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Thanks to HBO, it's hard to think about mobsters without thinking of Tony Soprano. It's been six years since the Emmy-winning series"The Sopranos" ended its six season run on the cable network with a much talked about cut to black. Sadly, now the film's leading man has also faded away as THR reports James Gandolfini has passed away at age 51. Gandolfini was overseas to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, Italy and waiting to participate in a special event with Italian director Gabriele Muccino, and reports say the actor died suddenly after a massive heart attack. This is truly a shocking and terrible loss.

› Posted 11 hours ago in Movie News, Obituaries | Comments

'Out of the Furnace' with Christian Bale Moved Back Until November

Briefly: Possible awards season news. Relativity Media has announced a change in the release date for Scott Cooper's Out of the Furnace, a gritty vengeance thriller starring Christian Bale and Casey Affleck, which might be positioning for awards potential. It was initially set for October, but will now hit theaters on November 27th, or that big Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the same slot Oscar winner Silver Linings Playbook hit theaters in last year. In addition, a new teaser poster featuring only smokey imagery and the cast list has arrived ahead of the trailer. As mentioned by In Contention, their awards plan might be to "skip [the fall festivals] altogether and keep the mystery going until it hits screens." Is this mysterious enough?

› Posted 14 hours ago in Movie News, Posters, Release Date | Comments

Sam Taylor-Johnson Set to Direct the 'Fifty Shades of Grey' Movie

The discussion is over - we have a victor. Deadline is reporting that Sam Taylor-Johnson, formerly Sam Taylor-Wood of Nowhere Boy, is directing the Fifty Shades of Grey adaptation in the works at Universal with Dana Brunetti & Michael De Luca producing. After rumors and try outs around directors like Gus Van Sant and Joe Wright, it's being reported her job "has been secured." She is married to actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson, of Kick-Ass fame, and as some have already started speculating it's likely he is in the running for the lead role of the 27-year-old billionaire Christian Grey. We have yet to hear any casting confirmations, though rumors are sure to kick up now that the director is set and things are moving along on this project.

› Posted 15 hours ago in Development, Discuss, Movie News | Comments

Watch: Michael Cera Wants to Get High in 'Crystal Fairy' Indie Trailer

After kicking off the 2013 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Sebastian Silva's indie road trip comedy Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus is coming to theaters this summer. The film follows Michael Cera as Jamie, an American living in Chile who is keen on heading into the desert for a Mescaline-fueled psychedelic trip with his local friends. But the journey isn't quite what he seems after he accidentally invites Crystal Fairy (Gaby Hoffman) on the trip. Her free and esoteric nature clashes with Jamie’s acidic, self-absorbed personality, and it makes for some comedy and awkwardness. The performances from Cera and Hoffman are great, but the film as a whole didn't quite work for me. Watch?

› Posted 17 hours ago in To Watch, Trailers | Comments

Owen Wilson & Woody Harrelson Turkey Time Travel in 'Free Birds'

Every single year, the President of the United States pardons a single turkey from being eaten for Thanksgiving. But what happens to that turkey afterwards? Apparently he lives the life of luxury. Owen Wilson voices a pardoned turkey who has his cushy life interrupted when he's recruited by another high strung, eccentric turkey (Woody Harrelson) to go back in time and stop their kind from being on the menu at the very first Thanksgiving. Amy Poehler also lends her voice to the animated time travel adventure Free Birds from the director of Horton Hears a Who!, and it looks like some good holiday fun.

› Posted 18 hours ago in To Watch, Trailers | Comments

Watch: Channing Tatum & Jamie Foxx 'Channing All Over Your Tatum'

If that headline sounds dirty, that's the idea. In what seems like a strange bit of pseudo-marketing for White House Down, co-stars Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum have reunited for a spectacular music video for their parody song (I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum. If you don't know what we're talking about, the two actors performed this song on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" following the Oscars earlier this year. Now they have guests like Tatum's Magic Mike co-star Olivia Munn, Precious lead Gabourey Sidibe, Miley Cyrus, and regular Kimmel target Matt Damon bringing the song to life. Watch it now!

› Posted 18 hours ago in Humor, To Watch | Comments

TV Writer Greg Berlanti Gets 'Epsilon' Sci-Fi from 'Zombieland' Writers

Though the work of Greg Berlanti has mostly been isolated to executive producing and writing TV series like "No Ordinary Family," "Everwood," "Brothers & Sisters" and the comic book adaptation "Arrow," he also had a hand in the script for Green Lantern. While that might not necessarily inspire a lot of confidence, Berlanti is sticking in the realm of science fiction for his sophomore directing effort. The project is called Epsilon, and the Sony Pictures production is quite the departure from Berlanti's feature film directorial debut, the subpar romantic comedy Life as We Know It with Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. Read on!

› Posted 18 hours ago in Development, Movie News | Comments

Michael Cera Directs & Stars in 'Failure' Short Film with Aubrey Plaza

In this day and age, there are a lot of online outlets delivering great video content in the realm of entertainment. One such group is JASH, a comedy collective featuring original content by partners Michael Cera, Tim & Eric, Sarah Silverman, Reggie Watts and producer Daniel Kellison (of Jimmy Kimmel and David Letterman) with additional contributions from their many friends. This time Cera is behind the camera for a short film called Failure, and he also stars in the story of a young man unnerved by a very peculiar and stalker-esque girl played by Aubrey Plaza (it's her eyes that really sell the fear). Watch below!

› Posted 19 hours ago in Short Film, To Watch | Comments

Shailene Woodley Says Mary Jane is Not in 'Amazing Spider-Man 2'

With Sony Pictures just announcing release dates for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 and The Amazing Spider-Man 4 in 2016 and 2018 respectively, the idea of a trilogy for this superhero franchise reboot went out the window. And it sounds like those plans might have shaken up what actually happens in the forthcoming sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Though Shailene Woodley has been cast as Mary Jane Watson, and set photos showed her on set filming scenes in New York City, the actress has revealed that her scenes will end up being cut, and the staple comic love interest will not appear until the next film.

› Posted 19 hours ago in Development, Movie News | Comments

Must Watch: First Trailer for James Ponsoldt's 'The Spectacular Now'

"Then she falls for you... what happens then?" A24 has finally unveiled a trailer for one of our favorite films of Sundance 2013, James Ponsoldt's The Spectacular Now, another fantastic coming-of-age love story starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. This indie gem is from the same guys who wrote 500 Days of Summer and tells an amusing, heartwarming, riveting story of young love and growing up. Ponsoldt is one of my favorite directors around, I love the performances he captures. Shailene more than anyone melts my heart. Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Brie Larson and Kyle Chandler make appearances, too. Enjoy!

› Posted 20 hours ago in Indies, To Watch, Trailers | Comments

Another Slightly Different 'LEGO Movie' International Trailer Also Hits

"I'm just going to come right out - I have no idea what's going on, at all." To go along with the very first teaser trailer debuted yesterday, another international teaser has hit for Phil Lord & Chris Miller's animated The LEGO Movie. There is a lot of the same footage in this as the other teaser, introducing Emmet (voiced by Chris Pratt) and the Batman joke, but there's also some other shots that make this look much crazier than I was expecting. Yea it's just one big LEGO commercial, but I trust in the directors (Lord & Miller) to come up with something genuinely hilarious, totally entertaining and yet still heartfelt by the end. Check it!

› Posted 20 hours ago in To Watch, Trailers | Comments

First Look: Chiwetel Ejiofor & Others in McQueen's '12 Years a Slave'

Get a first look at one of this season's top awards contenders. Fox Searchlight has released a batch of photos introducing us to Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup, a man living in New York during the mid-1800s who is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the deep south. His first owner is a Baptist preacher played by Benedict Cumberbatch. And Michael Fassbender plays vile owner Edwin Epps. McQueen on what got to him: "It's the situation and the detail of Solomon's recollection of those events that ingrained itself in my brain, and the humanity of everyone involved." See them below.

› Posted 21 hours ago in First Look, Indies, Photos | Comments

Must Watch: 'Anchorman: The Legend Continues' First Full Trailer

"Welcome to the 80's, baby." The fearsome four have returned! Paramount has finally unveiled the first full theatrical trailer for Adam McKay's Anchorman: The Legend Continues sequel, reuniting the four guys from the Channel 4 news team to Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." In addition to the four regulars, Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd and David Koechner, we get glimpses of James Marsden, Kristen Wiig and Meagan Good but thankfully no other major cameos (just yet). There is also a hint at the story, but I'm just happy to see these guys back together again ready to report the news to San Diego. Have a blast!

› Posted 22 hours ago in To Watch, Trailers | Comments

'Dumb & Dumber To' Revived at Universal and Red Granite Pictures