2010 Paramount Pictures Preview: ‘Iron Man 2,’ ‘Shutter Island,’ ‘Shrek Forever After’

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Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) befriends Toothless, an injured Night Fury—the rarest dragon of all. Credit: Dreamworks Animation

CHICAGO – Paramount has released cast and synopsis information along with a slate of images from their entire 2010 schedule of films, including “Shutter Island,” “She’s Out of My League,” “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Iron Man 2.” “Shrek Forever After,” “The Last Airbender,” “Dinner For Schmucks,” “Megamind,” and “Morning Glory”.

“Shutter Island”

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley, Michelle Williams, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson and Max Von Sydow

Synopsis: From Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, “Shutter Island” is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the coast of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island’s fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane.

Release: February 19, 2010

“She’s Out of My League”

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Alice Eve, T.J. Miller, Mike Vogel, Nate Torrence, Krysten Ritter, Geoff Stults and Lindsay Sloane

Synopsis: In the comedy “She’s Out of My League,” Kirk (Jay Baruchel, “Knocked Up,” “Tropic Thunder”), an average Joe, can’t believe his luck. Though he’s stuck in a seemingly dead-end job as an airport security agent, against all odds, Molly (Alice Eve), a successful and outrageously gorgeous babe, falls for him. Kirk is stunned. So are his friends, his family and even his ex-girlfriend. Now he has to figure out how to make the relationship work, even though he’d be the first to admit she’s totally out of his league.

Release: March 12, 2010

“How to Train Your Dragon”

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, T.J. Miller

Synopsis: From the studio that brought you “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” comes “How to Train Your Dragon.” Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

Release: March 26, 2010

“Iron Man 2”

Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Mickey Rourke and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury.

Synopsis: Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the highly anticipated sequel to the blockbuster film based on the legendary Marvel Super Hero “Iron Man,” reuniting director Jon Favreau and Oscar® nominee Robert Downey Jr. In “Iron Man 2,” the world is aware that billionaire inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the armored Super Hero Iron Man. Under pressure from the government, the press and the public to share his technology with the military, Tony is unwilling to divulge the secrets behind the Iron Man armor because he fears the information will slip into the wrong hands. With Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and James “Rhodey” Rhodes (Don Cheadle) at his side, Tony forges new alliances and confronts powerful new forces.

Release: May 7, 2010

“Shrek Forever After”

Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Antonio Banderas

Synopsis: After challenging an evil dragon, rescuing a beautiful princess and saving your in-laws’ kingdom, what’s an ogre to do? Well, if you’re Shrek, you suddenly wind up a domesticated family man. Instead of scaring villagers away like he used to, a reluctant Shrek now agrees to autograph pitch forks. What’s happened to this ogre’s roar? Longing for the days when he felt like a “real ogre,” Shrek is duped into signing a pact with the smooth-talking dealmaker, Rumpelstiltskin. Shrek suddenly finds himself in a twisted, alternate version of Far Far Away, where ogres are hunted, Rumpelstiltskin is king and Shrek and Fiona have never met. Now, it’s up to Shrek to undo all he’s done in the hopes of saving his friends, restoring his world and reclaiming his one True Love.

Release: May 21, 2010

“The Last Airbender”

Cast: Dev Patel, Jackson Rathbone, Nicola Peltz, Cliff Curtis, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi and Noah Ringer

Synopsis: Air, Water, Earth, Fire. Four nations tied by destiny when the Fire Nation launches a brutal war against the others. A century has passed with no hope in sight to change the path of this destruction. Caught between combat and courage, Aang (Noah Ringer) discovers he is the lone Avatar with the power to manipulate all four elements. Aang teams with Katara (Nicola Peltz), a Waterbender, and her brother, Sokka (Jackson Rathbone), to restore balance to their war-torn world.

Based on the hugely successful Nickelodeon animated TV series, the live-action feature film “The Last Airbender” is the opening chapter in Aang’s struggle to survive.

Release: July 2, 2010

“Dinner for Schmucks”

Cast: Steve Carell, Paul Rudd

Synopsis:: The comedy “Dinner for Schmucks” tells the story of Tim (Paul Rudd), an up-and-coming executive who has just received his first invitation to the “dinner for idiots,” a monthly event hosted by his boss that promises bragging rights (and maybe more) to the exec that shows up with the biggest buffoon. Tim’s fiancée, Julie, finds it distasteful and Tim agrees to skip the dinner, until he bumps into Barry (Steve Carell) – an IRS employee who devotes his spare time to building elaborate taxidermy mouse dioramas – and quickly realizes he’s struck idiot gold. Tim can’t resist, and invites Barry, whose blundering good intentions soon sends Tim’s life into a frenzied downward spiral and a series of comic misadventures, threatening a major business deal, bringing crazy stalker ex-girlfriend, Darla, back into Tim’s life and driving Julie (or so Tim thinks) into the arms of another man.

Release: July 23, 2010

“Megamind”

Cast: Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, Tina Fey, Jonah Hill

Synopsis: From the studio that brought you “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda.” “Megamind” is the most brilliant supervillain the world has ever known. And the least successful. Over the years, he has tried to conquer Metro City in every imaginable way. Each attempt, a colossal failure thanks to the caped superhero known as “Metro Man,” an invincible hero until the day Megamind actually kills him in the throes of one of his botched evil plans. Suddenly, Megamind has no purpose. A supervillain without a superhero. He realizes that achieving his life’s ambition is the worst thing that ever happened to him. Megamind decides that the only way out of his rut is to create a new hero opponent called “Titan,” who promises to be bigger, better and stronger than Metro Man ever was. Pretty quickly Titan starts to think it’s much more fun to be a villain than a good guy. Except Titan doesn’t just want to rule the world, he wants to destroy it. Now, Megamind must decide: can he defeat his own diabolical creation? Can the world’s smartest man make the smart decision for once? Can the evil genius become the unlikely hero of his own story?

Release: November 5, 2010

“Morning Glory”

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton, Patrick Wilson, Jeff Goldblum,

Synopsis: From director Roger Michell (“Notting Hill,” “Venus”), producer J.J. Abrams (“Felicity,” “Alias,” “Lost,” “Star Trek”), and writer Aline Brosh McKenna (“The Devil Wears Prada,” “27 Dresses”), comes “Morning Glory,” a new romantic comedy set in the hilarious and dysfunctional world of morning television. Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton star along with Patrick Wilson and Jeff Goldblum.

When hard-working TV producer Becky Fuller (McAdams) is fired from a local news program, her career begins to look as bleak as her hapless love life. Stumbling into a job at “Daybreak” (the last-place national morning news show), Becky decides to revitalize the show by bringing on legendary TV anchor Mike Pomeroy (Ford). Unfortunately, Pomeroy refuses to cover morning show staples like celebrity gossip, weather, fashion and crafts – let alone work with his new co-host, Colleen Peck (Keaton), a former beauty queen and longtime morning show personality who is more than happy covering morning “news.” As Mike and Colleen clash, first behind the scenes and then on the air, Becky’s blossoming love affair with fellow producer, Adam Bennett (Wilson) begins to unravel – and soon Becky is struggling to save her relationship, her reputation, her job and ultimately, the show itself.

Release: Fourth Quarter 2010

You can click “Next” and “Previous” to scan through this slideshow or jump directly to individual photos with the captioned links below. All photos credited to ©Paramount or ©Dreamworks. All rights reserved. Specific photographer credits where noted.

ShutterIsland2: Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a detective sent from the mainland to investigate a mysterious disappearance on an island prison for the criminally insane in the thriller Shutter Island. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]