Garret Dillahunt (Raising Hope), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), and Jake Abel (The Host) have officially signed to star in Ghosts of the Pacific, a WWII thriller based on a true story about three Navy airmen stranded in the South Pacific Ocean in 1942 after their plane crashes.  With the American Film Company on board, production is set to commence on April 15th at Baja Studios.

According to the press release, American Film Company President Brian Falk will make his directorial debut with Ghosts of the Pacific.  The American Film Company has latched onto the project because the company focuses on depicting compelling true stories from American history.  Written by Mark David Keegan and Falk, Ghosts will begin production on April 15th at the Baja Studios, home to the world’s largest outdoor water tank, which was also used in James Cameron’s Titanic.  Hit the jump for more.

The first synopsis and official images have gone online for Ridley Scott and Tony Scott’s production Labyrinth, a four-hour mini-series adaptation of author Kate Mosse’s bestselling novel.  The story centers on two female protagonists separated by time but united by their shared destiny.  The mini-series stars Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Felton, John Hurt, Sebastian Stan and Vanessa Kirby.  Hit the jump to check out the synopsis and images.

We’re currently in the midst of August as the summer movie season winds down to a close, and that means that we’ve got a batch of new horror movies headed our way over the next couple months.  One such film is the horror thriller The Apparition, and 22 new images from the pic have been released for our perusing pleasure.  The film centers on a young couple played by Ashley Greene (Twilight) and Sebastian Stan (Captain America) who accidentally conjure a terrifying apparition that feeds on their fear.  They’re turn to Tom Felton (Harry Potter’s resident dickhead) to help them get rid of the supernatural being.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Directed by Todd Lincoln, The Apparition opens on August 24th.

The first trailer for the horror film The Apparition has arrived.  The trailer begins by explaining that ghosts only exist because we believe in them, then shows a group of scientists who test said theory by trying to conjure a ghost themselves.  They apparently succeed, but I’m confused as to how the film is supposed to be scary when we’re told up front that everything is a product of the characters’ imagination.  The trailer shows a physical presence disturbing the characters, but this seems to be a misapplication of the “science” that the film is supposedly using to ground the film in reality.  The pic mixes traditional narrative with found footage (oh boy!), and I really can’t say this trailer did anything for me.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film stars Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, and Tom Felton.  The Apparition opens on August 24th. [Update: We've added the film's poster after the jump as well]

Principal photography has started today on a couple of interesting productions.  Here they are at a glance:

• Therese, formerly known as Therese Raquin, is an erotic thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Oscar Isaac (Drive), Tom Felton (Rise of the Planet of the Apes) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story).
• Graphic novel adaptation, The Scribbler, also started production with Katie Cassidy (Taken) set to star.

Hit the jump for much more on both projects.

We’ve got a couple of casting stories to share with you today. First up, Harry Potter star Tom Felton set to join the cast of Therese Raquin. Based on the 19th century novel and play by Emile Zola, the dark thriller revolves around young Therese (Elizabeth Olsen) in 1867 Paris, whose aunt, Madame Raquin (Glenn Close), is forcing her into an arranged marriage with her rich, but sickly, first cousin. As Therese soon becomes obsessed with Laurent, a friend of her husband, a devastating affair ensues with a very heavy price. Deadline reports that Felton is in talks to play Therese’s sickly cousin whom she marries. Theater director Charlie Stratton is set to helm, and the dramatic role is a nice get for Felton. It’s a wise decision, as the “sickly cousin” plays against the nefarious type that Felton is surely wary of being typecast as.

Additionally, Thor star Jaimie Alexander has landed the female lead in the thriller Intersection. Variety reports that Alexander will play a woman who plots to murder her husband with the help of her lover. “Things go awry when the lover and husband are involved in a car accident on a remote desert road.”  Frank Grillo (The Grey) stars as the husband, and production begins next month. Alexander recently wrapped The Last Stand with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Hit the jump to read synopsis for Therese Raquin.

After teaming up with his brother Shawn Wayans as an undercover cop duo in White Chicks, comedian Marlon Wayans is developing a new comedy series at ABC about two sibling police officers. Deadline says the potential new series is a hybrid single/multi-camera series will follow a down on his luck police officer who moves in with his brother and his family. Marlon will play the married brother, and while it’s not clear who will play the other sibling, you would think Shawn would be an obvious choice, especially since he’s also producing the series along with Keenan Ivory Wayans. The brothers have been working together along with their brother Damon since the days of In Living Color on Fox, and have teamed for the Scary Movie franchise and a couple terrible comedies. Maybe heading back to TV can get them back on their game.

Details on Donal Logue joining Gateway, and Harry Potter cast member Tom Felton joining Labyrinth can be found after the jump.

You’re not supposed to cut out your stars half-way through your blockbuster movie.  You’re not supposed to rest your big summer movie on apes created by CGI motion-capture technology.  You’re not supposed to sell an audience on the far-fetched idea that humans can be defeated by a species that doesn’t have opposable thumbs [correction: Apes do have opposable thumbs.  We're all doomed].  You’re not supposed to leave the audience on a down note.  There’s so much that goes into making a formulaic, forgettable blockbuster and no one told the folks behind Rise of the Planet of the Apes.  Instead, Rupert Wyatt, the screenwriters, the actors, and the special effects team broke all the rules and came out with one the summer’s most exciting movies.

New clips from Rise of the Planet of the Apes have gone online.  I liked the earlier clip I saw of Caesar (Andy Serkis) protecting his human father figure (John Lithgow) but now I want to go into the film not spoiling any more of it for myself.  However, if you still need to be convinced about pre-damned-and-dirty apes then hit the jump to check out the 5 clips.  The film stars James Franco, Freida Pinto, Tom Felton, and Brian Cox.  Rise of the Planet of the Apes opens August 5th.

The end is nigh, as the Harry Potter franchise comes to an end in just two weeks with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Warner Bros. has released the full gallery of images from the film. While we’ve seen a few of these before, some are brand new. And for fans who read the book, a couple of these images are fairly heartbreaking.

Hit the jump to see the images. Directed by David Yates and starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, and Tom Felton, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opens in 3D theaters on July 15.

Warner Brothers has attempted to create ultimate editions for the films in the Harry Potter franchise to tie into the final title in the series – which opens this summer. The problem is that this made more sense for the early films, as those DVDs and those supplements were nearly a decade old – new transfers and new insight could be had. With the Ultimate editions of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince both were done after the inception of Blu-ray, and already had fairly elaborate special editions. These ultimate editions are for fans and completists. Daniel Radcliffe, Michale Gambon, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, and Emma Watson all return in the series fifth and sixth installments. My review of the Ultimate edition Blu-rays of Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince follow after the jump.

We’ve got a slew of monkey news for you today. A UK trailer and poster, as well as a batch of new images from Rise of the Planet of the Apes have been released. This international trailer looks to be the best one yet. I think it gets the tone just right, plus we get our first look at the apes standing up (next step, clothes). I still don’t think an Apes reboot is necessary, but I think a sequel to Rise, wherein we see the apes begin to build society anew, would be much more interesting than this film. Nevertheless, the effects on the apes keep looking better and better each time we see a new trailer. The new images released give us a great look at some of WETA Digital’s work.

Hit the jump to check out the trailer, poster, and images. Starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Freida Pinto, Rise of the Planet of the Apes hits theaters on August 5th.

What will I miss most about the Harry Potter franchise?  Probably the 800 posters that accompany every single film.  There have already been seven released for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, but apparently that’s not enough so here are 11 more.  That’s 18 in total and we both know there are more on the way.  Hit the jump to check them out and puzzle over who has the most pained expression (I vote Grint).  The film opens in 3D on July 15th.

The theatrical trailer for director Rupert Wyatt’s (The Escapist) Rise of the Planet of the Apes is now available online. While I continue to be impressed with the digital effects work done by Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital, I’m unsure what to make of dialogue such as “That chimp’s company property!” Moreover, even though I’m a fan of Frank Schaffner’s 1968 original (co-written by Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling), I’m still not convinced that this is a property I need to learn more backstory about (which, I assume, is Rise‘s sole purpose in the franchise). Starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Tom Felton, John Lithgow, Brian Cox, and Freida Pinto, Rise of the Planet of the Apes hits theaters on August 5th.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer and click here to find all of our previous Apes coverage.

You get a poster! You get a poster! Every-body gets a poster! We’ve seen Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 posters for Harry, Hermoine, Ron, Neville, Voldemort, and today it’s Draco Malfoy’s turn. I don’t recall Draco playing a huge role in Deathly Hallows (Half-Blood Prince was really his showcase and Tom Felton did a fantastic job), but hey, he’s a character in Harry Potter so he’s getting a poster.

Hit the jump to check out the poster. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 opens in 3D on July 15th.