The star and director of 2005′s The Upside of Anger will re-unite for Black and White, an on-the-nose title for a drama centering on racial issues.  Written and directed by Mike Binder,  Black and White is an indie that will star Kevin Costner as a man left widowed after his wife died in a car crash.  He’s then left alone to raise his bi-racial granddaughter when his own daughter dies during childbirth.  The plot thickens when the child’s paternal grandmother begins to wage a custody battle and raises questions about race and where the child should grow up.  Deadline reports that the indie will start shooting in New Orleans this summer.

Hit the jump for more casting news concerning Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) in Woody Allen’s next picture and Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) in talks for The Coward. 

Having just finished his latest film,  Woody Allen is already in the process of casting his next one.  While we know nothing about that particular project’s title or plot, we do know that Emma Stone (The Amazing Spider-Man) is in talks to play a leading lady role.  While Allen’s schedule may be clear – except for press for Blue Jasmine, starring Cate Blanchett and Alec Baldwin and opening July 26th – Stone is filming both Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman and Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  She’s also been attached to the untitled Cameron Crowe project and Guillermo del Toro’s next picture, the Gothic horror story Crimson Peak.  The success of DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods will also presumably land Stone back in the recording studio so that she may lend her voice to the announced sequel.  Deadline reports that Allen’s next picture may now also be on her schedule.

Three new images have been released from Woody Allen‘s upcoming film, Blue Jasmine.  The romantic comedy is described as “the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife.”  Details on the plot remain scarce, but Allen, as always, has amassed an incredible cast.  For Blue Jasmine, he’s got Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg.  Wow.  Clay really sticks out like a sore, misogynistic thumb in that line-up.

Hit the jump to check out the images.  Blue Jasmine is due out July 26th.

Woody Allen seems to elicit strong responses from a large majority of cinephiles, either rapid fandom or extreme distaste. The middle ground, of which I am a member, is relatively small.  I have always taken each Allen film on its individual merits.  Having absolutely loved Midnight in Paris, I eagerly anticipated To Rome With Love, hoping it would continue in that vein. Alas.

Hit the jump my review of To Rome with Love on Blu-ray.

Sony Pictures Classics has released the first image from writer/director Woody Allen’s latest film Blue Jasmine.  The romantic comedy is described as “the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife.”  This debut image gives us a look at Cate Blanchett’s lead character, as well as Sally Hawkins lurking in the background.  As is customary, we still don’t really know much about the film, but it’s a new Woody Allen movie so that kind of sells itself.

Hit the jump to take a look at the image.  The film also stars Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg.  Blue Jasmine will open in limited release on July 26th before expanding into more theaters in the following weeks.

One of the many films to premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Linda Lovelace biopic Lovelace.  The film stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular porn star who rose to prominence following 1972’s Deep Throat (the first pornographic feature film to be a mainstream success).  Lovelace would eventually go on to claim that her husband Chuck Traynor (played by Peter Sarsgaard) physically and verbally abused her, and coerced her into the pornography business.   The film also stars Juno Temple, Wes Bently, Sharon Stone, Hank Azaria, Adam Brody, and James Franco as Hugh Hefner.

The day after the premiere, I sat down with Sarsgaard for an exclusive interview.  We talked about how he got cast in Lovelace, his initial hesitation to play Chuck Traynor, Sundance, how he prepares for a role, working with Woody Allen on Blue Jasmine, director Kelly Reichardt’s Night Moves, director S. Craig Zoller’s western Bone Tomahawk, and a lot more.  Hit the jump to watch.

If you’re a fan of Woody Allen and live in the Los Angeles area, I strongly suggest heading down to Gallery 1988′s Venice location for their new show “The Humorist.”  The show opened last night and runs until February 2.  Unlike some shows that are mostly screenprints, what’s great about this one is the amount of diversity by the talented artists.  In addition, since Allen has made over forty films, everyone had plenty of choices and I’m glad some of them went with his early work like Sleeper, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex But Were Afraid to Ask, and Bananas.  Like all Gallery 1988 shows, the artwork will be “dropping” later today on their website.  Since everything is limited, if you see something you like, don’t wait too long to purchase.

Hit the jump to check out sixty pictures from the show.

Today, we’ve learned that Woody Allen‘s upcoming film will be entitled Blue Jasmine.  As we previously reported, the romantic comedy apparently centers on a woman whose “posh New York City lifestyle” comes crashing down so she makes a move to San Francisco.  The press release adds, “It is the story of the final stages of an acute crisis and a life of a fashionable New York housewife.”  As per usual, Allen has lined up a superb cast for his latest feature, which includes Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Bobby Cannavale, Louis C.K., Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, and Michael Stuhlbarg.

Hit the jump for the press release.  Sony Pictures Classics will distribute Blue Jasmine, which is the sixth Allen picture for the studio.  No word yet on the release date, but I’m willing to bet we’ll see it later this year since Allen manages to get out one new movie per year.

This past week presented me with a couple of unique moviegoing opportunities. In addition to the ParaNorman showing I previewed the last time we met, I was also able to check out one of my all-time favorites, Jaws, on the big screen thanks to Cinemark’s “Fall Classic Series”. For as much as I enjoyed the pic long before this week’s showing, I have to say that viewing it as an audience member in a packed theater for the first time opened my eyes to a whole new appreciation. Not only was I genuinely startled in a few scenes that repeat television and DVD viewings had long left me numb to, but I also came to respect Robert Shaw’s timeless turn as Quint even more than I previously had. In short, my adoration for Spielberg‘s masterpiece was not only reaffirmed, it somehow found a way to expand.

But enough about my love of all things Jaws related. This week’s Top 5 includes the news that James Gunn is in talks to direct Marvel’s intergalactic tale, Guardians of the Galaxy, Sight & Sound’s personal Top 10 lists from some of cinema’s most revered directors (Spoiler Alert: that shark movie I drooled about in the opening paragraph appears on Tarantino‘s), a new red-band trailer for John Hillcoat‘s Lawless, Disney’s plans to reboot The Rocketeer, and an animated look at how The Dark Knight Rises should have ended. A brief recap and link to each can be found after the jump.

Earlier this month, a new “official” best film of all time was announced with the unveiling of the results of Sight & Sound’s most recent poll.  Every ten years, the film magazine polls a number of critics, academics, and professionals and then tallies up the results for an ultimate list.  The magazine also has a poll of directors for a second Top 10 list, and now they’ve unveiled the individual directors’ lists in an effort to occupy all the free time you have today.

After the jump you can peruse personal Top 10 lists from the likes of Edgar Wright, Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Guillermo del Toro, Woody Allen, David O’Russell, Sam Mendes, Matthew Vaughn, Francis Ford Coppola, Marc Webb and more.  Hit the jump to take a look.

Production is currently underway on Woody Allen’s still untitled next film, and as per the norm plot details have been scarce.  We do know that the cast includes Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Louis C.K., Alec Baldwin, Peter Sarsgaard, Andrew Dice Clay, Michael Emerson and Bobby Cannavale,  and that the story takes place in San Francisco and New York City.  Now a few more plot details have surfaced, as the romantic comedy apparently centers on a woman whose “posh New York City lifestyle” comes crashing down so she makes a move to San Francisco.  Hit the jump for more.

For the past six days, Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man has held the top spot at the daily box office. It should surprise no one, therefore, that the reboot easily netted the weekend prize as well; earning an estimated $65 million from 4,318 locations. That gives the film a new domestic total of $140 million, a number that’s higher than early projections but lower than past entries in the Spider-Man series. Worldwide, the film has now earned a reported $341 million, which is not too bad for reboot…

Nine new images from writer/director Woody Allen’s new film To Rome With Love have been released.  The pic is comprised of four separate vignettes and “tells the story of a number of people in Italy—some American, some Italian, some residents, some visitors—and the romances and adventures and predicaments they get into.”  Allen stars alongside an impressive cast that includes Ellen Page, Jesse Eisenberg, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Alison Pill, and Greta Gerwig.

In related news, director Bob Weide’s must-see Woody Allen documentary is now available on Netflix Instant Watch.  I can’t recommend the film enough.  Whether you’re a Woody die-hard or just a casual fan, the film is incredibly entertaining and wildly engrossing as it takes an intimate look at Allen’s life and filmography complete with insightful thoughts from the man himself.  Do yourself a favor and carve out a couple hours this weekend to give it a whirl.  Hit the jump to check out the To Rome With Love images.  The film is in select theaters starting today.

Filmmaker Woody Allen’s latest movie, To Rome with Love, is a comedy that follows the lives of various individuals, some of whom are American and some Italian, some residents and some visitors, all around the enchanted ancient city. These people from all different walks of life will experience romances and adventures, in a place where they’re surrounded by extraordinary culture, art and cuisine. The film stars Woody Allen, Alec Baldwin, Roberto Benigni, Penelope Cruz, Judy Davis, Jesse Eisenberg, Greta Gerwig, Ellen Page and Alison Pill.

At the film’s press day, writer/director Woody Allen talked about what inspired the setting of Rome for this film, why he decided to act in it, the importance of music in his films, why he tries to avoid his cast on set, how he feels about improvisation, what he’s learned about love, why he’s made his last few films in Europe, how he feels about his own movies, and his thoughts on retirement. Check out what he had to say after the jump.

Woody Allen looks to have finalized the cast for his next film, and a few exciting additions have been announced.  We already knew that Sally Hawkins and Cate Blanchett would be leading a cast that also includes Alec Baldwin, Michael Emerson and Bobby Cannavale, and now Variety reports that Louis C.K., Peter Sarsgaard and Andrew Dice Clay will round out the cast.  Bradley Cooper was mentioned as a possible addition at one point, but he may have run into some scheduling issues.  Max Casella and Alden Ehrenreich are also listed in the announced cast.

Though story details are under wraps, Louis C.K.’s casting is interesting for a number of reasons.  First off, C.K. has great comedic timing as well as dramatic talent so he’s a welcomed addition, but he’s also been hailed as a bit of a successor to Allen with his New York-centric, critically hailed series Louie.  I’m beyond eager to see how he fits into Allen’s next film, and the writer-director has assembled an unsurprisingly impressive ensemble for his next effort.  The untitled film will shoot this summer in San Francisco and New York City.