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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Oscar Spotlight: Melissa McCarthy And How The Academy Gained A Sense Of Humor

February 23, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards, Features 2 Comments

In this new series “Oscar Spotlight” we take a look at four rising stars who have this year become Oscar nominees for the first time. In a year filled with incredible performances, only one of our chosen actors was a shoo-in. The other three were all (welcome) surprise nominees. Taken from each of the four acting categories, we present …

 Melissa McCarthy And How The Academy Gained A Sense Of Humor

It’s rare for the Academy to nominate, let alone vote for, a comedy (it’s a known fact that if you put any of the following together – mental illness, the Holocaust, overcoming adversity or a biopic on Someone Important - you’re looking at a film jostling for an award). So when the crude laugh-out-loud film “Bridesmaids” began to gain serious traction on the awards circuit,  and then garnered two Academy Award nominations including one for Best Supporting Actress, it was one of the biggest eyebrow-raising surprises of the morning.

For Melissa McCarthy, awards recognition has come suddenly, after a long and celebrated career on the small screen. Between 2000 and 2007, McCarthy played Sookie St James, the scatter-brained best friend of Lorelai Gilmore in The WB’s “Gilmore Girls”, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she won her first Emmy, as one half of CBS sitcom “Mike and Molly.”

And just a few months later, Oscar came calling too.

Read more

“Bridesmaids” breakout Melissa McCarthy commits “ID Theft” against Jason Bateman

August 16, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Behold the power of a great breakout moment. When Jason Bateman first began producing comedy “ID Theft” as a starring vehicle for himself and another actor, the script called for one guy to steal another’s identity. But after Bateman saw Melissa McCarthy’s scene-stealing turn as an aggressive future sister-in-law in the recent monster hit “Bridesmaids”, he pushed for the role to be rewritten for her to be the identity thief instead.

Deadline reports Bateman and McCarthy are now attached to star in the film, which will also be delayed to work around McCarthy’s commitment to hit CBS sitcom “Mike and Molly”, for which she was just nominated for an Emmy. The plan is to shoot it in April 2012 when “Mike and Molly” goes on summer hiatus after its current season. Steve Conrad wrote the original script for “ID Theft” and Craig Mazin is currently rewriting to incorporate the gender swap of the identity thief.

Universal seems intent on keeping their newly discovered comedic gem under their wings, as in addition to “ID Theft”, McCarthy has also tentatively lined up two more comedies for the studio, and neither strays far from her “Bridesmaids” roots. Judd Apatow, producer and Paul Feig, director on the film, are producing an untitled “unconventional love story” and have McCarthy and co-star Jon Hamm in mind for the two starring roles. McCarthy is also tentatively attached to star in a different untitled comedy that reunites a whole gang of “Brdiesmaids” for the studio. She co-wrote the comedy, about a group of friends who decide to steal the Stanley Cup after one woman’s husband falls ill, with Annie Mumolo, who co-starred in and co-wrote “Bridesmaids” with Kristen Wiig. McCarthy’s husband, Ben Falcone, also in “Bridesmaids”, came up with the idea.