Djimon Hounsou is the Angel of Death!

I must say, I do enjoy coming up with Paradise Lost casting headlines. Variety has the exclusive:

Djimon Hounsou is the latest heavenly figure to join the cast of Paradise Lost for Legendary.

Alex Proyas is on board to helm with Bradley Cooper and Ben Walker set to star.

Based on the 17th century poem by John Milton, the story revolves around the epic war in heaven between archangels Lucifer (Cooper) and Michael (Walker), including the latter's role in Adam and Eve's fall from grace. Hounsou will play Abdiel, the angel of death.

Legendary's Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni are producing with Vincent Newman via his Vincent Newman Entertainment banner.

Stuart Hazeldine developed the primary draft of the screenplay, originally written by Byron Willinger and Philip de Blasi. Lawrence Kasdan provided a polish as well as Ryan Condal, who delivered the most recent draft.

Martha Marcy May Marlene gets a few special Posters

The other is after the jump...

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?

The Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer have BIG plans for Cloud Atlas...

The Hollywood Reporter has the story:

Cloud Atlas, the ambitious literary adaptation being co-written and co-directed by The Matrix siblings Andy and Lana Wachowski and German helmer Tom Tykwer (Run, Lola, Run, The International) is set to begin shooting mid-to-late September at Germany's Studio Babelsberg. The mega project, which stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugo Weaving, Susan Sarandon, Ben Whishaw and Jim Broadbent, has been delayed slightly as Berlin-based producers X Filme close financing and contract negotiations with talent. X Filme topper Stefan Ardnt said the budget for Cloud will be "definitely lower" than then $100 million - $120 million that had been floated as an estimate in the past but he would not be drawn into giving an exact figure. Ardnt did confirm that the bulk of Cloud, "some 80 percent," will be shot in Babelsberg, Berlin and the surrounding area.

The film is based on David Mitchell's epic novel, which follows six story-lines, each set in a different place and era. The novel's timeline and geography stretches from 19th century Australia to a post-apocalyptic Hawaii.

Here are some details on the Toy Story short that will be attached to The Muppets...

...coming to us via Collider:

In February, we reported that Disney and Pixar would be attaching a new Toy Story short to The Muppets. At this weekend’s D23 Expo, the film’s director, Angus MacLane (“BURN-E”), announced that the short will be titled “Small Fry” and like “Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation”, the whole gang will be back. According to The Pixar Times, “attendees were treated to the short but substantial clip, which gave away a few plot points. Looks like Buzz Lightyear is left behind at a fast-food restaurant and must find his way back home. In doing so he encounters some less popular, happy meal-like toys. One of those toys, a Mermaid of sorts, will be voiced by Glee‘s Jane Lynch.”

Since I skipped Cars 2, I haven’t seen “Hawaiian Vacation”, but it’s tough to go wrong with the Toy Story crew, this premise sounds fun, and “BURN-E” is a quality short. You can check out “Toy Story: Small Fry” when The Muppets opens on November 23rd.

-Joey's Two Cents: As if I needed another reason to want to see some hot Muppet action...thoughts?

Take a look at the International Trailer for Moneyball!

Here you go:

-Joey's Two Cents: It's not too different from the first trailer we saw, but it's just as good...thoughts?

Circuit Round-Up, 08/21

* Last week, Michael Ward reviewed Soul Surfer, 30 Minutes or Less and The Help, while Joey Magidson shared his thoughts on Peep World, Another Earth, The Change-Up, and Fright Night. He also declared Bellflower the best film of the year so far.

* Joey showcased a decent variety of releases for his DVD Picks of the Week.

* Mike reported on Rise of the Planet of the Apes holding on to #1 last weekend.

* I gave a somewhat bleak preview of the new releases.

* Finally, I decided to lend my thoughts to the controversy surrounding The Help and its accusations of invoking White Savior and Mammy stereotypes.

Why CinemaScore is so important to the box office...

...according to The Hollywood Reporter, at least:

Every Friday night, foot soldiers for the market research firm CinemaScore descend upon theaters in five or six cities across North America. Bearing small survey cards, they ask moviegoers to assign a letter grade to what they have seen.

Back in Hollywood, studio executives anxiously await the results, which come in about 11 p.m. PT and serve as a fairly reliable indicator of whether a film will fly or fizzle. "CinemaScore is definitely one of the tools we use to evaluate playability," says Chris Aronson, senior vp domestic distribution at 20th Century Fox, whose Rise of the Planet of the Apes is benefiting from an A- CinemaScore.

Surprisingly, given the escalating cost of the theater experience, consumers are fairly forgiving. A majority of films receive a grade in the A- to B- range. C grades are enough to keep most filmmakers awake (though Rango, released in March, did fine after it received a C+), and an F has been given to only five films since Ed Mintz founded the Las Vegas-based firm 29 years ago. In that time, only 52 films have received an A+, including The Help and seven Oscar best picture winners:Gandhi, Driving Miss Daisy, Dances With Wolves, Schindler's List, Forrest Gump, Titanic andThe King's Speech.

And with notable exceptions (Cinderella Man?), an A+ CinemaScore signals a long, prosperous theatrical run. Help felt the glow right away, opening to a better-than-expected $35.9 million. Says Dave Hollis, executive vp distribution at Disney, which is distributing the film, "The movie is now set up for a great run, with more and more people exposed to it because of the power of word-of-mouth."

What is Pixar cooking up next?

Entertainment Weekly has the answer:

Pixar announced two very peculiar animated features, both of them what-if concepts that immediately raised more questions than the studio was ready to answer.

“We’re going to announce two new films no one has ever heard about. Original films,” emphasized Pixar and Disney animation chief John Lasetter [sic], rousing cheers from the auditorium at Disney’s D23 fan convention, where the news was revealed. “You’re the very first group anywhere in the world to hear what these are about. But I’m not going to tell you about it. I’m going to let the filmmakers tell you.”

So are we …

Atom Egoyan is going to be making a film about the West Memphis Three...

...and The Playlist has the full details:

Well, that was fast. No sooner were the West Memphis Three freed on Friday that Hollywood struck while the iron was hot. Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan (”Chloe,” “The Sweet Hereafter”) revealed his intentions to direct a feature-length drama called “The Devil’s Knot,” based on the true-life story of three teenagers, known collectively as the West Memphis Three, who were convicted of the murder and sexual mutilation of three 8-year-old boys in 1993. As the teenagers were fans of heavy metal music (and especially Metallica), the prosecution in the case suggested the motive behind the slayings was part of a Satanic ritual. Even with incredibly questionable police work—which many felt to be outrageous—sensationalized media, fear and panic from the satanism angle in the trial led to the teens’ conviction and sentence of life imprisonment.

This decades-long story took a dramatic and triumphant turn on Friday when, under a plea bargain, the three individuals, Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley were freed immediately after 18 years in prison.

Today's Posters: Moneyball, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, and more...

The rest after the jump...

Tom Cruise is going to be a cowboy?

Perhaps, according to Collider:

What do you do when you’re offered the chance to direct Thor 2? You agree to direct a cowboy movie. At least that’s the vibe I’m getting from this latest news, courtesy of Variety, who claim Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk is circling Paper Wings, a rodeo drama about a rootin’ tootin’ bull riding champ who falls in love with a country singer. Think 8 Seconds meets Pure Country meets Top Gun. And speaking of Top Gun, word is Maverick himself has stepped in and offered his services on the project, going so far as to select Kirk for the gig. He may even star in the film. More after the jump.

Behold the Trailer for Roman Polanski's Carnage!

Take a gander:

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm not really sure this will be a real Academy friendly piece, but it looks like something worth seeing, not that that's a surprise. Thoughts?

Christian Bale set to team up again with Terrence Malick on his newest project?

The Playlist says yes:

For much of Terrence Malick‘s career, his workflow has been defined by single projects taking years at a time to take shape and finish before he moves on to the next one. Now, it seems the guy is making up for lost time. With “The Tree Of Life” hitting theaters this spring, the director currently has his untitled film—aka “The Burial”—in post-production and is also at some stage of development with his “Voyage Of Time” documentary which recently added Emma Thompson as a narrator alongsideBrad Pitt. Earlier this year word cropped up that Malick was starting another film, one that would be small in nature, that would potentially shoot late summer/early fall. Not much has been heard since, but it looks like that film is now moving full steam ahead with an early 2012 start being eyed.

Twitch reports that Christian Bale—who starred in “The New World” and was set for “The Burial” but was replaced by Ben Affleck—is set to reteam with the director on the new project. Of course, details are unknown other than it will apparently feature an even smaller cast than “The Burial” (which features Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Rachel Weisz, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Barry Pepper and Jessica Chastain) which certainly falls in line with earlier reports that Malick intends “to be finished with this one in a matter of months.” The story will center around two leads, one male (Bale) and one female, with Rooney Mara, Haley Bennet (”Marley & Me,” “Kaboom”),Clemence Poesy and Mia Wasikowska all said to be in contention for the part. And well, that’s it.

Of course, when we’ll get to see these pics is anybody’s guess. The U.K. rights to “The Burial” recently sold to Optimum and we would guess that if indeed it’s coming next year, another trip to Cannes will be in the works. As for “Voyage Of Time” and this new project, whose to say. But with early word that Malick expects to get it done sooner rather than later, that certainly bodes well though anything can happen when the mercurial director gets behind the camera. Hell, his whole vision for the project could change between now and the New Year. But clearly, the 67 year-old director is newly inspired and we couldn’t be more excited. Let’s hope more details arrive soon.

-Joey's Two Cents: While it's no secret I'm not in love with much of Malick's work, I'm always eager to see his projects, and his upcoming ones are no exceptions...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...