A few days ago at CinemaCon, Ben Stiller premiered the first footage from his upcoming movie, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.   In the film, Stiller stars as the eponymous LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  On his quests, he seeks to find a missing image taken by a photographer played by Sean Penn.  The movie stars Kristen Wiig as his love interest, and Adam Scott, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, and Kathryn Hahn.  While Stiller is known for his great work behind the camera on Tropic Thunder and Zoolander, Walter Mitty is definitely his most adult work to date and the footage I viewed show heart, humor and restraint.  Look for this to be an Awards contender at the end of the year.

Shortly after premiering the footage, I participated in a small press conference with Ben Stiller and Kristen Wiig.  They talked about balancing fantasy and reality, Steve Conrad‘s script, comparisons to the original, the tone, filming in Iceland, David Bowie (the song Major Tom plays a role in the film), how the script changed when actors signed on, and more.  Hit the jump to either listen to or read what they had to say.

A remake of 1947′s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty has been in development since 1996, but Ben Stiller is the one who finally made it a reality.  In addition to directing, Stiller stars as the eponymous LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  On his quests, he seeks to find a missing image taken by a photographer played by Sean Penn.  The first image from the film has been released, and we see a haggard Mr. Mitty holding a skateboard on terrain that doesn’t seem particularly suited to skateboarding.

Hit the jump to check out the image.  20th Century Fox will be showing 15 minutes from the film at CinemaCon, so we’ll be on the lookout for reaction to the footage.  The movie also stars Kristen Wiig, Adam Scott, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, and Kathryn Hahn.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens December 25th.

New promo posters have appeared for the gambling drama Runner Runner, the animated film Epic, and Ben Stiller‘s remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Since they’re promo posters, they’re nothing more than an announcement, which is why the designer didn’t do more than simply write down the title and put it over a bland background.  There’s also a new international poster for Skyfall, which is like the recent posters except Bond is actually doing something.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  Runner Runner opens September 27, 2013.  Epic opens May 24, 2013.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty opens December 25, 2013.  Skyfall opens November 9th.

It’s hard to believe the remake of the 1947 comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is finally in front of cameras.  The film has been in the works for well over a decade and gone through a multitude of bankable lead actors including Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen, but Ben Stiller turned out to be the last man standing, and not only is he starring in the flick, but he’s also directing it.  The plot centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader (Stiller) who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  While we previously saw Stiller and co-star Adam Scott playing with a Stretch Armstrong doll, the latest photo is even stranger as it shows a nearly unrecognizable Stiller in old age makeup alongside Kristen Wiig.  I’m not sure where this scene is in the movie (I haven’t seen the Danny Kaye original), but kudos to the makeup department.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film also stars Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Kathryn Hahn, and Sean Penn.  The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is due out December 25, 2013.

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.

You’re driving down the street, and it’s suddenly blocked off.  You notice these weird yellow signs with nonsensical letters or numbers.  There’s unusual glow lighting up a neighborhood you can’t usually see from your house.  What you might have here is a film company shooting in your town.  It happens a lot, and you never know where they might pop up…until now.

The following is a semi-comprehensive list of films currently shooting, what they’re shooting, and where they’re shooting.  We’ll be telling you where you might get to see the very famous, the kinda famous and (if all goes well) the soon-to-be famous. While we can’t list every single movie, television show, or student film in production, you’ll get a pretty good idea of what the heck is going on where all those people are buzzing about.  Want to know where in the world are Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Sylvester Stallone, Woody Harrelson, and Leonardo DiCaprio? Hit the jump for more.

We’ve got a couple of set photos to share this morning.  First up is Scarlett Johansson in Hitchcock. Last month we got our first look at Anthony Hopkins in his full, uncanny makeup as legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock for the film.  Directed by Sacha Gervasi, the pic follows Hitchcock through the troubled production of Psycho, and we now have our first look at Johansson as the film’s “star” Janet Leigh.  It’s not the best image, but Johansson does certainly look the part.  This project is incredibly high on my most anticipated list, especially with a stacked cast that includes Helen Mirren, Jessica Biel, Toni Collette, Danny Huston and more.

Additionally, we’ve got our first images of Ben Stiller and a fake beareded-Adam Scott fighting over a Stretch Armstrong doll for some reason in the remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Stiller is directing the project, which also stars Kristin Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, and Patton Oswalt.  Hit the jump to check out the images.

Ben Stiller is assembling quite the cast for his remake of the 1947 comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  Stiller is directing and starring in the pic, which centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine, Patton Oswalt, Adam Scott and Kathryn Hahn are all set to star, and now Deadline reports that Sean Penn is in talks to appear in a small yet pivotal role as a photographer.

This is Stiller’s first directorial effort since 2008’s smash hit Tropic Thunder, and I’m really excited about the cast that he’s put together.  Not only is every actor a terrific comedian, but they all have proven dramatic chops as well.  Penn will be seen later this year in Ruben Fleischer’s (Zombieland) period crime drama The Gangster Squad and he’s being courted to star in one Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Flim-Flam Man and The Revenant.  Production on Walter Mitty begins soon in New York and Iceland.

We’ve got some new casting updates for you today, including a found-footage film tracking Bigfoot and a new project from Ben Stiller. Here they are at a glance:

• The Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez has added Dora Madison Burge, Samuel Davis, Roger Edwards, Chris Osborn and Denise Williamson to his Bigfoot found-footage film, Exists.
• Kathryn Hahn (Wanderlust) has joined Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Hit the jump for more on both projects. [Update: We've been sent the full press release for Exists, which is now included after the jump.]

The long-in-development remake of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty continues to rack up an impress supporting cast.  In the past several weeks, we’ve reported that Patton Oswalt and Kristen Wiig have joined Ben Stiller in the comedy, which centers on a magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.  Today, Deadline reports that the talented Adam Scott has joined the picture, but there are currently no details on the role he’ll play.

Whenever Scott is in a movie, I know that I’ll at least be able to point to his performance as one good thing about the flick.  The fact that we get 22 episode of him on Parks and Recreation would be more than enough, but he’s also continuing to nab roles in movies.  Later this year, he’ll be seen in the general releases of the festival films Friends with Kids (also co-starring Wiig) and Bachelorette, and he also co-stars in See Girl Run, My Mother’s Curse, A.C.O.D., and his cult-hit TV series Party Down may be headed to the big screen.

Coming off a terrific dramatic turn in Jason Reitman’s Young Adult, Patton Oswalt is now looking to star in Ben Stiller’s next directorial project. Showblitz reports that Oswalt is in talks to star in Stiller’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. The film is a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film which centers on a LIFE Magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite. Stiller stars as the proofreader, Kristin Wiig is onboard as his love interest, and Shirley MacLaine is set as Stiller’s mother. Oswalt will play Todd, “a friendly eHarmony counselor who helps the protagonist create an online dating profile.”

It seems like a perfectly suitable role for Oswalt, who I sincerely hope gets the chance to shine after holding his own opposite Charlize Theron in Young Adult. Oswalt will next be seen in the Dean Koontz adaptation Odd Thomas, and also stars alongside Steve Carell and Keira Knightley in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Production on Walter Mitty will begin in April in New York and Iceland.

While she’s currently being fielded with hundreds of questions about the non-existent Bridesmaids sequel, Kristen Wiig is firming up plans for her summer hiatus from SNL. We already know that she’s starring in the Sean Penn-directed character drama The Comedian alongside Robert De Niro, and now comes word that she may join yet another actor-turned-director’s project. THR reports that Wiig is in talks to star opposite Ben Stiller in the remake of the 1947 fantasy comedy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Stiller will also direct the pic, which centers on a magazine proofreader who, incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite.

We recently reported that Shirley MacLaine is in talks to star as Stiller’s mother in the film, and Wiig would make an excellent addition to the cast. The Bridesmaids star would play Stiller’s co-worker and the girl of his fantasies (originally played by Virginia Mayo). Production on Walter Mitty is set to begin in April in New York and Iceland, and it’s assumed that Wiig will move on to The Comedian directly after Stiller’s film.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to bring you this afternoon. First up, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, and Martin Short have been added to the voice cast of DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. It’s a curious bit of news, as the film hits theaters in a matter of months and a full trailer has already been released, but I’m assuming the three are up for minor roles. Heat Vision’s report doesn’t specify what characters Chastain, Cranston, and Short will be lending their voices to, but Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Sacha Baron Cohen are all reprising their roles from the first two films.

The plot finds the zoo animals yet again trying to make their way back to New York City, but this time they find themselves on the wrong side of the law in Europe. Frances McDormand voices the villain in the pic, which hits theaters June 8th. Hit the jump for casting news regarding Ben Stiller’s directorial project The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

Back in April, we reported that Ben Stiller was in talks to star in the remake of the 1947 comedy/fantasy The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. Although no directors were attached to the pic at that time, names like Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Gore Verbinski were being thrown around. Flash forward three months and reports are filing in that the director search has finally landed on a familiar name: Ben Stiller. Per Twitch, Stiller will pull double duty as star and director of the remake which 20th Century Fox reportedly wants to have in front of cameras around January 2012.

For those unfamiliar, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty originally starred Danny Kaye in the title role as well as Virginia Mayo and Boris Karloff. The pic centers on Walter Mitty, a magazine proofreader who is incapable of standing up for himself in the real world, so he retreats to a fantasy where he becomes his poised, confident opposite. As for Stiller, his previous feature directorial output includes: Tropic Thunder, Zoolander, The Cable Guy, and Reality Bites (all of which he also had roles in). He can next be seen wearing his acting hat alongside Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, and Casey Affleck in director Brett Ratner’s action/comedy Tower Heist due out on November 4th of this year. If you’re interested in learning more about the Walter Mitty, check out a more detailed synopsis of the 1947 original after the jump.

A remake of the 1947 film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (based on a short story by James Thurber) has been kicking around in development for years now.  Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Owen Wilson, Will Ferrell, and Sacha Baron Cohen have all eyed the lead role at some point, but even such considerable star power failed to overcome a reportedly problematic script.  Ben Stiller is the latest actor to set his sights on the role, and Deadline hears the actor is committed enough to plan Secret Life as his next film.

Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness) scripted a page-one rewrite, and won Stiller over with his fresh take on the material.  Though the project has previously sirened the likes of Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and (most recently) Gore Verbinski, no director is currently attached.  20th Century Fox is looking for a director who can handle action scenes and deliver a PG cut.  There are tentative plans to start filming in late fall.  Read a synopsis for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty after the break.