Samuel L. Jackson is POTUS on the Run in Trailer for 'Big Game'

The premise of Jalmari Helander Finnish action-comedy Big Game certainly sounds as audacious as the title would suggest. Samuel L. Jackson plays the President of the United States (already an out-there idea) who is stranded in the wilds after Air Force One is attacked. To survive, he'll need the help of a 13-year-old boy played by Omni Tommila. Sounds great, right? But the film is actually something of a genre parody, and the first trailer doesn't give any hint that the tone is quite right.

Co-starring Ray Stevenson, Felicity Huffman, Jim Broadbent, and Ted Levine, the film has a lot of talent but seems to be trying to have it both ways. Some moments seem to be playing it straight while others are clearly in jest, and it makes for a trailer that is less than the sum of its parts. You won't be surprised to learn that was the common critique of it in early reviews from TIFF.

Big Game has yet to get a release date in the U.S.

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Jessica Brown Findlay In 'Frankenstein'; Olivia Thirlby Joins 'The Wedding Ringer'; Ray Stevenson Hunts 'Big Game'

* Downton Abbey star Jessica Brown Findlay has been making some pretty big moves lately, and she's just landed the female lead in an updated Frankenstein, opposite Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy. Written by Max Landis and directed by Paul McGuigan, plot details are under wraps but we know Radcliffe will play Igor while McAvoy is Victor von Frankenstein. [THR]

* The uber-talented Olivia Thirlby has come aboard Jeremy Gerelick's untitled comedy starring Kevin Hart, Josh Gad, and Kaley Cuoco. Hart plays a charismatic guy who offers best man services to grooms without the friends to fill the role. Gad is a husband-to-be who fabricates not only his  best man, but all of his groomsman, and he must team up with Hart to make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. Cuoco plays the selfish fiancee, while Thirlby is her sister who falls for Gad's character. *UPDATE*  The film has now been titled The Wedding Ringer, and will co-star Cloris Leachman, Alan Ritchson, Jorge Garcia, and Mimi Rogers.

* Jim Broadbent, Ray Stevenson, and Mehmet Kurtulus have joined the cast of Big Game, which is probably best known as the action flick with Samuel L. Jackson as the President of the United States. Written and directed by Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale), the film follows a shy 13-year-old boy (Onni Tommila) who must prove his manhood by spending a day and night alone in the wilderness. That evening Air Force One is shot down by terrorists nearby, and the boy must team with the President to stay alive. Filming begins tomorrow so we can probably expect Big Game ready for 2014.

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Theo James lands male lead in 'Divergent'; Aaron Eckhardt, Ray Stevenson, and Miles Teller may join

Neil Burger is firming up the cast of his adaptation of YA novel Divergent, adding Jai Courtney, Zoe Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, and Maggie Q all in the last week. But the male lead has remained out of reach, with big names like Alex Pettyfer, Jeremy Irvine, and Lucas Till circling the coveted role. In the end, producers must have found that star Shailene Woodley had tighter chemistry with an unknown, as Theo James has just landed the most prominent part of his young career.

While nowhere close to being a household name, James has been making inroads with a regular gig on CBS series Golden Boy, along with small parts in Underworld: Awakening and Downton Abbey. He'll play Tobias "Four" Eaton, the love interest and instructor of Beatrice "Tris" Prior, a teenaged girl in a dystopian version of Chicago where human society is divided up into five ideological factions. As a "divergent", Tris doesn't fit into any group, and discovers an evil plan to destroy others like her.

Kate Winslet is the veteran presence in the cast at this point, but THR says that Aaron Eckhart (Thank You for Smoking), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now), and Ray Stevenson (Punisher: War Zone) are in the process of joining her in unspecified roles.  Details should be revealed soon as a deal appears to be imminent. Divergent begins filming in April for release on March 21st 2014.

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Ninjas ninjas and more ninjas in the latest 'G.I. Joe: Retaliation' trailer!

Didn't we JUST get a new trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation yesterday? Oh? It was two trailers? What the hell? Well here's one more of the international variety, which includes some of the same scenes but includes at least 90% more ninjas.

The ninja aspect is one that has G.I. Joe has incorporated into the militaristic storyline fairly well for decades, with almost all of it centering on the rivalry between Snake-Eyes and the (mostly) evil Storm Shadow. Over the years more ninjas were added into the mix, and occasionally you'd get an episode or an issue of G.I. Joe that felt more like a Shaw Brothers flick than about the United States' elite military unit. Jon Chu, has decided to mix up the sequel a little bit by figuring martial arts into the equation far more than the previous flick, and as you can see in this trailer that means ninjas up the friggin' wazoo. We even get ninjas battling on mountains and crazy crap like that.

As for the plot? Cobra infiltrates the White House, impersonates the President(played by the always welcome Jonathan Pryce), Firefly(Ray Stevenson) can blow stuff up real good, Bruce Willis shows up, Dwayne Johnson has big muscles, the day is saved. Something like that, anyway. G.I. Joe: Retaliation hits theaters on June 29th. Enjoy....

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