It was only natural to respond to Warners  announcing a LEGO movie by throwing things. When they first went public with the idea in 2010, it was just another toy adaptation from a studio drooling at the success of Transformers and fighting for viability alongside a lot of other plastic-based movie pitches. If you’re a fan of Clone High, the news of Phil Lord and Chris Miller signing on to writer and direct provided some hope. That hope grew as story details emerged, but for everyone else out there that’s still incredulous that this is anything but moronic, the trailer should melt away the rest of the cynicism. Check it out, and enjoy Will Arnett as Batman:

The world is about to meet Ron Burgundy. Again. Anchorman 2 hits theaters this Christmas, and even though there’s a second Anchorman movie already exists, this one still gets a “2″ in its name.  This time, Ron, Brick, Champ and Brian are re-teaming to polyester their way through the 1980s with the prospect of a 24-hour news channel dangling overhead. They’ve teased with images and one-liners and appearances on late night talk shows, but now the first trailer reveals that — just as he evolved for a world where women were empowered — Ron is learning a lot about race relations as his legend continues:

What is Casting Couch? A rundown of the day’s most notable casting news, concerning actors as new to the film world as young Iain De Caestecker or as seasoned as the spicy Kim Basinger. No discrimination here. Mad Men and Community beauty Alison Brie has once again found time in her schedule to do some work up on the big screen. Variety is reporting that she’ll be joining Justin Chatwin and Colin Hanks in the cast of a new indie called No Stranger Than Love. The story here is a weird one, as apparently Brie will be playing a small town art teacher who intends on starting an affair with the married football coach at her school, but whose plans get interrupted when he’s sucked into an inter-dimensional hole that appears on her living room floor. See? Weird.

Rejoice or groan, the sequel to Prometheus is moving forward. According to Variety, both Noomi Rapace and Michael Fassbender should return, and Jack Paglen – the writer of Wally Pfister’s directorial debut Transcendence — will be writing the script. Hopefully  all the cohesive elements of the screenplay that help make sense of everything will end up being in the movie this time around. But what else is there? Prometheus was so divisive that you’re either currently pumping your fist or pumping your fist with a sad look on your face. About the only general consequence is that it keeps Ridley Scott in this universe a little longer — theoretically preventing him from doing other projects. Although, presumably it’ll be holding him back temporarily from going back into other wells he’s drained before. So there’s that. The only confusing thing about this news is that Variety is claiming that this entry will “feel more like its own film” as opposed to Prometheus, which served to tie things into the Alien universe. That doesn’t make sense. How can a movie, a sequel, sandwiched between a universe-building story and a franchise with 6 entries, feel more like its own film? These and more questions to be answered if Fox decides they like the script enough to flash the green light.

Many who have seen Computer Chess — either during its Sundance, SXSW or other festival runs — don’t seem to know what to make of it. On the surface, it’s a remarkably faithful recreation of a time three decades before nerd culture was co-opted as cool. On the surface, it’s a documentary-aping narrative that covers a chess tournament meant to hone the code that will see a system eventually beat a man at an ancient game. A little bit deeper than the surface, things get weird. Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha) and starring Wiley Wiggins (which is apparently not the only Linklaterian element), maybe you can figure it out by watching the trailer:

Channeling DreamWorks’ favorite nut-hunting squirrel, Disney has released a mini-cartoon to serve as the teaser trailer for Frozen from director Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up). As the story of a pair of adventurers trying to end a magic-induced winter, it’s unfortunately not an animated remake of Adam Green’s ski lift horror flick from 2010. Hopefully Disney will get on that soon. Kristen Bell voices Anna, the hero who partners with Kristoff (voiced by Jonathan Groff) to end Elsa the Snow Queen’s (Idina Menzel) reign of wondrously beautiful icy conditions. None of them are in the trailer, though. Instead, we’re treated to Olaf, a wacky snowman (Josh Gad) who gets in a fight with a reindeer over his delicious, delicious nose. Enjoy the slapstick on ice:

Lynn Shelton’s Your Sister’s Sister was one of the best films of 2012, and is still probably criminally underseen, so let’s make sure that doesn’t happen to her new film, Touchy Feely, by spreading around its trailer early and often. The film stars Rosemarie Dewitt as a massage therapist who develops a fear of touching and being touched by other people, and even though that sounds like a difficult enough hurdle to overcome already, probably it’s safe to say that’s not entirely what the movie is about. No, the new trailer for the film makes it seem like a metaphor for the larger issue of human relationships, how we make connections with other people, how important those connections are to our wellbeing, and all of that good stuff. Of course, any movie about human relationships is going to need some talented humans to bring the whole thing to life, so Touchy Feely has gone ahead and brought together a cast of people like Ellen Page, Scoot McNairy, Allison Janney, and Josh Pais to make that happen. Click through to watch the trailer and see how they did.

What is Casting Couch? It’s a safe place where you can read all the casting news you want without being afraid that anyone is going to judge you. Today we are happy to inform you that Hollywood has given new jobs to TV funnymen Donald Faison and Ryan Hansen. From judging reality shows on TV to recently co-starring with Jason Statham in Parker, it seems like Jennifer Lopez is slowly dipping her toes back into the world of celebrity. Probably it’s only a matter of time before we even have to start listening to “J-Lo” music on the radio again. Before you shudder at that notion though, let’s just focus on the movie world. THR is reporting that she’s just taken another role, this one in the dramatic retelling of the Chilean mining collapse of 2010, The 33. We already know that Antonio Banderas is starring in this one, and as an addendum to the news of Lopez’s casting also comes word that Martin Sheen and Rodrigo Santoro are on board as well. That’s only 29 to go.

Seeing as Spider-Man is definitely one of the top five most recognizable superheroes on the planet, and superheroes have been pretty much the most profitable thing you can make movies about over the last decade or so, it makes sense that Sony wouldn’t want to give up the rights to making Spider-Man movies and have them revert back to Disney/Marvel Studios. A new press release from the studio [via /Film] reveals just how enthusiastic they are about making sure that the further adventures of the web head stay under their control. Even though they only have to keep making Spider-Man movies every few years to keep control of the property, which currently puts them in a very safe position seeing as they’re deep into production on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 right now, they’ve decided to take steps to ensure that Spidey won’t be going back to his Marvel roots at least up through 2018.

Man of Steel made all the money this weekend, rocking the third highest opening June weekend (adjusted) with $125M domestic and another $71.6M international for good measure. The extent of its success will depend on whether audience reactions are positive enough to propel it to large numbers in the following weeks (because getting to a billion isn’t easy), but it’s not surprising that the team at Warners is excited about the sequel/franchise possibilities. In fact, according to The Wall Street Journal, they might be looking to release Man of Steel 2 as early as next year. But how realistic is that? It’s true that Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer are both back as director and writer respectively, but even with main talent in place, the timeline seems truncated. After all, it was three years between Christopher Nolan sharing Goyer’s concept with Warners and the release of the new Superman. Plus, Man of Steel took at least 7 months to shoot — that’s without counting post-production and effects. So, essentially, they’d better start tomorrow if they want a Summer 2014 slot.

“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a stockbroker.” Leonardo DiCaprio might as well be laying out that line in Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street, where he plays real-life multi-millionaire stockbroker/swindler Jordan Belfort. In the new trailer, gleeful immorality, fat stacks of cash and a self-aware voice-over from a man who wants too much all feel like a sequel to Goodfellas. Or maybe a modern adaptation of “Bonfire of the Vanities” (The Wolfe of Wall Street?). Or maybe the Gatsby For 2013 that’s really for 2013. Comparisons aside, it looks ridiculously cool. Belfort’s trick was artificially inflating a stock price before dumping the lion’s shares and screwing over clients. He made a crazy amount of money that fueled some very profound drug and control problems — and it looks like DiCaprio is having the time of his life here. It’s almost like Django loosened the lid for him, and Wolf has opened the pickle jar. Plus, the script comes from Terence Winter (The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire), and it’s about time he teamed with Scorsese. Check out the trailer for yourself:

When we first heard that John C. Reilly had been offered a role in Marvel’s upcoming space odyssey, Guardians of the Galaxy, the story was that he was probably going to be playing a character named Rhomann Dey, who is a member of an intergalactic police force called the Nova Corps in the comics, but who would apparently be a SHIELD member who acted as a liaison to the stars in this story. This was confusing and made no sense. Why take an alien character with an alien name and arbitrarily turn him into some other human character for no reason? Why not just name this character something else? Well, it turns out the reason everything was so confusing was that it was all a bunch of bullpucky. All except the most important part—that John C. Reilly actually was offered a role in Guardians of the Galaxy. Luckily for us, a new report from Deadline not only clears up the confusion around the role that Reilly was offered, it also confirms that the actor is now officially on board.

What is Casting Couch? A column full of casting news that today includes stories on Emma Watson, Adam Sandler, Idris Elba, Liam Hemsworth, and Christina Hendricks. How’s that for an eclectic crew? Hopefully by the time the ubiquitous and centuries long ad campaign for The Heat finally draws to a close, the world won’t be too sick of Melissa McCarthy to go see anymore of her movies. She really is a versatile talent, so it would be a shame to see Hollywood wear out her welcome by shoving her down our throats in the crude loudmouth role until we retch from it. But perhaps her taking a voice acting role in an animated movie could help cleanse the palate. Deadline is reporting that she’s just signed on to talk into a microphone for Dreamworks’ B.O.O (Bureau of Otherworldy Operations), joining Seth Rogen as one of the leads. They’ll be playing partnered up agents who work for a government agency meant to protect humanity from evil spirits, which sounds like R.IP.D., only tons better.

A superstar author who goes into hiding, a vault of unpublished work, a military past filled with haunting images. This is the suspense thriller of Shane Salerno‘s J.D. Salinger documentary. Making his directorial debut, the writer with credits on (no kidding) Savages and Shaft (2000) has conducted interviews with hundreds of people — including those who knew the iconic writer of “Catcher in the Rye” and creative minds like Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman who were influenced by his work. There’s no doubt that the author left behind plenty of mysteries, and Salinger purports to solve (or at least explore) them. At the very least, it should provide a well-anticipated look into the life and career of a man who was responsible for millions of worn out paperbacks. Check out the trailer for yourself:

What happens when a legendary film critic brings is geriatric crankiness to an internet movie show? Film Jockeys follows the adventures of Carl Barker, his far-too-young production staff, the filmmakers and the movie characters that inhabit their world. Written and illustrated by Derek Bacon, it’s the perfect webcomic for passionate fans who wear mocap suits on the weekend. For your consideration, Episode #27:

This July, Arnold Schwarzenegger is turning 66 years old. Next January, he’s going to be playing the Terminator again. According to The Arnold Fans, the actor confirmed that he’d be back in the role for Terminator 5 as well as the potential start date for the project. Of course, this is just one of many wells he’s dipping back into. Beyond one more attempt at terminating John Connor, Schwarzenegger is also looking to bring back Conan and film a sequel to Twins. Fortunately, since the franchise is pretty loose on time travel to begin with, having a robot look 30 years older shouldn’t be too hard to explain away, although Schwarzenegger will have to grow out of the Tintin haircut he’s currently rocking for David Ayer’s Ten (as you can see). But, yeah, is there anything more conflicting than this news? It’s like hearing Michael Jordan is coming back out of retirement again. Cheering is an appropriate response, but how much more of this has to happen before it gets sad? The franchise itself seems to limp along after a tepid third installment and the dull confusion of Salvation, and Schwarzenegger’s return to cinema wasn’t all that triumphant. All of that raises the question: what has to happen for Terminator 5 to actually be good?

It’s 2154, and the Occupy movement has essentially taken over the entire planet. Before you go thinking that’s a good thing though realize that it only happened because the 1% has left Earth to live in luxury aboard a space station designed solely for the elite. One man (Matt Damon) with nothing to lose has something to say about the arrangement. Writer/director Neill Blomkamp burst onto the scene with District 9 four years ago, and it’s finally time to unveil his follow-up. Elysium treads initially familiar ground with it’s mix of science fiction, action and heavy social commentary, but any worries that Blomkamp is being lazy with his second film are about to be smashed. The new trailer below shows all you need to know about the story alongside some spectacular effects, thrilling set-pieces and glimpses of the bad guys (Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley). Enjoy.

What is Casting Couch? It’s the place actors go to try to get jobs, and it’s the place you can go to find out who got which jobs in which movie. Today we’ve got word that Chris Tucker is set to make his triumphant return to leading man status. Every good orphan story needs a mean old jerk who makes the orphans’ lives miserable, and it’s starting to look like producers Will Smith and Jay Z have found theirs for the Quvenzhane Wallis-starring update of Annie they’re putting together. Sandra Bullock had already been in talks to play Miss Hannigan, the cruel lady who runs the orphanage Annie lives in, back in March, but things fell apart at the time. THR is reporting that things are now back on, however, as talks with Bullock have recommenced, and one would tend to think that the only reason that would be the case is if the fundamental thing that was tripping them up last time had changed. Get ready to see Sandra’s scowl.

At a University of Southern California event celebrating their new Interactive Media Building, Steven Spielberg predicted that the studio system will eventually implode or face a “big meltdown” created when the right amount of giant-budget films flop all at once. Also at the event, George Lucas echoed the sentiment, and the two discussed the difficulties of bringing projects like Lincoln and Red Tails to fruition despite being two thoroughly established filmmakers. The Hollywood Reporter recorded some of Spielberg’s other insights, including the possibility of ticket price disparities in the future, but the core claim is still the most powerful. On the one hand, there’s a profundity to it. Spielberg worked hard to get to the view at the top, but it clearly hasn’t blinded him from what’s going on, and what he’s noting is no less than the fundamental alteration of a multi-billion-dollar industry. On the other, there’s also a dime store obviousness to what he’s saying. Of course Hollywood’s current model will eventually bottom out, just as all earlier models have. Sound destroyed silent films; the VCR changed the classic theater distribution model; and now studios are placing increasingly bigger bets on movies that will see global returns while home entertainment improves every minute. When there’s a single point of failure, you’re bound to hear a bubble burst eventually. When a half-dozen blockbusters bust, you’re bound to hear some film execs screaming.

The unpaid internship is a well-established and pretty messed-up tradition in Hollywood. It’s also a crapshoot. What might look on paper like an opportunity to work under experienced professionals and hone your skills may turn out to be a summer of coffee runs and making close friends with copy machines. Exactly what constitutes an internship – and what justifies an unpaid internship – was the subject of a recent lawsuit between Fox Searchlight and two unpaid interns (Eric Glatt and Alexander Footman) who worked on the set of Darren Aronofsky’s critical and commercial darling Black Swan. As reported in The New York Times, the interns won in a ruling that has important implications for the future of unpaid Hollywood internships.