How do you make the prospect of an Oliver Stone movie even more anticipated than just having the director on board? Give it an incredible cast.

That’s exactly what’s happened with Stone’s upcoming film, Savages, which is due to be released in the autumn this year. Co-written by acclaimed best-selling crime novelist Don Winslow and Shane Salerno, adapting Winslow’s own novel, the film has a fantastic cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, John Travlota, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Joel David Moore, and Salma Hayek.

The Playlist have got the first look at the film, and in just one still, you get a sense that this is going to be awesome.

“Blake Lively plays the gal pal of two Laguna Beach drug dealers (Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch) who is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel who wants to move in on their turf. Del Toro plays the cartel enforcer with Uma Thurman as Lively’s Mom, Salma Hayek as the leader of the cartel, John Travolta as a burnt-out DEA agent, the recently Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir as a double-crossing attorney who represents Hayek’s cartel, Joel David Moore as a computer nerd and Emile Hirsch  in an unnamed role.”

In this first image, we see Lively after she’s been kidnapped, looking a little worse for wear, with del Toro clearly making her feel right at home, blowing smoke into her face.

There isn’t a person on this cast that I don’t love, and as you can imagine, I can’t wait for this to come out. The premise sounds brilliant, and you can’t go wrong with a director like Stone going behind the camera for this. The man has three Oscars to his name, as well as a further four nominations, and here’s to hoping that he’ll have another huge success on his hands towards the end of the year. Savages will be with us on 28^th September, which means we have another eight months of anticipation before we can see it on the big screen. I can’t wait. For now, here’s the great first look at the film. As usual, click to enlarge.

Just yesterday, we got the news that Peter Weller, the original RoboCop, had joined the new additions to the cast of JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek sequel, along with Alice Eve and Benicio del Toro. (You can catch up on all our Star Trek-related coverage right here.)

Del Toro was the first of the new additions to be announced last month, and over the past few days there’s been some speculation as to what villain he’d be playing, with Khan surfacing as a possibility. Abrams was thought to have denied that del Toro would be playing Khan, but Vulture, via The Playlist, are now reporting that his wording was a slight technicality, in that del Toro is now exiting the project, and that the film’s villain is indeed set to be that of Khan.

I must confess that I’ve never seen any of the Star Trek films, including Abrams’ first film in 2009, but I’m a big fan of del Toro’s work, and thought that he was a brilliant addition to the original cast, which is headed up by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Anton Yelchin.

Unfortunately, it looks as though that’s no longer the case, with the report citing issues over wages being the breaking point for negotiations, which is a real shame. The show, of course, must go on, and so the search will no doubt be on to re-cast the villain’s role in del Toro’s place. With production scheduled to start next month, for a release date currently set at 17^th March, 2013, it’s not unreasonable to expect an announcement coming soon, hopefully in time for Christmas.

Following on from the recent casting additions we’ve been getting in the past few weeks, with the brilliant Benicio del Toro and Alice Eve joining the cast, JJ Abrams’ highly anticipated Star Trek sequel has another new cast member, Deadline report, in the form of Peter Weller.

Weller is best known for his role as the original RoboCop back in 1987, and has more recently been seen in TV’s Dexter, Fringe, and half a season of 24 back on Day 5 as Christopher Henderson.

Much of the original cast, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Anton Yelchin, are expected to reprise their roles for the sequel, with del Toro heading up the new additions in the form of the as-yet-unannounced villain.

Naturally, plot details are being kept under wraps, including what Weller’s role will be, but with a script coming from frequent collaborators Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, whose credits include the original 2009 film, Transformers, and TV’s Alias and Fringe, and with their Cowboys & Aliens co-writer Damon Lindelof joining them this time around, I think it’s a safe bet that fans will be happy with whatever they’ve got in store for us.

Though I’ve not seen him in much, I thought Weller was brilliant in season five of 24, and he’s clearly still on top of his game in joining the cast for the sequel. Filming is scheduled to begin next month, and is currently set to be released in 3D on 17^th May, 2013.

Alice Eve (Big Nothing) has been cast in J.J. Abrams’ as-yet-untitled Star Trek sequel.

The actress, best known for her role in She’s Out of My League, beat out Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) and Teresa Palmer (I am Number Four) for the unspecified role.

Most of the original cast, including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana and Anton Yelchin, are expected to return for the sequel, with Benicio Del Toro on board as the villain.

Plot details, on the other hand, are being held closely under wraps, but expect more details to trickle out as the film edges closer and closer to its imminent production start date.

The film will be released on May 17, 2013.

Source: Variety

With JJ Abrams having recently confirmed that he will be returning to the director’s chair for the sequel to his 2009 blockbuster Star Trek and pre-production on the film now well under way, speculation has turned to who will follow in the footsteps of Eric Bana’s Nero and take the role of the movie’s villain.

The latest suggestion? None other than Benicio Del Toro.

Del Toro’s association is more than just rumour, however; the actor has already met with Abrams to discuss the role, and sources suggest that an announcement regarding him being cast is imminent.

While Del Toro certainly make an interesting choice as the latest adversary to go up against Chris Pine’s James T. Kirk and the other members of the Enterprise crew, exactly what character he might be playing remains a total mystery. Star Trek fans have been debating long and hard since the release of the last movie as to whether the sequel should utilize a newly created character (some rumours have suggested the Klingons may play a major part in the new film) or a ‘new timeline’ take on a previously established villain – most notably Khan Noonien Singh, who was memorably played by Ricardo Montalban in both the original series episode ‘Space Seed’ and the 1982 film Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Abrams is notoriously secretive when it comes to divulging details of his projects before they’re released, so while shooting begins on Star Trek XII (or II, depending on your point of view) early in 2012, it may be some time before we find out exactly who or what the crew of the Starship Enterprise will be firing their phasers at this time around.

(Via Variety)

New poster time for Ariel Vroman’s big screen telling of the story of Richard Kuklinski, a contract killer whose prolific career as a hitman on America’s East coast spanned four decades and, Kuklinski claimed, claimed the lives over 250 men.

Based on Anthony Bruno’s book The Iceman: The True Story of a Cold-Blooded Killer Vroman’s film has an excellent cast with Michael Shannon taking the lead with James Franco, Benicio del Toro and Elias Koteas in support.

Where the film is being sold is on the curious circumstnace that during his time as a contract killer he had a wife and family who knew nothing of his activities until his arrest and trial.

There’s no firm release dates so far, but this may well be one to look out for.

IMPA gave up the goods.

The Farrelly Brothers are currently at work on their long-in-development biopic of that much-loved comedy trio from early in the last century, The Three Stooges, and Movie Web have posted some images from the set.

Where once big A-list stars like Benicio del Toro, Jim Carrey and even Sean Penn were once hovering around the project, lesser-known actors (with perhaps the exception of Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes) have inhabited the parts, with Will Sasso as Curly, Chris Diamantopoulos as Moe and the aforementioned Hayes as Larry.

There’s also an image of female co-star Sofía Vergara showing off her body and face  make-up bruises. Either that or she’s went a little method during the slapstick scenes! The film (which is due out sometime next year) also stars Glee’s Jane Lynch, Larry David and Richard Jenkins.

Blake Lively, best known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in The CW’s hit TV show Gossip Girl, has taken the lead female role of Ophelia in the upcoming Oliver Stone crime thriller, Savages, Variety reports.

The ever impressive John Travolta has also signed on for the film, taking the role of a DEA agent.

Naturally, Travolta is capable of pretty much any role you throw at him, and his casting is great news for me. His role as the cop in Face/Off, alongside Nicolas Cage as the antagonist, made the film one of my all-time favourites, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he can pull off a DEA agent to perfection.

Though I know a lot of people look down a bit on Gossip Girl, I personally think both the writing and the cast’s performances are superb, and in my eyes, Lively is one of the finest young actresses working at the moment. I think that it’s great news she’s looking to star in more and more films when Gossip Girl isn’t filming, because she’s a brilliant actress. Her role in The Town, Ben Affleck’s immense film of last year, demonstrated she’s not afraid to try things outside of her comfort zone. Being now cast in Stone’s next film as the free-spirited shared girlfriend and confidante of two guys running a marijuana operation out of Laguna Beach sounds like an excellent choice with which to expand her horizons.

There’s simply no question that Oliver Stone is an incredible director, a visionary of the past few decades. His films have earned a total of nine Academy Awards, and over thirty nominations, with him at the helm, with Stone himself taking two for Best Director (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay (Midnight Express).

The film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, written by Don Winslow, who is scripting the film with Shane Salerno. The film,

“follows two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins forced to work for a Mexican drug cartel after Ophelia, the free-spirited girlfriend they share, is kidnapped.”

Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are in talks to play the two male leads, with Benicio del Toro closing in on a role as part of the Mexican drug cartel.

Savages will be Stone’s first film after last year’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to his very popular 1987 original, and it sounds like Stone has certainly got the potential to have a great film with Savages. As it looks now, the cast and the story both have great promise, so it all sounds good so far. I’m hoping that it will be yet another chance for Lively to bolster her already successful movie career. She’ll be starring in this summer’s blockbuster, Green Lantern (out on 17th June), and is currently filming Hick, alongside Chloë Moretz, Rory Culkin, and Alec Baldwin. If her performances to date are anything to go by, she’ll be excellent in them all.

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) has been added to the cast of Savages, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Don Winslow.

Oliver Stone will direct from a script by Winslow and Shane Salerno.

In addition to Lawrence’s casting, Stone is also meeting with several top actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island), Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Tom Hardy (Inception), Benicio Del Toro (The Wolfman), James Franco (127 Hours) and Garrett Hedlund (Country Strong).

Savages centers on a love triangle between two best friends and O (Lawrence), the wild child girlfriend they share.

Lawrence will next be seen in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class – the trailer for which can be viewed here.

Source: Deadline

It seems like the idea of a Three Stooges biopic has been floating around Hollywood for decades.

The latest team in development on this project was the Farrelly brothers, who appeared to have Sean Penn lined up as Larry, Benicio del Toro as Moe and Jim Carrey in the role of Curly.

Since that casting was announced, Sean Penn was reported to have dropped out, with Paul Giamatti being mentioned as a possible replacement. Now Carrey (who brought another famed comedian to the big screen in Milos Forman’s underrated Andy Kaufman biopic, Man on the Moon), has left the project.

Speaking to MTV (the full interview is embedded below), Carrey has revealed that his reasons for leaving are more to do with the physical restraints of the part:

“For me, I don’t really want to do anything halfway, and I don’t feel like a fat suit does it. I started experimenting with it a little bit, and I gained 35, 40 pounds. I wanted to gain another 30, 40. When you’re Robert De Niro in your 20s or early 30s, you can kind of come back from that. It’s a tough thing to come back from when you’re upwards of 30 (laughs).”

So where does that leave the project? We know that Peter (one half of the directing siblings) is currently in production on his own feature, so maybe they’ve finally put to bed any plans to shoot this.

It’s a shame if that’s the case, as this project had the potential to steer the brothers in a slightly more interesting and challenging direction to that of their usual comedy material.

An interesting tweet via Production Weekly has Michael Shannon, Benicio Del Toro and James Franco as possible choices for the lead in the film dramatisation of the life of notorious hitman Richard Kuklinski, entitled The Iceman.

Kuklinski’s story certainly looks like it has the potential to be a fascinating film. The six foot five inch, 300 pound mob enforcer’s “career” stretched from 1948 till 1986, and it’s claimed he murdered over 250 men while working for two prominent East coast crime families.

Michael Shannon and Benicio Del Toro seen like the most likely candidates here, given the size of Kuklinski (don’t forget Del Toro previously piled on the pounds for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), but maybe Franco (getting great buzz for Danny Boyle’s new film 127 Hours) could go all method too and radically change his appearance.

Israel-born filmmaker Ariel Vromen is on directing duties here, and we’ll keep you updated when we hear who finally manages to nab the role.

ReelzChannel have posted the first official clip from Somewhere, Sofia Coppola’s follow-up to the Academy Award-winning Lost In Translation.

Somewhere was written and directed by Coppola and stars Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Michelle Monaghan, Benicio Del Toro, Chris Pontius, Laura Ramsey, Ellie Kemper and Robert Schwartzman.

Coppola’s film will be screened in-competition at two world famous film festivals, Toronto and Venice.

The clip shows Johnny (Stephen Dorff) and his co-star (Michelle Monaghan) promoting their new film.

Check out the clip below, as well as some new images The Playlist posted earlier today:

Somewhere will be released in the UK on March 4, 2011.

The latest movie to be given to us from Universal Pictures is that of The Wolfman which has been begging for a modern remake for years after the original movie back in the 1940s. This 21st century version is directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3) and has an rather awesome cast which includes Benicio Del Toro, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and the man who can say ‘Mr. Anderson’ like no other, Hugo Weaving.

Synopsis: Academy Award® winners Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs) and Benicio Del Toro (Traffic) tear up the screen in this action-packed thriller. Lawrence Talbot (Del Toro) is lured back to his family estate to investigate the savage murder of his brother by a bloodthirsty beast. There, Talbot must confront his childhood demons, his estranged father (Hopkins), his brother’s grieving fiancée (Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada) and a suspicious Scotland Yard Inspector (Hugo Weaving, The Matrix Trilogy). When Talbot is bitten by the creature, he becomes eternally cursed and soon discovers a fate far worse than death.

Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins.

The Wolfman had rather a bumpy ride to theatres when it was released earlier in the year but I’m pleased it made it’s way to the big screen. It suffers from being a little too erratic. The story seems to jump from one place to another and doesn’t really flow. The big reveal at the end of the movie is no surprise and unfortunately, we’ve seen this same formula time and time again in vampire movies galore, Frankenstein and any other movie which falls into this genre. I think if this movie had been released 10 or 15 years ago, it would have had a much better reception but in a world where every other movie released is a vampire film, it just doesn’t fit with an audience who are looking for something a bit different and original.

All that said, I personally did enjoy the movie and I would buy the DVD to watch the making-of and featurettes included on it. The cast in the movie were well chosen but I hoped for a little more Anthony Hopkins and relative newcomer, Emily Blunt. The costume design and the overall dark look of the movie was perfect and I really enjoyed how Johnson managed to merge all those elements together.

The Wolfman makes a great Saturday night in movie to watch with friends but as I said, don’t expect anything you’ve not seen 100 times before.

The Digital download comes with special features which includes two featurettes:

• Return of the Wolfman
• The Beast Maker

You can download The Wolfman through iTunes here or purchase the DVD / Blu Ray here.

Special features on the Blu Ray includes:

• Theatrical Feature
• Extended Feature
• Werewolf Legacy, Lore & Legend
• Alternate Endings
• Deleted and Extended Scenes
• Return Of The Wolfman
• The Beast Maker
• Transformation Secrets
• The Wolfman Unleashed
• Pocket Blu

There’s a lot to like about The Wolfman. The performances are pretty solid, even in spite of some very strange ‘English’ accents. The Make-up work by Rick Baker is astonishing, blending seamlessly with the computer generated transition sequences, while also demonstrating why the new technology will never be able to replace practical effects. There are also some wonderful scenes that recall the very best of ‘old-school’ horror, without becoming camp or seeming out of place.

Unfortunately all of this great work is undermined by a severe pacing issue.

The film tries desperately to be a traditional horror, complete with elaborate sets, startling audio cues and some truly unsettling moments, but it simply doesn’t succeed. Each and every scene feels too short for the genre. The film races along, removing any chance of building a rapport with its anti-hero, while also rapidly puncturing any sense of tension or foreboding that it manages to create.

The best horror films build slowly, giving the characters time to grow, and the audience time to become sympathetic towards them. The Wolfman doesn’t. In this respect, it feels much more like an action movie than a horror. Indeed, the film’s final set-piece abandons any remaining notion of it not being an action pic, in favour of pure stupidity and cliché.

In many ways The Wolfman is reminiscent of Ang Lee’s Hulk. As well as sharing some elements of that movie’s story, it also has the misfortune of having a collection of rather unsympathetic principal players. In contrast to Lee’s film however, which at least attempted to have us rooting for its monster, Wolfman sets up Del Torro’s alter ego as a savage beast, with no sense of remorse or control. There are hints that the character could have more depth, but there is simply no way of redeeming him within the ninety-eight minute running time.

Despite all of these flaws, The Wolfman is still a fun and enjoyable film, and well worth a watch. It’s a pretty safe bet, however, that the extended cut will be far superior.

To celebrate the new release of Universal’s new movie, The Wolfman, they been kind enough to provide us with loads of cool merchandise from the new movie.The Wolfman is released this Wednesday 10th February. If you’ve not seen it yet, head over here to view the trailer.

Synopsis: Inspired by the classic Universal film that launched a legacy of horror, The Wolfman brings the myth of a cursed man back to its iconic origins. Oscar® winner Benicio Del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a haunted nobleman lured back to his family estate after his brother vanishes. Reunited with his estranged father (Oscar® winner Anthony Hopkins), Talbot sets out to find his brother”¦and discovers a horrifying destiny for himself. Lawrence Talbot’s childhood ended the night his mother died.

We’ve got the chance for five lucky winner to be the proud owners of:

• A Silver Bullet USB stick
• A Wolfman T-shirt
• A Wolfman Book
• A Wolfman Soundtrack
• A Silver Bullet paper weight

To be in with a chance of winning, all you need to do is answer the following question and enter your answer in the form below:

What year did the original The Wolfman get it’s release?

The small print:

• This competition is open to the UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close Friday 12th February at 23.59 GMT
• The 5 winners will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here.

The Wolfman is finally getting released next Wednesday 10th February after nearly a four year delay. We’re nearly there but if you’re desperate to see it, we have seven brand new clips for your viewing pleasure.

The Wolfman is a remake of the 1941 version which starred Claude Rains. This new version is directed by Joe Johnston (Jurassic Park 3) and stars Anthony Hoplkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving and is set for release 10th February and we’ll be bringing you a review and a competition so keep your eyes peeled.

Clip 1 – Aberline pursues the Wolfman

Clip 2 – Gwen asks Lawrence to stay

Clip 3 – Gwen Consults The Gypsy

Clip 4 – Lawrence Warns Gwen to leave

Clip 5 – Sir John Defends Lawrence

Clip 6 – Sir John locks himself in

Clip 7 – Sir John watches Aberline

Universal Pictures have released a brand new behind-the-scenes look at Joe Johnston’s new movie The Wolfman which is a remake of the 1941 classic.

The 2010 version stars Anthony Hoplkins, Benicio Del Toro, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving and is set for release 12th February and we’ll be bringing you a review early next week.

Our friends over at Latino Review have been given the final poster for The Wolfman which stars Benicio Del Toro, Anothony Hoplkins, Hugh Weaving and Emily Blunt in a movie directed by Joe Johnston. This final poster shows all the cast and completes a rather large selection which you can see here.

The Wolfman has been a while in the making (it should have been released a couple of years ago) but it’s finally here and we’re looking forward to it. From memory, we have a screening in a couple of weeks and we’ll get our review to you asap. The Wolfman goes on general release 12th February.

Check out the new poster below and let us know what you think.

The guys over at CHUD have been given an amazing exclusive to share with us in the form of a brand new poster for Universal Pictures’ The Wolfman which is released February 12th.  As you’ll see from the thumbnail, you’ll notice it’s very different to all the other posters that we’ve brought you so far (see below for the related links). This new poster was drawn by legendary illustrator, Basil Gogos best known as the cover artist for Famous Monsters of Filmland.

I’ve put the poster above which you can click to enlarge or head over to Chud for the super high res version and to view and interview with Gogos.

Three new TV spots for The Wolfman have been released to give us a little more footage than we’ve seen before. The Wolfman has been years in the making but is finally being released by Universal Pictures on the 12th February. It’s directed by Joe Johnston and stars Benicio del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt and Hugo Weaving.

Check out the new spots below….

Universal Studios resurrects the classic lycanthrope with this tale of an American who experiences an unsettling transformation after returning to his ancestral home in Victorian-era Great Britain and being attacked by a rampaging werewolf. His brother having recently vanished without a trace, haunted nobleman Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) returns to his family estate to investigate. What he discovers upon reuniting with his estranged father (Anthony Hopkins), however, is a destiny far darker than his blackest nightmares. As a young boy, the untimely death of his mother caused Talbot to grow up before his time. Though Talbot would attempt to bury his pain in the past by leaving the quiet Victorian hamlet of Blackmoor behind, the past returns with a vengeance when his brother’s fiancée, Gwen Conliffe (Emily Blunt), convinces him to return home and aid the search for his missing brother.