You have to hand it to Quentin Tarantino. Besides being a very talented director who tells interesting stories well he’s also got the ability to put together some great ensemble casts. From his fist film Reservoir Dogs, through his most recent Inglorious Basterds, the director never ceases to lock in some great actors for his films.

He’s continuing that trend with his upcoming Sergio Leone-inspired western Django Unchained. He’s already got Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson and Leonardo DiCaprio. Now, according to Deadline, we can add Oscar-winner Kevin Costner to the mix as well.

According to the report, Costner would play Ace Woody, “the sadistic trainer of the male fighting slaves who entertain the white patrons of Candyland as well as the female slaves who are forced to be prostitutes. The club and ranch are owned by Calvin Candie (DiCaprio) and Ace Woody is the one who pits the “mandingo” fighters against one another.” Sounds like a nice guy. Mmm, not.

Once Coster is set for the role he and DiCaprio should make an interesting pair of bad guys. I’m sure it will be very interesting to see how it all turns out. The film is set to go into production in the Fall with an eye to a late 2012 release.

We’ll bring you more on this film as we get it.

As we rapidly approach the release of Captain America: The First Avenger, which is the final Marvel film leading up to next year’s The Avengers, we expect to be getting a lot more coverage and peeks at images and stills from the new film while it shoots in New Mexico and Ohio.

While we haven’t gotten there just yet, a correspondent over at ESQ. magazine managed to snap a shot of the brand new promo poster that Marvel is using to sell the film at the recent International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

Definitely digitally rendered, it’s not an exact depiction as to what we’re going to get from the film itself, but it gives a good idea at what we can look forward to when Joss Whedon brings everyone together for what will likely be an epic film.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlett Johansson, Clark Gregg, Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, and Stellan Skarsgård and hits theaters May 4, 2012.

Check out the first poster after the jump and let us know what you think!

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Before you get all bent out of shape and start asking why no-one learned anything from Wild Wild West, take a listen to the idea first. Quentin “homages aren’t stealing” Tarantino has decided to take to the world of spaghetti westerns and “reboot” the classic franchise Django.

Here’s the most recent info from Heat Vision:

Sources prepped for those meetings say Tarantino would like Smith to star in the film, the script for which has been making the rounds in recent days to wide acclaim. No official offer has been made to Smith, and any deal would of course be subject to working out financials, which might be difficult given Smith’s status as one of Hollywood’s few sure-thing stars.

Smith is being teed up for the title role of Django, a freed slave who seeks to reunite with his slave wife, a journey that will see him team with a German bounty hunter to take down an evil plantation owner.

Tarantino wrote the bounty hunter part with Christoph Waltz in mind, according to insiders. The German ends up training Django and helping him seek his wife.

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Unless you live under a rock you probably know Joss Whedon is directing The Avengers. You also may know filming on the movie started today.

What you may not know is Joss himself posted a message for fans over at Whedonesque to commemorate the event. So, without further comment, here’s Joss’s message. Enjoy.

Film Greatness. On the Eve of Our Endeavor, I celebrate an american classic — or possibly all of them.

Hi Pumpkins, joss here.

Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:

[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss's keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in "Stormy Monday", drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]

Went too far. My bad. Anyhoo, it should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I’ll be checking in from time to time, if there’s news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake) . None of it will be Avengers news — I have some very denty pillows to remind of that — but I may have tidbits. (They’re not about Firefly. I should say that up front, if only to protect Sis Mo from the HATORZ.)

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UPDATE: Due to a request from Paramount, we have taken down the video. Sorry folks but they don’t want you to see it.

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We may be a few weeks away from the God of Thunder’s release  with Thor here in the US, but folks overseas are basking in the glory of Marvel’s newest film as we speak. One diehard fan in particular even got some footage of the illustrious post-credit sequence that Marvel loves to slap onto the end of their films.

We give HEAVY WARNING here: if you don’t want to see what happens in this sequence, then we suggest not clicking through, as it gives clues that lead us up to Marvel’s upcoming films Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers.

Those who are a fan of Marvel lore know that this isn’t much of a spoiler, per se, as it is some of the greatest story elements told in comics shown in live action.

So, without further adieu, click through the jump to see the special “Easter Egg” from after the credits in Marvel Studios’ Thor. We loved it, but let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Welcome to another edition of On the Radar where we delve into all corners of the entertainment, tech and geek Internets for news, views and whatnot that may have escaped our regular coverage during the week. Let is know if we missed something interesting.

Let’s get started!

• Getting ready to wrestle with the Gods this May in Thor? This Behind-the-scenes featurette should help you get ready for battle.

• As if we needed another reason to pick up Portal 2 next week, we can now spend an extra to get some sweet gear upgrades, like special boots that won’t let you die!

• Remember ElfQuest? We kind of do, too. A few die-hard hotties decided to stop waiting for a film and make their own by prancing in the woods wearing very little clothing and tons of makeup. We approve.

• This one has been surfing around the net all week, and is proof that given the chance, the next generation of kids will, in fact, choose the Dark Side.

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With all the movies and TV programs out there featuring car chases, shootouts, explosions and more, it’s sometimes nice to watch a movie about two people who just sit and talk. Of course, it helps if the people in question are terrific actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones and what they are saying is written by one of the best writers around, Cormac McCarthy.

To what compelling story am I referring? None other than McCarthy’s play The Sunset Limited, which is now a film coming this weekend from HBO. As I mentioned above, the film features two great actors. It is also based on the McCarthy play, written by him and is directed by Jones.

If, for some reason, you’re not familiar with the story, here’s the highlights:

The story focuses on two very different men – a deeply religious black ex-con (Jackson) who thwarts the suicide attempt of an asocial white college professor (Jones). As the one attempts to connect on a rational, spiritual and emotional level, the other remains steadfast in his hard-earned despair. Locked in a philosophical debate, both passionately defend their personal credos and try to convert the other.

The Sunset Limited premieres on HBO this Saturday, February 12th at 9/8C. In the meantime, check out the preview for this sure to be intense drama after the jump.

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Or at least, that’s the role we think they are casting for. In a recent interview with Sam Jackson, who will play Nick Fury in just about every upcoming Marvel film from Captain America: The First Avenger to The Avengers, the actor spilled the beans on the shortlist of actresses the studio is looking at for a potential “sidekick” role for his character. From THR:

Marvel is conducting screen tests Friday for one of the final roles still looking to be cast in The Avengers, the all-star superhero ensemble being directed by Joss Whedon. Last night Samuel L. Jackson revealed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon it is that of his “sidekick.”

V star Morena Baccarin is on that list. Also said to be vying for the part are Jessica Lucas, Cobie Smulders and Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who are still negotiating their test deals for the part of a key member of the espionage agency run by Nick Fury, played in the Marvel movies by Jackson. Some earlier speculation pegged the role to be that of Avengers team member Janet van Dyne/the Wasp, but Marvel declined to comment.

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Who says the first major casting news out of 2011 has to be boring? Not fans of either Sam Jackson, Luke Wilson, or films with the word Evil in them, as both have just been announced to star in the upcoming noir thriller Meeting Evil based on the book by Thomas Berger.

According to Louisiana’s Scene Magazine, this is one of a handful of new films being shot in New Orleans, thanks to the extra helpful tax breaks that the state of Louisiana offers. Here’s the scoop on the film.

Luke Wilson plays John Felton, a real estate salesman mired in depression resulting from the economic collapse. After being fired, he ends up going on a joy ride with a stranger named Richie (Samuel L. Jackson) that brings them down a path towards violence. Leslie Bibb stars as Felton’s wife. The script’s tone is described as moody with elements of dark comedy, a definite departure from Wilson’s usual light comedic fair.

As long as this film derives from both actors’ previous unfortunate frolics in the world of dark comedy like Jackson’s The Spirit or Wilson’s Death at a Funeral. This will also mark one of the films you can count on one hand that Jackson has signed on to that doesn’t include a Marvel character.

Meeting Evil is set to start shooting in New Orleans later this week.

There were a few competitors for this year’s biggest movie comedy but hands down one of the ones in the top 3 is Adam McKay’s The Other Guys starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg. The film was a great satirical take on some of the top buddy cop films of the 90′s and had an all-star cast. Starting December 14th, you can relive the laughs from the film unrated on DVD and Blu-ray.

If Ferrell and Wahlberg aren’t enough to keep you entertained, how about Michael Keaton, Rob Riggle, Eva Mendes, Daman Wayans Jr., Dwayne Johnson, Steve Coogan, and Samuel L. Jackson? Here are the official features and bonus material from the releases.

Blu-ray Exclusive Bonus Material

• The “Mom”-mentary- Unrated Version
• Additional Deleted & Extended Scenes
• Line-O-Rama
• Gag reel
• “Pimps Don’t Cry” music video
• Alternate Action
• Bonus Featurettes:
• Extreme Close Up
• Everyone Hates The DVD Guy
• Wasn’t That
• Why Are There Brits On This Movie?
• Rob Riggle Like To Party
• We Shouldn’t Kiss a Chicken
• Mark Walberg’s Eating Contest Entourage
• Lendl Global Commercial
• movieIQ®+sync and BD-Live connect you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie

Be sure to catch The Other Guys on Blu-ray and DVD next Tuesday from Sony Entertainment.

Even though Iron Man 2 wasn’t quite as good as its predecessor, it still managed to entertain and excite enough fans to bring in over $300 Million at the domestic box office. And what follows a terrific box office performance like that (besides a sequel of course)? Why it’s a feature packed Blu-ray DVD release.

To commemorate the pending debut of the three-disc Iron Man 2 on Blu-ray, we’ve got a new behind the scenes video from the release to share with you today. In it you’ll see director Jon Favreau and stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Samuel L. Jackson discuss their characters and the film with screenwriter Justin Theroux. Interesting insight indeed.

Iron Man 2 hits Blu-ray and DVD on September 28th. For more info on the release, check out the official press release for it as well as the video after the jump.

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The fourth offering from the comedy team of Will Farrell (star) and Adam McKay (director, writer), The Other Guys doesn’t reach the zany heights of their earlier hits Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, but still gives Farrell plenty of opportunities for the inspired silliness and extended surreal bits that are his strengths.

Will Farrell plays Allen Gamble, a police forensic accountant with a hidden dark past, now partnered with Terry Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg), a disgraced detective who has been relegated to a desk job after making a catastrophic error.

The movie opens with the hot shots of the department, played with patented swagger and bombast by Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne Johnson, but when they unexpectedly leave the force, so to speak, Hoitz jumps at the chance to get back on real cases. The only hitch is that he has to convince the reluctant, conscientious and safety-loving Gamble to join him.

Meanwhile, Gamble’s painstaking forensic accounting and obsession with unpaid scaffolding permits has actually turned up a real case, a financier (Steve Coogan) about to pull off a $32 Billion heist. It’s classic bumbling cops versus cool, efficient and ruthless mastermind criminals with MBAs and meat-head body guards, but the sometimes creaky plot does its job—that is, set up lots of hilarity involving Priuses, hot Broadway shows, the pitfalls of hyperbole and more.

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