Director Robert Rodriguez’s sequel Machete Kills now has a release date, as the continued adventures of the titular Machete will commence on September 13th of this year.  The pic is the second in a planned trilogy (the third film supposedly takes place in space) and centers on Machete’s (Danny Trejo) quest to stop an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has plans to spread war and anarchy across the planet.  On the September release date, the pic will open opposite the dancing film Battle of the Year and the Aaron Eckhart-led action horror adaptation I, Frankenstein.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.  The colorful cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alex Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror, and of course Mel Gibson.

A double-barrel of good news on the Machete Kills front, as the Robert Rodriguez-directed and Danny Trejo-starring sequel has been picked up for North American distribution in 2013 by Open Road Films and has released its first official image!  The second installment in a planned trilogy features Trejo as the former Mexican federale out to stop a madman and a billionaire arms dealer from unleashing war across the globe.

The crazy cast which crowds Trejo out of his screen time features Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.  Hit the jump to check out the first image of Machete Kills.  Mr. Machete, what are you doing to Miss San Antonio?

Robert Rodriguez is finally getting to two projects this summer that he’s long-promised were on the way: Machete Kills and Sin City 2.  He’s been filming the Machete follow-up first, and today he revealed a piece of casting in grand fashion by tweeting a character poster for a woman named Le Chameleon, played by Lady Gaga.  Rodriguez’s full tweet reads like this:

I just finished working with @LadyGaga on @MacheteKills , she kicked SO MUCH ASS! Holy Smokes. Blown away!

The sequel finds the titular star, an ex-Federale played by Danny Trejo, receiving a request from the President himself to take down a dangerous drug lord who is threatening the U.S. with nuclear attacks (obviously).  The eclectic, and quite possibly volatile, cast includes Jessica Alba, Edward James Olmos, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Demian Bichir, Michelle Rodriguez, Mel Gibson, and Charlie Sheen.  Yep, Lady Gaga fits right in.  Hit the jump to take a gander at her poster, and also to get a look at Spy Kids star Alexa Vega, um, in character for Machete Kills. Warning: she’s very, very grown-up now.

While we post DVD and Blu-ray deals all the time, it’s pretty rare for us to let you know about a music deal so you know it has to be a big one.  And it is.  That’s because today’s Amazon Gold Box Deal of the Day is Lady Gaga’s new CD Born This Way for .99.  Not one song.  The entire 14 song CD as MP3′s.  In addition, if you buy the CD, you get 20 GB of Cloud Storage for free!

This deal is clearly designed to get people to start using Amazon’s Cloud.  And you know what…it worked, as I just bought it.  Remember, Gold Box Deals are only for today.  Click here to get it.

The first trailer for The Muppets has gone online.  It takes a little while to get to the actual Muppets, but stick through the trailer for the first 50 seconds and you’ll get there.  This is really more of an announcement trailer, and I’m not sure what will set this Muppets movie apart, but creating a trailer that basically goes “Surprise!  Muppets!” isn’t a bad way to start.  I’m slightly confused by the set-up of a fake Jason Segel/Amy Adams romance flick called Green with Envy, but I’ll go with it for now.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer for The Muppets and the poster for Green with Envy.  The Muppets also stars Chris Cooper, Rashida Jones, and a slew of celebrity cameos.  The film opens November 23rd.

The animated feature Gnomeo and Juliet features classic songs by music legend Elton John, along with new songs written with his longtime collaborator Bernie Taupin and featuring special guest performances. His first project as executive producer, the film tells the familiar story of two teenagers in love, only this time they are ceramic gnomes (voiced by James McAvoy and Emily Blunt) who have many obstacles to overcome, as a result of being caught up in a feud between their rival families, each in charge of their own garden.

At the press day for the film, the singer/songwriter/musician/humanitarian talked about the 11-year process of making Gnomeo and Juliet, revisiting his old music, his process for writing the new songs, why he loves listening to music from new artists, and how he’d love to do a feature film of his life story. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Would anyone following Jason Segel’s The Muppets be remotely surprised if it was announced that more people have joined the cast? Today, two more names have been added to the incredibly large list of high-profile celebrities appearing in the film. Also, along with the casting news comes a bunch of new photos from the set.

Ricky Gervais and Emily Blunt are the newest additions to the movie, with their roles being kept a secret. Hit the jump to see who they will be joining in this movie of which I have run out of adjectives to describe; as well as the images.

Huge casting updates from The Greatest Muppet Movie Ever Made today. Nine new names are being added to the roster of talent that comprises what may be the greatest ensemble ever formed.

Take a deep breath because we now have the following reported to be in the highly anticipated film: Jack Black, Donald Glover (Community), Jane Lynch (Glee), Danny Trejo (Machete), Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family), John Krasinski (The Office), Ed Helms (The Hangover), Lady Gaga, and (drumroll, please) Paul Rudd (Dinner for Schmucks). Hit the jump to see what their roles will be.

I’m positive Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) is bad at something.  I just haven’t found it yet.  Perhaps I might arrive at the answer more quickly by crossing-off the things he seems to have a pretty good grasp on:

• Acting
• Helping Danny Glover believe in angels’ ability to play baseball
• Covering Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance”

Wait, what was that last one?  That’s right, it seems as if Gordon-Levitt can even hold his own at an open-mic night.  As part of hitRECORD.org’s “Summer in the City,” the actor lent his musical talents to a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”  If you’re a fan of either Levitt or Lady Gaga’s you will most likely appreciate the video of the event.

Hit the jump to check it out for yourself.  Look for Levitt in a starring role alongside Natalie Portman, Rainn Wilson, and John Carroll Lynch in Spencer Susser’s drama Hesher, a 2010 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee, in early 2011.