Michelle Williams Offered Adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein Musical “South Pacific”

May 9, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

michelle-williams She sang a bit in “My Week with Marilyn” (doing her best breathy whisper-croon) but is Michelle Williams ready to tackle a full scale classic Broadway musical by no less than Rodgers and Hammerstein? British paper The Daily Mail reports Williams has been offered the lead role of Nellie Forbush in a planned big screen adaptation of “South Pacific.”

Set during World War II on a South Pacific island and thematically revolving around issues of race, Williams is being eyed for the role of a young and Naive American nurse who arrives to care for American soldiers but finds herself falling for an older French plantation owner. Their love is tested by her racial prejudices and inability to accept his mixed race children from a prior marriage. Meanwhile, young American soldier Lt. Joseph Cable finds love with a Polynesian girl, but also rejects her knowing his conservative family would never allow an interracial marriage. Michael Mayer is attached to direct from a script by Lynn Grossman, but the film is still in the early stages and has no official green light yet. A commitment from Williams would certainly help, and Daily Mail furthers that someone like Justin Timberlake is being eyed for the role of Cable, adding more starpower to the cast.

Williams graduated “Dawson’s Creek” to become a three-time Oscar nominee (for “Brokeback Mountain”, “Blue Valentine” and “My Week with Marilyn”) and was recently seen in her first major studio blockbuster, “Oz the Great and Powerful.” While “South Pacific” finds its footing, Williams is attached to another WWII romance, “Suite Francaise” opposite Belgian breakout star Matthias Schoenarts, as well as an English-language remake of Italian thriller “The Double Hour.”

First look: Ryan Gosling in Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond The Pines”

October 30, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Images Leave a comment

When the news broke that Ryan Gosling was teaming back up with Derek Cianfrance for a new project, everyone at Up and Comers was pretty excited; their collaboration on one of 2010′s best films, “Blue Valentine”, was outstanding. But the premise of the new project was vastly different and intriguing, and now we have our first official still from the film, featuring Gosling astride his motorcycle.

“The Place Beyond the Pines” is a ‘multi-generational crime drama’, and will also star a host of exciting rising actors, including Rose Byrne (who replaced Greta Gerwig back in the summer), Emory Cohen and Dane DeHaan, as well stars such as Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes and Ray Liotta.

Filming finished late in the summer and is currently in post-production. No word on a release date yet, but we expect to see both Gosling and Cianfrance on the festival circuit next year.

Luke (Gosling) is a professional motorcycle rider who turns to bank robberies to support his newborn son, but when he crosses paths with a rookie police officer (Cooper) their violent confrontation spirals into a tense generational fued. THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES is a rich dramatic thriller that traces the intersecting lives of fathers and sons, cops and robbers, heroes and villain.

Click below for a larger image.

Michelle Williams is Glinda the Good Witch in “Oz: The Great and Powerful”

May 17, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Michelle Williams just wants to be good. Despite reports that had her in contention for the role of an “elder witch”, presumably the Wicked Witch of the East, Evanorah, THR reports that actually, Williams will be Glinda, the good witch, in Sam Raimi’s “Oz, The Great and Powerful”. As for Evanorah, though Raimi reportedly wanted Hilary Swank, it’s fellow Oscar winner Rachel Weisz who is now in talks for the role.

David Lindsay-Abaire‘s script calls for a younger, sexier version of Oz, with James Franco as a snake oil salesman masking as a magician, who lands in Oz in his hot air balloon fleeing from an angry mob. There he meets the three Witches who run the colorful land, Glinda the Good Witch, Evanorah, the Wicked Witch of the East and the role Mila Kunis would take on, her younger sister Theodorah, who falls for and is spurned by Franco, eventually becoming the Wicked Witch of the West.

It’s a bit of a surprise that indie darling Williams would agree to take part in such a big budget, studio tentpole picture. A recent Oscar nominee for “Blue Valentine” (she was also nominated for “Brokeback Mountain” several years back), Williams recently completed “Meek’s Cutoff”, “Take This Waltz” and “My Week with Marilyn”, all small indies that have award season potential. She has no other upcoming projects planned.

Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper to star in crime drama from “Blue Valentine” director

May 6, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

This writer here adored last year’s Blue Valentine and felt Ryan Gosling deserved a place on that Best Actor nomination list, so today’s news from Variety, that director Derek Cianfrance and Gosling are teaming back up for a new project sure is exciting!

The Place Beyond the Pines is a “multi-generational crime drama”, and will also star Bradley Cooper as a rookie police officer whose confrontation with Gosling’s character, a first-time Dad who turns to bank robbery to support his son, turns into a life long feud.

Both Gosling and Cooper‘s names are currently popular in Hollywood and are often bandied about during casting speculation. Since his star turn in 2008′s The Hangover, Cooper has seen several box office duds – including All About Steve – and early word about the sequel to The Hangover does not sound good. Next up for Gosling however is Crazy, Stupid, Love, the trailer for which was brilliant, and The Ides of March with the ever reliable George Clooney.

Cianfrance will be directing from a script he co-wrote with Ben Coccio, and the film is being sold at this years Cannes Film Festival.

Ryan Gosling in talks to take down Sean Penn in “Gangster Squad”

April 21, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Ryan Gosling may be getting ready to tell Sean Penn to put ‘em up as the “Blue Valentine” star is in negotiations to play a cop pitted against opposite Penn’s mobster in “Gangster Squad”, reports Deadline. Joining Gosling on this side of the thin blue line will be Josh Brolin, who is also in talks to play a police officer.

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. The 1940s crime drama will be directed by “Zombieland” helmer Ruben Fleischer.

Gosling is a hot commodity in Hollywood at the moment, as he enraptured audiences with his performance in “Blue Valentine” and gears up to shoot the remake of “Logan’s Run”. He was sought for the title role in “The Lone Ranger” opposite Johnny Depp, but scheduling issues with “Logan’s Run” couldn’t be worked out. He recently wrapped up filming on George Clooney’s directorial venture “The Ides of March” and will head to Cannes next month for the premiere of “Drive”, his first collaboration with “Logan’s Run” director Nicolas Winding Refn. A foray into comedy in “Crazy, Stupid, Love” opposite Steve Carell and Emma Stone will hit theaters on July 29.

New “Blue Valentine” photos; bumped up release date

December 22, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in General News, Images Leave a comment

“Blue Valentine” makes no promises to be a happily ever after love story. Quite the opposite, actually. Rather than tracing how a couple gets together, how it all falls apart in the end is the selling point of the story. Today, four new stills from Derek Cianfrance’s debut feature show the couple in question, played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams, in their less tragic beginning stages.

Newly rated R after a court ruling downgraded it from MPAA’s original NC-17, it was also announced today the film would open two days earlier than planned, on December 29, 2010. But don’t get your hopes up, it will only open in two theaters in the whole country on that date, one in New York and one in Los Angeles, before expanding to 10 theaters on January 7, 2011. No word if and when it might get a wide release.

See the beautiful new images from “Blue Valentine” below.

And the Golden Globe nominees are …

December 14, 2010 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards 2 Comments

The 68th Golden Globe Awards have announced their nominations for the 2011 award season and it’s good news for many of Hollywood’s up and comers. Jennifer Lawrence, Mila Kunis, Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg and Emma Stone all garnered nominations in various categories.

“The King’s Speech” was the big winner, gaining 7 nominations but David Fincher’s critically acclaimed “The Social Network” was awarded 6 nominations, including acting nominations for both Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield. Awards’ favourite “Black Swan”, Darren Aronofsky’s bold and original film was given four nominations including perhaps a surprise nomination for Mila Kunis in the Best Supporting actress category.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams both gained best actor and actress nominations, respectively, for their controversial film “Blue Valentine”, and Jennifer Lawrence, a favourite of ours here at Up and Comers, garnered a Best Actress nomination.

The winners will be announced in a televised show on January 16th 2011. See below for details on all the nominations …

“Black Swan” leads the pack with 12 Critics Choice Awards nominations

December 13, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

Darren Aronofsky’s daring and imaginative “Black Swan” has landed a whopping 12 nominations at the annual Critics Choice Awards, it was announced today. It leads the pack with the most, followed by “True Grit” and “The King’s Speech” with 11 and “The Social Network” with 9. Some pleasant surprises: Mila Kunis nominated for Best Supporting Actress for “Black Swan”, the “Blue Valentine” duo of Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams in the Leading Actor/Actress categories, and in the category of Best Young Actor/Actress, Chloe Moretz represented twice, for both “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In”.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on January 14, 2011. See below for the full list of nominations.

MPAA overturn ‘Blue Valentine’ rating

December 8, 2010 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in General News Leave a comment

When earlier this year Michelle Williams’ and Ryan Gosling’s potential Oscar nominee “Blue Valentine” was handed an NC-17 rating there was anger and dismay. The rating had not only the potential to ruin any Oscar chance for the film, as well as limiting the audience to those not under 17, but it was felt that the rating was too hypocritical, considering other films with similar scenes were being handed lower ratings.
But now, after weeks of speculation, differing opinions and appeals from the Weinstein Company, the director, and the actors themselves, the MPAA have decided to overturn the controversial rating, and lower it to a more suitable R.

The reason for the high rating had been because of one particular sex scene involving Williams and Gosling in a motel room. Both Williams and Gosling had previously commented on this rating, with Gosling believing it to be a “a product of a patriarchy-dominant society, which tries to control how women are depicted on screen.”
He went on to suggest that “the MPAA is okay supporting scenes that portray women in scenarios of sexual torture and violence for entertainment purposes, but they are trying to force us to look away from a scene that shows a woman in a sexual scenario, which is both complicit and complex. It’s misogynistic in nature to try and control a woman’s sexual presentation of self. I consider this an issue that is bigger than this film.”

Williams added, “The MPAA’s decision on Blue Valentine unmasks a taboo in our culture, that an honest portrayal of a relationship is more threatening than a sensationalized one. Mainstream films often depict sex and violence in a manner that is disturbing and very far from reality. Yet, the MPAA regularly awards these films with a more audience friendly rating … Our film [is] simply a candid look at the difficulties couples face in sustaining their relationships over time. Blue Valentine opens a door for couples to have a dialogue about the everyday realities of many relationships.”

We here at Up and Comers couldn’t agree more, and are extremely pleased to see the MPAA change their decision in this case. Let’s hope “The Kings Speech” appeal to lower their R to a PG13 is just as lucky …

Click below the link for the official word from the MPAA ..

New poster for controversial Ryan Gosling/Michelle Williams drama “Blue Valentine”

November 9, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

Yahoo! Movies has debuted a new poster for Derek Cianfrance’s romantic drama “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. The movie will be released on December 31, 2010 under a cloud of controversy as the MPAA recently slapped it with an NC-17 rating, a decision The Weinstein Company plans to appeal in court this month.

Touting the film as “a love story”, the poster noticeably leaves out the NC-17 rating. Gosling and Williams have been earning raves for their performances ever since the movie, about a married couple whose relationship deteriorates as the sheen of new love fades and reality sets in, debuted at Sundance. See the full poster in high resolution under the cut.

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