Cinematical has just received this exclusive poster for Lakeview Terrace, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington, and Patrick Wilson. Oh, the watchful eye of Jackson. This time around, he plays one of the creepiest types of bad guys -- a cop who can't be stopped. While a neighborhood like Lakeview Terrace sounds great and all, it becomes anything but when an interracial couple (Washington and Wilson) move next door to Jackson's racist cop. The man in blue starts off subtly -- an annoying light here, an awkward scare there, and then goes into full-on creepy neighbor to get the couple to hit the road. But Wilson will have none of that and crazily decides to take on the imbalanced cop.

Lakeview Terrace will hit theaters on September 19.

...and here is another round of Variety casting bites:

Last July, Canadian actress Laura Vandervoort nabbed herself a super gig as the role of Supergirl in Smallville. Now it seems that she's heading for the seas. She's scored a lead role in Into the Blue 2. Vandervoort will play a girl on a professional scuba team who get hired to find Columbus' hidden treasure. I guess there was more to the story than the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.

Meanwhile, that Scott Caan-written story Mercy has got itself a leading lady. Wendy Glenn, who recently played Isabella in The L Word (who played Bev in Lez Girls), will play the title role, who is the love interest of Caan's character. The story is about a cynical writer who writes about love, but doesn't believe it until ... Mercy.

Lastly, there's Kerry Washington. She played Della Bea Robinson in Ray, Jasmine in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, Alicia Masters in Fantastic Four, and Kay Amin in The Last King of Scotland. Now she gets to be married to a doomed husband. She's signed on to play Eddie Murphy's wife in the comedy A Thousand Words. Her character wants her husband to settle down and spend more time with the family, but I doubt he'll have much to say about it, since the guy finds out that he'll die after he utters his next one thousand words.

If you'll permit me to embarrass myself for a moment: I'm the guy who liked Neil LaBute's redo of The Wicker Man. Well, maybe I'm not the only one -- if I recall correctly, Weinberg didn't hate it either. But I'm pretty sure that's it. Any movie where Nicolas Cage dropkicks Leelee Sobieski and then dons a bear suit for an extended stretch is okay by me, but most people seemed to think that LaBute was out of his element in the supernatural thriller genre. In that case, his next project finds him back in his wheelhouse: generating suspense by manipulating and exaggerating everyday social tensions. Lakeview Terrace involves an interracial couple (Patrick Wilson and Kerry Washington) who find an enemy in their new next-door neighbor (Samuel L. Jackson), an LAPD cop who disapproves of their relationship and becomes determined to drive them away.

A trailer for Lakeview Terrace has surfaced on the film's official website, and the movie looks like squirmy, uncomfortable fun -- the kind of material LaBute is most comfortable with. In addition to the racial angle, it looks like the film is going to explore another touchy subject: the near-omnipotence that comes with a police uniform. It takes some guts to make a cop the bad guy without also providing a virtuous foil (e.g. Ethan Hawke offsetting Denzel Washington in Training Day). But if anyone can pull it off, it's Neil LaBute.

[via Comingsoon.net]

Project Greenlight producer Chris Moore is already busy with his directorial debut, Killers, but now The Hollywood Reporter posts that he's also executive producing a miniseries and feature-length documentary based on A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn. First published in 1980, the book follows the history of the United States from Columbus and Native Americans right through the twentieth century. However, instead of your ordinary historical book, Zinn critically looked at both the triumphs and tyranny of the country.

The project is titled The People Speak, and it's looking like it could be a pretty successful documentary, if the collaborators are any indication. The history will be brought together by music and readings that focus on the country's war, class, race, and women's rights struggles. Actors like Matt Damon, Viggo Mortensen, Marisa Tomei, Danny Glover, David Strathairn, Kerry Washington, and Josh Brolin will perform, while the likes of Eddie Vedder and John Legend will add some music into the mix. This collaboration will be topped off by Zinn himself, who will give introductions and historical contest to the pieces of the film.

As Moore describes it: "It's going to be a great piece of entertainment, but more importantly, something people can watch and learn and remember how great this country has been and how individual people have changed the course of history. It's going to make them think, laugh, and cry and be proud to be American." Yet the cynic in me is waiting for those people who will say all of this is anti-American. Hopefully, it will just be a well-received, good, accurate film that teaches as well as entertains. But what do you think?

Well kids, first let me congratulate you ... you did it. Redemption is yours as 300 is a huge hit. But, I see a relapse comin on as I fear many of you will make the same mistake I did ... thinking Chris Rock is still funny.

Chris Rick isn't funny anymore, and I'm not exactly sure why. I think it's partly because he thinks that the jokes he told ten years ago and recycles today are as funny and edgy as they were then. I think it's partly because he laughs the hardest at his own jokes. I think it's partly because the comedians working today are much more edgy so it makes it harder for him to stand out. Maybe it's because he spends more time producing now and less time developing as a comedian. Well, whatever it is, all I know is that until he shows me something new, I'm out. Speaking of out, let's talk about his super lame new movie.

Yes, he directs and stars in I Think I Love My Wife.

Rock plays a high powered investment banker with a beautiful wife and wonderful children. But he's not getting any at home and he fantasizes about pretty much every other woman he sees. And when the lovely Nikki (played by Kerry Washington) pursues him, will he be able to keep it in his pants?

The reel deal, this movie is SOOOOO not funny ... or well written ... or directed ... or acted. It's like he took a bunch of stand-up jokes and tried to edit them into a movie. And guys, if you're dopey enough to take your wife or girlfriend to see this movie ... and she's laughin' ... she's SOOO not laughin'. If she is, it's that "You ain't getting any for a couple week" sort of laugh. You know what I'm sayin'? I'm Out.

Following the screening of I Think I Love My Wife, I received a call from my brother who asked what I thought about the flick. My response: "I think I liked the movie." When Chris Rock first announced he'd be returning to the director's chair for a remake of the 1972 French film Chloe in the Afternoon, it kind of felt like your friend -- the one who parties hard, sleeps around and lives life on the edge -- all of a sudden decided to settle down, have a family and get married ... in the span of one day. It was an odd choice of material for the edgy comedian and former SNL star; the guy we're supposed to blame for 2003's Head of State. But, what at first appeared to be a train wreck waiting to happen, actually turned out to be more like a mild collision -- an accident that could've been averted had Rock spent more time fine-tuning his script and less time pretending to capture the essence of French filmmaking.

Richard Cooper (Rock) seemingly has it all; he's married to a beautiful woman (Gina Torres), has two adorable little children, a nice house in the suburbs of Westchester and a cozy high-paying job as an investment banker. Except, there's one problem -- he's "f**king bored!" For reasons that aren't really explained, Richard and his wife are not having sex. The excitement, the passion and the love has disappeared from the marriage, forcing them both to seek help from a marriage councilor and leaving poor Richard with nothing but his over-active imagination and a voice-over to tell us just how attracted he is to every girl that walks by. Conflict arises when Nikki (Kerry Washington), an old crush, shows up at Richard's office -- dressed to resemble your most memorable wet dream -- looking for a job and a whole lot more.

Playwright-turned-filmmaker Neil LaBute won me over big time with the smart dialogue and unapologetic characters he wrote for In the Company of Men and Your Friends & Neighbors. He then made a very enjoyable film from a script he didn't write, which in many other hands would have been forgettable. But after that film, Nurse Betty, he hasn't done much to keep me interested. I was especially disappointed with The Shape of Things, a flat, predictable film based on his own play, and finally couldn't even bother to check out his remake of The Wicker Man, which came out last year. He will likely keep me away once more with his next project, if it does turn out to be Lakeview Terrace, a thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson we told you about in January.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, LaBute is in negotiations to direct the film, which was written by Money Train screenwriter David Loughery. And if he gets the gig, he may get to work with Ashton Kutcher, who is possibly being cast as the husband of Kerry Washington -- because we couldn't get enough of his interracial-coupling in Guess Who. Kutcher and Washington would play a husband and wife being terrorized by Jackson's character, a racist LAPD officer who lives next door. If the script could be rewritten by LaBute -- the LaBute of ten years ago -- and feature a lot of scenes with Jackson beating on Kutcher -- really hard -- then Lakeview Terrace could have a chance, but the script is instead being retooled by playwright Howard Korder, and Screen Gems will probably want to keep Kutcher from being too bloodied up.

Intertwining stories set in urban jungles are hot these days; Crash and Traffic both thrived on the big screen, and now Buddy Giovinazzo is adapting his own collection of short stories, Life is Hot in Cracktown. Evan Ross, Michael Rapaport, Kerry Washington and Victor Rasuk have signed on to star in the pic, which follows the lives of several people living in a crack-infested neighborhood. But will it feel fresh? Young drug dealers, distraught parents, kids getting killed on the streets -- it's all been done before. Here's hoping the talented cast helps to ignite a flame that lasts throughout.

In fact, the storyline isn't too much of a stretch for the four; Washington recently starred as a prostitute/addict in The Dead Girl; Rapaport has dabbled in a slew of urban dramas; Rasuk first crashed onto the scene in the little indie drama Raising Victor Vargas; and Ross -- son of Diana Ross -- broke through with ATL and has also signed on to another drug-related flick, Brooklyn to Manhattan. And speaking of Ross (who stars in the upcoming Pride), he's been wrapped up in a bit of controversy as of late after the MPAA banned a poster for Pride that featured Ross in a pair of "tight-fitting" swimming trunks. Perhaps the best response came from the Lionsgate spokesperson: "Apparently the MPAA accused us of enlarging his bulge. He's just naturally well-endowed. That's the long and short of it." Shouldn't we all be so lucky ...

Some of today's casting tidbits I managed to throw together while watching Breaking Vegas on The History Channel (which immediately depressed me because it made me wish I were smarter):

• Samuel L. Jackson wants to play a bad guy -- either that, or the neighbor from hell. The Snakes on a Plane actor has joined Kerry Washington in Lakeview Terrace, a thriller written by David Loughery in which James Lessiter and Will Smith will produce. Story revolves around a black LAPD officer (Jackson) who isn't too fond of the interracial couple (with Washington as the female half) that just moved in next door. In fact, he's determined to run them off his block in any way he sees fit. Something tells me these folks wouldn't make for great contestants on TLC's Trading Spaces.
• Speaking of The History Channel's Breaking Vegas, Columbia Pictures is currently rounding up a bunch of cool cats to star in the big screen version of the very real-life story explored in Ben Mezrich's Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. Laurence Fishburne is in negotiations to co-star in 21, while Liza Lapira and Josh Gad have joined Jim Sturgess and Masi Oka in the pic, to be directed by Robert Luketic. Fishburne would play the Vegas security chief placed in charge of tracking down the group of M.I.T. students who, through mastering the art of card counting, raked in tons and tons of cash.
• Rachael Taylor (See No Evil, Transformers) is looking to hop on the horror remake bandwagon -- she's signed on to star in Shutter, a remake of the 2004 Thai film. She'll be playing one half of a recently married couple who are spending their honeymoon in Tokyo when -- holy crap -- images of ghosts begin showing up in all their photos. Hey, it's better than drunken fat guys and middle fingers, right?

Chris Rock: Drop-dead brilliantly funny comedian, no question about it. But ... not so great where movies are concerned. And I'm not just talking about his paltry acting skills either ("paltry" being a nice word for "atrocious"); the guy's natural comedic skills were a saving grace in flicks like Lethal Weapon 4, Bad Company and The Longest Yard (kinda), but let's just say he's not all that great at remembering lines -- or delivering them convincingly.

But when Rock gets anywhere behind the camera, the result is usually pretty disastrous. (He wrote the terrible Down to Earth and wrote/directed the painfully bad Head of State.) So when I tell you that the new comedy I Think I Love My Wife stars Chris Rock, you might get happy -- and when I tell you that the flick is also written and directed by Rock, you might get (justifiably) sad. (Martha covered the flick waaaay back in February.)

Based solely on this new trailer, the movie seems to be a modernized urbanization of Eric Rohmer's Chloe in the Afternoon -- or perhaps Billy Wilder's The Seven Year Itch. Either way the movie's about a married man who entertains (numerous) thoughts of adultery, and (probably nearly) goes through with it when an old flame (and single hottie) arrives on the scene. Gina Torres is the wife; Kerry Washington the hottie; March 16 the release date.