So much for the notion of Richard Linklater directing the adaptation of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods.  The film has been in development for a number of years with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte attached to star as two childhood friends who meet up later in life to attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail, making observations about the world around them and catching up with their own lives during the journey.  It was reported last month that Linklater was in discussions to direct the comedic pic, but now Screen Daily reports that Redford will instead be taking on directing duties himself.

The film has a script by Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3) and is on track to start production later this year should everything come together.  Redford most recently helmed the political thriller The Company You Keep and is set to appear in Marvel’s sequel Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  He’ll next be seen onscreen in J.C. Chandor’s survival drama All Is Lost.

[This is a re-post of my review from the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.  The Company You Keep opens tomorrow in limited release.]

Chase films probably shouldn’t feature septuagenarians. Robert Redford‘s The Company You Keep is two movies: one is a surprisingly entertaining investigative thriller, and the other is the most casual, least threatening chase flick I’ve ever seen. Redford has lined-up a tremendous cast, yet spreads them around in weak bit parts, leaving the majority of the picture to himself and Shia LaBeouf. Mixed between their characters’ two stories are confused messages about the value of the truth and rallying for your beliefs (provided it’s not too much of an inconvenience).

With his highly anticipated third film in the “Before” series, Before Midnight, set to hit theaters next month, director Richard Linklater is closing in on his next project.  The LA Times reports that Linklater is in talks to take the helm of the long-in-development adaptation of Bill Bryson’s travel memoir A Walk in the Woods.  The comedic story centers on two childhood friends who meet up later in life to attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail, making observations about the world around them and catching up with their own lives during the journey.

Robert Redford and Nick Nolte have been attached to star in the film since June 2011 with Redford also producing, and this actually seems like a perfect fit for Linklater, a director who has plenty of experience crafting thoughtful, emotional, and even powerful films out of two people talking.  Redford is set to play Bryson while Nolte will play his friend Stephen Katz, and production on the indie film might get underway as soon as this fall.  Hit the jump to read a synopsis of the book.

With a 40-year career in Hollywood that’s still going strong, three-time Academy Award nominee Nick Nolte continues to be drawn to diverse and challenging roles, so it’s no surprise to find the Omaha native playing yet another pivotal character in Robert Redford’s political thriller, The Company You Keep.  Set in the present day, the film recalls the history and aftermath of the radical anti-war protest movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and one of its more violent manifestations, The Weather Underground.

In a wide ranging interview at the film’s recent press day, Nolte talked about working with Redford on location in Vancouver, his thoughts on the Weather Underground, how his childhood experiences turned him against war, why he has faith in the younger generation’s ability to navigate today’s world, and how he believes there will always be change and resistance to change and that every generation will be challenged morally at least once in their life.  He also discussed his early work in regional theater, how he met his first wife and wound up doing LSD in the desert, why he likes chanting with Hare Krishnas and felt it was important to reconcile with Martin Scorsese.  Read the interview after the jump.

A new trailer for director Robert Redford’s thriller The Company You Keep has been released online.  In addition to directing, Redford also stars in the film as a civil rights lawyer who must go on the run when he’s outed by a young reporter (Shia LaBeouf) as being a former 1970s Weather Underground militant.  The trailer teases an engrossing thriller with a stellar ensemble cast that includes Susan Sarandon, Anna Kendrick, Chris Cooper, Terrence Howard, and Brit Marling.  LaBeouf looks to be in fine form as well as the film’s lead, and I’m eager to see how Redford expands on the plot’s themes in the full feature.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to read Matt’s review of the film from last year’s Toronto Film Festival.  The pic also stars Julie Christie, Sam Elliott, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Jenkins, Stanley Tucci, and Nick Nolte.  The Company You Keep opens on April 5th.

It’s a bit disappointing that Ruben Fleischer‘s Gangster Squad can live in such a rich setting and still feel so light.  As seen through a grand tradition of films dating back over 70 years, post-war Los Angeles was boozy, hedonistic, dangerous, and dark.  Gangster Squad waters down this colorful world, and simply coasts on being an amusing, frivolous action film.  There’s nothing wrong with that, and with a strong cast at his disposal, Fleischer finds a nice blend between the style he brought to Zombieland and the spirit of the time period.  Unfortunately, a thin plot and even thinner characters make Gangster Squad as intense as a drive-by shooting and just as fleeting.

With the film set to hit theaters tomorrow, a final extended trailer for director Ruben Fleischer’s crime drama Gangster Squad has been released online.  It looks to be mostly made up of footage that we’ve seen before, but this is the most comprehensive look at the film we’ve been given thus far.  If you missed any of our recent coverage, be sure to check out Steve’s extended interview with star Josh Brolin and Christina’s coverage of the press conference that included Fleischer, Brolin, Ryan Gosling, and Emma Stone.  Look for more interviews over the next few days.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, Robert Patrick and Mireille Enos.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

Warner Bros. has released six clips from director Ruben Fleischer’s upcoming period crime drama Gangster Squad.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  If you missed it, be sure to check out our set visit coverage here, and a bounty of images from the film right here.

Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The film also stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

A new behind-the-scenes featurette has gone online for director Ruben Fleischer’s Gangster Squad. In addition to a wealth of new footage, the video features commentary from the cast as they talk about gangster movies, the plot of Gangster Squad specifically and the lengths to which each of their characters will go to rid their city of crime, even becoming close to criminals themselves. Be sure to check out a host of images here and get caught up on Andre’s set visit here.

The movie stars Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sean Penn as the villainous Mickey Cohen.  Gangster Squad opens January 11, 2013. Hit the jump to check out the new featurette.

Warner Bros. has released a large batch of new images from director Ruben Fleischer’s upcoming period drama Gangster Squad.  The movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles and stars Sean Penn as real-life gangster Mickey Cohen, who became the target of special task force known as the “Gangster Squad”.  If you missed it, be sure to check out all of our set visit coverage including 15 things to know and our interviews with Fleischer, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Robert Patrick, Giovanni Ribisi, and producers Dan Lin and Kevin McCormick.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  The film also stars Ryan Gosling, Michael Pena, Nick Nolte, and Emma Stone.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

Some major veteran casting announcements to announce today:

• Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential) will join the Grudge Match between Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro in the Peter Segal-directed picture.
• Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Nick Nolte (Warrior) and Jeremy Irons (Die Hard: With a Vengeance) have joined the indie Western thriller, A Magnificent Death, to be directed by Jane.

Hit the jump for more on both pictures. 

Quite the cast has been assembled for Return writer/director Liza Johnson’s indie dramedy, Hateship, Friendship, one that includes Kristen Wiig (Bridesmaids), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Guy Pearce (Prometheus) and Nick Nolte (Warrior).  The picture is an adaptation of Alice Munro’s 2002 novel, “Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage.”  Written for the screen by Mark Poirier (Goats), Hateship, Friendship centers on a woman (Wiig) hired to care for a wild teenage girl (Steinfeld), who then sets up a romance between the nanny and her own estranged father (Pearce), a recovering addict living in another town.  Nolte will play the grandfather who blames Pearce’s character for the death of the girl’s mother.  Hit the jump for more.

A new trailer for director Ruben Fleischer’s crime drama Gangster Squad has been released.  I was interested in checking out Gangster Squad before the reshoots forced the release date to be pushed back and this trailer hasn’t swayed me one way or the other.  Sean Penn looks positively fierce as gangster Mickey Cohen, but Josh Brolin appears hard-boiled enough to take him on.  Ryan Gosling plays it almost too cool for school, bordering on emotionless, and leading lady Emma Stone is just too innocent to make convincing arm candy for a gangster (I’m talking Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface type of girl here).  Penn will dominate his scenes, but I’m interested to see what dramatic turns Gosling and Stone have in store for us.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi.  Gangster Squad opens on January 11th.

The first trailer for director Taylor Hackford’s (Ray) crime thriller Parker has been released.  Based on the novel series by Donald E. Westlake, the film stars Jason Statham as a professional thief who lives by a set of rules: don’t steal from people who can’t afford it and don’t hurt people who don’t deserve it.  When his crew double crosses him and leaves him for dead, he sets out to seek revenge during their biggest heist ever.  The pic is a slight departure from Statham’s standard shoot-em-up action fare, but this trailer still has its share of clichés.  Moreover, Statham inexplicably plays a lot of dress-up for his heists, disguising himself as a priest and as a rich Texan (with a terrible accent).  If you’re a fan of Statham and his films, this is probably right up your alley.  If not, Parker looks unlikely to change your mind.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce, and Nick Nolte.  Parker opens on January 25th, 2013.

Gangster Squad was recently pushed from September 7 to January 11, 2013.  The extra months give Warner Bros. time to explore a few more interesting promotional avenues, like a new set of cool behind-the-scenes images with commentary from director Ruben Fleischer.  It helps that the movie is set in 1940s Los Angeles—about a small, secret LAPD crew that fights to take down mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn)—where the costumes are slick and the sets are exquisite.

Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, and Giovanni Ribisi also star in Gangster Squad.  Hit the jump for the photo tour.