Here are some of the latest casting additions:

• Patrick Stewart (X-Men), Carla Gugino (Night at the Museum) and Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo) will star in director Stephen Belber’s Match, a drama centering on an eccentric Julliard grad and a young couple who wish to interview him.
• Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) will star in the action-thriller Freezer, directed by Mikael Salomon (Hard Rain).  The picture finds McDermott’s character locked in a freezer by Russian thugs who demand he return their missing money, which he has no knowledge of.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

In the indie dramedy Fat Kid Rules the World, from first-time feature director Matthew Lillard, tells the story of 17-year-old Troy Billings (Jacob Wysocki).  Overweight and suicidal, Troy meets Marcus (Matt O’Leary), a charming but troubled high school dropout and street musician, just as he’s about to jump in front of a bus and the two begin an uneasy friendship when Marcus enlists him to become the drummer in a new punk rock band.

During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Matthew Lillard talked about his journey to becoming a director, the 10 years it’s taken him to get this film to the big screen, what it was about this specific story that he most connected to, what he had learned about directing from all of his work as an actor and what he learned from the process itself, how he knew Jacob Wysocki was the film’s star, how Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready came to do the musical score, that directing has made him re-evaluate the place acting holds in his life, and that he’s already thinking about what he’d like to do for his next film.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

If thumbing through a bounty of high-resolution images from baseball dramas is your thing, today is your day.  Warner Bros. has released over 50 new images from the upcoming drama Trouble with the Curve, and after the jump you can peruse said bounty of images at your leisure.  The film stars Clint Eastwood as an aging Atlanta Braves scout who is starting to lose his vision.  His daughter, played by Amy Adams, reluctantly agrees to be his eyes on a crucial recruiting trip.  Justin Timberlake also comes into play as a young rival scout who respects Eastwood’s character (and may or may not have the hots for his daughter).

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Robert Lorenz, the film also stars John Goodman, Matthew Lillard, and Robert Patrick. Trouble with the Curve opens on September 28th.

The first trailer for the baseball drama Trouble with the Curve has been released.  Clint Eastwood stars as an aging scout whose daughter (Amy Adams)  reluctantly agrees to accompany him on one last crucial recruiting trip.  Though the jokes are a bit hokey, the film looks to have a genuinely strong story anchored by the chemistry trifecta of Eastwood, Adams, and Justin Timberlake.  Adams has the chance to shine in a strong female role, and the characters don’t seem to be overshadowed by some win-chasing plot device that propels many sports dramas.  Moreover, 90s staple Matthew Lillard pops up in yet another prestigious drama and somehow fits right in.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  Directed by Robert Lorenz, the film also stars John Goodman, Matt Bush, Robert Patrick and Scott Eastwood.  The film opens on September 28th.

Living in paradise is not as glamorous or care free as many outsiders may believe, and the King family is a perfect example of it.  The Descendants, an Alexander Payne film adapted from the novel of the same name by Kaui Hart Hemmings, follows Hawaii-based lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) on his painful, yet often comedic quest to reunite his family after his wife suffers a tragic accident.  While the film tugs on heart strings towards the end, it mostly infuses audiences with almost uncomfortable laughter and anticipation for when the story will kick into gear.  Hit the jump for our review of The Descendants on Blu-ray.

Matthew Lillard and Joe Massingill are in talks to join Clint Eastwood and Amy Adams in the baseball drama Trouble with the Curve.  Eastwood stars as an aging baseball scout coping with blindness who takes his daughter (Adams) on “one last recruiting trip” to evaluate a young player in Atlanta.  According to EW, Lillard will play a fellow scout.  The Wrap was unable to identify which role Warner Bros. wants Massingill for, but points out the young actor grew up in Georgia—there’s a good chance he’s the young Atlanta player in question.  Massingill has acted in a handful of shorts and TV series (including Glee), but this would be his first major role.

Last we checked in with the project, the offer was out to Adams.  From the wording of tonight’s reports, it appears Adams found room in her schedule to sign on in a more official capacity, which is always a promising sign for a project.  Eastwood’s producing partner Robert Lorenz is making his directorial debut on Trouble with the Curve based on a script by Randy Brown.  The start date is scheduled for early March.

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

It’s been a long seven years since Alexander Payne‘s Sideways hit theaters and his new film The Descendants shows that it’s damn good to have him back. Tackling materials that could have easily fallen into mawkishness and enough saccharine moments to give diabetes to a small country, The Descendants is instead a sweet, tender movie that never lunges for the heart-strings. It creates an emotional connection through a charming blend of humor, honesty, and a breakthrough turn from young actress Shailene Woodley, and one of the best performances of George Clooney‘s career.

“Just because we live in paradise, people think we’re somehow immune to life.” I’m paraphrasing a line from The Descendants because it sums up what the film is about more succinctly than I ever could. It was taken from George Clooney’s narration over the new trailer, which features scenes of discord amongst the King family against a backdrop of Hawaiian beauty. The new comedy/drama from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) was a hit with our editors at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and looks to continue the tradition of Payne’s unique storytelling style.

The Descendants stars Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Beau Bridges, Robert Forster, Judy Greer, and Matthew Lillard. It opens in theaters on November 18th. Hit the jump for a new trailer and synopsis.

It may not feature angry 3D sharks, but Alexander Payne’s new film The Descendants might be a better movie.  The film stars George Clooney as the “back-up” parent to two daughters.  He must step up when his wife suffers a serious boating accident off of Waikiki, and then he learns the hard truth that she was cheating on him.  Judging by the trailer, the flick looks to have the same strong character relationships tinged with humor and sadness as seen in Payne’s previous films.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Judy Greer, Matthew Lillard, Beau Bridges, and Robert Forster.  The Descendants opens December 16th.

We have two quick pieces of Scream 4 news for you today.  First up, photos from the set of the film have leaked online.  There’s nothing massive like, “Oh, so all those people die.”  More like, “I see Neve Campbell has grown her hair out.”  There are also some snaps of cast members Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, and David Arquette.

There’s also some very interesting news from Ann Arbor [via Bloody Disgusting] that Neve Campbell and Scream co-star Matthew Lillard will spotted having dinner together last Thursday.  In the first Scream, Lillard played Stuart ‘Stu’ Macher and was easily the best thing in the entire movie (“My mom and dad are going to be so mad at me!”).  Hit the jump to check out some of the photos snapped from the set and hopefully we’ll be able to find out more about Lillard’s role in the movie.  Scream 4 is slated to open on April 15, 2011.

Judy Greer (Arrested Development), Beau Bridges (Stargate: SG1), Matthew Lillard (Scooby Doo), and Robert Forster (Jackie Brown) have joined the cast of Alexander Payne’s (Election, Sideways) upcoming film, The Descendants.  According to THR, their roles are currently unknown, but they will now be joining the previously announced cast which includes George Clooney (Return of the Killer Tomatoes!) , Mary Birdsong (Reno 911!), and Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager).

The film just started filming in Hawaii and you can check out some images from the set after the jump along with the film’s synopsis.