A couple of actors have been added to writer/director Peter Landesman’s JFK feature film Parkland.  Produced by Tom Hanks, the pic revolves around the chaotic events that occurred at Parkland Hospital in Dallas on the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  Parkland Hospital is where Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, and Jack Ruby all died.  It was announced today that Zac Efron and Marcia Gay Harden will be joining previously announced Paul Giamatti, Billy Bob Thornton, and Jacki Weaver in the film.

Specific character details regarding any of the actors have yet to be disclosed, but production is set to begin in Austin soon for a 2013 release around the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s death, which is November 22nd.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Tony Kaye made a big splash in 1998 with his directorial debut American History X.  He has kept busy in the years since, but maintained a low profile.  That could change with his new film Detachment.  The cast will bring name recognition to the film: veterans Adrien Brody, James Caan, Christina Hendricks, Lucy Liu, Marcia Gay Harden, Bryan Cranston, William Petersen, Blythe Danner, Tim Blake Nelson are joined by fresh faces like Betty Kaye and Sami Gayle.  Tribeca Films acquired the film in September, and has released trailers and clips over the last month that stand out from the vast collection of promotional material we host here at Collider.  The story follows a substitute teacher (Brody) on assignment at a failing public school.  The appeal of Detachment is in the execution, so hit the jump for trailers, clips, posters, and images from the film.

It looks like Spidey’s found his next film, and it’s not a big-budget action flick. Andrew Garfield, Jennifer Garner and Marica Gay Harden have been tapped to star in the adaptation of Tawni O’Dell’s bestselling novel Back Roads. Adrian Lyne (Fatal Attraction) will direct the murder-mystery drama that tells the story of a young man (Garfield) who is forced to take care of his three sisters after his mother is sent to prison for murdering their abusive father. Garner will portray a neighbor, with whom Garfield strikes up a romance, while Harden will take on the role of Garfield’s therapist. “Several high-profile young actresses” are apparently being vetted to star as Garfield’s sisters.

It’s promising to see Garfield choose darker, more dramatic material like this in light of his recent shot to super-stardom following his casting as Spider-Man. He was pitch-perfect in Never Let Me Go and stood out in an already stellar cast in The Social Network. Garner more than proved she can handle drama with her turn in Juno and Academy Award-winner Harden is fantastic in just about every role she takes on. Variety reports that Lyne is writing the screenplay alongside O’Dell. Hit the jump for a full synopsis of the novel.

Roller Derby is a sport primed for cinematic treatment. A fast paced game of passion and pageantry played by colorful and attractive women, chock full of good-natured violence and brimming with personality. It is a rowdy, populist sport, reborn screaming from the heart of Texas in a deluge of Lone Star beer and fishnets where the leagues are owned by the players and the players are doing it for the love. From inspirational to exploitational, there are a thousand potential Roller Derby movies just waiting to be made. Whip It, despite its potential, is not a great Roller Derby movie. However, in focusing on what it isn’t (a great Roller Derby movie), one runs the risk of missing what it is (an empowering and potentially great movie for teen girls).  More after the jump:

Opening today is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” and it’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Andrew Wilson, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Eve and Andrew Wilson talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, and what they have coming up. Take a look:

In the sport of Roller Derby, sometimes you need to “throw a hit”, which is exactly what it sounds like.  In her directorial debut, Drew Barrymore fails to throw a hit but “Whip It” scrapes out a victory on the strength of its characters, its script, and its lovely and talented lead, Ellen Page.

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, I had the chance to interview most of the cast at the Toronto Film Festival and you can watch my interview with Juliette Lewis after the jump. In the film, Juliette plays Iron Maven, the leader of a rival roller derby squad.

Anyway, while some interviews just focus on the film at hand, the one you’re about to watch is a good one. That’s because for days leading up to this interview I had barely slept and Juliette and I spent the first few minutes talking about how that changes you. Of course we also talked about the movie and how she has a few other films coming up, so if you’re curious where Juliette’s been for the last few years, this interview will answer your questions. Take a look:

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can watch my interview with the star of the film, Ellen Page. She talks about being at the Toronto Film Festival and what it’s like for her, social networking, and while she couldn’t talk about the story of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception”, I did get her to tell me what it’s like working for the great director. Take a look:

Opening this Friday is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby that stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, Landon Pigg, Eve, Marcia Gay Harden, Daniel Stern and Alia Shawkat. So to help promote the film, at the Toronto Film Festival I had the chance to interview most of the cast and after the jump you can see Alia Shawkat and Landon Pigg talk about being at the Festival, working for Drew Barrymore, the sport of Roller Derby, Rock Band/Guitar Hero, and Alia talks about the “Arrested Development” movie and “The Runaways”. Look for more “Whip It” interviews this week:

Take Drew Barrymore: Mix in some of her feel-good friend fare, her experiences and appreciation of all things 80s, some of Hollywood’s most kick-ass girls, and rollerskates, and you’ll come up with “Whip It.” An ’80s film for a new millennium, “Whip It” is rough, fun, and hip-checkingly girly. Hit the jump to learn more about Barrymore’s directorial debut.

Opening on October 2^nd is Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film stars Ellen Page, Kristen Wiig, Drew Barrymore, Juliette Lewis, Jimmy Fallon, and Alia Shawkat and it’s a coming of age story set against the world of roller derby. To help promote the film, I’ve been provided with 5 clips and you can watch them after the jump. Take a look:

Fox Searchlight has released the poster for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It”. The film premieres at next month’s Toronto Film Festival and it’ll be released everywhere on October 2^nd. I’ll be covering TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) so you can expect a lot of coverage next month on the site. Until then, take a look at the new poster and images after the jump:

I’m rooting for Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut “Whip It” for several reasons.  First, talented female directors are in short supply so I’m hoping Barrymore is about to join their ranks.  Second, I think it’s got a great cast and now that Ellen Page had her breakthrough with “Juno”, she needs to show the mainstream (many of whom, sadly, did not see “Hard Candy”) that she’s not just a one-hit wonder but that she’s a serious actress who’s here to stay.  Third, it shows that Daniel Stern is still alive, so that’s nice.  And finally, I’ve never seen a film which features female roller derby so that will be cool.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer “Whip It” hits theatres on October 9th.