Andrea Riseborough and Olga Kurylenko snag female leads in Tom Cruise sci-fi epic

January 19, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 4 Comments

Two relatively unknown young actresses are about to get a big boost to their profile in Hollywood. Variety reports British actress Andrea Riseborough and former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko have landed the highly coveted female leads opposite Tom Cruise in the sci-fi epic formerly titled “Oblivion” (and then “Horizons”). Jessica Chastain had been offered one of the roles, but as previously reported, had to pass when she committed to doing Kathryn Bigelow’s “Kill Bin Laden”, which films at the same time. Kurylenko and Riseborough beat out just about every other young actress for their roles, including Olivia Wilde, Brit Marling and Noomi Rapace.

“Tron: Legacy” helmer Joseph Kosinski directs the film about a man named Jack who lives in the clouds above the earth and goes down to the surface to repair drones that keep the planet safe from an alien race that has practically wiped out the human race. The two female leads are Julia, Jack’s wife, and Victoria, a beautiful mysterious woman who crash lads in an escape pod and leads him to question everything he knows. No word on who will play which character, but the presumption had always been that Chastain would play the wife, so it stands to reason – via the wording in Variety’s report – that Kurylenko will be taking over that role while Riseborough would play the mysterious intruder. Filming begins soon with a release date already set for a July 19, 2013.

Riseborough stars as Wallis Simpson in Madonna’s much talked about “W.E.” and is headed to Sundance next week to premiere James Marsh’s Irish spy thriller “Shadow Dancer.” Kurylenko played the female lead opposite Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace” and has appeared to escape the Bond Girl curse with a promising career post-Bond. She is a part of Terrence Malick’s next untitled film (working under the title “The Burial”), also starring Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams, and is currently filming “Seven Psychopaths” opposite Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and Abbie Cornish.

Hayley Atwell to star in “20,000 Leagues” sequel, unless she wins “Oblivion” role

November 8, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

“Captain America” actress Hayley Atwell is keeping her options open. She is still in the running for one of the female leads opposite Tom Cruise in an untitled sci fi epic formerly called “Oblivion”, but if that doesn’t work about, she has tentatively attached herself to “The Return of Captain Nemo”, a $10 million 3-D British film that is a sequel to “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” Deadline reports she will not appear in “Captain Nemo” if she is the one chosen to star opposite Cruise, as there will likely be scheduling conflicts.

In the Pearry Teo directed film, which will be shot entirely on green screen, Atwell would play the heroine Sara, with David Morrissey playing her uncle, the chief advisor to President Ulysses S. Grant, who has just ordered the release of Captain Nemo from prison to investigate mysterious “sea monsters” that have been sinking ships on the East Coast. Hugh Bonneville had previously already been cast in the title role. But Atwell’s involvement is contingent on a decision from the filmmakers of the Cruise sci-fi film. She recently tested for the role of Victoria, a mysterious woman who crash lands on the surface of a post-apocalyptic earth, and is contending against Diane Kruger and Kate Beckinsale for the role.

Atwell broke out this summer when she played with an abundance of charm and grace the role of Peggy Carter opposite Chris Evans in “Captain America: The First Avenger”, and has been hitting one shortlist after another. “Oblivion” is her second shot at starring opposite Cruise, after losing out to Rosamund Pike for the female lead in “One Shot.”

“Captain America” star Hayley Atwell among finalists for second female lead in Tom Cruise sci-fi epic

October 26, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Jessica Chastain is about to meet her competition. The “Tree of Life” actress was the first to be cast for one of two female leads in a new untitled sci fi epic film starring Tom Cruise, formerly titled “Obivion” and “Horizons.” Chastain beat out the likes of Brit Marling, Olivia Wilde, Noomi Rapace and Olga Kurylenko for her role and now three new actresses are in contention for the other female lead. Deadline reports Diane Kruger, Kate Beckinsale and “Captain America” star Hayley Atwell will be reading opposite Cruise this weekend in Philadelphia, where he is shooting “One Shot.”

“Tron: Legacy” helmer Joseph Kosinski directs the film about a man named Jack who lives in the clouds above the earth and goes down to the surface to repair drones that keep the planet safe from an alien race that has practically wiped out the human race. While there had been conflicting reports before about what each role entails, it has apparently now become clear that Chastain will be playing Julia, Cruise’s wife on earth. Atwell, Kruger and Beckinsale are reading for the role of Victoria, a mysterious young woman who crash lands in a pod and leads Jack to question everything he knows.

German actress Kruger, star of “Inglourious Basterds”, and Brit actress Beckinsale, star of the lucrative (and never-ending) “Underworld” series, are more established than Atwell, who had her breakout moment earlier this year when she played love interest Peggy Carter to Chris Evans’ “Captain America: The First Avenger.” No stranger to shortlists, she has come close but ultimately lost out twice to fellow countryman Rosamund Pike for recent projects. Pike won the role of ancient Greek princess Andromeda in “Wrath of the Titans” and the female lead in Cruise’s currently-filming “One Shot.” With Pike out of contention here, perhaps Atwell will finally nail it.

Jessica Chastain lands one of two female leads in new Tom Cruise sci-fi thriller

September 26, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 3 Comments

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Jessica Chastain, the hardest working actress in Hollywood right now, has landed one of two female roles up for grabs opposite Tom Cruise in a new untitled sci-fi epic, formerly titled “Oblivion”, then “Horizons.” Variety broke the news earlier today. Chastain beat out the likes of Olivia Wilde, Brit Marling, Noomi Rapace and Olga Kurylenko for the role, although it’s possible one of the other actresses could end up taking the other role.

“Tron: Legacy” helmer Joseph Kosinski directs the film about a man named Jack who lives in the clouds above the earth and goes down to the surface to repair drones that keep the planet safe from an alien race that has practically wiped out the human race. The two female leads had previously been reported to be Victoria, Jack’s fellow cloud dweller, confidante and lover, and Julia, who had been his fiancee on earth before the invasion, but now it appears there are conflicting reports. Presumably Julia may be who is now being described as Cruise’s wife, while Victoria is now reported as “a mysterious woman in a crash-landed pod” who Jack discovers and “sets off a chain of events that cause him to question everything he knows.” Though there is no word which character Chastain plays, her penchant for playing wives may logically lead us in the direction of Julia. For that reason though, we hope she mixes it up and plays the mysterious Victoria instead.

Chastain, just earlier today reported to be receiving the Breakthrough Actress Award at the Hollywood Awards next month, came out of nowhere to be the name on everyone’s lips this year (did we call it or what?). She grabbed attention with a graceful and angelic turn in Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”, then churned out a completely different performance as hilarious and outrageous housewife in the year’s biggest sleeper hit, “The Help.” She was also seen in – and received high marks for – “The Debt”, “Take Shelter”, “Corionalus” and “The Texas Killing Fields”. In 2012 she’ll have John Hillcoat’s “The Wettest County in the World” and recently signed on to star in “Mama”, a ghost story produced by Guillermo Del Toro.

Olivia Wilde to have “The Longest Week” in indie comedy

September 9, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

The ever-busy Olivia Wilde has attached herself to yet another project. Variety reports from Toronto that Wilde has been tapped to star in indie comedy “The Longest Week”, which Peter Glanz is making his feature directorial debut on.

The film revolves around a young man named Conrad Valmont, “affluent and aimless, who lives a life of leisure in his parents’ prestigious Manhattan hotel. In the span of one week, he finds himself evicted, disinherited and in love.” Wilde will play his love interest. Glanz is basing the pic on his own black and white short titled “A Relationship in Four Days”, which premiered in Cannes in 2008. Model Liesl Gaffney-Dawson and commercial actor Peter Chekvala played the couple back then, but everything, including the characters’ names, seems to be changing for the feature.

Wilde will be seen in TIFF-bound ensemble comedy “Butter” and opposite Justin Timberlake in Andrew Niccol’s “In Time”, along with family dramas “Welcome to People” with Chris Pine and “Blackbird” with Eric Bana. She’s also scheduled to shoot “Better Living Through Chemistry” opposite Sam Rockwell this fall and remains in the mix for one of the female leads opposite Tom Cruise in sci-fi epic “Horizons.”

Olivia Wilde, Brit Marling and more testing for female leads in “Horizons” opposite Tom Cruise

August 25, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Who’s ready to go head to head with arguably one of the biggest movie stars in the world? Variety reports five young up and coming young actresses are testing this weekend to star opposite Tom Cruise in new sci-fi epic “Horizons” (formerly “Oblivion”). Will it be Brit Marling, Olivia Wilde, Noomi Rapace, Jessica Chastain or Olga Kurylenko, some combination of the above or others altogether? All five young ladies are testing for two roles up for grabs on Saturday, but other names are still under consideration.

Advantage Wilde: Kosinski obviously has great affection for the increasingly in demand actress, having already cast her as the female lead in “Tron”. Advantage Marling: the Sundance breakout star was sought for Cruise’s thriller “One Shot” but passed due to scheduling conflicts. Rapace, Sweden’s original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, was hand-picked by Ridley Scott to headline “Prometheus”. Chastain is easily the most prolific actress of 2011, with “The Tree of Life”, “The Help”, “The Debt” and “The Texas Killing Fields” already under her belt. Kurylenko, Daniel Craig’s Bond girl in “Quantum of Solace”, co-stars with Chastain in Terrence Malick’s next, “The Burial.”.

While Universal, the studio behind “Horizons”, has been dumping one high profile project after another in recent days – “Ouija”, followed by “Wicked Lovely” – this particular film is on the fast track, already set for a July 19, 2013 release.

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