It's good to see Jessica Lange in a new movie (last time I watched her was in the great HBO film, "Grey Gardens") so this is casting news worthy to report.

Here's more from Coming Soon via Screen Gems:

"Two-time Academy Award winner Jessica Lange and Sam Neill have joined the cast of Screen Gems and Spyglass Entertainment's romance 'The 'Vow.

"Lange and Neill will star opposite Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum in the film being directed by Michael Sucsy.

"Spyglass' Roger Birnbaum, Gary Barber, and Jonathan Glickman are producing the project along with Paul Taublieb. Austin Hearst and Susan Cooper are executive producing. Cassidy Lange is co-producing.

 

This movie has been completed for two years, features two major stars, and deals with a subject that's been in the news quite a lot lately, gay tolerance and love.

That would be "I Love You Phillip Morris" starring Jim Carry and Ewan McGregor, based on a true story about Steve Russell, a married man who comes out of the closet and then, gets in all kinds of legal trouble. He goes to jail for fraud and then...falls in love with Phillip (McGregor) only to set off another life of crime when he is released. He wants to support a high flying life with him and his new love.

But the movie is finally getting a release this Dec. 3 and with a new poster to boot.

 

I'm late to my own movie watching party, but as they say, rather late than never...showing up.

So if you're awake, or DVR able, please watch my introduction and discussion of two of my favorite films -- Jack Garfein's beautiful, shocking, experimental, empathetic, wonderfully acted "Something Wild" (1961), starring Carroll Baker and Ralph Meeker, and John Berry's gritty, gripping, poignant film noir, complete with tragic blacklisted star (the great John Garfield, in his last role), writer (Dalton Trumbo) and director, "He Ran All the Way" (1951), starring Garfield and Shelley Winters. That's on TCM, 8:30 and 11:30 (PST).

 

I haven't heard his name mentioned in a while, so if you're an Eddie Murphy fan, listen up.

The comic actor is set to star alongside Ben Stiller in the Brett Ratner picture "Tower Heist." Also starring is Alan Alda.

The cast, which at one point included Donald Trump, is getting more and more interesting.

Here's more from the exclusive at Deadline:

"Jeff Nathanson, Ratner's accomplice in the 'Rush Hour' films, is rewriting the latest version by Ted Griffin. Murphy has been mentioned as a possible participant going back to the film's original configuration as an African-American version of 'Ocean's Eleven,' when it was called 'Trump Heist.' 

"Trump was dropped, as was that casting equation, and now, the storyline deals with operations and maintenance workers in a luxury Manhattan high-rise whose pension funds were looted by a Bernie Madoff-like Wall Street crook, who is living high style in a penthouse apartment, under house arrest. Led by an overworked building manager (Stiller), the workers use their knowledge of the inner workings of the building to rip him off. WME-repped Murphy became a star playing street-smart characters who stuck it to the man in movies from '48 Hours' to 'Trading Places.'

 

This is a new way to promote a movie -- a swimsuit calendar.

Zach Galifianakis (ready to open Todd Phillips' comedy,"Due Date" alongside Robert Downey Jr.) does just that via Vanity Fair and the results are...well, you can see above.

 

Yesterday I reported that Rhys Ifans would be the villain in the new "Spider-Man" movie but I wasn't sure which villain he would play.

And now (drumroll)...it's stated that the lanky Welsh actor will play Dr. Curt Connors, or The Lizard.

I can see the Ifans being lizard-like. Just by looking at the picture on the right -- I can see the tongue flicking out right now.

I'll stop looking.

Here's more:

"There had been rumors across the blogosphere that Sony was thinking of bringing back Venom for the franchise reboot, but that character will not be featured in the movie, two individuals familiar with the project have told TheWrap.

"Andrew Garfield stars as Peter Parker, while Emma Stone will play Gwen Stacy, who rivals Mary Jane Watson for Spidey's affection.

 

Save for a few movies, this year seems bereft of Oscar-worthy pictures, and we're already closing in on October.

And I'm not talking Oscar-worthy in the usual, prepackaged Oscar-bait way ("Forrest Gump," "Titanic," "A Beautiful Mind"); I'm talking Oscar-worthy in that there are few movies the Academy would even consider nominating.

They will be forced to do right and actually nominate "The Social Network." Imagine!

TheWrap has some interesting ideas about the Oscar race already, based on conversations heard online or around Hollywood, and their own predictions.

Here are some main points that may surprise:

"Most of the real contenders have yet to hit the big screen, but that hasn't kept a spate of trial balloons and unlikely scenarios that are being entertained to swirl around town.

"The big ones right now?

"That 'True Grit,' sight unseen, is a strong candidate to win Best Picture.

"That 'The Social Network' could be competing as an Original Screenplay rather than an adapted one.

"That Mel Gibson might be a Best Actor candidate.

 

The newest John Cusack project better be a good one, because I can already hear critics who wish it never happened using a quip that will become tiresome in about two seconds: "nevermore."

At least it has nothing to do with Annabel Lee, because that wouldn't even make sense.

Yes, I'm making Edgar Allan Poe jokes, if that's what you want to call them. Why? Because John Cusack will be playing the famed writer in a movie called, not surprisingly, "The Raven." And the twist here is, Poe is hunting a serial killer. He couldn't just be Edgar Allan Poe; they had to throw some ye olden CSI business into the mix to keep viewers, or the illiterate, interested.

Here are the details from Coming Soon:

"Luke Evans and Alice Eve are in negotiations to star opposite John Cusack in the James McTeigue-directed The Raven, says The Hollywood Reporter.

"Evans will play a detective in 1849 Baltimore who partners with Edgar Allan Poe (Cusack) to search for a serial killer who has kidnapped the author's fiancee (Eve) and has gone on a murder spree that mimics the author's work.