Pixar and Dreamworks may monopolize the film animation market, but relatively small effects company Starz Animation is looking to creep up with their latest film, Gnomeo and Juliet. The film is even getting a Disney bump by being distributed through their Touchstone subsidiary. Starz is best known for producing 9 and Space Chimps, unfortunately

The name leaves little to the imagination in terms of plot, but just in case you need it spelled out, the official synopsis should help.

The greatest love story ever told, starring…garden gnomes? In “Gnomeo & Juliet,” Shakespeare’s revered tale gets a comical, off-the-wall makeover. Directed by Kelly Asbury (co-director of “Shrek 2″) and showcasing both classic and original songs by Elton John, the film features the voices of James McAvoy and Emily Blunt as Gnomeo and Juliet, who have as many obstacles to overcome as their quasi namesakes when they are caught up in a feud between neighbors. But with plastic pink flamingos and thrilling lawnmower races in the mix, can this young couple find a happy ending?

Produced in the US with a mainly British cast and music by Elton John, what could possibly go wrong? Check out the full trailer after the jump, and be sure to catch the family-friendly laughs of Gnomeo and Juliet on February 11th.

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Following tons of casting and recasting news, X-Men: First Class producer Bryan Singer contacted AICN and revealed tons of juicy tidbits about the highly anticipated film. Of course, we’re going to share them with you right here to save you the trouble of clicking that link.

The film will take place in the fitting time of the 1960′s, with civil rights being of high concern at the time and the obvious parallels between the racial and mutant struggles. In addition, Singer implied that Vaughn will also be utilizing James Bond type technology from that era in the film.

X-Men: First Class will follow the young Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Eric Lehnsherr (Michael Fassbender)as they plan the futures of mutant kind.  Xavier will not be in a wheelchair in the beginning of the film, but we will witness him losing the use of his legs.

The antagonists of the film will be the Hellfire Club which will include Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw and January Jones as Emma Frost. On a surprising note, he stated that we will not be seeing Jean Grey or Cyclops. Unsurprisingly, he announced that we can expect tons more casting news in the next couple of days.

Singer also explained that even though the costumes in the film will be more “comic booky” than previous films, the film is shying away from the story written in the comic after which the film is named.

Do you think that it’s the right move to delve deep into little known comic book characters, while not utilizing the pre-existing lore? Can an X-men story exist without Jean Grey and Cyclops?

It’s been quite a week for director Matthew Vaughn and the team on Fox’s upcoming X-Men: First Class. Not only has Oliver Platt joined the cast as the “Man in Black”, but Rose Byrne has also joined the project as Professor Xavier’s Scottish love interest Moira MacTaggert.

But even with the new additions, other changes are also being made to the cast with one actor leaving and another taking her place. What am I talking about? January Jones has been added to the cast and will take the place of Alice Eve as The White Queen, Emma Frost.

While initial reports about Eve signing for the role were legitimate, it turns out the deal was not completely done and January Jones will officially fill the role for Vaughn. Most people know Jones as Betty Francis, the recently divorced wife of Don Draper on AMC’s Mad Men.

Jones has found quite a home for herself back in the 60′s, so it will be interesting to see how she can take on playing a British school teacher. Jones joins an already packed cast consisting of James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Caleb Landry Jones, Lucas Till, Zoe Kravitz, and Kevin Bacon.

Principal photography for the film begins in London next week, and we can expect to see more news develop soon as X-Men: First Class makes it’s way to theaters on June 3, 2011.

With filming set to begin later this month, some of the final pieces of casting for the film X-Men: First Class are falling into place. Joining the recently announced Rose Byrne and Jason Flemyng, Oliver Platt is the newest addition to the start studded cast.

Along with James McAvoy as Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Alice Eve as Emma Frost, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Caleb Landry Jones as Banshee, Lucas Till as Havoc, Edi Gathegi as Darwin, Kevin Bacon as the villain, Jason Flemyng as Azazel and Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, we now have Oliver Platt joining as “The Man in Black”.

Like Kevin Bacon before him, Oliver Platt’s character has yet to be described fully.  So far the only information being released is that Platt will not be playing a mutant character.

Even though I feel that I’m versed in the world of geekdom and comics, I’m not sure who this “Man in Black” character could  be. If he was a mutant, many names come to mind ranging from Black Tom Cassidy to the Black Rook of the Hellfire Club. The moniker may just be a blanket government agent title.

There are still some glaring absences in the list of parts that have been cast. If this film is to mirror the comics at all, we are still missing Cyclops, Jean Grey, Angel and Iceman.

Who do you think Platt will play? Who do you think will play the remaining major parts?

X-men: First Class will be released in theaters June 3rd 2011.

Coming on the heels of success from his last (and only) two film adaptations, comic writer Mark Millar is eager to bring his latest book, Nemesis, to the big screen. It seems like that plan is already in motion, as Twentieth Century and Tony Scott have acquired the rights and are looking to get Millar’s property into theaters in the near future.

The book tells a classic story with a twist: young Matt Anderson’s parents are killed and he vows to avenge their deaths by training himself and going after the man who did it. The twist? His parents were worldwide villains, and he is too. Anderson makes his way back to the states after killing the greatest cops across the world to focus on Chief Blake Morrow, the man who took down Anderson’s criminal parents.

Tony Scott has expressed interest in this being his next project, at least through his company Scott Free Productions. While the idea of Tony Scott directing a comic book adaptation gives the fanboy community the collective goosebumps, Scott may only remain attached as a producer.

Many know Millar as the mind behind other comic adaptations Wanted starring James McAvoy (now X-Men: First Class’s Professor Xavier) and Lionsgate’s recent Kick-Ass, which is already planning a sequel. Comics fans know Millars work from Superman: Red Son and plenty of issues of Marvel’s Civil War.

It’s no surprise that director Matthew Vaughn likes to work with people he’s established a relationship with. He used actor Jason Flemyng in Layer Cake, Stardust and even Kick-Ass. Vaughn brought writer Jane Goldman onto Kick-Ass and now X-Men: First Class after they worked together on Stardust. Now he’s doing it again as Kick-Ass star Aaron Johnson has just been cast to play Cyclops in First Class.

It’s really not much of a surprise, given Vaugn’s casting decisions with previous roles. According to a tip received by Aint it Cool, the part is pretty much 100% locked down for the Kick-Ass star.

This would be the second comic book role for Johnson, even though he put down critics who were asking him about doing another film in the genre, saying that “just because I’m doing one, doesn’t mean I’ll do others.” It seems that the right amount on a check made him eat those words.

Johnson will be joining an already star-studded cast of James McAvoy as Professor X, Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League) as Emma Frost, and Michael Fassbender (Inglorious Basterds) as Magneto. Other rumored casting names Amber Heard as Mystique, and Benjamin Walker as Hank McCoy aka Beast.

With the film expected to hit theaters in less than a year — June 3, 2011 — you can be sure we’ll hear plenty of casting news in the days leading up to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Of course, we’ll be sure to bring them to you.

In some casting news that seemed to slip under our radar yesterday, it looks like we can add yet another actor to the growing list of those with a part in The First Avenger: Captain America. Tommy Lee Jones has joined the cast as Super Soldier program supervisor Colonel Chester Phillips.

Jones will star in Captain America alongside Chris Evans as the star-spangled superhero, Sebastian Stan as his sidekick Bucky, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Abraham Erskine and Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull. In addition, it looks like the front runner to play the enticing Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class is now Alice Eve, late of the movie She’s Out of My League.

Previously, it seemed she may have ended up with the role of Peggy Carter in Captain America but, as we previously reported, that went to actress Haley Atwell. Instead, Eve will reportedly take on the Emma Frost character and join others already in the film including James McAvoy as Professor Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and Benjamin Walker as Hank “Beast” McCoy. Matthew Vaughn is directing and co-writing the adaptation with Jane Goldman.

Captain America is currently slated for a July 22, 2011 release. X-Men: First Class is currently scheduled for a June 3rd, 2011 release. So, lots of good superhero action next Summer. Can’t wait.

Like most weeks, this time around we’ve got another bunch of new movies and TV shows hitting DVD and Blu-ray. Some of them are new, some are old and some are hitting Blu-ray for the first time.

Of the ones hitting stores today, we’re most interested in the Blu-ray release of The Last Station, the extra fun and campy Death Race 2000, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Afro Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions, Riverworld and the action film Green Zone (pictured above with Amy Ryan and Matt Damon).

Movies

A Star Is Born (Blu-ray Book) ~ Judy Garland (Blu-ray)

Close-Up (The Criterion Collection) ~ Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abolfazl Ahankhah (Blu-ray)

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ~ Bill Hader, Anna Faris (Blu-ray and DVD)

Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics) ~ David Carradine, Sylvester Stallone (Blu-ray)

Fireball ~ Ian Somerhalder, Lexa Doig (Blu-ray and DVD)

Green Zone ~ Matt Damon (Blu-ray and DVD)

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With James McAvoy already signed on to play Professor Charles Xavier in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class, word now comes that the film may have secured the talents of Michael Fassbender to play Xavier’s friend turned nemesis Eric Lensherr (aka Magneto). The actor has reportedly entered into negotiations (well, his agents have at least) to take on the role in the film.

Fassbender, whose previous work includes Inglorious Basterds, Jonah Hex and Neil Marshall’s upcoming Centurion, joins other actors such as Aaron Johnson and Andrew Garfield who are also being considered for roles in the film. While no deal is set, Fassbender is currently the front runner for the job and the top pick of both Vaughn and the studio.

The exact plot of X-Men: First Class is still not known, but we do know it will concern the younger versions of the X-Men and most likely focus on recruitment of younger mutants and the first team to be assembled. It will also have to show the development of the team and eventual rift between Xavier and Magneto which leads to them becoming arch enemies and sets up the events of later X-Men films.

I don’t know about you guys but I think Fassbender seems like and excellent choice to play Magneto. His work in previous films like Basterds and the upcoming Centurion shows his range and skill. Playing opposite McAvoy’s Xavier should make for an interesting dynamic indeed. I hope this deal gets finalized. Then, we can move onto the really important stuff like who’s gonna play Emma Frost.

Okay, we’ve got Xavier and most likely Magneto. Who should play the rest of the young X-Men?

Wanted actor James McAvoy has agreed to portray young Charles Xavier in X-Men: First Class, the origin story focusing on the friendship and eventual fallout between Professor X and Magneto. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Fox has characterized the film as the “epic beginning of the X-Men saga”

The film reportedly covers the time before Charles Xavier and Eric Lensherr became Professor X and Magneto. They were two young men discovering their powers for the first time and before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known.

In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men. Plus, its spawned several movies, TV shows and comics.

Fox anticipates filming this summer in London, with the movie tentatively scheduled for a June 3, 2011, release.

Stay tuned to The Flickcast for the latest news on this X-Men origin story.