Ansel Elgort Is Augustus Waters in "The Fault in Our Stars" Opposite Shailene Woodley

From siblings to star-crossed lovers! EW reports rising star Ansel Elgort has been offered the male lead in "The Fault in Our Stars" opposite Shailene Woodley - who plays his sister in the currently-filming dystopian adaptation "Divergent." The two Read more

Dylan O'Brien Lands "The Maze Runner" Lead; Ki Hong Lee Also Joins

UPDATE: Director Wes Ball tweets that Ki Hong Lee has also joined the cast as Minho, a fellow Glader and ally to Thomas throughout the series. Lee is probably best known as a regular on short-lived ABC Family Read more

Shailene Woodley Confirmed for "The Fault in Our Stars"

I mean, duh, we called it. It has now been officially confirmed with glowing quotes from director, producer and author in tow that the increasingly in demand Shailene Woodley will play the lead role of Hazel Grace Lancaster Read more

Up and Comers Presents: 20 Faces to Watch in 2013

After a somewhat unpredictable year in which the stars we expected to break out largely didn't but fresh faces came out of nowhere to surprise us all, we are ready to look ahead to the new talent waiting to Read more

Up and Comers Presents: The Breakout Stars of 2012

Another year, another new crop of fresh talent. Just like last year, the hardest part is narrowing down which of the dozens of the year's rising stars shone the brightest. This year we heralded the arrival of the unlikeliest Read more
•••••

brad furman

Oscar Isaac to Play Drug Kingpin Pablo Escobar in Untitled Biopic

May 10, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

oscar-isaac Increasingly in-demand rising star Oscar Isaac will play Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in a new film directed by Brad Furman, according to Deadline.

From a black list script by Matt Aldrich, Furman and Isaac will tell the story of Escobar, who rose from meager beginnings as one of seven children of a farmer and a school teacher to one of the richest and most murderous drug lords in history. No word on how expansive this biopic will be, but producer Scott Steindorff described it as “a cross between The Godfather and a war movie, capturing the complexity of the man while showing the violent lifestyle.” Naturally, it’s not the only Escobar story in the works. A fictional account of the drug lord, revolving around an Irish surfer who meets him and falls for his niece, is in the works with Josh Hutcherson and Brady Corbet starring and Benecio Del Toro as Escobar.

Isaac is one of our Faces to Watch in 2013 and clearly for very good reason. His higheset profile role yet in the Coen Brothers “Inside Llewyn Davis” will premiere at Cannes next week and was recently set for an awards-friendly December 6th release. Also completed are thriller “Two Faces of January” with Viggo Mortensen and period drama “Therese” with Elizabeth Olsen, and still to film are indies “Mojave” with Jason Clarke, “Memorial Day” with Max Minghella and “Ex-Machina” with “Anna Karenina” stars Domnhall Gleeson and Alicia Vikander.

“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.

“Parks and Recs” scene-stealer joins Timberlake, Mackie and Arterton in gambling drama “Runner Runner”

June 6, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

“Runner Runner” is shaping up to be one heck of a film. Justin Timberlake and Ben Affleck jumped on board back in April, before being quickly joined by “Project X” breakout star Oliver Cooper, Anthony Mackie and Gemma Arterton. Now THR reports that Ben Schwartz has joined the cast.

Schwartz has been working for years but it’s only in the last few years that he has began to make a name for himself, recently as the scene-stealer Jean-Ralphio in NBC’s hit “Parks and Recreation”. He is currently filming “Better Living Through Chemistry” with Olivia Wilde.

“Runner Runner”, directed by “The Lincoln Lawyer”‘s Brad Furman is set to begin filming this summer in Pureto Rico, and 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.

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.

Justin Timberlake to make his billions with online gambling – and not MP3s – in new thriller “Runner Runner”

April 15, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 2 Comments

After a career-changing role in David Fincher‘s Oscar-winning ‘The Social Network’, followed by two unfortunate box office duds (‘Friends with Benefits’, ‘In Time’), Justin Timberlake has continued to make smart career decisions,

Hitting several shortlists over the last few months, including the controversial Akira remake, the male lead in Warren Beauty‘s Howard Hughes biopic, and even popping up on our wish-list for the adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s “Sex on the Moon”, Variety has now reported that the young star has signed on to New Regency’s thriller ‘Runner Runner‘.

The film, to be directed by Brad Furman (‘Lincoln Lawyer’), centers around an illegal online gambling business and the tensions between a business founder and his protege. Timberlake will possibly be teaming up with Oscar winner Ben Affleck who is still in negotiations to star. The script comes from Brian Koppelman and David Levien – whose 1998 film ‘Rounders’ also featured high-stakes gambling – and production is scheduled to begin this summer in Puerto Rico.

Timberlake recently finished filming Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1960s-set folk music drama ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ which also stars Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac and Garrett Hedlund, and is currently filming alongisde Amy Adams in the Clint Eastwood baseball drama ‘Trouble with the Curve’.