We’ve got new posters to share with you for the following films:

• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – Thor Freudenthal’s fantasy adventure sequel starring Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Leven Rambin, Jake Abel, Anthony Head, Stanley Tucci and Nathan Fillion opens August 7th.
• Insidious: Chapter 2 – James Wan’s horror sequel starring Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson, Barbara Hershey and Ty Simpkins, opens September 15th.
• Only God Forgives – Nicolas Winding Refn reteams with Ryan Gosling in this violent revenge thriller that also stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Vithaya Pansringarm.  Only God Forgives opens July 19th.

Hit the jump to see all the new posters.

Joss Whedon’s contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is now playing in theaters.  The micro-budget film was completed in just twelve days at his house, and stars Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Fran Kranz, Jillian Morgese, Clark Gregg, Tom Lenk, Ashley Johnson, Reed Diamond, Riki Lindhome, Sean Maher, and Nathan Fillion.  For more on the film, here is Matt’s review and all our previous coverage which includes clips, posters, and images.

During the recent L.A. press day, I landed an extended video interview with Fillion.  He talked about making Much Ado, the complicated dialogue, if he agrees to whatever Joss Whedon asks of him, Twitter, what he geeks out over, his thoughts on the Star Wars sequels, the idea of appearing as Captain Malcolm Reynolds in another movie as a cameo, and more.  In addition, he talks about his voice role for Monsters University and his Pixar fandom, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and his appreciation for star Logan Lerman, Justice Leage: The Flashpoint Paradox, and reveals he’ll be at Comic-Con next month for Nerd Machine.  Hit the jump to watch.

The first movie adaptation of Rick Riordan’s best-selling novel series Percy Jackson and the Olympians was not well-received critically, but banked enough box office bucks on the global scale to warrant another shot.  We were granted an early look at the upcoming sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, and it appears that general audiences and book fans should be happier this time around.  There’s plenty of action to be found in the first act alone with much more promised throughout the film.  New additions Stanley Tucci, Anthony Head and, of course, Nathan Fillion bring some veteran star-power to the young adult picture and special attention is given to both new audiences and fans of the novels alike.  Hit the jump for more, and be sure to tune in later this week for video interviews with director Thor Freudenthal, and stars Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson and Leven Rambin.

A new trailer Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been released.  The follow-up finds the titular Percy (Logan Lerman) and his friends venturing to a mythical land known as the Sea of Monsters to retrieve a golden fleece that is essential to the survival of his home.  Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) takes over directing duties from Chris Columbus this time around, and this trailer actually looks pretty fun.  The creature designs are neat and the action sequences look to be visually exciting, and we also get an extended look at Nathan Fillion as Hermes.  Lerman really impressed with his performance in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and he already looks more in command in Sea of Monsters than he did in the first film.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens in 3D on August 16th.

We’ve got some new posters and images to share with you from the following films:

• The Smurfs 2 – The animated sequel starring Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays, and featuring the voices of Sofia Vergara, Jonathan Winters, Alan Cumming, Fred Armisen, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin and John Oliver will debut in theaters on July 31, 2013.
• Turbo – DreamWorks Animation’s snail tale features the voices of Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Snoop Dogg, Maya Rudolph, Ben Schwartz and Michael Bell.  Turbo opens July 17th.
• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – The live-action sequel adapted from the popular Rick Riordan books reunites Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario and Brandon T. Jackson.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens August 7th.

Hit the jump to scope out the new posters and images.

As of today, a few new film posters have been released online.  Briefly:

• The Hangover Part III – A new poster for director Todd Phillips’s third franchise installment, featuring the tagline “It Ends,” has arrived five days before the next theatrical trailer.  The film, which is set for release on May 24th, features returning stars Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Jeffrey Tambor, and a newly featured John Goodman as the Wolfpack’s official antagonist.
• CBGB – A few new posters for Randy Miller’s new film based on New York’s eponymous club, reveals that the film will feature music from artists including The Police, The Talking Heads, and many more. Featuring a cast that includes Alan Rickman, Malin Akerman (Watchmen), Johnny Galecki, and Ashley Greene, the poster reads “50,000 Bands And 1 Disgusting Bathroom,” as if we needed any reminders about the criminal lack of hygiene at clubs. CBGB’s 2013 release date is still TBA.
• Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters – A new poster for Thor Freudenthal’s (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) first film in the franchise reveals an ominous dark sea with a giant whirlpool resembling Charybdis from The Odyssey.  Set for release on August 16th, the film boasts a large cast that includes Logan Lerman, Nathan Fillion, Alexandra Daddario, and Stanley Tucci.
• Fast & Furious 6 – The latest poster for Justin Lin’s sequel showcases the film’s cast, which includes Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Walker, and Michelle Rodriguez.  The film opens on May 24th.

Hit the jump for a look at the posters and synopses.

The first trailer Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been released.  The first Percy Jackson received mixed critical response and lukewarm box office, but the sequel seems to be retaining the same tone even though Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) has replaced Chris Columbus at the helm.  Hopefully, the sequel will have a better plot, but since this trailer appears to give away a lot of the movie, it already looks overcrowded with the best moment belonging to Nathan Fillion, who plays Hermes.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, Stanley Tucci, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens in 3D on August 16th.

Next up from Twilight author Stephenie Meyer is an adaptation of her sci-fi novel, The Host.  Centering on Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan), a teenage girl who tries – and fails – to outrun a group of alien invaders who want to implant a parasite, known as a Soul, into her body.  While Melanie herself is divided between her own consciousness and that of the parasitic Soul named Wanderer, her attention is also split between two potential suitors: her boyfriend, Jared (Max Irons) and another human survivor, Ian (Jake Abel).

During a recent round of interviews, we sat down with Irons and Abel to talk about The Host, working from director Andrew Niccol’s adaptation, getting character input from Meyer and changes between the book and the film.  Irons also talked about his upcoming television series The White Queen, which he’s currently filming and Abel commented on the upcoming Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters film, which will be released in 3D.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

The first images from the sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters have landed online.  The follow-up finds the titular Percy (Logan Lerman) and his friends venturing to a mythical land known as the Sea of Monsters to retrieve a golden fleece that is essential to the survival of his home.  Thor Freudenthal (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) takes over directing duties from Chris Columbus this time around, and these images showcase Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Brandon T. Jackson, and newcomer Stanley Tucci getting into more trouble in fantastical locations.

Hit the jump to take a look at the images.  The film also stars Nathan Fillion, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Missi Pyle, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Mary Birdsong.  Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters opens in 3D on August 16th.

Opening January 4^th is director John Luessenhop’s (Takers) Texas Chainsaw 3D.  The film acts as a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper’s original, ignoring the many reboots, prequels and remakes, and picks up where the 1974 film left off.  After Sally escapes to safety the enraged townspeople of Newt, Texas descend on the Sawyers, burning their house to the ground with the family still inside.  Decades later, Heather (Alexandra Daddario) inherits a Texas Estate from a grandmother she never knew she had, and when she brings along a group of friends to scope out her new home they unwittingly unleash Leatherface on the small town once more.  The film also stars Tania Raymonde, Tremaine “Trey Songz” Neverson, Scott Eastwood, Bill Moseley, Dan Yeager, Gunnar Hansen and Paul Rae.

At the recent Los Angeles press day, I sat down with Daddario.  We talked about what attracted her to the project, how she developed her version of the ‘survivor girl’, and the emotional toll of working on a horror film.  She also discussed Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, working on green screen, keeping the second movie more true to the books, returning to the franchise and more. Hit the jump for the full interview.

If all goes according to plan, 2015 will be one ridiculous year for movies.  Currently, The Avengers 2, Justice League, Ant-Man, Star Wars: Episode VII, and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 are all tentatively slated for 2015 release dates.  Now Fox is throwing one more highly anticipated title into the pile, as their Fantastic Four reboot now has a March 6, 2015 release date.  Titled The Fantastic Four, the film has Chronicle director Josh Trank at the helm and Jeremy Slater penning the screenplay.  Plot details are practically non-existent at the moment, but with two promising gents creatively spearheading the project, there’s certainly hope for a fun take on the comic book property that will help us all put Tim Story‘s overly cheesy films out of our memory for good.

Additionally, Fox has announced that a number of their upcoming films will be post-converted to 3D.  Hit the jump for more.

With Texas Chainsaw 3D opening January 4th, 2013, star Alexandra Daddario came to New York Comic-Con this weekend to promote the film.  Directed by John Luessenhop (Takers), the pic is a direct sequel to the 1974 original and picks up where that film left off: “a young woman has escaped the horrors of the Sawyer family and alerted authorities, leading the townspeople to descend on the Sawyer household and seemingly put an end to the family’s reign of terror.  The story then jumps forward to present day where a young woman (Daddario) has inherited a Texas estate from a grandmother she didn’t know she had.”  Needless to say, after she arrives, things go bad.  For more on the film, here’s the trailer and all our previous coverage.

During my exclusive interview with Daddario we talked about being at NYCC, how she got cast, the gore, how the film changed from the initial conception through to the final cut (she reveals that there was an alternate ending filmed), what it was like to film in Shreveport, Louisiana, and a lot more.  In addition, we also talked about White Collar (she played Kate), Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (she just filmed an episode) and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Now that we’ve told you what’s filming where, instead of just watching the action from behind the police barricades, perhaps you’d like to be in front of the cameras.

If that sounds like something you might be interested in pursuing, let us point you in the right direction towards the people who are hiring this key element to any movie.  They’re referred to in different ways: background artists, atmosphere and the most common sobriquet—extras. Pretty much every film needs them, and some more than others.  If Iron Man is saving the population of entire cities, they can’t all be in the other room.  Audiences need to see hundreds of people running and screaming in the midst of the controlled chaos.  When Jackie Robinson makes history by taking the field, it would be a pretty hollow effort if no one is in the stands to cheer him on.  You get the idea.  So are you ready for your close-up?  Hit the jump for more on Iron Man 3, Machete Kills, CBGB, Grown Ups 2, The Smurfs 2, The Walking Dead, and more.

The 2012 Licensing Expo is currently underway in Las Vegas, and it’s brought the first looks at some posters for 2013 and 2014′s major films.  It’s also brought the announcement of Rio 2, which shouldn’t be too surprising since the original film grossed $484 million worldwide.  The Expo also showed off a nice, detailed look at some of the costumes from Zack Snyder‘s Superman reboot, Man of Steel.

Hit the jump for a first look at a gallery of the posters, which also includes R.I.P.D., Jurassic Park 3D, Robocop, Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers, After Earth, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, Epic, and Iron Man 3.

Update: We’ve now got video of the Man of Steel costumes.

We’ve got just a few more release date shuffles to share on this unofficial “Release Date Thursday.”  Following release date news for the X-Men: First Class sequel, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Robopocalypse, as well as Independence Day 3D, here’s a brief rundown of a few more dates:

• Disney’s Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp has been moved from May 31st to July 3rd, 2013.
• Marvel’s Thor 2 is shifting slightly from November 15th to November 8th.
• The sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters has been pushed back to August 16th from March 15th, 2013.
• The Ben Stiller-directed remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty will land on Christmas Day, 2013.
• The currently untitled comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy from Bridesmaids director Paul Feig has been set for April 5th, 2013.

Hit the jump for more on each of the aforementioned films.