“There was never just one.” Well, that’s a nifty way to explain why Matt Damon isn’t in the latest installment of the Jason Bourne franchise, The Bourne Legacy. Damon’s out, and Jeremy Renner is in as another victim and/or participant in shady Project Treadstone. This first stylized trailer (complete with Inception-esque “brannngsss” and “brrahhhhmmms”) introduces us to Renner’s character – a bruiser from Reno who is on the run after showing some impressive stuff to all those government heavies who’ve gone through this already with Jason Bourne. Don’t you think Joan Allen‘s Pam Landy is just exhausted by now? Join the program and check out the trailer for The Bourne Legacy after the break.

I don’t know where you stand on the issue, but the release of a new Wes Anderson movie is pretty much cause for a gigantic celebration around my house. I know that he’s kind of a love him or hate him director, but personally, his dry humor, fairy tale tone, and satirical yet sentimental look at neurotic intellectuals hits my funny bone in a way few other things do. And his meticulous attention to production design detail make his movies a joy to pick through and study over the course of multiple re-watches. These are films that grow in my esteem over time, and his newest work, Moonrise Kingdom, looks like it’s going to fit, perhaps quite predictably, right in that oeuvre. Anderson’s movies always feel like they’re taking place in a world slightly more magical than our own, but his last film, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, went a step further by being an animated film starring talking animals. Though Moonrise Kingdom sees the director stepping back into the world of live action, it looks like he’s bringing more of that animated absurdity back with him. This trailer has impossible tree forts, Ed Norton in a Cub Scout uniform saying things like “Jiminy Cricket, he flew the coop,” lightning strikes, and little kids brandishing homemade weapons. Make no mistake, Wes Anderon’s latest movie looks absolutely bat-poop crazy, and I’m super stoked to see how far he’s willing to take things. The final scene, where Bill Murray interacts with some children [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s the day’s best movie news and links exploding onto your computer screen. Can you handle that? MSN has debuted a new image of two new characters from The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. “Two of the youngest Dwarves, Fili (Dean O’Gorman) and Kili (Aidan Turner) have been born into the royal line of Durin and raised under the stern guardianship of their uncle, Thorin Oakensheild. Neither has ever travelled far, nor ever seen the fabled Dwarf City of Erebor. For both, the journey to the Lonely Mountain represents adventure and excitement. Skilled fighters, both brothers set off on their adventure armed with the invincible courage of youth, neither being able to imagine the fate which lies before them.” Quick, get me a Tolkein nerd to translate that. Are these guys cool, or not? Because they look cool.

Some set photos from the latest Wes Anderson movie Moonrise Kingdom have surfaced online. If you’re wondering why Edward Norton is ridiculously dressed as a camp counselor, then Focus Feature’s press release on the film could be of some help. Official word on what the film is going to be is as follows: “Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, Moonrise Kingdom follows a young boy and girl falling in love. When they are moved to run away together, various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down – which might not be such a bad thing. Bruce Willis plays the town sheriff; two-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton is cast as a camp leader; Academy Award nominee Bill Murray and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand portray the young girl’s parents; the cast also includes Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Jason Schwartzman. The young boy and girl are played by Jared Gilman and Kara Hayward.”

Leaves of Grass feels like a classical religious fable brought to modern day. It features the themes and tropes we’re all aware of: brotherhood, love, power, corruption, and murder. Being titled after a collection of Walt Whitman poems is more than suitable and the film wears its love for classical storytelling on its sleeve. The tone of Leaves of Grass is really what makes or breaks the film for most, which director Tim Blake Nelson acknowledges himself. The sense of manic and mood swings are all intentional, perfectly representing its characters and making for some unexpected turns. Here’s what director Tim Blake Nelson had to say about writing smart Southerners, the comedic sensibility of the film, and playing into classic archetypes and themes:

Everyone is imprisoned in Stone, but Edward Norton’s character is the only one physically locked up in the big house. The movie leaves a lot unanswered, delivers one of Robert De Niro’s best performances in years, and presents something audiences have clamored for since American History X: Edward Norton in cornrows. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the actor during the film’s run at Fantastic Fest, and we dug deep into the nature of imprisonment, the nature of storytelling, and the De Niro film that makes Norton stop breathing. Special Thanks to Luke Mullen for his keen editing skills.

Fans rejoice!! Robert De Niro can still act. I know this because he’s been given his most complicated material in well over a decade.

Fans rejoice!! Edward Norton is still one of the most versatile actors we have. I know this because I never questioned his portrayal of a corn-row sporting arsonist with a colorfully street form of Detroit dialect.

Fans rejoice!! Milla Jovovich is more than a zombie killer. I know this because despite De Niro’s best work in years and Norton’s further solidification of top-tier performers Jovovich steals the camera’s attention from both with an impressively complex depiction of a conniving seductress with an innocent outer candy shell.

Stone, if you can’t already tell, is very much an actors film. Each character is given a prominent arc with each’s affective behavior causing changes, or an exposing of something already there under the surface, in each other. Jack Mabry (De Niro) is a parole officer a few weeks shy of retirement when he meets Gerald “Stone” Creeson (Edward Norton), a man serving time for setting the house of his grandparents on fire after they were murdered by one of his friends. Creeson is to be one of Mabry’s final cases before heading off into the sunset and it’s up to him to determine whether he feels Creeson has been rehabilitated and can rejoin society. Creeson, not feeling particularly confident in his relationship with Mabry decides to get his wife (Jovovich) to seduce Mabry to hopefully sway his decision to get him released. This leads to a sequence of emotional turmoil, religious enlightenment and regretful indulgences that are met with uncomfortable revelations.

Just like any actor working in Hollywood, England, Canada, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, and every single aspiring actor (and a few plumbers) – Edward Norton is interested in playing the main villain in Christopher Nolan’s Batman 3. Source: Common Sense

You’re well aware of what went down with Edward Norton and Marvel (or at least as in the know as someone who isn’t Edward Norton or Marvel can be), and the next question on the docket is who will step in as a replacement for Avengers. After all, Comic Con is next week, and someone has to sit on the stage with the rest of the gang. As it turns out, Marvel is way ahead of the game here. They’ve already been talking to Mark Ruffalo, and it looks like they may be inches away from signing him on.

There’s been a ton of talk today about who came off looking like a jackass in the great public debate between Marvel and Edward Norton. However, the one key thing that Marvel is counting on is if you’ll head to the theaters even without Norton coming back for Avengers. As a business decision, all of the talk so far means nothing if butts are still in seats. Will yours be there? And are you more interested to be there if Joaquin Phoenix is Hulking out?

If your eyebrow is raised from the news floating over the weekend that Edward Norton will not be returning to the Marvel fold as the lovable green menace for The Avengers, you’re probably not alone. We fans have been left standing in flustered silence at several of Marvel’s decisions, but this one might be the most nonsensical from an outsider’s point of view. We tried to gain some perspective, but my calls to Marvel went unreturned – either because they don’t care to comment or because I actually called a local pizza parlor to order lunch instead. Luckily, the studio released an incendiary statement and, like an old, shotgun-wielding man being robbed, Edward Norton fired back in a must-read pair of dueling press releases.

This week, on a very special Reject Radio, Landon Palmer grabs half a handle of expensive whiskey and gets nostalgic about Cinematic One Night Stands (those movies that you love but never want to see again). We also dig deep into the question of how a CGI character can be fired, debate who should direct Wicked, and discover Youtube. Plus, we manage to squeeze in a few minutes to review Despicable Me, I Am Love, and Predators. Check it out after the jump!

Not so good, if my calculations are correct. The news this evening is that Edward Norton, star of The Incredible Hulk, has been ousted for the role of Bruce Banner, also known as The Hulk for the upcoming Joss Whedon directed Avengers film, due out in 2012. But it’s not just that he’s out. Like Lebron James kicking Cleveland and his legacy to the curb, it’s about how the situation is being handled that matters. Apparently not only is Marvel not using Norton, they are keeping The Hulk. And get this — they are looking to hire an unknown in his place.

Forgive me if you’ve seen this already, but a new trailer for the Overture Films release Stone, starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro and Milla Jovovich has hit the web. We’re not sure exactly where it originated from — it was sent to us by a reader named Rabid Rabbit (clever, I suppose) — but we do find it interesting. It’s a crime thriller about an inmate and his girlfriend trying to set up a corrections officer using the one thing that usually works — sex.

During SXSW I sat in with 9 other online film journalists for a roundtable discussion with actor-producer Edward Norton and writer-director-actor-producer Tim Blake Nelson as they discussed their new film Leaves of Grass. We covered an array of topics, including Menander, Zionist Tulsa Jews, why Rounders is a comedy, and noodling with Keri Russell (not what you think).

I had a chance to sit with director/actor Tim Blake Nelson for his film Leaves of Grass. After seeing the film, I was thoroughly impressed with the characters and the performances that elevated the story in a very genuine way.

We all know Edward Norton is talented, but probably the truest and scariest test for an actor’s talent is playing opposite himself, thus having to encounter the insecurities and limitations of one’s skill in both action and reaction. Few actors have done a great job acting opposite themselves, and it’s something that could potentially be fatal even with a strong actor giving two performances at the center, but with Leaves of Grass Edward Norton can be added to that short list of great double-performances in a single film.

We are back from the weekend and ready to get re-focused on what is important, the major Austin-based film festival that seems to be steamrolling toward us. Today we take a look at another highly anticipated premiere, Tim Blake Nelson’s Leaves of Grass.

It seems oddly appropriate that the trailer for Tim Blake Nelson’s currently unsold comedy Leaves of Grass would drop a day before the release of Fight Club on Blu-ray, as it once again gives us the opportunity to see Edward Norton kick his own ass.

Poor Edward Norton. He just wants to pimp is Barack Obama documentary, but all we want to know is “when do we get more Hulk?”