Director Robert Rodriguez’s sequel Machete Kills now has a release date, as the continued adventures of the titular Machete will commence on September 13th of this year.  The pic is the second in a planned trilogy (the third film supposedly takes place in space) and centers on Machete’s (Danny Trejo) quest to stop an eccentric billionaire arms dealer who has plans to spread war and anarchy across the planet.  On the September release date, the pic will open opposite the dancing film Battle of the Year and the Aaron Eckhart-led action horror adaptation I, Frankenstein.

Hit the jump to read the full press release.  The colorful cast includes Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alex Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror, and of course Mel Gibson.

The upcoming Steve Jobs biopic jOBS is slated to premiere at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, but it appears that the film has already secured distribution ahead of its public screening.  Open Road Films announced today that it is partnering with Five Star Feature Films to distribute the film, which stars Ashton Kutcher as the legendary innovator.  Directed by Joshua Michael Stern, the pic covers Jobs’ life from 1971 through 2000 and promises “an immensely personal portrait” of the Apple guru.  Open Road has slated an April release date for the film, so fans won’t have to wait too long to see Kutcher’s portrayal.  Sony has a competing Jobs biopic in the works from screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, but that project is still a ways from coming to fruition.

Hit the jump to read the press release.  jOBS will serve as the closing film for the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, which runs from January 17 – 27th.

A double-barrel of good news on the Machete Kills front, as the Robert Rodriguez-directed and Danny Trejo-starring sequel has been picked up for North American distribution in 2013 by Open Road Films and has released its first official image!  The second installment in a planned trilogy features Trejo as the former Mexican federale out to stop a madman and a billionaire arms dealer from unleashing war across the globe.

The crazy cast which crowds Trejo out of his screen time features Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Charlie Sheen, Lady Gaga, Antonio Banderas, Jessica Alba, Demian Bichir, Alexa Vega, Vanessa Hudgens, Cuba Gooding, Jr., William Sadler, Marko Zaror and Mel Gibson.  Hit the jump to check out the first image of Machete Kills.  Mr. Machete, what are you doing to Miss San Antonio?

Open Road Films has slated Joe Carnahan’s men vs. wolves thriller The Grey for January 27, 2012.  However, Deadline reports that Open Road is considering a limited-release at the end of this year in order to mount an Oscar campaign for star Liam Neeson.  Carnahan is still working on the film and so it won’t be ready in time for the major festivals (Toronto, Telluride, and New York) but there will be advanced screenings to determine whether or not there’s a serious chance for Neeson to nab his first Oscar nomination since 1993′s Schindler’s List.  Buyers who bid on the film—(Open Road won with $8 million and a $25 million P&A commitment for U.S. rights)—saw thirty minutes of The Grey and considered Neeson’s performance “Oscar-bait”.

The film’s plot concerns a group of oil-drilling roughnecks who crash land in the wilds of Alaska and must brave the elements and fend off a pack of wolves in order to survive.  The Grey also stars Frank Grillo, Dermot Mulroney, Dallas Roberts, Joe Anderson, James Badge Dale, and Nonso Anozie.  Hit the jump for the press release and other films opening on The Grey‘s release date.

Open Road Films, the distribution company jointly created by AMC and Regal Entertainment, has teamed up with Liddell Entertainment to release the horror film Silent House. Co-directed by Chris Kentis (Open Water) and Laura Lau, the film stars Elizabeth Olsen as a young woman whose day takes a turn for the worse when she realizes that she is trapped inside of her family’s crumbling lake house. The film, which is reportedly captured with a single camera shot, was penned by Lau and based on Oscar Estevez’s 2010 Uruguayan pic La Casa Muda. The press release makes no mention of when Open Road is planning on rolling out the film which also stars Adam Trese and Eric Sheffer Stevens (Julie & Julia).

For more on Silent House, including quotes regarding Olsen’s performance, find the press release after the jump. Speaking of Olsen, the actress can next be seen in writer/director Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene which will enjoy a limited U.S. theatrical release on October 21st of this year. Both of Olsen’s films premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Only a few weeks removed from its announcement that it would release Andrew Niccol’s adaptation of The Host on March 19th, 2013, Open Road Films has now acquired the rights to the thriller The Key Man. Written by Awake writer/director Joby Harold, The Key Man centers on a single father who learns that his body harbors the key to the nation’s biggest secrets shortly after becoming the target of U.S. government agents. Variety doesn’t specify whether or not Harold will helm the pic as well, but does mention that The Key Man is expected to begin shooting later this year or early 2012. In addition to The Host and The Key Man, Open Road will also release the action/thriller Killer Elite starring Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, and Jason Statham later this year on September 23rd.

Open Road Films has announced that it will release writer/director Andrew Niccol’s (The Truman Show) adaptation of the Stephanie Meyer novel, The Host, on March 29th, 2013. Per the press release, the film will begin principal photography in February 2012 and will shoot in Louisiana and New Mexico. Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) is attached to star in the pic which is set during a time in which Earth has been invaded by an unseen enemy that uses human bodies as “hosts.” Ronan will play Melanie, a young girl who refuses to give up possession of her mind to an “invading soul” named Wanderer.

Check out the official press release after the jump. Niccol’s sci-fi drama In Time stars Amanda Seyfried, Justin Timberlake, and Cillian Murphy. That pic is currently slated for a release later this year on October 28th.

Open Road Films, the new surprisingly-legal distribution company created by AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment, has set the release date for its first film.  THR reports that Gary McKendry Killer Elite will open on September 23rd.  The film, which is based on a true story, stars Jason Statham as “a former special ops agent who is lured out of retirement to rescue his mentor (Robert De Niro). But first he must most complete a near-impossible mission and take down three assassins with a cunning leader (Clive Owen).”

The other three films set to open the weekend of September 23rd are the Taylor Lautner thriller Abduction, the family flick Dolphin Tale 3D, and Bennett Miller’s Moneyball starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill.

With the Cannes Film Festival in full swing, expect lots of acquisition stories this week. Today, Open Road Films, which is owned by AMC and Regal Entertainment, made its first acquisition with the U.S. rights to Killer Elite. The action-thriller, directed by Gary McKendry, stars Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. The film is inspired by true events, and centers on a retired special-ops agent (Statham) who must reunite his old team in order to rescue their mentor (De Niro). Killer Elite is set to be released this fall.

In addition, The Weinstein Company has acquired the world rights to martial arts, film noir epic Wu Xia. Directed by Ho-Sun Chan, the film stars Donnie Yen, Takeshi Kaneshiro, and Tang Wei. Hit the jump to read both press releases.