the better films this summer.  Hit the jump for what Robinson had to say about all of his projects, and circle June 14, 2013 on your calendar because that’s when This is the End is due out in theaters.

As Brendan said last month, Hot Tub Time Machine had the reputation of being a flop based on a mediocre $14 million opening weekend, but the movie had legs, reaching $50 million domestic and it is exactly the kind of R-rated comedy that finds a second life on DVD and cable reruns.  This explains why MGM has been developing a sequel with director Steve Pink.  While we previously reported that Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke were set to reprise their roles in the sequel, the big story was that John Cusack might not be coming back.

However, when I spoke to Robinson earlier today at WonderCon for Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg‘s This Is The End, he told me “negotiations are still going” with the cast and he made it sound like Cusack might be coming back.  In addition, he said filming begins this June and he’s seen an early version of the script.  Since the first film featured a tremendous amount of improv, I’d imagine whatever script he’s seen will have a lot of changes on set.  Hit the jump to see what Robinson had to say about the sequel and to watch the trailer for the first film.  Look for more of my interview with Robinson soon.

Hot Tub Time Machine has a reputation has a flop based on a mediocre $14 million opening weekend.  But the movie had legs, reaching $50 million domestic.  And it is exactly the kind of R-rated comedy that finds a second life on DVD and cable reruns.  Add everything up, and there is apparently enough incentive for MGM to enter into “exploratory talks” with Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke to reprise their roles for a sequel, according to Heat Vision.  John Cusack, the lead in the original, is curiously not involved at this stage.

Steve Pink is also in talks to return as director.  Pink would work out the story with Corddry.  No details are available yet, but a hunch: The gang goes back in time to the wacky 1990s this time.  There is no guarantee that a deal will come together, but if one does, production will reportedly be fast-tracked.  As a fan of the cast and time travel, sounds good to me.  Hit the jump to revisit the nostalgia of 2009 and watch the trailer.

Opening this weekend is director James McTeigue‘s (V for Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) The Raven.  If you’re not familiar with the film, the story takes place in 1840s Baltimore where a series of grisly murders appear to have been inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe (played by John Cusack).  Poe and a detective (Luke Evans) must team up to find the killer before he takes out the woman Poe loves (Alice Eve).  The film also stars Oliver Jackson-Cohen, and Brendan Gleeson.   For more on the film, here’s the trailer and 40 images.

Last week I got to sit down with John Cusack for an extended video interview.  We talked about how The Raven came together, his research, Twitter (you can follow him here), which of his previous films people always want to talk about, if we’ll ever get a sequel to Hot Tub Time Machine, his upcoming projects like The Paperboy, The Frozen Ground, filming the experimental No Somos Animales in Argentina, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Hot Tub Time Machine is way better than it has any right to be.  It’s the story of three forty-something men, Adam (John Cusack), Lou (Rob Cordry) and Nick (Craig Robinson).  Once upon a time, twenty years ago, the guys were best friends who would cut loose at a ski resort in Kodiak Valley.  None of them are happy with the current states of their lives, highlighted by Lou’s recent episode of falling asleep in a parked car/suicide attempt (the exact verdict here depends on who’s making the call).  In an attempt to relive some past glory, the trio – along with Adam’s nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) – rolls to Kodiak Valley.  Only the place is nowhere near what they remembered it as.  It’s now a fallen paradise of boarded up shops and ratty hangouts.  And that’s when a repairman played by Chevy Chase shows up to fix the broken hot tub in their nasty motel room.  After he tinkers with it, the guys hop in and soon find themselves back in 1986 – the last year they rocked it in Kodiak.  More after the jump:

After siphoning away 30% of Alice in Wonderland‘s precious 3D screens, Dreamworks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon was the big winner this weekend – although its total may have been a bit under what the studio was hoping for.

Audiences have not yet tired of paying 30% more to see a mediocre movie in three dimensions, but if last night’s box office estimates are to be believed the novelty is fading fast. Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon opened with $12.2 million from 4,055 theatres and seems destined for a weekend in the $45 million range. That’s significantly under the $40 million Alice in Wonderland opened with on a Friday three weeks back and is even under the $14 million Martin Scorsese’s dimensionally-challenged Shutter Island opened to in February. Considering the big theatre count and the higher prices, this is a disappointment for Dreamworks. And speaking of disappointments, it looks like MGM can’t count on Hot Tub Time Machine to pull them out of their death spiral. The comedy debuted with $4.5 million on Friday and is now expected to come in at around $14 million for the weekend. Full three day details when you check back tomorrow.

It’s no small feat to set a movie in the 80s without drowning in nostalgia, making too many winking asides to decade’s sillier aspects, and poke fun at the time travel genre at the same time, but Hot Tub Time Machine manages to pull it off.  The film is at its best when it’s fearlessly silly and allows its leads to be as disgusting, confused, profane, and as over-the-top as the scene requires.   The triple threat of comedic actors Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke make the movie one that you’ll be laughing steadily throughout and discussing your favorite jokes after you leave.