Long-Gestating “The Crow” Remake Lands on Luke Evans

May 4, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

After circling Tom Hiddleston and Alexander Skarsgard, it appears “The Crow” has finally landed. Deadline reports the long-gestating gothic thriller remake has snagged British rising star Luke Evans for the lead role, who apparently had been director F. Javier Gutierrez’s first choice all along.

Evans will take on the role of Eric Draven, a rock star brutally murdered while trying to protect his fiance from a gang of thugs. He is resurrected by supernatural forces and seeks revenge. The original film starring Brandon Lee – itself adapted from comics by James O’Barr – spawned three sequels but with a different victim and resurrection each time. Gutierrez had always preferred Evans for the role, reports Deadline, but the increasingly busy actor had appeared unavailable. The filmmaker is so keen on his choice actor, in fact, that production on the film will now be pushed to early 2014 in order to accommodate Evans’ schedule.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals”, Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack and has the villain role in Universal’s “Fast Six”, which led to his first leading role in the studio’s “Dracula” origin tale film, which he will shoot next opposite Sarah Gadon. He also plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy and headlined indie horror “No One Lives.”

Luke Evans To Star in “Dracula” (Formerly “Dracula: Year Zero”)

April 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

British rising star Luke Evans is ready to put the second part of that moniker to the test, as THR reports he has landed his first starring studio role, as the titular original vampire in “Dracula: Year Zero.” Gary Shore is making his directorial debut on the film, which at one point had Sam Worthington attached to the lead role.

But it’s now Evans who will star in the origin tale, which sees Dracula as a young Prince who offers his soul up to a bloodthirsty sultan when his wife and child are threatened, becoming the world’s first vampire (because they’re soulless, ya know). Thought the project has been in development for years, it’s finally received an official green light and will begin filming this year.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals”, Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack and has the villain role in Universal’s “Fast Six”, where he likely eared the goodwill of the studio to get cast in “Dracula.” He also plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy and headlined indie horror “No One Lives.”

“Twilight” actor Kellan Lutz takes lead role in potential new franchise “Tatua”

November 27, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

As the last installment of the worldwide box office smash “Twilight Saga” hits cinemas, the cast begin to look for new challenges and Kellan Lutz, who starred in the films as Edward Cullen’s brother Emmett, is one of the actors looking to move into a new franchise, signing on to star in a new genre film, “Tatua“.

Based on an original concept from comic book creators Paul Jenkins and Rob Prior and adapted by Paul Layden, “Tatua” “is about a man (Lutz) with a rare blood type that allows him to be tattooed with a powerful ink. He is able to pull those weapons straight off his skin, giving him an enviable leg up as a covert assassin.”

But Lutz’s assassin soon becomes embroiled in a personal battle when his son is kidnapped by a notoriously violent target, and he must use the tattooed weapons despite the fact that they take a toll on his body, as they “are culled from the combination of the ink, the assassin’s blood and adrenaline.”

Deadline reports that Aaron Sims will make his directorial debut on the film and production is set to begin in Toronto next March.

It’s a gamble for the producers to chose Lutz who has yet to make an impression Hollywood. Producer Rick Schwartz told Deadline “Kellan was in the foreground and the background of the Twilight Saga films, but he is a formidable physical presence and this is an opportunity for him to step up.”

Lutz remained firmly in the background for the five Twilight films but provided some of the comic relief in the most recent film “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2“. He starred in 2011′s “Immortals” with Henry Cavill and earlier this year joined Nina Dobrev in “Kid Cannabis“, an adaptation of a 2005 Rolling Stone article which told the true story of suburban teens from Idaho who built a multimillion-dollar marijuana empire.

Freida Pinto is a “Desert Dancer” in Iran-set drama

May 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Freida Pinto will join Alfred Molina and Reece Ritchie in “Desert Dancer”, based on the life of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, according to Variety. Richard Raymond makes his directorial debut on the film set in Iran against the backdrop of the 2009 election protests. Most forms of dancing are banned in the country, but Ritchie’s Ghaffarian still pursues his dream of becoming a dancer, despite the dangers. Filming is set to begin this summer in Turkey and Jordan.

India born Pinto made her acting debut in Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, which steamrolled through awards season in 2008 and won the Oscar for Best Picture, and she’s had a somewhat high profile career stateside since, most recently appearing in Rupert Wyatt’s critically acclaimed surprise hit “The Rise of the Planet of the Apes” opposite James Franco and Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals.”

Vampires from Forks and Mystic Falls join Jonathan Daniel Brown in “Kid Cannabis”

May 9, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 2 Comments

Fresh off yesterday’s news that “Project X” star Jonathan Daniel Brown was set for new drama “Kid Cannabis“, comes today’s news via THR that “Twilight” actor Kellan Lutz and TV’s “Vampire Diaries” star Nina Dobrev will be joining him.

Based on a 2005 Rolling Stone article which told the true story of suburban teens from Idaho who built a multimillion-dollar marijuana empire, Brown will play 18 year old Nate Norman, who gather his pals together in order to become an elite drug-running team that imports pot from Canada.

Lutz will play Brown’s older best friend who loves the thrill and, providing there are no scheduling difficulties, Dobrev would “play a hot-to-trot 19-year-old who has a thing for the best friend and whose father is one of the biggest pot growers in the province.”

It could be a big coup for both Lutz and Dobrev, who have yet to see their stars rise in Hollywood. Lutz had a small role in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals” but is still most recognizable for his supporting role in the hugely successful vampire franchise “The Twilight Saga“. No stranger to vampires herself, Dobrev is star of TV’s ‘The Vampire Diaries” but can soon be seen in the hotly anticipated adaptation “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” with Logan Lerman and Emma Watson.

Luke Evans offered villain role in “Fast Six” opposite Paul Walker and Vin Diesel

May 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Is Luke Evans the new Jason Statham? In a manner of speaking, perhaps. While reports had been swirling that the British action star was being courted for a role in Justin Lin’s “Fast Six” – yes, that’s the fifth sequel to “The Fast and the Furious” franchise – Twitch Film now reports it’s Statham’s fellow UKer Evans who has been officially offered the role of the film’s villain. As it’s just an offer at this stage, Evans’ involvement in the film is nowhere near certain.

The franchise that stars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel began in 2001 revolving around illegal street tracing, with Walker and Diesel on opposite sides of the law. That’s evolved nicely into a partnership between the two as they team up against various foes and the series has been in a state of transition over the past couple of films, taking the duo and their friends and foes from street racing to more general heist thriller/action scenarios. Dwayne Johnson hopped aboard the franchise in “Fast Five” as a new foe, and “Haywire” star Gina Carano will be part of his team for “Fast Six.” Evans will presumably be on neither team though, and will instead be a bigger foe for both Walker/Diesel and Johnson/Carano.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals” and Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack, but his biggest break yet may come later this year when he plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

“Man of Steel” Henry Cavill to conquer “The Great Wall”

February 9, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

He’s conquered Metropolis and now Henry Cavill is setting his sights on one of the Seven Wonders of the World. After wrapping Zack Snyder’s new Superman adaptation “Man of Steel” for Legendary Pictures, Cavill will tackle the studio’s “The Great Wall”, according to Variety.

Edward Zwick will direct from the screenplay he co-wrote with Marshall Herskovitz. There are no solid plot details, only that the film will delve into the mysterious circumstances surrounding the construction of the Great Wall of China. Of course, the construction having taken place almost 3,000 years ago in remote and isolated ancient China, it makes total sense that the movie should revolve around some British white guy.

Cavill was recently seen in the lead role in Tarsem Singh’s visually stunning Greek Gods epic “Immortals” and will next be seen opposite Bruce Willis in “Cold Light of Day.” He was a series regular on “The Tudors” and actually was almost cast as Superman back in 2006 when Brett Ratner was at the reigns before Bryan Singer took over and cast Brandon Routh instead.

Up and Comers Podcast #8: “Extremely Loud”, “Martha Marcy” redux; Our Top Ten Movies of the Year

December 13, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Podcast 1 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 – 09:00 – Slow news week, so we quickly discuss the “Les Miserables” castings and Armie Hammer’s new role.

• 09:00 – 29:00 Plenty of movies watched this week. We talk about “Moneyball”, “Immortals”, “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (14:30 – 18:00 will have SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING), “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “War Horse.”

• 29:00 – END – We each count down our Top 10 Movies of 2011. There are minor spoilers for each film, but nothing too drastic, and we obviously don’t want to spoil the surprise of what movies made our lists, so… just take a listen!

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Watch: Lily Collins and Armie Hammer can’t save the awful first trailer for “Mirror Mirror”

November 15, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 13 Comments

The first trailer for “Mirror Mirror” has arrived, and… oy. The combined puppy dog charms of Lily Collins and Armie Hammer aren’t enough to overcome an especially grating Julia Roberts, disappointingly limp costumes and sets and dialogue full of puns so terrible I can’t even make a pun here to clever this sentence up. We were rooting for your Snow White movie, Tarsem Singh (even, at times, over that other one), but why are you making it so hard?

Looks like Tarsem and Co. were aiming for family-friendly comedy adventure and overshot it by about a mile. A beautiful and charming Collins seems well cast, as does the dashing Hammer, except for when he’s made to act ridiculous (which is, unfortunately, more often than not) and the two do provide some moments of genuine likeability, but they are way too easily overrun by Roberts’ Evil Queen, who’s looking like the least funny funny character that’s come along in a great while. Upside? While a certain other Snow White is looking to be greatly overshadowed by her Evil Queen, Collins should have no problem coming off as the bright spot and highlight here.

“Mirror Mirror” opens on March 16, 2012, three months before “Snow White and the Huntsman.” So, you know, it has that going for it.

Kit Harington’s competition for “Arthur and Lancelot” include “Game of Thrones” co-star and Luke Evans

November 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Kit Harington is still in the game! After the not-so-promising development of Joel Kinnaman being the only one cast in “Arthur and Lancelot” after he tested with the “Game of Thrones” star in London, THR reports Harington could still have a shot. Kinnaman is in negotiations for Lancelot and will be doing chemistry tests with potential Arthurs, including Harington – again. Joining in the competition this time around are Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Richard Madden and fellow British actors Luke Evans and Toby Kebbell.

Director David Dobkin’s vision for the new adaptation of the Camelot legend remains vague with no plot details revealed, though he did tell The Playlist over the summer, “I pulled the legend apart. I only kept a few things. I kept certain characters, I recreated the entire launch of the legend and why it starts the way that it starts, I don’t want to give away too much but it’s always had a flaw. I pulled the flaws out, I reinvented the characters as grounded characters. I took a much more realistic and grounded approach towards everybody, you know why would this character be this way and why would this character be that way? You know Arthur’s superpower is compassion and vision. I will tell you this, the whole thing is wrapped around the birth of democracy as a concept and it’s positing Arthur as the first man to say all men are created equal.”

There’s no way of telling whether Harington has an edge over the others just joining the fray. He is also in contention for another high profile film, Andrew Niccol’s “The Host”, based on the novel by “Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer and starring Soairse Ronan. Harington’s “Thrones” co-star Madden was recently named a Star of Tomorrow by UK’s Screen International, and is currently shooting miniseries “Birdsong” opposite Eddie Redmayne and Clemence Poesy. Evans is one of Britain’s biggest rising stars, often shortlisted for high profile projects including “The Bourne Legacy” and “The Great Gatsby.” He’ll next be seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals.” Kebbell will be seen in a different Greek gods epic, “Wrath of the Titans” opposite Sam Worthington and recently joined the cast of “The East”, co-written by and starring Brit Marling.

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