The A&E drama series Bates Motel is currently wrapping up its first season and has already been picked up for Season 2.  To celebrate the show’s success, the Paley Center held a panel called Bates Motel: Reimagining a Cinema Icon, and Collider was there to cover and attend the event.  From executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights), the show is a contemporary prequel that gives an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (unsettlingly portrayed by Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years and just how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma (in an awards worthy performance by Vera Farmiga), truly is.

During the panel, Carlton Cuse and Kerry Ehrin, along with Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga, talked about the challenges of pulling this show off, what makes the relationship between Norman and Norma Bates so compelling to watch, what the actors bring to their characters, learning more about Norma’s backstory and what made her the way she is, how exhausting it is to write for crazy people, what they look for in directors, and the ideal plan for how long the show will run.  Check out what they had to say after the jump, and be aware that there are some spoilers.

A&E’s Psycho prequel series will be continuing for at least another year.  The network announced today that it has ordered a second season of Bates Motel, which premiered a couple of weeks ago to solid ratings and positive reviews.  The drama series comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin and centers on the relationship between a teenage Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga).  The show is similar to Lost in that it has set up a number of mysteries in its first few episodes, some of which may or may not be resolved by season’s end.  Hit the jump for more, including the full press release.

Warner Bros. has released the first full-length trailer for director James Wan’s (Saw, Insidious) upcoming horror film The Conjuring.  The first trailer for the film was a genuinely terrifying clip that showcased the kinds of scares Wan has crafted for this latest horror pic, and this new full trailer is no less terrifying.  The film is based on the story of the Perron family who inhabited a haunted Rhode Island farmhouse in the 1970s.  Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston play the Perrons, and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson play a husband and wife team of psychic investigators who encounter the most horrifying case of their career.  Wan recently told the audience at WonderCon that the film received an R-rating simply for being “too scary,” and I’m now fairly certain that I’ll be watching this one through covered eyes this summer.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer, click here to read Dave’s recap of the film’s WonderCon panel, and click here to read our interview with Wan.  The pic also stars Joey King and Mackenzie Foy.  The Conjuring opens on July 19th.

This week, Bates Motel was a lot more low-key than last, but it was no less strange.  I gave most of the kudos to Vera Farmiga for her wacky, totally creepy performance as Norma, but already Freddie Highmore is really starting to find his own inner creep, from his nascent violent tendencies to his obsession with snuff manga.  In fact, there are very few things about White Pine Bay that aren’t creepy, and this is where the Twin Peaks comparisons start to gain traction (ever so slightly, or did I confuse that with Top of the Lake? So many creeper shows on right now).  The town is described by Deputy Shelby as being fake (how could people without real jobs have such fancy homes and drive such fancy cars?) with a vigilante underground.  Will the Bates fit in, or will they be targeted?  Hit the jump for why “I’m your mother, it’s not like it’s weird or anything.”

Warner Bros. has released a batch of new high-resolution images from some upcoming summer films.  Briefly:

• The Hangover Part III – A new image from Todd Phillips’ trilogy-closer teases a familiar scene as Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms ride an elevator.  The film opens on May 24th.
• The Great Gatsby – A couple of new images from director Baz Luhrmann’s colorful adaptation highlight Leonardo DiCaprio’s titular character flanked by his new friends.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Joel Edgerton and opens in 3D on May 10th.
• The Conjuring – Director James Wan’s new horror film debuted a ridiculously creepy teaser trailer earlier last month, and these new images feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s psychic investigator characters.  The film also stars Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston and opens on July 19th.
• Getaway – A new image from this car-set thriller gives us a canted look at Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez’s lead characters.  The film opens on August 30th.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.

Today’s casting news updates include:

• Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), coming off of a great debut with Bates Motel, has been cast opposite Robert Downey Jr. in The Judge.  Dave Dobkin (The Change-Up) is set to direct, with Robert Duvall and Vincent D’Onofrio rounding out the cast.

• Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense) is keeping himself busy, lining up three new projects: The World Made Straight with Jeremy Irvine (War Horse), Sex Ed with Glen Powell (Stuck in Love), and Blank Nation opposite Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl).

Hit the jump for much more about these projects.

A&E has gathered together some formidable talent to creates its Psycho prequel series Bates Motel, with Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) producing, and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air) and Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as Norma and Norman Bates.  The series is billed as a “contemporary” prequel to Hitchcock’s 1960 classic, and while the show does take place in that familiar setting with a few winking call-backs to the original film, it’s clear that it wants to be its own thing.  The show is seeking to straddle that difficult line of basing itself off of very familiar material (which guarantees an audience, if just from the curiosity) — though which also burdens it with the fact that things have to end up at a certain place at a certain point — and doing something new with the story.  Things have started off slowly and strangely in the first hour, with the show seeming to not quite find its tone, but there are also some legitimately promising elements.  Hit the jump for why “we belong to each other.”

The new A&E drama series Bates Motel gives viewers an intimate portrayal of how Norman Bates’ (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years.  This contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film Psycho reveals the dark, twisted backstory and shows first-hand just how deep the relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly goes, as she helps forge the most famous serial killer of them all.  The show also stars Max Thieriot, Nicola Peltz, Olivia Cooke, Nestor Carbonell and Mike Vogel.

During this recent exclusive interview with Collider, show star Freddie Highmore talked about why he was intrigued by the show and the character, why it’s alright to identify with Norman Bates, who this version of Norman is when the story picks up, working with co-star Vera Farmiga, what it was like to see the sets for the house and the Bates Motel, how throwing a brother (Thieriot) into the mix affects things, and just how dark things will get with the show.  Check out what he had to say after the jump.

We’ve got a couple of exciting casting stories to share this afternoon.  First up, Robert Duvall is signing on to co-star with Robert Downey Jr. in the dramedy The Judge.  The folks at Variety report that Duvall is in final negotiations to play Downey Jr.’s father in the pic, which centers on an attorney who returns home for his mother’s funeral where he learns that his estranged father, a judge who suffers from Alzheimer’s, is suspected of murder.  Last fall we heard that Warner Bros. was attempting to coax Jack Nicholson to take on the father role and Tommy Lee Jones was apparently also in the mix, but Duvall won out in the end.

Hit the jump for more, including who’s in the running for the female lead and casting news for Alejandro González Iñárritu’s star-studded comedy Birdman.

The first full trailer for A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series Bates Motel has been released, and it’s sufficiently tantalizing.  The drama comes from executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) and centers on the relationship between a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga).  This trailer gives us our first look at extended footage from the show, and it appears to be equal parts intense, mysterious, and nuts.  I have high hopes for this one.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The series also stars Nestor Carbonell, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Mike Vogel.  Bates Motel premieres on A&E on March 18th.

A&E has released a new teaser and poster for its upcoming Psycho prequel series Bates Motel.  The drama comes from executive producers Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) and centers on the relationship between a young Norman Bates (Freddie Highmore) and his mother (Vera Farmiga).  This teaser trailer is the creepiest yet, unless you think sitting on a bed with your mother and staring ominously is normal behavior.

Hit the jump to check out the new trailer and poster, and click here to check out five more tantalizing teaser posters.  The series also stars Nestor Carbonell, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Mike Vogel.  Bates Motel premieres on A&E on March 18th. 

The first full trailer for the upcoming A&E series Bates Motel has been released.  The show comes from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights’ Kerry Ehrin and serves as a prequel to Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film Psycho, with Freddie Highmore as a young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his mother.  We previously saw a couple of moody teasers that were more than a little reminiscent of Twin Peaks, but this full trailer really ups the ante on the creepiness.  The second half of the trailer actually plays more like a featurette, with the cast and crew discussing the series.  Farmiga notes that they’re not remaking Psycho, they’re “using it as an inspiration.”  My interest is sufficiently piqued.

Hit the jump to watch the 2-minute trailer.  The series also stars Nestor Carbonell, Max Thieriot, Olivia Cooke, and Mike Vogel.  Bates Motel premieres on A&E in March 2013.

We recently got our first look at A&E’s highly anticipated Psycho prequel series Bates Motel by way of a couple of images of stars Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga as Norman and Norma Bates, and now a large batch of new images from the series has landed online.  The drama from Lost co-showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights alum Kerry Ehrin centers on the relationship between a young Norman Bates and his mother, and the show looks to feature an appropriately colorful cast of characters.  There’s a bit of a Twin Peaks feel from these images, so hopefully Cuse and Ehrin have crafted a creepy and fun take on the burgeoning serial killer.  A&E ordered Bates Motel straight to series instead of waiting to see a pilot first, so the show is poised to debut in Spring 2013.

Hit the jump to check out the images which feature Max Thieriot as Norman’s older brother Dylan, Olivia Cooke as classmate and fellow outcast Emma Decody, Mike Vogel as Deputy Zach Shelby, and Lost alum Nestor Carbonell as town Sheriff, Alex Romero.

Legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock is having a banner year popularity-wise between two feature films and a fantastic Blu-ray set, and it looks as if the sudden Hitch boom is likely to extend well into 2013.  The first image from the A&E TV series Bates Motel has landed online, giving us a first look at Freddie Highmore (Finding Neverland) as young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as his loving (?) mother.  Developed by former Lost showrunner Carlton Cuse and Friday Night Lights’ Kerry Ehrin, the series will explore the relationship between future psycho Norman Bates and his mother Norma.

Hit the jump to check out the first image.  Bates Motel will debut on A&E in Spring 2013.

The first images from Saw and Insidious director James Wan’s supernatural thriller The Conjuring have been released.  The film has become a curious point of interest as of late, as Warner Bros. recently moved the film from its upcoming January release date to a prime summer spot following some wildly positive test screenings.  Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga star as a husband and wife team of demonologists and psychic investigators who enter the most horrifying case of their career, spirits in a Rhode Island farmhouse.  The pic is based on the true story of the Perron family who encountered a similar situation in the 1970s.  Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor star as the couple who unknowingly move into the house, and I’m interested to see how one of these small-budget horror films fares in the midst of the blockbusters of the summer.

Hit the jump to check out the first images, and click here to read Matt’s recap from the film’s New York Comic-Con panel.  The Conjuring opens on July 19, 2013.