The first trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness is here! Take a look:

 

Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer

Chris Pine (who recently voiced Jack Frost in Rise of the Guardians) and Zachary Quinto return to star in the sequel, which finds Enterprise crew on a hunt for the man responsible for attacking Starfleet and wreacking havoc the world. That man is played by Benedict Cumberbatch (The Hobbit), who has narration duties in the trailer above.

Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Anton Yelchin, Jon Cho, Simon Pegg, and Bruce Greenwood also star.

In addition the normal trailer release, an extended Japanese version has dropped, featuring a couple seconds of extra footage. Take a look:

 

Star Trek Into Darkness Extended Japanese Trailer

J.J. Abrams directs the film, which will hit theaters May 17, 2013. Take a look at these Star Trek Into Darkness set photos for more.

A new 13-minute featurette has dropped for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, with interviews from the cast and crew and behind-the-scenes footage. Take a look:

 

The Hobbit 13 Minute Featurette

Peter Jackson has returned to the Shire to tackle the prequel to his Lord of the Rings series, based on the book The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. In the featurette, Jackson discusses how he turned the relatively slight novel into a three-part film series, starting with this year's An Unexpected Journey, followed by The Desolation of Smaug, and There and Back Again.

Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, who is recruited by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen) to lead thirteen dwarves in the reclamation of their home from the dragon Smaug, played by Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness). Richard Armitage, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Cate Blanchett, and Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas) star.

An Unexpected Journey hits theaters December 14. Check out some The Hobbit stills for more.

Eric Bana has had a varied career, but he does know a thing or two about playing evil. The Australian actor was a large part of the reason J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek was so compelling. His turn as Nero was a lesson in how to be utterly terrifying. Bana is back being bad, as seen in the thrilling Deadfall trailer, and sits for an exclusive video interview to take Movie Fanatic into the dark side.

“What makes those characters scary is their self belief in their conviction,” Bana said. “They don’t see a problem in how they see the world. That’s what makes someone truly scary.”

 

Eric Bana Exclusive Interview

He tells us about the frigid cold that was integral to the Deadfall story and how he and Olivia Wilde were not quite dressed for it. But, as his co-star told us in our exclusive Olivia Wilde interview, when the material is this good… you do what you can to make it happen. “It’s a small price to pay,” he said. Bana reflected Wilde’s enthusiasm for the project and the priceless opportunity to have extended scenes with two legends in Sissy Spacek and Kris Kristofferson. “It was such a dream.”

It's been a little while since we last heard anything about Anchorman 2, but we do know that the entire Channel 4 News team is returning. Now, The Wrapis reporting that Kristen Wiig may be close to signing on to play the love interest of Steve Carrell's Brick Tamland.

Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are apparently close to finishing a draft of the script, with filming slated to begin towards the beginning of 2013. However, beyond the return of Carrell, Will Ferrell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, and Cristina Applegate, no additional cast has been solidified.

Wiig is closely tied to most of the major players in the Anchorman sequel, and her comedic prowess would fit right in with the amazing talent already involved. She, of course, is an alumna of SNL, where Ferrell was a cast member and McKay was a writer. Producer Judd Apatow also produced her film Bridesmaids. Her and Carrell both lent their voices to 2010's Despicable Me.

While the production is still rather up in the air, Anchorman 2 is currently preparing for an October 2013 release. Head to out our Anchorman quotes page to get excited!

Three new stills and a new TV spot have hit the net for Django Unchained. Take a look at the spot, followed by the stills (click thumbnails to enlarge):

 

Django Unchained Bounty TV Spot

Jamie Foxx stars as Django, a slave hired by a bounty hunter named Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to help him find a gang of killers that only he can identify. As a reward, Schultz will reunite Django with his wife (Kerry Washington).

Leonardo DiCaprio (The Great Gatsby) stars as the plantation owner Calvin Candie, with Walton Goggins, Don Johnson, Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), and Jonah Hill (21 Jump Street) also starring.

The film opens December 25.

DreamWorks Animation celebrated their new distribution deal with 20th Century Fox by inviting Movie Fanatic to the celebrated studio’s Century City lot for a preview of the three animated films that they will release in 2013. The Croods, Turbo and Mr. Peabody & Sherman all further proved that DreamWorks Animation is not resting on their laurels that was the stellar 2012.

The first film to hit theaters will be the world shown off in the newly released The Croods trailer. Directors Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco took the podium and gave us the inside scoop on their caveman family animated adventure starring Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener that arrives March 22.

“This is the last chapter of the cavemen. This is the time when humans left their caves and ventured out forever," DeMicco said. The family’s way of life is drastically changing as the topography of the world is shifting. “The Croods is the story of a caveman family that loses their cave and they go on the world's first family road trip to find another," Sanders added.

DeMicco and Sanders then proceeded to describe this fictional world they created entitled the Croodaceous era and its unique capturing of a moment of evolution where animals don’t quite look like what we would think they should. "It's a time of great experimentation," Sanders said. "It's like Mother Nature's R&D period. You're going to see a lot of animals and creatures that are either on their way to becoming extinct or animals that you're going to recognize today."

Stone portrays Eep, daughter of the Cage character Grug, but in the clips we saw, the person who steals the scenes is Cloris Leachman as the clan’s grandmother -- affectionately called Gran.

As their world appears to be falling apart, they come across a more advanced man named Guy (Ryan Reynolds). Stone’s Eep immediately takes a liking to him that threatens Cage’s Grug. Not only has he clearly got a hold on Eep’s heart, but as he is more evolved, Grug is a little threatened personally.

Turbo, hitting theaters July 19, and its creative mind of director David Soren took the stage and let Movie Fanatic know where the inspiration for the snail who dreams of racing in the Indianapolis 500 came from. “My young son is obsessed with fast cars and out at my house, we have a slight snail problem,” Soren said and laughed.

At its heart, Turbo appears to be a classic sports story told in a completely new format. "Turbo is an ordinary garden snail who has dreams of racing glory," Soren said. "The movie itself is a mash-up of superhero and racing genres but, at its heart, it's an underdog story in the vein of classics like Rocky, The Karate Kid and, my personal favorite, Breaking Away."

The protagonist is Turbo, voiced by Reynolds (again!), a garden snail who dreams of racing greatness. His brother Chet (Paul Giamatti) is the voice of reason who gets swept up in Turbo’s adventure, despite his protests. "Turbo's a dreamer and Chet's a realist," Soren said. "Turbo's an outcast in the snail community and Chet's a respected member of it. They both live in the front yard of a house just over a hill in the San Fernando valley."

When Turbo gets lost, he falls smack dab in the middle of a street race. As he gets pulled into the Nitro system, he becomes filled with auto-like powers of speed, but also other traits. He suddenly chirps like a car alarm and lights up in the most brilliant neon blue as he unleashes his uncanny speed.

Tito (Michael Pena) is driving his taco truck when he comes upon Turbo and Chet and brings them to a back alley snail race. When Turbo blows away the competition, his dreams could be knocking on reality.

The visuals of Turbo are exquisite and Movie Fanatic cannot wait to see more when the first trailer premieres.

Finally, the last film in the DreamWorks Animation preview will arrive November 1. It is based on the cult classic animated short Mr. Peabody and Sherman that ran during the Rocky and BullwinkleShow. Director Rob Minkoff described the honor he has tackling an iconic pair of the world’s most brilliant dog, Mr. Peabody and the boy he adopted, Sherman.

Sherman is voiced by Max Charles while Mr. Peabody is impeccably cast with Modern Family star Ty Burrell taking the part.

From what we saw, a large part of the story brings these two 1950’s cartoon characters firmly into the 21st century as Mr. Peabody introduces his WABAC machine that allows time travel.

"Our movie begins with a typical time-travel adventure with Peabody and Sherman traveling to the French Revolution to meet Marie Antoinette. When Sherman wanders off in search of cake, the pair wind up on the wrong side of the peasant uprising," Minkoff said.

Fans of the original series will be pleased that the look of the animated pair has not changed, and neither is the appearance of the world they inhabit. Although some of the film was still in rough cut form, it’s easy to see that DreamWorks Animation may have another franchise on their hands with Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

All three films will be presented in 3D, as the studio continues to push the envelope of the visual landscape. With the 2012 they had that featured Rise of the Guardians and Madagascar 3, the studio promised that for every year moving forward, they will now release three titles. Our initial impressions of the three previewed today is one of being impressed and inspired.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has yet to be released, and there's already a new still from the third installment, The Hobbit: There and Back Again! Of course, director Peter Jackson originally shot two films at once, with the second film being pushed back to make room for a third film between them.

We're not 100% sure which pieces have been shot for which films, but Luke Evans' Bard the Bowman and Orlando Bloom's Legolas clearly had some scenes finished. Take a look at the still, which comes courtesy ofEW:

While J.R.R. Tolkien did not write Legolas as a character until The Lord of the Rings, Jackson explains that because Elves are immortal, and Legolas' father Thranduil is a character in The Hobbit, it made sense to bring the popular character back.

Fans will have to wait until Jul 18, 2014 to see There and Back Again. In the meantime, An Unexpected Journey, starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas), and Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), opens December 14.

Bill Murray is at it again. With Hyde Park on the Hudson, his monumental turn as one of our most popular presidents has landed him in the Oscar buzz world. Yet he knows how to handle it better this time out as his performance as Franklin Roosevelt is lighting those same award fires he survived in the early 1990’s.

He truly thought he was going to win for Lost in Translation, after taking the top prizes from several award shows along the way. "Then I didn't win. I thought, 'Well, that's odd. How odd is that? I'm feeling so odd now.' And I came all dressed up and didn't win. So I'm not going to get all crazy about that,” Murray said. “You can't get all ramped up and amped up about this thing all the time. I got excited about it and it was odd. I won all the prizes. I won literally all the prizes all the way up to the last one.”

Murray even believed he’d be back in Oscar’s glow in no time at all after his Lost in Translation loss. “I really thought, ‘Well, I've got to go get this thing, I'll be right back,'" he admitted.

The Oscar loss taught him a lesson in lowering expectations, but also in that the bottom line is people are noticing his work and more importantly, the film. "It was OK that I didn't win. I don't have any hard feelings about it. It was like, `OK, that was cool, I'm fine. I'm fine with the way my career's gone. I'm happy with it. It's gone great.' The great thing about the Oscars that's cool is it means people are going to see your movie.”

When it came to rising to the challenge of portraying FDR, for Murray it started quite innocently. “I had to revere the best of him,” he said.

That had to start with his voice and what to do with it. For that, he worked with a vocal coach and studied the legions of audio tapes of one of our most popular presidents. "They've got kind of an `oot' and `aboot' thing, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, in there sometimes. It's upstate New York, it's a little bit of Dutch in it, because he's Dutch. It almost sounds Scandinavian. It's just an inconsistent voice,” Murray said. “I just tried to get as much of it in me as I could. It jumps around a little bit, so you had to be kind of flexible with it."

As illustrated in the Hyde Park on the Hudson trailer, FDR had practically the weight of the world on his shoulders as the King of England and his wife were visiting his New York state estate to talk about the United States getting involved in what would prove to be World War II.

Murray marveled at how FDR managed to accomplish so much while in the middle of a potential world war while living at his Hyde Park estate, which was almost solely inhabited by women.

“These women are all barking at each other -- the mother, the girlfriend (Laura Linney), the wife, the secretary and the maids. This guy was beleaguered. It was like a henhouse. It was insane. They were all after him. Thank God he had a dog,” he said and laughed.

Filming in England was also a test of Murray, but not in how you would think. After all, he is a comedian at heart. “I tried to behave as well as I could. We were working with English people, and that's a test. I still have a lot of revolutionary rage. I just tried to put a damper on that. It was a difficult time for me,” Murray said.

And when it comes to British food… don’t get him started. “There's the food over there, which we have to talk about a bit. There's movie food and then there's movie food. None of it's any good. But this gave us a reason to be homesick.”

Working in drama for Murray began with a critical slam for his work in 1984’s The Razor’s Edge. Yet, he kept at it… thankfully so as many of those lie on our Top 10 Bill Murray Movies.

"I remember a certain famous movie reviewer saying, 'Bill Murray should not be allowed to do anything but comedy,' which I reminded him of at the Cannes Film Festival when I was nominated for an Oscar," Murray said and laughed.

In the end, the actor will always have an affinity for comedy. After all, films like Meatballs, Caddyshack and Ghostbusters put him where he is today. “There’s really nothing quite like comedy. You don’t win Oscars for comedy, but moviegoers seem to appreciate them more.”

Deadfall lands in theaters with lots of promise. Olivia Wilde and Eric Bana portray a brother and sister duo, Liza and Addision, who successfully rob a Native American casino and have high hopes of making it to the Canadian border. The weather has other ideas.

After the elements cause their getaway car to crash in the wintery wonderland, they decide to split up and try to make to the border. Bana splits the money and the two head into the woods. But, their story is about to collide with Jay's (Charlie Hunnam). He's just been released from jail after serving years for fixing a professional boxing match and immediately gets into trouble. What's a guy to do except head upstate and visit his parents (Kris Kristofferson, Sissy Spacek) and by chance, run into Wilde's character in the process. If it sounds far-fetched, it is because it is.

Our Deadfall review must state that Movie Fanatic adores all the actors in this picture, but all the talent in the world cannot save this film from being a run-of-the-mill thriller. Director Stefan Ruzowitzky weaves a web of suspense that is compelling, but just misses somehow.

Perhaps it is too bloated with interwoven plotlines. When the siblings split up, it forces their characters to cross paths with others that in hindsight, seem like superfluous interactions that only convoluted things. When Liza is wondering around the blizzard-covered Middle American tundra and is rescued by Jay, the story spins into a direction that may please romantics, but does nothing except distract from what should have been a cerebral crime thriller.

Stressed family dynamics abound. Jay's relationship with his father is challenged at best, while the casino robbing siblings squabble over almost everything. And then there's the side-plot of Kate Mara and her local cop Hanna who is locking horns with her police chief father (again, a stellar is cast in Treat Williams). There are simply too many family dynamic rounds of drama an audience can take while we're still trying to see how a cold blooded thrill-fest plays out. Deadfall is at its heart a battle between people who see the right in the world and those who see nothing but wrong. It reaches its goal, but stumbles along the way.

There are aspects of the movie that are compelling. Screenwriter Zach Dean has a field day with a scene where all the actors are sitting around a single table and the tension could not be higher. Also, the cinematography and production design are effective on many fronts. The Deadfall trailer shows off the dense snow and wintery set that breathes a sense of desperation and race against time feel to the aspiring thriller. Then, there is the cast. Mara comes into her own while Williams turns in his best work in years. Wilde shows incredible growth in the conflicted sister-love interest role and Hunnam leaves Son of Anarchy behind, getting completely lost in the skin of a disgraced boxer.

But, this is Bana's movie and he as an actor, takes it by the horns and runs all over town with it.

Bill Murray is scarily commanding as Franklin Roosevelt, shown off in the Hyde Park on the Hudson trailer. Even though he has proven his dramatic chops on more than one occasion, it is still with great joy we witness his turn as one of our country's most popular presidents. During the film, Roosevelt is navigating numerous local and global crises that would have buried anyone with less inner strength. Since the movie began shooting in Britain, Oscar buzz has followed not just the movie's lead, but the entire film. Does it deliver on its promise?

Our Hyde Park on the Hudson review reports that it tries valiantly. But it lands in the arena of a melodramatic take on a valiant leader instead of a historic-based look at what was one of the most important weekends in U.S.-British relations history. One could easily argue that is because of the film's subject. Yes, this is an FDR story, but the film is truly more about Daisy (Laura Linney).

Hyde Park on the Hudson is not only the title of the film, it is also the name of Roosevelt's estate. Daisy, a distant cousin of Roosevelt was summoned to the upstate New York locale, to keep Franklin company. Unbeknownst to Linney's character, she would bear witness to the King and Queen of England's historic visit and a weekend where two of the most powerful couples in the world would find more in common than previously imagined. 

An affair is more than hinted at between FDR and Daisy, and it becomes very clear that she completely adores him. While Eleanor Roosevelt was busy with her work as First Lady and the issues she felt passionate about championing, the president was left to his work... often while Daisy doted on him. 

It's not the platonic or not-so-platonic relationship that Hyde Park on the Hudson suffers from under, for that is well documented. But, we feel filmmakers missed an opportunity. That was the chance to let the world know that this tight friendship we now enjoy with Great Britain was not always so. From the Revolutionary War through the weekend that King George VI (Bertie) and Queen Elizabeth visited Roosevelt, it could be argued the two nations were rather frigid to one another. In a 48 hour period, that relationship thawed as two men would grow to appreciate each other and thus, their nations would follow.

The weekend would become known the hot dog summit as is delightfully chronicled in the film when the two leaders nosh at a typical American barbeque that humanizes the previously seen as stiff king. It isn't the fault of Hyde Park on the Hudson, but the film too suffers from the fresh in our collective memory of the performance of Colin Firth as George VII in The King's Speech. This Bertie has just taken the throne and has a country questioning his leadership. And this takes place before he got vocal coaching. Samuel West does a terrific job with the role, but it's hard to compete with a Oscar-winning performance that is still so close in people's minds.

Overall, Hyde Park on the Hudson should be seen for the history and the stellar performances by its cast, especially Bill Murray. The acting feels like it is out of Masterpiece Theatre, unfortunately the rest of the film feels more like a soap opera.

After scoring phenomenal box office success with 300, Gerard Butler has taken an interesting turn as seen in his latest, Playing for Keeps.

Sure, he’s had varied roles from P.S. I Love You to last month’s Chasing Mavericks. But, more often than not -- post 300 -- Butler has played the romantic man lead in a rom-com. Unfortunately for him -- it wasn’t in projects that honestly worked. Both The Bounty Hunter with Jennifer Aniston and The Ugly Truth where he starred opposite Katherine Heigl were misguided efforts at best.

So, many would ask: Why go right back to rom-coms as Butler is with his portrayal of a retired soccer pro who finds himself trying to reconnect with his son and hopefully, his ex-wife (Jessica Biel). It is because Butler believes that he is a comic and romantic leading man. And although Playing for Keeps isn’t ideal by any means, it shows that the man knows his wheelhouse, and has gotten closer to fine -- to paraphrase the Indigo Girls.

Playing for Keeps suffers from cliches like the drooling soccer moms who see Butler’s George as one hot piece of meat. The worst of them is Denise (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who is simply trying to get back at her philandering husband. Then there’s the utterly mis-used Uma Thurman who seems to know she’s being put in the most ridiculous of situations.

Surprising us is Biel. She’s sporty and seems like a perfect match for George, yet it’s clear she’s still stung by him. The reason given in the scope of the story doesn’t really give the audience enough to go on emotionally, but Biel actually is a solid foil for Butler’s advances. 

What probably helps the film reach beyond the normal and disposable rom-coms of late is the direction by Gabriele Muccino. The helmer of The Pursuit of Happyness certainly knows how to connect the audience to the story onscreen. Robbie Fox’s screenplay is not quite The Pursuit of Happyness in terms of power, but it knows what it is and never tries to color outside the lines.

Our Playing for Keeps review has to close with a piece of encouragement for Butler. Keep at this rom-com thing. Judging by your performance in this, you’re right. There is something there. It’s just not all the way there yet.

Some die-hard Les Miserables fans may be distressed to learn about a new original song, titled Suddenly, written for the film. But director Tom Hooper and composer Claude-Michel Schonberg (who composed the original book for the stage) take the time to explain exactly why they did it in a new featurette. Watch it, followed by another featurette about the set design:

 

Les Miserables Original New Song Featurette

 

Les Miserabels Production Design Featurette

Hugh Jackman (Rise of the Guardians) stars as Jean Valjean, a paroled French prisoner on the run from Inspector Javert, played by Russell Crowe (Man of Steel). Anne Hathaway plays Fantine, with Amanda Seyfried as Cosette.

Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Helena Bonham Carter also star.

Les Miserables opens Christmas Day. What do you think of the new song? Let us know in the comments section below!

A new Japanese trailer for Iron Man 3 has landed online. Take a look:

 

Iron Man 3 Japanese Trailer

Robert Downey, Jr. returns as Tony Stark in the third film from the Iron Man series. This time, Iron Man goes in search of those responsible for attacking his private world.

Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Pepper Potts, with Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce (Ender's Game), James Badge Dale, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, and Ben Kingsley also star.

Shane Black directs the film, which opens May 3, 2013. In the meantime, check out Cheadle's character Colonel Rhodes donning the Iron Patriot armor in this Iron Man 3 still.

Yesterday, the first still from The Hobbit: There and Back Again debuted, featuring Legolas and Bard the Bowman. Now, we're jumping back from the third film to the second film, as EWhas released a still from The Desolation of Smaug.

The photo features Bilbo, played by Martin Freeman, on the pile of gold that himself and the dwarves seek for most of the novel. This means that the main arc of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit may resolve itself in the second film, leaving the third film as a sort of appendix comprised of additional materials Tolkien wrote about The Hobbit's characters. Take a look:

Freeman stars alongside Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis, Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness), Hugo Weaving, and more in the three-part series.

Fans can catch the first installment, An Unexpected Journey, in theaters December 14. The next to parts will be released on December 13, 2013, and July 18, 2014.

Two new images from Texas Chainsaw 3D have hit the net, featuring Alexandra Daddario and Tania Raymonde. Take a look:

The seventh film in the horror franchise stars Daddario as Heather Miller (Hall Pass), who travels through Texas with her friends to collect an inheritance left to her by a grandmother she never knew she had. What she doesn't know is that the murderous Leatherface also comes as part of the deal.

Raymonde plays Heather's best friend, with Tremaine Neverson, Keram Malicki-Sanchez, Shaun Sipos, Dan Yeager, and Scott Eastwood also starring.

John Luessenhop directs the film, which premieres January 4, 2013. Take a look at this first image of Leatherface for another look.

The new movies debuting this weekend at the movie houses across the land find a rom-com (Playing for Keeps), a historical lesson and odd love story (Hyde Park on the Hudson)... and then there's Eric Bana running through the snowy wilderness armed to the "T" in Deadfall.

Playing for Keeps: Gerard Butler actually appears in a rom-com that works for him! After several failed efforts, the Scottish actor rises to the occasion, even if the rest of his cast is wasted. As we state in our Playing for Keeps review, Butler should be commended and the film's all-star cast (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman) should be forgotten. And also... Jessica Biel also rises to the occasion. Told you it was a surprising film!

 

Playing for Keeps Trailer

Hyde Park on the Hudson: Bill Murray deserves every single ounce of Oscar buzz he's garnering for his role as Franklin Roosevelt in Hyde Park on the Hudson. The story of a fateful weekend when the King and Queen of England visit the American president at his New York estate to discuss what would become World War II is a fascinating character study. But as we state in our Hyde Park on the Hudson review, the rest of it doesn't quite add up to being as excellent as Murray's performance. Not to be outdone, Laura Linney also deserves Oscar love for her portrayal of Roosevelt confidante Daisy.

 

Hyde Park on Hudson Trailer

Deadfall: Bana is one serious badass in the thriller that utilizes the harsh wintry conditions outside almost as another character. Bana and Olivia Wilde rob an Indian casino and are on the verge of getting away with it when their car careens out of control. They decide to split up and then the thrills ensue. The supporting cast is stellar, especially Kris Kristofferson, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek and Kate Mara. As we reported in our Deadfall review, the thrills don't quite add up, but it is worth the price of admission to see these actors shine.

 

Deadfall Trailer

Kevin Smith has been meaning to retire from feature film directing. His final film was supposed to be a hockey film inspired by a Warren Zevon song titled Hit Somebody, but now that project is being converted into a TV miniseries, there's room for one more movie to end his career on.

So what will the movie be? Today on Twitter, Smith stated that he'd like it to be Clerks 3. Apparently all he needs is for Jeff Anderson to sign on board, and he's ready to move forward.

Smith made his name with Clerks in 1994, which follows a pair of slackers working dead-end cashier jobs. The film was then turned into an animated series for a brief time in 2000, before a sequel was released in '06, featuring Smith go-tos Anderson, Brian O'Halloran, Jason Lee (Almost Famous), and Ben Affleck (He's Just Not That Into You).

So far, the project is just a tweet, but there's no reason to think Smith isn't serious about the idea. With the original film's 20th anniversary coming up in 2014, it could make for some perfect promotional synergy. Check out our Clerks quotes page for more.

Ty Burrell joined on for the sequel to The Muppets today, taking the role of an Interpol Agent. Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) was originally thought be taking the role, but scheduling conflicts made him drop out.

Burrell is best know for his work on the TV show Modern Family, though his film work includes Dawn of the Dead, The Incredible Hulk, and the upcoming Mr. Peabody and Sherman.

The Muppets, written by Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall) and Nicholas Stoller, was met with theatrical and critical success, earning an Academy Award for Best Original Song, for Man or Muppet. Segel will apparently not be involved in the sequel.

Not much is known about the plot of the second film, except that it will be a caper movie set in Europe. The Muppets 2 is slated for a December 20, 2013 release.

To mark the Blu-Ray and DVD release of the fourth film in the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Fox brought the cold to Beverly Hills. It's rare to see ice of any kind here in Los Angeles, so you can imagine what a treat it was for kids of all ages upon entering the Ice Age Ice Palace at the Beverly Center. Ice skating was just the beginning...

The animation house behind the franchise, Blue Sky Studios, had their award-winning character designer Peter de Seve on hand as well as some of the film’s most popular characters: Scrat, Manny and Sid. Cast member Keke Palmer also joined in the fun and her pride in the release's use of picture-in-picture signing for hard of hearing or deaf children was clear. “This is the first time it’s ever been done,” Palmer said. “Hopefully it’s the first step to other movies on DVDs doing this.”

Check out our sizzle reel from the event:

 

Ice Age Continental Drift Ice Palace Event

Ice Age Continental Drift lands on home video December 11 and features a slew of bonus features (check back tomorrow for our full review). The most astounding is how it is presented with picture-in-picture signing for those with hearing disabilities. To share in that joy, deaf students from the Marlton School attended the event and were themselves treated to a signing Santa to get those holiday wishes in to the big man.

We're moving right along this award season, as the year is coming to a close. Zero Dark Thirty has had a major surge in the last few weeks, being named Best Film of the Year by both the National Board of Review and the New York Film Critics Circle.

Now, the American Film Institute has released its annual Top 10 Movies of the Year list, and, surprise surprise, Zero Dark Thirty is on there. In fact, the movie about the killing of Osama Bin Laden also received top honors today from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Check out the full list of AFI winners below, featuring an eclectic mix of Hollywood blockbusters and independent films:

AFI Movies of the Year:
Argo
Beasts of the Southern Wild
The Dark Knight Rises
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Moonrise Kingdom
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty