Summit Entertainment and OddLot Entertainment announced today that production has begun on director Ivan Reitman’s sports dramedy Draft Day.  The film takes place within the span of one day, the day of the NFL Draft, as Kevin Costner plays a general manger who has the opportunity to save football in Cleveland when he trades for the number one pick.  As the day’s events unfold, “he must quickly decide what he’s willing to sacrifice in pursuit of perfection as the lines between his personal and professional life become blurred on a life-changing day for a few hundred young men with dreams of playing in the NFL.”

Filming is underway in New York, where the production will shoot some scenes at the actual 2013 NFL Draft.  Once that is complete, filming will move to Cleveland.  The ensemble includes Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Ellen Burstyn, Frank Langella, Josh Pence, Rosanna Arquette, Timothy Simons and 42 star Chadwick Boseman, and the start-of-production press release notes that Terry Crews and Sean “P. Diddy” Combs have also joined the cast.  Hit the jump to read the full press release, which includes the entire cast listing.

The Blu-ray release date for director Jay Oliva’s animated feature Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 is rapidly approaching.  We have a new clip from the movie to tide you over until then.  If you missed it, here’s the trailer and first clip from Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1, which features Frank Miller’s take on the aging Caped Crusader who returns after a ten-year hiatus to take down a ruthless street gang, the Mutants.  In this new clip, the leader of the Mutants (voiced by Gary Anthony Williams) has a few words to say about Batman and Commissioner Gordon.  Hit the jump to check it out and be sure to pick up a copy of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns – Part 1 when it’s available starting September 25th.

The first trailer for the animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s highly regarded graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns has gone online.  For those unfamiliar, the story takes place a decade after Bruce Wayne gave up being Batman and entered retirement.  The return of Harvey “Two-Face” Dent and a gang of criminals known as The Mutants force Wayne to don the suit once again, and he’s joined by a young girl taking on the persona of Robin in his quest.

Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 features Peter Weller as the voice of Batman, joined by David Selby as Comissioner Gordon, Ariel Winter as Robin, Wade Williams as Two-Face, and Michael McKean as Dr. Bartholomew Wolper.  Judging by the trailer, it looks like director Jay Oliva has brought the goods, and fans of Miller’s story should be quite pleased.  Hit the jump to watch for yourself.  Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1 will be released on Blu-ray on September 25th.

Last year, Warner Premiere released an animated adaptation of Frank Miller‘s popular graphic novel, Batman: Year One.  However, the popularity of that book pales in comparison to one of the most influential comics of all-time, The Dark Knight Returns.  Along with Watchmen, Returns was a major deconstruction of the superhero genre, and pushed it into a more violent and gritty direction.  Miller’s take on the Batman universe showed Dark Knight as more of a fascist than a hero (you can skip Miller’s atrocious sequel series, The Dark Knight Strikes Again).  Although Christopher Nolan has eschewed a comic-book tone with his Batman movies, he has retained the themes of Miller’s 1986 comic.

Today, THR reports that WP is moving forward with an animated adaptation of The Dark Knight Returns, and that they will split the feature into two-parts.  Hit the jump for more including the film’s voice cast.