Who Should Play Augustus Waters in “The Fault In Our Stars” Opposite Shailene Woodley?

March 20, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting, Features 11 Comments

guscasting

It’s the question on everyone’s minds now that we have our Hazel Grace in “The Descendants” star Shailene Woodley: Who will play her sparring partner, love interest and fellow cancer survivor Augustus Waters in “The Fault in Our Stars”?

Josh Boone is directing the adaptation of the best-selling John Green YA novel, and the casting for Augustus will likely be even more scrutinized than Woodley as Hazel. Gus, described as long and lean with dark hair and blue eyes who’s witty and spouts off romantic soliloquies in his wooing of Hazel, is the ideal fictional boyfriend for many a teenage reader and no matter who is cast, he will undoubtedly meet with a fair share of resistance. Sure, there is no perfect Gus for everyone, but we did our best to come up with just a few suggestions of guys who can be trusted to bring this beloved character to the big screen and not screw it up for his legion of fans.

It should be noted that Boone has been pretty vocal that an actor who is 25 is “far too old” for the role, which immediately takes a few of our guys out of the running (and which frankly makes us think someone has already been chosen, but that’s another story). Clearly, we disagree with the director on this point, and this is just our wishful thinking, just let us have this. Okay? Okay.

Click below to see our choices for Augustus Waters and leave us yours!

Oscar Spotlight: Bradley Cooper Loses The Hangover

February 23, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

In our Oscar Spotlight series we take a look at rising stars who have this year gained the biggest accolade in Hollywood, an Academy Award nomination. In a year filled with incredible performances, none of our chosen actors were considered a shoo-in. Taken from three of the acting categories, we present …

Bradley Cooper Loses The Hangover

Nearly four years after its release, Bradley Cooper‘s name is still synonymous with “The Hangover“. In the years that followed Cooper tried but never quite managed to prove he had something to offer beyond playing the handsome jerk. In 2013, however, it might be fair to say the American actor has finally broken through, with his first Oscar nomination for a captivating performance in “Silver Linings Playbook.“

Oscar Spotlight: Jennifer Lawrence Conquers Hollywood

February 22, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

Jennifer Lawrence Conquers Hollywood

In 2010 Jennifer Lawrence burst onto the scene with indie film “Winter’s Bone“, giving one of the best leading actress performances in recent memory and cementing her status with an Oscar nomination. Two years later, Lawrence once again finds herself a Best Actress nominee – for the equally challenging role of Tiffany in “Silver Linings Playbook” – but this time, she is no longer a fresh face on the indie scene, but a worldwide star.

Oscar Spotlight: The Unstoppable Momentum of Quvenzhané Wallis

February 21, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Features 1 Comment

The Unstoppable Momentum of Quvenzhané Wallis

When a film premieres at Sundance Film Festival, it wants buzz. Sundance has the ability to make or break a film or a performance, often ushering in the beginning of an awards run that won’t finish until thirteen months later at the Academy Awards. And no one showcased this more perfectly in 2013 than Quvenzhané Wallis, for whom her first Oscar night will bring to a close a four year journey of her very young life.

Jennifer Lawrence charms, squirms under the spotlight at SBIFF’s Performer of the Year Tribute [w/ Exclusive Images]

February 4, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, Features, Images Leave a comment

Jennifer Lawrence is not very good at taking compliments, which must have made Saturday night rather torturous for the newly minted two-time Oscar nominee. The compliments kept piling on at Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s Outstanding Performer of the Year Award Tribute dedicated to her incredible 2012 run, and after more than an hour of enduring words of praise from moderator Roger Durling, Lawrence joked, “I’m not going to say thank you anymore, I’m just going to say shut up.”

Lawrence joined festival director Durling onstage as they painstakingly went through her still short but already impressive acting resume, from her feature film debut in Lori Petty’s “The Poker House” to her newest, David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook”, in which she plays the vibrant, explosive and complex Tiffany and for which she just received her second Best Actress Oscar nomination, making her the youngest two-time nominee ever in the category. Lawrence charmed the audience and made them laugh out loud, perhaps none louder than Russell, who would later present Lawrence her trophy and who would call her talent “kissed by angels.”

Up and Comers Presents: 20 Faces to Watch in 2013

January 18, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features 17 Comments

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 be discovered in 2013. It’s looking like a strong year with plenty of hopeful action stars ready to debut to the world for the first time and some who have been quietly working hard finally seeing their films released. As always, there’s a mix of names you’ve never heard of with some who are ready to hit another level in their rising career, so without further ado, here are 20 names and faces we will be watching this year.

Faces to Watch: The Girls | Faces to Watch: The Guys

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Sundance 2013 Preview: 13 Films We’re Excited For

January 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features 4 Comments

We are just about 48 hours away from the kick-off of a brand new edition of the Sundance Film Festival, where many rising stars begin their year and perhaps their career. Exhibit A: newly minted Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis, whose “Beasts of the Southern Wild” performance was first given its stamp of approval by the Sundance audience last year. Exhibits B & C: her Best Actress category competitors, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chatain. Both of them got their big break via Sundance in recent years too – Lawrence in 2010 with “Winter’s Bone” and Chastain in 2011 with “Take Shelter” – and have clearly leveraged those moments into successful and promising careers with longevity.

This looks to be another strong year filled with potential breakouts and we can’t wait to be introduced to them. Here are 13 films playing at the festival beginning next week that we are very excited for.

Start Here: The Spectacular Now >>

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Up and Comers Presents: Our Top Ten Movies of 2012

December 31, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Features, Lists Leave a comment

Another end-of-year list upon us, and just like last year, the two of us once again appear to have disparate taste when it comes to the year in movies. Sixteen different movies populate our two Top 10 lists, though we did both love “Beasts of the Southern Wild”, “Moonrise Kingdom”, “Silver Linings Playbook” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” enough to list them. What movies were our favorites of the year? Which were yours?

Without further ado, below are our Top 10 Movies of 2012.

Click here for Linda’s Top 10 | Click here for Rebecca’s Top 10

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Up and Comers Presents: The Breakout Stars of 2012

December 27, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis and Linda Ge in Features 9 Comments

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 of movie stars, actors we’ve been familiar with for a while finally hitting their stride, a couple of international imports and some serious emerging acting talent guaranteed to turn out great work for years to come. As always, we’ve had to leave off some of our – and your! – favorites, but we are proud to present below our Top 10 Breakout Stars of 2012.

Breakout Stars: The Guys | Breakout Stars: The Girls

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Faces to Watch: Oscar 2012 Edition, from Jennifer Lawrence to the young cast of “Les Miserables”

December 10, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, Features Leave a comment

It’s almost that time of year again, when young actors who are lucky enough to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences see a drastic rise in their profiles and the movie offers come flooding in. But first, you have to get nominated. With critics awards already underway and the SAG and Golden Globe nominations both coming this week (!!), now is the perfect time to check in on the dozens of young actors who are vying for just a few spots come Oscar nomination time on January 15th.

From likely winners to maybe-nominees to long shots that deserve some more attention (in descending order), we assess the chances of up and coming actors in each acting category below.

Start Here: Best Actress >>

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