I love baseball movies.  To be honest, I love sports movies as a whole, but baseball movies in particular (it is perhaps needless to say that I love the games).  Alas, sports movies are a mixed bag in terms of quality.  One area in which baseball movies often find success is in tapping into the historic and/or mythic elements of the game itself.  42 does exactly that, delving into Jackie Robinson’s breaking of baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

Alex Cross follows the homicide detective/psychologist from the best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he comes up against psychopathic serial killer Picasso (Matthew Fox). This time, the story takes a younger version of Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) back to the origins of the character while the two men face off in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse that will push Cross to this edge of his moral limits. From director Rob Cohen (The Fast and The Furious, xXx), the film also stars Edward Burns, Cicely Tyson, Carmen Ejogo, Giancarlo Esposito, John C. McGinley and Jean Reno.

At the film’s press day, actress Rachel Nichols – who plays Monica Ashe, one of Cross’ co-workers at the Detroit P.D. – spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how she came to be a part of the film, why she loves playing strong women, going through training with Tyler Perry and Ed Burns, how natural the chemistry with her co-stars was, and how intense Matthew Fox’s transformation for his role was.  She also talked about her Canadian TV show Continuum, which will be airing on Syfy, that they start shooting Season 2 in January 2013, how she’d like to squeeze in another film first, and how she hopes her 2005 Fox TV show The Inside will be made available on DVD.  Check out what she had to say after the jump. 

Alex Cross follows the homicide detective/psychologist from the best-selling novels by James Patterson, as he comes up against psychopathic serial killer Picasso (Matthew Fox).  This time, the story takes a younger version of Alex Cross (Tyler Perry) back to the origins of the character while the two men face off in a high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse that will push Cross to this edge of his moral limits.  From director Rob Cohen (The Fast and The Furious, xXx), the film also stars Edward Burns, Rachel Nichols, Cicely Tyson, Carmen Ejogo, Giancarlo Esposito, John C. McGinley and Jean Reno.

At the film’s press day, actor Tyler Perry talked about what drew him to this role, what it was like to be an actor for hire, how it was to be so stripped down for a character, how he enjoyed learning Krav Maga, whether he’d consider doing more role like this in the future, doing the fight sequences with co-star Matthew Fox, and what his Madea fans might think of him in this film.  He also talked about his partnership with Oprah Winfrey for original programming on OWN, how he feels about being a mogul, if he’d ever want to direct a big-budget movie, his biggest fears, and the fact that he’s recently met with J.J. Abrams about a possible project, but he will not appear in the Star Trek sequel.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The first trailer for director Brian Helgeland’s Jackie Robinson biopic, 42, has gone online.  No sports-related trailer is complete without a walk down the tunnel from the locker room and this one is no different.  Where the trailer quickly distances itself is in the film’s fearless to take on race relations, a central part to Robinson’s rise to fame in the sports world.  Boseman takes on the role whole-heartedly and looks to be an absolute force in the film.  I’m usually not a fan of contemporary songs in period trailers (I’m looking at you, The Great Gatsby), but Jay-Z’s track nails it this time around.

42 stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson, with Harrison Ford, Christopher Meloni, Jon Bernthal, Alan Tudyk and John C. McGinley, and opens April 12th, 2013.  Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

The first trailer for the James Patterson adaptation Alex Cross has landed online.  The film sees Tyler Perry taking over the titular role that was previously inhabited by Morgan Freeman in Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls.  Though I tried to go into this trailer with an open mind, if it weren’t for the movie stars you’d be forgiven for thinking this was a Lifetime Movie of the Week.  Perry tries way too hard at being the toughened detective, director Rob Cohen (xXx) shows off his penchant for explosions, and I have no idea what’s up with Matthew Fox but he’s going way over the top for the villain role.  It’ll be interesting to see how this plays for Patterson fans, as Summit is hoping that Alex Cross kicks off a string of franchise films for Perry.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Rachel Nichols, Edward Burns, Jean Reno, Giancarlo Esposito, and John C. McGinley.  Alex Cross opens on October 19th.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

Some casting news for you today, including a project in which Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men) is taking on four roles! Here they are at a glance:

• Jones is set to write, direct, produce and star in the pioneer period piece, The Homesman.
• Oscar-nominee John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) boards the indie thriller, Too Late.
• John C. McGinley (Scrubs) is the latest addition to the Jackie Robinson biopic, 42.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Scrubs MVP John C. McGinley has signed on for a role in Summit’s adaptation of I, Alex Cross.  Tyler Perry stars as a homicide detective in search of a serial killer: “The two face off in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, but when the mission gets personal, Cross is pushed to the edge of his moral and psychological limits.” According to Showblitz, McGinley will play Chief of Police Richard Brookwell, a “vigorous, ambitious man” in contrast to Cross’ gentler approach homicide.  Matthew Fox, Ed Burns, and Jean Reno also star in the adaptation, directed by Rob Cohen (The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor) from a script by Kerry Williamson and Marc Moss.

Hit the jump for details on Stephanie Szostak’s role opposite Ryan Reynolds in R.I.P.D., and info on the high school comedy Gay Dude.