Since news hit this week that The Night Watchman starring Keanu Reeves had changed its name to Street Kings (apparently to avoid folks confusing it with Zack Snyder's Watchmen), why not use this time in the spotlight to release the first stills from the film? And yup, that's exactly what's happened. IMDB has the first couple stills up on their Street Kings page, and we've included another photo that showed up over at Empire earlier today. You can see one up top, and the other two after the jump.

Street Kings follows one unlucky cop (Reeves) who, following the death of his wife, is framed for a murder he did not commit. Thus, he sets out to clear his name (and blame everything on a man with one arm?), and in the process he'll learn some disturbing things about the people he works with. The film also stars folks like Forest Whitaker, Chris Evans, Naomie Harris, Hugh Laurie, Jay Mohr and Common. Directed by David Ayer (who likes to bring the gritty), Street Kings is due out on April 11. Check out the other two photos after the jump ...

So while I seriously doubt that most people were actually going to confuse the crime drama, The Night Watchman with Zack Snyder's Watchmen at the box office, the similarity in titles probably wasn't helping much in the marketing department. It looks like someone at Fox Searchlight thought the same thing and Slashfilm is now reporting that the studio has decided it was time for a name change. The title of James Ellroy's The Night Watchman will now be known as Street Kings. Frankly, neither of these titles are 'rocking my world,' but at least now it's going to clear up a lot of confusion.

Street Kings stars Keanu Reeves as Tom Ludlow; an LA cop who has recently lost his wife. With his life already in shambles, it gets even worse when he is framed for a murder and his abandoned by his fellow boys in blue. Ellroy wrote the script along with John Ridley (U Turn and Three Kings) and David Ayer (writer for Training Day) is at the helm. The cast also includes Forest Whitaker as Reeves' supervisor, Amaury Nolasco (Prison Break) and TV's infamous Dr. House, better known as Hugh Laurie, will play another cop on the force.

Filming began back in July and we got our first look at Reeves in his 'blues' when Erik brought us over 20 photos of the actor hard at work on the set. The flick is now in post production, so I guess Fox figured that it was now or never if they were planning on a change -- and personally I think they made the right decision. Street Kings arrives in theaters this spring.

When fans first heard news of a remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still; reactions were mixed. Now, Dark Horizons is reporting that 20th Century Fox will be pushing the release date back to December 12th, 2008 -- which is probably just a coincidence. The remake stars Keanu Reeves as the humanoid alien who comes to Earth along with his giant robot to warn its leaders of the dire consequences of dragging their petty conflicts into space. As to be expected; mankind is less than receptive to the news, and plenty of explosions ensue. The 1951 film was considered a reflection of society's fears about the Cold War and nuclear annihilation, and is currently shares a spot among some of the best sci-fi films of all time. So of course for the remake, the political allusions will be getting an update as well.

It's being directed by relative newcomer Scott Derrickson and David Scarpa has been signed to re-write the script. Now for the bad news: individually, these guys have made some sub-par flicks in the past. Originally slated for May 9th, 2008, speculations about the delay have ranged from bad time management to the studio being afraid to pit Earth against WB's Speed Racer. Instead, Fox will now be forced to go head-to-head with the Dan Brown adaptation Angels and Demons -- which, in my opinion, might be the safer bet if Fox is going for box office dominance. Reeves is wrapping up the James Ellroy scripted The Night Watchman, so he appears to be free and clear to start work on Earth. The new release date has not been confirmed yet by Fox, so stay tuned.

A bunch of movie photos have recently hit the net, and thankfully none of them feature Woody Allen in a speedo. Check it out ...

• JustJared has our first look at Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker and Prison Break's Amaury Nolasco on the set of The Night Watchman. There's a gallery of about 20 or so shots; all of which feature the men attending the funeral of a fallen officer. In the film (written and directed by David Ayer), Reeves plays a veteran cop (and recent widower) who's implicated in the execution of a fellow officer. He then must go up against the system he's called home for so many years in an attempt to clear his name. The scene in question must be the funeral of said officer, which (contrary to what I originally thought) will not be played by Nolasco.
• The Dark Knight is still shooting in Chicago, and Superhero Hype has obtained a group of photos which show Gary Oldman as Lt. Jim Gordon. Director Christopher Nolan can also be seen, as well as shots of a few Gotham police vehicles and a man dressed up in a SWAT uniform. I'm not sure if this scene has to do with the aforementioned bank heist, but, if so, it looks like it's going to be one heckuva robbery.
• A third photo has been released to the mysterious Cloverfield website, 1-18-08.com. This one is a bit fuzzy, and is timestamped 12:48a. In it, a few people walk through what looks like a cloud of smoke while holding their noses. If they didn't specifically tell us the time, I'd say J.J. Abrams was producing a 9/11-related film. You can also toss the photos around the page with your mouse -- not sure what that's about, but have fun.
• Finally, Woody Allen is spending his summer in Barcelona with his muse Scarlett Johansson. A few photos have arrived that show Woody, Johansson and a bunch of crew members hanging around the set of Midnight in Barcelona. From what we've heard, the film is a comedy (set in Barcelona) that revolves around a love triangle of sorts. Knowing Woody, he's writing the script as he shoots. The film also stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Patricia Clarkson.

It's always tricky for an Oscar winner to pick their next projects. You can either follow in the footsteps of Tom Hanks and win yourself two in a row, or you can end up in Catwoman and only have a Razzie to show for it. Variety has reported that Forest Whitaker, fresh off his win for the role of dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, is in talks to star in The Night Watchman with Keanu Reeves. Directed by David Ayer (Training Day) and written by novelist James Ellroy (LA Confidential) the story follows a LAPD officer in the midst of a crisis of conscience about what he has done in the name of "law and order". Whitaker will be joining the cast as the chief of the elite squad that Reeves is a part of -- although I can't say I am exactly sold on the idea of Reeves as a battle hardened cop.

It seems that Whitaker is steering clear of any other big-budget productions though, as his next two projects are independent features. He will be starring with Kate Beckinsale and fellow Oscar nominee Jackie Earle Haley in the upcoming Winged Creatures, and has also signed for the Tim Bui drama Powder Blue. Production on The Night Watchman is set to begin this May.

When I sat down with David Ayer back in November, he wasn't too worried about being labeled a certain kind of writer-director. After all, if the studios know you're good at something, they'll exploit those strengths and, heck -- you keep working. Needless to say, Ayer has been the go-to man for gritty LAPD gang-life stories (Training Day, Harsh Times) for the last few years, and now that Fox Searchlight/New Regency got their hands on The Night Watchman -- a James Ellroy-scripted project originally set up at Paramount -- they've tapped Ayer to re-write and helm ... with none other than Keanu Reeves set to star.

Reeves will take on an LAPD cop who's always played by "his rules" until, suddenly, he gets a "wakeup call" from his conscious down at the front desk telling him he can no longer use the (illegal?) tactics that have made him so effective. Pic, which at one point had folks like Spike Lee, Oliver Stone and David Fincher interested, is set immediately following the L.A. Riots and O.J. Simpson Case -- because when racial tensions are at an all-time high, Keanu Reeves is the first man I think of to swoop down and save the day. Sure, his stale, wooden persona can often get tiring ... then again, don't we feel the same way about cops in general? Production begins end of April; no word yet on further casting.