Star-Lord Contender Lee Pace to Play “Guardians of the Galaxy” Villain Instead

April 23, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

lee-pace Marvel is clearly keen on British actor Lee Pace even though they chose Chris Pratt over him to lead Phase 2 blockbuster “Guardians of the Galaxy.” They’ve offered him, and he is now in final negotiations for, a different role in the James Gunn-directed film, that of the villain, according to The Wrap.

Pratt plays Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord, the role Pace originally tested for, and he will be joined by Zoe Saldana as green-skinned warrior Gamora, David Bautista as the brawny Drax the Destroyer and Michael Rooker as Yondu on the side of the good guys. Most recently British actress Ophelia Lovibond joined the cast as an aide to a villainous character known as The Collector, which seems to hint this could be the role Pace is taking on. A June production start is scheduled, with “Guardians of the Galaxy” already set for an August 1, 2014 release.

Pace, who has something of a cult following thanks to roles in short-lived but beloved TV series “Pushing Daisies” and “Wonderfalls”, had a busy year last year on the big screen with roles in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”, “The Hobbit” and “Lincoln”. He’ll also be seen in the next two “Hobbit” installments, and recently filmed AMC pilot “Halt and Catch Fire” with fellow buzzy rising movie stars Scoot McNairy, Mackenzie Davis and Kerry Bishe.

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.

Robert Pattinson to play a young Lawrence of Arabia, joins Naomi Watts in Werner Herzog’s “Queen of the Desert”

August 14, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Robert Pattinson continues to distance himself from the teenage dreamboat Edward Cullen, with Variety now reporting the “Twilight” heartthrob has joined Naomi Watts in Werner Herzog’s indie drama “Queen of the Desert”, in which he’ll play a young Lawrence of Arabia.

Watts stars as writer Gertrude Bell in the flick that chronicles “Bell’s life as a writer, archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political attache for the British Empire. One of the first women to graduate from Oxford at the turn of the 20th century, she traveled through the Middle East, defining the borders of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.” Pattinson’s supporting role will be that of T.E. Lawrence, a British army officer whose brilliant writing of his experiences in WWI, particularly in his best known “Seven Pillars of Wonder”, earned him international acclaim as Lawrence of Arabia and became the subject of the iconic 1962 film starring Peter O’Toole. Lawrence and Bell were good friends and helped establish the Hashemite dynasties in Jordan and Iraq in the 1910s. Filming is scheduled for late fall.

Pattinson is currently making the promo rounds gearing up for the US release of David Cronenberg’s Cannes premiere “Cosmopolis”, while his final appearance as Edward Cullen in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II” will roll out in November. After the Herzog film Pattinson is scheduled to head to Australia for David Michod’s futuristic thriller “The Rover” opposite Guy Pearce, and he’s also attached to Iraq War thriller “Mission: Blacklist”, about the hunt for Saddam Hussein.

Paul Dano and Rooney Mara out, Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning in for indie thriller “Night Moves”

August 13, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

There will be no “Meek’s Cutoff” reunion after all. After nearly a year, Kelly Reichardt’s eco-terrorist thriller “Night Moves” is getting a bit of a cast makeover as it moves closer to production. Peter Sarsgaard and Paul Dano had been set to play the two male leads, while Rooney Mara was circling the female lead, but now Variety reports Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning will be taking over the roles vacated by Dano and Mara.

The trio of actors will play a group of eco-terrorists who plot to blow up a dam. Eisenberg will be the ringleader, Fanning the rich young girl who funds the project, and Sarsgaard the mastermind behind the plan. Sarsgaard spoke last year of his character’s motivations: “I can understand how my character gets to the point of wanting to blow up a dam. I never want to do this, but I can understand how someone can want to do that. We have a gun pointed to our planet. We see that the demonstrations are not working because they are being tackled with pepper [spray]… so you get the radical movement. I can understand that.” Production is scheduled to begin in October in Oregon.

Eisenberg has stayed busy since getting his first Oscar nomination in David Fincher’s 2010 masterpiece “The Social Network.” After a double dose of indies in “Why Stop Now” and “Free Samples”, Eisenberg starred in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris” follow-up, “To Rome With Love”, opposite Ellen Page. He’s currently filming “The Double”, a comedy based on Dostoyevsky’s novella, opposite Mia Wasikowska and will also soon be seen in magician heist thriller “Now You See Me” with Dave Franco. Fanning is currently filming coming-of-age drama “Very Good Girls” opposite Elizabeth Olsen and has wrapped on indies “Now Is Good” (which showed at Cannes and which we didn’t really care for) and “The Motel Life.” She’ll also have one last appearance as vampire villainous Jane in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2″, out in November.

New images from “Breaking Dawn Part II” including first look at Mackenzie Foy as miracle baby Renesmee

June 13, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

Immortal, impossibly strong and cute as a button to boot. Edward and Bella sure do know how to procreate. The miracle half-human, half-vampire spawn of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart’s finally married Cullen couple is all grown up and played by child actress Mackenzie Foy in “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II”, the final installment of the vampire saga that has spawned 3 books, 4 movies, millions of screaming fans and billions of dollars in revenue.

Today EW has unveiled the cover of their new issue, which has our first look at Foy as little Nessie, flanked by her protective (and now fully vampirized) parents, as well as new stills that show her sharing a moment with Taylor Lautner’s Jacob, the guy who liked her mom but then imprinted on her when she was a baby and will act as a protective big brother figure… for now. Ew.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II”, directed back to back with Part I by Bill Condon, also brings in a bunch of old and new friends and foes, including Dakota Fanning as evil vampire Jane, Maggie Grace as the scorned Denali vampire Irina, Lee Pace as fan favorite Garrett and more. The Twilight Saga wraps up Edward and Bella’s story on November 16, 2012 and you can see the new images, courtesy of EW, below.

“Twilight” star Ashley Greene lands female lead in rock club pic “CBGB”

June 7, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Ashley Greene has landed the female lead in indie punk scene drama “CBGB”, named for the famed New York rock club it revolves around, reports Variety. Greene will play Lisa Kristal, eventual business manager of the club and daughter to the club’s owner Hilly Kristal, who will be played by Alan Rickman.

In the script, Kristal is depicted as a fiery young woman who often clashed with her father, but ultimately ends up going to law school in order to help him keep the club. CBGB eventually closed down in 2008, and Kristal, who now controls the estate, is an executive producer on the film. The cast is rounded out by Malin Akerman playing Blondie singer Debbie Harry, Rupert Grint, Johnny Galecki, Stana Katic, Joel David Moore, Peter Vack, Kerry Bische, Taylor Hawkins, Mickey Sumner, Steven Schub and Evan Alex Cole. Randall Miller will direct later this month in Savannah, GA, from a script he wrote with Jody Savin.

Greene is most known for her role as Alice Cullen in “Twilight”, the finale of which, “Breaking Dawn Part II”, wraps up the vampire saga this November. She also has the female lead in horror pic “The Apparition” opposite Sebestian Stan out this September, as well as quirky indie comedy “Butter” opposite Jennifer Garner and Olivia Wilde.

Nikki Reed and Michael Angarano join Liam Hemsworth and Emma Roberts in “Empire State”

May 24, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Liam Hemsworth thriller “Empire State” has rounded out its supporting cast with “Twilight” star Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano, “Entourage”‘s Jerry Ferrera, Paul Ben-Victor and Chris Diamantopoulos, according to Deadline.

Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts had already been cast in the heist thriller described to be based on “the true story of a 1982 NYC armored car company robbery thought at the time to be the largest cash heist in U.S. history.” Hemsworth plays one of two friends who pull off the daring heist in the 1980s-set thriller. No word who the other friend may be (our guess is on Angarano), though Roberts will play a waitress and Hemsworth’s love interest, while Diamantopoulo will play a mob boss who suspects the two youngsters while the rest of New York believes it was a major mob conspiracy. Production begins next Tuesday in New York, with Dito Montiel directing from an Adam Mazer script.

Reed appears in the final installment of the “Twilight” saga, “Breaking Dawn: Part II”, this November. Angarano was last seen in Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” and recently completed two indie comedies, “The Brass Teapot” opposite Juno Temple and “The English Teacher” opposite Julianne Moore and Lily Collins.

Robert Pattinson in negotiations for David Michod’s “The Rover” with Guy Pearce

May 3, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Big news day for Robert Pattinson fans! He’s got a new movie, North American distribution for “Cosmopolis”, and now he can add perhaps his most interesting role choice to date to that list. Variety reports Pattinson is in negotiations to join Guy Pearce in “Animal Kingdom” director David Michod’s “The Rover.”

Michod directed 2010′s Australian feature “Animal Kingdom” to international acclaim, and has reunited with star Pearce on a film about a man who pursues a group of thieves through the Australian outback after they steal something valuable from his car. Pearce plays the man, while Pattinson would play one of the thieves. Filming is scheduled to begin this fall in Australia. Michod also wrote the script based on an idea he conceived with “Animal Kingdom” star Joel Edgerton.

Pattinson recently wrapped up the final “Twilight” installment “Breaking Dawn: Part II”, which will be released this November, and is headed to Cannes later this month for his starring role in David Cronenberg’s “Cosmopolis.” He was just recently confirmed to be starring in Iraq War drama “Mission: Blacklist” about the intelligence team that hunted down Saddam Hussein.

Robert Pattinson to hunt Saddam Hussein in “Mission: Blacklist”

May 3, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Forget Osama Bin Laden, Robert Pattinson is going old school. While plenty of filmmakers (including Kathryn Bigelow and Peter Berg) are racing to bring a dramatization of Navy SEALs hunting down the Al Qaeda leader to the big screen, Pattinson is going in a different direction and has committed to playing the man who spearheaded the capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. In “Mission: Blacklist”, based on the novel by Eric Maddox.

Pattinson is attached to star in the film that will be out to buyers at Cannes, with Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire attached to direct from a script by Erik Jendresen. Pattinson will play Maddox, who accounted his own experience of being deployed to Iraq in the summer of 2003 to track down leads that can lead the US military to raids on High Value Targets within the Iraqi insurgency. Five months later, Saddam Hussein himself was in custody. “This movie is a gripping, edge of your seat thriller,” says producer Ross M. Dinerstein. “I have been inspired by Robert and Jean-Stéphane’s dedication to tell this story in the most authentic way possible, and I’m thrilled to add Hugo and Tim to our team.”

Pattinson set teenage girls’ hearts all aflutter after originating the role of Edward Cullen in the “Twilight” saga back in 2008, and has been doing his damnedest to get away from that teen idol reputation with his roles since. The final installment in the vampire trilogy will be released this November in “Breaking Dawn: Part II” and Pattinson is headed to Cannes later this month to premiere one of those anti-”Twilight” films, David Cronenberg’s “Cosomopolis.”

Kristen Stewart lines up indie thriller “Cali” from “30 Minutes Or Less” scribe

April 27, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

“Twilight” star Kristen Stewart seems to have developed a taste for gritty action roles, as Variety reports the actress will follow up “Snow White and the Huntsman” with indie thriller “Cali”, from a script by “30 Minutes or Less” writer Michael Diliberti. Stewart will also try her hand at producing for the first time here.

Stewart will play Mya, who, along with boyfriend Chris, likes to live dangerously and acclimate income through sometimes less than savory methods. Their latest con is the selling of a fake snuff film starring Mya. They live nicely off the profits, but when her sister gets into trouble years later, Chris and Mya must “return from the dead” to save her. The couple “contends with angry former business partners, homicidal porn stars, stoner vet techs, an unstoppable killing machine in a cowboy hat and their own contentious relationship.” Producers are talking to directors and are eyeing a late summer start.

“Kristen is a talented and dynamic actor, with a proven box office draw,” producer Craig J. Flores tells Variety. “Her role in ‘Cali’ will be edgy and sexy. It will no doubt push the envelope on the public’s view of Kristen’s wide-ranging abilities. Voltage is thrilled to have her as a partner on this fantastic film.”

Stewart has stuck mainly to small, dark and indie outside her role as Bella Swan in the “Twilight” saga, which concludes this November with “Breaking Dawn Part II.” This May she is headed to Cannes for the first time with Walter Salles’ “On the Road”, in which she stars opposite Garett Hedlund and Sam Riley. “Snow White and the Huntsman”, in which she plays the titular princess, opens in June, and plans are already underway for a sequel.

Page 1 of 312 3 »

breaking dawn