Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield Reuniting to Run Away With “The White Circus”

May 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

chloe-asa “Hugo” co-stars Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield, along with Andrea Riseborough and German actor Christian Friedel, have signed on to star in dark fairy tale “The White Circus”, according to Screen Daily.

The duo of Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, known collectively as Clyde Henry, wrote the script and will be making their feature directorial debut on the project, scheduled to shoot in Germany and Siberia in February 2014. Described as a “dark fairytale of with moments of brilliant black comedy”, “The White Circus” follows a young pilot who crash-lands his plane in a war torn town where he is met with a fantastical cast of characters including a talking bear, a cabaret singer and a maniacal despot.

Butterfield and Moretz previously had a magical adventure together in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated “Hugo.” Butterfield has “Ender’s Game” out later this year, while Moretz is awaiting the release of Kimberly Pierce’s remake of “Carrie.” Riseborough can currently be seen opposite Tom Cruise in “Oblivion” while Friedel appeared in Michael Hanake’s Cannes Palme d’Or winner “The White Ribbon.”

Chloe Moretz replaces Dakota Fanning in YA adaptation “If I Stay”

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

One of our most anticipated but long-gestating projects appears to finally be getting some traction, with Variety reporting documentary director RJ Cutler is in talks to direct and Chloe Moretz attached to star in “If I Stay”, the Gaylfe Forman young adult novel that had Dakota Fanning in the lead role back in 2010.

Moretz will play the role of Mia, a young classical musician with an adoring family and rocker boyfriend. When she and her entire family are in a catastrophic car accident, she finds herself on the edge of death and having an out of body experience. She watches as her boyfriend, friends and family gather by her bedside and must decide between waking up to deal with the aftermath of the accident or giving up on life and dying. Fifteen year old Moretz seems too young for the role to us, particularly given the book’s sequel “Where She Went” jumps forward in time by several years.

Moretz, who broke out in 2010 with the twofer “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In”, is gearing up for a big 2013. She recently wrapped up reprising her role as Hit-Girl in “Kick Ass 2″, as well as the titular role in Kimberly Pierce’s remake of horror classic “Carrie”, both of which will release this year.

“Let Me In” co-stars Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz may reunite for “The Wilderness of James”

August 23, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

They’ve grown up quite a bit since 2010′s vampire drama “Let Me In”, and now Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee may be ready for an onscreen reunion. Deadline reports the two young stars are negotiating to co-star in indie coming of age drama “The Wilderness of James”, which was written and will mark the directorial debut of Michael Johnson.

Plot details are vague, but Smit-McPhee will play a boy in Portland trying to deal with the absence of his father. Moretz’s deal will hinge upon working out her fall schedule, but she is in talks for the role of Val. Filming is set to begin next month.

Moretz’s star has risen considerably since 2010, which saw her break out in “Let Me In” and “Kick Ass.” She starred in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated “Hugo” and Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows” redo opposite Johnny Depp, and is currently playing the title character in Kimberly Pierce’s “Carrie” remake (see the first photo here). Smit-McPhee voices the titular character in new stop-motion release “ParaNorman” and recently wrapped up playing Benvolio in Carlo Carlei’s new adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet”, with Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth in the lead roles.

Chloe Moretz to take on zombies in apocalyptic thriller “Maggie”

May 11, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Chloe Moretz continues her reign as the go-to young actress for dark roles in Hollywood. After playing a vampire, a werewolf and soon to portray the murderous telekinetic “Carrie”, Variety reports she will take on zombies next, in apocalyptic thriller “Maggie” opposite British actor Paddy Consindine.

Commercial helmer Henry Hobson will make his directorial debut on the project from a script by John Scott, which concerns a father’s unconditional love for his daughter in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Consindine will be the dad, Moretz his daughter and the titular Maggie. Shooting is set to begin in September, with international rights up for grabs in Cannes next week.

Moretz broke out big time in 2010 when she starred in shocking and controversial titles “Kick Ass” and “Let Me In”, and was most recently seen in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar nominated “Hugo.” She can currently be seen opposite Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s latest, “Dark Shadows”, out today. In addition to “Carrie”, she is also attached to Beach Boys biopic “The Drummer” opposite “Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint.

Chloe Moretz chosen as the new “Carrie” in remake of Stephen King horror classic

March 27, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Chloe Moretz has shown a knack for playing complicated anti-heroes already at the tender age of 15, and now it looks like she may add another one to the list. Deadline reports MGM and director Kimberly Pierce have made an official offer to the young actress to star as the titular “Carrie” in their redo of the Stephen King novel/Brian DePalma horror film classic.

We heard just a couple of days ago that Moretz was one of the top front-runners for the role of Carrie White, an unpopular girl who reaches her limit and manifests telekinetic powers to torture and seek revenge on her bullying classmates after a particularly cruel trick involving pig blood at prom, but she still had competition from the likes of Haley Bennett, Dakota Fanning and Lily Collins. Deadline refutes those reports somewhat, saying Pierce and the studio have always had their eye on Moretz, though a meeting between the actress and the filmmakers didn’t take place until last weekend. Once it did, the job was hers. If her deal comes together (judging by her reaction to the release of the news, we have a feeling it will), the hunt will be on for her fanatically religious mother and supporting cast of high school classmates and tormentors. Shooting is expected to take place this year.

Moretz, who broke out in 2010 with the twofer “Kick-Ass” and “Let Me In”, recently appeared in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated “Hugo” and will next be seen in Tim Burton’s horror comedy “Dark Shadows.”

Chloe Moretz and Rupert Grint headline “The Drummer”, indie music biopic based on Beach Boys drummer

March 14, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 2 Comments

Chloe Moretz has been pretty quiet since promo ended on her Oscar-winning film “Hugo” but has today signed on to join the cast of Randall Miller’s “The Drummer”, a music biopic based on the life of Beach Boys drummer, Dennis Wilson.

Variety reports that Moritz will be joined by “Harry Potter” star Rupert Grint .

Moretz will play Wilson’s daughter Jennifer, whilst Grint will be Stan Shapiro, “a mail room intern at William Morris, who befriended Wilson during the last few years of the musician’s life.”

The film is set to begin production in mid June, and also stars Vera Fermiga as Fleetwood Mac’s Christine McVie, and Aaron Eckhart as Wilson.

Moritz broke out in 2010 as the superhero in “Kickass” and then in the Hollywood adaptation of vampire film “Let Me In”. She received critical acclaim for her role in Martin Scorcese’s 3D fantasy epic “Hugo” and can next be seen in Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Dark Shadows” set for release this coming May.

“The Drummer” wll mark Grint’s first major deal since “Harry Potter” ended last year. The rising Brit has stuck to small British indie flicks so far in his career, including “Cherrybomb” and “Wild Target”.

Up and Comers Presents: Our Top 10 Movies of 2011

December 31, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Features, Lists 3 Comments

As with all such year end lists, the hardest part may be choosing only a few from many worthy contenders. It’s a fun problem to have, but it can also make writers fickle. Such is the case here with our top 10 movies of 2011. Those of you who listened to our podcast a few weeks back may be slightly befuddled. Yes, indeed, both of our top 10 lists have changed somewhat in the weeks since.

Our lists still remain delightfully different, with 17 movies represented between our two lists of 10. Check them out below and let us know what your favorite movies of the year were!

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

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Up and Comers Podcast #9: Our off-topic favorites of 2011 (books, music, TV) and anticipated movies of 2012

December 30, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Podcast Leave a comment

Thank you for joining us again if you listened to our earlier podcasts or if you are new to the program, welcome! Once a week, Linda and Rebecca will take to the internet airwaves to discuss a variety of subjects, including all the latest news, movies we’ve seen recently, the Oscar season and more topics that interest us (or you! Please send us your suggestions for topics to talk about).

This week’s podcast WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS so please read below for the specifics before hitting PLAY.

• 00:00 – 25:00 – We review “Margaret”, “Drive”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (12:00 – 17:30 spoiler-filled discussion), “Hugo”, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”

• 25:00 – 67:40 – We go off-topic from up and comers to talk about things aside from movies that we loved in 2011 (though we do start with our favorite performances of the year). Our favorite TV shows, musical artists and albums and books.

• 67:40 – END – To wrap up the year and our last podcast of 2011, we take a look at some of the movies that we are looking forward to in 2012.

Have a happy new year! We should resume regular weekly podcasts starting on Tuesday, January 10th.

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Asa Butterfield, Elle Fanning, Thomas Horn, Ezra Miller and more nominated for Critics Choice Awards

December 13, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards 5 Comments

From one Critics Society’s nominations to another, and today the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Critics Choice Awards. Once again The Artist and Hugo lead the pack with eleven nominations each – and a surprise but hugely welcome nomination for Melissa McCarty in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in Bridesmaids.

There has been a slow buzz around McCarthy’s performance and we have previously commented on her Oscar chances. This new nomination follows on from awards from the Boston Society of Film Critics and the New York Film Critics.

Elizabeth Olsen gains another Best Actress nomination for the outstanding Martha Marcy May Marlene, and TV star Patton Oswalt garners a further nomination for his supporting role alongside Charlize Theron in Young Adult.

Most notably, the Broadcast Film Critics have a category focusing specifically on the best young actor or actress of the year. This year they’ve chosen some of our favorite performances of the year – and a surprise choice of Saoirse Ronan in the little talked about Hanna. Also nominated are Asa Butterfield (Hugo), Elle Fanning (Super 8), Thomas Horn (Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close), Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants)

Click below for the full list of nominees. The awards ceremony will be televised on VH1 on January 12th 2012.

San Diego Film Critics Society nominate Shailene Woodley, Brit Marling and more

December 13, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards Leave a comment

Another day and another set of announcements from film critics – this time around, the San Diego Film Critics Society and their nominees for this year’s “excellence in film”.

We have the usual suspects leading the pack with The Artist and Hugo both picking up a slew of nominations – eight for The Artist including Best Film, Director for Michel Hazanavicius and Actor for Jean Dujardin, and seven for Hugo with Best Film, Director for Martin Scorsese and Adapted Screenplay – but also several surprises, including Brit Marling for Best Actress in one of our favorite films of the year, Another Earth.

One look at the Best Actress category shows us that we could be looking at a rising star winner there. Alongside Marling is another Sundance breakout, Elizabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), as well as Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) and Viola Davis (The Help).

We’re also pleased to see Shailene Woodley nominated for her supporting role in The Descendants, furthering her Oscar chances after garnering several other nominations from the Gotham Awards and Indie Spirits, a well as a win from NBR.

Jessica Chastain (The Help), Melanie Laurent (Beginners), Carey Mulligan (Shame) and Bérénice Bejo (The Artist) round out the Supporting Actress category, guaranteeing the winner will definitely be a rising star.

Click below for a full list of nominees, and check back tomorrow for a full list of the winners.

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