Universal Pictures held court for an hour at WonderCon to present footage and host a panel for the movies Snow White and the Huntsman and Battleship.

First on tap was Snow White and the Huntsman, starring Kristin Stewart (Twilight), Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Charlize Theron (Young Adult). A movie that comes out later this year, it was directed by Rupert Sanders (a relative directorial newcomer), who stepped on-stage to speak with the panel moderator about filming his own raw medieval take on a story that is traditionally known as a rosy-cheeked fairy tale.

The American marketing for Battleship has focused more on the explosive aspect of the film, which finds a U.S. Naval fleet on a routine exercise suddenly facing off against an armada of extraterrestrial invaders, but a new international poster puts the alien versus Navy action in the background.  In the foreground is Tim Riggins himself, Taylor Kitsch.

Clear eyes, full hearts, headshots.  Kyle Chandler, who played the virtuous Coach Taylor on NBC's Friday Night Lights for five seasons, is the latest addition to the cast of the Untitled Osama bin Laden assassination picture from director Kathryn Bigelow.  The film, formerly known as Kill Bin Laden, follows SEAL Team 6 in an early attempt to assassinate the terrorist shortly after the September 11th attacks of 2001 up through the eventual killing in Pakistan last May.

Crime movies are a captivating genre because they are the perfect holdall; a crime thriller can be altogether suspenseful and grotesque and profound, a reflection of our dual humanity. It is in this spirit that Ami Canaan Mann (Morning, Friday Night Lights) helmed Texas Killing Fields, which is available on Blu-ray and DVD beginning January 31st, and is the director's follow-up feature film after more than a decade of writing and directing for TV.

The seedling for the script is found in Texas City, the outskirts of which harbor a massive, haunting field with a macabre history. Over sixty murders were dumped within this region, known by locals as the Killing Fields and it was from this that director/producer Michael Mann (Thief, Heat) was inspired to commission a script. Like a lot of movies in Hollywood, it took years for all the right particles to come together and greenlight a story into creation but when it finally did, the story succeeded in its director’s aim to do three important things: do right by the families of the real victims, put a face to the victims of sexual assault murders, and to evoke the horror of the story in a sophisticated, non-procedural manner.

To achieve all that, Texas Killing Fields makes use of the genre’s elasticity. On the one hand, you have the high-stakes plot: the story focuses on two detectives, committed to finding the culprit of a murder that had been dumped in the field, who end up having to race the clock in order to save the life of another potential Killing Field victim, played by Chloë Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass). Sam Worthington (Avatar) plays Detective Mike Souder, Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Watchmen) plays his partner, Brian Heigh, and Jessica Chastain (The Help) plays the former-Mrs.-Souder, Detective Pam Stall.

There is no doubt about it … it’s a good time to be Derek Luke! Not only is the actor currently appearing on the third season of TNT’s hit medical series Hawthorne, starring Jada Pinkett Smith, but he can also soon be seen opposite Chris Evans in one of the biggest films of the summer, Captain America: The First Avenger, which opens in theaters everywhere on Friday. In the film, Luke portrays Gabriel “Gabe” Jones, a member of the Howling Commandos, which is an elite group of soldiers that fight along side Captain America during WWII.

The actor first got his start starring opposite Denzel Washington in the Oscar winner’s directorial debut, Antwone Fisher, which was based on a true story. Since then, Luke has built a steady resume of provocative and interesting films such as Friday Night Lights, Spartan, Catch a Fire, Lions for Lambs, Miracle at St. Anna, and Notorious. But on TV, the actor can be seen weekly on TNT’s Hawthorne as Dr. Miles Bourdet, a Chicago doctor who transfers to nurse Christina Hawthorne’s (Pinkett Smith) Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. I recently had a chance to speak with actor Derek Luke and we talked about his role in Captain America: The first Avenger, the research that he did for the part, how he got cast on Hawthorne; his character, and why he has always wanted to do a television series. Here is what he had to say:

We all had a good laugh when the first images of the new Wonder Woman costume debuted, and at the very idea of Ally McBeal creator David E. Kelley taking on the first lady of DC Comics.  Now, though, laughter might feel too mocking and self-satisfied, as it turns out that NBC has declined to take the Wonder Woman pilot to series.  According to Entertainment Weekly, we won't be seeing Adrianne Palicki rocking superhero mom jeans in action as Diana Prince anytime soon.

Back in 2006, I remember a whole theater erupting into laughter during the trailer for Blood Diamond, when Leonardo DiCaprio said, in a heavy South African accent, "In America it's bling-bling, out here it's bling bang."  That film ended up being widely loved, so maybe there's a shot for The Bang Bang Club, in which Ryan Phillippe and Taylor Kitsch put on their best South African accents to play photojournalists in the chaos of the first post-Apartheid elections in the country.  Here's a trailer, with a few moments that could be slightly less than safe for work (via Slashfilm):

With Super 8 on its way to theaters in June, we're about to see a year's worth of secrecy pay off.  Almost a year ago, we were treated to a teaser trailer that teased unapologetically, then a Super Bowl spot that give just a tiny bit more information on the latest from J.J. Abrams, who is directing from his own screenplay.  Now, a full length trailer has arrived, and it manages to maintain a sense of mystery and awe, paying homage to the spirit of producer Steven Spielberg.  Watch it and revel in the mystery:

Yesterday, IAR gave you a heads up on the ensemble coming together for The Hand Job starring Aubrey Plaza.  That formidable list consisted of Bill Hader, Alia Shawcat, Andy Samberg, Mae Whitman, Connie Britton, Donald Glover, Mae Whitman, and Johhny Simmons.  Now, Variety reports that four more actors  will bring the funny in The Hand Job: Scott Porter, who is a 'Friday Night Lights' veteran; Christopher Mintz-Plasse, forever known as Superbad''s McLovin; and Mystery Team co-writers and co-stars Dominic Dierkes and DC Pierson, both of whom are members of  the Derrick Comedy trio, along with Donald Glover.  Read on for character descriptions of almost the entire cast.

For a while there, it looked like the new Wonder Woman television series from David E. Kelley (the creator of Alley McBeal and Boston Legal) might not happen, then NBC picked it up, perhaps anticipating a The Cape-sized hole in its programming schedule.  The big question, of course, immediately centered on who would strap on the gauntlets of the Amazonian Justice Leaguer.  Lynda Carter became a sex symbol playing the character in the previous televised iteration of the superheroine, which aired in the 1970's.  Well, the big question now has an answer: TV Line reports that Adrianne Palicki has been cast as Wonder Woman in the series pilot.