Between August 1942 and February 1943, Nazi Germany battled with Soviet Russia for control of the city of Stalingrad. It was a staggeringly bloody turning point that saw the German 6th Army destroyed and the beginning of the end for Nazi power on the eastern front, and it cost the Soviets 1,150,000 soldiers and airmen with another 650,000 injured. This immense historical moment is the focus of Fedor Bondarchuk‘s Stalingrad which takes the Saving Private Ryan WWII gloss and lays it with intensity on top of a different part of the war. In fact, it even seeks to make the action more personal by making the focus of the story a young girl that several Soviet soldiers vow to keep safe while on the wrong side of enemy lines. The trailer looks impeccable with a ton of fighting and broad overhead shots where piles of rubble get turned into smaller piles of rubble. Not bad for $30m:

Fun fact: if you write a Mission: Impossible screenplay, it doesn’t have to be on self-destructing paper. That may seem counter-intuitive, which is why David Koepp wrote 4 drafts of the 1996 film that all exploded before he could deliver them to Brian De Palma, but you can use totally normal printer stock. That’ll be good information for Drew Pearce to have because according to The Hollywood Reporter, the writer with credits for Iron Man 3 and Pacific Rim will be tackling Mission: Impossible 5. Pearce first caught Marvel’s eye with his cult series No Heroics, which featured superheroes in a sit-com setting. Now, while Iron Man 3 is on its way to making all the money and a healthy bit of the critical love, Pearce is leveraging his new position smartly. The interesting thing here is that, as we reported earlier, Christopher McQuarrie is rumored to be in the mix for the directing gig. That means after collaborating with writer-turned-director Shane Black on Iron Man 3, Pearce very well might work with writer-turned-director McQuarrie for another franchise sequel. And then? Pearce himself is all set to become a writer-turned-director, prepping an original story that he plans to helm. Mission: Impossible 5 will attempt to film this fall, which means it could repeat Ghost Protocol‘s release by dropping in December of 2014. Don’t be too surprised if that happens because they’re moving quick on this one.

It might sound kind of weird to try to set a thriller in a sound design studio, what with their being the domain of nodes, dials, tech geeks, and whatnot, but that’s exactly what writer/director Peter Strickland has done with his new thriller Berberian Sound Studio, and various FSR reviewers seem to be in agreement that the results of this experiment are gorgeous and intriguing, if not a little bit befuddling and empty. The consensus seems to be that it’s a solid B-. If you want to catch a glimpse of what everyone is so interested in and confused by, as well as a taste of Toby Jones being innocuously creepy like only he can, and some insight into how they make all those gross wet noises for slasher movies, then follow the link and watch the film’s new trailer below.

What is Casting Couch? It’s one stop shopping when it comes to casting news. It’s even better than shopping though, because it’s free. Today you can pay no money to find out what Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass are teaming up on, as well as what Bill Hader’s first post-SNL gig might be. It looks like David Gordon Green’s turn back toward directing more dramatic movies again is starting to stick. THR is reporting that his next project is going to be a drama called Mangelhorn that’s about an eccentric man who’s trying to come to terms with the fact that a past crime has cost him the love of his life. More than that though, Mangelhorn is a drama that’s going to be employing one of the most celebrated dramatic actors of all time, because the trade’s report also says that Al Pacino has been attached to the lead role. Hopefully this will wash the taste of Dunkaccino and Your Highness out of all our mouths.

She just can’t wait to be tribute? The newest poster for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire seems to be nodding quite firmly to a most unexpected influence – Disney’s The Lion King. While we can’t quite remember any sort of magical jagged rock in Suzanne Collins‘ bestselling YA book series, it certainly looks like Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) is hanging out on Pride Rock, surveying all the land that belongs to her, and plotting to overthrow her mean Uncle Scar – or is that just us? At least this new poster also includes a nice cloud-based nod to Katniss’ budding wings, as it looks like our very own Mockingjay just might take flight, until you realize, nope, those are just clouds. Fine then, Katniss, do it your way. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire hits theaters on November 22nd. [Press Release]

Do you feel it in your fingers? Do you feel it in your toes? Love, Actually writer/director Richard Curtis has a new science-fiction romantic comedy on the horizon. And so the feeling grows. In About Time, a young man (Domhnall Gleeson) is told by his father (Bill Nighy) that the men of their family have the ability to travel in time. Naturally, he sets upon using the incredible talent to get lucky Daft Punk-style and sets out to woo a young lady played by Rachel McAdams. There’s a touch of Groundhog Day here, what with the opportunity to call Mulligan and redo specific moments in time, and knowing Curtis’ strengths as a storyteller, it may turn out just as rich and lively. He’s never been one for the surface-level gimmick, and the trailer tilts in that direction (while adhering to the strange rule that McAdams has to run around in her underwear for at least one trailer-bound scene):

Great news for a lame project. Steve Pink is bringing his comedic talents as a director to a remake of Troma’s super-cult hit The Toxic Avenger. That much we knew, but now Variety is reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is in talks to star in the film, but he won’t be Toxie, and The Wrap is claiming that the role is as Toxie’s mentor who uses black ops training to mold a monster into a hero. If you’re thinking it would be cooler to see Schwarzenegger as the corrupt, crime-lord mayor, you’re not alone. This is all truly conflicting. Despite the bizarre lose/lose nature of trying to remake a cult movie, there may be a glimmer of a fun film here. Pink, who wrote and will direct, has got some great chops. Unfortunately, the project is being described as “an action adventure geared toward mainstream audiences.” Toxic Avenger geared toward mainstream audiences? The last we heard, they were even trying to make it PG-13. Because if you’re trying to remake a niche film, the main thing you want to do is make it digestible enough for a broader audience by cutting out all the things that made it interesting. It’s a great way to alienate fans of the original while making the general audience scratch their heads. So, yeah, even if Schwarzenegger signs on, this all sounds unbelievably stupid.

So, there’s no way to ignore the fact that this bit of news is going to make a lot of people unhappy. As much as movie nerds like to pretend that they’re the sort of folks who are always looking for new voices and new ideas, like anyone else, we’re really just the sorts of little greed monsters who want to keep getting more of the stuff we like. That’s why film geeks have been calling for a third film in legendary director Joe Dante’s Gremlins series for years. Unfortunately for those who’ve been beating the Dante drum all this time, today the news broke that a Gremlins 3 isn’t likely going to ever happen. There has been a development for the property that’s either going to play like a consolation prize or a slap in the face though, depending on your perspective.

What is Casting Couch? It’s your place to catch up with all of the casting news that broke over the weekend. Just a couple days away from the Internet and you missed news involving Nicole Kidman, Kate Winslet, and Samuel L. Jackson. Catch up! One of the biggest reasons Robert Downey Jr. is experiencing a huge career resurgence right now is that Jon Favreau fought to cast him as the lead in the first Iron Man movie. After Downey killed it in that movie and he and Favreau made about a gabillion dollars together on it and the sequel, one would imagine a lifetime friendship was forged. That’s why, even though Favreau’s next film is a little indie dramedy he’s starring in himself called Chef, he’s still able to call in a big favor and have a huge star like Downey join the ensemble cast. Variety reports that Downey is now on board to work in the film alongside actors like Sofia Vergara, John Leguizamo, and Bobby Cannavale.

Ari Folman‘s The Congress appears to play its hand quite quickly – the Cannes film’s first trailer opens with a shot of star Robin Wright being talked to by a faceless man as if she were, well, Robin Wright. Sure, this is a slightly skewed “Robin Wright” (it doesn’t seem as if this Robin starred in House of Cards, but damn if it doesn’t seem like she started her career with The Princess Bride), but it’s a version of “Robin Wright” nonetheless. And someone has a proposition for her. At first, it all seems relatively straightforward – a Hollywood studio (“Miramount,” which certainly looks like another studio that ends in “-mount”) wants to purchase the rights to Wright’s likeness and, thanks to technology, that essentially means they will scan every bit of her (not just physical, by any means) and use it to “star” in any film they see fit. It’s not a great deal, but it might be her last shot, so she takes. Obviously, it’s not all going to end well, but Folman’s film subverts our ideas of what would follow from such a deal, and it all goes totally wild, nuts, and (maybe even) amazing, as The Congress unfolds into vibrant animation and stirring score, with a possibly epic adventure thrown into the mix. It’s really one stunning trailer, and our hopes for the final film are now suitably high. Um, also? Wright might have animated sex with animated Jon Hamm (it certainly sounds like him). You’re sold now, right? Get a taste for The Congress after the break.

While we suspect that we’re not the only people who have always found that eating with our hands, getting drunk off cheap beer in goblets, and screaming bloody murder at total strangers to be the real draw of visiting a Medieval Times “tournament,” it seems like production companies Benderspink and Broken Road are counting on movie audiences to be far less rowdy and drunk when it comes to their newest endeavor. Deadline Hollywood reports that the two companies have paired up for a rights deal to craft a feature film around the glorified dinner show, one that they’re readying to shop around to various studies. Details on the planned film are hilariously scarce – we don’t know exactly what it will be about (is this thing going to be more Game of Thrones or A Kid in King Arthur’s Court?), who we are going to be cheering for (will there even be six knights?), who will write it, who will direct it, and what kind of casting it will require. Will there even be crowd-based yelling? We’ll just have to sit tight and perhaps visit the actual dinner tournament to sate us (paper crowns included). Hungry for more details? Yeah, we don’t have them, but here, go look at the Bill of Fare at your closest Medieval Times. Ribs you eat with your hands! Soup without a spoon! Glory!

If The Great Gatsby didn’t already convince you that perhaps it’s time we all revisited our high school reading lists, now James Franco has gone ahead and adapted a William Faulkner classic for the big screen, one that’s about twenty times more inscrutable than Baz Luhrmann’s all-singing, all-dancing Gatsby spectacle. Don’t remember “As I Lay Dying”? Ha, good luck watching Franco’s As I Lay Dying and figuring out a damn thing about it, if this first trailer is to be believed. Franco directed the film (of course), and he also stars in it alongside a uniformly great cast, including Tim Blake Nelson, Logan Marshall-Green, and Danny McBride. Beyond that, we’re totally at a loss here, as the film’s first trailer is a combination of pretension, unintelligible accents, complicated violence, and even a rape. Faulkner’s novel used no less than fifteen different characters to tell a relatively simple story – a family attempts to honor their dying matriarch’s request to be buried in a nearby town – and it’s hard to imagine that such a powerful novel will translate well to the screen, especially when its first trailer looks so terrible, but hey, now high school teachers can have a movie to put on that might actually interest the teens. (Teens like James Franco, right?) Brush up on your teen literary endeavors and check out the first trailer for As I Lay Dying after the break.

Emerging from work that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2008, Tracy Letts has adapted his black comic play into a film with John Wells at the helm, and August: Osage County is downright overflowing with prestige. It also looks awkward enough to make Home For the Holidays feel like an old, warm blanket. To that first point, let’s do the math on the people involved: Oscar Winners: Meryl Streep (3), Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, George Clooney and Grant Heslov (Producing) Oscar Nominees: Abigail Breslin, Juliette Lewis, Sam Shepard Not too bad. Undoubtedly, a lot of people will be clamoring pre-release for Streep to win her fourth Oscar, but you know what would be even better? Getting Margo Martindale her first. That woman is a powerhouse whose earned her spot on the Academy stage. If this trailer is any indication, she might find herself with a nice shot at Best Supporting Actress and Best Inappropriate Comments. Check it out for yourself:

Is this new motion poster for Now You See Me an illusion, or is it magic? We can’t say for sure. Some sort of Photoshop wizardry is at play around Woody Harrelson’s character, so much so that I’ve already inadvertently typed “Woody Allen” three times while writing this article. Be it actual magic or just sleep deprivation, the fact remains: Now You See Me is coming soon and we’ve got a fancy poster exclusive to share with you.

A few years ago, director Jalmari Helander made a movie called Rare Exports where thousands of Santas got naked and ran through the frozen tundra while chasing after a young boy. It was a special moment, and he followed it by announcing a future project that he described as Home Alone meets Rambo. It’s been a long time since that announcement, but it’s possible that we’re finally going to see it. According to Deadline Hollywood, we’ll at the very least get to see a new Helander movie — whether or not it involves Kevin McAllister carrying around a semi-automatic and a grudge remains to be seen. The new project is called Big Game, and it’ll focus on a young boy sent to the woods to prove himself on the same evening that Air Force One is shot down nearby. The kid finds the president (Samuel L. Jackson (no kidding)), so they naturally pair up to battle bad guys. Hopefully with paint buckets and broken Christmas tree ornaments. This sounds like it could be Home Alone meets Rambo, right? Young child, guns, forest setting, likely bandana use. It makes sense, but even if this isn’t the same concept Helander was developing back in 2010, it still sounds ridiculous enough to work.

Nobody was surprised to learn this week that ABC officially picked up Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the TV series spun-off from the Avengers movie franchise. After all, it’s a Disney-owned property and the network is also a Disney-owned company. And, well, it’s a tie-in to some of the highest grossing films of all time. Even if Iron Man 3 had somehow been a box office disappointment (fat chance), the main source of the series is last year’s enormously successful The Avengers. As we learned last fall, the popular character Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) would even be the lead, meaning he somehow didn’t actually die at the hands of Loki in that movie. Within days of the confirmed pick up for a full season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., ABC has now unveiled the first look with a teaser trailer that premiered on the air during prime time this evening. Coulson is definitely at the center of the thing (marketing hashtag is #coulsonlives) as head of an elite yet not super powered team of agents who investigate cases involving the “strange” and “unknown,” stuff that hasn’t been classified by the agency yet. Sounds like an action-packed mix of X-Files and Heroes. It kinda looks more like the (best of the) latter in this promo, which you can watch after the jump.

It’s a great week for Benedict Cumberbatch. Moviegoers around the world (though not yet in the U.S.) are currently flocking to see Star Trek Into Darkness, in which he plays the villain. And another film he’s set to star in has already become a humongous success thanks to a quick crowdfunding drive at Indiegogo. The newer project is a short titled Little Favour and will feature the Sherlock Holmes star as a PTSD-suffering man enlisted by an old friend (Harry Potter actor Nick Moran) to “help with a deal gone wrong.” With six days still remaining in the effort, Little Favour has already greatly surpassed its goal of £25,000 ($38,385) and looks to possibly triple that amount. This is a pretty remarkable achievement for a campaign that has nothing illustrating its potential, not a video nor storyboards nor any other sort of proof of concept. We don’t even know how long it’ll be. And the film is written and will be directed by newcomer Patrick Viktor Monroe, who is otherwise best known as Tom Hardy’s personal trainer and assistant (he also beefed up Cumberbatch for Star Trek). Producers on the project are also relative unknowns, Adam Ackland (second AD on The Killing Gene) and Ben Dillon, whose usual job is coordinating vehicles for movies including the upcoming Kick-Ass 2.

What is Casting Couch? Casting news. Today we’ve got updates on new roles for people like Michelle Williams, Laurence Fishburne, and—what the heck—let’s stick in a rumor about who might play the Scarlet Witch in Avengers 2 as well. It looks like Owen Wilson might be taking a trip back to the ’70s. The Wrap reports that he’s the latest name in negotiations to join Paul Thomas Anderson’s next film, his adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. Never ones to let a good PTA rumor go uncommented on, Cigarettes & Red Vines then took this story and ran with it, contacting their own sources and discovering that the role Wilson is in talks for is that of Coy Harlingen, who’s described as being a surf-saxophone player and a heroin addict, and who may be the most Owen Wilson-y role ever written.

A woman awakens one day to discover her mountain cabin has been separated from the rest of the world by an invisible wall. She can see through it, but she’s unable to pass. As the days turn to weeks and the seasons begin to change her solitude becomes more and more of a threat to her survival. What caused it? Why is it happening? When will it end? Damned if I know, but my ignorance doesn’t stop me from loving the first trailer for Julian Pölsler‘s new film, The Wall. It’s wonderfully atmospheric and creates a real sense of isolation, and if nothing else it makes for an interesting companion piece to the upcoming limited TV series of Stephen King’s Under the Dome. Check out the trailer for The Wall below.

Author Erica Jong‘s seminal 1973 novel “Fear of Flying” is still considered a groundbreaking piece of erotic fiction, helped herald in the second wave of feminism, and remains one of the top fifty bestselling novels of all time, but it’s also managed to go four decades without a big screen adaptation. That’s now set to finally change, as director Laurie Collyer (Sherrybaby) has been set to direct a feature film based on the work, complete with a script by Piers Ashworth (Burke and Hare, St. Trinians).  Jong’s novel centers on poet Isadora Wing who, during a trip to Vienna with her second husband, comes to grips with her unfulfilling marriage and decides to embark on a series of highly sexual encounters with other men. If you’ve ever heard the term “zipless fuck,” you’ve got Jong and her book to thank for it, as she coined the term (which basically refers to a sexual encounter without personal or emotional attachments, and one that even Isadora finds impossible to have). Oh, yes, it’s raunchy, but unlike something like “Fifty Shades of Grey,” it’s an enduring piece of cultural literature that is still relevant today. Also, its leading lady role could be one hell of a starmaker. Collyer’s Sunlight Jr. recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, so check out Caitlin’s review of the film to get a sense of her work. [Deadline Hollywood]