The first trailer for director Roland Emmerich’s presidential thriller White House Down has been released.  While the trailer (and plot) have lots of elements in common with Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen, our first introduction to White House Down comes through the lens of various news outlets reporting an attack on Washington, D.C. rather than centering on the heroic lead; we don’t even seen Channing Tatum until about half-way through.  Emmerich’s usual flare for the dramatic is evident, but then he goes and does something interesting by allowing silence to fill a good portion of the trailer.  It also looks like the danger will come not from an outside enemy, but from within.  There are moments that appear to be more Die Hard in nature (and a few glimpses that could be considered spoilers), but there’s just enough here to warrant some interest even after a movie with the exact same plot was just released.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Jamie Foxx, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke, Jake Weber, Lance Reddick and Joey King.  White House Down opens on June 28th, 2013.

The first image has been released for Lenny Abrahamson’s rock comedy Frank.  The film stars Domhnall Gleeson (Dredd) as man “who discovers he’s bitten off more than he can chew when he joins a band of eccentric pop musicians led by the mysterious and enigmatic Frank (Michael Fassbender) and his terrifying sidekick Clara (Maggie Gyllenhaal).”  The film is based off the memoir by Jon Ronson (The Men Who Stare at Goats), and “is loosely based on Frank Sidebottom, the persona of cult musician and comedy legend Chris Sievey, as well as outsider musicians like Daniel Johnston and Captain Beefheart.”  As you can see from the image, Fassbender looks like he’s really gotten in shape for the film, and that shape is terrifying.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  The film also stars Scoot McNairy, Carla Aza, and Francois Civil.

We’ve been provided with seven high resolution images from director Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  The Presidential thriller stars Foxx as the Commander-in-Chief who is protected by up-and-coming Secret Service agent, John Cale (Tatum).  Gyllenhaal stars as Tatum’s boss who has clandestine tie-ins to his past.  Be sure to check out previously released images here and here.

White House Down, also starring James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke, Jake Weber, Lance Reddick and Joey King, opens domestically on June 28th.  Hit the jump to check out the images.

A new batch of images have gone online for director Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and Maggie Gyllenhaal.  The Presidential thriller stars Foxx as the Commander-in-Chief who is protected by up-and-coming Secret Service agent, John Cale (Tatum).  Gyllenhaal stars as Tatum’s boss who has clandestine tie-ins to his past.  Be sure to check out previously released images here and here.

White House Down, also starring James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Jason Clarke, Jake Weber, Lance Reddick and Joey King, opens domestically on June 28th.  Hit the jump to check out the new images. 

We’ve got a good selection of new posters to share with you today (in addition to these awesome examples from the upcoming Total Recall reboot).  Here’s what we have to offer:

• Taken 2 – The sequel to Pierre Morel’s Taken features the return of ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who finds himself on the wrong end of a kidnapping.  Taken 2 opens October 5th.
• Savages – Oliver Stone’s newest film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two marijuana dealers who must rescue their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) from Mexican cartel runners (Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro). Savages opens July 6th.
• Magic Mike – Based on his real-life experience as a male stripper, Magic Mike follows Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello and more through their daily (and nightly) exploits.  Magic Mike opens June 29th.
• Won’t Back Down – Based on a true story of the fight to reform urban education, Won’t Back Down stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis.  The film opens September 28th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this afternoon.  First up, director Roland Emmerich (2012) continues to impress with his casting choices for his next film, White House Down, as Maggie Gyllenhaal is now considering the project.  The story is described as “Die Hard in the White House” and stars Channing Tatum as a secret service agent who must protect the president when a group of parahijackers infiltrate the White House.  We learned yesterday that Jamie Foxx is being courted to play the president, and now Deadline reports that Gyllenhaal is in talks to take on the female lead role (which I’m assuming is some sort of White House staffer).  Production on White House Down is set to begin this August, with the film racing another similarly plotted pic called White House Taken starring Gerard Butler.

Hit the jump for news concerning the Steve Jobs biopic Jobs.

The first trailer for the family drama Won’t Back Down (formerly Still I Rise) has gone online.  Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis star as two mothers from different backgrounds who join forces to take on the failing public school system.  It’s a nice idea for a film (apparently based on true events), and the trailer has its moments, but I fear the full feature will be trite examination of a complex issue with a “nice” ending that wraps things up with a smile.  The education system is in dire need of reform and taking a Blind Side approach to the issue is unworthy of the attention it deserves.  That said, Gyllenhaal and Davis are fantastic actresses and Gyllenhaal has certainly been outspoken about social issues in the past, so hopefully Won’t Back Down tackles the issue with intellect and candidness and provides/stirs some thoughtful discussion on the topic.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Daniel Barnz (Beastly), the film also stars Holly Hunter and Oscar Isaac.  Won’t Back Down opens on September 28th.

I have a tendency to write a little too breathlessly about projects in development at HBO.  So it is important for me to learn that like every other network, HBO passes on some series, no matter how great the talent attached.  Variety reports the network passed on The Corrections, the adaptation of the bestselling Jonathan Franzen book about “the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to ‘one last Christmas’ together near the turn of the millennium.”  Writer/director Noah Baumbach (Greenberg) had assembled a stellar cast in Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Dianne Wiest, Chris Cooper, and Greta Gerwig.  McGregor, a man of taste and distinction, praised the scripts by Baumbach and Franzen, saying the “lovely writing” convinced him to spend four months of each of the next four years exploring this character.  They shot the pilot in February, but alas, the pieces apparently did not come together in a way that met the HBO standard.  For more on what we’re missing out on, hit the jump for the full book synopsis.

We’ve got a few new posters to share with you today.  Briefly:

• Wreck-It Ralph – The teaser poster for Disney’s new animated film which takes place in the world of video games and centers on an 8-bit arcade villain voiced by John C. Reilly.
• The Host – The first poster for director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of Stephenie Meyer’s sci-fi novel The Host.  Saoirse Ronan stars as a young girl whose body has become host to an alien invader.
• Safety Not Guaranteed – A new poster for this indie based on a real-life classified ad calling for a time-travel companion.  Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, and Jake Johnson star.
• Hysteria – The US poster for this romantic comedy based on the invention of the vibrator.  The film stars Maggie Gyllenhaal, Hugh Dancy, and Felicity Jones.
• Cosmopolis – The French poster for director David Cronenberg’s financial crisis-centered thriller starring Robert Pattinson.

Hit the jump to check out the posters and full synopses.

If you’re dismayed by the lack of “wow” in movies as of late, may I remind you that some of the best storytelling on any medium is currently happening on television. Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones—from sprawling epics to intimate character dramas, we’ve got some insanely great entertainment at the command of our fingertips. One of the most anticipated new television series is the HBO adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Corrections. The story centers on an elderly Midwestern couple with three adult children who decide to trace their lives from the mid-20th century to “one last Christmas” together near the turn of the millennium.

Noah Baumbach is directing the pilot, and we’ve already got Dianne Wiest, Chris Cooper, and Ewan McGregor attached to star. Now comes word that Maggie Gyllenhaal and Rhys Ifans may join the increasingly impressive cast. Hit the jump for more, including news concerning a delayed premiere for the HBO series Treme.

This one’s for the ladies: Hysteria, the Tanya Wexler-directed picture starring Oscar-nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal, has sold its US and South African rights to Sony Pictures Classics. The romantic comedy is based on the historically (and hysterically) accurate tale of Dr. Joseph Mortimer Granville’s invention of the first vibrator, all in the name of medical science. The heart of the film is about the realization that everyone is in control of their own happiness.

Written by Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer, and produced by the all-female trio of Sarah Curtis, Judy Cairo and Tracey Becker, Hysteria also stars Hugh Dancy, Jonathan Pryce, Rupert Everett and Felicity Jones. Hit the jump for more on Hysteria.

Tanya Wexler’s Hysteria is a silly little historical comedy and there’s nothing wrong with that.  The film is about the creation of the vibrator or as the opening title card tells us “The following is based on true events.  Really.”  Going into Hysteria, I was initially worried that there might be an unsettling subtext implying the only way women can get over their problems is through sexual relief and they owe it all to ingenious men.  Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case, although there’s not much case at all other than to make the audience chuckle at citizens in Victorian England having orgasms and misunderstanding sex.  Hysteria goes a little overboard at times with its self-aware pronouncements and unrealistic characters, but it is inarguably the best movie you’ll see all year featuring Jonathan Pryce fingerblasting an old lady.

With the announcement of new additions to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, new images have gone online.  After the jump you’ll find the first images from The Awakening (starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, and Imelda Staunton), Hysteria (starring Hugh Dancy and Maggie Gyllenhaal), Winnie (starring Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard), and Andrea Arnold’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

Hit the jump to check out the new images and a synopsis for each film.  The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8 – 18th. [We've updated the story with the trailer for Hysteria]

As Cannes roles on, more deals are being made, and that means there’s new casting new announce.  First up, Variety reports that Maggie Gyllenhaal will star in the supernatural thriller Voice from the Stone.  Directed by Eric Howell and based off the Italian novel, Le Voce Della Pietra, the story has Gyllenhaal playing “a nurse drawn to the aid of a young boy who is haunted by malevolent forces within the walls of an old house in the Italian countryside. As she develops a relationship with the father of the boy, she also becomes haunted by the same evil presence and must fight to save herself and the boy.”  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Don’t help haunted children.  Gyllenhaal is currently filming the drama Still I Rise with Viola Davis and she’s attached to star in Hysteria opposite Hugh Dancy, and a biopic of musician Bill Monroe.

Hit the jump for awful casting news regarding Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis will star in the topical drama Still I Rise.  Directed by Daniel Barnz (Beastly), the actresses will play a pair of mothers who join forces to reform an inner-city public school.  According to Deadline, “the film takes aim at the crisis of public education in America.”  So is it going to attack the evils of standardized testing?  That there aren’t enough teachers and class sizes are swelling to where no student can get the attention they deserve?  Or will it be an attack on the abysmal pay for teachers?  I’m guessing “None of the Above”.  I’m betting that it will be an attempt to root out the “bad” teachers and a nice update to the school’s facilities.

Gyllenhaal and Davis are both great actresses and I hope they’ve signed onto a project that examines the complexity of our education problem rather than trying to uphold some quick, ineffective fixes.  And if not, perhaps they can do a film where the military’s budget accidentally goes to education.