New Trailer for 'Jack Reacher'

Much fuss has been made over the casting of Tom Cruise as the title character in Christopher McQuarrie's Jack Reacher. Fans of author Lee Child's novels (Jack Reacher is an adaptation of One Shot, the 9th installment in the Jack Reacher series) are quick to point out that Cruise lacks the character's described physique: 6'5" and 250 pounds worth of scarred muscle, with chilling blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. Speaking on the casting process, however, Child understood that compromises would inevitably be made:

"When you transfer a book to the screen, something’s going to give. It seems to me there are three essential things about Reacher. First, he’s smart. Second, he’s still and quiet yet menacing. Third, he’s huge. It was always likely we were going to lose one of those characteristics. The question was which. For a long time we were fixated on his physique. We had to have a big guy. But we got nowhere. There were no actors big enough who could do even one of the other things. Then it came as an epiphany. Give up the physique and concentrate on Reacher’s smartness and quietness."

So does Cruise work as Reacher without the "huge" factor? I'm not so sure. As evidenced by this new trailer, the character now lacks an implied, rugged toughness. He feels far more everyman, the film a bit bland as a result. Jack Reacher opens December 21st and also stars Rosamund Pike, Robert Duvall, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Jai Courtney, and Werner Herzog. Synopsis and trailer after the jump.

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Tom Hardy Lines Up Another Anti-Poaching Film, Sheldon Turner Working on the Screenplay

After thoroughly terrorizing Gotham City this summer as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Tom Hardy has been hard at work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire developing a Traffic-esque anti-poaching film for Warner Bros. But now one becomes two, as Deadline brings word that the trio will be producing a second, more straightforward anti-poaching film for WB as well — intended to be a star vehicle for Hardy penned by Up in the Air co-writer Sheldon Turner. The film follows a "former special forces soldier who signs on with a friend to work in the bush, training rangers to fight off the poachers decimating the rhino and elephant populations in Zimbabwe. The soldier falls in love with the land, and the animals he is trying to save. Given his skill set, this spells bad news for the poachers."

As for the multi-stranded, Traffic-esque look at the industry, no writer has yet been brought on as Maguire, DiCaprio, and Hardy contemplate onscreen roles. Deadline describes the film's perspectives as ranging "from the back-room dealings of corrupt executives, to a portrait of the life of a poacher, to others involved in the underbelly of a global scourge that occurs not only in the jungles but also the oceans, where illegal shark fishing runs rampant." This sounds like the far more interesting project of the two, though I suspect it'll be the more difficult one to get going.

Focus Features Sets 'The Place Beyond the Pines' for March 2013

Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond The Pines remains one of the best scripts I've read all year, an ambitious, sprawling drama starring Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, and Dane DeHaan. Gosling plays a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks as a means to provide for his newborn son, a decision that puts him on an inevitable collision course with Cooper's rookie cop. The film explores how their resulting choices and actions reverberate throughout the community, and generations to follow. After premiering last month at the Toronto International Film Festival to strong, if somewhat critical, response, Focus Features acquired the film for an ambiguous 2013 release. This was mildly disappointing considering I had expected to see Pines by the end of the year, though it appears the film isn't much further off with last night's announcement of a March 29, 2013 limited release date — putting it up against blockbusters G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Host.

Featuring supporting turns from Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Emory Cohen, Bruce Greenwood, and Ray Liotta, The Place Beyond The Pines really is the sort of weighty piece of work that should be on everyone's radar. Two clips await after the jump. Not new, unfortunately, but here just in case you missed them.

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'Kick-Ass 2' Plot Synopsis Revealed

With production of Kick-Ass 2 well underway in Toronto, Universal Pictures has released an official plot synopsis for the Jeff Wadlow-directed adaptation of Mark Millar's comic-book series. Expanding the roster of heroes and villains out into ensemble territory, including the addition of Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes, Kick-Ass 2 seems to be going for something much bigger — and hopefully better — than its predecessor, executed a bit inconsistently by director Matthew Vaughn. Opening June 28th and also starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, and Donald Faison, Kick-Ass 2 stands as one of next summer's more promising projects. Check out the official synopsis after the jump, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.

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Robert Pattinson Joins Carey Mulligan for 'Hold On to Me'

Don't let its seemingly romantic title fool you. Hold On to Me, written by Brad Ingelsby (Out of the Furnace) and set to be directed by James Marsh (Man on Wire, Shadow Dancer), follows a money-hungry femme fatale who, after her dreams have failed, uses a hapless man as a pawn in a get-rich-quick scheme. The plan? To bury the town's richest man in box and hold him for ransom. Carrey Mulligan was cast as the leading lady back in August (the project called Nancy and Danny at that point). And now Robert Pattinson has boarded the dark comedy in the "flashy supporting role" of Jimmy, a character described as the love of the woman’s life, but not the boyfriend involved in the kidnapping.

Though Pattinson will soon appear in the conclusion to The Twilight Saga, his post-franchise slate is looking fairly impressive. He'll star opposite Guy Pearce in David Michod’s near-future Australian Western, The Rover, and is attached to star in Werner Herzog’s Queen of the Desert as Colonel T.E. Lawrence (aka Lawrence of Arabia) alongside Naomi Watts. He's also the lead in Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire's Mission: Blacklist, the true story of the U.S. military interrogator responsible for discovering the location of Saddam Hussein.

New 'Life of Pi' Featurette: Filming Yann Martel’s Unfilmable Novel

As filmmakers continue to utilize new technologies and defy narrative conventions, the notion of a novel being "unfilmable" has become something of a misnomer. Just this fall we'll be treated to two such impossibilities: David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, as directed by Andy & Lana Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, followed by Yann Martel’s Life of Pi from director Ang Lee. While the former bunch contended with the logistical and structural nightmare of six stories spanning thousands of years, Lee worked to embrace 3D and visual effects to capture Life of Pi's vivid landscapes and animal inhabitants. Twentieth Century Fox has released a new featurette that focuses on these challenges, including commentary by the novel's author.

Life of Pi stars Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Rafe Spall, and Gerard Depardieu. Early reviews are glowing, so be sure to keep an eye out for it when it opens on November 21st. Synopsis and featurette after the jump.

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