1999’s American Pie spawned an unlikely trilogy that concluded in 2003 as the film’s popularity seemed to peak and the story had few places left to go. Cut to nearly ten years later, and it feels like the studio said “it’s still a viable franchise, right? Let’s find out.” Franchise filmmaking is the meat and potatoes of studios these days, and American Reunion also goes the Fast Five route by bringing back the entire cast from the first movie. The film fizzled at the box office for a number of reasons, foremost would be that characters are thirty now, and there’s no innocence left to lose and there’s way less hope. Which means sex-hijinks are not as much fun. Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein and many more return for the film, and our review of American Reunion on Blu-ray follows after the jump.

In the raunchy comedy American Reunion, East Great Falls High’s Class of 1999 is back, more than a decade later. Husband and wife duo Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan) have come home to reminisce with Kevin (Thomas Ian Nicholas), Vicky (Tara Reid), Oz (Chris Klein), Heather (Mena Suvari), Finch (Eddie Kay Thomas) and Stifler (Seann William Scott), who out of all of them remains the same as he ever was, while Jim’s dad (Eugene Levy) gets to know Stifler’s mom (Jennifer Coolidge) a little better. In one long-overdue weekend, they will learn that time and distance cannot break the bonds of friendship.

At the film’s press day, co-stars Thomas Ian Nicholas and Tara Reid talked about how easy it was to reunite with the American Pie ensemble for a fourth film, feeling like this time they really pick back up from the original and stay true to the characters, how they had wondered where there characters might be now, and how they’ve grown and changed as people, in their own lives. Check out what they had to say after the jump:

I feel compelled this week to use the Top 5 opening paragraph to ask our readers a moderately sized favor: if you have any interest whatsoever in the American horror genre and its future, please do your best to find a way to catch The Cabin in the Woods in theaters when it officially opens next weekend. I’m not asking this as a way of manufacturing some hyperbolic scenario in which the success or failure of said film will literally make or break the genre as we know it. Rather, I’m hoping to use it as a reminder that opening weekend box office dollars are one of the best ways that a moviegoer can have his/her voice heard by the film industry’s powers that be. If you’re tired of remakes of remakes and reboots of those remakes, then do your best to financially support something that isn’t afraid to turn genre conventions on their respective heads. Now, all favors aside…

Waiting on the other side of the Top 5 jump this week is a recap of our visit to the set of The Avengers, the first Total Recall trailer, video interviews with the cast of American Reunion, the first trailer/images from Seth MacFarlane‘s Ted, and a batch of new images from Prometheus. You know the drill, a brief recap and link to each of the above awaits…

American Reunion, the nostalgia dripping thirteen-plus year sequel to American Pie (nine years since American Wedding, three since the DTV American Pie: Book of Love), leans heavily not only on the past iterations/bonds/adventures of its many characters but more-so on the audience’s own relationship to the original film. Numerous references to American Pie abound: hey remember the time when Jim failed to seal the deal with Nadia over a webcam or Milf #2 or ‘That Time at Band Camp’?… – because American Reunion sure does and it pulls at every heartstring to make sure you do too. In the sequel – Jim and Michelle’s marriage has hit a sexual lull, Stifler is now stuck working a dead end job, Oz is a C-level celebrity, Finch has disappeared without a trace and Kevin is just beginning to settle into boring normal adulthood. Of course their high-school reunion tests these status quos – upending some, reaffirming others…

At the recent press day in conjunction with our partners Omelete, I was able to speak with the entirety of the American Reunion cast.  Today’s interview: Thomas Ian Nicholas & Tara Reid (Kevin & Vicky).  In the interview the duo reminisce about the first American Pie, lament the frustrations in playing the ‘straight woman’ of the series and preview where they see Kevin and Vicky ten/twenty years from now.  Hit the jump to watch.

The red-band trailer for American Reunion has gone online.  It serves as a helpful reminder that Jim (Jason Biggs) should never masturbate ever again.  He’s just not very good at it.  However, it does lead to a good gag involving a sock.  There’s not much else to say about the trailer since there’s no footage beyond the scene I mentioned.  It’s really more of an announcement that people in their 30s are making a teenage sex comedy.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer.  The film also stars Seann William Scott, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nichols, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Tara Reid, Mena Suvari, Eugene Levy, Jennifer Coolidge, and Shannon Elizabeth. American Reunion opens April 6, 2012. [Update: We've added hi-res versions of the images we ran yesterday.]

In the horror fantasy Fading of the Cries, from writer/director Brian Metcalf, actor Thomas Ian Nicholas plays Michael, an author who moves into the old Echling Manor to work on his next novel, and unintentionally raises a malevolent evil named Mathias (Brad Dourif), from the depths of hell. When Michael gives a powerful, ancient necklace to his young niece, Mathias curses his entire bloodline, dooming them to fight demons that are both real and internal.

While on location in Georgia for the filming of American Reunion, which reunites the entire American Pie cast for their 10-year high school reunion, Thomas Ian Nicholas did this exclusive phone interview with Collider, in which he talked about how he came to act in and produce Fading of the Cries, how fun it is to play a character with such a dramatic arc, the challenges of creating a fantasy film on a limited budget, and why he and Brian Metcalf compliment each other so well. He also updated us on how American Reunion is going, what it’s like for the cast to be working together again, how his character is now married and is the one that encourages them all to attend the reunion, and how much improvising they’re doing versus working off of the script. Check out what he had to say after the jump:

Writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg were able to throw a brilliant cameo into Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle by getting Neil Patrick Harris to play a dark, twisted parody of himself.  Keep in mind that this was before Harris had revitalized his career and the humor of having Harris wasn’t out of shock value but because it was just a funny and bizarre character.

Hopefully Hurwitz and Schlossberg will be able to bring that cameo magic to American Reunion with their casting of Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco.  Ochocinco is already a ridiculous figure in his own right having changed his last name to reflect the number 85 on his jersey, starring on a reality TV dating show on VH1, being a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, and playing for the Cincinnati Bengals.  I’m eager to see how Hurwitz and Schlossberg will make him even funnier for their movie.  Hit the jump to check out an image of Ochocinco with returning American Pie cast members Jason Biggs, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Chris Klein, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Seann William Scott.  The film opens April 6, 2012.

Set photos from the upcoming non direct-to-DVD American Pie sequel, American Reunion, have gone online.  They’re not photos from filming, but simply the cast looking directly into the camera while on the set and showing us all what a grand time they’re having.  The photos also show that John Cho is returning, although I’m left to wonder if his role will be as minor as it was in the original movies.

Hit the jump to check out the set photos.  The film reunites Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Eugene Levy, and almost everyone else from the original movie.  American Reunion opens April 6, 2012.

Last week we reported that Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, and Eugene Levy were on board for the new American Pie sequel, American Reunion.  We also learned that negotiations were underway for original cast members Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, and Jennifer Coolidge to return.  While we already knew that the plot would center on a high-school reunion (it used to be about the pie, man), new details have surfaced that highlight what the individual characters are up to.  Hit the jump if you’ve laid awake at night wondering if Steve Stifler found happiness.

Last year, we reported that the American Pie franchise was getting a sequel/reboot, and that writer-directors Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle) were looking to bring back the cast from the original movie.  Today, The Wrap is reporting that they have begun to succeed in that endeavor by signing Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, and Eugene Levy.  Negotiations are also underway with original cast members Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Chris Klein, Mena Suvari, and Jennifer Coolidge for the new film, which will be titled American Reunion.  Apparently there is no love for Alyson Hannigan, Shannon Elizabeth, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Natasha Lyonne, but with champions like Reid and Klein, who needs ‘em!  The Wrap also reports that filming is set to begin on May 24th.

Presumably American Reunion will be followed by the sex comedies American Mid-Life Crisis, American Divorce, American Regret, American Nursing Home, and American Funeral.  And once you reach American Funeral, the sex jokes write themselves.

Last year, we brought you loads of coverage from AFM (American Film Market).  AFM is where buyers and sellers do business to bring you the films you might be seeing in the near future.  They use artwork and synopses which are used for promotional purposes but which we use to bring you news on these films.  With this year’s AFM gearing up, we have artwork and synopsis on four upcoming movies: On the Inside starring Nick Stahl and Olivia Wilde; The Witches of Oz (which is actually a mini-series) starring Christopher Lloyd, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, and Lance Henriksen; The Eagle Path written, produced, directed by, and starring Jean-Claude Van Damme; and Bridge to Nowhere starring Ving Rhames, Danny Masterson, and Bijou Phillipps, and directed by Blair Underwood.

Hit the jump for artwork and synopses for these films plus a trailer for Bridge to Nowhere.  Look for a lot more AFM coverage soon.