Glee fans have something new to sing about: Fox has announced it will be renewing its “genre-defying” (or logic-defying, if you prefer) series for two more seasons.  For four years the show has been the only successful scripted musical series on the air, selling oodles of music and capitalizing on the current singing crazy (look no further for proof than the success of American Idol, The Voice and others).  Though some of its original cast have now graduated (but are still regulars) from the show’s high school setting, the series continues to comment, with varying degrees of savvy, on hot-button topics like bullying and gun violence in schools.  Knowing Ryan Murphy, there will be plenty more of that to come.

Glee, created by Murphy, stars Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Jane Lynch and Naya Rivera, and airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

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. 

Emboldened by the success of Valentine’s Day, Garry Marshall took another crack at the holiday-based all-star anthology in 2011, with similarly repulsive results. This time, though, movie-goers commendably ignored him (and hopefully quashed plans for Columbus Day or whatever the hell was coming next). Of course, it’s never a good idea to interpret the commercial failure of a terrible movie as anything more than an aberration. But in this case, there was an encouraging sense that the world had finally revolted against a sub-genre populated by cynical, bald-faced cash-grabs.

And indeed, New Year’s Eve is the romantic comedy distilled to its basest form; a film that trots out a dizzying array of A-listers and expects applause, while abandoning time-consuming chores like character, story and dialogue. Hit the jump for the full review.

Gleeks were out in full force at Comic-Con on Sunday, to catch a glimpse of their favorite Glee stars Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Kevin McHale, Jenna Ushkowitz and Naya Rivera.  The panel opened with a lengthy montage chronicling the impact of the show regarding gay issues, especially in regards to helping teens comes to terms with who they are, and the many accolades and awards presented to the cast.  The entire cast returns for Season 4, but the focus of the show will expand beyond McKinley High School and Ohio, as the show follows all the seniors who graduated while they tackle life in the real world.

Writer Ian Brennan and actress Lea Michele spoke with press, prior to the panel, to shed some light on what fans can expect in Season 4.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Every young girl who grows up dreaming of musicals idolizes Judy Garland, so it’s no surprise the animated Wizard of Oz re-imagining Dorothy of Oz lured so many notable Broadway starlets.  Lea Michele is Dorothy, Megan Hilty is China Princess, and Bernadette Peters is Glinda the Good Witch.  In an early featurette, the trio each get a chance to explain how excited to work with each other in an Oz movie.  We even get an extended listen to Michele’s showcase, “When the World Turns Upside Down.”  But the real treat for those out of us outside the Broadway loop is a first look at footage from the movie.  Well, “treat” may be a strong word.  The low-budget CG from new studio Summertime Entertainment is not as immaculate as one might hope for when animating the classic fantasy.  But there’s still time to polish the visuals before the TBD release, and plenty of opportunity to make up for a lack of funds with the storytelling or, naturally, the songs.  Check out the sneak peek for yourself after the jump.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share with you today. First up, Glee star Lea Michele may finally get her wish of reprising a Broadway role in the feature film adaptation. Michele was previously up for the role of Eponine in Tom Hooper’s movie musical Les Miserables (she starred as Young Cosette on Broadway and as Eponine at the Hollywood Bowl), but stage star Samantha Barks ultimately won the part. Now the actress is apparently in talks for the movie version of Spring Awakening. Michele originated the female lead in the smash hit Broadway musical, and director McG recently told E! Online that he’s in talks with the actress to reprise the role for his feature adaptation.

The This Means War director stressed that they have to see if Michele’s Glee schedule interferes with his shooting schedule, but he’s hopefuly things will work out. Steve sat down with McG recently and the director gave updates on all of his upcoming projects, including Spring Awakening. He said that he’s planning on putting a Baz Luhrmann-esque spin on the movie. No word on how soon filming will begin, but I sincerely hope Jonathan Groff reprises his Broadway lead in the film as well. Hit the jump for casting news regarding Clint Eastwood’s baseball drama Trouble with the Curve.

In Garry Marshall’s ensemble romantic comedy New Year’s Eve, an all-star cast celebrates love, hope, forgiveness and second chances, on a night in New York City that many see as the most magical of the year. While only some of the characters actually cross paths with each other, each individual seems to ultimately be searching for the connections that make their lives memorable and meaningful.

At a press conference to promote the film’s December 9^th theatrical release, co-stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Hilary Swank, Josh Duhamel and Lea Michele talked about what attracted them to their roles, not putting so much pressure on that one day out of the year, their own New Year’s Eve plans, and what they drew on from their own lives, in bringing their characters to life. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

We’ve been provided with 12 clips from Garry Marshall’s upcoming romantic comedy New Year’s Eve to share with our readers. The film features a ginormous ensemble and tells a number of intertwining stories that all take place on New Year’s Eve in New York City. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Sienna Miller, Lea Michele, Sofia Vergara, Abigail Breslin, Til Schweiger, Seth Meyers, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, and Carla Gugino.

Hit the jump to watch the clips. New Year’s Eve opens December 9th.

Director Tom Hooper is readying his big budget musical adaptation of Les Miserables to go in front of cameras early next year, and with Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway locked in as his leads (as Jean Valjean, Javert, and Fantine respectively), he’s setting his sights on the role of Eponine. The filmmakers have apparently whittled the contenders down to Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, Lea Michele, and Evan Rachel Wood. It’s an eclectic mix of actresses, and each one brings something different to the role. Hit the jump for more.

New posters have been released for The Rum Diary and New Year’s Eve.  The former is kind of cute and almost makes the film look like a light comic spin on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, which is appropriate considering that Hunter S. Thompson was the author of both novels.  As for the New Year’s Eve poster, it perfectly encapsulates the cynical, greedy reason for the movie’s existence.  The point isn’t to convey a plot, but to jam as many stars into the film as possible in the hopes that you’ll like one or two of them enough to see the movie.  However, the stars you like will most likely be in the film for probably less than ten minutes total.  If you think watching a star you like play a poorly defined character is worth a dollar a minute, then you like wasting money.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The Rum Diary opens October 28th.  New Year’s Eve opens December 9th.

A new trailer for Garry Marshall’s star-studded New Year’s Eve has been released. This trailer isn’t much different from the first one in that it’s basically a montage of all the pretty celebrities and their separate stories set to pop music, though this new look does include inappropriate Abigail Breslin flashing. If you enjoyed Marshall’s Valentine’s Day, then you probably don’t need to be sold on the pseudo-sequel, and if the February-centered first film wasn’t your thing then this New Year’s Eve trailer is probably more than a little cringe-worthy. It looks like Seth Meyers may be the only saving grace for the brave boyfriends who are forced to soldier through this one.

The cast includes Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Sienna Miller, Lea Michele, Sofia Vergara, Abigail Breslin, Til Schweiger, Seth Meyers, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, and Carla Gugino. New Year’s Eve opens on December 9^th. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

As part of their Fall/Holiday Preview, Warner Bros. has released the first official images from Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion and the rom-com anthology New Year’s Eve.  They’ve also released new images from the family film Dolphin Tale.  The images don’t hold any grand surprises. The Contagion images show that a virus is probably going down. The New Year’s Eve image shows Lea Michele and Jon Bon Jovi making sweet, sweet music together. The Dolphin Tale images show dolphins.

You can check out the images after the jump.  Contagion opens September 9th.  Dolphin Tale opens in 3D on September 23rd.  New Year’s Eve opens December 9th.  Click here for the first image from A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas and click here for the first image from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

With director Kevin Tancharoen’s (Fame) Glee: The 3D Concert Movie hitting theaters this weekend, 20th Century Fox has sent over 6 clips. Starring most of the cast (Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron, Cory Monteith, and many others), the film will feature such iTunes friendly covers as: “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” “Raise Your Glass,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Lucky.” The pic also throws some original songs into the mix in the form of “Loser Like Me” and “Hell to the No!”  Hit the jump to watch the clips.  And if you missed our coverage of the Glee Comic-Con panel, click here.

The first trailer for Garry Marshall’s New Year’s Eve has been released. The follow-up to Valentine’s Day stars every actor ever in the history of acting, whom I can only assume will appear for five minutes of screen time each. The trailer is basically a montage of all the actors making their New Year’s preparations and yearning for somebody to love. Nothing groundbreaking, but if you were a fan of Valentine’s Day it’s a safe bet that this movie is probably your kind of thing.

The cast includes Robert De Niro, Ashton Kutcher, Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, Zac Efron, Sienna Miller, Lea Michele, Sofia Vergara, Abigail Breslin, Til Schweiger, Seth Meyers, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, and Carla Gugino. New Year’s Eve opens on December 9^th. Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

The trailer for Glee: The 3D Concert Movie is now available online and it looks pretty much like I expected: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never with the cast of Glee substituted in. Directed by Kevin Tancharoen (Fame), the film will feature such iTunes friendly covers as: “Don’t Stop Believin’”, “I’m a Slave 4 U,” “Raise Your Glass,” “Teenage Dream,” and “Lucky.” The pic also throws some original songs into the mix in the form of “Loser Like Me” and “Hell to the No!” (news which, I assume, means something to fans of the series).

Hit the jump to check out the trailer. Featuring series stars such as Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Dianna Agron, and Cory Monteith, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie opens its two-week theatrical engagement on August 12th.