Johnny Depp is looking to stretch his musical chops once more.  The Sweeney Todd actor has entered talks to join Meryl Streep in Disney’s adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods, which will be helmed by Depp’s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides director Rob Marshall.  The film has been in the works for some time now, and it’s a fairy tale-infused story that centers around “a childless baker and his wife who attempt to life a family course by journeying into the woods to confront the witch that put a spell on them.”  During their journey, they encounter a number of classic fairy tale characters like Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk.  Hit the jump for more.

Following the success (commercially, that is) of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, director Rob Marshall was mulling a couple of projects as his follow-up.  After his remake of The Thin Man with Johnny Depp was put on hold, the Chicago director set his sights on returning to the world of song and dance for his next film.  Marshall is prepping an adaptation of the fairy tale-themed musical Into the Woods for Disney, and he recently held a star-studded screenplay read that included the likes of Anna Kendrick, Patrick Wilson, Allison Janney, and many more.  Additionally, it sounds like he may have settled on Meryl Streep for the lead role of the Witch.

Hit the jump for more, including the full list of actors who were in attendance for the screenplay reading.

We previously reported that Tommy Lee Jones would be writing, directing, producing and starring in The Homesman; now it looks as if Meryl Streep and Hilary Swank will join the picture.  (For those of you playing along at home, that would make six Oscars among the three actors.)  The Homesman is a pioneer period piece which follows a claim-jumping rascal (Jones) and a frontierwoman as they escort three insane women from Nebraska to Iowa and battle the harsh elemental conditions of the prairie.  Swank will play the frontierwoman, but The Wrap reports that it’s not yet clear which part Streep will take on (insane woman perhaps?).  This will mark a reunion of Jones and Streep, who starred together in Great Hope Springs this summer.  The Homesman will mark the first time Swank has worked with either actor.

Some major casting announcements to make today.  Here they are in brief:

• Ewan McGregor (Salmon Fishing in the Yemen) will join the stellar cast of John Wells’ August: Osage County, which already touts Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep and Chris Cooper among others, with George Clooney producing.
• Christian Slater (Broken Arrow) has been cast in Lars Von Trier’s pornographic duet, Nymphomaniac, two full-length features which will both be released in softcore and hardcore versions.  The pictures star Charlotte Gainsbourg in the title role along with Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgard, Jamie Bell and Connie Nielsen.

Hit the jump for more info.

Yesterday it looked like Universal’s The Bourne Legacy might get as high as $45 million by the end of its first weekend. That was not to be; although the re-born Bourne did open to a very respectable $40.2 million from 3,745 locations. Also falling in the ‘respectable’ range with $27.4 million was The Campaign, starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis. The comedy did well enough from 3,204 locations to keep The Dark Knight Rises in third.

Hope Springs is an actor’s movie through-and-through.  The film is about intimacy, and David Frankel‘s direction wisely lets the action unfold over a few locations, relies on close-ups when necessary, and then allows his talented lead cast carry the picture, particularly Tommy Lee Jones.  Summer 2012 has shown us two Joneses.  There’s the I-Don’t-Give-a-Shit-and-I-Don’t-Want-to-Be-Here-Give-Me-My-Money Tommy Lee Jones of Men in Black 3.  And then there’s the I’m-Really-Good-if-I-Want-to-Be Tommy Lee Jones of Hope Springs.  The strength of his performance, coupled with co-stars Meryl Streep and Steve Carell, almost makes Hope Springs a stage play except Frankel never makes it feel stage-y.  The director also provides the film’s only major obstacle when he tries to force emotions on a scene where Jones, Streep, and Carell are more than capable of delivering the humor, warmth, and drama of this surprisingly enjoyable film.

We have a few new casting additions to share with you today.  Here they are in brief:

• Vanessa Hudgens (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) is the latest addition to Machete Kills, the sequel  directed by Robert Rodriguez and starring Danny Trejo.
• William Hurt (The Incredible Hulk) will join Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut, Winter’s Tale.  The adaptation of the Mark Helprin novel stars Colin Farrell and Downton Abbey’s Jessica Brown Findlay.
• Margo Martindale (Million Dollar Baby) joins the family in August: Osage County, based on the Tracy Letts play and starring Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper.

Hit the jump for more on each project.

Today’s cast additions include two White House themed pictures for the price of one:

• James Woods (Casino) is in early negotiations to join Roland Emmerich’s White House Down, starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx.
• Chris Cooper (American Beauty) is in talks to board the John Wells‘ adaptation of August: Osage County, with Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.
• Cole Hauser (Good Will Hunting) has joined the Antoine Fuqua actioner, Olympus Has Fallen, opposite Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart.

Hit the jump for more details on each picture.

We’ve got a couple of new posters to share this evening.  First up is the poster debut for the crime thriller Alex Cross.  Tyler Perry stars as the titular detective in this adaptation of the James Patterson novel I, Alex Cross, with Matthew Fox playing a ripped-out-of-his-mind villain.  This poster boasts one of the worst taglines we’ve seen in a long time, and I’d be inclined to believe it was fake had it not premiered on a major website.  Anyway, “Don’t Cross Alex Cross” when Alex Cross hits theaters on October 26th.

Additionally, a new poster for the comedy Hope Springs has surfaced.  From director David Frankel, the film stars Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones as a married couple who go to see a therapist (Steve Carell) in order to work out their issues.  This poster proves that the film definitely knows its audience, as “from the director of The Devil Wears Prada” is positioned just above the title.  Hope Springs opens on August 10th.  Hit the jump to check out the posters.

Steve Carell has moved up from The 40 Year Old Virgin to a marriage counselor for Tommy Lee Jones and Meryl Streep in Hope Springs.  The film, formerly titled Great Hope Springs, centers on Arnold (Jones) and Maeve (Streep) Soames, a middle-aged couple who find that their marriage has gone stale after 30 years.  In a last ditch effort to save their relationship, they seek the help of marriage counselor Dr. Bernie Feld (Carell).  The trailer has some great character moments and it’s nice to see Jones and Streep playing some plain old ordinary people for a change, though they play them rather well.  Hope Springs, written by Vanessa Taylor (Game of Thrones), will reunite Streep with The Devil Wears Prada director, David Frankel.  The romantic comedy, which opens August 10th, also stars Elisabeth Shue and Jean Smart. Hit the jump to see the trailer and poster for Hope Springs.

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

• Moonrise Kingdom – Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray star in writer-director Wes Anderson’s latest film.  The story centers on two 12-year-olds who fall in love at summer camp in 1965 and run away together.  The film opens on May 25th.
• Ice Age: Continental Drift – The fourth film in the Ice Age franchise follows the prehistoric characters during the breakup of Pangea and the splitting of the continents.  The film opens in 3D on July 13th.
• Great Hope Springs – Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones star as a married couple seeking a weekend of counseling from a therapist played by Steve Carell.  The film opens on August 10th.
• Ruby Sparks – Directors Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton’s long-awaited follow-up to Little Miss Sunshine stars Paul Dano as a creatively blocked, once-great novelist who writes his dream girl (Zoe Kazan) who then comes to life.  The film opens on July 25th.

Hit the jump to check out the new images.

Last year, Woody Allen turned in one of the best films he’s ever made, Midnight in Paris.  That film sparked a (well-deserved) bit of resurgence in Woody Allen’s general popularity, which must have timed out nicely with 20^th Century Fox’s decision to release some of Allen’s greatest hits on Blu-ray.  One of those films, Manhattan, has long been hailed (by a large portion of Allen’s fan-base) as one of the best romantic-comedies ever made, not to mention the all-time greatest “love-letter to New York” ever committed to film.  Though I’m an Allen fan, I’d never actually gotten around to Manhattan this version arrived.  So, did I side with Manhattan’s numerous fans?  Is it Allen’s “best” film?  Or do I still think that Annie Hall does “it” better?  Find out after the jump, folks.

John Lee Hancock (Blindside) is reportedly in talks to direct Saving Mr. Banks, a feature film based on the true story of how Mary Poppins came to be a Walt Disney classic. Disney is in the process of acquiring the Kelly Marcel Black List script retelling the story of the 14-year-long courtship of Australian author, P.L. Travers by Walt Disney himself in order to secure the film rights to Mary Poppins. No company would be a better fit than Disney, who owns the rights to the 1964 classic starring Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke and David Tomlinson, as Mr. Banks. Hit the jump for more on the project, including who might be stepping into Walt Disney’s shoes.

The Oscars are finally over.  The front-runner, The Artist, won the awards race by picking up Best Picture, Best Director (Michael Hazanavicius), Best Actor (Jean Dujardin), Best Costume Design, and Best Score.  There were also some big upsets as “locks” like The Tree of Life for Best Cinematography and Rise of the Planet of the Apes for Best Visual Effects were no match for Hugo, which ended up taking those categories and three more (Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, and Art Direction).  As for nice surprises…not really (unless you loved Hugo).

It was a forgettable year for the Oscars, and Billy Crystal, turning in his safe, predictable, and family-friendly routine was the perfect fit for a year that screamed “Don’t rock the boat!”  Last year’s Oscars took a chance on pairing Anne Hathaway and James Franco, and the show was a mess.  This year, they played it safe and the ceremony was still dull.  Quite simply, there was no films to root for and the “upsets” were for the establishment.  It was also funny to have the show and actors celebrate the theater when audiences are moving to OnDemand services, and studios are trying to make the theatrical release window even shorter.   Hit the jump for a full list of the winners, click here for mine and Adam Chitwood’s Oscar predictions (he did way better than me), and click here for my live-blog of the ceremony.

We’re only a few short days away from the 84th Academy Awards, which means all that prognosticating and “fake controversy” business will finally come to an end on Monday morning. Until next year, that is. Nevertheless, a number of presenters have been announced over the past few weeks and we figured we’d bring you a full list of all the pretty celebrities scheduled to appear during Sunday night’s telecast. Zach Galifianakis, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Emma Stone, The Muppets and the leading ladies from Bridesmaids will (hopefully) be bringing the funny, and today the Academy announced that last year’s winners in the acting categories will return to present. I really, really liked the way the awards were given out a few years back with past winners speaking directly to each of the nominees, so I’m hoping Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Natalie Portman, and Colin Firth will be doing something similar.

Hit the jump to read the full list of presenters and performers, and be sure to check back this weekend to see how yours truly and Matt Goldberg think the awards will stack up in our predictions feature. Billy Crystal hosts the 84th Academy Awards on Sunday, February 26th.