With the news that Battle in Seattle will open the Seattle International Film Festival, and coverage of the recent Olympic protests on every channel, it couldn't be a better time to release the trailer for the protest drama. Movieset is currently hosting the full trailer for the film set during the infamous World Trade Organization riots in Seattle in 1999.

In 1999, the World Trade Organization (WTO) convened in Seattle, Washington for a global trade negotiation conference. Before anyone knew what had happened, over 40,000 protesters had amassed outside the conference buildings and the anti-globalization group, Direct Action Network, had total control over downtown intersections. Unfortunately, the protests erupted into violence and a state of emergency pitted demonstrators against the National Guard and local police.

Stuart Townsend's directorial debut has a huge cast including Ray Liotta, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Martin Henderson, Channing Tatum, André Benjamin, and Woody Harrelson. Judging by Eric's SXSW review it doesn't look like all that star power has helped the film all that much. Battle was originally scheduled to be released in March, but has been moved back to September. It makes much more sense to release this kind of 'earnest' political drama when everyone is finished with summer popcorn flicks and are ready for something with just a little substance, however heavy-handed it might be.

[via Coming Soon]

Some say that Will Ferrell movies are just the same flick over and over again, but since I always get a giggle from them, I really can't complain. Movieweb is now hosting 10 new photos from Ferrell's latest sports-comedy, Semi-Pro. Farrell plays Jackie Moon, the owner and coach of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics. In hopes of getting the team status in a little organization called the NBA, he must turn his team into winners.

Semi-Pro was written by Scot Armstrong, who was also behind Road Trip, Old School, and The Heartbreak Kid. Armstrong is also hard at work on the sequel to Old School, but this time it will be without *Hank 'The Tank' by the looks of things. Even if you are not a big fan of Ferrell's particular style of comedy, you have to admit he does manage to put together some pretty great comedy casts. Joining Ferrell on Semi-Pro are Woody Harrelson, Will Arnett, Rob Corddry, and the criminally underused Andy Richter. Also joining in on the fun are Outkast's Andre Benjamin and Maura Tierney.

So while some of these pictures have already been released back in November, this latest set has a few new images plus your chance to get a look at Ferrell's 'fro in hi-res. So far, there have already been a few poster releases, a teaser, and the ever-popular "red band" trailer. But, let's be truthful here, if you are a Ferrell fan you are going to want to jump straight to the 'R' trailer for all the good jokes. Semi-Pro opens in theaters on February 29th.

*Correction: Ferrell will forever by haunted by the nickname Frank "the Tank", not Hank.

What will comedy look like in 2008? Here's a taste ...

Is there a sport Will Ferrell hasn't taken on yet? Competitive idiot throwing? Is that a sport? Anyway, a whole set of pics from his latest sports comedy, Semi-Pro, have just landed on the internets (courtesy of Cinema Blend). And if you're itching for plenty of Ferrell with a giant afro, then these photos might just make your day. The pic, which co-stars Andre Benjamin and Woody Harrelson, revolves around Jackie Moon (Ferrell), the owner-coach-player of the ABA's Flint Michigan Tropics. In between a ton of ridiculous physical comedy, Moon will try to rally his team together to make their NBA dreams come true. Semi-Pro slam dunks into theaters on February 29. (Bonus: See a photo after the jump.)

The first image from You Don't Mess With Zohan has arrived online (courtesy of JoBlo), showing the pic's star, Adam Sandler, surfing the top of a car a la Michael J. Fox in Teen Wolf. In the film, Sandler plays a Mossad agent who fakes his death and travels to New York City to become a hairdresser. Mariah Carey and Rob Schneider co-star. On paper, it sounds cheesy and the kind of film you take on when in need of a quick fix, however Judd Apatow co-wrote the screenplay and, well, that's gotta be a good thing, right? Frequent Sandler collaborator Dennis Dugan directs, and this flick is set to arrive in theaters on June 6. (Bonus: See the photo after the jump.)

Finally, guess who's baaaack? Yup, our favorite ethnic pot smokers are heading back to the big screen in 2008; this time, however, there's a lot more at stake than a trip to White Castle. Oh yes, when Harold and Kumar attempt to fly to Amsterdam, they're mistaken as terrorists and soon find themselves on the run from authorities and all wrapped up in an hour and a half's worth of shenanigans. Five words for you fans out there: Neil Patrick Harris Will Return. Harold and Kumar 2 (aka Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay) will smoke you out on April 25. (Bonus: See an additional photo after the jump, or check out more over at Cinema Blend.)

Once you get mega-famous farting around with guns and people who talk funny, it's got to be tough to see your career get Swept Away in one fell swoop. Since then, Guy Ritchie has tried to go back to what he does best -- tough guys and crime. Although he's currently filming RocknRolla, his flick about London's criminal underworld, he had already returned to form a while ago with Revolver. It debuted at TIFF two years ago, and is finally hitting North American theaters in limited release this December. The delay could be due to rumors of its crappiness, although IMDb has it resting at 6.2/10, which isn't great, but isn't terrible.

Now we've got a trailer to check out, courtesy of Yahoo. While it starts off looking like this tough-guy chess movie, with dark, pouring rain and sliding chess pieces, it then jumps into typical criminal territory: the games, cons, and fun of Las Vegas. There's piles of money, bets, scantily-clad women, murder, and everything else you could imagine. Jason Statham stars, sporting lots of distracting facial hair, with the likes of Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore, and André Benjamin. The trailer looks like your typical bright-lights crime caper, which should work well for it. That being said, I'm kind of wishing it was all about the dangerous life of chess players. That would be cool.

If you're like me, you're always waiting for Will Ferrell to top himself. He's a great improv actor, albeit one who could be deemed a "ball hog" (if you know your basketball terms), but he knows how to entertain an audience and bring in the box office bucks. This winter he'll be returning for another sports-related comedy, Semi-Pro, in which he plays Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the ABA's Flint Michigan Tropics. A new teaser for the film has arrived over on Funny or Die and, while there's not much, we do get a nice slice of Ferrell's naked body. (Warning: Eat before watching, unless hairy guys with a gut turn you on.)

Based on the teaser, it seems Ferrell's tapping back into some of his Ricky Bobby material from Talladega Nights, only take that character, place him right smack in the middle of the 70s, and give him a giant afro. Personally, Ferrell just makes me laugh no matter what he's doing; some are tired of his shtick, but I can't get enough of it. If he can surround himself with some decent comedic talent -- folks he'll allow to step up and share some of the spotlight -- then I can certainly see this flick becoming a winner. Co-starring with Ferrell will be Woody Harrelson, Outcast's André Benjamin, Maura Tierney, Jackie Earle Haley, Andy Richter and, of course, how can you forget Will Arnett. Semi-Pro bounces into theaters on February 29, 2008 -- and you can check out the teaser above.

Well, I guess we can add another name to the list of actors competing for the role of the late great Rat Packer Sammy Davis Jr. While doing some press with MTV for Hairspray, star Elijah Kelley let it slip that he is in talks to play the legendary song and dance man. Now, here's where it starts to get a little complicated for Kelley. A couple of weeks ago, Jette had word that there were three competing Davis projects in active development. The forerunners are a co-production between Denzel Washington and Brian Grazer based on the 2003 biography In Black and White, and a film with André Benjamin that focuses on the relationship between Davis and actress Kim Novak. Kelley would be reuniting with Hairspray producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for his chance to play the candy man; he says that he would be playing Davis between the age of 15 to 25, which were the years that "made him Sammy Davis Jr."

Kelley is not waiting around for this role though, and has already signed with New Line for Party Up, a movie that revolves around the treasured standby of all teen comedies, the house party gone awry. And since it's all just speculation at this point, it's way too early to tell if Kelley could even handle the more dramatic aspects of Davis' life. We know that he can rock a finger wave, but first, we are going to have to wait and see who emerges victorious in the "battle of the biopics."

There has be another addition to the ever-expanding cast of the Will Ferrell basketball comedy Semi-Pro. Variety reports that Maura Tierney (ER) has now signed on to play a love interest for Woody Harrelson. There have been plenty of casting announcements for the film; some of which haven't met with the most enthusiastic response, but New Line has yet to confirm a release date. I would hope that the addition of Tierney is the last piece of the puzzle.

Kent Alterman is directing the Scot Armstrong script about a struggling basketball team with Ferrel as their owner/coach. Already included in the cast are André Benjamin, Jay Phillips and Daily Show alum Rob Corddry. Tierney was last seen at Sundance in the ensemble drama The Go-Getter, which judging by James' review wasn't bound for a wide release any time soon. This seems like it might be another in a line of "the girl" parts for Tierney, who has played them before with grace despite some not-so-hot scripts in the Ray Romano comedy Welcome To Mooseport and Forces of Nature. Luckily, she was a pretty good straight man on the TV comedy News Radio, so she might be a welcome relief from the guaranteed absurdity of Ferrell and Arnett's performances.

As sad as it is to say (because I absolutely loved him in Arrested Development), it's beginning to look like Will Arnett's appearance in a film spells -- how shall I say this -- um, disaster. Here's hoping his newest role, as a "hard-drinking sports commentator" in Semi-Pro, helps turn the bad luck streak around ... because this dude desperately needs it. Arnett has signed up to join Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson and Outast's Andre Benjamin in the basketball comedy penned by Old School's Scot Armstrong (who's finally separating himself from Todd Phillips in an attempt to prove he's actually the funnier one). Essentially this is Arnett's second film with Ferrell (the upcoming Blades of Glory being the first) after recently riding the Bob Odenkirk (Let's Go to Prison, The Brothers Solomon) wave straight into the gutter. (I should note that The Brothers Solomon still has not arrived in theaters yet, but I think it's pretty safe to say the film doesn't look all that grand.)

So, is there a Will Arnett curse? Before you jump all over me here, let's take a look at some of his previous efforts: We all know what happened to Arrested Development, even though it was a fantastic show. Apart from that, there's Monster-in-Law, Ice Age: The Meltdown, R.V. and the grandaddy of them all, Let's Go to Prison ... not to mention a host of other roles that, well, aren't worth mentioning. Is it just me, or did Arnett piss off the Hollywood Gods at some point? And, in doing so, all of his future films are instantaneously turned into crap?

If you're going to remake a classic film, you can do it one of two ways: Either you take the path of doing something so completely different from the original that their mutual origin is practically indistinguishable, or you pay homage to the first by sticking as close as possible to where you started. Charlotte's Web, starring Dakota Fanning as the spirited farmgirl, Fern, who saves the life of a runty pig, and Julia Roberts as the indefatigable spider who weaves a magical web to save him again.

I was five when the classic animated adaptation of the E.B. White book came out; I've watched it countless times -- especially as my own children came to love the film and watched it over (and over ... and over) on videocassette and then DVD -- and it's always held a special place in my heart. So when I heard a remake was in the works, I was a smidge ambivalent. Why mess with something that already works so well? Who could ever replace Debbie Reynolds as Charlotte A. Cavativa, the arachnoid with a heart of gold? Julia Roberts, that's who.

More people have signed on to star in more movies. Check it out:

• Even though Idlewild wasn't received as warmly as he would have liked, that's not stopping Outkast's André Benjamin from seeking out additional material. The actor-musician is in final negotiations to star alongside Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson in Semi-Pro -- ya know, the Ferrell basketball flick we've mentioned before. Benjamin would join Harrelson as a player on the fictional ABA team (Flint, Michigan Tropics) that Ferrell coaches. How will this one stack up against Ferrell's other sports-related comedies? Well, Jon Heder isn't it -- so it's definitely got that going for it.
• So I'm kind of digging the cast of Sweeney Todd so far, what with Johnny Depp, Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter already attached to star. Though I missed the staged musical version when it was on Broadway, the premise seems tasty enough -- and I'm certainly looking forward to Tim Burton's take on the movie-musical genre. Add to that the recent signing of Alan Rickman (who is set to play Judge Turpin, the man responsible for throwing Todd in prison causing him to lose his family and return for revenge) and we may have a gem in the making. Rickman is always great as the villain -- in my opinion, I wouldn't mind watching him star as the bad guy in every film. Can we make that happen? Please?
• What's up with this film Finding Amanda? Matthew Broderick plays an alcoholic gambler who's also a television producer, and he must travel to Las Vegas in order to convince his niece, a stripper-hooker, to go into rehab? Are they serious? It's like Leaving Las Vegas, only with Ferris Bueller. Needless to say, the filmmakers have finally found their Amanda -- and it's not Evan Rachel Wood, as previously reported. Brittany Snow (John Tucker Must Die) has, instead, decided to take on the role. And you know what rhymes with 'snow,' right? Pic begins shooting early next month in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.