For all of the uneasiness I felt watching The Internship play as a not so subtle promo for Google’s portfolio of services (what in the hell is Google Wallet?), the movie painted a dichotomy that I found interesting. While far from perfect, I thought the film did a nice job of contrasting the eternal optimism of a couple Gen X’ers with the often harsh practicality and cynicism I see embedded in myself and many of my fellow Millennials. Although this is hardly the platform from which to dive into a generational debate, The Internship at least introduced the idea that belonging to a generation that has had the wealth of the world’s knowledge at their fingertips for a good portion of their lives (not to mention video games and the lack of a military draft) faces a whole new set of unique challenges and insecurities. At the same time, it also sent an oft-overlooked truth that we (Millennials) don’t know it all, haven’t seen it all, and the “Culture of Meh” that we often embrace is cynical bullshit that I can only hope life experience will help pull us out of.

In addition to my “meh” soapbox, this week’s Top 5 offers The Internship interviews with Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, and Rose Byrne, the first trailer and a set visit recap for director James Wan‘s Insidious: Chapter 2, a truckload of set images from X-Men: Days of Future Past, The Purge interviews with Ethan Hawke and more, and a look at the WGA’s list of the “101 Best Written TV Series of All Time”. Check out a brief recap and link to each after the jump.

FilmDistrict has released the first trailer and images for director James Wan’s horror sequel Insidious: Chapter 2.  The majority of the cast from the first film returns in this follow-up, which finds the Lambert family trying to uncover the mysteries behind the childhood secret that has made them prone to some rather spooky paranormal events.  Having not seen the first film, I don’t necessarily find anything in this trailer scary (Wan’s other 2013 horror film The Conjuring, on the other hand, looks terrifying).  Chapter 2 almost looks like more of a thriller than a horror pic, but I’m sure fans of the first movie will be glad to wade back into the world of Insidious this fall.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer, and click here to check out our recap from the trailer event and Q&A with Wan.  The film stars Ty Simpkins, Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Lin Shaye.  Insidious: Chapter 2 opens on September 13th.

One of the things that most impresses me about Blumhouse Productions it’s the smart way they’re making movies.  Through clever budgeting and location Blumhouse consistently manages to secure impressive talent for their projects, both in front and behind the camera, endowing their films with a credibility and quality that is unusual on the low-budget horror circuit.  Insidious was one of the films that helped set this trend for the company, and one of the most exciting things about the sequel is that they’re bringing back the whole bunch for round two.  Back in March I got to visit the set of Insidious: Chapter 2 and see firsthand the chemistry between the cast and crew, their enthusiasm to be working together again, and how thoughtful they all are about the work they’re doing.

During a break in filming, I sat down with a few other journalists for a press conference with Director James Wan, Writer Leigh Whannell, Producer Jason Blum, and actors Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Barbara Hershey.  They talked about the higher stakes of the sequel, what makes Chapter 2 unique, exploring the world established in the first film, what we’ll see in the Further, shooting at Linda Vista Hospital, and a lot more.  Check out what they had to say after the jump.

Warner Bros. has released the first full-length trailer for director James Wan’s (Saw, Insidious) upcoming horror film The Conjuring.  The first trailer for the film was a genuinely terrifying clip that showcased the kinds of scares Wan has crafted for this latest horror pic, and this new full trailer is no less terrifying.  The film is based on the story of the Perron family who inhabited a haunted Rhode Island farmhouse in the 1970s.  Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston play the Perrons, and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play a husband and wife team of psychic investigators who encounter the most horrifying case of their career.  Wan recently told the audience at WonderCon that the film received an R-rating simply for being “too scary,” and I’m now fairly certain that I’ll be watching this one through covered eyes this summer.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer, click here to read Dave’s recap of the film’s WonderCon panel, and click here to read our interview with Wan.  The pic also stars Joey King and Mackenzie Foy.  The Conjuring opens on July 19th.

Today’s casting updates include:

• Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) joins Nick Jonas, of Jonas Brothers fame, and Isabel Lucas (Immortals) in Careful What You Wish For.  Elizabeth Allen (Aquamarine) will be directing from a script by Chris Frisina and Gregg Hurwitz.

• Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) has been added to the already stellar cast of David O. Russell’s untitled Abscam movie.  The rest of the cast includes Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Jeremy Renner, and Louis CK.

• Katherine Heigl and Patrick Wilson are set to headline the dark comedy North of Hell. Anthony Burns (Skateland) will be writing and directing.

Hit the jump for more on each casting.

Warner Bros. has released a batch of new high-resolution images from some upcoming summer films.  Briefly:

• The Hangover Part III – A new image from Todd Phillips’ trilogy-closer teases a familiar scene as Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms ride an elevator.  The film opens on May 24th.
• The Great Gatsby – A couple of new images from director Baz Luhrmann’s colorful adaptation highlight Leonardo DiCaprio’s titular character flanked by his new friends.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Joel Edgerton and opens in 3D on May 10th.
• The Conjuring – Director James Wan’s new horror film debuted a ridiculously creepy teaser trailer earlier last month, and these new images feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s psychic investigator characters.  The film also stars Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston and opens on July 19th.
• Getaway – A new image from this car-set thriller gives us a canted look at Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez’s lead characters.  The film opens on August 30th.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this evening.  First up, Alec Baldwin and Patrick Wilson are in deep negotiations to star in the thriller Caught Stealing.  Deadline reports that Stefan Ruzowitzky (The Counterfeiters, Deadfall) will direct the pic, which centers on a man lost in a bloody treasure hunt through New York City.  David Hayter (X-Men, X2) wrote the screenplay based on the novel by Charlie Huston.  Wilson will take the lead, while Baldwin will play a sadistic cop who is after Wilson’s character.

Additionally, Katherine Heigl is set to topline the romantic drama A Moment to Remember.  The pic is a remake of a Korean movie and will serve as director Ben Lewin’s follow-up to last year’s The Sessions.  Per THR, The story centers “on a fashion designer is stricken with a disease that wipes away her memory, forcing her husband to desperately try to give her one last memory of their love.”  Production is looking to begin in late spring.

Things are moving quickly on the sequel to 2011’s horror hit Insidious.  We learned this February that director James Wan and screenwriter Leigh Whannell were reteaming for the follow-up, and FilmDistrict announced today that Insidious Chapter 2 will be hitting theaters on August 30, 2013.  Wan is again directing from a script by Whannell, and Jason Blum is back to produce through his Blumhouse Productions company.  Moreover, the first film’s cast of Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, and Ty Simpkins will also be back to reprise their roles.

Not plot details are given, but production on the low-budget sequel is set to begin on January 15, 2013.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

The first images from Saw and Insidious director James Wan’s supernatural thriller The Conjuring have been released.  The film has become a curious point of interest as of late, as Warner Bros. recently moved the film from its upcoming January release date to a prime summer spot following some wildly positive test screenings.  Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as a husband and wife team of demonologists and psychic investigators who enter the most horrifying case of their career, spirits in a Rhode Island farmhouse.  The pic is based on the true story of the Perron family who encountered a similar situation in the 1970s.  Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor star as the couple who unknowingly move into the house, and I’m interested to see how one of these small-budget horror films fares in the midst of the blockbusters of the summer.

Hit the jump to check out the first images, and click here to read Matt’s recap from the film’s New York Comic-Con panel.  The Conjuring opens on July 19, 2013.

It’s easy to forget about it since it came out so early, but for my money director Joe Carnahan’s survival drama The Grey is still one of the best films of 2012.  It was considerably more low-key than his last pic, The A-Team, but I felt that Carnahan and Liam Neeson crafted something really special.  It looks as though the director may be sticking with “low-key” for his next project, as he’s now set to direct Patrick Wilson in the low-budget actioner Stretch for IM Global and Blumhouse Pictures, the studio behind the Paranormal Activity series, Sinister, and Insidious.

Hit the jump for more.

Some casting news for you today.  Check out the info in brief below:

• Clive Owen (Children of Men) will team up with The Sitter writers Brian Gatewood and Alessandro Tanaka for their directorial debut comedy, The King of the Castle.
• Patrick Wilson (Insidious) and Liv Tyler (Armageddon) join an ensemble cast in the sci-fi dramatic comedy, Space Station 76, written and directed by Jack Plotnick.
• Caleb Landry Jones (X-Men: First Class) will join the Canadian French-language indie, Tom a la Ferme, from director/star Xavier Dolan (Laurence Anyways).

Hit the jump for more on each picture. 

One of the many films to premiere footage at this year’s New York Comic-Con was director James Wan‘s (Insidious) supernatural thriller The Conjuring.  The film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as “a husband and wife team of demonologists and psychic investigators who enter the most horrifying case of their career, spirits in a Rhode Island farmhouse.”  Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor play a couple who unknowingly move into the haunted farmhouse with their kids.  For more on the film, here’s Matt’s recap of the Comic-Con panel.

Shortly before the panel started, I saw down with Wilson for an exclusive video interview.  We talked about how he got involved in The Conjuring and what attracted him to the material, what it’s like attending a comic convention after playing Nite Owl in Watchmen, what’s his favorite cut of the film, his thoughts on walking around a future convention in costume as Nite Owl, an adaptation of Caught Stealing, the status of an Insidious sequel, what it was like to do a reading for Rob Marshall‘s screen adaptation of Into the Woods, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

I went into the panel for The Conjuring knowing nothing about the film other than James Wan (Insidious) directed it and it starred Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor, and Ron Livingston.  I came away thinking that Warner Bros. might have a surprise horror hit on their hands for 2013, and I say this as someone who is not a fan of Wan’s breakthrough film, Saw (I have yet to see Insidious).  We got to see a solid trailer and a clip that really got the crowd going, and it looks like Wan may have created a nice period flick that puts a nice spin on the paranormal investigators-vs-haunted-house horror sub-genre.

Hit the jump for my recap of the panel, click here for all of our New York Comic-Con coverage.

Here is the latest movie release calendar, including new release dates and one release date shuffle:

• We’re the Millers, a pot comedy starring Jason Sudeikis and Jennifer Aniston, is set to open August 9th, 2013.
• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, a magician comedy starring Steve Carell and Jim Carrey, opens March 15th, 2013.
• Prisoners, a thriller starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, opens September 20th, 2013.
• The Conjuring, a horror/thriller starring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, now opens six months later on July 19th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on the films’ synopses and casts.

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.