Love Blossoms for Kate Winslet in Trailer for 'A Little Chaos'

The romantic drama A Little Chaos marks Alan Rickman's first directorial effort since 1997's The Winter Guest, and so far it hasn't made much noise. This is despite a cast led by Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Stanley Tucci, plus a prime slot at Toronto where the film was met with mixed reviews. But it's Winslet in a beautifully decorated period setting, Schoenarets as the love interest, and Tucci dressed like a musketeer; if that's not enough reason to turn out then nothing is.

Winslet plays a landscape designer hired by King Louis XIV (Rickman, pulling double duty here) to build a royal garden for his palace in Versailles. While she contends with issues of gender, class, and politics, her fires are stoked by a handsome but competitive landscaper played by Schoenaerts.

A Little Chaos opens March 27th.


A Little Chaos - Main Trailer by Sookyang

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Rumor: Naomi Watts, Chris Evans, and Li Bingbing Sought for 'The Expendabelles'; Stallone and Willis Confirmed

 Maybe it was the leak that saw The Expendables 3 viewed by millions weeks before it hit theaters, but Sylvester Stallone's action bonanza (clearly the best of the franchise) tanked hard at the box office..domestically, anyway. Internationally it was a powerhouse, with more than $160M of its $204M total coming from overseas markets. And while there is still some buzz of a fourth film, what's likely to come first is the female-led spinoff, The Expendabelles, and some new names are being rumored for the cast.

Now take all of this with a shot of side eye because the story emerged at The Tracking Board, which says offers have been sent to Naomi Watts, Alan Rickman (?), Chris Evans (??), Marcia Gay Harden, and Li Bingbing. They also "confirm" that Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis will be reprising their Expendables roles, which sounds suspicious given the blow up between the two during The Expendables 3 filming. Remember how Willis walked out on production because of a salary dispute, only to have Stallone rewrite the script and trash his character for the entire movie? Yeah. And with Stallone producing Expendebelles it doesn't seem likely he'd be begging Willis to return.

Anyway, we'll see if any of this shakes out. These are just offers and any of them could (and probably will) refuse, just as Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver did. Robert Luketic (Killers) is directing from a script by the Legally Blonde duo of Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith.

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Kate Winslet Mistakes the King for the Help in Clip from 'A Little Chaos'

Seventeen years ago Professor Snape...er, Alan Rickman made his directorial debut with The Winter Guest, and despite earning a heap of awards it was a career path he didn't follow. But that has changed now with his follow-up, the British period drama A Little Chaos, which is set to be the Closing Night film at TIFF this weekend after screening for press later today. It's a prestigious slot, but the cast of Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Stanley Tucci, Helen McCrory, and Jennifer Ehle gives a pretty good indication why it was chosen.

Rickman also stars in the film, and in the first clip released by EW we see him sharing an awkward moment with Winslet. He plays France's King Louis XIV, who wants to add a fountain to his lush garden at Versailles. Winslet is gardener  Sabine De Barra who really wants the job but must compete with her potential love interest, Andre Le Nottre (Schoenaerts). In this scene we see Winslet's character mistaking the king for just another gardener. She's lucky that didn't end with her locked up in a tower or something.

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New trailer for Coen Brothers scripted 'Gambit' with Colin Firth and Cameron Diaz

You have to go way back to 1985's Sam Raimi flick Crimewave to find the last time the Coen Brothers collaborated to write a film directed by another. After the much darker Blood Simple, it was one of the Coens' first stabs at showcasing their rather aberrant form of crime comedy, which we would see again many times in movies like Raising Arizona and Burn After Reading. But after so many years of doing things their own way, does the Coen Brothers style still translate when in the hands of another? According to the new trailer for Gambit, the answer is a resounding "Yes".

Written by the Coens and directed by Michael Hoffman(Game 6), Gambit is a remake of the 1966 crime caper starring Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine. Colin Firth stars as the employee of an eccentric billionaire(Alan Rickman), who embarks upon a scheme to steal a prized painting from him as revenge for years of being treated like a lapdog. Cameron Diaz plays a rodeo queen who also happens to be a dead ringer for the rich guy's late wife, and hilarity ensues as she begins to fall for the target. We don't often enough get to see Firth take on broad comedy like this, and the rest of the cast seem to be having a good time as well. I'm not sure this will rank as one of the Coens' stronger works, but as a simple and fun crime comedy it'll probably turn up aces.

Co-starring Stanley Tucci, Cloris Leachman, and Tom Courtenay, Gambit will hit U.S. theaters some time in 2013....

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Terrence Howard, Matthew McConaughey, and Cuba Gooding Jr. in talks for Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

It's been a weird ride for Lee Daniels post-Precious. Despite all the accolades and offers coming his way, it didn't exactly make it easier for him to get projects off the ground. Rather than haggling with historical estates to get his planned biopics done, Daniels stepped into The Paperboy, which Pedro Almodovar had spent a decade developing. So the major legwork was already done. With that impressive crime flick set to premier at Cannes in just a few days, Daniels has been busy casting up his next project, and running into a few hurdles along the way.

Daniels will next direct the civil rights themed The Butler, which initially had Denzel Washington eying the lead role of Eugene Allen, the White House butler who spent decades serving under numerous administrations. The true story follows his view of the changing world from a unique, insider perspective. Denzel never panned out, and Forest Whitaker stepped into the role. Now THR reports that Matthew McConaughey, Terrence Howard, and Cuba Gooding Jr. are in talks to join the film.

With Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda, and John Cusack said to be confirmed, THR throws an interesting curveball into the mix. David Oyelowo, who we long thought was set to play Allen's young son(and once was rumored to play Allen himself), isn't mentioned at all in the story. It could just be an oversight. Or maybe Daniels thought it'd be a bad idea to have three Red Tails alums all in one place considering how sh*tty that film was. Variety also notes that Alan Rickman has joined the cast, playing the role of Ronald Reagan.

With an initial draft written by Danny Strong(Game Change, Recount) and redone by Daniels, there are obviously Academy Award aspirations for this one, and Whitaker in particular looks to be making his strongest move since The Last King of Scotland. Allen's story is an incredible one, first brought to our attention in 2008 just after the election of Barack Obama. Allen, who had served under eight Presidents since 1952, watched along with his wife of 65 years as the first African-American with a legitimate shot at becoming President ran for office. Unfortunately, Allen's wife passed away just before Election Day, so he was forced to cast his vote alone.

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