Paramount Pictures has today released a new trailer for Titanic 3D ahead of the re-release next April. The trailer first appeared on Titanic‘s official Facebook page with an introduction from director James Cameron.

Paramount has also released a poster for the re-release, which you can view below:

It’s been 14 years since Cameron’s movie won 11 Oscars and made over $1.8 billion worldwide. Will you be buying a ticket to see it in 3D?

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It’s easy to see how J. Edgar was one of my most anticipated films of 2011. It stars my favorite working actor, is directed by a living legend, and features a script by an Academy Award winning screenwriter. But who knew that those elements could combine to create something so…boring?

The film tracks the trajectory of the professional and personal life of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DiCaprio), the first director of the FBI, from the early days of his career in 1919 until his death in 1972. Hoover meets a young graduate named Clyde Tolson (Armie Hammer), and even though he doesn’t fit the profile for a job on Hoover’s coveted new squad, Hoover brings him on anyway. See, Hoover’s been bullied into not accepting his homosexuality. Even his own mother (Judi Dench) says she’d rather have a dead son than a gay one. On a first date with a new woman at the Bureau (Naomi Watts), Hoover is so socially inept that she has to interrupt a proposal from him. She’s married to her work, she says, and Hoover brings her on as his personal secretary (a position she’ll have for the rest of her life). But he can’t help himself with Tolson, what with the young man’s booming voice and broad shoulders and all. Though things never get too sexual – check out another film that played at the AFI Film Festival this year, Steve McQueen’s Shame, if you’re looking for that – their relationship takes center stage as Hoover makes a name for himself and his department.

“Information is power,” an elderly Hoover dictates to one of numerous agents tasked with writing a book about him (the structure of the film is told from the old man’s point of view through flashbacks), and the film does add a tiny bit of complexity when dealing with the issues of how far Hoover is willing to go to keep his power in Washington, simultaneously commenting on the state of American politics and freedoms in a post-9/11 world. I wish more of those concepts were explored instead of what we are actually shown: a stale biopic about a tortured man whose private life was undoubtedly messed up, but was also, as the marketing hails, “the most powerful man in the world.”

There’s much made of the creation of the FBI and Hoover’s crusade to secure the adoption of the investigation techniques used in regular police work today. But since our modern media is saturated with a different CSI or NCIS show seemingly every night, the “magic” of the implementation of those tactics seems dull and uninteresting. The film doesn’t really help us out in this department: the centerpiece of the use of this technology surrounds the infamous Lindbergh baby case – specifically, agents studying wood from a ladder found outside the home the day of the kidnapping. Yep, you read that correctly – guys standing around in a lab analyzing a wooden ladder. Some movies may be able to make a scene like that interesting, but J. Edgar is not one of them.

Behind the camera, this is not the rough and tumble Eastwood I prefer. Instead, it’s as if adhering to his notoriously quick directing style – Fincher did 99 takes for the opening scene of The Social Network, while Eastwood prefers to do everything in one or two takes – became more important than the content of the film itself, rendering the movie completely devoid of any passion or personality. It could have been directed by anyone, and that was a big disappointment for me.

Another disappointment? This is not DiCaprio’s best work. More distracting than the heavy age makeup for me was his speech, as he adopts what one can only assume is an accurate representation of the way Hoover actually spoke. But accurate as it may be (or maybe it isn’t, how should I know?), DiCaprio’s delivery is brittle and jerky, with an accent sliding in and out depending on the scene. This is the same actor who received high praise for his South African accent in Blood Diamond, one of the most difficult accents to replicate. So I’m sure it was just a choice on his part in J. Edgar, but it was one that I could never quite get past as the movie progressed. Armie Hammer and Naomi Watts were both fine, but the monotonous script doesn’t allow them to live up to their potential and never gives them a true “moment” to make their own, save for a laughably over-the-top emotional outburst from Hammer seen in the trailers.

Sometimes the combination of some of the best talent in the business results in a misfire. In the blockbuster genre, take a look at Cowboys & Aliens from earlier this year: Jon Favreau, Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, Damon Lindelof, Hawk Otsby, Mark Fergus, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci all had their hands in that pot, and it was pretty awful. If the nicest thing I can say about J. Edgar is that it’s the dramatic equivalent of Cowboys & Aliens…well, there’s that saying about “if you can’t say anything nice,” so maybe I shouldn’t have said anything at all. Until next time…

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Leonardo DiCaprio has been nominated for three Oscars in his career, but the actor has yet to be rewarded with a trophy. His role in Clint Eastwood’s J. Edgar, which opens this week, is picking up some awards buzz and could see him secure another nomination.

In acknowledgement Funny Or Die has posted a video mash-up which suggests Leonardo DiCaprio would do anything to win an Oscar.

Watch below:

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When Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio were confirmed for Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained there was talk of Kerry Washington (Ray, The Last King of Scotland) being in talks to play Broomhilda, Django’s wife who is sold off to entertain the white patrons of Candyland.

Now Deadline reports that Kerry Washington has landed the role, and the delay in confirmation was due to Tarantino’s interest in “making a discovery in the role, and that led to a long casting search”. However it appears he couldn’t find any upcoming talent, so went back to Washington who he had his eye on from the beginning.

The casting of Broomhilda has interested a few people who managed to read the script a few months ago. While the character is the female lead, Shadow and Act notes the role is not “the most glamorous, nor complex” as there are several scenes where Broomhilda is naked, and a few where she is being raped and whipped. The Playlist says the character is “essentially a damsel in distress…and that’s about it”, but the script may have changed slightly since, and Kerry Washington might be able to bring some depth to the role.

In the movie Django (Jamie Foxx) is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Samuel L. Jackson will play DiCario’s slave, Stephen, while Kurt Russell will play the sadistic trainer Ace Woody, who forces male slaves to fight to entertain the white patrons of Candyland.

Tarantino plans to start shooting Django Unchained in New Orleans in January, and The Weinstein Company will release it on December 25, 2012.

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Back in July Spanish director Jaume Collet-Serra (Unknown) signed on to direct the live-action adaptation of anime graphic novel Akira for Warner Bros., replacing Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) who left due to “creative differences”.

Since then the director and Warner Bros. have been finding ways to reduce the budget, which at the time was way over $100m. Last week a new budget of $90m was presented, and Variety reports that the studio has now given the project the greenlight and are starting to offer roles to actors.

Names such as Robert Pattinson, Chris Pine, Andrew Garfield, Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were reportedly being considered for two lead roles earlier this year, but Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy) is now said to be the top choice by both Warner Bros. and Collett-Sera.

The graphic novel follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments. Warner Bros. has moved the location from Japan to the US (annoying some fans), with the story now taking place in a rebuilt New Manhattan.

Leonardo DiCaprio is producing under his Appian Way banner, and Harry Potter screenwriter Steve Kloves recently re-wrote the script. Katsuhiro Otomo, who wrote and directed the 1988 Japanese anime movie of the same name, will serve as executive producer. Shooting is set to begin in late February/early March 2012.

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Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for Clint Eastwood’s potential Oscar contender, J. Edgar. The biopic stars Leonardo DiCaprio as J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was surrounded by controversy as his career in the Bureau progressed.

Watch the trailer below:

The films also stars Armie Hammer as lawyer-turned-FBI-official — and, some say, Hoover’s lover — Clyde Tolson. Though the pair didn’t always agree on political tactics, Tolson remained a loyal friend and advisor to Hoover. Naomi Watts plays Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk Hoover selected as his personal secretary at the age of 21 who wound up working for him for over 54 years, and Judi Dench appears as Hoover’s mother.

J. Edgar will have a limited release starting on Wednesday November 9th, followed by an Oscar-friendly wide release two days later on November 11th. Could this be Leo’s shot at a trophy after being nominated (and missing out) three times?

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Warner Bros. has released new images from Clint Eastwood’s John Edgar Hoover biopic J. Edgar. In the film Naomi Watts plays Helen Gandy, a Justice Department file clerk Hoover selected as his personal secretary at the age of 21 who wound up working for him for over 54 years.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays J. Edgar Hoover, the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) who was surrounded by controversy as his career in the Bureau progressed. Armie Hammer plays lawyer-turned-FBI-official — and, some say, Hoover’s lover — Clyde Tolson. Though the pair didn’t always agree on political tactics, Tolson remained a loyal friend and advisor to Hoover.

Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl) will play Agent Smith, a clean-cut operative hired by Hoover to write his biography; Josh Lucas plays aviator Charles Lindbergh; Damon Herriman plays Bruno Hauptmann, the German immigrant accused of kidnapping Lindbergh’s 20-month baby in 1932. Called the crime of the century, Hauptmann’s trial was a major case for Hoover.

J. Edgar will have a limited release starting on Wednesday November 9th, followed by an Oscar-friendly wide release two days later on November 11th.

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Quentin Tarantino is in talks with Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves, Waterworld) to join the cast of Django Unchained according to Deadline. Costner is already set to shoot Man of Steel later this year as Jonathan Kent, Superman’s earth father, but in Django Unchained he’ll be playing a “sadistic” villain.

Deadline says Costner will play the role of Ace Woody:

He’s the sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes. The club and ranch are owned by Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and Ace Woody is the one who pits the “mandingo” fighters against one another, and has little qualms about mistreating and even killing the slaves who don’t measure up.

In the movie Django (Jamie Foxx) is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCario). Samuel L. Jackson will play DiCario’s slave, Stephen, while Kerry Washington, who starred opposite Jamie Foxx in Ray, is in talks to play Django’s wife Broomhilda.

Filming will begin in November and The Weinstein Company has given Django Unchained a December 25, 2012 release date.

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After offering Will Smith the lead, and considering Idris Elba, Terrence Howard and Chris Tucker, Quentin Tarantino and The Weinstein Company began talks last month with Oscar winning actor Jamie Foxx (Ray, Collateral) to star in Django Unchained.

Now in a recent interview Foxx confirmed that he’ll be part of the film, and explained briefly why he wanted the role.

From CNN:

“I think, just to be able to work with Quentin Tarantino and Samuel Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, and to be able to tell a story that needs to be told,” he said of why he agreed to the role. “If you’re a fan of ‘Inglorious Basterds,’ I mean, you know.. It’s just amazing. It should be [an] amazing [thing].”

Django is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCario). Samuel L. Jackson will play DiCario’s slave, Stephen, while Kerry Washington, who starred opposite Jamie Foxx in Ray, is in talks to play Django’s wife Broomhilda.

Filming will begin in November and The Weinstein Company has given Django Unchained a December 25, 2012 release date.

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Negotiations with Will Smith have obviously come to nothing (presumably money/image related) and Idris Elba will be heading to the Pacific Rim with Guillermo Del Toro, so the path has now been cleared for Oscar winning actor Jamie Foxx (Ray, Collateral) to take the lead in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained.

From Deadline:

Quentin Tarantino has made his choice and negotiations will begin for Jamie Foxx to play the title character in Django Unchained. Tarantino’s next film will be distributed domestically by The Weinstein Company and overseas by Sony Pictures.

No deal has been made yet, but it shouldn’t take long. While the early focus had Will Smith the likely participant, Deadline told you on June 7 that those talks had gone south and we were first to identify Foxx as a prime contender for the role, along with Idris Elba and Chris Tucker.

Django is a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself, and after assisting Waltz in taking down some bad guys for profit, is helped by Waltz in tracking down his slave wife and liberating her from an evil plantation owner (Leonardo DiCario).

Filming will begin in November and The Weinstein Company has given Django Unchained a December 25, 2012 release date.

Is Jamie Foxx the right man for Django, or would you have preferred Will Smith or Idris Elba?

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