If there's a number in a film title you've got a sequel, right? Not necessarily, unless Oceans 1 through Oceans 10 came out on some obscure underground label I've never heard of. The trailers are getting all mathematical on our collective ass this week, and each of them (sort of) sports a number in the title.

Four Christmases
It happens every year. The first time I see a sign of the coming holiday season I cringe. I like Christmas fine once it gets here, but being forced to think about it in September is asking too much. Anyway, this is actually a TV spot, which is appropriate since it sounds like the plot was lifted from a sitcom. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon are playing a couple who, thanks to a canceled flight to Fiji, are forced to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. Pretty wacky, huh? This flimsy plot is being held up by an impressive cast which includes Mary Steenburgen, Robert Duval and Sissy Spacek ... but I doubt that will be enough. Note: Link above now pointing to new full-length trailer.

Terminator: Salvation
OK, there's actually no number in this title, but we're all mentally planting a "4" after the word Terminator. After Terminator 3 I really didn't care if the series lived or died. Without James Cameron at the helm and Linda Hamilton in the lead we were left with mindless action and none of the compelling elements from the first two films. This is only a teaser, but with Christian Bale taking over the role of John Connor, I'm thinking there may be hope. We get a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic future, and Connor tells us via narration that this is not the future his mother warned him about. Considering how bleak that future was portrayed in the previous films, it's chilling to imagine how it could get worse.

Feel that chill in the air? That's because you left the kitchen window open -- go on, I'll wait -- but that secondary chill you're feeling would be the multiplex yuletide season turning in our direction, ready and waiting to melt the bleep out of your heart. Last year, it was This Christmas and The Perfect Holiday begging to be mistaken for one another (in title, not in quality).

This year we've got at least two winter-themed family-minded dramedies waiting in the wings. First out the gate is Nothing Like The Holidays (the trailer's now up at Apple), in which a Hispanic-American family gathers for what might be their last Christmas spent together. Sooooo ... it's basically This Christmas, with the casting emphasis on a different minority. However, for all that film's familiar beats, I found myself surprisingly won over, so here's to hoping that something similar might come of Holidays on November 21st.

In the other corner, we have Four Christmases, in which Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon find themselves shuffling off to visit each of their parents on X-Mas Day. If this (embed-less) TV spot on YouTube is any indication, Vaughn's creaky neurotic shtick and infant spewage will be par for the course, not to mention the last thing I might expect to come from the non-doco directorial debut of Seth Gordon (The King of Kong). As the Hollywood gods have decreed it, Christmases is set to open just before Thanksgiving on November 26th. Ah, the smell of leftovers...

There may be trouble with the on-set paradise between Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn in Four Christmases, but for the film as a whole, things just got kookier. The Hollywood Reporter says that old Vaughn friend Jon Favreau has joined the mix, along with Tim McGraw and Dwight Yoakam. Yeah, not exactly the two names that I expected to follow. But it gets even better. McGraw and Favreau will play Brad's (Vaughn) brothers called Denver and Dallas. Talk about feeling on the outside -- not getting another Texas name like Austin or something. Anyhow, they're "siblings who delight in tormenting their brother" over the holidays.

As for ol' Yoakam, he'll play "Pastor Phil, the overly zealous partner of Brad's new wife Kate's (Witherspoon) mother (Mary Steenburgen). He persuades the young couple to act in his church's nativity play, one of the many chaotic events during their visits to different sets of parents." Okay, now considering my own history with the holidays, and other people I know, one or two house/party visits makes for a hectic holiday, let alone visiting four different parents and acting in a nativity play. Hopefully all of this craziness stays on the comfortable side of comedy, and doesn't become a Meet the Parents sort of film where stupid character decisions leads to just as much discomfort as laughs. Still, this is sounding like it could actually be some Christmas fare that's worth the time.

Just the other day, Christopher Campbell posted that Mary Steenburgen and Sissy Spacek had signed on to play two of the moms in next year's holiday pic, Four Christmases. The movie stars Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn as a couple who try to see their four divorced parents on Christmas day. This latest piece of news isn't who the other father is (Robert Duvall is playing Vaughn's dad), but rather some rumored trouble on the set between the two stars -- who play the couple that's supposed to be sticking together.

According to the Daily News' Gatecrasher, the screen couple definitely haven't been getting along, and won't be the follow-up to Vince's romance with past co-star Jennifer Aniston. Just like her production company's moniker (Type A Films), Reese is coming to set ready to put in lots of work, while Vaughn wants to be laid-back. "Vince rolls onto set in the morning looking like he just came in from a night out, while Reese will arrive early, looking camera-ready. Then, Reese tries to force Vince into blocking out each scene and running through their lines as Vince tries to convince her that he's an ad-libber and wants to play around and see where the scene goes."

So far, however, this clash hasn't stopped production, but the source also says that Vaughn sometimes looks like "he just wants to kill her." Honestly, I can see both of their points. I'm sure it must be aggravating for Reese to have to fight to get cooperation in how she prepares, just as it's probably infuriating to Vaughn to deal with a Tracy Flick-type and not be able to just go along as he wants. Hopefully it won't lead him to the fate of Matthew Broderick in Election. We'll have to wait 12 months and see whether we can spot all that anger in their characters; if the rumors are true, we'll see just how good the two actors really are.

[via AOL]

It must be a lot of fun casting veteran actors as parents of current stars. Thanks to past casting decisions we got to see Sean Connery play Harrison Ford's father, Barbara Streisand and Dustin Hoffman play Ben Stiller's mom and dad, and Keith Richards (wait, he's not a veteran actor) as Johnny Depp's pirate papa. Now, somewhat similar to the parental stunt-casting of the Meet the Parents movies, we're getting some interesting casting choices for the roles of both Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn's parents in next holiday season's Four Christmases. It's a comedy about a married couple attempting to visit with all four of their parents -- who are all divorced and live in four different locations -- on Christmas Day.

We've already learned Robert Duvall is one of the fathers (now we find out he's playing Vaughn's). Now, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Oscar-winning actresses Sissy Spacek and Mary Steenburgen are hopping on board as the moms. Can you imagine which one goes with which of the movie's leads? Immediately I thought "Loretta Lynn" should be mom to "June Carter" and tall(er) "Clara Clayton" should be mom to super-tall "Fred Claus". Alas, the casting went the other way: "Carrie" is the mother of "Norman Bates" and "Hannah Nixon" is the mother of "Tracy Flick". To be more specific, "Spacek will play the slightly spacey, New Age mother of Brad (Vaughn). Steenburgen will play the chameleonlike mother of Kate (Witherspoon), whose personality changes depending on whom she's married to or dating." We still don't know which Academy Award winning actor (he has to have an Oscar, like the other parents) will play Witherspoon's dad -- may I suggest Chris Cooper? or Alan Arkin? The only other role cast is the part of Witherspoon's "controlling, type-A sister", to be played by Kristen Chenoweth.

Did you enjoy watching Vince Vaughn in a Christmas setting over the weekend? Well, don't forget, you'll have another chance to see him in a holiday film next year, as the actor is starring with Reese Witherspoon in Four Christmases, due in December 2008. Now, according to Variety, there's an excellent addition to the cast: Robert Duvall. Ah, nothing says obligatory Christmas comedy like Oscar winners slumming it. Well, at least Vaughn could learn a few tips from either Duvall or Witherspoon. More from Duvall, though. In addition to his win for Tender Mercies in 1984, Duvall has been nominated another five times (he's also won four Golden Globes out of six noms) and definitely should have received more noms (my pick: Falling Down). In turn, maybe Vaughn can teach Duvall a little something about light-hearted comedy. The elder actor hasn't done so well in the family film department (even if I enjoyed him immensely in Secondhand Lions and Newsies), and while he can certainly deliver funny performances at times (loved him and his mint julep in Thank You For Smoking), none of those roles could be considered "hilarious" or "broad" comedy.

Considering the plot of Four Christmases, Duvall will probably only get less than a quarter of the movie's screen time. The story follows Vaughn and Witherspoon's young married characters as they attempt to visit all four of their divorced parents on Christmas Day. It's highly likely that Duvall plays one of the fathers. Now, who will play the other parents? Could we get some more prestige, a la Meet the Fockers? If New Line can get three more Oscar winners (to completely flank odd-man Vaughn), then I might actually have to put this film on my next year's wish list. Four Christmases was written by Matt Allen and Caleb Wilson and is being directed by King of Kong's Seth Gordon.