The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced today that 39 eligible songs will contend for the Best Original Song Oscar this year. Important to note is that a relatively recent rule change states that songs must be judged in the capacity that they appear in each film. In early January the voting body will get together and watch clips from each eligible movie in which the 39 songs are featured, after which they will determine the nominees. The list of eligible songs include three tracks from The Muppets, Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi’s song “Gathering Stories” (which director Cameron Crowe co-wrote) from We Bought a Zoo, and composer/songwriter/eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken’s “Star Spangled Man” from Captain America: The First Avenger. I’m partial to Jonsi’s work or “Man or Muppet” from The Muppets, but we’ll see how the Academy’s taste stacks up towards the end of January.

Hit the jump to check out the full list of eligible songs. The 84th Academy Award nominations will be announced on January 24th.

With the fall film season now in full swing, I’m 100% ashamed to admit that I’ve yet to see two of my most anticipated fall films: Moneyball and 50/50. Now, I have every intention of ending this charade at some point this weekend but, for now, I hope you’ll give me a pass. If I’ve still yet to check them out when we meet here next week, I’ll understand if you choose to revoke my “mildly credible film blogger” credentials. In the meantime…

…In this week’s “Top 5″ installment, you can find all of our Fantastic Fest 2011 coverage. After that, interviews abound with the cast of Jonathan Levine’s dramedy 50/50, the cast, creators, and real-life inspiration for Machine Gun Preacher, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance director Brian Taylor, and Thor/The Avengers‘ Tom Hiddleston. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

About a week ago I got to spend 30 minutes with Chris Cornell backstage at Jimmy Kimmel Live in Hollywood.  For those who aren’t familiar with Cornell, he was the leader singer of the rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave.  Cornell was at Kimmel to perform his new song The Keeper, which he wrote for Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher.  The movie is based on the real-life story of Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), a former drug-dealer who turned his life around and now devotes his time to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan.  The film also stars Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon.  You can watch some clips here.

During the wide-ranging interview, Cornell talked about how he got involved in the project, his thoughts on Rock Band/Guitar Hero, his experiences at TIFF, what it meant to have Johnny Cash cover one of his songs, what’s in his contract rider, his thoughts on letting music be used on commercials and video games, what’s his favorite cities to play in and so much more.  Hit the jump for the interview.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with director Marc Forster about Machine Gun Preacher.   The movie is based on the real-life story of Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), a former drug-dealer who turned his life around and now devotes his time to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan.  The film also stars Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon.  It’s a hell of a story and one that I’m glad got told.  You can watch some clips here.

During the interview, Forster talked about why he decided to make Machine Gun Preacher, being the producer and director, the casting process, editing, karoke and what’s the last video game he played.  In addition, with Forster currently shooting World War Z with Brad Pitt, he talked about what drew him to that project and changing the book to make the movie.  Hit the jump to watch.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with Sam Childers and screenwriter Jason Keller about director Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher.   The movie is based on the real-life story of Childers (played by Gerard Butler), a former drug-dealer who turned his life around and now devotes his time to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan.  The film also stars Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon.  It’s a hell of a story and one that I’m glad got told.  You can watch some clips here.

During the interview, they talked about how much is based on real events and how much was Hollywoodized, the way they worked together to get everything right, the current status of things in Sudan, and the way regular folks can help out.  Hit the jump to watch.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with Gerard Butler and Michelle Monaghan about director Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher.  The movie is based on the real-life story of Sam Childers (played by Butler), a former drug-dealer who turned his life around and now dedicates it to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan.  Monaghan plays his wife Lynn.  It’s a hell of a story and one that I’m glad got told.  You can watch some clips here.

During the interview, they talked about how they got involved in the project, what was it like to work for Marc Forster, and we had some fun talking about karaoke and video games.  Butler revealed he has a thing for Galaga. Hit the jump to watch.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to speak with Michael Shannon about co-starring in director Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher.  The movie is based on the real-life story of Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), a former drug-dealer who turned his life around and now dedicates it to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan.  It’s a hell of a story and one that I’m glad got told.  Watch some clips here.

During the interview Shannon talked about being at TIFF, what the last few years have been like as he’s started landing very high profile roles, making Machine Gun Preacher, the kind of research he does, if he prefers a few takes or dozens, Boardwalk Empire, and how he got cast as General Zod in Man of Steel.  In addition, he talked about The Iceman - which is the story of Richard Kuklinski, who was a hit man in New Jersey who kept his criminality secret from his family.  Hit the jump for the interview.

At this year’s Toronto Film Festival, I was able to talk with the cast and director Marc Forster about Machine Gun Preacher.  With the movie opening in limited release this weekend (it expands next week), you can expect our video interviews in the next few days.  However, with Forster currently shooting World War Z with Brad Pitt, I used some of my time to ask why he decided to change the story of the book for the movie.  He said:

“You want to capture the spirit of the book, but at the same time, you have to create your own narrative for the film.  There are a lot of things from the book that we are trying to incorporate into the film.  It’s a tricky balance.”

He also talked about what drew him to the project and goes into more detail about World War Z.  Hit the jump to watch.

Six new clips from director Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher are now online. Starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon, the “based on a true story” pic centers on Sam Childers (Butler), a once upon a time drug dealer who turns his life around and dedicates it to saving kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan. Hit the jump to watch some new footage from the film. Machine Gun Preacher hits limited theaters in the U.S. on September 23rd and opens in the U.K. on November 18th.

The first clip from the “based on a true story” actioner Machine Gun Preacher has landed online. Starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon, the film tells the story of Sam Childers (Butler), a converted drug-dealer who makes it his personal responsibility to save hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children in Sudan. Like I said when the trailer was released, I think Butler is in his element here (i.e. not starring opposite Katherine Heigl in a romantic comedy) and I’m looking forward to checking it out.

Watch the clip, which features some words of inspiration from Monaghan, after the jump. Directed by Marc Forster, Machine Gun Preacher will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival before hitting select U.S. theaters on September 23rd and the U.K. on November 18th. Also, with TIFF beginning tomorrow, be on the lookout for a slew of clips from films premiering at the festival.

The theatrical trailer for director Marc Forster’s (Monster’s Ball and Quantum of Solace) Machine Gun Preacher has hit the interwebs. Starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, and Michael Shannon, the film tells the true story of Sam Childers (Butler), a former drug-dealer who goes on to save the lives of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned kids in Sudan. While I can’t claim to be Butler’s biggest fan, I have to say that he looks to be in his element in Preacher as a hardened guy who wants to do the right thing the only way he knows how: through violence. Add that in with the fact that I’ve enjoyed much of Forster’s previous work, and Machine Gun Preacher is a film I’m looking forward to watching.

Check out the trailer after the jump. Machine Gun Preacher will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month and opens theatrically on September 23rd.

A task can’t get “more impossible”, but the prospect of seeing everything I want at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival just got more impossible.  We’ve already shown you the incredible line-ups for the Galas & Special Presentations, Real-to-Reel (Documentary), Midnight Madness, Vanguard, TIFF Kids, City to City, Canadian Features, and Canada First! programs. Now even more must-see movies have been thrown into the mix.  TIFF has announced that the spy thriller Page Eight (starring Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, and Ralph Fiennes) will be the closing night film in the Galas section.  Other films added to Galas and Special Presentations include Sleeping Beauty (starring Emily Browning), Winnie (starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard), Intruders (starring Clive Owen), Violet & Daisy (starring Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel), and more.

Hit the jump to check out the additions to the Galas and Special Presenations line-up.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th.  Click here for all of our TIFF 2011 coverage.

We’ve got three action-heavy posters tonight.  First up is Safe, in which Jason Statham plays “a former elite agent who fights to rescue a 12-year-old girl (Catherine Chan).”  Next up is Vehicle 19, starring and executive produced by Paul Walker.  The new promo poster is accompanied by the first synopsis for the film, which identifies Walker as a recently parolee who gets into trouble with crooked cops when he picks up the wrong rental car.  Last up is Machine Gun Preacher, based on the true story of Sam Childers (played by Gerard Butler), “a former drug-dealing criminal who undergoes an astonishing transformation and finds an unexpected calling as the savior of hundreds of kidnapped and orphaned children.”

Hit the jump for all three posters and more info on each project.

In my article yesterday about the Venice Film Festival, I made some predictions on which films would make their world premiere at this year’s Toronto Film Festival and not Venice.  It turns out a few of my guesses were only the tip of the iceberg.  Moneyball, 50/50, and The Descendants are all going to premiere at TIFF.  But my lord, does Toronto have an incredible line-up this year.  I’m praying my application gets approved because when you hit the jump and check out this line-up, you’ll understand my agony if I’m stuck in Atlanta while these films are premiering.

Hit the jump for the line-up of Galas and Premieres for this year’s festival.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8th – 18th.

The first image of Gerard Bulter in Marc Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher has gone online.  Butler plays real-life humanitarian Sam Childers, a former criminal who became a protector of Sudanese orphans.  Speaking to USA Today about the role, Butler said, “There is more complexity in a modern-day character who’s a drug addict and a biker turned businessman, missionary and soldier. You don’t get roles like this very often.”  I’m curious to see how brutal Forster and Butler will make Childers or if the audience will allow Childers’ methods to be as violent as possible if they’re in defense of children.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  Machine Gun Preacher opens September 23rd.