FROM MTV.COM: Wes Anderson is comfortable with his crew of Hollywood buddies, a bunch he started cobbling together along with college roommate Owen Wilson for his debut feature, "Bottle Rocket." In subsequent movies, Anderson's hipster squad grew to encompass Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and others, as he continued to cast them in films like "The Royal Tenenbaums" and "The Darjeeling Limited."

So when it comes to his first animated film, the stop-motion Roald Dahl adaptation "Fantastic Mr. Fox," no one should be surprised that Wilson, Murray and Schwartzman lend their voices to the animal characters. But was it always going to be this way? Did Anderson have these actors in mind from the beginning, or did the decision to cast them develop later on? And how did Oscar winners like George Clooney and Meryl Streep sneak into this tight-knit group?

Continue reading How Were George Clooney And Bill Murray Cast In 'Fantastic Mr. Fox'?

FROM MTV.COM: What went wrong with this movie? The subject — the U.S. military's apparently actual flirtation with paranormal warfare — has rich comic promise. And the cast — George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges — couldn't be much stronger. But while the trailer for "The Men Who Stare at Goats" suggests a quirky, Coen-esque romp, the picture itself lacks the Coen brothers' sardonic intelligence and deft pacing. It wanders and wilts and very quickly falls apart.

The story begins in 2003, with aspiring combat reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) waiting in Kuwait for clearance to cross over into Iraq. Biding his time, he encounters Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a man with a strange tale to tell. Cassady says he's a "Jedi warrior" (wink, wink) in the New Earth Army, a sub-rosa military unit dedicated to psychic battle strategies — mind-reading, "remote viewing," the whole new-age imaginarium. He says he's been reactivated to locate Bill Django (Bridges), the ponytailed Vietnam vet who founded the NEA back in the early '70s and has now gone missing. Wilton senses a story here, and decides to tag along.

Continue reading 'The Men Who Stare At Goats': Destination Nowhere, By Kurt Loder

George Clooney is about to go from staring at goats to looking up his relatives in "The Descendants," a new family dramedy from Fox Searchlight.

Variety reports that Clooney is in talks to headline "The Descendants" for director Alexander Payne, the filmmaker behind the critically acclaimed "Sideways" and "Election." The screenplay, penned by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, is based on a novel of the same name written by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The movie will start shooting in Hawaii this February. Read more...

In the clip below, we see the natural evolution of a young boy's pursuit of video game high scores to a career man's pursuit of frequent flyer high scores. "Up in the Air," directed by Jason Reitman, stars George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a hard-traveling corporate soldier who has a singular goal. In the clip below, he shares that dream -- of earning 10 million frequent flyer miles -- with fellow traveler Natalie, played by "Twilight actress Anna Kendrick. Natalie wisely characterizes the pursuit as a grown man's pissing contest, which is exactly what it is when you get right down to it.

Soon, very soon now, we'll all get to check out director Wes Anderson's debut foray into feature length animation with his adaptation of the Roald Dahl kiddie classic, "Fantastic Mr. Fox." The movie hits theaters on November 25, and I couldn't be more excited.

I have a treat for you fellow "Mr. Fox" fans today, an excerpt from a recent press conference for the movie. Stars George Clooney and Bill Murray were both in attendance, and the good-natured actors reveled in letting some banter fly across the stage that lay between them. We've got the highlight on video, which you can check out below.

George Clooney has quite the busy year ahead of him. He stars in Up in the Air" and "Men Who Stare At Goats," two TIFF darlings which both hit theaters in a matter of weeks. Then there's the upcoming Wes Anderson stop-motion adaptation of Roald Dahl's "Fantastic Mr. Fox" -- another Toronto fave -- which the actor lends his voice to. Clooney also produced the just-released, Steven Soderbergh-directed "The Informant!," starring Matt Damon.

The star's 2010 is also shaping up, with a lead and a producer's credit for the action/thriller adaptation of Martin Booth's novel "A Very Private Gentleman." We can add one more to the list now. News emerged over the weekend Clooney is getting back together with his old "Ocean's co-star Damon, and they're bringing Emmy-winning "West Wing" writer Aaron Sorkin along for the ride. Read more...

FROM HOLLYWOOD CRUSH: When we caught up with rising young star Anna Kendrick at the Toronto Film Festival, where she's promoting her co-starring role with George Clooney in "Up in the Air," we had one big question in mind...has she seen the brand new trailer for "New Moon"?

"I did," she exclaimed, "[but] it was a very, very small video and it was very blurry, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in a big theater." Well, that makes two of us, Anna, but if you want to see the expanded trailer with even more never-before-seen footage, you'll have to tune into the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards this Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT where we're airing the exclusive full-length trailer for "New Moon" for the first time. Check out Anna's thoughts below, including her comparison between heartthrobs Robert Pattinson and Clooney.

Far closer in spirit and structure to his debut flick, "Thank You for Smoking," than "Juno," Jason Reitman's latest effort clearly is a step up in his increasingly exciting film career. Undeniably moving and heartfelt, "Up in the Air" is one of the year's best and a surefire awards contender for George Clooney, Reitman, and perhaps Vera Farmiga.

The film has been scorching through Toronto, leaving virtually everyone who's seen it gushing about it as the best thing since Billy Wilder helmed "The Apartment." Okay, maybe not THAT much gushing but close. Read more...

If you ever needed proof of how awesome George Clooney is, just watch this video. The guy is a cool customer, a Hollywood superstar with chiseled good looks and a natural ease about him. So powerful is the Cloonster's spell that one fan, attending a press junket at the Venice International Film Festival, stripped for the crowded room and offered himself up, begging for a kiss.

Clooney, ever the showman, handled the situation with ease. Watch the video... it's hilarious.

Tonight, the Toronto International Film Festival kicks off with the world premiere screening of "Creation," directed by Jon Amiel. The movie stars real-life husband and wife Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly as Charles Darwin and Emma Darwin, respectively. It is an adaptation of the Darwin bio "Annie's Box" by Randal Keynes.

Of course, "Creation" just kicks things off. There's a whole weekend of indie madness to immerse yourself in. Sure, those of us who aren't fortunate enough to be in Toronto are going to have to wait. But there are some good flicks coming out of the fest, stuff that you're sure to see hit theaters in some form in the coming months. Here are a few of the highlights we have to look forward to... Read more...