A few casting notices:

• Benicio del Toro is in final negotiations to play Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in Paradise Lost, which is not exactly a Pablo Escobar biopic.
• Scoot McNairy booked two roles.  He will star opposite Michael Fassbender in Frank, and joins Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson in The Rover.
• The full cast list for Reach Me features Tom Berenger, Kevin Connolly, Thomas Jane, Sylvester Stallone, Kyra Sedgwick, Kelsey Grammer, Nelly, Terry Crews, Ryan Kwanten, and more.

Details on each project after the jump.

The first trailer for the animated feature Dorothy of Oz has been released.  The CG-animated musical centers on Dorothy (Lea Michele) returning to the Land of Oz, only to find that the kingdom and its inhabitants are in grave danger from a wicked Jester (Martin Short).  The low-budget film comes from the studio Summertime Entertainment, and the visuals are sadly a far cry from Pixar or DreamWorks Animation.  That said, the colorfulness and strange cast of characters would have been a big pull for me as a kid so maybe this will play better to younger audiences.  The film is almost reminiscent of the dark and twisted unofficial sequel Return to Oz, but with decidedly more singing/Broadway stars.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The voice cast also includes Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, James Belushi, Bernadette Peters, Hugh Dancy, Megan Hilty, and Oliver Platt.  Dorothy of Oz will open sometime in 2013. 

I’ve just spent the past three hours watching and live-blogging the 2012 Golden Globe Awards.  My brain feels mushy.  After the jump and presented without comment is a list of this year’s winners. If you don’t even want to hit the jump, The Artist and The Descendants won Best Comedy/Musical and Best Drama, respectively.  If you want to awards prognosticate, I’ll save you the trouble: both were nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.  Those nominations haven’t been announced yet, but they were nominated.  Trust me.  I’m a professional.

Also, feel free to sound off on the winners and losers.  Lord knows I’ve been doing it for the past three hours.

Patrick Stewart adds gravitas to anything he does.  That’s why he’s so funny when he does something like Extras or Family Guy.  Stewart will be bringing his unmistakable voice to the upcoming 3D CG-animated musical Dorothy of Oz and we’re happy to announce that he’ll be making his first Comic-Con appearance on Saturday, July 23rd in Hall H at 4:30-5:30.

In addition, we have exclusive video of him speaking about his character “Tugg”.  Stewart also talks about working again with fellow voice actors Kelsey Grammer and Martin Short and what he finds so appealing about animation and Dorothy of Oz in particular.  Hit the jump to check out the exclusive video.  The producers of the film are Summertime Entertainment, Ryan Carroll, Roland Carroll and Bonne Radford.  Dorothy of Oz is set to arrive sometime in 2012.

For the past two development seasons for television, CBS has tried to get former Daily Show correspondent Rob Riggle a successful starring vehicle. It looks like the network will try again as Deadline reports Saturday Night Live veteran writer Robert Smigel (who made a name for himself with the animated TV Funhouse segments) is working with Riggle for a currently untitled half hour comedy. The series would see Riggle as a gregarious guy who winds up as a real estate agent working for the nerd he made fun of in high school. Both Smigel and Riggle are executive producing along with famed producers and talent managers Peter Principato and Paul Young. The network has made finding a project for Riggle a high priority, so hopefully this one works out for him

Details on a new Kelsey Grammer-led drama at Starz from director Gus Van Sant after the jump.

We have found some pretty cool concept art for Dorothy of Oz, an upcoming 3D animated musical feature based on the classic L. Frank Baum children’s novels.  The voice cast is led by Glee‘s Lea Michele as Dorothy Gale, with the likes of Oliver Platt, Dan Aykroyd, Kelsey Grammer, and Patrick Stewart supporting.  I’ve always been a fan of early glimpses into the animation process: check out a comparison of the sketch of nine different characters and the actor who will bring them to life after the jump.

Opening September 25^th is the remake/reboot/reinvention of the hit 1980 movie “Fame”. The new one is similar to the original as it follows a group of dancers, singers, actors, and artists over four years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts. The cast is made up of mostly unknowns and it’s directed by Kevin Tancharoen – who is making his feature debut. While the production was filming in Los Angeles last year, I did a set visit and my video interviews with the cast will be online next week. So until then, we’ve been given 8 clips from the movie and you can watch them all after the jump:

MGM has just released a new trailer for the remake of “Fame” and it’s after the jump. Unlike the first teaser trailer, this one has footage from the movie and you can see Kelsey Grammer and some of the other teachers giving the kids advice.

As I wrote previously, I went to the set of “Fame” when they were filming here in Los Angeles and thought the movie had a lot of promise. All the actors were excited to be there and their enthusiasm was evident on set. Also, the film is all about the music, and what I heard sounded great. In fact, the end of this new trailer features some of what I heard.

Take a look after the jump. “Fame” arrives in theaters September 25^th.