NBC has put down freshman comedy series Animal Practice, which will continue to air in its 8 pm slot on Wednesday nights until November 7th.  Starting November 14th, NBC, in the network’s infinite wisdom, has decided to start airing new episodes of Whitney.  There is no word yet on when fan-favorite and critical darling Community will return from limbo for its fourth season.  From the way NBC has handled their comedic properties, one would assume that Crystal the Monkey was in charge.  Clearly that’s not the case as Crystal would never cancel her own shows.  Hit the jump to get this sorted out. 

Justin Kirkhas earned high praise for his roles on television, in film and on stage.  In Ry Russo-Young’s ensemble drama, Nobody Walks, about a young New York artist (Olivia Thirlby) who moves to Los Angeles and becomes a catalyst for lust, denial and deception, Kirk plays a screenwriter in therapy that’s used to talking his way into anything.  His therapist (Rosemarie DeWitt) finds herself fending off her patient’s projective impulses as her once idyllic existence starts to unravel.

During our roundtable interview, Kirk talked about why it’s fun to portray a well-drawn character that behaves like a cad, why he only lasted a few months the first time he tried therapy, how he enjoyed working opposite DeWitt, why TV is good training ground for the movies, and why he wouldn’t mind making a multi-million dollar movie if the opportunity arose.  He also discussed finishing Weeds, his new television series Animal Practice, and  co-starring with Michael Caine in the upcoming feature film, Mr. Morgan’s Last Love. Hit the jump for the interview.

The first trailer for Clueless director Amy Heckerling’s vampire comedy Vamps has landed online.  The film stars Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter as two eternally young vampires navigating the dating world.  Though the premise doesn’t exactly have the most appealing logline, the trailer looks like the movie could be kind of fun.  Heckerling’s Clueless-style goofiness is put to good use with the vampire stuff and Silverstone and Ritter have some great chemistry.  Moreover, the supporting turns by Justin Kirk, Wallace Shawn, and Richard Lewis look pretty promising.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Sigourney Weaver, Dan Stevens, Marilu Renner and Kristen Johnston.  Vamps will open in select theaters on November 2nd and hits Blu-ray and DVD on November 13th.

The indie comedy Goats, based on Mark Poirier’s best-selling novel, tells the story of Ellis (Graham Phillips), a 15-year-old looking to find his place among his eccentric family.  His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk), while his dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family.  And then, there’s Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of expanding one’s mind.

At the film’s press day, actor Graham Phillips spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about the long road to getting this film made (including the role of Goat Man being recast with Kevin Kline, at one point), how much fun he had exploring a teenaged character with so much substance, the biggest challenges in working with the goats, what it’s been like to grow up with his character on the CBS drama series The Good Wife, why he wants to be picky about the roles he takes, and his desire to also write and direct.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The first trailer for the indie comedy Goats has landed online.  Directed by Christopher Neil,  the film is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Jude Poirier and tells the coming of age story of a 15-year-old boy (Graham Phillips) who moves from his new age mother’s (Vera Farmiga) South-Western home to an East Coast prep school where his estranged father (Ty Burrell) was once a star student.  The trailer isn’t particularly funny, and David Duchovy is quite strange as the goat-llving beau of Farmiga’s character.  Matt caught the film earlier this year at Sundance and wasn’t a big fan (you can read his review here).

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Keri Russell, Ty Burell and Justin Kirk.  Goats opens on August 10th.

Life Happens, from director/co-writer Kat Coiro, is a comedy centered on three young women – Kim (Krysten Ritter), Deena (Kate Bosworth) and Laura (Rachel Bilson) – who all live under the same roof in Los Angeles.  When one of Kim’s one-night-stands results in an unexpected pregnancy, she turns to her girlfriends for help while she attempts to cope with single motherhood and jumping back into the dating scene amid the fear that having a child could put a quick end to any potential relationship.  The movie also stars Jason Biggs, Justin Kirk, Kristen Johnston and Geoff Stults.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, the film’s star and co-writer Krysten Ritter talked about how this movie came together, the changes it went through in nearly four years of development, how happy she was with the final outcome of the film, and what she learned from this entire process and experience.  She also talked about her role in the upcoming vampire comedy Vamps, from writer/director Amy Heckerling, playing the lead in the new ABC comedy series Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23 (airing Wednesday nights, starting April 11^th), and the pilot she’s producing for MTV, adapted from the novel Cassandra French’s Finishing School for Boys. Check out what she had to say after the jump.

I don’t really care if teenagers learn life lessons anymore.  The coming-of-age genre has become as stolid as the rom-com, but the coming-of-age movies still get a pass because they’re done under the auspices of being indie and artistic.  Goats makes an odd trade-off for the genre.  The movie doesn’t pack its main character full of quirks, but instead of growing as a person, he goes from a mostly-boring kid to a completely-boring kid.  All the quirks are for the one-dimensional characters who have almost no impact on his life.  The only fascinating thing about Goats is the values it preaches.

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment has been announced as the co-financier and co-producer of the comedic melodrama Mr. Morgan’s Last Love. Written and directed by Sandra Nettlebeck (Helen), the film stars Michael Caine as a retired, lonely American widower who shares a chance encounter with a free-spirited young French woman which brightens his life. The film is based on the novel La Douceur Assassine by Françoise Dorner. The cast also includes Clémence Poésy (Harry Potter), Justin Kirk (Weeds), Jane Alexander (The Cider House Rules), Anne Alvaro (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly), and Gillian Anderson (The X-Files).

Hit the jump to read the full press release. SKE is also behind the upcoming Katherine Heigl starrer One for the Money, and Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines starring Ryan Gosling.

The last season of Weeds threw viewers for a loop by pushing forward three years to find Nancy (Mary-Louise Parker) finishing a stint in federal prison which didn’t stop her from restarting her drug dealing in New York City, and now Showtime has announced we’ll definitely see the next chapter come through with the cable network announcing an order for an eighth season of the series. Consisting of thirteen episodes, the new season will go into production sometime in 2012, and while the press release (which you can find after the jump) doesn’t mention it, some insiders have speculated that this could be the final season for the long-running series.

Creating an original idea and executing it are very different things. The Presence manages to succeed at giving a unique story, but its implementation leaves something to be desired. Atmosphere takes hold in director Tom Provost’s debut supernatural thriller, following a woman (Mira Sorvino) visiting a cabin in the woods as an apparition stalks about. Where the film really makes its mark is how it turns genre staples on their head, but getting there may leave some underwhelmed. The film builds to an exciting climax that will leave many talking due to the interesting notions it puts forth or the confusing way it is expressed—but they will be talking. Hit the jump for my full review. 

We’re pleased to bring you an exclusive first look at the poster and footage from Terry Gilliam’s upcoming short film The Legend of Hallowdega.  Here’s the official synopsis:

The comedy, THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA, explores the mysteries around Talladega Superspeedway as the host of an investigative news show (Justin Kirk) joins forces with a techno-geek paranormal expert (David Arquette) to dodge close-calls and chase crazy leads to get to the bottom of THE LEGEND OF HALLOWDEGA.

While I wouldn’t immediately associate Terry Gilliam with anything pertaining to NASCAR, this looks like it could be interesting.  The short film is set to air will premiere on Halloween Sunday with the first chapter to debut on ESPN just prior to the start of the AMP Energy Juice 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.  The full film will be available to watch that night at www.LegendofHallowdega.com.  Hit the jump to check out an exclusive sneak peek and the poster:

Four delightful actors have joined the cast of Amy Heckerling’s vampire-romantic-comedy Vamps.  The film stars Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter (She’s Out of My League) as a pair of vampires enjoying the New York nightlife until “love enters the picture and each has to make a choice that will jeopardize their immortality.”  Sigourney Weaver also stars as the vampire queen Cisserus.

The gents joining the movie are Wallace Shawn as Dr. Van Helsing, a well-known vampire expert and hunter; Justin Kirk (Weeds) as Vadim, a Russian vampire always on the prowl for a good time; Dan Stevens (The Turn of the Screw) as Joey Van Helsing, a college student smitten with Stacy (Ritter) and; and Barry (The Wrestler) will portray Ivan, loyal assistant of blood-thirsty vampire Cisserus’ (Weaver).  I repeat: Wallace Shawn is Van Helsing.  I must see this movie now.  Hit the jump for the full press release.