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
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CANNES REVIEW: Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck Shine in Gorgeous Crime Romance “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints”

May 23, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Reviews 1 Comment

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A tale of an outlaw couple set against the backdrop of 1970s Texas, “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” immediately drew comparisons to Terrence Malick’s “Badlands”, but this, director David Lowery’s breakout hit, is a brave, raw and visually stunning film that never tries to imitate the classics despite being clearly influenced by them.

“Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” is a slow-burning romantic crime drama that unfolds against the gorgeous Texas plains through the lens of DP Bradford Young, who well earned a Special Jury Prize from Sundance for his cinematography. “I love the myth of the American outlaw, and I wanted to play around with it and take it apart a little bit. There’s so much of America wrapped up in that ideology,” said Lowery, and this passion comes across on screen. The film feels like a classic already, old-fashioned to an extent but also a timeless tale of love, family and limits – and almost as if the director is beginning a fresh re-examination of these outlaw tales of old.

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Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” to Open 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival

March 12, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in General News Leave a comment

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Ever since it was delayed from a Christmas 2012 release to May 2013, speculation has pegged Baz Luhrmann’s splashy 3D adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” to be eyeing the Cannes Film Festival Opening Night slot, and today the festival has made it official.

Luhrmann and his all-star cast – Leonardo Dicaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke – will walk up the famed red carpeted stairs to the Grand Theatre Lumiere and kick off the 2013 festival on May 15th. The film, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic American novel set in the roaring 20s, will screen in the Out of Competition category. “It is a great honor for all those who have worked on The Great Gatsby to open the Cannes Film Festival,” said Luhrmann. “We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts, not only because my first film Strictly Ballroom was screened there 21 years ago, but also because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphaël.”

Luhrmann’s 2001 musical extravaganza “Moulin Rouge” also opened Cannes. This year’s festival runs from May 15th-May 26th and once again, we hope to bring you exclusive coverage straight from the Croisette. The full lineup of films will be announced on April 18th. Meanwhile, “The Great Gatsby” will actually be released in the US theaters five days prior to its big Cannes premiere, on May 10th.

Full Cannes 2012 Lineup: “Twilight” invasion, Sarah Gadon on double Cronenberg duty and the return of Jessica Chastain

April 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, General News Leave a comment

The official Cannes Film Festival lineup has finally been unveiled and looks like we can expect a more than usual number of up and coming young actors to head to the French Riviera next month. As expected, teen phenomenon “Twilight” will be well represented with stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart each headlining a Cannes-bound flick for the very first time. Pattinson stars in David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo novel “Cosmopolis”, while Stewart plays a supporting role in Walter Salles’ long-gestating, highly anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac classic “On the Road.” Also perhaps hoping to shed that teen idol image and gain some serious acting cred at the festival is former “High School Musical” star Zac Efron, who stars in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy.” Daniels’ “Precious” played Un Certain Regard two years ago and went on to earn a boatload of Oscar nominations.

“Cosmopolis”, “On the Road” and “The Paperboy” will all play in competition and will be eligible for awards at the end of the festival. “On the Road” will also bring to Cannes promising young talents Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund, as well as a return for last year’s Best Actress winner Kirsten Dunst.

Meanwhile, Pattinson’s “Cosomopolis” co-star Sarah Gadon, also a first-timer, will represent not one but two Cronenbergs a the festival. In addition to “Cosmopolis”, she is also the star of David’s son Brandon Cronenberg’s first feature, the futuristic sci-fi thriller “Antiviral”, accepted into the Un Certain Regard lineup for this year. “Antiviral” co-stars “X-Men: First Class”‘s Caleb Landry Jones.

Also pulling double duty this year is returning vet Jessica Chastain, who wowed with her performance in the Palm d’Or winner “The Tree of Life” last year. She returns this year as an Oscar nominee touting two films, the animated “Madagascar 3″ and John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era drama “Lawless” (previously titled “The Wettest County in the World”, and not to be confused with Terrence Malick’s next feature). “Lawless” also stars Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and recent “Chronicle” breakout star Dane DeHaan.

Other up and comers we’ll be keeping an eye on include Bella Heathcote in Andrew Dominik’s “Killing Them Softly”, Michael Shannon’s reunion with “Take Shelter” director Jeff Nichols on “Mud”, and Sundance breakout star Quvenzhané Wallis of “The Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

We here at Up and Comers will be at Cannes for the very first time this year too, so expect news, reviews and exclusives straight from the Croisette!

See the full line-up of films below.

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