Labor Day weekend is generally acknowledged as the symbolic close to summer, a three-day weekend during which American collectively lights the fires on its barbecues and gasses up its station wagons for one last romp in the season of fate's perfection.  Historically, Labor Day began as the result of the Pullman Strike, an 1894 workers' strike that resulted in violence and civilian deaths when President Grover Cleveland dispatched federal troops to dismantle the striking workers of the Pullman Palace Car Co.  Obviously, old Grover needed to subsequently make peace with the unions, and voila (more or less): Labor Day was born.  The holiday weekend here in 2011 saw The Help once again dominating the American box office, with The Debt following in second place.  Like Cleveland dealing with the aftermath of the Pullman Strike, both films thematically grapple with the moral compromises and atrocities of the past.  On a less historical note, both also coincidentally feature actress Jessica Chastain.

If you're making a fact-based crime movie in which John Travolta plays notorious real-life Mafia Don John Gotti, why not shoot for the stars when casting the Don's right-hand man Angelo Ruggiero?  At a press conference in Manhattan yesterday, director Nick Cassavetes revealed that he has recruited Mafia-movie all star Joe Pesci for Gotti: Three Generations.  That's not all, but Lindsay Lohan is also in negotiations to play an unspecified role that is widely assumed to be Gotti's daughter Victoria.

At 65 years old, Dame Helen Mirren defies the showbusiness convention that women over a certain age cannot retain – or perhaps even increase – their sex appeal.  The Oscar winner is one of the most respected actors on the planet, having appeared in films such as The Queen, Gosford Park, The Madness of King George, The Mosquito Coast, and The Last Station.  Over the weekend, she hosted Saturday Night Live, and series regular Nasim Pedrad discovered that the sexy screen icon has a physical attribute with miraculous properties.  Check out the SNL digital short to see how transcendent Dame Helen's breasts can be.

If Miley Cyrus can host Saturday Night Live, then why can't Helen Mirren?  The 65 year-old Oscar winner will take the stage of Studio 8H on April 9th in order to promote Arthur, in which she plays sardonic nanny Hobson to Russell Brand's titular irrepressible billionaire.  Joining her on the show are musical guests the Foo Fighters.  The preceding week's show, on April 2nd, will see a British musical giant getting his sketch on, as Elton John has been set to host the first episode in April.

So far, the trailers for the remake of Arthur, with Russell Brand in the Dudley Moore role, have been plagued by a distressing lack of alcoholism.  A flask makes a brief appearance in this second trailer, but it looks like the infantile alcoholism of Moore's Arthur's been replaced by a more generalized immaturity.  This new trailer also features a lot more of the adorable Greta Gerwig as Arthur's true love, while still giving plenty of Jennifer Garner and, of course, Helen Mirren as the billionaire bon vivant's nanny, Hobson.  Watch away, my darlings.

If you've ever heard the song theme song 'Best That You Can Do', from the orginal Arthur, starring Dudley Moore, then you're aware that it's a musical abomination from which your ear drums and your sense of decency will never recover. That song was the product of an unholy alliance between Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, Carole Bayer Sager and Peter Allen. With the Arthur remake starring Russell Brand as the title character, who could possibly create a hopefully-improved theme for the billionaire misanthrope with a heart of gold?  MTV News made inquiries with co-star Greta Gerwig on the Independent Spirit Awards red carpet, and though she was far from certain, she said that none other than Cee Lo Green might be working on a tune for the film.

Last week saw the first trailer for the new Russell Brand-starring remake of Arthur, and today you can take a good look at a poster for the re-imagining of the tale about a billionaire learning what it means to love.  The poster features Brand, flanked by Helen Mirren and Jennifer Garner, who play his nanny and a love interest, respectively.  Arthur's primary love interest, Greta Gerwig, is omitted.  Like the trailer, this poster indicates that the alcoholism of Dudley Moore's original Arthur has been replaced with a more infantile, playful immaturity.  Take a good look.

The Russell Brand-starring re-imagining of the Dudley Moore comedy Arthur has a whole lot going for it.  For one, the title character, an immature, irrepressible heir is tailor made for Brand's outsized personality.  For another, it has Helen Mirren as Arthur's committed nanny Hobson.  Not only that, but Greta Gerwig and Jennifer Garner are Arthur's dueling love interests.  Finally, any movie that stuffs Luis Guzman into an undersized Robin costume will be worth watching for that alone.  The trailer arrived today, courtesy of Yahoo!  Give it a gander right here, folks.

This summer, Russell Brand will be taking on the remake of Arthur where he’ll play the title role. Dudley Moore originated the lovable lout (opposite Liza Minnelli) in 1981. This modern take on the film features Brand as the happy-go-lucky drunk who is an heir to a vast fortune - that is if he marries a girl he doesn’t love. Ah, romance!

The remake also features the undeniably talented Helen Mirren, Nick Nolte and relative newcomer, Greta Gerwig (House of the Devil, Greenberg, and No Strings Attached).

Julie Taymor created a bold spectacle with her 1999 film, Titus. The story, based on William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, was an audacious, beautiful nightmare. It was visually ambitious, shocking, and brilliant. Now imagine her take on The Tempest. You might be having visions of shocking imagery and daring filmmaking, yet – aside from changing the sex of Prospero from male to female – Taymor appears to be playing it safe with her latest Shakespearean tale.