Deep down in your soul, you knew it was coming as soon as The Smurfs stood toe-to-toe with Cowboys & Aliens at the box office: Sony has staked out Aug. 2, 2013 for the release of Smurfs 2, a sequel to this summer's popular CG reboot. A plot and director has yet to be announced, but Neil Patrick Harris did promise Movieline he'd float the idea of bringing in a socialist Smurfy slant should sequels happen. Make it so, NPH. [Deadline]
Here's the good news: Your first look at the trailer for Bennett Miller's Moneyball (starring Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill) is online, and, by the looks of it, the September baseball awards has awards season potential. The bad news: It debuted on Entertainment Tonight, which means talking heads Nancy O'Dell and Mark Steines add their own distracting commentary to the trailer. But, still. It's the first Moneyball trailer! UPDATE: Now with full trailer!
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Great news for those hotly anticipating Joe Cornish's SXSW fave Attack the Block: Sony/Screen Gems will release the U.K.-set street kids vs. aliens pic in limited release July 29. Until then, lucky fans in select cities can try to catch one of the sneak screenings that have helped Attack the Block build a grassroots movie geek following thus far. Just remember: Your geek cred demands that you see this film as soon as possible. [Box Office Mojo via Collider]
If Screen Gems' upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller Priest feels a bit familiar to you, there's a reason: the film reunites star Paul Bettany with director Scott Stewart, with whom he made last year's avenging-angel apocalypse pic Legion. Produced on a relatively modest budget, Legion made $67 million worldwide but fared poorly with critics and, Bettany admits, suffered from its limitations. With Priest, however, he and Stewart aim to surpass their own benchmark and give audiences something that they haven't seen before: a 3-D post-conversion job worth the price of admission.
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Yesterday was Thursday, when it seems the folks at Sony were in such a good mood that they dismissed their complaints of breach of contract against the Strause brothers, VFX experts and makers of last November's indie alien invasion pic Skyline. The strongly worded charges originally accused the Strauses' Hydraulx Entertainment of using Battle: Los Angeles equipment to make their own competing sci-fi flick, but you know what helps smooth over disputes like this? Discovering that Skyline's effects were completely different from those in Battle: Los Angeles. Also: Having $35 million in your pocket.
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