First photo of Ben Barnes as “The Seventh Son” with Jeff Bridges in historical fantasy epic

December 3, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

Perhaps Warner Bros’ own answer to “the next Harry Potter”, the first image from historical fantasy epic “The Seventh Son” has arrived today via USA Today. Ben Barnes – replacing Sam Claflin – plays Tom, a young 18th century sorcery apprentice of Jeff Bridges, who is ancient and benevolent and has struggled for centuries in a fight against Julianne Moore’s evil witch.

The cast also features rising Swedish star Alicia Vikander as a young half-witch named Alice, though we have no images of her just yet. She, along with Claflin, beat out a slew of contenders for the role after extensive chemistry tests. With Barnes replacing Claflin, we can only hope chemistry was still a priority for director Sergei Bodrov and the other filmmakers.

“The Seventh Son” will be released on October 18, 2013 and the first full photo of Barnes and Bridges can be viewed below. Check out USA Today for an additional dramatic image of Moore’s character.

“Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington joins “The Seventh Son”

February 7, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

“Arthur and Lancelot” may be on hold for now, but Warner Bros is clearly keen on Kit Harington, who had been cast to play the Once and Future King. Variety reports the “Game of Thrones” actor has joined the cast of WB’s “The Seventh Son”, starring opposite Jeff Bridges, Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Alicia Vikander.

Barnes replaced Sam Claflin in the lead role last May and will play Tom, a young apprentice to a sorcerer (Bridges) who fights ghosts and other evil supernatural creatures in 1700′s England. The two will fend off Moore’s evil witch while Barnes falls for Vikander’s nice witch. Harington will play Bridges’ former apprentice. Sergey Bodrov will direct and cameras will finally start rolling this April.

The timing turned out to be perfect for Harington, who is due back on the set for season two of HBO’s smash hit series “Game of Thrones” soon after the shoot. After being put through the wringer to finally land the role of Arthur in “Arthur and Lancelot” opposite Joel Kinnaman’s Lancelot, the roller coaster quickly took another dive when the entire project was scrapped due to budgetary concerns. Like “Akira”, “Paradise Lost” and “The Lone Ranger”, it’s probable the film will live once again, but for now, Harington will stay close to the studio with “The Seventh Son.”

Luke Grimes, Logan Marshall-Green and more reading for Roland Emmerich’s “Singularity”

November 5, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

It’s been one busy weekend for shortlist news, and now comes word even more up and comers are contending for the lead in Roland Emmerich’s next sci-fi epic, titled “Singularity.” Once again, THR has the list of actors reading for the director next week, and this batch includes Luke Grimes, Logan Marshall-Green, Julian Morris and Thomas McDonnell.

“Singularity” follows a young man named Adam, whose body is made up of “nanobots”, making him extremely powerful. Also said to be in the running but not reading next week are “Prince Caspian” Ben Barnes and Australian newcomer Luke Bracey.

Grimes made his acting debut opposite Amber Heard in “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” and may be most well known for his role as Ryan on “Brothers and Sisters.” Marshall-Green got his break on “The O.C.” but may hit another plateau when he appears in a lead role in Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” next year. Morris is primarily a TV actor, having appeared on recurring roles on shows like “ER”, “Pretty Little Liars” and “24.” McDonnell recently appeared in Disney’s “Prom” and will next play a young Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows.”

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke lands female lead in actioner “Overdrive”

October 25, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

It was only a matter of time before the success of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” began paying dividends to its talented young cast. Jason Momoa, Harry Lloyd and Kit Harington have all began venturing into feature films, and now the arguable female lead of the show is following in their footsteps. THR reports Emilia Clarke, who plays badass dragon-rearing queen Daenrys Targaryen, has landed the female lead in action thriller “Overdrive”, while Ben Barnes and Karl Urban will be taking over the male leads that had formerly been filled by Matthew Goode and Alex Pettyfer.

Urban and Barnes will play handsome, jet-setting brothers who are known for being high profile car thieves. When they travel to the South of France in search of their next adrenaline rush, they are thwarted by a tough local crime boss. The film is a passion project for producer Pierre Morel, who directed “Taken”. Antonio Negret is directing “Overdrive” from a script by Derek Haas and Michael Brandt. Filming begins October 29 in Marseilles.

With only a TV movie and a one-episode guest spot on a British TV series to her credit as of 2010, Clarke won the opportunity of a lifetime when she replaced fellow Brit actress Tamzin Merchant after the pilot for “Game of Thrones” had already been filmed. The show, nominated for 13 Emmys after its first season, is currently filming season 2, which will begin airing in the spring of 2012. “Overdrive” will mark Clarke’s feature film debut.

Ben Barnes replaces Sam Claflin in “The Seventh Son” opposite Jeff Bridges

June 24, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 6 Comments

British actor Sam Claflin’s star, which had seemed to be rising exponentially a few scant weeks ago, seems to have fizzled a bit. A pivotal supporting role opposite the likes of Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz in “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” didn’t create much buzz and now, he’s lost out on his next potential blockbuster as well. Variety reports that Claflin’s fellow countryman Ben Barnes will be replacing him as the male lead of Warner Bros. “The Seventh Son”.

As Tom, Barnes will be a young apprentice to a sorcerer, played by Jeff Bridges, who fights ghosts and other evil supernatural creatures in 1700′s England. The pair battle an evil witch played by Julianne Moore, while Tom falls for a nice, young witch played by newcomer Swedish actress Alicia Vikander. Vikander joined the cast alongside Claflin, presumably after chemistry tests were conducted between various pairings of young actors. Barnes was not among the first round of finalists, so we can only hope director Sergei Bodrov took the time to audition him and other prospective Toms opposite Vikander before casting him.

Barnes famously reneged on a contract that had him starring on the West End in “The History Boys” in order to take on the title role in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian”. The Disney film and its sequel, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, could not match the success and iconic status of the original or the books from which they are adapted, and Barnes toiled for several years in small, independent films that had a hard time getting released. But his career may be getting back on track now with “The Seventh Son”, as well as joining the ensemble cast of indie comedy “Gently Down the Stream”, alongside actors including Amanda Seyfried, Robin Williams, Topher Grace and Diane Keaton.

First Look: Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana kiss on the set of “The Words”

June 13, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images 8 Comments

Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana take a romantic stroll in these first images from the set of indie thriller “The Words”. Cooper plays a newly successful writer who finds out there’s a price to be paid for stealing someone else’s work, while these pictures seem to indicate Saldana will be playing his love interest. Recently Olivia Wilde, Ben Barnes, French actress Nora Arnezeder and J.K. Simmons joined Cooper, Saldana, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid in the cast.

“Tron: Legacy” screenwriters Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal also wrote the script for “The Words” and will be making their feature film directorial debut on the project, which is currently underway in Montreal. A few pictures of the Cooper/Saldana scene, in addition to Cooper filming solo, are below, thanks to Just Jared. Head over to his site for even more pictures.

Olivia Wilde has “Words” with Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana

June 3, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Olivia Wilde’s increasingly busy schedule just got a little fuller, with Variety reporting the 26-year-old actress has signed on to star opposite Bradley Cooper in dramatic thriller “The Words”, which is the feature directorial debut of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, who wrote “Tron: Legacy”, which starred Wilde. Ben Barnes, French actress Nora Arnezeder and J.K. Simmons are also joining the cast, which already includes Zoe Saldana, Jeremy Irons and Dennis Quaid.

Cooper plays a successful writer who realizes he has to pay a price when he plagiarizes someone else’s work. The film – a Blacklist topper penned by the Klugman/Sternthal duo as well – is gearing up to shoot in Montreal this month.

Wilde is set to have an even bigger 2011 after having a bit of a breakout moment via “Tron: Legacy” in late 2010. She’s been slowly easy her way out of her commitments to Fox series “House” to make room for such varied projects as next month’s mega-blockbuster “Cowboys vs Aliens” opposite Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig and gross-out guy comedy “The Change-Up” opposite Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds. On the sci-fi side she has “In Time” with Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried, and then there’s familial drama “Welcome to People” with Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks, indie comedy “Butter” and thriller “Blackbird” opposite Eric Bana. Long story short, if you plan on any sort of moviegoing activity in 2011, chances are you’ll be seeing Olivia Wilde on the big screen this year.

Feature Trailer for “The Voyage of Dawn Treader” has arrived

November 9, 2010 | Posted by Lindsey Young in Videos Leave a comment

The feature trailer for the highly anticipated third film in “The Chronicles of Narnia” franchise has been released courtesy of Yahoo Movies. “The Voyage of Dawn Treader” is the third film of the series since “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe” first debuted in 2005. Returning cast from the previous films are stars Liam Neeson and Tilda Swinton, as well as Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, and Ben Barnes. This film will also introduce youngster Will Pouter as Eustace, a cousin of the Pevensie siblings.

Here is the feature trailer, followed by the film’s synopsis below:

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboard the royal ship The Dawn Treader. Along the way they encounter dragons, dwarves, merfolk, and a band of lost warriors before reaching the edge of the world.

“The Voyage of Dawn Treader” sets sail in 3D and the traditional 2D on December 10, 2010, just in time for the holiday season.

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