Watch: Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams go “To the Wonder” in first trailer for new Terrence Malick film

December 19, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Lovers silhouetted against windswept fields, sweeping camera movements, dreamy sequences that don’t fully make sense, soaring classical music. Yup, it’s a new Terrence Malick film alright, and this time, it’s Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko and Rachel McAdams frolicking about as Javier Bardem waxes poetic in voiceover about love.

“To the Wonder” received mixed reviews when it premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and even Kurylenko and McAdams have been caught stumbling when trying to describe the film, which loosely follows Affleck’s character as he meets one girl (Kurylenko), falls in and out of love with her, and strikes up a romance with an old flame back home (McAdams). According to many audiences though, it’s mostly just the actors twirling around in beautiful locales and very little dialogue or exposition.

“To the Wonder” will be released on April 12, 2013 and the new trailer can be viewed below. ~~Pity there’s no higher quality version available yet because it is a Malick film, after all, and thus very beautiful to look at.~~ The HD version has been added!

Kristen Stewart joins grifter romance “Focus” opposite Ben Affleck

November 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

So Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone will not reunite for a third time after all. The filmmakers behind “Crazy Stupid Love” had been hoping to get their adorable twosome back on screen together for con-man romance/action flick “Focus”, but it never came together, and Warner Bros cast Ben Affleck in Gosling’s role instead. Today Variety reports Affleck has found his leading lady in “Twilight” star Kristen Stewart.

Glenn Ficarra and John Requa will direct their script, which is set in the world of cons and tells the story of a veteran grifter who gets romantically involved with a newcomer. Things don’t work out and complications ensue when they are reunited in the future. Stewart and Affleck have a nearly 20 year age gap between them (again: um, eww), so this project definitely sounded more appetizing when it had Gosling and Stone attached, but we can’t deny it’s an interesting premise and are for now cautiously looking forward to how this new configuration works, chemistry wise. The studio is said to be keen to rush this into production and with their two leads locked in, that should be no problem now.

Stewart says goodbye to the franchise that made her a star as “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II”, the last of the vampire love story, releases in November. She’ll also be seen in Walter Salles’ long-gestating adaptation of “On the Road” (which has its ups and downs), out in December. After dropping out of Nick Cassavetes’ “Cali” recently, Stewart has no other upcoming projects lined up.

“The Hunger Games” tribute Dayo Okeniyi joins indie “The Spectacular Now” and gambling drama “Runner Runner”

July 19, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

As casting for the sequel to “The Hunger Games”, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” gets underway, the young actors who didn’t make it to the end of the first Games are beginning to make their own odds in Hollywood.

Dayo Okeniyi is the latest tribute to find life after the arena, with THR reporting that the Nigerian actor will be joining the cast of two Hollywood flicks – indie coming-of-age drama “The Spectacular Now” and the gambling drama “Runner Runner” starring Justin Timberlake.

In “The Spectacular Now”, Miles Teller stars as party-hard high school senior Sutter Keely, who has no ambitions beyond high school except to have as much fun as possible. When he wakes up on a random front lawn and meets shy, introverted Aimee – to be played by Shailene Woodley – she begins to turn his world upside down as he does hers. Based on the award winning novel by Tim Tharp, the film will be directed by James Ponsoldt and also stars Brie Larson.

In the Brad Furman-helmed “Runner Runner“, Okeniyi will be joining Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Oliver Cooper, Anthony Mackie and Gemma Arterton as a Princeton PhD student. The film follows two friends (Timberlake and Cooper) who get drawn in to the shadier side of gambling after being hired by Affleck’s billionaire online gambling business owner. Trouble soon comes in the form of Mackie’s FBI agent, who has been tracking Affleck for years. Arterton plays Timberlake’s love interest and filming is already underway in Puerto Rico.

Gemma Arterton takes female lead in “Runner Runner” opposite Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck

May 30, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

British actress Gemma Arterton will romance Justin Timberlake in online gambling thriller “Runner Runner”, according to Variety. Ben Affleck, Anthony Mackie and “Project X” star Oliver Cooper also star in the Brad Furman directed film.

Timberlake and Cooper play a couple of Ivy League college students who get drawn into the world of online gambling and find themselves in over their heads when they’re hired to work for Affleck’s shady billionaire online gambling business owner. Filming begins late June in Puerto Rico, with Mackie in the role of an FBI agent who’s been trying to take down Affleck for years, and Arterton as Timberlake’s love interest.

Arterton was last seen on the big screen in the charming and underrated British comedy “Tamara Drewe” and recently wrapped up “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” opposite Jeremy Renner and “Song for Marion.” She’ll next be seen opposite Saoirse Ronan in Neil Jordan’s vampire epic “Byzantium” and is attached to play one half of comedic duo “The Wright Girls.”

Anthony Mackie to gamble with Justin Timberlake in thriller “Runner Runner”

May 17, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Anthony Mackie has joined the cast of online gambling thriller “Runner Runner”, according to Deadline.

Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck and “Project X” breakout star Oliver Cooper have already been cast in the Brad Furman film about a couple of Ivy League college students (Timberlake and Cooper) who get drawn into the world of online gambling and find themselves in over their heads when they’re hired to work for Affleck’s shady billionaire online gambling business owner. Filming begins next month in Puerto Rico, with Mackie in the role of an FBI agent who’s been trying to take down Affleck for years.

After breaking out in Kathryn Bigelow’s Best Picture Oscar winner “The Hurt Locker” opposite Jeremy Renner, Mackie has been increasingly in demand, appearing in four movies in 2011 and set to have an even bigger 2012, with “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” set for release next month and Ruben Fleischer’s “Gangster Squad” recently bumped up to a September 7th release. He’s currently filming bodybuilder heist actioner “Pain and Gain” opposite Mark Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.

“Project X” partygoer Oliver Cooper to get in even more trouble with Justin Timberlake in thriller “Runner Runner”

May 15, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Oliver Cooper, who played the instigator of the out of control house party in “Project X”, is set to get himself in even deeper as EW reports he has joined the cast of online gambling thriller “Runner Runner” opposite Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck.

In the Brad Furman directed flick, Timberlake plays Richie Furst, an Ivy Leaguer who gets drawn into the world of online gambling in order to pay for his expensive Princeton education. Cooper will play a fellow student and computer nerd who Furst gets hired alongside by Affleck’s Ivan Block, a billionaire with an internet gambling company that may be a lot shadier than it first appears. “He’s kind of the young guy in this crazy world,” Cooper tells EW of his character. “He really represents the innocence of someone who would get into gambling.” Filming is set to begin in June on location in Puerto Rico.

Cooper made his feature acting debut in “Project X” just a few months ago, and has already started lining up more roles. In addition to “Runner Runner”, he will also star opposite Taylor Lautner as a couple of frat guys who challenge Adam Sandler, Kevin James and Co. in “Grown Ups 2″, the sequel to the 2010 comedy hit.

“Lucky One” Taylor Schilling marries Ben Affleck in “Argo”

August 29, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Newcomer Taylor Schilling has been given one hell of an introduction to mainstream feature films. Having wrapped up romancing Zac Efron in Nicholas Sparks’ “The Lucky One”, she is now upgrading to an even bigger Hollywood heartthrob. Variety reports Schilling will play Mrs Ben Affleck in political thriller “Argo”, also directed by the actor. Schilling is the first female to jump on board the cast that already includes Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Recently “Monsters” breakout star Scoot McNairy also signed on.

Based on Joshuah Bearman’s April 2007 Wired magazine article “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,” “Argo” is a retelling of true events that surround a CIA operative team smuggled out American diplomats being held hostage by pretending they were a Hollywood movie crew. Affleck plays Tony Mendez, the leader of the operation, while Schilling will be Christine Mendez, a former teacher whose role is, predictably, to sit at home and worry about her husband.

Schilling had been most known for a regular role on the short lived medical drama “Mercy” before landing the female lead opposite Efron in the next Sparks adaptation, which have a history of being box office successes and sometime star makers (see: Mandy Moore, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Liam Hemsworth). Clearly Schilling’s just getting her feet wet landing love interest and wife roles – albeit high profile ones; hopefully we’ll get to report on her landing something a little meatier soon.

Four female up and coming actresses including Rooney Mara and Mia Wasikowska vying for Terrence Malick’s next project

August 20, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 5 Comments

A quartet of female up and comers – Mia Wasikowska, Clemence Posey, Rooney Mara and Haley Bennet – are all vying for the lead role in acclaimed director Terrence Malick’s next project, also starring Christian Bale, and due to start shooting in early 2012, Twitch are reporting.

Of the four female actresses in contention, Bennet is probably the least well known. Starring in 2008′s Marley and Me, she has since starred in little known films such as Arcadia Lost and Kaboom, and this could be quite the break out for her. Also perhaps, for Poesy, who since starring in the Harry Potter series has spent time acting in TV shows such as Gossip Girl and Richard II, and can next be seen in the adaptation of Sebastian Faulks Birdsong, with Richard Madden (TV’s Game of Thrones)

Wasikowska and Mara are probably the two most well-known names on Malick’s list. Mara, who broke out in 2010′s Oscar winner The Social Network, will next be seen in the small indie film Tanner Hall, before the huge promotional push begins for David Fincher’s adaptation of the worldwide hit book series The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, a role for which Mara beat out numerous other up and coming actresses.

For Wasikowska, who broke out in 2010 after starring Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and then the Oscar nominee indie drama The Kids Are All Right, an early 2012 production date may clash with several other upcoming projects she has – including Stoker, A View From A Bridge and an untitled project with director Jim Jarmusch and Jane Eyre co-star Michael Fassbender.

Malick is renouned for spending years shaping his work, and has created only four films between 1973 and 2010. Amazingly, over the next two years, he could well look to double that – following the release of The Tree of Life this past year, Malick has the already-filmed production starring Ben Affleck and Jessica Chastain looking for an early 2012 release, and now this untitled project – which will feature a smaller than usual cast, focusing on one pair of leads only.

“Monsters” breakout star Scoot McNairy joins Ben Affleck’s “Argo”

August 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Okay, so he may not have ended up in “Prometheus” or “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” after all, but Scoot McNairy, breakout star of Gareth Edwards’ low-budget “Monsters”, seems to be making an impression on Hollywood nevertheless. Variety is reporting that McNairy has joined the impressive ensemble cast of Ben Affleck’s follow-up to “The Town”, political thriller “Argo”.

Based on Joshuah Bearman’s April 2007 Wired magazine article “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,” “Argo” is a retelling of true events that surround a CIA operative team smuggled out American diplomats being held hostage by pretending they were a Hollywood movie crew. Affleck is also leading the cast that includes Bryan Cranston, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. To add a dash of realism (and no doubt readying some fun anecdotes for junket season), Affleck plans on having the cast members who will be playing hostages live in a a “safe house” for two weeks prior to filming to experience what their real life counterparts actually went through.

After starring in “Monsters”, which was made for under $500,000 but has made over $3 million worldwide, McNairy recently wrapped a lead role in the highly anticipated “Cogan’s Trade”, Andrew Dominik’s gambling heist actioner which pits his character against the likes of Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo and Sam Rockwell.

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