While their previous filmography is rather diverse (Crazy/Beautiful to Clash of the Titans), screenwriters Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay tackled a whole new genre with the upcoming R.I.P.D.—a buddy cop movie.  The film is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds as a newly deceased cop who joins a group of undead officers in the “Rest In Peace Department” to help combat a rising force of nefarious corpses.  Reynolds is introduced to the world of the dead by an R.I.P.D. veteran played by Jeff Bridges, and what follows is a buddy cop film of sorts with a supernatural bent as gleaned by the pic’s recent trailer.

With the film hitting theaters July 19th, I recently sat down with Manfredi and Hay for an extended interview.  During our wide ranging conversation they talked about how they started writing together, how Crazy/Beautiful happened, R.I.P.D., Ride Along, The Boys, Big Man Japan, their writing process, and so much more.  Hit the jump to watch.

A new poster has been released for the action-comedy R.I.P.D.  R.I.P.D. centers on dead cops who work for the “Rest in Peace Department,” with Ryan Reynolds playing a newly deceased cop, and Jeff Bridges taking on the role of his partner, a seasoned R.I.P.D. veteran.  Like the trailer, the poster gives off a heavy Men in Black vibe not only from the dynamic of the gun-wielding characters, but also the outlandish, supernatural circumstances surrounding them.

Hit the jump to check out the poster.  The film also stars Mary Louise-Parker, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong.  R.I.P.D. opens in 3D on July 19th.

While their previous filmography is rather diverse (Crazy/Beautiful to Clash of the Titans), screenwriters Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay tackled a whole new genre with the upcoming R.I.P.D.—a buddy cop movie.  The film is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds as a newly deceased cop who joins a group of undead officers in the “Rest In Peace Department” to help combat a rising force of nefarious corpses.  Reynolds is introduced to the world of the dead by an R.I.P.D. veteran played by Jeff Bridges, and what follows is a buddy cop film of sorts with a supernatural bent as gleaned by the pic’s recent trailer.

Steve recently sat down with Manfredi and Hay for an extended interview, and the two talked extensively about their work on R.I.P.D.  They spoke about how they were first brought on to the film adaptation, the difficult road to production, nailing down the right tone in the vein of Blues Brothers or Ghostbusters, script changes throughout development that resulted in a new finale and a much larger scope, the possibility of starting a franchise, changes to the comic book, and more.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

While we’ve already seen some marketing materials and debut trailers for the majority of this summer’s offerings, we only recently got our first look at director Robert Schwentke’s supernatural actioner R.I.P.D.  The film is based on the Dark Horse comic of the same name and stars Ryan Reynolds as a newly deceased cop who joins a group of undead officers in the “Rest In Peace Department” to help combat a rising force of nefarious corpses.  The film’s debut trailer showcases a tone similar to that of Men in Black, as Reynolds and Jeff Bridges put a supernatural spin on the buddy cop format.

Steve recently sat down with producer Neal Moritz for an extended interview, and during their wide-ranging conversation Moritz talked a bit about R.I.P.D., speaking to the film’s tough development process, the difficulty in finding the right tone, and how the film compares to the comic source material.  Hit the jump to read on.

Universal Pictures has released first trailer for director Robert Schwentke’s (Red) adaptation of the Dark Horse comic R.I.P.D.  The supernatural actioner stars Ryan Reynolds as a newly deceased cop who joins a group of undead officers in the “Rest In Peace Department” to help combat a rising force of nefarious corpses.  The trailer has a very strong Men in Black vibe, as Reynolds’ “new to death” rookie is introduced to this new supernatural world by his partner, a colorful veteran R.I.P.D. member played by Jeff Bridges.  There’s a nice mix of humor and action on display in this debut trailer, and the chemistry between Bridges and Reynolds—which one imagines is the make or break aspect of the film—looks quite promising.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer and see the new images.  The film also stars Kevin Bacon, Mary Louise-Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong.  R.I.P.D. opens in 3D on July 19th in the U.S. and on August 30th in the U.K.

With Robert Schwentke’s (Red) adaptation of the Dark Horse comic R.I.P.D. arriving in theaters June 28th, Universal has released the first poster for the film at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.  For those unaware, CinemaCon is a convention put on for theater owners in order to get a look at what the studios have to offer for the rest of the year.  It’s essentially Comic-Con for theater owners.

R.I.P.D. centers on dead cops who work for the “Rest in Peace Department,” with Ryan Reynolds playing a newly deceased cop and Jeff Bridges taking on the role of his partner, a seasoned R.I.P.D. veteran.  The film also stars Mary Louise-Parker, Kevin Bacon, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong.  R.I.P.D.’s been on my radar since it was first announced, and I’m hoping Universal will show some footage this week in Las Vegas.  I’d imagine with the poster being released, the first trailer should be online really soon.  Hit the jump to see the poster/display.

Update: I’ve learned the first trailer for R.I.P.D. is attached to Oblivion next weekend, so I’d imagine it’ll be online later this week.  Update 2: Universal has released the high-quality official version.  Check it out after the jump.

Feast your eyes on the latest images from the following films opening later this year:

• The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – Yesterday’s new image featured the Everdeen sisters, but today’s focuses on Gale Hawthorne (Liam Hemsworth).  Starring Jennifer Lawrence, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire opens November 22nd.
• 300: Rise of an Empire – We got our first look at the 300 sequel just a few days ago and today brings our first glimpse of Eva Green as the film’s antagonist, Artemisia.  300: Rise of an Empire opens August 2nd.
• R.I.P.D. – Today’s first look at the comic adaptation about two undead gunslingers features Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds and their weapons of choice.  R.I.P.D. opens July 19th.

Hit the jump to view all of the new images.

Opening this weekend is DreamWorks Animations’ The Croods. Directed by Kirk De Micco (Space Chimps) and Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon), The Croods centers on a prehistoric family embarking on the world’s first  road trip through an uncharted, fantastical and dangerous world.  The film features the voice talents of Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, Nicolas Cage, Clark Duke, Catherine Keener and Cloris Leachman.  For more on The Croods, you can watch 8 clips here.

At the New York City press junket, I was able to speak with Ryan Reynolds and Emma Stone.  We talked about how the story and their characters changed during production, what surprised them both during the recording process, favorite video games, Reynolds Ted cameo, R.I.P.D., and I tried to get Stone to talk about The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Hit the jump to watch.

Universal has made some changes to its upcoming release slate, and Martin Scorsese‘s new film now has a firm date.

• Kick-Ass 2 – The Jeff Wadlow-helmed sequel has been pushed back a couple of months from June 28th to August 16th, where the actioner will now face off against the sequel Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters and the comedy The To-Do List.  The film stars Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jim Carrey.
• 2 Guns – Meanwhile, as a result of the Kick-Ass 2 date change, the Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg action thriller has been moved up from August 16th to August 2nd, where it will open against the sequels 300: Rise of an Empire and Red 2.
• R.I.P.D. – Universal has also announced that it will be releasing the Jeff Bridges/Ryan Reynolds action-adventure film in 3D when it opens on July 19th.  This will be a post-conversion.
• The Wolf of Wall Street – Finally, director Martin Scorsese’s memoir adaptation will open wide on November 15th, just in time for Thanksgiving and awards season.  The Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer will square off against Ridley Scott‘s The Counselor, the Robert De Niro/Sylvester Stallone boxing drama Grudge Match, and the WikiLeaks film The Fifth Estate.

From show creator/executive producer Kevin Williamson (The Vampire Diaries), the dark, fast-paced thriller The Following is an epic story of good versus evil, as told through the eyes of ex-FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon), who is forced to return to the case that destroyed his career, when it becomes evident that notorious serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) is at the center of a cult of like-minded killers who have created an insidious web of blood and carnage.  With Hardy’s help, a team of agents, including Mike Weston (Shawn Ashmore) and cult specialist Debra Parker (Annie Parisse), attempt to unravel the deadly plot of murder before the body count rises.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, show star Kevin Bacon talked about what attracted him to this show, wanting to play a complex and damaged hero, how much he enjoys getting to explore his character’s past through flashbacks, how he likes to do a detailed backstory for his characters, adjusting to a TV schedule, how much he enjoys working with co-star James Purefoy, why Claire Matthew (Natalie Zea) is the last person Ryan Hardy should fall in love with, and how, even though most episodes will continue to have surprising twists, the pace of the episodes will vary.  He also talked about how much fun he had playing a villain in R.I.P.D., with Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds.  Check out what he had to say after the jump. 

We’ve quite a bit of release date news to share this fine morning, as Universal has announced a slew of schedule changes.  Briefly:

• With production set to begin in a matter of weeks, Kick-Ass 2 has been slated for a June 28th, 2013 release.
• The Denzel Washington/Mark Wahlberg thriller 2 Guns has been given an August 16th, 2013 release date.
• Director Richard Curtis’ (Love Actually) romantic time travel pic About Time, starring Rachel McAdams, has been dated May 10th, 2013.
• The Keanu Reeves samurai pic 47 Ronin, originally set for a November 2012 release, has now been pushed back even further to Christmas 2013.
• The re-release Jurassic Park 3D has been moved to April 5th, 2013.
• The supernatural actioner R.I.P.D. starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds has been shifted to July 19th, 2013.
• The Jason Bateman/Melissa McCarthy comedy Identity Thief has been moved up to February 8th, 2013.

Hit the jump for all the details, folks.

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.

While Universal Pictures skipped CinemaCon/ShoWest the past couple of years, they more than made up for it with the best presentation of 2012.   While all the studios have great-looking movies arriving in 2012 and 2013, I wanted to see every single movie Universal talked about at CinemaCon  In addition, not only did they bring in the movie stars and directors, they world premiered footage from nine movies including Les Miserables, Ted, Savages, This is 40, R.I.P.D., Oblivion, The Bourne Legacy, Snow White and the Huntsman, and 47 Ronin.  In addition, they made sure to remind attendees that while filming hasn’t started on Fast and Furious 6 (the working title), it’s arriving next May, and Despicable Me 2 opens in July.  For what I thought about all the movies plus a complete video blog recap, hit the jump.

Hot on the heels of images from the set of The Dark Knight Rises, a new set photo and a couple of videos have surfaced for R.I.P.D. The Robert Schwetnke-directed pic stars Ryan Reynolds as a newly deceased cop who joins a group of undead officers in the “Rest In Peace Department”. Jeff Bridges stars as an R.I.P.D. veteran, and Kevin Bacon is onboard as the villain. Production is currently underway in Boston, and a potentially spoilery set photo and a couple of car chase videos have surfaced.

Hit the jump to see the photo and videos. The film also stars Mary Louise-Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong. R.I.P.D. opens on June 28th, 2013.

Some new images have surfaced from the set of Robert Schwentke’s (Red) adaptation of the Dark Horse comic R.I.P.D. The film centers on dead cops who work for the “Rest in Peace Department,” with Ryan Reynolds playing a newly deceased cop and Jeff Bridges taking on the role of his partner, a seasoned R.I.P.D. veteran. The images give us another look at Reynolds and Bridges (who looks like a Civil War Colonel) hamming it up, and we get another peek at Kevin Bacon who’s playing the villain in the film.

Hit the jump to check out the images. The film also stars Mary Louise-Parker, Stephanie Szostak, Marissa Miller, and James Hong. R.I.P.D. opens on June 28th, 2013.