eOne has released a new trailer for the drama Diana.  Naomi Watts stars as the eponymous princess, and the story focuses on the final two years of the late princess’ life, specifically centering on her secret affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost).  Diana is one of two upcoming “famous princess” movies, the other being Grace of Monaco starring Nicole Kidman as Grace Kelly.  I’m not the target audience for either movie, but at least Grace of Monaco has its protagonist doing something substantial in trying work behind the scenes to prevent political turmoil in her country.  Judging by the trailer for Diana, there’s some brief lip service towards her humanitarian work, but it’s mostly about a love affair between a regular guy and an attractive, rich, and famous person.  It’s like Notting Hill, but no fun whatsoever.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  Diana opens November 1st.

A bit more casting news today:

• Naomi Watts (The Impossible) is in talks to star in Holland, Michigan, a thriller from documentary director Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Lines) that’s scripted by debut screenwriter, Andrew Sodroski.
• Jennifer Lopez (Parker) is set to star in producer Jason Blum’s new micro-budget thriller, The Boy Next Door, possibly helmed by Rob Cohen (The Fast and the Furious).
• Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) has joined James Wan’s Fast & Furious 7.

Hit the jump for more on both pictures.

Entertainment One announced today that director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s (Downfall) Princess Diana biopic Diana will be given a limited release in the U.S. on November 1st, followed by a nationwide expansion.  Naomi Watts stars as the titular figure, and the story focuses on the final two years of the late princess’ life, specifically centering on her secret affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost).  The film’s trailer looks to paint a rather idolatrous portrait of Diana rather than humanizing her with a warts-and-all glimpse into her life, but this could just be a product of poor marketing.  Entertainment One no doubt hopes to drum up some awards buzz for the feature, so it’ll be interesting to see how the film is received by critics.

When Diana opens on November 1st, it will be playing opposite the sci-fi pic Ender’s Game, Relativity’s animated feature Free Birds, and the ensemble comedy Last Vegas.

A new trailer has been released for the romantic biopic, Diana.  Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) and starring Naomi Watts as Princess Diana, the story focuses on the final two years of the late princess’ life, specifically centering on her secret affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost).  This trailer quickly pushes Diana towards the top of my “Do Not Give a Shit” List.  I don’t want to see a fawning portrait of Princess Diana, but that seems inevitable when you have lines like, “You’re so good at giving love.  The hard part is receiving love.”  I once met a woman who had a gigantic portrait of Princess Diana in her office.  It was weird.  I think she’d go for this movie.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.

Exclusive Media has released a new trailer and poster for director Anne Fontaine’s (Coco Before Chanel) drama Adore (previously titled Two Mothers).  The film stars Naomi Watts and Robin Wright as two lifelong friends who unexpectedly fall in love with each other’s sons, and must deal with the ramifications of their actions as their respective relationships progress over an extended period of time.  I caught the pic at Sundance (read my full review here) and it elicited a number of uncomfortable laughs from the audience.  Despite the fact that the film actually provides a few fascinating insights into relationships and love, it’s impossible to get over the fact that the plot is basically “Motherlover” expanded into a feature film.  Watts and Wright give strong performances, especially the latter, but this is indeed a peculiar pic.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer and poster.  The film also stars Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville, and Ben Mendelsohn.  Adore opens in theaters and will be available on iTunes on September 6th.

With eOne Films Diana getting released in the United Kingdom September 20th, we’re finally getting our first look at the movie in the form of a teaser trailer.  Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel (Downfall) and starring Naomi Watts as Princess Diana, the story focuses on the final two years of the late princess’ life, specifically centering on her secret affair with heart surgeon Dr. Hasnat Kahn, played by Naveen Andrews (Lost).  The Stephen Jeffreys‘ (The Libertine) script, based on the book Diana: Her Last Love by Kate Snell, also follows Diana’s life as she transitioned her fame toward becoming a global campaigner and humanitarian.

As you’ll see in the teaser, which interestingly has no dialogue, Diana will definitely showcase Watts acting chops, but I really hope it’s more than just a TV movie on the big screen.  Also, while the film is based on a book which featured “extensive interviews with close friends and confidantes,” all too often these kinds of films gloss over the facts to preserve the perfect image of their subject.  It’ll be interesting to see if they show any side of Diana besides a perfect image.  Hit the jump to watch the teaser trailer and for a few new images.

The Impossible is a tricky film to write about because there’s just something inherently tricky about the film itself. Maybe that’s because it’s based on a true story that often feels a little too impossible to believe. Or maybe it’s because that story has been so blatantly Hollywood-ized – with Spanish 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami survivors María Belón Alvárez and Tomás Belón recast as the impossibly blonde-haired and blue-eyed Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor. Or maybe it’s because the finished film falls into a Hollywood genre that typically encourages us to revel in the onscreen wreckage, only here it’s impossible to do so without feeling weird – I mean, over 200,000 people died as a result of that really cool-looking wave! Anyway, these were the issues I had when I first saw The Impossible and which resurfaced while watching it on Blu-ray.  Hit the jump for my review.

Here’s today’s casting update:

• Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter series) is set to star in crime-thriller Tokyo Vice for music video/commercials director Anthony Mandler, scripted by playwright JT Rogers.
• Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Adam Driver (Girls) are in talks to join Ben Stiller (Zoolander) in the Noah Baumbach-directed midlife crisis comedy, While We’re Young.
• James D’Arcy (Cloud Atlas) and Nina Dobrev (The Vampire Diaries) have joined the Luke Greenfield-directed comedy, Let’s Be Cops.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

Two casting notices tonight:

• Spartacus: War of the Damned star Liam McIntyre will cross the bridge from Roman to Greek mythology to co-star in Hercules 3D, directed by Renny Harlin (12 Rounds).  Kellan Lutz (Twilight) stars as the titular demigod.
• Naomi Watts is in talks to star alongside Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Chris O’Dowd in St. Vincent De Van Nuys, the feature directorial debut of Ted Melfi.

More on both projects after the break.

Filming is underway on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s black comedy Birdman.  Fox Searchlight and New Regency announced today that principal photography has begun in New York City on Birdman, which centers on an actor who once played an iconic superhero, and now faces troubles with his ego and family as he prepares to mount a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim past glory.  Michael Keaton stars as the struggling actor, and he’s surrounded by a fantastic ensemble cast that includes Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Amy Ryan, and Andrea Riseborough.

Iñárritu co-wrote the original script alongside Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo, and is also producing the film with John Lesher.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Babel, Amores Perros) has assembled quite the cast for his upcoming comedy Birdman.  The film centers on an actor who once played an iconic superhero, and now faces troubles with his ego and family as he prepares to mount a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim past glory.  Though Iñárritu’s previous work veers on the heavy drama side of things, he’s nabbed some top-notch comedic talent to bring this lighter film to fruition as Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, and Zach Galifianakis have been enlisted to topline the pic.  Hit the jump for more.

Continuing on with our “Road to Oscar” feature, today we’re going to take a look at how the race for Best Actress played out over the past 12 months.  With the 85th Academy Awards taking place this coming Sunday, we figured this week would be a nice opportunity to reflect on how a number of Oscar categories got to where they are today.  Join us after the jump as we break down the race for Best Actress.

The first international trailer for director Anne Fontaine’s (Coco Before Chanel) drama Two Mothers has, fittingly, found its way online on Valentine’s Day.  The film stars Naomi Watts and Robin Wright as two lifelong friends who unexpectedly fall in love with each other’s sons (yes, it’s basically a feature film adaptation of “Motherlover”).  I caught the film at Sundance at it’s a peculiar movie.  The story chronicles these two relationships over a number of years and shows the ups and downs that feel universal to any relationship, but it’s hard to forget that you’re watching two middle-aged women cuddle up to boys that they have known since they were babies.  It’s not a bad movie, but it did elicit quite a bit of unintentional laughter at its Sundance premiere.  You can read my full review right here.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Xavier Samuel, James Frecheville, and Ben Mendelsohn and will hit theaters later this year.

It’s been about ten months since the last episode of Funny or Die series Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, but I guess to make up for the delay, they’re breaking out all the stars.  In the first of a two-part “Oscar Edition”, the show’s guests include Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Christ of Waltz (Django Unchained), Anne Halfway (French Movie), and Amys Adams (The Master).  Watching these brief interviews, I wish they were expanded out into full segments, but I’ll take as much of Between Two Ferns as I can get.

Hit the jump to check out the latest episode of Between Two Ferns.

Relationships are complicated.  Every person knows this; it is a universal truth.  Love can be both the best experience and the worst experience, but it’s incredibly difficult to live your life on this earth unscathed by the scars of loving another person.  Of course, a relationship is made a bit more complicated when you fall in love with your best friend’s son, and director Anne Fontaine takes this complication one step further by chronicling the extended love affair of two best friends who fall in love with each other’s sons.  Hit the jump for my full review of Two Mothers.