If I had told you, in the summer of 2004, that within eight years, Ben Affleck would be a successful director with two formidable feature films under his belt, you'd probably punch me right in the solar plexus then laugh your ass off.  But here we are, and based on his directorial track record, Affleck's third effort as director seems likely to be a highlight of 2012.  As part of a preview for the year ahead, Warner Bros has released the first official image from Argo, which Affleck both directs and stars in as part of a pretty ridiculous ensemble.  We've previously seen some unofficial photos from the Los Angeles set, but read on for your first bona-fide look Argo, with Affleck very seriously perusing some documents.

Like all New Yorkers, Edward Burns loves his corner of the world. Unlike most New Yorkers, however, Burns gets to share his love of the Empire State with hundreds of thousands of people around the world. His first movie, The Brothers McMullen (1995), which launched his career as actor, writer and director, was shot in Long Island on a minimal budget. Lauded by critics everywhere for his resourceful commitment and lucid take on working-class Irish-American lives, Burns went on to play a number of handsome nice-guys in compelling movies such as Saving Private Ryan (1998), Life or Something Like It (2002) and 27 Dresses (2008).

The filmmaker in Edward Burns, however, is still drawn to explore relationships from the other side of the lens. His latest movie, Newlyweds, will be released everywhere digitally on-demand December 26^th, making it the triple-aesthete’s tenth feature-length film. In all ten of his movies, New York is the extra in the background, wordlessly pulling the characters to each other or away from each other. Sometimes, New York’s multi-faceted landscape simply exists seemingly to enchant the audience without them even knowing it. Newlyweds continues Burns’ charming formula of mixing romance and milieu, except for three major details. This time around, and quite unlike most movies in general, its mode of narrative is the mockumentary, it is being distributed digitally on-demand, and it was shot on a $9,000 budget in eighteen days. Those three details alone are enough to get tongues wagging, and for independent filmmakers, at the very least, it’s enough to start asking some bigger-picture questions.

Warner Bros and GK Films have officially announced that production on Argo, the new film from director Ben Affleck, has begun in Los Angeles.  The film, a drama with dark comedy sprinkled throughout, tells the true story of an usual CIA effort to free six Americans during the Iran Hostage Crisis that began in 1979.  As is his style, Affleck will direct and star, along with an impeccable ensemble cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, Kyle Chandler, Kerry Bishe, Clea DuVall, John Goodman, and Michael Parks.

With 1994's Clerks, writer-director Kevin Smith established that his characters frequently speak obscenity-laced dialogue that references all manner of sexual acts, usually of the most foul variety.  Much has been made of Smith's new film, Red State, and the left turn it represents for the podcaster in terms of both style and substance.  A new red band trailer for the thriller opens with some familiar Smithian dialogue before moving on to religiously-themed horror, Michael Parks pontificating, and no small amount of automatic weapons fire.  Through it all, though (except the screeching torture bits), there is a certain tone to the dialogue that suggests its still the work of the man behind Chasing Amy, Dogma, and Mallrats.

Synopsis: This is a movie about the cost of being asked to give up your dream. Two years ago, I walked out of a meeting with my agents who strongly encouraged me to put myself up as a director for hire. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I didn’t spend my entire adult life fighting to become a filmmaker with a personal voice to abandon that for what might be higher paying but less rewarding work. I walked out of the meeting and thought, “I need to write a script about how tough it is to make that choice.