First Trailer for Nicholas Sparks Romance 'The Longest Ride'

Get ready, gents, because another Nicholas Sparks movie is on the way to drive your girl to tears and...well, probably you too but for a whole different reason. There's a certain audience for these movies and it's pretty much those who keep thinking the next one will be as good as The Notebook. That hasn't happened yet, but maybe The Longest Ride will do the trick?

This tale of star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the track stars Britt Robertson, Scott Eastwood, Jack Huston, and Oona Chaplin, with George Tillman Jr. directing. Unlike the basic Sparks narrative this one follows two different couples: one in the past and one in the present. Eastwood plays a champion bull rider looking to make a comeback who falls for a college student set to embark on her dream job in New York City. Country boy, city girl, how can these two possibly survive? By running into Ira, who inspires them with memories of the decades-long romance he shared with his wife.

The Longest Ride opens April 10th 2015.

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Anna Camp Back for 'Pitch Perfect 2'; Jack Huston Takes 'The Longest Ride'; Brendan Gleeson to 'Trespass Against Us'

 * The Barden Bellas are back to full strength for Pitch Perfect 2. Anna Camp has signed on to reprise her role as vomitous team leader, Aubrey Posen. She joins the returning Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Brittany Snow, Alexis Knapp, and Skylar Astin amongst others, with Hailee Steinfeld one of the new faces. Posen was a senior in the last film so it'll be interesting to see part she has to play now. Elizabeth Banks is directing for release on May 15th 2015.[THR]

* Boardwalk Empire and American Hustle's Jack Huston has joined Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride. Huston will take one of the lead roles alongside Scott Eastwood, Oona Chaplin, and Britt Robertson, playing the younger version of Ira, a 90-year-old man stuck in his car after an automobile accident. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he begins having visions of the woman he loved before she died. A second interconnected story involves a young art student and the passionate love affair she has with a bull rider. George Tillman Jr. is directing The Longest Ride for release on April 3rd 2015.

* Brendan Gleeson has joined Michael Fassbender in Trespass Against Us, a gangster film following three generations of the Cutler crime family. Fassbender is Chad Cutler, who tries to find a way out of the family business while maintaining his loyalty. Also coming aboard are Rory Kinnear (Skyfall) and Sean Harris (24 Hour Party People), with Adam Smith directing.

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Jane Fonda Finds 'Youth'; Christopher Walken Joins 'The Family Fang'; Britt Robertson Takes 'The Longest Ride'

* Jane Fonda will join Rachel Weisz, Michael Caine, Paul Dano, and Harvey Keitel in Youth, the next film from The Great Beauty director, Paolo Sorrentino. Penned by Sorrentino, the film centers on two 80-year-old friends, one a composer the other a film director, vacationing in the Alps and contemplating their careers, the lives of their children, and more. [Deadline]

* After the relative success of his directorial debut, Bad Words, Jason Bateman began putting together his follow-up, The Family Fang. Snagging Nicole Kidman for one of the lead roles in David Lindsay-Abaire's adaptation of Kevin Wilson's novel, now Bateman has landed Christopher Walken as the Fang family patriarch. The quirky story centers on grown-up siblings who were raised by parents who are performance artists. Their lives ruined by the experience, they are nonetheless roped into returning home for one final mysterious performance. [ScreenDaily]

* Britt Robertson (Delivery Man) will star alongside Scott Eastwood in the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride. She'll play Sofia Danko, a college student who falls in love with Eastwood's bull-riding cowboy character. An intersecting storyline involves a 90-year-old man trapped in a crashed car and reflecting on the love of his life. Your girlfriend will force you to take The Longest Ride on April 3rd 2015.

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Scott Eastwood Takes 'The Longest Ride'; Armie Hammer Stars in 'Mine'; Allison Janney Joins 'Spy'

* Clint's son Scott Eastwood has won the lead role in Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride. Directed by George Tillman Jr., the film will tell two intertwining love stories. One is told through flashback and involves a 90-year-old man stuck in his car after a terrible accident and experiencing visions of the woman he once loved. The other is set in the present and....good Lord this sounds terrible....centers on an art student who falls in love with a handsome bull rider played by Eastwood. The Longest Ride was to open on Valentine's Day but has been moved to April 3rd 2015. [THR]

* Armie Hammer was The Lone Ranger in Disney's unfortunate flop from last year, but he seems to have emerged unscathed. He has The Man from UNCLE arriving early in 2015, and now he's signed for the psychological thriller, Mine. Co-directed and written by Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro, the story follows "a soldier who, after a failed assassination mission, finds himself stranded in the desert. Exposed to the elements, he must survive the dangers of the desert while also battling the psychological toll of the treacherous situation." [Variety]

* Paul Feig is building up a terrific cast of female talent to surround Melissa McCarthy in Spy, the espionage spoof she'll be headlining as a potential franchise. Allison Janney (The Way Way Back) and Morena Baccarin (Firefly) have come aboard the comedy about Susan Cooper (McCarthy), an analyst who goes into the field to get revenge for her agent boyfriend's death. Jude Law, Miranda Hart, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham, Bobby Cannavale, Nia Long, and 50 Cent co-star. Spy opens on May 22nd 2015.

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Joe Cornish to Direct 'Section 6'; Zhang Yimou Scales 'The Great Wall', and More

* Attack the Block director Joe Cornish has flirted with a number of follow-up projects, including Star Trek 3 and Masters of the Universe, but he's finally made a decision on what he'll tackle next. Cornish will direct Section 6, eyed as a potential franchise with rising star Jack O'Connell in the lead role. The story, penned by Aaron Berg, chronicles the formation of Britain's secret intelligence agency, known as MI6. [TheWrap]

* The Great Wall is being rebuilt, only now it's with House of Flying Daggers director, Zhang Yimou. Yimou is taking over for Ed Zwick on the big budget action film, which had Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Zhang Ziyi, and Henry Cavill starring before production ground to a halt. Max Brooks (World War Z) and Legendary Pictures CEO Thomas Tull developed the story which explores the mystery of the Great Wall of China's construction. British soldiers happen upon the wall and learn of a supernatural threat that must be defended against. Yimou has been making headway here in America, recently signing on to direct an adaptation of Robert Ludlum's The Parsifal Mosaic.

* Ready for more overwrought Nicholas Sparks adaptations, guys? George Tillman Jr. (Faster) has made the regrettable decision to bring Sparks' novel, The Longest Ride, to the big screen. Craig Bolotin will pen the script which tells two stories that will probably cross paths in a really ridiculous manner. The first story "focuses on an elderly man who lies trapped in a car accident, and, while fighting to remain conscious, sees visions of his deceased wife and their life together. The second centers on a high school senior who meets a young bull rider with a secret." [THR]

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'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Sequel and 'Poltergeist' Get Release Dates

20th Century Fox isn't wasting any time with their Planet of the Apes franchise, already securing Matt Reeves to return for a sequel to Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. Now the studio has gone ahead and given the film an official release date of July 29th 2016. Of course there's no word on the plot or who will return (although we have to assume Andy Serkis, right?), but it's good to know they're expecting 'Dawn' to be a smash.

Fox has also given a February 13th 2015 date to the Poltergeist remake, directed by Gil Kenan and starring Rosemarie DeWitt, Sam Rockwell, Nicholas Braun, Jared Harris, and Kyle Catlett.

The next Nicholas Sparks adaptation, The Longest Ride, has been set for April 3rd 2015, while Night at the Museum 3 has been bumped up a few days to December 19th 2014.

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Call your girlfriend, Nicholas Sparks' 'The Longest Ride' coming Valentine's Day 2015

You are beaten, it is useless to resist. Admit it, guys, your gal has dragged you to every one of the umpteen Nicholas Sparks adaptations that come out each year. It's not stopping any time soon, as they don't cost much for studios to produce, and always draw a decent profit regardless of who stars in them. Safe Haven managed to perform well even facing off against A Good Day to Die Hard and teen romance Beautiful Creatures.

So it's no surprise that a bidding war broke out for Sparks' next book, The Longest Ride, with Fox 2000 walking away the victor. Sparks will earn a hefty $5M on the deal, with the plan to have the film fast-tracked for release on Valentine's Day 2015. Might as well start booking your reservations now, dudes. It's going to be one of those nights. The date isn't really a surprise, since studios have been wise enough to position many Sparks films around the holiday. Makes sense.

The Longest Ride follows two intertwining love stories. One has a 90-year old man stuck and snowbound in his vehicle on the side of an isolated road after a terrible accident. Drifting in and out of consciousness, he has visions of the woman he loved, who died earlier. Together they reminisce about their life together, including the difficulties upon his return from WWII and a war wound that prevented them from having children. The other story is between a young art history major and handsome bull rider from different backgrounds who fall in love. He's got life threatening injuries but a ranch to save, and both have their own aspirations. A strange occurrence allows both generations of lovers to save each other.

Sounds hokey and convoluted, like every other Nicholas Sparks story.  The Longest Ride doesn't hit bookshelves until September 24th. [Deadline]

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