Time to begin updating with some of the latest news we’ve missed during my absence! Kicking off today’s news and media updates is Jim Sheridan’s Afghanistan War drama, Brothers, which according to some sources was originally slated for a December 2008 U.S. release. Well, December is almost at an end, and no sign of a premiere. So what’s going on with Brothers?

In a recent interview with Herald.ie, director Sheridan gave us some insight into the upcoming theatrical release of the film, which currently looks to be sometime in August 2009. Damn! From Herald.ie:

But Sheridan, who is renowned for making off-beat movies, looks set to score another critical hit in 2009. He revealed how he has just completed filming on a big-budget film starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire. A remake of Susanne Bier’s acclaimed Danish flick Brothers, it tells the story of a man, played by Maguire, who is sent to fight in Afghanistan while his black-sheep brother (Gyllenhaal) cares for his wife and child. It co-stars big names including Natalie Portman and Sam Shepard.

Sheridan continued: “We were in Santa Fe in New Mexico filming it for more than five months and we had a fabulous time. It’s a great town and was good fun to make. I think that we’re going to release that in August of next year.“

Meanwhile, the film’s Internet Movie Database page has been updated with new release date info: while the December 2008 U.S. premiere date estimate has been replaced with the rather generous timeframe of “2009″, according to the site, Brothers has a UK premiere date of February 27 2009, while countries such as The Netherlands and Denmark will have to settle for a late Fall ‘09 release. Honestly, though, how likely they are really to release Brothers in the UK 5-6 months before the U.S. premiere?… I remain skeptical. Sorry, guys! I wish I had better news to offer.

It would seem Jim Sheridan’s upcoming drama film Brothers, in which Natalie stars opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, will be released in the United States on December 8 2008, according to IMDb.com. According to the film’s IMDb page, Natalie’s character now also has a name — Grace Cahill. Hopefully some promo footage and a trailer will surface online soon!

Meanwhile, I’ve updated the gallery with the first medium-res photo of Natalie instructing Lauren Bacall and Ben Gazzara on the set of her directorial debut, Eve. According to IMDb.com, Natalie not only directed the comedy short, but also wrote it. I can’t wait to see her short film myself!

Natalie has recently been filming Brothers in Los Alamos, New Mexico, US with Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, and we have the first, hi-res site-exclusive photo of Natalie and Tobey Maguire on set with director Jim Sheridan! The photo is dated February 9 2008. Hopefully more footage will surface soon.

Cinematical, among many other sources, is reporting American actor Ray Prewitt has joined the cast of Jim Sheridan’s war drama Brothers as “Owen”. Shooting for the film is ongoing in New Mexico, USA; Brothers is slated for a 2009 release.

This is Prewitt’s second collaboration with Natalie Portman; the two also co-starred in Where the Heart Is (2000). From Cinematical:

Meanwhile, Ray Prewitt, who played Tim in that Ashley Judd, Natalie Portman pic Where the Heart Is, has signed on to the cast of Brothers. This will re-team him with Portman, who joined the project back in October. To refresh your memory — the film is about two brothers — the guy (Tobey Maguire) who gets sent to Afghanistan and has a family with Portman, and the black-sheep brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) who looks after the family while his brother is gone. It’s a love triangle, so you can guess what happens after Jakey comes to town to do the right thing. The film is based on Susanne Bier’s Danish film.

New Mexico Business Weekly reports shooting for Jim Sheridan’s upcoming war drama Brothers (2009), co-starring Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, will begin in New Mexico in late November! From NM Business Weekly:

Brothers, a remake of a Danish film of the same name by writer Susanne Bier, is a tale of two brothers, one of whom goes to Afghanistan. The other, who is more of a ne’er-do-well, becomes a caretaker for his sister-in-law and her child in his brother’s absence. In the original film, the husband is thought killed in action, but is actually captured by Afghani rebels. When he returns home, his traumatic experiences prove huge obstacles to assimilating his old life.

The film will be shot in and around Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Las Vegas, Abiquiu and Glorieta from November 27 to January 30 and expects to hire about 250 New Mexico crew members and more than 1,000 actors for principal roles and as extras, according to Gov. Bill Richardson’s office.

Let’s hope some on set-footage from the film will begin surfacing online once shooting begins in NM. Check the film’s IMDb page for details on the film and its production.

I’ve just added three medium-res photos of Natalie’s promotional footage for Shoe4Africa and the L.W.A.L.A. campaign (the Shoe4Africa ones are particularly worth checking out). These are among the latest charity organizations Natalie has chosen to support. I’ve included some details on them in case you are interested in supporting them as well.

Now in its 12th year, Shoe4Africa continues to take on increasingly ambitious initiatives. On November 5th, the group will launch The Kibera Project, named for Africa’s largest slum. Volunteers will collect running shoes at the finish line of the ING NYC 2007 Marathon the day after the race (Marathon Monday), inviting runners as well as the general public to donate their used sneakers. The goal? To collect thousands of pairs within a single day! (www.shoe4africa.org)

LWALA - Living With A Life-Long Ambition - is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 organization whose goal is to connect people with tangible solutions for epic problems. Our current focus, AIDS, has brought to us Lwala, Kenya where the efforts of this organization have helped the Lwala Community Alliance build a health clinic in a remote village suffering from high rates of HIV/AIDS and other diseases. (www.lwala.org)

Don’t forget that Natalie will be co-hosting the 1st Annual L.W.A.L.A. Gala on November 29 2007 in New York! Click here for details. I think it is fair to say we can expect new footage of her by then.

Finally, NataliePortman.com reports that filming for Jim Sheridan’s war drama Brothers (2009), in which Natalie co-stars opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal, has begun at the College of Santa Fe in Florida, USA. Check the film’s IMDb page for details.