Since we’ve already seen Charlotte Gainsbourg go to crazy sexual lengths for the director, there’s little reason to think that Lars von Trier‘s Nymphomaniac is as restrained as the new poster that Zentropa just released for the film. Either they were having a bit of fun or trying to appeal directly to a generation brought up by sexting, but either way, parentheses have never been sexier. It’s also unclear whether “coming soon” qualifies as an unavoidable pun for this particular project. Forget about love, and check it out for yourself:

It’ll be here first appearance in a Lars von Trier movie, but she’s had experience working with demanding directors. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Uma Thurman has joined the already-stellar cast of Nymphomaniac, which is currently filming in Cologne, Germany. No word yet on what role the actress is taking, and the door is wide open here because the story spans the entire romantic life of one woman (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg). Options abound. Regardless, Thurman is a strong addition to any movie, but it’s likely von Trier may have her doing things no filmmaker has demanded before even though she’s rocked around in the Pussy Wagon killing everyone and got her start with Terry Gilliam. Thurman will be seen next in the more conventional Playing For Keeps in December and in the forthcoming non-conventional comedy Movie 43 (playing Lois Lane no less). What’s interesting (and encouraging) here is how much of the genre map she’s covering. After all, more Uma Thurman is never a bad thing, and if she’s in a current career mode of stretching herself, this roster and von Trier are definitely solid ways to do it.

Legend among legends, Udo Kier recently told Dread Central (via The Playlist) that he’d be re-teaming with Lars von Trier for the director’s next project, Nymphomaniac. A ton has been written on the movie, specifically the question of whether the sex would be real or simulated and which actors would be engaged in the possibly real or possibly not real fornication. Shia Labeouf seems to believe he’s going to be dipping his wick in the name of art, but the actual methods are still unclear. The point is, it’s time to stop with all the metaphors and playful puns and just admit what’s going on. If you sign up for this movie, it’s quite possible that you’ll be fucking someone for von Trier. He’s going to be there, telling you when to start having the sex and when to stop having it. Lars von Trier will be telling you how he wants you to have sex. Think about that for a second. Now stop and take a bath. On this front, who knows what role Kier will play. His involvement is awesome – especially after being a rare bright spot in Melancholia. But, yeah, he’s probably going to have to obstruct someone.

Lars von Trier’s latest production, Nymphomaniac, has been causing quite a stir lately, due to its casting of mainstream actors in a movie that is said to contain explicit, non-simulated sex scenes. Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, and Shia LaBeouf, the film is said to be about a sex-addicted, 50-year-old woman (Gainsbourg) recounting the erotic adventures she’s participated in throughout her life. The plan from the beginning has been to make two versions of the film, one that’s edited for relatively mainstream consumption and one that features hardcore depictions of sex acts, but exactly how far von Trier and his crew are going to go in that unrated edition has been kind of unclear. A new casting report from THR sheds a little bit of light on that, however.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly column dedicated to the cool, the weird, the entertaining, the brief, the good, the bad and the ugly of the entertainment news world. Also, there’s some philosophical talk about Sharktopus, because that’s just how the Internet rolls. We begin this evening with an image of a handmade Game of Thrones board game that is absolutely fabulous. Created by Fay Helfer, it’s basically a Risk board in the shape and detail of Westeros. And it’s brilliant.

When it’s announced that experimental filmmaker Lars von Trier has a new project in the works, it’s pretty much guaranteed that you’re going to be in for something weird. When it’s announced that he’s making a movie called Nymphomaniac, then you have to consider the possibility that he might be going places that you’re not prepared to follow. What we know about the film so far is that it details the erotic experiences of a woman (Charlotte Gainsbourg) from her youth up to age 50, and the narrative framework of the film is a recounting of the events given to her husband (Stellan Skarsgard) from her perspective. Other than the confirmation of Gainsbourg and Skarsgård, not much is yet known about the cast that von Trier is looking to put together. And seeing as this film is set to be an anthology tale, one would imagine that the director is going to have to find a handful of actors to get the job done. Who could he possibly have his eye on for a movie about sexual experimentation? The involvement of Nicole Kidman and Willem Dafoe has been rumored from the start, but never confirmed. But what has been confirmed (via THR) is that the director is currently negotiating with Transformers vet Shia LaBeouf to take a role.

So, here’s the official synopsis for Lars Von Trier‘s forthcoming Nymphomaniac which features Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard and an overtly suggestive title: “Nymphomaniac is the wild and poetic story of a woman’s erotic journey from birth to the age of 50 as told by the main character, the self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, Joe. On a cold winter’s evening the old, charming bachelor, Seligman, finds Joe beaten up in an alleyway. He brings her home to his flat where he tends to her wounds while asking her about her life. He listens intently as Joe over the next 8 chapters recounts the lushly branched-out and multi faceted story of her life, rich in associations and interjecting incidents.” Associations? Interjecting Incidents? Chapters? Hot damn. We all need a cold shower right? The fascinating thing about the project is that…wait. From birth? It traces her erotic journey “from birth”?? Is Von Trier getting into Serbian Film territory? Let’s hope so. And let’s hope Gainsbourg gets more recognition for her fearlessness in working with the man. This synopsis may not be as salacious as the title, but it’s knowing that he’s already made her furiously masturbate in a forest clearing while trying to harm her husband that makes the anticipation of what he might make the actress do this time around disturbingly exciting. She’s courageous beyond measure.

What is Movie News After Dark? It’s a nightly movie news column in a hurry. It’s late for a very big date. With you, dear reader. It’s always been you. Our top story tonight, The Amazing Spider-Man and a new look at the film’s villain, The Lizard. He’s looking quite menacing now that he’s got his full CGI on. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we now cannot quite look through the blinds of our window out of fear. Thanks, EW, you are useful as always.

Anyone who saw the disturbing things actress Charlotte Gainsbourg was willing to do in Antichrist to get director Lars von Trier’s vision up on the screen knows that she isn’t a shy woman. But it turns out we may have just explored the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how far she will go for her art. Variety is reporting that Gainsbourg is in talks, once again, to star in a von Trier film, and this one will be his look at the sexual development of a woman from birth to age fifty, called Nymphomaniac. Von Trier’s upcoming erotic epic is said to be broken up into eight chapters and will be filmed with two different cuts in mind, a more softcore version to get wider distribution, and a hardcore version that will be made, well, just because I guess. When this project was first announced, von Trier explained his approach to Entertainment Weekly by saying, “As a cultural radical I can’t make a film about the sexual evolution of a woman from zero to 50 without showing penetration. I know it’s something very European. However, that doesn’t mean it will be a porn film. It principally it is a film with a lot of sex in it and also a lot of philosophy.”