Sigourney Weaver and Alia Shawkat will join Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, and Anne Heche in Miguel Arteta’s upcoming comedy, “Cedar Rapids”.  The movie, written by Phil Johnston and co-developed with Helms, follows “a sad-sack insurance agent who goes to an industry convention to try and save the jobs of his colleagues.”  Weaver, who will next be seen in James Cameron’s “Avatar”, plays Helms’ 7^th-grade teacher.  As we previously reported, John C. Reilly plays a family man attending the conference but his character sees it as a chance to bust loose.  No word yet on Shawkat’s role. [Variety]

I’ll admit it: I was less than impressed with the first “Avatar” trailer.  I thought the movie looked decent, but it wasn’t the cinematic revolution everyone in Hollywood was talking about.  But friend after friend that had seen the 3D footage at Comic-Con and on “Avatar” day kept telling me you’ve got to see the footage in 3D.  They all said the first trailer didn’t have the magic that is “Avatar”.  And after watching the just released three and a half minute trailer for James Cameron’s return to movie theaters, I am now officially on board and shutting up.  This movie looks fantastic and any bit of hesitation has vanished.  If you were in the same boat as me about the first trailer, you absolutely need to watch this new one.  You’ll be sold.

The green carpet iss hard to miss. Last year, in a deviation from traditional protocol, the Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), became the first film festival in the world to make ecology awareness its major theme. After an overwhelmingly positive response to the unrolling of the green carpet, TIFF’s chairman, Tatsumi Yoda, decided to do it again this year. With the environmentally conscious slogan of “Action! for Earth,” the 22^nd annual TIFF began this past Saturday in Roppongi, one of Tokyo’s most upscale and cosmopolitan districts. Over the next week Collider will be providing an exclusive, inside look into the festival as well as movie reviews and awards announcements. Hit the jump! for Earth.

A few new high quality images from James Cameron’s “Avatar” have hit the net and I have to say…they look great. While I was one of the people less than impressed with the 2D trailer, every single person I have spoken with who has seen the 3D footage tells me it’s amazing and I should only see it in that format. And believe me…I will. After all, James Cameron spent years perfecting the technology to make “Avatar”, and I only want to see the film in a theater that can display his vision properly. Anyway, check out these images. They’re really great.

I would say that reactions thus far to James Cameron’s have been negative-to-mixed.  My personal reaction is that people are using the wrong metrics to judge it.  It’s an adventure film and you can make fun of the CG all you want but I’m more interested in seeing if it makes me believe this world and these characters actually exist.  What I saw at Comic-Con got me pretty close (I still have some problems with the texturing and how the Avatars look in the real world instead of the all-CG world of Pandora).

But one of the things I liked most about the Comic-Con footage was not only seeing Sigourney Weaver but seeing that she would be an Avatar alongside Sam Worthington.  Like Worthington, Weaver’s Avatar bears a resemblance to her real face and I think that’s fantastic because she’s such a great actress.  I’m happy that she’s not only reuniting with James Cameron but she has a real role as opposed to just a cameo.  Hit the jump to see Sigourney in her Na’vi form.  “Avatar” hits theatres on December 18th.

James Cameron’s “Avatar” now has a trailer. That’s right. You read that correctly. I never thought I would see the day but after months and months (and years) of waiting it is finally here. Did it live up to your expectations? Is your mind blown? Are you disappointed? Does this look even better than anything you expected? I’m very interested in reading what your thoughts are and I’m sure you will have some after you see the trailer when you hit the jump.

And you thought you’d have to wait till 7am PST to see “Avatar.” Nope. 20th Century Fox has pre-empted their own “Avatar Day” super mega event to show us a few screens of the new movie. We’ve got six new screens with the likes of Sigourney Weaver, Giovanni Ribisi, and that mean chick from “Lost.” You should check them out after the jump. I’m serious.

If you thought the toy images from yesterday were cool, just wait until you hear about the  TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES of footage shown today in Hall-H. Plus, find out how you can see this footage, in a theater, for free.

Read on to find out all the details and click here to read Matt’s thoughts on the presentation.

This is it.  The “Twilight: New Moon” fans cleared out and I rushed to one of the front row seats which I was able to grab so I was basically four or five rows away from the screen.  The previous 3D footage I’d seen today was so incredible and now I was psyched to finally see what James Cameron had up his sleeve.

So does it live up to the impossible hype?  Will it redefine cinema as we know it?  Will it cure all the disease of the world and give us 1000 years of peace and prosperity?  And when will those of you who weren’t able to attend the presentation in Hall H be able to finally see the film for yourselves?  Hit the jump to find out.

It’s tough to call “Galaxy Quest” a cult hit.  It was a box office success back when it hit theatres ten years ago.  It grossed $70 million off a budget of $45 million but that actually puts it in a weird middle ground.  It doesn’t have the ardent cult following that boosted films like “The Big Lebowski” or “Fight Club” and when you have any film led by Tim Allen, the gut reaction appears to be “Well that’s forgettable, at best.”

But no matter how you want to gauge the film’s popularity, DreamWorks has rightfully seen fit to issue it a deluxe edition that’s superior to their original issue of the DVD in just about every way.

It’s a little hard to believe that the “Ghostbusters” franchise has been dormant for so long (it’s not like the second film was a catastrophe of “Batman & Robin” proportions) but now “Ghostbusters” has risen from the dead with a videogame debuting this summer and now Dan Aykroyd telling the LA Times that the third film in the series could start filming as soon this winter.

While some elements are still in flux (such as the plot details), Aykroyd cements some elements:

- Ivan Reitman will NOT return to direct the third film as he’s far too busy with his producing commitments.  However, Dr. Egon Spengler, Harold Ramis, could possibly direct the new installment.

- Aykroyd, Ramis, Bill Murray, Ernie Hudson, and Sigourney Weaver will all return but in a reduced capacity.  Aykroyd wisely notes, “I’d like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let’s revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let’s pass it on to a new generation.”  I couldn’t agree more.  While we all love how these actors portrayed their characters, no one wants to guys in their sixties strapping on proton packs.

Hit the jump to read who Aykroyd would like to see fill out the beige jumpsuits.