We’ve got a few release dates to share today.  Briefly:

• Labor Day – Writer/director Jason Reitman’s drama starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin will hit theaters in limited release on December 25th of this year (just in time for awards season, natch), before expanding wide on January 31st.
• Exodus – Director Ridley Scott’s Biblical epic about the life of Moses has been dated for a prime holiday release of December 12, 2014, confirming that this will indeed be Scott’s next project.  Christian Bale may star.
• Assassin’s Creed – The feature film adaptation of the popular video game series has been dated for Memorial Day weekend of 2015, with a firm May 22, 2015 release date.  Michael Fassbender is producing the film and will also star.

Hit the jump for much more on all of the aforementioned projects.

Opening this weekend is director Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) 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” made up of Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, and Robert Patrick.  The film also stars Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, and Mireille Enos.  For more on the film, be sure to check out our set visit coverage here, and watch six clips.

During the recent Los Angeles press day, I landed an exclusive interview with Josh Brolin.  During our wide ranging conversation we talked about what the last few years have been like as he’s been in some high profile movies, how he got involved in Gangster Squad, what changed on set, future projects like Spike Lee’s Oldboy, Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Sean Penn’s Crazy for the Storm, Pitz and Joe, Under and Alone, a possible project with Jessica Chastain, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to read.

When it was first announced that an American remake of director Park Chan-wook’s South Korean revenge film Oldboy was in the works, fans were understandably wary of the prospect.  Then Spike Lee signed on to direct.  If anything can be assumed of a Spike Lee film, it’s that it’s definitely not going to be a commercial cash-in.  Lee cares deeply about artistic integrity, so it’s with cautious optimism that his remake of Oldboy is being anticipated.

Steve sat down with star Josh Brolin last weekend to talk about his upcoming crime drama Gangster Squad, and the actor also took some time to discuss Oldboy.  During the interview, Brolin talked extensively about how Lee’s Oldboy differs from the original, reaching out to Park Chan-wook for his blessing, the action scenes, and he revealed that Lee shot some extended, improvised takes for Brolin’s scenes in the motel room.  The actor also talked a bit about writer/director Jason Reitman’s upcoming adaptation of Labor Day, in which he stars alongside Kate Winslet.  Hit the jump for the full comments.

The romantic sports dramedy Backwards, now available on DVD, tells the story of Abi Brooks (Sarah Megan Thomas), who has spent her life trying to win an Olympic rowing medal, only to be named an alternate at the age of 30.  Deciding instead to quit the team and move back home, Abi gets a coaching position at her alma mater, where her old boyfriend (James Van Der Beek) is the head of athletics, and struggles to adjust to life off the race course.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor James Van Der Beek talked about what made him want to help tell this story, being a big sports fan himself (even though he knew nothing about rowing, prior to doing Backwards), the challenge of playing a nice guy, how impressed he was with Sarah Megan Thomas (who also wrote and produced the film), and why he typically loves to shoot as many takes as possible.  He also talked about the experience of working with Jason Reitman on his next film Labor Day, the success he’s found in playing a highly exaggerated version of himself on the ABC comedy series Don’t Trust the B in Apt. 23, being more fearless since having kids, and why he felt the hiatus he took from acting after the end of Dawson’s Creek was necessary.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

We’ve got a few quick casting stories for you this afternoon.  First up, Tobey Maguire has joined the cast of Jason Reitman‘s Labor Day.  The film “centers on a 13-year-old boy who convinces his reclusive mother to take in a drifter over Labor Day weekend.  It’s later revealed that the man is an escaped convict and the three spend a weekend together that will shape them for the rest of their lives.”  According to Deadline, Maguire will play the adult version of the boy, and Maguire also narrates the film.  He joins Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, J.K. Simmons, Brooke Smith, Gattlin Griffith, and Brighid Fleming.  I haven’t seen enough Maguire in theaters lately (his last movie was 2009′s Brothers), but his film The Details, which played at Sundance 2011, will finally see the light of day in September, and I’m looking forward to his portrayal of Nick Carraway in Baz Luhrmann‘s The Great Gatsby this December.

Hit the jump for casting news on new additions to Drinking Buddies.  Filming on Labor Day begins later this month in Massachusetts.

Director Jason Reitman has commenced production on his next feature, the drama Labor Day.  The film is based on the Joyce Maynard novel of the same name and centers on a 13-year-old boy who convinces his reclusive mother to take in a drifter over Labor Day weekend.  It’s later revealed that the man is an escaped convict and the three spend a weekend together that will “shape them for the rest of their lives.”  Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star as the two leads, and Reitman felt so strongly about his cast that he pushed the production schedule back a year until both Winslet and Brolin were free.

Reitman wrote the screenplay himself and is directing Labor Day as his follow-up to last year’s Young Adult.  As a big fan of Reitman’s past work (Thank You For Smoking, Juno, Up in the Air), I’m eager to see him tackle this weighty dramatic material. Clark Gregg and James Van Der Beek also star in the film.  Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the updated synopsis.

Some end-of-the-week casting notes for your enjoyment.  Here they are in brief:

• Kristopher Higgins (In Time) is in talks to join The Sweet Hereafter-director Atom Egoyan’s Devil’s Knot, a drama about the West Memphis Three.
• Brooke Smith (The Silence of the Lambs), Alexie Gilmore (Surfer, Dude) and Lucas Hedges (Moonrise Kingdom) are set to join Up in the Air-director Jason Reitman’s Labor Day adaptation.
• Sonya Walger (Lost) has been added to the cast of the academic comedy, Admission, starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd.

Hit the jump for more on each film.

Today, the third Men in Black movie hits theaters.  Barry Sonnenfeld returns as director, and the story finds Will Smith’s Agent J traveling back in time to save Tommy Lee Jones’ Agent K.  Josh Brolin plays a younger version of Jones’ character, and does an incredible job; you’ll be totally convinced you’re watching a young Tommy Lee Jones.  During my interview with Brolin, we talked about his awesome performance, his first day on set, favorite movies, Fahrenheit 451, and future projects like Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad, Jason Reitman‘s Labor Day, Spike Lee‘s Oldboy, and Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Hit the jump to watch the interview.  Men in Black 3 also stars Jemaine Clement, Alice Eve, and Emma Thompson. In addition, make-up effects artist Rick Baker returns to the franchise and you can see some of his creature work here.  Click on the corresponding links for my conversations with Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith director Barry Sonnenfeld.  For more on the film, here’s all our previous coverage.

In the horror thriller Lovely Molly, a happy newlywed named Molly (Gretchen Lodge) returns to her long-abandoned family home with her new husband (Johnny Lewis), only to find frightful reminders of a nightmarish childhood. Not long after arriving, she begins a descent into an evil that blurs the lines between psychosis and possession, threatening everyone she comes into contact with.

During this exclusive phone interview with Collider, director Eduardo Sanchez talked about how the idea for the film came about, the importance of not clearly defining whether Molly is disturbed or possessed, working in such a creepy house, and finding the perfect actress to carry such an intense and emotional role. He also talked about finally getting to fulfill his dream of making a Bigfoot movie (it’s called Exists), making his first found footage movie since The Blair Witch Project, and his desire to do a weird and wacky comedy. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

We have casting news for two holidays, a mountain, and a last name—or at least four movies that are titled as such.

• Susan Sarandon and daughter Eva Amurri Martino will star in Mother’s Day, a drama about the mother/daughter relationship.
• Clark Gregg will follow up The Avengers with a role in Jason Reitman‘s Labor Day
• Alexia Rasmussen signed on to star opposite Brian Geraghty in Kilimanjaro
• Revenge star Gabriel Mann will spend his summer hiatus filming the Cesar Chavez biopic Chavez

Hit the jump for details on each project.

Coming off of last year’s excellent (and sadly underseen) Young Adult, director Jason Reitman is gearing up to begin production on his next project, Labor Day, this summer.  Reitman scripted the adaptation of Joyce Manard’s novel himself, and Kate Winselt stars as a lonely mother whose 13-year-old son convinces her to take in a drifter (Josh Brolin) who turns out to be an escaped convict.  The three spend Labor Day Weekend together and, obviously, bond.  THR now reports that James Van Der Beek has joined the cast as a police officer investigating a missing person’s case ($10 says he shows up on Winslet’s doorstep at some point in the film).

Additionally, a separate report from THR reveals that, following an extensive search, Reitman has settled on Gattlin Griffith (Changeling) to play Winslet’s son in the film.  The deal isn’t closed, but the actor has entered negotiations.  The role is crucial as the story is told from the boy’s point of view.  I’m a big fan of Reitman so I’m eager to check this one out. The director will have waited nearly a year to start production so that Winslet and Brolin’s schedules could free up, so clearly he’s passionate about what he’s put together. [Update: Feeling left out by the Labor Day casting party, Variety now adds that Brighid Fleming has landed the young female lead in the film, a character who acts as the object of Griffith's affection.]

We’ve got two bits of casting news to update you on today.  Here they are at a glance:

• Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) has signed on to topline Haunter, a supernatural mystery that features Breslin as teenage ghost, Lisa, who attempts to prevent a girl living in her former home from falling victim to the same mysterious death.
• Tom Lipinski (Suits) will join Jason Reitman’s Labor Day, in which an escaped con (Josh Brolin) hides out with a single mom (Kate Winslet) and her teenage son over Labor Day weekend.

Hit the jump for more on both projects.

Paramount Pictures has teamed up with Indian Paintbrush to co-produce Jason Reitman’s upcoming film Labor Day. Paramount will distribute the flick, which is set to star Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Reitman wrote the screenplay based on Joyce Maynard’s novel which tells the story of an escaped convict (Brolin) who befriends a young boy and seeks shelter with the boy and his mother (Winslet) over a long Labor Day weekend.

Labor Day is set to start production next year, but before that Reitman’s next film Young Adult is set to open on December 9. That film marks the reunion of Reitman and his Juno scribe Diablo Cody, and tells the story of an alcoholic writer who returns to her hometown to pursue her now-married high school boyfriend. Charlize Theron stars. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of Maynard’s novel Labor Day.

It looks like Jason Reitman is moving along with his next film. EW reports that Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin will play the leads in Reitman’s adaptation of Joyce Manard’s novel Labor Day. The book tells the story of a lonely mother whose 13-year-old son convinces her to take in a drifter who turns out to be a convicted murderer. Reitman wrote the screenplay and will direct the drama, which is set to start shooting in New England in 2012.

I was a huge fan of the writer/director’s Up in the Air, and Winslet and Brolin are both phenomenal actors, so it’s safe to say I’m looking forward to this one. Reitman is currently busy in post-production on Young Adult, a film he directed from a script by his Juno companion Diablo Cody. Young Adult stars Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, and Patton Oswalt, and Paramount is set to distribute.  Brolin was initially interested in that film, but apparently scheduling couldn’t be worked out. Now it looks like he’ll get his chance to work with Reitman after all. Hit the jump to read a synopsis of Maynard’s novel.

It would be a very weird way to play to a crowd, but speaking with ESPN’s Bill Simmons on Simmons’ podcast [via ThePlaylist], Jason Reitman said that his future projects include a film about football and another film about hockey.  However, his next project will be Labor Day, which confirms what he told Suicide Girls back in December.  He’s currently writing the script, based on Joyce Maynard’s new novel (as he told USA Today in September).  Here’s the Amazon synopsis:

With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry-lonely, friendless, not too good at sports-spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele-a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly’s with his estranged father and new step-family. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his “Husband for a Day” coupon, he still can’t make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

Hit the jump for what Reitman said about his plans to make movies about football that doesn’t take place in modern football and a hockey movie about a referee.