Opening Christmas Day is director Andy Fickman’s (You Again) family comedy Parental Guidance.  The film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott play the parents.  For more on the film, here’s the trailer.

During the recent Los Angeles press day I spoke to Marisa Tomei.  She talked about how the project came together, what it was like working with the kids and Billy Crystal, how much was improvised, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

If you’ve managed to break away from your Black Friday shopping, we’ve got some brief casting stories for you this morning.  First up, rising star Matthias Schoenaerts (Bullhead) has joined Michelle Williams and Kristin Scott Thomas in the period drama Suite Francaise.  Directed by Saul Dibb (The Duchess), the adaptation of the Irene Nemirovsky‘s novel “set in German-occupied France, about a German officer billeted at the home of a young woman (Williams) and her mother-in-law (Scott Thomas).”  According to the Daily Mail, Schoenaerts will play the German officer.  If you’ve seen Bullhead, you know it’s great to see Schoenaerts’ career take off.  He can currently be seen starring opposite Marion Cotillard in Jacques Audiard‘s acclaimed latest feature, Rust and Bone.

Hit the jump for Marisa Tomei and Ben Mendelsohn casting news.

A new trailer for the family comedy Parental Guidance has been released.  Directed by Andy Fickman, the film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  This trailer ups the ante in the physical comedy department, as it features all the hallmarks of a very lame family comedy in under two minutes: nutshots, someone’s pants getting sprayed with water, kids going crazy after eating sugar, etc.  Most of the gags and jokes seem really dated, and I’m not exactly sure Crystal and Midler’s comedy will translate well to modern audiences.  Nevertheless, I’m sure parents will eat this one up.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott.  Parental Guidance opens on Christmas Day.

The first trailer for the family comedy Parental Guidance has been released.  The film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  The predictable one-liners and nut shots are prevalent in this trailer, but there also looks to be a bit of genuine heart to the film that’s kind of appealing.  The story seems less about the shenanigans that occur when the grandparents babysit and more about the generational gap between their style of parenting and how their daughter raises her children.  When thinking over the library of family films that we’ve all been dragged to during the holidays over the years, Parental Guidance could be worse.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Andy Fickman (You Again), the film also stars Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott.  Parental Guidance opens on Christmas Day.

A batch of new high-resolution images from the upcoming family comedy Parental Guidance has been released.  The film stars Billy Crystal and Bette Midler as two grandparents who have a hard time finding middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren.  The images have all the staples of an old-fashioned family comedy, with hijinks and shenanigans aplenty.  A trailer will likely be released soon, so we should have a better idea of what to expect in the coming weeks.  For now, enjoy “wet crotch” and “food-covered kids” jokes in image form.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Andy Fickman, the film also stars Marisa Tomei and Tom Everett Scott.  Parental Guidance opens on Christmas Day.

[This is a re-print of my review from the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival]

We’re not inherently jaded about politics. You can’t have your idealism torn down if nothing was built in the first place. The 2008 election of Barack Obama promoted that idealism and gave people hope (the giant posters emblazoned with the word “Hope” may have had something to do with it). But we were all deceived when reality came crashing in and The Ides of March lays the blame not on our political system or even our politicians but on us. And when we realize that we can’t do anything larger than ourselves, we begin to think only of ourselves. Director George Clooney (who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in the film) avoids being preachy or heavy-handed, but his light-touch fails to leave a lasting impact.

With the political drama The Ides of March getting released in a few weeks, Sony has sent over four clips. Starring director George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood and Jeffrey Wright, the pic takes place during the tension-filled moments leading up to an all-important Ohio presidential primary where a press secretary (Gosling) finds himself in the middle of a scandal that could upend his candidates’ (Clooney) shot at winning.

Watch the clips after the jump.  One of Adam’s “Most Anticipated Fall Films,”The Ides of March hits theaters on October 7th.

Marisa Tomei has signed on to join director Andy Fickman’s (You Again) family comedy Us & Them. Also starring Billy Crystal, Bette Midler and Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark‘s Bailee Madison, the pic pegs Crystal and Midler as old school grandparents who have a hard time finding a middle ground with their three modernized grandchildren. According to Variety, Tomei will take on the role of Crystal and Midler’s daughter, Alice, whose rocky relationship with her parents is ultimately addressed (and most likely smoothed out) as a result of her kids and parents learning to co-exist.

The project’s most recent script comes courtesy of City Slickers writers Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Production is set to get underway in Atlanta later this month. As for Tomei, she can next be seen alongside George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood and Philip Seymour Hoffman in Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March which opens on October 7th.

We’re not inherently jaded about politics.  You can’t have your idealism torn down if nothing was built in the first place.  The 2008 election of Barack Obama promoted that idealism and gave people hope (the giant posters emblazoned with the word “Hope” may have had something to do with it).  But we were all deceived when reality came crashing in and The Ides of March lays the blame not on our political system or even our politicians but on us.  And when we realize that we can’t do anything larger than ourselves, we begin to think only of ourselves.  Director George Clooney (who also co-wrote the screenplay and co-stars in the film) avoids being preachy or heavy-handed, but his light-touch fails to leave a lasting impact.

A batch of new images from George Clooney’s next directorial project The Ides of March have hit the web. The political drama focuses on the backdoor politics of a presidential primary campaign and boasts a stellar cast that includes Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Paul Giamatti and Evan Rachel Wood. We brought you one new image from the film this morning, but another batch of images has popped up giving us a good look at Clooney as the film’s presidential candidate, with Gosling taking on the role of Clooney’s press secretary.

The pedigree of the cast, combined with Clooney taking on directing and scripting (alongside co-writer Grant Heslov) duties, put this film at the top of my most anticipated releases this year. Audiences will get their first look at The Ides of March when it premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, with a public release set for October 7^th. Hit the jump to check out the images and yearn for October.

We already know that Jeff Daniels is slated to lead a new HBO pilot from writer Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) with Greg Mottola attached to direct. Now the female side of the cast is filling out as Deadline reports Olivia Munn (Date Night), Alison Pill (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and potentially Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) are in various stages of joining the project tentatively titled More As This Story Develops. The new series would follow cable news anchor Will McCallister (Jeff Daniels), who has his own show, as well as the show’s female executive producer and staff.

Tomei is currently inching closer to taking the lead female role of executive producer, MacKenzie, for whom producing the news is what she does best and everything else is just noise. Apparently her involvement isn’t official yet, but it sounds like she’ll end up taking the role. Meanwhile, Munn and Pill are already in negotiations for their roles with the former playing a sexy financial analyst on the same cable network as McCallister and the latter taking the role of Maggie, an associate producer on the assignment desk. Sounds like quite a promising series, with a spectacular cast being rounded up. Stay tuned as this project develops.

Warner Bros. has released a trailer for the upcoming dramedy Crazy, Stupid, Love. and it looks surprisingly charming.  The film stars Steve Carell as a man struggling with his divorce and finding guidance from a ladies man played by Ryan Gosling. The strong cast also boasts Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, and Kevin Bacon.  Crazy, Stupid, Love. looks like it’s going to have a tricky balancing act with making the humor not too broad and the drama not to schmaltzy, but I’m betting that I Love You Phillip Morris directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa can pull it off.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  Crazy, Stupid, Love. opens July 29^th.

Over the weekend, the late Paul Newman’s final production project, Lucky Them, made an investor out of Boston Red Sox owner John Henry. The indie flick, now being exec. produced by Newman’s widow Joanne Woodward, was written by Huck Botko (The Virginity Hit) and Emily Wachtel. According to Variety, Botko will helm the pic which tells the story of a “rock-music journalist assigned to track down her ex-boyfriend.” Currently, Marisa Tomei, Thomas Haden Church, and Alec Baldwin are attached to the project in unspecified roles. Shooting on Lucky Them is expected to begin later this year.

The majority of Matthew McConaughey’s filmography for the last decade could be charitably described as “less-than-good” and uncharitably described as “an abomination”.  Even McConaughey seemed unengaged from the material in a way that seemed to say, “Yeah, these movies are crap, but I’ve got a million-dollar smile and unlike most men, I look even hotter when I’m sweaty so the ladies love me.  Enjoy Fool’s Gold.”  There’s a greasy charm to the majority of his performances and his rom-com “appeal” (I use that term loosely) has overshadowed his genuinely good work in more dramatic films like Lone Star and Frailty.

And yet it’s McConaughey’s smug huckster attitude that elevates The Lincoln Lawyer from a forgettable legal drama to a breezy, exciting thriller that’s ironically only slowed down when McConaughey lessens his bravado to take a swing at the story’s more dramatic beats.

Marisa Tomei and Sarah Jessica Parker may join the indie comedy Married and Cheating.  Written and directed by Raymond De Felitta (City Island), the film is set in New York and Paris and “concerns three married couples struggling to find happiness.”  Groundswell and Lauren Versel of Lucky Monkey Pictures are producing.  A spokesperson for Groundswell tells Variety that no deals are done because the project is still gathering financing.

Parker is attached to the comedies I Don’t Know How She Does It and the Valentine’s Day pseudo-sequel New Year’s Eve.  As for Tomei, she’ll be constant presence in theaters throughout 2011.  On Friday she’ll be seen in The Lincoln Lawyer, she co-stars in the upcoming comedies Salvation Boulevard and Crazy, Stupid, Love, and she’s currently filming on George Clooney’s political drama The Ides of March, which is due out October 14th.