Watch: Benjamin Walker kicks ass as “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” in first trailer

February 13, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 3 Comments

One of our favorite risings stars, Benjamin Walker had some bad news last week as it was announced that Alex Proyas’ ambitious 3D action epic “Paradise Lost” – in which Walker had been attached as one of the two main leads – had been halted for good. The good news for Walker is that epic action looks to be in his future still, as the first trailer for “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” looks as fantastic as its previous promo materials and makes us even more excited for its summer release. Tim Burton produced and Timur Bekmambetov directed the sprawling, CGI filled revisionist biopic on the 16th President of the United States, and Walker in the title role is joined by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Anthony Mackie, Dominic Cooper and a slew of other up and comers.

“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” will be released on June 22nd. Have we mentioned how excited we are for this movie?? Get on the bandwagon and watch the new trailer below.

It’s Mary Elizabeth Winstead vs “The Darkness” in new ghostly thriller

February 8, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

One of our favorite up and comers – and one of our Face to Watch in 2012 – will take on ghosts for her next project. Variety reports Mary Elizabeth Winstead has committed to starring in psychological thriller “The Darkness”, which sounds like a mix between “The Others” and “Take Shelter.” Winstead will play an American student who looks after her tutor’s two young children in a sprawling and probably really creepy English manor, who begins to believe they are being haunted as mysterious events begin to threaten. Megan Holley wrote the script and German director Daniel Stamm will be behind the camera.

Winstead is certainly no stranger to horror, ghosts and supernatural events, having starred in such scary, gory fare as “Final Destination 3″, “Black Christmas”, “The Thing”, and this summer, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” She took a turn for the more grounded and realistic in what some critics are calling her best performance in recent Sundance relationship drama “Smashed”, in which she plays one half of an alcoholic couple opposite “Breaking Bad” star Aaron Paul and recent Oscar nominee Octavia Spencer. She has also completed work on “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III”, Roman Coppola’s film starring Charlie Sheen and loosely based on the volatile actor’s real life antics.

Watch: First footage of Benjamin Walker and Anthony Mackie from the set of “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”

January 13, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 1 Comment

We’ve seen the first pictures and poster of Benjamin Walker as the titular revisionist US President “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, but today we get our first footage from the set of the film. Walker looks totally transformed and eerily like the Lincoln from history while standing in front of Congress. No vampire shenanigans happening in this first video from the movie, just some green screens and a lot of guys in suits, including Anthony Mackie, who plays William, Ab’s best friend. Timur Bekmambetov directed the film on location in New Orleans this spring and the cast also includes Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Dominic Cooper.

MTV was on the set to talk to Walker, Mackie, Bekmambetov and more about the film. “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” is one of our most anticipated movies of the year and will be released on June 22, 2012.

Dominic Cooper, Ophelia Lovibond and Dan Stevens join “Summer in February” love triangle

December 16, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 3 Comments

Dominic Cooper‘s career is slowly going from strength to strength. He’s showed his range through supporting roles in a variety of films, from 2008 musical “Mamma Mia” and 2009 Oscar-nominated drama An Education, to box office hit “Captain America: The First Avenger” and this year’s Oscar contender “My Week With Marilyn” and we think 2012 is definitely going to be the year to watch him gain leading man status.

He’ll be headlining revenge thriller “Motor City” alongside Amber Heard and take on the role of Abraham Lincoln’s vampire mentor Henry Sturgess in the revisionist tale “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (due out in June 2012).

But up next he’ll be moving back to Romantic Leading Man territory, with a role in Jonathan Smith’s “Summer In February”, alongside fellow British actors Dan Stevens and Ophelia Lovibond.

Cooper’s cast mates are fast rising British stars, with Stevens an audience favourite of British TV show “Downton Abbey.” His first taste of Hollywood will come next year, in Amy Heckerling’s “Vamps”, with Alicia Silverstone and Krysten Ritter. Lovibond is most famous for her role in “Mr Popper’s Penguins” and British film “4,3,2,1″.

“Summer in February” will be adapted from the novel of the same name by Smith, and will be directed by Christopher Menual. The story follows Cooper’s Alfred Munnings, as he falls in loves with Florence (Lovibond) and his best friend Gilbert (Stevens) falls in love with her at the same time. A “love triangle set at an Edwardian artists’ colony on the Cornish coast of England in the early 20th century”, Deadline reports that the film is set to begin production in January.

First Look: Benjamin Walker makes for one sexy, badass “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” in first poster

December 15, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images 1 Comment

Today IGN has unveiled our first look at one of our most highly anticipated movies of 2012. Benjamin Walker smolders in the understated yet highly conceptual first poster for “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”, hiding his face, wielding an axe. Just another Saturday night at the White House.

The self-explanatory title refers to this revisionist historical tale revolving around the 16th President of the United States, who has one singular goal in his life: to rid the world of vampires, one of whom killed his mother when he was a child. His subsequent run for political office and every landmark decision he ever made, from the Emancipation Proclamation to the Civil War, were made with that one goal in mind. Joining Walker in the titular role are a slew of up and coming actors, including Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd (eventually Lincoln), Dominic Cooper as Henry Sturgess, Lincoln’s vampire mentor and Anthony Mackie as Will, Lincoln’s best friend. Director Timur Bekmambetov and producer Tim Burton recently wrapped up shooting in New Orleans and are aiming for a summer blockbuster release date of June 22, 2012.

There may be some other Lincoln story in the works for next year as well, but put us down for the badass, axe-wielding, monster-fighting Great Emancipator.

Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Walker, Elizabeth Olsen, Sarah Gadon and more vying for “Winter’s Tale”

November 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 3 Comments

Some of our favorite up and comers will be competing against one another for a pair of roles in Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman’s directorial debut and passion project, “Winter’s Tale”, from the novel by Mark Helprin, not the Shakespearean classic. The love story will require “chemistry reads” between various combinations of young actors and THR reports among them are Tom Hiddleston, Benjamin Walker, Elizabeth Olsen, Bella Heathcote, Gabriella Wilde and Sarah Gadon. The actors will be reading with one another over this weekend at Warner Bros, the studio behind the project.

Helprin’s 1983 novel takes place in a New York City that is markedly different from the island as we know it. It takes place in the 19th Century and follows a man named Peter Lake. A bad childhood forced him to join a gang and become a thief, only to end up estranged from the group and making a mortal enemy of its leader, Pearly Soames. On a house robbery, Peter meets and falls for the terminally ill Beverly Penn. She becomes the catalyst and the force of change in his life. Russell Crowe is said to be loosely attached to the role of Soames, and another major character is a mythical flying white horse, Athansor, who acts as Peter’s guardian.

Wilde can be see in the new “Three Musketeers” opposite Logan Lerman, while Olsen is gaining raves and Oscar talk for her role in Sundance hit “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Walker will be seen next summer in the title role in “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and Hiddlston recently wrapped up reprising his role as “Thor”‘s villainous Loki in “The Avengers.” Heathcote is an Aussie import soon to be seen opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows” while Gadon is a David Cronenberg favorite, starring in both “A Dangerous Method” and “Cosmopolis.”

“Winter’s Tale” is aiming for an early 2012 shoot but still needs another major financial backer.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead takes “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III”

October 28, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Mary Elizabeth Winstead is the latest promising actor inexplicably signing on to star opposite public trainwreck Charlie Sheen in the semi-autobiographical “A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III”, according to Variety. Also joining the growing ensemble cast are Bill Murray and Patricia Arquette, now rounding out a cast that already includes Jason Schwartzman, Aubrey Plaza and Katheryn Winnick.

Roman Coppola directs Sheen as the title character, a graphic designer whose abundant wealth and charm have made him irresistible to women. When his girlfriend breaks up with him, however, he inevitably begins to downward spiral and eventually go on a hallucination-filled journey of self-reflection and redemption. Ok, sure, but is this just a thinly disguised propaganda film attempting to rehabilitate Sheen’s image? Of course the filmmakers will deny, deny, deny, but if Charlie “Swan” turns out to be an overly sympathetic character, we’ll have our answer. Filming is already underway in Los Angeles.

Winstead recently headlined the remake of “The Thing” to not much success, but remains one of our favorites and has more promising projects on the horizon. She has wrapped playing Mary Todd opposite Benjamin Walker in next summer’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and also indie dramedy “Smashed” opposite Aaron Paul.

Dominic Cooper heading to “Motor City” with director Albert Hughes

September 28, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

British rising star Dominic Cooper – not his “Captain America” co-star Chris Evans – will be headlining Warner Bros’ ambitious revenge thriller “Motor City” for director Albert Hughes, reports Variety. The trade further reports it was Cooper’s revelatory double role as Uday Hussein and Latif Yahia in Sundance hit “The Devil’s Double” that made producer Joel Silver ultimately decide on him. It’s quite a coup for the young actor, after names like Evans, Joel Edgerton and Jeremy Renner were previously reported to be in consideration for the part.

Cooper will star as a sort of modern day Count of Monte Cristo, a small time crook who is framed for a crime and sent to prison and seeks revenge on those who set him up upon his release. The innovative and ambitious aspect of “Motor City”, a 2009 Black List script from Chad St John, is that it is virtually dialogue-free, containing only one spoken line throughout its feature length story.

Cooper played Iron Man’s father Howard Stark in this summer’s blockbuster “Captain America: The First Avenger” and recently wrapped Timur Bekmambetov’s “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” He’ll next be seen as famed Monroe photographer Milton H. Greene in Simon Curtis’ “My Week with Marilyn”, which is already garnering positive buzz ahead of its premiere at the New York Film Festival next week.

Benjamin Walker to be the good to Bradley Cooper’s evil in “Paradise Lost”

August 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Apparently playing Abraham Lincoln, arguably the most beloved President in United States history, just wasn’t aiming high enough for Benjamin Walker. The fast rising former Broadway star is now in negotiations to play the ultimate Good Guy, according to Deadline. Walker will be playing the archangel Michael in director Alex Proyas‘ epic action 3D battle “Paradise Lost”, which already has Bradley Cooper attached to play the ultimate Bad Guy, Lucifer.

Walker and Cooper will face off in what is described as “the war that began all wars”, beginning with Lucifer’s banishment from Heaven. He then builds his own army to battle Michael’s forces of good, leading to three major battle scenes that take place in Heaven, Hell and eventually Eden. The special effects will be the centerpiece of the film – “300 meets Lord of the Rings with winged warriors” – with production slated to begin in January in Sydney, Australia.

“It’s not just armies battling in an epic war,” Proyas tells Deadline. “This is an adventure about the origins of good and evil after Lucifer’s rebellion gets him cast out of Heaven and leads to a struggle with his brother archangel over the soul of mankind, starting with Adam and Eve. That is the scope of the narrative here, and we’ve tried to say as faithful as possible to Milton’s text, particularly its focus on Lucifer’s evolution and the birth of evil. It’s a family saga, about a group of brothers, two in particular, who are on divergent paths, and Lucifer’s feelings of betrayal by his father and family that forge his descent into evil.”

Walker, who had already been winning raves for his role on Broadway’s “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson”, came out of seemingly nowhere to snag the title role in Timur Bekmambetov’s adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s bloody revisionist history novel “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” (we’ll let the title speak for itself) and was also recently shortlisted for the lead in Tony Gilroy’s spy franchise spin-off “The Bourne Legacy”.

Anthony Mackie joins Ryan Gosling in “Gangster Squad”

June 10, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

It’s always great to see someone from “The Hurt Locker” other than Jeremy Renner getting a well deserved career boost, so we are happy to report, via Variety, that Anthony Mackie has landed a pivotal supporting role in 1940′s set mob thriller “Gangster Squad” alongside Ryan Gosling, Sean Penn and Josh Brolin.

In the Will Beall-scripted crime drama based on a true story, Penn will be notorious Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen, a charismatic figure who was also a bit of a celebrity, even being featured in a Life Magazine profile. But he was also considered a sociopath with a dark side, and Gosling and Brolin’s pair of cops are called in to put a stop to his dealings when innocent people start getting hurt. Mackie will play former LAPD lieutenant Rocky Washington. The 1940s crime drama will be directed by “Zombieland” helmer Ruben Fleischer.

Like Renner, Mackie’s star has been on the rise after starring in 2009′s Best Picture Oscar winner “The Hurt Locker”, the two even competing for the lead opposite Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, with Renner eventually winning out. Mackie isn’t hurting for work either though, as “The Adjustment Bureau” star also recently wrapped “Man on a Ledge” opposite Sam Worthington and is currently shooting “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” in New Orleans. Along with “Gangster Squad”, Mackie is also reportedly being pursued for a role in zombie apocalypse thriller “World War Z” opposite Brad Pitt.

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