Universal Pictures announced today that it will be releasing director Peter Berg’s (The Rundown) Navy SEAL film Lone Survivor on January 10, 2014.  Based on the bestselling non-fiction book of the same name, the film tells the story of four Navy SEALs on an ill-fated covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative who are ambushed by enemy forces in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan.  The film’s impressive cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Ben Foster, Emile Hirsch, and Eric Bana.

Berg and Kitsch are coming off of last summer’s bomb Battleship, but both have proven themselves to be quite talented in the past, so hopefully Lone Survivor is a return to form.  The film will likely open in New York and Los Angeles at the end of December to qualify for awards season, and will face off against the Sylvester Stallone/Robert De Niro boxing film Grudge Match and the Lionsgate horror pic Jessabelle when it opens wide on January 10th.

Check out the latest casting news from the following films:

• Taylor Kitsch (John Carter) will join The Normal Heart, Ryan Murphy’s adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play that stars Julia Roberts, Mark Ruffalo, Matt Bomer and Jim Parsons, and will debut on HBO.
• Zach Gilford (The Last Stand) will star opposite Allison Miller (17 Again) in Devil’s Due, the Twentieth Century Fox thriller with found footage elements.
• Abigail Spencer (Cowboys & Aliens) has joined Beautiful Now, an indie drama from writer/director Daniela Amavia that centers on a passionate dancer who asks herself if she likes what she sees when her life flashes before her eyes.

Hit the jump for more on each casting announcement.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share this morning.  First up, Taylor Kitsch may soon be tackling a serial killer film.  Though the talented Friday Night Lights actor didn’t have the best 2012 when it came to box office success, Kitsch seems to be taking everything in stride.  The folks over at Bloody Disgusting report that the actor is attached to star in the thriller Exit 147, which centers on a small town sheriff who arrests a man driving across the desert at night and holds him captive as part of a sadistic game.  Kitsch would play the sheriff, and Julian Jarrold (Becoming Jane, The Girl) is attached to direct from a script by Travis Milloy (Pandorum).

We haven’t heard any official confirmation regarding Kitsch’s casting Exit 147 just yet, so it’s one to keep an eye on the in the near future with regards to the actor’s upcoming schedule.  Kitsch most recently wrapped the contemporary true-life Navy SEAL story Lone Survivor from director Peter Berg alongside Mark Wahlberg and Emile Hirsch.  Hit the jump for casting news concerning director Brett Ratner’s Hercules.

Oliver Stone has always hit home runs controversially and commercially, but lately he’s been striking out critically. Savages, which came out back in July, is a break from Stone’s controversial oeuvre. Revolving around a drug cartel kidnapping and an unlikely friendship, Savages is one well-crafted, sexy-ass slugfest. It’s more U-Turn Stone than W. (I have no idea what Wall-Street: Money Never Sleeps was supposed to be) and despite its mediocre run in theaters (nothing this summer fared well in the shadow of The Avengers), it was one of the most entertaining films of summer 2012. Hit the jump to find out how the Universal Blu-ray holds up.

After starring in a couple of big budget, high profile pics, Friday Night Lights alum Taylor Kitsch is lining up a smaller scale dramatic feature.  THR reports that Kitsch and Brendan Gleeson have joined the cast of Don McKellar’s English-language remake of the Quebec film The Grand Seduction.  The story centers on a tiny village in dire need of a full-time doctor, and the residents’ scheme to lure such a professional into taking up permanent residency.  Gleeson will play one of the village’s residents, while Kitsch will play the desirable MD.  Ken Scott, who wrote the Canadian original film, was initially set to direct before departing to helm an English-language remake of his film Starbuck.

McKellar is now set to helm from a screenplay by Scott and Michael Dowse (Goon).  The ensemble cast includes Gorden Pinset, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones and Liane Balaban.  Kitsch, a native Canuck, is an undeniably talented guy and will hopefully get the chance to shine opposite Gleeson.  He’s next set to star opposite Mark Wahlberg and Emile Hirsch in Peter Berg’s real-life war drama Lone Survivor.

As much as I enjoy film, my first entertainment love will always be music. As such, this weekend finds me in Chicago in anticipation of what could be my final Warped Tour appearance. That’s right, I’m a 26 year-old man (I use the term “man” lightly, of course) who still finds immense joy in the pop-punk genre. Nevertheless, it’s becoming harder and harder for my oldness to blend in with a predominantly sub-18 crowd without looking like a total creep and, therefore, today may very well be my last Warped experience. On the bright side, I still have XBox Live to remind me that I’ve never completely grown up.

Maturity issues aside, on tap in this week’s version of the Top 5 is a slew of interviews for The Amazing Spider-Man, the first trailer and new images for Tom Cruise‘s Jack Reacher, our most anticipated movies from July to September, Savages interviews with Oliver Stone, Blake Lively, etc., and more The Dark Knight Rises coverage than most humans are capable of comprehending. Links and brief recaps for each reside after the break.

A wise man once said*, “If you have them in the first fifteen minutes, you have a movie.  If you have them in the last fifteen minutes, you have a hit.”  By that metric, Oliver Stone‘s Savages is neither a movie nor a hit.  It begins with an atrocious first act full of flat expository narration including one of the worst lines of dialogue I’ve ever heard: “I have orgasms.  He has wargasms.”  That’s a deep hole to dig out of, but Savages manages to do so with a strong, thoughtful, exciting middle section that explore where people derive their power.  And then the movie falls apart with an ending that erases all the hard work the film had accomplished.

The drama Savages, from three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone, follows entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and their shared girlfriend O (Blake Lively), who run a lucrative business raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.  But, the legendary weed of these Laguna Beach heroes soon catches the interest of the Mexican Baja Cartel, headed by the merciless Elena “La Reina” (Salma Hayek).  Along with her brutal enforcer Lado (Benicio Del Toro) and her head attorney Alex (Demian Bichir), Elena demands a partnership which she ensures by kidnapping that which they love most, and what was once a peaceful and easy lifestyle becomes a high-stakes battle of wills.  For more on the film, here’s six clips.

At the film’s press day, actor Aaron Johnson spoke to Collider for this exclusive interview about how Oliver Stone wanted him for the film but didn’t immediately know for which role, how he enjoyed being challenged by the director, and the journey he went on with co-star Taylor Kitsch.  He also talked about the type of roles he wants to play, having read the Kick-Ass 2 script, which he says is definitely a hard R and that he expects will go into production in the Fall, and he addressed the recent statement that American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis made on Twitter about how he would be a good choice for the male lead in the film adaptation of the much-talked-about erotic novel 50 Shades of Grey.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

The drama Savages, from three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone, follows entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and their shared girlfriend O (Blake Lively), who run a lucrative business raising some of the best marijuana ever developed.  But, the legendary weed of these Laguna Beach heroes soon catches the interest of the Mexican Baja Cartel, headed by the merciless Elena “La Reina” (Salma Hayek).  Along with her brutal enforcer Lado (Benicio Del Toro) and her head attorney Alex (Demian Bichir), Elena demands a partnership which she ensures by kidnapping that which they love most, and what was once a peaceful and easy lifestyle becomes a high-stakes battle of wills.

At the film’s press day, actor Taylor Kitsch talked about his reaction to director Oliver Stone wanting him for the role of Chon, how he prepared for the more intimate scenes in the film, what it was like to shoot his intense confrontation with John Travolta, the incredible attention to detail on set, how he felt about the ending, and his desire to stay away from projects with a lot of green screen for awhile.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

We’ve got a good selection of new posters to share with you today (in addition to these awesome examples from the upcoming Total Recall reboot).  Here’s what we have to offer:

• Taken 2 – The sequel to Pierre Morel’s Taken features the return of ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who finds himself on the wrong end of a kidnapping.  Taken 2 opens October 5th.
• Savages – Oliver Stone’s newest film stars Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson as two marijuana dealers who must rescue their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) from Mexican cartel runners (Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro). Savages opens July 6th.
• Magic Mike – Based on his real-life experience as a male stripper, Magic Mike follows Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, Alex Pettyfer, Joe Manganiello and more through their daily (and nightly) exploits.  Magic Mike opens June 29th.
• Won’t Back Down – Based on a true story of the fight to reform urban education, Won’t Back Down stars Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis.  The film opens September 28th.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.

This weekend, Collider got to participate in the press junket for Savages, the new film from three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone.  Based on Don Winslow’s best-selling novel, the story follows two Laguna Beach entrepreneurs, Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch), and their shared girlfriend O (Blake Lively), who run a very lucrative business selling some of the best marijuana ever developed, which attracts the unwanted interest of the Mexican Baja Cartel.  For more on the film, you can watch six clips here.

While we will run the interviews about the film closer to its July 6^th release in theaters, we did want to share what actor Aaron Johnson had to say to us about finally going into production on the Kick-Ass sequel, which is set to shoot in the Fall.  He said that he has gotten to see a script, that it keeps the standard hard R feel of the first film, and that he’s excited to get back in the suit.  He also addressed the recent statement that American Psycho author Bret Easton Ellis made on Twitter about how he would be a good choice for the male lead in the film adaptation of the much-talked-about erotic novel, 50 Shades of Grey.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

We recently brought you a bunch of new images from director Oliver Stone’s upcoming crime drama, Savages. Now you can view Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson and Blake Lively in motion in six new clips!  The newest film from the three-time Oscar winner follows Ben (Johnson) and Chon (Kitsch) as two industrious pot growers who go up against a Mexican drug cartel who muscles in on their territory.  Elena, the cartel leader (Salma Hayek)  and her enforcer, Lado (Benicio Del Toro) find leverage in the form of Ben and Chon’s mutual girlfriend, Ophelia (Lively).  John Travolta also stars as a DEA agent.  Savages opens July 6th.  Hit the jump to check out the clips.

14 new images from Oliver Stone’s crime drama Savages have gone online.  The story centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  These images highlight Stone’s impressive supporting cast which includes Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta and Demian Bichir.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Savages opens on July 6th.

The big sci-fi release of the summer has come and gone, and now it’s time to look at what the rest of these next few “big movie” months have to offer.  Buried between the animated fare and superhero pics is the next film from director Oliver Stone: the crime drama Savages.  While Stone has been relatively off his game for the past few years, Savages looks to be a return to the gritty crime-filled pics of his earlier career.  The story centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.

As part of the film’s marketing campaign, a slew of “interrogation” videos have landed online.  They feature the principal characters of the film in an interrogation environment, and it gives us a chance to get to know these guys a bit more.  Hit the jump to take a look.  The film also stars Salma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta and Uma Thurman.  Savages opens on July 6th.

Two new TV spots have been released for Oliver Stone’s upcoming crime drama Savages.  The film centers on two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins (Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson) who encounter a world of trouble when their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel.  I’m a big fan of Kitsch and I’m hoping Savages is a success this year following the commercial disappointments of John Carter and Battleship—he was swell in the criminally underseen John Carter and his charisma is a big part of what makes Battleship semi-enjoyable.  These TV spots confirm that Eminem’s “Til I Collapse” is the unofficial theme song of Savages, and I’m actually really looking forward to an Oliver Stone film for the first time in a long time.

Hit the jump to watch the TV spots.  The film also stars Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta.  Savages opens on July 6^th.