What is Casting Couch? It’s starting off the week right with a new round of casting announcements. Read on to find out which project is going to unite the dream team of Ellen Burstyn and Luis Guzman. Godzilla has found another puny human to knock over a building onto. Deadline is reporting that Happy Go Lucky star Sally Hawkins has just been hired to take what is being described as the last lead role in Gareth Edwards’ currently-filming Godzilla. Though Hawkins has become something of a big name in the indie world over the last decade or so, this will be her first role in a blockbuster film that utilizes big action and effects work and whatnot, so it should be interesting to see if she’s one of those actors who transitions well into doing larger scale work, or if she’s one of those actors who looks disengaged and out of place whenever they’re involved in something with a big studio label on it. You know, like James Franco.

What is Casting Couch? It’s a roundup of all the day’s casting developments that are fit to print. Read on to find out about a cool cameo Gareth Edwards set up for Godzilla. Though she’s still in the early stages of her directing career, Lynn Shelton (Humpday, Your Sister’s Sister) has already proven that all she really needs is a couple of good actors and a room to shoot in, and she’ll be able to make a good movie. It stands to reason, then, that her next project could be the biggest thing she’s ever done, because Deadline is reporting that it’s close to landing a trio of high profile and extremely talented actors. Anne Hathaway, Chloe Moretz, and Sam Rockwell are all close to signing on for Laggies, which sees Hathaway playing an immature twenty-something who hides from her life for a week with her new teenage best friend (Moretz) after she’s spooked by a marriage proposal. Rockwell is reportedly up for the role of some old dude named Craig.

What is Casting Couch? An attempted rounding up of all the casting news that’s running loose out there in the wilds of cyberspace (does anyone still say cyberspace?). Read on to find out which big-name actor has become the cherry on top of the sundae that is Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla cast. Can Tom Cruise carry yet another franchise? Despite the fact that he’s already the face of the Mission: Impossible films, where he does the secret agent thing, and the fact that there are plans for him to do more Jack Reacher movies, which see him doing the private detective thing, director Guy Ritchie has decided to go after the veteran movie star to play the lead in his upcoming The Man From U.N.C.L.E. feature anyway. Deadline reports that the actor is currently negotiating to star in the project, which was once upon a time going to star George Clooney and be directed by Steven Soderbergh. Given U.N.C.L.E.’s history of problems, only time will tell if this possible Ritchie/Cruise pairing actually bears fruit. You have to see casting the guy who already launched an old spy show into a successful movie franchise as the new guy trying to launch an old spy show into a successful movie franchise as something of a desperate move though, don’t you?

What is Casting Couch? It’s here to help you keep abreast of which projects are appearing on your favorite actors’ upcoming calendars. Today we have news about who the latest talent to play Liam Neeson’s kid in a movie where Liam Neeson kills people is going to be. Hint: he’s part man, part machine, all cop. Despite the fact that the 2011 comedy Horrible Bosses took a talented ensemble of actors and generally failed to do anything funny with them, it’s looking like enough people paid to watch it that it’s going to be getting a sequel. THR is reporting that all three of its stars, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis, have signed on to appear in a second go around. And, in addition to that, Jamie Foxx is said to be likely to return as the trio’s murder consultant—and there even might be room for Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Spacey’s characters to return in cameo roles. Horrible Bosses writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have returned to pen the sequel, and Seth Gordon will return to direct. This would all sound like an incredible amount of fan-service, if I had ever met anyone who was a fan of Horrible Bosses. Oh well, maybe this one will be better?

What is Casting Couch? It’s feeling a little left out this week since casting agents seem to be focused on getting their clients pilots for the next TV season, but it’s got a couple pieces of big movie casting news anyway. Chances are, as much as Tom Hardy’s face shows up in these casting updates, you assumed that he already had enough jobs to last him for the next decade or so. Turns out this isn’t the case. Whether or not Hardy actually gets around to starring in all of the projects he has in development will remain to be seen, but for now he has another gig to add to the pile. Deadline is reporting that he’s developing a new film with first time feature director Greg Williams called Samarkand. Much like the short film that Williams and Hardy collaborated on, Sergeant Slaughter, My Big Brother, this one will be dealing with the issue of post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental disorder that often plagues post-war combat soldiers. Williams co-wrote the script with his brother Olly, who reportedly has some real-life experience dealing with the issue. It will see Hardy portraying an SAS soldier returning from a tour in the Middle East and having trouble reintegrating with society. This is good news, because Hardy is even dreamier when he gets to keep his English accent.

What is Casting Couch? Today it’s the whitest casting round-up you know. Even though everyone knows that Godzilla is the true star of any Godzilla movie, there usually has to be some sort of human element on the ground to give the fire-breathing lizard’s destruction some sort of context. So Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla reboot is in the need of a principal actor, presumably a young and fresh-faced one, because Deadline is reporting that the newest actor they’re courting for the job is Aaron Taylor-Johnson. In addition to having the whitest name on the planet, you know Taylor-Johnson from recently blending into the wallpaper in Savages and shrinking into the background of Anna Karenina. Let’s hope that if he gets the Godzilla gig he’s able to rekindle a little bit of that spark he showed in Kick-Ass, because he certainly didn’t come out of 2012 looking like the next big thing.

Today was basically Godzilla day on the Internet. All sorts of news regarding Legendary Pictures’ reboot of the big green guy’s film series broke, and some of it involves casting. THR broke the news that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was being looked at to star, but one of their writers, Borys Kit, was then quick to point out that his potential involvement in the film is long dead. Variety writer Justin Kroll then jumped in with the news that a few names that are still possibilities for the project are Henry Cavill, Scoot McNairy, and Caleb Landry Jones. All of this news comes with a special thanks to /Film, who compiled all the chatter into a tight little narrative. Even though things between Gordon-Levitt and Godzilla didn’t work out, don’t let that make you think that he’s going to go an entire week without being attached to a high profile project. In more Gordon-Levitt news, Deadline has word that the in-demand actor has just signed on to play a big role in Robert Rodriguez‘s Sin City sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. Apparently he’s going to be playing Johnny, a role that was meant to go to Johnny Depp at one point, and that is said to be a core character in the overlapping parts of the film’s story lines. This comes at the same time as news that Gordon-Levitt’s possible involvement in Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy isn’t going to end up happening, which is essential information if you happen to be exhaustively journaling all

Though Frank Darabont’s translation of Robert Kirkman’s “The Walking Dead” comic book from the page to the small screen for AMC was a process full of tumult—given that Darabont famously fired his whole writing staff after the first season and was eventually replaced as show runner himself—it’s hard to argue the fact that the foundation he laid in creating that show was a solid one, and has resulted in a huge hit for AMC that has captured the attention of horror fans all over the world. So it should come as no surprise that his next project is going to involve working with genre-heavy material once again. Deadline is reporting that he’s just been brought on board Legendary’s upcoming reboot of the Godzilla franchise to give their script a final rewrite. The script, as it currently stands, was written by The Seventh Son scribe, Max Berenstein. Darabont’s hiring is coming at the same time that Legendary is having disagreements with two of the producers on the film, Dan Lin and Roy Lee. The basis of the disagreement seems to be that Lin and Lee were two of the people at the beginning of Legendary’s deal to license the Godzilla rights from Japanese production company Toho, so they feel that they should be getting more money than Legendary is giving them, and Legendary feels like they’re in their rights to drop Lin and Lee, which would still leave three of their people on the project with producers’ credits as well as

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column that does not need an animated continuation. It just goes on and on with very live action. We begin this evening with a shot from The Dark Knight Returns: Part 2, the animated follow-up to The Dark Knight Returns. Warner Home Video has released the image with a promise to show some footage at the upcoming New York Comic-Con. This should continue to hold you off until Warner Bros. can figure out what they’re doing with live-action Batman. Or at least until the Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy is available on Blu-ray.

Movie trailers are one of the few things in the industry that you really can’t improve upon with technology. It’s just editing – that’s it. Nothing else can make a trailer better besides skill. This is also why it seems like they generally get better every year (not always the case though). It’s difficult to nail down exactly what makes a teaser trailer effective, which is why we’re going to focus simply on intensity. It’s the best part, especially when a film is already anticipated from the start due to being an adaptation or a sequel. So here we go – fifteen movie teasers that have your heart pounding before the feature presentation even begins.

Guillermo Del Toro with his ‘giant monsters vs. giant robots.’ Zack Snyder and his fresh take on one of the most iconic superheroes in history. Peter Jackson returning to Middle Earth. There’s a reason why fans stood outside Hall H at the San Diego Convention Center for hours-on end, many not getting in after waiting 9-hours in the sun. Today was the big day of movies at Comic-Con 2012, and the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures panel was its centerpiece. To get you up to speed with everything that happened, we take a tour around the web with our favorite blogfriends to see what everyone had to say about the high-expectation pieces and the big surprises alike.

From the looks of it Django Unchained, Pacific Rim and Anything Marvel Does Forever are topping the list of the most anticipated movies hitting Comic-Con 2012. The question is, with 400 million (number estimated) other movie panels showing up in San Diego, how will you possibly see everything? And how can you see anything if you aren’t going to be there? Since the list of events is massive, we’ve teamed up with 14 other movie websites to make sure that every inch of the convention center is locked down. Consider this your portal, bookmark it, and return often to check out the full spectrum of coverage from ours and other fine sites. To get started, here’s a small look at what all of us are most excited to see.

When you boil it all down, it’s all subjective. Movie critics are really just people who are better at communicating their opinions clearly, but they aren’t perfect all of the time. Nor are they psychics in any way. Sometimes time (and audiences) won’t going to agree with them, and that’s okay. As the following ten movies show us, there are times when a film isn’t an instant classic. Some require a bit more time to be broken in. Today’s trash might be tomorrow’s classic.

Imagine how impressed your dinner guests will be when they pass by the chocolate fountain in the hallway and spy the Isla Nublar map hanging on your wall – complete with detailed information on where the Raptor and T-Rex pens are. “Is that an antique from a wealthy. erstwhile relative?” they’ll ask. “Why no,” you’ll say, “it’s a Jurassic Park-inspired print from Ron Guyatt.” And they will swoon. Guyatt’s work is simple, but dynamic, toying around with the imagery of famous films, television shows and video games alike. Targets range from Kung Fu Panda to “Scott Pilgrim” to “Tetris,” and each print is curiously affordable. Check out some of the movie prints for yourself:

Welcome to This Week in DVD! Lots of titles hitting shelves today, and we’re covering nineteen of them below. High profiles like Real Steel and Paranormal Activity 3 are releasing alongside indies like The Woman and Beware the Gonzo. There’s also several older titles worth checking out including Punishment Park, The Arena with Pam Grier and a Criterion release of Godzilla. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. The Whistleblower A female cop (Rachel Weisz) from the Midwest takes a temporary but high paid job as a UN peacekeeper in Bosnia and discovers despicable crimes and criminals in her midst. Her instinct as a cop is to help people and bring the guilty to justice, but the systematic corruption may be too widespread and unbeatable. Weisz gives a strong and emotional performance, and the film pulls no punches in its exploration of the sex trafficking trade that exists in Bosnia (and around the world). It manages to be both powerful and suspenseful too while never feeling the need to glamorize or Hollywood-ize the story. This isn’t the sexiest release of the week and there are some better films below, but it’s an important and well made movie with a message worth sharing.

Welcome back to Commentary Commentary, your weekly dish of directorial insight and/or, as indicated by last week’s column, shenanigans. This week we’re looking inside the mystery box with director Matt Reeves and uncovering what he has to say about our favorite recent monster movie, Cloverfield. Reeves did this commentary all by his lonesome, but something tells me J.J. Abrams was standing over him with a loaded gun lest Reeves divulge too much information. I’ll be listening intently for any Morse Code warnings or cries for help. Since this commentary track was laid down years ago, and since Matt Reeves has since directed Let Me In – more Morse Code messages. Hmmm – I have a feeling everything turned out okay. So here, in all of its Slusho wonder, is what I learned on the Matt Reeves commentary for Cloverfield. I wonder if there are going to be any Lost secrets. I hope there are Lost secrets. Or Star Trek 2. Okay, wishful thinking is over. Shutting up now.

I know what you’re thinking. With how bad the last attempt at a Hollywood Godzilla movie was, and given the fact that Guillermo del Toro already has a different movie about a big monster coming out of the Pacific in the works, who needs another Godzilla film? Well, turns out Legendary Pictures does, because they keep trying to make one. Or were you asking a rhetorical question? The newest news about their long gestating project is that they’ve hired writer David Goyer to rewrite the current script floating around that was done by David Callaham. Legendary has learned from the mistakes of Sony’s big, glossy Godzilla movie from ’98, so they’re getting the guy who wrote gritty, down to Earth genre stuff like Blade and The Dark Knight to work his magic on the property.

Earth Day: the red-headed stepchild of world holidays. Founded in 1970, the celebration of our planet has been mounted (and basically ignored) every April 22nd. When was the last time you paid respects by going outside and planting a seedling? Or left a plate of cookies out for Mother Earth? Yeah, I didn’t think so. Earth Day may not have the allure of its cheerful , laid back holiday counterparts, but it’s certainly no less important. Recognizing environmental concerns is more relevant than ever, and Hollywood has been trying its darndest to prod you in to taking action. Think of it as a  “scared straight” course of action: if you’re afraid of impending environmental doom, maybe you’ll do something. Here are seven movies that a sure to reinvigorate your ecological awareness and get you back on the green track this Earth Day:

What is Movie News After Dark? First, it is hoping that you had a great weekend. Because it did. It went to the drive-in, had great movie discussions and watched a Michael Bay film about ‘splosions. It looks forward to spending the week sharing with you the hottest tids and bits of the movie news world. Second, it’s not a person. It knows this. This makes it sort of sad. Christian Annyas has curated a very interesting gallery of prints by Saul Bass (a personal favorite of mine), and the DVD covers that have come from his work. It’s sad to see so many companies ditch the poster designs and opt for simpler DVD cover designs, is it not?

Bloody Disgusting reports that sources have told them Guillermo Del Toro’s next project Pacific Rim will need to undergo rewrites. The movie is about giant monsters that come out of the Pacific and start attacking cities. Sounds kind of like Godzilla, but it’s not. With the recent devastation caused by the Japanese earthquake, you can see why this might cause quite a stir. Del Toro has apparently been told to rewrite any of the scenes where attacks take place in Japan so that they take place elsewhere. You know, because that’s acceptable. Scenes of cities getting destroyed and people dying are perfectly okay to have in a movie, unless the real thing just happened a couple days ago. What’s the grace period on when we can film Japan blowing up again? A year? Two? Not that I’m saying I don’t like movies with violence. I do. And I can understand that people don’t want to see Japan getting destroyed on screen when they just watched it happen in their living rooms for real. I just think it’s kind of strange how moving the fictional attacks in Pacific Rim is going to make devastation and body counts somehow acceptable. Psychologically, we’re a weird bunch.