Opening in theaters on December 9th is a new dramatic film from director Mark Pellington (Henry Poole Is Here) entitled I Melt with You. The movie centers on a reunion between four college friends and features an excellent cast of actors including Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Jeremy Piven (Grosse Pointe Blank), Rob Lowe (St. Elmo's Fire), Christian McKay (Me and Orson Welles), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), Arielle Kebbel (John Tucker Must Die), and Sasha Grey (The Girlfriend Experience). 

IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick recently had a chance to sit down with actors Thomas Jane, Rob Lowe, and Jeremy Piven, as well as director Mark Pellington, to discuss their work on I Melt with You. The actors and director talked about their new movie, the film's characters, the impact of drugs on their relationship, how the actors played stoned, why shooting in sequence was so important, Pellington's unique vision for the project, what happens to men when they hit forty, and what it means to fail as an American man. 

Synopsis:

It's 1971. Cathy Rush is a woman ahead of her time ... and she's about to embark on an adventure for the ages. A new era is dawning in the country and in collegiate athletics, where a national champion will be crowned for the first time in women's basketball.

In the lead up to this historical season, major universities are preparing their game plans to win that first title. Meanwhile a tiny all-women's Catholic college in Philadelphia has a more modest goal: find a coach before the season begins. Providentially, Cathy Rush is about to find Immaculata College.

Recently married, Cathy is dealing with the aftermath of a truncated playing career. While cultural norms would have her staying at home, she's willing to do the hard work necessary to help her new team reach their goals—or perhaps she's just trying to achieve her unfulfilled dreams through them.

From the beginning, her challenges are as imposing as the big-school teams Immaculata will face on the court. Cathy learns there is no gymnasium on campus, she receives little support from the school's Mother Superior, and the school is in dire financial straits. To top it off, she may not even have enough players to field a team!

While it appears the Macs don't have a prayer, all hope is not lost. With the help of Sister Sunday—a spunky assistant coach—and the support of a booster club of elderly nuns, Coach Rush creates a new game plan that just might bring the team—and the school—together.

Will this pioneer buck cultural norms and spur her rag-tag team to unexpected heights? Or will her hard-driving ways create a wedge between the coach and everyone around her? One thing's for certain: there's never been anyone like Cathy Rush at Immaculata!

THE MIGHTY MACS is based on the incredible true story of the 1971-72 Immaculata College team that started in obscurity but became the original Cinderella story in women's basketball. This team of pioneers went from barely making that inaugural tournament to the first dynasty in their game. And Cathy Rush, the woman that was ahead of her time, became immortalized when she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In 2005, Sin City brought the hyper-noir comic books written and illustrated by Frank Miller, whose artistic contribution to the medium has been incalculable, to the screen as easily the most faithful comic book movie made before or since.  As co-directed by Miller and El Mariachi helmer Robert Rodriguez, the black-and-white world of Basin City came to screamingly ludicrous life, complete with over-the-top violence, hard-boiled dialogue, and dangerous, dizzy dames aplenty. 

Two such dames were played by Jaime King, the lovely and talented model-turned actress who stars alongside Rachel Bilson in the upcoming television series Heart of Dixie.  In Sin City, she played the doomed Goldie, as well as her determined twin sister Wendy.  IAR's managing editor Jami Philbrick had the chance to chat with King last night at a party in Hollywood celebrating X-Men: First Class, which was released on Blu-ray and DVD today. The talented actress provided an update on the perpetually-in-development sequel Sin City 2 and confirmed that she'll have a role in the next installment, if and when it actually becomes a reality.

In the six years since Sin City first cartoonishly brought the black and white ultraviolence and hyper-noir tough guys of Frank Miller's comics to cinemas everywhere, the hope for a sequel has persisted.  Every few months, either Miller of co-director Robert Rodriguez will provide a usually positive update indicating that Sin City 2 could very well be right around the corner, but for six years, the project hasn't come together.  Following another round of hopeful talk from Rodriguez in July, Oscar-winning screenwriter William Monahan has come aboard Sin City 2 to polish the script.

Of the almost seven billion human inhabitants of planet Earth, approximately four billion will appear in the romantic comedy New Year's Eve.  With this new ensemble tale, director Garry Marshall and writer Katherine Fugate apply the same formula of star-studded volume and idealized holiday shenanigans that worked for them in last year's Valentine's Day.  In fact, based on this first trailer, you might expect that New Year's Eve is a sequel to Valentine's Day, particularly given the presence of Ashton Kutcher and Jessica Biel, but the new film simply a spiritual sequel, with both actors playing wholly different characters.  Plus, while that film took place in Los Angeles, New Year's Eve is set in New York.  So it's totally different.

If you could send this first trailer for Spy Kids: All the Time in the World back in time to 1996, moviegoers just out of From Dusk Till Dawn probably wouldn't believe that the upcoming franchise rejiggering was directed by Robert Rodriguez, the same guy behind El Mariachi and Desperado.  And not just because of the dueling novelties of 3D and Smell-O-Vision-style Aroma-Scope.  There's also the matters of Ricky Gervais inexplicably voicing a robot dog and Jeremy Piven playing a time-stealing villain with a terrible goatee.  All these things and more are on display in the first Spy Kids 4 trailer, along with Jessica Alba as a superspy stepmom.

In 1997's Liar Liar, Jim Carrey played a mendacious lawyer whose son makes a wish prohibiting him for uttering even a single, which teaches the attorney to be a better man and father.  In this summer's Mr. Popper's Penguins, Carrey plays a Manhattan real estate developer whose inheritance of six penguins from his eccentric, Antarctic-explorer father will presumably have similar effects.  A new trailer for the family film debuted today, and comedy fans will be pleased to find that it contains a soccer ball to the testicles just 23 seconds in.  Check out that football-to-the-groin gag and lots of adorable penguin action right here.

So apparently Robert Rodriguez gave in to overwhelming public demand for another installment of his family franchise, finally writing and directing Spy Kids 4: All the Time in the World.  In the sequel, Jessica Alba plays and ex-spy stepmother attempting to raise her new baby and connect with her twin stepkids, played by Rowan Blanchard and Mason Cook.  When Jeremy Piven's villainous Timekeeper gets up to no good, the whole family, including Joel McHale as Spy Dad, are swept up into, you know, juvenile espionage.  As if to confirm that this is indeed a real thing, Dimension has released the first image from Spy Kids 4.

The family film archetype of the driven businessman who learns to stop neglecting his family has been around as long as I can remember.  In Mr. Popper's Penguins, Jim Carrey plays a heartless Manhattan real estate developer who inherits six penguins from his eccentric father.  Naturally, being responsible for six flightless antarctic birds will teach Tom Popper the value of family, and how important it is to remember your the birthdays of your children.  A new international trailer for the film, which costars Carla Gugino and Philip Baker Hall, hints at Popper's penguin-based familial enlightenment, while also taking the time to feature copious amounts of penguin droppings.  Take a look right here, courtesy of Comingsoon.

If a documentary like March the Penguins can become an unexpected family film hit, then by the transitive property, a family-friendly comedy starring Jim Carrey and six even cuter penguins should be an even bigger hit.  Right?  In Mr Popper's Penguins, Carrey plays a New York real estate developer who is forced to take care of six penguins bequeathed to him by his eccentric father.  Two new posters for the film debuted today, once of which is is strikingly simple.  The other is mostly Carrey mugging.