One of the not-so-sneakiest potential box office smashes arriving in theaters later this summer? Try The Smurfs, which opens on July 29 opposite the dark franchise starter Cowboys and Aliens and the romcom Crazy, Stupid, Love. Just imagine how many kids will want to see the little blue guys -- in 3D, no less -- instead of a moody Daniel Craig and/or teary-eyed Steve Carell (save them for the adults, anyway). Plus, judging from the brand-new trailer, The Smurfs apparently will offer the young ones a whole new way to say swear words! Click ahead to see for yourself, you smurfing smurfhole.
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Regardless of what happens critically or commercially with The Hangover Part II, director Todd Phillips has established himself as nothing less than Hollywood's reigning press-tour pugilist. Not literally, of course -- no one has footage of him punching interrogators' teeth into the backs of their throats (yet) -- but rather with candid, confrontational aplomb, as featured in a new video interview.
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I would have bought a card, but Bob Dylan's 70th birthday snuck up on me before I could get to Hallmark. They grow up so fast! Nevertheless, we can honor the iconic singer/songwriter with a few quick glimpses back at his feature-film history:
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Jenna Fischer made Scranton paper company receptionists seem adorable on The Office and now, in the directorial debut of King of Queens creator Michael J. Weithorn, Fischer tries to do the same for small-town widows. In the upcoming indie dramedy, Fischer plays a single mother who adjusts to single motherhood after her philandering husband (Chris O'Donnell) unexpectedly dies and she reconnects with her high school flame (Rob Benedict)...who also happens to be her sister's husband. After the record stops scratching, check out the trailer below.
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Here's the thing about being Madonna: You can't contradict your saucy quotes from the early '90s with maternal niceties in 2011, because I'll remember what you said. I will find the evidence in my cone bra, produce it coquettishly like an Old West dame, and share my returns. Welp, here's the new drama: Madonna appeared on Oprah Winfrey's final show today, claiming that she admires the talk show doyenne for promoting reading. Fine, but I remember a movie called Truth or Dare where Madonna cavalierly trashed Oprah. Let's watch it.
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Another day, another adventure in marketing from the folks at Twentieth Century Fox, who are tirelessly pushing the upcoming X-Men: First Class to the point of oversaturating the audience. The latest promotional tool? An odd Farmers Insurance ad which features Professor J.K. Simmons (who, to be clear, is not in First Class) welcoming exchange student Beast to Farmers University. Check it out ahead.
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Back in January, the Michael Shannon/Jessica Chastain psychological thriller Take Shelter broke away from the Sundance pack when it was the first festival feature to land a distribution deal. After its Sundance premiere, the Jeff Nichols film earned high marks from critics, was suggested as a possible contender for this year's Best Picture race and -- just last week -- won the top critics award at Cannes. Finally, Sony Pictures Classics has released a trailer for Take Shelter so that you can see why this Ohio-set drama is garnering such positive buzz.
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Take that, #thefirerises! In a bit of viral marketing that rivals The Dark Knight Rises, Disney has released the first teaser trailer for the big-screen return of The Muppets under the cover of Green With Envy -- a fake romcom co-starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams. And Kermit. And Miss Piggy. Click ahead to up your nostalgia intake by 76 percent.
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Only a Death Eater would find the marketing for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II subpar -- after all, between that epic poster and that epic trailer, the final chapter in the mega-franchise looks positively, er, epic. The only problem? That Voldemort spell scream that gets looped at least three times during the latest television spot. Dude is the Monica Seles of dark wizards. Click ahead for another look at The Deathly Hallows.
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What do you do when an unfunny, giant-chinned comic takes your dream job away from you? Go on a nationwide tour and film the thing for a documentary, that's what! The first trailer for Conan O'Brien Can't Stop -- the film component of the "Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour" -- arrived online over the weekend, and brought with it the required amount of Conan O'Brien self-deprecation. Also, some previously unforeseen anger. Click ahead for a first look.
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If it's Sunday then it's time for another X-Men: First Class TV spot. Earlier, a sharp commenter observed, roughly, that at the rate we've been getting sneak peeks, teasers and trailers, all that's left to show at this point is the credits. But in this spot we've got crazy amounts of action, explosions and fight scenes. No time for heavy statements on revenge and options now; Professor X is about to bust a cap in someone's ass! Check it out below. [Coming Soon]
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You've already enjoyed the first American glimpse at Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's motion-capture epic, but now take a gander at The Adventures of Tintin trailer our friends overseas are enjoying. It's mostly the same with a new shots and scenes thrown in, but what's most disconcerting is that this trailer still has the same reticence to show the characters faces, particularly when one of them is speaking. Is it because, despite the metric ton of cash dumped on it, motion capture people still dwell in the uncanny valley of creepy dead-eyed mannequins? Maybe! At least they actually said Tintin's name in this one. Take a look below!
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The Hitler-rant-from-Downfall meme hasn't been especially fresh for a while now, but some enterprising soul found a useful contemporary application in this week's news that Lars von Trier was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for likening himself to a Nazi. Der Führer, who apparently had a meet-and-greet scheduled with the controversial filmmaker, is most displeased.
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The marketing machine for Transformers: Dark of the Moon is really ramping up now that early-bird journalists got their first look at the kinetic 3-D action stylings of Michael Bay -- a portion of which footage is now online for your perusal/approval -- and Paramount decided to move up their release date to June 29. After the jump, watch the 3-D trailer (in 2-D here, obviously) filled with wanton destruction, a tease of Dark of the Moon's conspiracy theory premise, and more glorious destruction as Decepticons tear through downtown Chicago.
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Fun fact: Jim Carrey guest starred on The Office last night, and in an episode full of celebrity cameos -- Ricky Gervais, Ray Romano, James Spader and Will Arnett among them -- he stood out with barely two minutes of screentime as "The Finger Lakes Guy." If only Carrey was able to exhibit that much funny in the icy full-length trailer for Mr. Popper's Penguins. Parents, here's hoping you're ready to see a choreographed penguin dance routine set to "Ice, Ice Baby" when you take the kids to see this next month.
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