Ever sinse actor Christoph Waltz burst onto the scene in Quentin Tarantino’s terrific Inglourious Basterds, I’ve been waiting for him to have another amazing role to follow that film. Now, it appears he’s found one.

Alongside Reese Witherspoon and Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, Waltz stars in the Francis Lawrence-directed drama Water for Elephants. Based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Sara Gruen, the story concerns a love triangle under the circus Big Top.

In the film, Pattinson’s character, a veterinary student named Jacob, abandons his studies after his parents are killed in a car accident and joins the traveling circus as their vet. Of course, complications ensue when he falls in love with Marlena (Witherspoon), the wife of the brutal yet charming head animal trailer (Waltz).

Regardless of the subject matter, the presence of Pattinson and the seemingly melodramatic nature of the plot, I’m in because of Christoph Waltz. Plus, I love the circus.

Check out the first trailer for the film after the jump and decide for yourself if this film’s for you. Water for Elephants hits theaters on April 15, 2011.

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Not a lot of people are holding out hope for Seth Rogen’s Green Hornet. There seems to be a general consensus from both the studio and the critic community that the film looks pretty awful, to the point where Sony has already attempted to save the film by converting it to 3D and pushing back the release date to a less active weekend.

It just seems that the film is destined for Jonah Hex-style obscurity. With that said, you should know exactly what to expect when going into the film. You could end up having the time of your life if you have little-to-no expectations, and the film could end up surprising you entirely.

The newest trailer lends to that theory. Written by Rogen and Evan Golberg, the same team who did Superbad, the film is a comedic send up to the classic pulp hero. Inglorious Basterds’ star Christoph Waltz even steps in as the film’s baddie, which should raise the film’s geek cred.

Check out the newest international trailer for the flick after the jump. Then, lower your expectations and check out Rogen’s The Green Hornet in theaters on January 14th, 2011.

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This week on The Flickcast Chris and Matt welcome back recurring guest co-host Elisabeth Rappe and dive head first into a bunch of new topics including potential Star Wars prequels and sequels, Clint Eastwood’s latest film Invictus, the latest Kick-Ass character posters, Clash of the Titans and Sam Worthington, the success and animation style of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, and the family history of Lando Calrissian.

They also made some great picks yet again this week including Matt’s pick of the series Legend of the Seeker, Elisabeth’s pick of the musical Oklahoma! featuring Hugh Jackman and Chris’ pick of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourios Basterds, which is now on Blu-Ray.

As always, if you have comments, questions, critiques or offers of sponsorship, feel free to hit us up in the comments, on Twitter and at Facebook, MySpace or via email.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HAFTA) announced its 2009 nominees for the Golden Globes this morning. The Golden Globes are considered a harbinger of the Oscar season, even though they  generally throw a few wacky choices into their slate.

For those keeping track, Up in the Air nabbed six nominations, followed by Avatar with four.  Sandra Bullock continues to enjoy a stellar year, as she was nominated for The Blind Side as well as The Proposal. Other double nominees include Meryl Streep (Julie and Julia, It’s Complicated), and Matt Damon (Invictus, The Informant!).  Directors Quentin Tarantino and Jason Reitman each got a nod for directing and screenplay as well.

The Golden Globes ceremony will take place on January 17th, 2010, and will air on NBC.

Here is a list of the nominees in major film categories:

Best Picture, Drama

Avatar

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

Up in the Air

Best Picture, Musical/Comedy

500 Days of Summer

The Hangover

It’s Complicated

Julie and Julia

Nine

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For actor Michael Fassbender, getting into distinct characters is another day at the office. Over the last two years, he has transformed himself into a Spartan warrior, an emaciated hunger striker and a dashing English military man. For the upcoming DC Comics adaptation of Jonah Hex, Fassbender donned facial tattoos to play the charismatic henchman Burke, and the actor told Sci Fi Wire it was the costume that helped him get into character the most.

“Burke on the page was a certain sort of character, but then when I arrived in New Orleans and met up with Michael Wilkinson and Christien Tinsley, who did the tattoo, they really gave me all of the information I needed,” says Fassbender. “I put on this three-piece suit, and then I was going through hats, and I just put on a bowler hat, and I was like, that reminds me of Clockwork Orange, and that reminds me of Frank Gorshin’s Riddler. So that would be my physicality—I wanted to try and make him quite angular and quite rakish, and I definitely got the inspiration through the hat. So I found it all in that bowler hat, to be honest.”

According to Fassbender, his primary purpose in the film is to offset the intensity of John Malkovich, who plays Turnbull, a calm and menacing character and Jonah’s main adversary.

“I knew that [Jimmy] wanted quite a sort of boisterous, colorful character to go against John Malkovich’s,” he said. “Something that was sort of off the wall. So that’s sort of why I thought of the Riddler in the 1970s, and then there’s also something very sinister and dangerous about the Clockwork Orange element. So I just sort of mashed them together.”

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