Zoe Saldana to Play Gamora in “Guardians of the Galaxy”

April 3, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Zoe Saldana is in talks to take the female lead role of Gamora in Marvel’s Phase 2 blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy”, according to THR. Saldana’s green-skinned Gamora will join Chris Pratt as the half-alien Guardians leader Peter Quill, aka Star Lord, and WWE wrestler Dave Bautista as strongman Drax the Destroyer.

James Gunn is directing the intergalactic actioner which will probably feature more CGI than most films, seeing as the more human-like characters are also joined by a walking, talking, ass-kicking tree and the aptly named Rocket Raccoon. Saldana’s Gamora is a skilled assassin and the last of her species, Zen Whoberi, who were exterminated by the Badoon. Raised and trained by villain Thanos, she eventually turned against him and joined the good guys in defeating him. Filming on “Guardians” begins in June, with a release date already set for August 1, 2014.

Saldana seems like an obvious choice for such a role, already having proven herself in space-set blockbusters (“Star Trek” and next month’s “Star Trek Into Darkness”, “Avatar”) and as ass-kicking action heroes (“Colombiana”, “The Losers”). She recently completed filming on Christian Bale revenge thriller “Out of the Furnace” as well as the titular role in “Nina”, playing iconic singer Nina Simone.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Saldana and more in the mix for “This Is Where I Leave You” opposite Jason Bateman

February 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 3 Comments

“This is Where I Leave You” is not dead. The ensemble family comedy had been in limbo since original director Adam Shankman left the project before finalizing deals with actors including Zac Efron, Malin Akerman, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis to join the cast, but now the project is getting back on track. Shawn Levy took over directing duties from now-producer Shankman, and Bateman has signed back on for the lead role of Judd Foxman.

It looks like Bateman may be the only original cast member to return to the delayed production, and casting is now underway for new actors to join him. On Monday, actresses including Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Isla Fisher, Ari Graynor, Zoe Saldana and Kathryn Hahn will be auditioning for Levy and Bateman. Bateman’s Judd is a man from a large family who has just discovered his wife’s infidelity with his boss and whose distant father has just died. His father’s dying wish was for the entire family to spend the full seven days after his death together, in the same house.

Sam Worthington goes from ex-assassin to bodyguard in adaptation “For The Dogs”

February 1, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Sam Worthington broke out in 2009′s huge box office hit “Avatar” but we haven’t seen much of the Australian actor since. Now Deadline reports that Worthington will star in an adaptation of Kevin Wignall’s novel “For The Dogs“.

An action-thriller to be directed by Philip Noyce, “For The Dogs” will star Worthington as Lucas, an ex-assassin turned bodyguard who sets out to protect a young girl, Ella, and help her exact revenge following the death of her family – who had hired Lucas to keep watch on Ella.

Worthington joined the A List in 2009 following the critical and commercial acclaim for James Cameron’s $237 million 3D smash, “Avatar”. He also starred in “Clash Of The Titans” and “Man On A Ledge” but neither performed particularly well critically nor at the box office. He went on to star in “Texas Killing Fields” and Australian surf flick “Drift“, and will next be seen in David Ayer’s “Ten”, also starring Mirelle Enos and Malin Akerman.

Zoe Saldana and Megan Fox team up to produce and star in heist thriller “Swindle”

March 16, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Score one for girl power. Megan Fox and Zoe Saldana will prove they are more than just pretty faces and objects of male fantasy when they team up for heist-thriller “Swindle”, which Deadline reports they will co-star in as well as produce along with superstar “Moneyball” and “The Social Network” producer Michael De Luca.

The storyline is being kept under wraps, but the project came together out of Fox and Saldana actively seeking to work together, and the spec script by Enzo Mileti and Scott Wilson was won by Paramount Pictures after being sought by other studios as well. Both Saldana and Fox are no strangers to the action genre, with Fox having her big breakout moments in “Transformers” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opposite Shia LaBeouf (the third, “Transformers: Dark of the Moon”, just wasn’t the same without her), and Saldana an alum of James Cameron’s “Avatar”, JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” and her own headlined actioner “Colombiana.”

Fox has veered more towards comedies since “Transformers”, with roles in current indie hit “Friends with Kids” and Judd Apatow’s upcoming “Knocked Up” spinoff “This is Forty”, which revolves around Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann’s character’s from the former film. Saldana is currently filming Abrams’ “Star Trek 2″ and recently landed the female lead opposite Christian Bale in revenge thriller “Out of the Furnace.”

Zoe Saldana gets “Out of the Furnace” with Christian Bale, Casey Affleck frontrunner for brother role

March 5, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

We still don’t know who his brother will be, but Zoe Saldana may be Christian Bale’s ex-wife, according Variety. The “Avatar” actress is in early talks to join Bale in revenge thriller “Out of the Furnace” while Viggo Mortensen is being eyed for the villain and Robert Duvall as Bale’s character’s supportive uncle. Meanwhile, though a formal offer has yet to be made, Casey Affleck has emerged as the frontrunner to play Bale’s younger brother. Other young actors in contention for the coveted supporting part include Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch and Channing Tatum.

Based on Brad Ingelsby’s story “The Low Dweller,” Bale will play a man recently released from prison, intent on avenging the death of his younger brother, and the film is being envisioned as “a gritty throwback to pics of the 1970′s.” Saldana, Bale’s character’s ex, is a waitress who is now married to the town sheriff. Scott Cooper is writing and directing the movie and aiming for a late spring start, though the picture has yet to be even greenlit by parent studio Relativity at this point.

Saldana, who began dance training at the age of 10 and made her feature film debut in cult favorite ballet drama “Center Stage”, has parlayed that experience with movement and athleticism to become one of the most promising female action stars in recent years thanks to roles as Pandora native Neytiri in James Cameron’s “Avatar” and Uhura in JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” redo, the sequel to which she is currently filming. She recently appeared in Sundance premiere “The Words” opposite Bradley Cooper and headlined her own action blockbuster “Colombiana.” She has also attached to play a half-angel, half-human ass-kicker in supernatural action thriller “Dominion.”

Let’s Stay Together: Five recent onscreen couples we would like to see reunited ASAP

February 17, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Features 2 Comments

We’ve said it before, but there is certainly a trend happening right now amongst the rising stars in Hollywood, and we, for one, love it. Great chemistry is like capturing lightening in a bottle, so it stands to reason that when you pair up two actors who have that elusive indefinable quality, you should hold onto it. There used to be a good ol’ Hollywood tradition of popular, iconic screen couples reuniting again and again to the delight of audiences and we would welcome it back with open arms.

Lawrence and Cooper, Gosling and Stone, Hedlund and Stewart, Edgerton and Chastain, they’re all bucking with recent industry playbooks and reuniting on screen almost immediately after doing one movie together. Who says you have to wait 10+ years like DiCaprio and Winslet?

In that spirit, we present five other recent onscreen couplings that we loved and that we are already eagerly anticipating reunions for.

Zoe Saldana has “Dominion” over new supernatural thriller

August 26, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 3 Comments

Zoe Saldana seems to be happy sticking to what she does best. On the day of revenge actioner “Colombiana” opening, THR reports the ass-kicking actress will star in another action/thriller, this one with a supernatural twist. Though plot details are scarce, Saldana will play a half-angel, half-human in “Dominion”, from a pitch by Dean McCreary and Chester Hastings. The actress will also serve as a producer on the project.

Saldana, who began dance training at the age of 10 and made her feature film debut in cult favorite ballet drama “Center Stage”, has parlayed that experience with movement and athleticism to become one of the most promising female action stars in recent years thanks to roles as Pandora native Neytiri in James Cameron’s “Avatar” and Uhura in JJ Abrams’ “Star Trek” redo. While “Colombiana” will test for the first time her ability to carry an action movie on her own, she already has drama “The Words” opposite Bradley Cooper completed and both “Avatar” and “Star Trek” sequels to look forward to filming in the near future.

Surf’s up for “Twilight” star Xavier Samuel, joining Sam Worthington in “Drift”

June 16, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Xavier Samuel is trading in his (non-existent) fangs for a surfboard, as Variety reports the “Twilight” series star has joined the cast of “Drift”, an Aussie surf drama starring Sam Worthington. Another fellow Aussie actor, Myles Pollard, also stars in the film.

A period film set in the 1970′s, “Drift” follows two brothers (presumably Worthington and Pollard) who open a surf shop and end up building an empire. The film will be directed by Ben Nott and Morgan O’Neill, who also wrote the sc the script.

Samuel retreated back to his native Australia after a breakout role playing vampire Riley in the third installment of the “Twilight” series, “Eclipse” in 2009. Around that time he also completed filming on Roland Emmerich’s Shakespearean political thriller “Anonymous”. Meanwhile, back in Australia, Samuel filmed shark attack horror “Bait 3D” and “The Hangover” inspired “A Few Best Men”, in which he plays the English groom who gets into some crazy shenanigans while visiting Australia with his three best men. Perhaps Worthington, now a bona fide action star thanks to the likes “Avatar” and “Clash of the Titans”, can give the slightly less experienced actor some tips on how to garner more international success.

Production on “Drift” gets underway on August 1st in the Margaret River region of Western Australia and is aiming for a 2012 worldwide release.

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