FilmDistrict has acquired U.S. distribution rights for director Paul W.S. Anderson’s (Resident Evil, The Three Musketeers) upcoming disaster film Pompeii.  The story “follows an enslaved Celtic gladiator who falls in love with a noblewoman on the eve of a massive volcanic eruption that destroys Pompeii, an event that also brings him face-to-face with the man who slaughtered his family years earlier.”  Kit Harington stars as the gladiator, while the rest of the cast is filled out by Emily Browning (Sucker Punch), Jared Harris, Kiefer Sutherland, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost), Jessica Lucas (Evil Dead), and recent addition Carrie-Anne Moss.

The script was written by Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, and production is currently underway in Toronto.  FilmDistrict has set Pompeii for release on February 28, 2014.  Hit the jump to read the full press release.

Check out the latest casting news below:

• Sally Hawkins (Submarine) has joined the cast of Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla reboot, featuring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen.
• Adewale Akkinuoye-Agbaje (The Bourne Identity) has boarded Paul W.S. Anderson’s Pompeii, starring Kit Harington, Emily Browning and Kiefer Sutherland.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

Fans of the Resident Evil film franchise can now rest easy knowing that the story will continue in at least one more feature.  The folks over at STYD have learned that Resident Evil 6 has been given a September 12, 2014 release date, confirming that the sequel will indeed be moving forward.  This is a bit of a curious development, as last we heard, director Paul W.S. Anderson was gearing up to film the epic Pompeii this year with Kit Harington (Game of Thrones) set as the lead.  If the 2014 date for Resident Evil is indeed true, there’s no possible way that Anderson is filming both movies this year; either the production start-date for Pompeii has been pushed or someone else is directing Resident Evil 6 or Pompeii.

Though last year’s Resident Evil: Retribution broke the series’ impressive streak of each film grossing more than its predecessor, its final total of $221 million worldwide is nonetheless striking.  I’ve only ever seen the first Resident Evil so I have no idea where the series is at plot-wise, but Anderson told us last September that he had a story in mind for RE6 that involved a lot of death and would possibly bring the franchise to a close.  What about you, Resident Evil fans?  What do you hope to see in the next sequel?

As he wraps up filming the third season of HBO’s wildly popular fantasy series Game of Thrones, Jon Snow himself Kit Harington is lining up a high profile feature film to shoot during his upcoming hiatus.  Variety reports that Harington is in talks to star in director Paul W.S. Anderson’s period pic Pompeii.  For those unfamiliar, the city of Pompeii was destroyed and buried during a catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius in the year AD 70.  Anderson’s film uses this disaster as the backdrop for the story of a shipping tycoon’s slave named Milo.  Hit the jump for more details.

There were no blockbusters on this September frame but, after last weekend’s dismal returns, it’s hard to feel disappointed. Aided by 3D technology, Resident Evil: Retribution reigned with $21.1 million – more than twice what The Possession earned in first place last weekend. Finding Nemo 3D also had a ticket-price advantage although, in this case, the 2003 Pixar classic could not match the gross of last year’s 3D The Lion King re-release.

In the spirit of TIFF 2012 winding down this weekend, I’m interested in hearing what some of our readers most anticipated pics coming out of the festival are. For me, I was already psyched for films such as Looper, Cloud Atlas, and The Master, but early buzz has also peaked my interest in The Place Beyond the Pines, End of Watch, Spring Breakers, Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp, Dredd 3D, and At Any Price among others. What about you? Where there films that showed up on your radar while following the festival? What about a film you were looking forward to that you were disappointed didn’t fare quite as well as you had hoped (for me, this was Passion)? Let us know in the comments and be sure to check out this week’s fifth spot for a link that can help you get caught up on all of our TIFF 2012 coverage.

In addition to that fifth spot, also on the docket for this week’s Top 5 is a slew of video interviews for Paul W. S. Anderson‘s Resident Evil: Retribution, the first full trailer for Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln, James Cameron talking the future of Avatar and what his take on Jurassic Park would have been like, and Steve’s video interviews with some of the major names behind Finding Nemo 3D. Brief recaps and links to each lie after the jump.

Opening this weekend is writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson‘s Resident Evil: Retribution.   In the series’ fifth installment, we find Milla Jovovich waking up in the heart of the Umbrella Corporation’s most clandestine operations facility.  She continues to hunt those responsible for the deadly T-virus outbreak with the help of both newfound allies and familiar friends.  The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe, and Li Bingbing.  For more on RE5, here’s the trailer, 25 things to know about the movie from my set visit, some new images, and our Comic-Con panel recap.

The other day I spoke to writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson.  We talked about the action scenes, jump scares, who decides on the title, whether they ever thought about calling it Resident Evil: All Stars, deleted scenes, and more.  In addition, Anderson revealed he’s working on a longer alternate cut for the Blu-ray and we also talked about Resident Evil 6.  Hit the jump to watch.

With Paul W.S. Anderson’s Resident Evil: Retribution set to assault theaters in two weeks, the director may be setting his sights on a new video game franchise to adapt.  Retribution may be the third RE film Anderson has directed, but it’s the fifth and likely the penultimate in the series.  So where does he go from here?  Possibly onto another Capcom property, Monster Hunter.  If you couldn’t guess from the title, the game revolves around an up-and-coming hunter who must track, trap and kill various monsters roaming the countryside, all in the name of protecting defenseless villagers and damsels in distress.  Right up Anderson’s alley.  Hit the jump for more.

In times of economic recession, what are the rich to do with all their money? Why, make rock-solid investments in mega-companies such as Resident Evil’s Umbrella Corporation, of course!  Fret not, ninety-nine-percenters, with Umbrella’s new IPO, even you can afford a piece of the Umbrella for a paltry $25.  Starting September 14th, the company behind such remarkable drugs as Adravil®, Regenerate® and Return® will begin trading on Nasdaq.

Coincidentally, Resident Evil: Retribution, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich, opens in theaters that very same day!  Hit the jump to see how you can buy into the hype or even be employed by the Umbrella Corporation itself.

In case you’ve missed any of the installments of the Resident Evil franchise since its feature film inception back in 2002, we’ve got a retrospective video to get you caught up before Resident Evil: Retribution debuts in theaters September 14th.  The fifth iteration, directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, follows the continuing adventures of Alice (Milla Jovovich) and resistance fighters battling against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead.  Resident Evil: Retribution also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Bingbing Li and Kevin Durand.  Hit the jump to check out the video recap.

The last round of images for Resident Evil: Retribution focused on the franchise’s star, Milla Jovovich.  This time around, we have new images of some of the supporting cast, including Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Bingbing Li and Oded Fehr.  Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the fifth installment in the Resident Evil franchise also stars Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Johann Urb and Boris Kodjoe.  Look for the film to land September 14th and hit the jump to check out some new images.

One of the many films to show off new footage at Comic-Con was writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson‘s Resident Evil: Retribution.   In the series’ fifth installment, Alice (Milla Jovovich) continues her search across the globe for those responsible for the deadly outbreak.  Things take a twist, however, when she runs into a few familiar faces.  The film also stars Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Kevin Durand, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb, Boris Kodjoe, and Li Bingbing.  For more on the film, here’s the first trailer, 25 things to know about the movie from my set visit, some new images, and our Comic-Con panel recap.

Shortly after the panel, I sat down with writer-director Paul W.S. Anderson for an extended interview.  We talked about the scope of Resident Evil: Retribution, how post-production has been going, test screenings, the action, viral marketing, and more.  In addition, Anderson revealed his first cut of Event Horizon has just been found on VHS and he also talks about Death Race: Inferno.  Hit the jump to watch.

The Resident Evil film franchise is still going strong, and star Milla Jovovich and director Paul W.S. Anderson brought the latest installment to Comic-Con’s Hall H.  This fifth entry in the series is called Resident Evil: Retribution, and Jovovich and Anderson were joined onstage by co-stars Michelle Rodriguez, Li Bingbing, Oded Fehr, and Boris Kodje.  Hit the jump to read my recap of the panel.

Check out our round-up of the latest posters below:

• Resident Evil: Retribution – The fifth installment of the Resident Evil franchise from director Paul W.S. Anderson stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Boris Kodjoe, Johann Urb, Kevin Durand and Bingbing Li.  Resident Evil: Retribution opens September 14th.
• The Possession – From producer Sam Raimi (Spider-Man) director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch) comes this horror film based on real life events.  The Possession, starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Madison Davenport and Natasha Calis opens August 31st.
• The Babymakers – The heist/adventure/comedy directed by Jay Chandrasekhar (Super Troopers) stars Olivia Munn, Paul Schneider, Noureen DeWulf and Aisha Tyler. The Babymakers opens August 3rd.

Hit the jump to check out the new posters and synopses.

We posted a teaser trailer for the fifth installment of the Resident Evil franchise back in January, but now the first full trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution has landed.  I’ve only ever seen the first film in the series, so I’m all kinds of confused by this trailer for the fifth installment.  That said, action looks to be front and center here and I doubt Resident Evil fans will be disappointed by this trailer.  Moreover, this new film brings back at least a few cast members that perished earlier in the series so Retribution may act as sort of a throwback for diehard fans.  If you missed any of Steve’s set visit coverage, including interviews with director Paul W.S. Anderson and the cast, click here.

Resident Evil: Retribution stars Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Kevin Durand, Boris Kodjoe, Shawn Roberts, Colin Salmon, Johann Urb and Li Bingbing. RE5 opens September 14th.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.