Jason Segel will be in Judd Apatow's This Is Forty?

Apparently so, courtesy of Collider and Megan Fox, actually:

It looks like the Knocked Up spin-off This Is Forty will get getting another cast member from the original. Megan Fox posted a picture of her on the set in a swimming pool with co-stars Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids) and Jason Segel. As you’ll recall, Segel played one of the friends of Seth Rogen’s character in Knocked Up. He’ll be joining stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann who are reprising their roles as married couple Pete and Debbie in the Judd Apatow comedy, which Rudd recently said is a “companion piece” to Knocked Up and not a sequel.

Segel will also be starring alongside returning cast member Charlene Yi as well as Albert Brooks, Megan Fox, Chris O’Dowd, Lena Dunham, Melissa McCarthy, Ryan Lee, and Wyatt Russell. This Is Forty is set to open in December 2012. [Update: Apparently there have been set photos of Segel on set with Mann. I never saw those, hence this story.]

-Joey's Two Cents: I had always figured he'd pop up in this flick, but now that I know for sure, this is pleasing news...thoughts?

Today's Trailers: Machine Gun Preacher, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Texas Killing Fields, and more...

First up this afternoon is the baity drama 'Machine Gun Preacher':

The rest after the cut...

Disney stops work on The Lone Ranger!

Deadline has the details:

In a stunning development, Disney has shut down production on The Lone Ranger, the Gore Verbinski-directed period Western that was to star Johnny Depp as Tonto and Armie Hammer as the title character. Jerry Bruckheimer is the producer and the script's by Justin Haythe. I'm told this all just happened, and Disney pulled the plug because the budget, which I've heard the filmmakers were trying to reduce from $250 million--I've heard from insider that they'd gotten down to $232 million, but whatever the number, it wasn't close to the $200 million that Disney wanted to spend. This had to be an incredibly tough call for Disney's Rich Ross and Sean Bailey, but they have several huge live action bets on the table already. John Carter, the Andrew Stanton-directed adaptation of John Carter of Mars with Friday Night Lights' Taylor Kitsch in the lead role, has a budget that has ballooned to north of $300 million because of extensive re-shoots [a studio insider said the number is lower], and The Great and Powerful Oz, the Sam Raimi-directed James Franco-starrer has a budget is hovering at $200 million. Lone Ranger wasn't starting production until October, and and even though money has been spent as the picture is in pre-production (Depp is pay or play), but it was the easiest one on which to apply the brakes. The shoot was set for New Mexico. Between Depp, Bruckheimer and Verbinski, the gross outlay on the film is substantial. The film was still casting up, with Ruth Wilson, the serial killer from the BBC's Lutherseries, set for the female lead.

Could Liam Neeson be a surprise Oscar contender this year for The Grey?

Deadline seems to think so:

In a surprise development, Tom Ortenberg's Open Road has set the Joe Carnahan-directed killer wolf pack thriller The Grey to open wide on Jan. 27. Now, that puts the movie beyond the Oscars. But I'm told that Open Road has left open the possibility that the film could get a qualifying run in two theaters before year's end so that Liam Neeson would qualify for the Best Actor category. I must say I am a bit surprised that the qualifying run isn't an automatic. Buyers who watched the movie and bid on it in July before Open Road won it -- paying near $8 million and a $25 million P&A commitment for U.S. rights -- all hailed Neeson's performance as Oscar bait. The deal was based on watching 30 minutes of scenes, but word was that opening this year, even just to qualify, was a priority for the sellers and a reason some distributors with full Oscar-season skeds shied away. Neeson plays the leader of a group of oil drillers who struggle to survive in the wilds of Alaska after their plane crashes smack in the middle of a territorial rogue wolf pack. Carnahan won't finish the film in time to show it at Telluride, Toronto or the New York Film Festival, but they will get enough feedback from advance screenings to make a decision about whether it's ready to wage an Oscar campaign for Neeson, who was nominated once in his career for Schindler's List and has enjoyed a leading man resurgence thanks to Taken.

-Joey's Two Cents: Very often these limited qualifying runs end up being for naught, but this could be n exception, so stay tuned...thoughts?

Rose Byrne replaces Greta Gerwig in The Place Beyond the Pines...

...according to Vulture at least:

Bridesmaids and Damages' Rose Byrne will be joining Derek Cianfrance's suspense crime dramaThe Place Beyond the Pines opposite Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper, taking the place of their planned co-star, Greta Gerwig. According to sources, Gerwig, who had never officially signed on to the part, has a film-promotion scheduling conflict, leaving the Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated Byrne to take over as the wife of a police officer turned politician (Cooper) who finds himself in a showdown with a motorcycle-riding bank robber (Gosling, in the part he just went blond for).

The Duplass Brothers will see their new film Jeff Who Lives at Home hit in March...

...making it officially a 2012 release, according to The Hollywood Reporter:

Paramount Vantage will release Jay and Mark Duplass’ Jeff Who Lives at Homeon March 2, 2012.

The film, starring Jason Segel, will make its worldwide debut months before at the Toronto Film Film Festival, which gets underway in early September.

In Jeff Who Lives at Home, Segel plays a man searching for the meaning of life while on a mundane errand to buy some glue for his mother.

The film also stars Judy Greer, Ed Helms, Susan Sarnadon and Rae Dawn Chong.

Jeff Who Lives at Home was produced by Steven Rales’ prolific new production company Indian Paintbrush, run by Mark Roybal, formerly withScott Rudin’s company.

-Joey's Two Cents: I very much enjoyed Cyrus, so count me in...thoughts?

Kathryn Bigelow’s ‘Kill Bin Laden’ film will come out on October 12, 2012!

The Playlist has the story:

Continuing to be developed well under the radar, almost to the point where we were wondering if it was still happening, Kathryn Bigelow‘s “The Hurt Locker” followup, her currently untitled Seal Team 6 flick now has a firm release date: October 12, 2012—right in the heart of awards season.

Since late last year, Bigelow and writer Mark Boal have been hard at work on the black ops thriller, the details of which, at the time, were being kept under wraps but was rumored to be about the hunt for Osama Bin Laden. Those rumors turned out be true but when the Al Qaeda leader was suddenly killed the spring, it was reported that Boal a former investigative reporter, shifted his research and resources and was already rewriting with a section covering the 40 minute firefight that resulted in Bin Laden’s death. Even more, Aussie actor Joel Edgerton was said to be a frontrunner for the untitled film—also referred to as “Kill Bin Laden”—and despite Columbia picking up the rights to the film, nothing has been heard on casting since. And considering Edgerton will be busy on Baz Luhrmann‘s “The Great Gatsby” this fall, we’d guess he’s no longer in the running.

Of course, any other details are being sealed (ha!) for now. But with a release date now looming just over a year away, updates should begin to trickle out soon. There is no other film slated for that weekend yet, but the film is now poised to be a major player on the fall festival circuit next year (you can bet Venice and TIFF folks are making calls now) and will be a strong contender to get Bigelow back on the podium in the Kodak Theater.

Here's some Avengers concept art!

Thoughts?

Take a gander at the Trailer for Haywire!

Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: It looks well made, but frankly a little ordinary...thoughts?

Andrew Garfield talks from the heart about his webslinging role at Comic-Con

Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: He feels like a good Peter Parker, but that's just me...thoughts?

Judd Apatow adds John Lithgow and 2 non actors to his next film!

The Film Stage has more:

We told you last night that John Lithgow had already joined the cast of the next film fromJudd Apatow, which might be titled This Is Forty. (I would like to just be able to call it that and move on, really.) Now, THR has learned of two more additions to the movie, and interestingly enough, neither of them are traditional actors.

The two are Annie Mumolo and Robert Smigel, the former of whom co-wroteBridesmaids with its star, Kristen Wiig. Smigel is a name that you might recognize right away, thanks to his work on shows like Saturday Night Live and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. On that talk show, he created Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, who became one of the most famous figures in comedy from the past ten years.

His past association with Apatow comes through his co-writing credit on You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, but let’s hope this turns out a little better than that. Some might be worried about two people who aren’t normally actors having parts here, but I think that can be dissuaded for two reasons: 1. Apatow is very good at bringing out people’s comedic sensibilities, and 2. These will probably be smaller roles.

Here's a bunch of images from The Amazing Spider-Man!

The newest issue of Entertainment Weekly has a whole load of images from Marc Webb's upcoming take on Spidey, and it's overall an article worth reading (though it does shamelessly claim to exclusively confirm the villain, despite everyone knowing already for months). For those without the magazine, here are those images after the jump. Enjoy!

Behold the Teaser for John Carter...

...right here:

-Joey's Two Cents: My interest level just went up...thoughts?

Which Batman poster is your favorite?

With the unveiling this morning of the teaser poster for The Dark Knight Rises, it got me thinking about just how good this franchise's poster have consistently been. Nothing tops the "Why So Serious?" campaign from The Dark Knight, but this new poster is pretty damn solid and hints nicely at the weight of the upcoming proceedings. A teaser trailer should be around by this time next week (those of you checking out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 this weekend will be privy to the first look at the teaser...but don't expect anything necessarily from the actual film, as it's most likely going to be a true teaser), so it's slowly getting to be Batman mania again online. I'll include the poster again below in a larger format, but feel free to comment about your favorite Batman related posters and promotional material!

The Dark Knight Rises may have a Teaser by this time next week...

...since the rumors are swirling that it will be attached to the last Harry Potter flick. This was the day that most speculated it would show up in theaters, so it makes a lot of sense. I wouldn't say it's set in stone, but don't bet against it. There should also be the first poster dropping around the same time, so our first taste of Christopher Nolan's bat swan song are rapidly approaching!

-Thoughts?

Melissa McCarthy joins Judd Apatow's next film!

The Hollywood Reporter has the casting news:

Melissa McCarthy, a breakout star of Bridesmaids, and Ryan Lee, one of the child actors in Super 8, are joining the cast of Universal’s untitled comedy project being directed and written by Judd Apatow.

Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann are reprising their characters of husband and wife from Apatow's Knocked Up in a new story by the writer-director-producer. Albert Brooks and Megan Fox are also among the cast.

Many of the character details are being kept secret but it is understood that Lee will play the son of McCarthy, a mom at the school that Rudd and Mann’s children attend.

Barry Mendel and Clayton Townsend will also produce the comedy, which at one point was working under the title This Is Forty.

McCarthy is riding high these days off of her raunchy work in Universal’s Bridesmaids, which has grossed more than $154 million domestic and was produced by Apatow. The actress, repped by CAA, Schiff Co. and attorney Mark Wetzstein, also stars on the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly.

A sequel to Atlas Shrugged is still in the works...

...for better or worse, according to 24 Frames:

Atlas Shrugged: The Trilogy is still alive. The producers of the Ayn Rand adaptation will bring the first part of their planned series to home-entertainment platforms this fall, courtesy of a deal with 20th Century Fox, and expect to begin production on "Atlas Shrugged: Part 2" in September. They hope to bring the new film to theaters during the 2012 election season.

"Atlas Shrugged: Part 1," the low-budget adaptation of the first third of Rand's dystopian novel, grossed $4.6 million during its five-week theatrical run this spring. After the film drew scathing reviews, producer John Aglialoro said he was reconsidering whether to move forward with two sequels.

Now Aglialoro has resumed those efforts, according to producer Harmon Kaslow, and will devote all revenue from the release of "Atlas Shrugged: Part 1" to financing "Atlas Shrugged: Part 2."

Bryan Cranston is the latest actor cast by Ben Affleck in Argo...

...his much anticipated next directorial outing. Here's the story from The Hollywood Reporter:

Bryan Cranston is in negotiations to join the cast of Argo , Ben Affleck’s drama revolving the 1979 Tehran hostage crisis.

Affleck, Alan Arkin and John Goodman as starring in the political thriller ensembler, which is being produced by George Clooney andGrant Heslov. David Klawans is also producing.

Chris Terrio wrote the script based on a Wired article titled “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran.” It told the true story of how the CIA, with help from Hollywood, used a fake movie project to smuggle six U.S. diplomats out of Tehran during the 1979 hostage crisis. Argo was the name of the fake movie.

Affleck is playing Tony Mendez, a CIA technical operations officer that led the operation. Arkin will portray Hollywood producer Lester Siegel while Goodman will play Academy Award winning special effects master John Chambers who helped with the CIA’s cover story.

Cranston will play CIA agent Jack O'Donnell, a man who used to be President Eisenhower's bodyguard and is now Affleck’s boss.

Ben Affleck will star in his upcoming directorial project Argo!

The Playlist has the story:

Directing isn’t easy. It’s a lot of little decisions and delegating jobs to other people who you hope can execute the vision you have in mind down to the last detail. It’s communicating with actors and crew and hoping that you can bring everybody together under one unified, specific goal and sometimes, you just have to take on a little more to get the job done right.

With that in mind, Variety reports that Ben Affleck has cast himself in the lead of his next directorial effort, “Argo.” The film is based on the true story about a C.I.A. plan to rescue a group of diplomats from Tehran after the 1979 Iranian revolution by claiming that they were part of a Hollywood movie crew shooting a film in the country. Alan Arkin is on board to play Lester Siegel, a former O.S.S. spy, now a movie producer, described as “equal parts bookie and rabbi,” who helps get the fake movie rolling, with John Goodman playing the Oscar-winning “Planet of the Apes” makeup artist John Chambers who is brought in on the elaborate scheme. As for Affleck, he’ll take the central role of Tony Mendez, the CIA exfiltration expert who gets the whole scheme up and running.

Affleck previously directed himself in the heist pic “The Town” and seems to listen very well to his own instructions. Still no start date just yet, but it looks like it will be imminent with casting continuing to move along steadily. Though the film will be lighter in tone than “The Town” or “Gone Baby Gone”—the fake movie stuff should be pretty amusing—it will also have a strong dose of realism too, as Affleck plans to have the actors who will play hostages live together in a “safe house” for two weeks prior to the start of filming so they can become acquainted with what their real life counterparts went through. No release date yet, but an Oscar season 2012 bow seems inevitable.

-Joey's Two Cents: I think he directed himself incredibly well in The Town, so I'm anxious to see him do it again...thoughts?

Behold the new Poster and Trailer for Pixar's next flick Brave!

Here's the trailer:

-Thoughts?