The Weinstein Company has released the first trailer for director Lee Daniels’ (Precious, The Paperboy) historical drama The Butler.  Based on a true story, the film stars Forrest Whitaker as Cecil Gaines, a butler who served at the White House from 1952 to 1986.  The trailer plays up the film’s awards prospects as we see a flash of famous faces playing the many notable persons who walked the halls of the White House throughout this period (Alan Rickman is particularly striking as President Reagan), and that’s balanced with an overview of Gaines’ life in a racially tense America.  While the film certainly looks like it has the potential to be powerful, cautious optimism is key whenever Lee Daniels is involved.

Hit the jump to watch the debut trailer.  The film also stars Oprah Winfrey, David Oyelowo, Mariah Carey, John Cusack, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Minka Kelly, Lenny Kravitz, Melissa Leo, James Marsden, Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Redgrave, Liev Schreiber, and Robin Williams.  The Butler opens on October 18th.

A couple weeks ago, we reported that Karl Urban and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) were set to star in Human, a pilot from J.J. Abrams and J.H. Wyman (Fringe).  The series is described as “an action-packed buddy cop show set in a future where all LAPD officers are being partnered up with highly evolved human-like androids.”  Urban plays John Kennex, a respected police officer who has shut down emotionally after a tragic mission left him critically injured.  Even though this looks like an average police procedural with a couple of twists (the future, androids), it will be worth a look because of Urban.  Filming is now underway in Vancouver, and the first set photos show Kennex investigating a crime scene surrounded by slightly-futuristic vehicles.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The show also stars Michael Ealy, Lily Taylor, Michael Irby, and Mackenzie Crook.  Brad Anderson (The Call) is directing the pilot.

Star Trek‘s J.J. Abrams has wisely added Trek alum Karl Urban and Friday Night Lights star Minka Kelly to the cast of his Fox pilot. The new series, called Human, is described as an action-packed buddy cop show set in a future where all LAPD officers are being partnered up with highly evolved human-like androids.  TV Line reports that Urban will play a character named John Kennex, a respected police officer who has shut down emotionally after a tragic mission left him critically injured. Hit the jump to find out more casting news for Human.

Two bits of casting news today for some lovely leading ladies (although only one of the roles is actually a lead).  Here are the headlines:

• Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is set to join Tracks for director John Curran (The Painted Veil).  The Australian-set picture is based on Robyn Davidson’s trek across the heart of the island continent.
• Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) will join Precious director Lee Daniels‘ historical drama, The Butler, based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served on the White House staff from 1952 to 1986.

Hit the jump for more.

Friday Night Lights is hands down one of the best television series in history, so when news came that executive producer Peter Berg planned on continuing the story in a new feature film, I was extremely happy. The NBC series was itself a continuation of Berg’s 2006 film, but this new feature will be tied to the characters that we saw in the television show. Berg announced last August that he and executive producer Jason Katims were working on a script and they hoped to begin production this year. Now Berg has provided another update on the movie saying that it’s still in the works, but the difficulty is now getting everyone’s schedules to line up. Hit the jump for more.

In ABC’s upcoming incarnation of Charlie’s Angels, a thief, a street racer and a cop, all of whom got in just a little too deep, are getting their second chance working for the elusive Charlie Townsend. Detectives who are equal parts fearless and beautiful, the angels – Park Avenue princess turned thief, Abby Sampson (Rachael Taylor), disgraced Miami cop Kate Prince (Annie Ilonzeh), and the mysterious Eve (Minka Kelly) – are helped by hot computer hacker Bosley (Ramon Rodriguez), who certainly doesn’t mind being surrounded by the powerful women.

During a recent interview to promote this glamorous, action-packed re-imagining of the 1970s smash hit series, actress Minka Kelly talked about being a fan of the female camaraderie that Charlie’s Angels is known for, the appeal of playing a bad-ass, that there is a lot of depth and emotion among all of the eye candy, how much she enjoys learning new skills for each episode’s adventure, and how hilarious it is that she’s considered a sex symbol. She also said that she doesn’t think she’ll be able to return for any more episodes of the NBC drama Parenthood, as it films in Los Angeles and her new series is in Miami. Check out what she had to say after the jump:

While it was billed as Sony TV’s highly anticipated action-packed series, the Charlie’s Angels panel was woefully under-attended. Perhaps it was due to poor scheduling at the end of a long day of Con events. Regardless of the reason for the lack of interest, the cast and creative team of Charlie’s Angels gave the audience more than enough reasons to tune in when the pilot airs on ABC this September. Not just a reboot of the 1970s franchise or a continuation of the Drew Barrymore movies, this iteration of Charlie’s Angels promises to bring something new to the table. Stars Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital), Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Rachael Taylor (Grey’s Anatomy) and Ramon Rodriguez (The Wire) were joined by executive producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Smallville fame. Hit the jump to see why this new reboot may be worth watching.

ABC has released a television trailer for its upcoming Charlie’s Angels reboot. If you’re at all interested in the series, I would recommend hitting the jump to check it out as the 1:30 cut does a nice job of quickly introducing each of the “Angels.” In case you missed it, you can click here to check out a clip from the series that we posted earlier today. Charlie’s Angels stars Minka Kelly, Rachael Taylor, and Annie Ilonzeh. The series will premiere this Fall on Thursdays at 8/7 CST.

Back in January we found out that Rachel Taylor, Minka Kelly and Annie Ilonzeh would be our new Charlie’s Angels in the remake of the popular 70′s action series for ABC. Now we have our first unofficial look at the lovely ladies thanks to some photos snapped on the set down in Miami, Florida. In addition to seeing the trio of angels strutting their stuff in some classy white dresses, we also have our first look at Ramon Rodriguez as Bosley, a casting choice that I’m not really all that pleased with to be honest. Anyway, we’ll likely see some photos down the road of the Angels in their action poses, but for now you can check out these first images after the jump:

As he does every year following the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel had some star-studded sketches for his post-Oscar episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.  While this year wasn’t quite as good as the Handsome Men’s Club, it’s tough to argue with watching gorgeous actresses like Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Vergara engage in a new work-out regimen called “Humpilates”.  Basically, Kimmel and his writers found an excuse to have some of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses hump exercise balls bearing the word “hobo”.  I have no problem with that.

Kimmel also ran a fake trailer for an American adaptation of The King’s Speech called The President’s Speech, where Sir Mike Tyson helps George W. Bush overcome his constant verbal gaffes.  Hit the jump to check out both sketches.

In Minka Kelly’s first leading role in Screen Gems The Roommate, she plays a freshman at the fictional University of Los Angeles, whose roommate (Leighton Meester) quickly reveals herself to be a psychopath. The actress, who is mainly known for her work on the television series Friday Night Lights, proves to be a very likeable on-screen presence.

I was fortunate to speak with Kelly last Saturday where we discussed: her excitement at her first leading film role, how filming on two university campuses (Loyola Marymount and USC) gave the film believability, how a final fight scene in the movie was physically and emotionally taxing, and finally her recount of how shooting Friday Night Lights on location gave the cast a focused mentality.  Hit the jump to see the interview.

Cam Gigandet has a history of playing the bad guy—Twilight, Never Back Down, and my personal favorite, as “Volchok” on The O.C. In his new film The Roommate, out Friday February 4^th, Gigandet plays the heroic drum-playing boyfriend to Minka Kelly’s character, who is being terrorized by her college roommate (played by Leighton Meester).  Gigandet takes a fairly conventional role and legitimately makes his character funny. He and his cast mates manage to make this film actually very entertaining.

As tempted as I was to reminisce about The O.C, I resisted. During the interview we talk about his continued loathing of press junkets, how working with Leighton and Minka allowed the dialogue to feel spontaneous, how Leighton genuinely freaked him out, and lastly how he feels about supporting versus leading roles.  Hit the jump to check out the video.

I’m of the opinion that Gossip Girl truly works because of  the depth Leighton Meester gives to her character, Blair. She is hilarious as the quick-witted Queen Bee, but then affectingly vulnerable in other scenes. She brings this same duality to each role she plays, and in particular, elevates what’s would be a standard teenage horror flick into a much more character driven movie, in her latest work, The Roommate.

I had the opportunity to briefly talk with her last Saturday after seeing the film the night before. During the interview we talk about: her personal scariest horror movie, her process of relating to her character, how the director crafted fear through what’s not said, what influences her in choosing roles, and lastly what advantages she sees to filming her television show in New York.   The Roommate, co-starring Minka Kelly and Cam Gigandet and directed by Christian Christensen, is in theatres this Friday, February 4^th.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Al Gough and Miles Millar are a prolific writer/producer team with a string of successful hits on both the large and small screens. Currently, they are deep into developing an edgy remake of the 1970s classic television series Charlie’s Angels for ABC, with the pilot set to shoot in March. With Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights), Rachael Taylor (Transformers) and Annie Ilonzeh (General Hospital) set as their Angels, and Robert Wagner as the voice of Charlie, the pair are hoping to surprise audiences with a really great show that will confound expectations.

During a recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, Al Gough and Miles Millar talked in-depth about everything from this re-imagined update, to their time on the critically acclaimed CW series Smallville, currently in its 10^th and final season, to their upcoming feature film I Am Number Four (due in theaters on February 18^th), to their writing partnership. This portion of the interview covers what they had to say about Charlie’s Angels and where they hope to take the series, and you can check it out after the jump:

Opening this Friday is Screen Gems psychological thriller The Roommate.  Starring Leighton Meester, Minka Kelly, Cam Gigandet, Aly Michalka, Danneel Harris, Frances Fisher, and Billy Zane, the movie is about a deranged college freshman (Meester) who becomes obsessed with her new roommate (Kelly).  Over the next few days, we’ll be posting video interviews with the cast, but until then, we’ve got three clips and a new featurette.  Hit the jump to check them out.