Moviefone has released the first trailer for the upcoming animated feature, Rio, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Anne Hathaway. You can view it here. The Fox movie is due for release “some time in 2011″.

ETA: Thanks to Pikka for pointing out that Neil is no longer listed by IMDB as part of the project, and his voice isn’t in the trailer. We’ll keep you updated if we get confirmation either way, but at the moment it looks like Neil’s super-packed schedule has left him unable to participate in this one!

Whedonopolis got some exclusive scoop yesterday at Zack Whedon’s Terminator comic signing in Hollywood – Doctor Horrible 2 is currently being “organized and written”, with the script writing starting yesterday afternoon. While there’s still no news on a format, filming date or cast involvement, it’s much more concrete than anything we’ve heard before, so I can only imagine that news will start appearing over the next few weeks and months.

Check out Whedonopolis for the rest of the article!

Now for the news roundup I promised:

• Michael Ausiello from Entertainment Weekly reports that CBS has signed off on Neil’s guest appearance on FOX’s Glee. The only remaining hurdle is making sure that it can fit into Neil’s already hectic schedule!
• Popeater is reporting that Neil is being lined up to star in a new revival of “Barnum” on Broadway. Neil has talked many times about his interest in that role, though he has stated that he’s still too young for it. This new report reveals that Neil is the producer’s “only choice” – what isn’t clear, however, is the timescale in question. It’s likely this won’t be taking place imminently, but simply that whenever it does, Neil is a shoe-in for the part.
• The Superbowl is on CBS this year (this coming Sunday, Feb 7) and there’s some HIMYM related cross-promotion happening on Twitter. Craig and Carter go into a little more detail in this interview from the time of the 100th episode promotion.
• The Best and the Brightest, which Neil shot this summer, is now on Twitter and you can become a fan on Facebook. They’re calling it a “social media explosion” and they’ve been posting pictures and holding contests so far, so check them out!

Finally, there’s a lot of talk in the media that Neil should replace Simon Cowell as a full time judge on American Idol when he leaves at the end of this season. His guest stint was loved by the critics, but what do you think about him taking on the role full time? I think that without Simon, and knowing that Neil is good friends with both Ellen and Kara, there might not be enough differences of opinion to keep it interesting. And that’s before you even think about working it into his schedule, especially now with the news that HIMYM has been renewed for season 6.

As part of the Television Critics Association winter press tour, journalists visited the HIMYM set yesterday, sitting in on the table read for episode 16, “Hooked”, as well as a press conference. At the press conference, talk turned to Dr Horrible 2, and SciFiWire reports on what Neil had to say.

“I keep sort of asking him if it’s going to happen, if there’s going to be any kind of Dr. Horrible-ness,” Harris said in a press conference Monday on the set of his CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother in Los Angeles. “They’re anxious to do it, but scheduling becomes the tricky issue.”

Harris’ sitcom leaves him only a few months between seasons to shoot other projects: enough time to shoot a movie or a Web series or even a Web series adapted as a movie, as Whedon has hinted.

But Whedon and company would have to have a script ready pretty quick to secure Harris. “We have from April till August off, which isn’t a huge window,” Harris said. “That’s kind of coming pretty soon, so I wouldn’t expect it to happen this hiatus.” That would mean we’d have to wait until late next year for Horrible 2.

Exclusive news from Entertainment Weekly’s Michael Ausiello!

Remember that giant scoop I told you (via Twitter) I had gotten at the Golden Globes? This is it: Neil Patrick Harris is nearing a deal to appear in the May sweeps Glee episode that’s being helmed by his Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog director, Joss Whedon.

In retrospect, maybe I should’ve called this particular scoop “ginormous.” I think it’s warranted, don’t you?

Anyway, Harris wants to do it, and Glee creator Ryan Murphy sure as hell wants him to — he’s creating a role especially for the How I Met Your Mother scene-stealer. And yes, the part includes a little song-’n’-dance. In fact, the gig not only would reunite Harris with Whedon, it’d also reteam him with Zachary Woodlee, who choreographed the musical number in HIMYM’s recent 100th episode.

The one possible snag — and there’s always one, isn’t there? CBS has to OK its MVP’s appearance on Fox’s breakout hit. But at least since HIMYM and Glee are both produced by 20th Century Fox, there’s no conflict on their end.

So what do you think? Stoked, or stoked beyond belief? Try to describe your level of anticipation below. I know I can’t describe mine. At least not adequately.

The 2010 Oscars will in fact be co-hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, the Academy has announced.

Neil will be featured in the December/January issue of Out magazine, as part of the 2009 Out 100. The magazine will be in stores mid-November.

Neil’s interview on last night’s Conan O’Brien is up on the Conan website here, in three parts.

Various online sources are reporting that Neil is set to host next year’s Oscars after Hugh Jackman turned down the gig. There has been no official statement one way or the other as yet; as recently as last week the word was that Neil was reluctant to take the role, should he be offered it, in an attempt to avoid overexposure.

We’ll keep you updated!

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Neil is in negotiations to lend his voice to “Rio”, from the team behind the Ice Age movies, alongside Anne Hathaway and Rodrigo Santoro. It will follow “the adventures of a nerdy macaw who lights out from his small-town Minnesota cage for the exotic Summer Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro”, and is currently set for release on April 8, 2011.

Fox declined to confirm casting at this stage.

Neil will host “It’s Magic”, part of a week long celebration of the Magic Castle‘s 100th anniversary. “It’s Magic!” will take place on Sunday, November 8th, at 7:00pm at The Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Tickets cost between $25 and $67.50, visit Ticketmaster to purchase.

Neil’s hosting gig at the Emmys saw the ratings rise almost 10%, similar to the ratings high achieved when he hosted the Tonys back in June. And the glowing reviews have continued to roll in over the last 48 hours; they now include NPR, Time Magazine, eonline, TV Guide, and Hugh Jackman.

Charity Folks are running an auction to win the chance to visit the set of HIMYM and meet Josh Radnor, to benefit Young Storytellers. The bidding currently stands at $1,500 and the auction runs for another 7 days. To find out more about Young Storytellers, visit youngstorytellers.com.

And finally, according to Roger Friedman of The Hollywood Reporter, Neil is set to join the cast of David Mamet’s “Race” on Broadway this winter. Rehersals begin on October 19th, previews run from November 17th and the play officially opens on December 6th, but there’s no official confirmation one way or the other yet, and we would suggest taking it with a pinch of salt at the moment as it would obviously seriously interrupt with Neil’s HIMYM commitments.

According to NYDailyNews.com, Neil has been invited back to host next year’s Tony Awards, though he hasn’t accepted or declined yet.