Watch: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain in first trailer for John Hillcoat’s Cannes entry “Lawless”

April 25, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 1 Comment

Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy and Jason Clarke are the Bondurant boys, three brothers raising hell in Prohibition era Virgina, in the first trailer for one of our most eagerly anticipated movies – John Hillcoat’s “Lawless” (previously “The Wettest County in the World”). When the boys get into the business of bootlegging, they run into some nefarious gangster foes including Guy Pearce and an especially sinister Gary Oldman. And they’ve got girl problems too, coming in the forms of Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain.

The first trailer, which can be seen below, looks sprawling, intense and only increases our excitement for the film. We’ll all get to see “Lawless” on August 31st, but those attending the Cannes Film Festival will catch its world premiere there.

UPDATE: Jessica Chastain will NOT star in “Iron Man 3″ opposite Robert Downey, Jr.

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

05/07/12 UPDATE: According to Chastain herself, she is too busy and will be unable to take on this role. The search continues…

Now that she’s proven her acting chops in smaller, more serious roles and landed an Oscar nomination to boot, Jessica Chastain is ready to tackle a tentpole/franchise. And she’s picked a doozy as Deadline reports the actress is in talks to take on a starring role in Marvel’s “Iron Man 3″ opposite Robert Downey, Jr.

Chastain is circling the role of a smart (but, of course, sexy) scientist who goes toe to toe with Tony Stark. The role had been offered to her but it seemed like scheduling conflicts would force her to pass. The studio began meeting with other young actresses including Diane Kruger, Isla Fisher and Gemma Arterton, but when Chastain’s schedule cleared up, she is looking like the one who will ultimately win out after all. Chastain will join Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and fellow newbie Guy Pearce as geneticist Aldrich Killian.

The film is said to be based on Warren Ellis’ “Extremis” storyline from the Marvel comics, and it seems to reason that Chastain will be playing Maya Hansen, a colleague of Killian’s with whom she develops the Extremis virus, which forces the human brain to rewire itself into something stronger. The scientists hope to send it to the US military, but it falls into the hands of terrorists instead and Hansen teams up with Stark to stop it.

Chastain starred in an unbelievable six films in 2011, including Cannes Palme D’Or winner “The Tree of Life”, Jeff Nichols’ Sundance hit “Take Shelter” and Civil Rights era drama “The Help”, which ultimately won her her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She is currently filming Kathryn Bigelow’s Bin Laden military thriller “Zero Dark Thirty” and will then reunite with co-star Joel Edgerton on “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His and Hers.”

Full Cannes 2012 Lineup: “Twilight” invasion, Sarah Gadon on double Cronenberg duty and the return of Jessica Chastain

April 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards, General News Leave a comment

The official Cannes Film Festival lineup has finally been unveiled and looks like we can expect a more than usual number of up and coming young actors to head to the French Riviera next month. As expected, teen phenomenon “Twilight” will be well represented with stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart each headlining a Cannes-bound flick for the very first time. Pattinson stars in David Cronenberg’s adaptation of Don DeLillo novel “Cosmopolis”, while Stewart plays a supporting role in Walter Salles’ long-gestating, highly anticipated adaptation of Jack Kerouac classic “On the Road.” Also perhaps hoping to shed that teen idol image and gain some serious acting cred at the festival is former “High School Musical” star Zac Efron, who stars in Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy.” Daniels’ “Precious” played Un Certain Regard two years ago and went on to earn a boatload of Oscar nominations.

“Cosmopolis”, “On the Road” and “The Paperboy” will all play in competition and will be eligible for awards at the end of the festival. “On the Road” will also bring to Cannes promising young talents Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund, as well as a return for last year’s Best Actress winner Kirsten Dunst.

Meanwhile, Pattinson’s “Cosomopolis” co-star Sarah Gadon, also a first-timer, will represent not one but two Cronenbergs a the festival. In addition to “Cosmopolis”, she is also the star of David’s son Brandon Cronenberg’s first feature, the futuristic sci-fi thriller “Antiviral”, accepted into the Un Certain Regard lineup for this year. “Antiviral” co-stars “X-Men: First Class”‘s Caleb Landry Jones.

Also pulling double duty this year is returning vet Jessica Chastain, who wowed with her performance in the Palm d’Or winner “The Tree of Life” last year. She returns this year as an Oscar nominee touting two films, the animated “Madagascar 3″ and John Hillcoat’s Prohibition-era drama “Lawless” (previously titled “The Wettest County in the World”, and not to be confused with Terrence Malick’s next feature). “Lawless” also stars Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf and recent “Chronicle” breakout star Dane DeHaan.

Other up and comers we’ll be keeping an eye on include Bella Heathcote in Andrew Dominik’s “Killing Them Softly”, Michael Shannon’s reunion with “Take Shelter” director Jeff Nichols on “Mud”, and Sundance breakout star Quvenzhané Wallis of “The Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

We here at Up and Comers will be at Cannes for the very first time this year too, so expect news, reviews and exclusives straight from the Croisette!

See the full line-up of films below.

Nash Edgerton joining brother Joel in Kathryn Bigelow’s Bin Laden thriller

February 22, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

We’ve been hearing about Joel increasingly over the past few months, and now it looks like big brother Nash Edgerton is getting some time in the spotlight as well. Entertainment Weekly reports the Australian actor will be joining little brother Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, Edgar Ramirez, Kyle Chandler, Chris Pratt and more in Kathryn Bigelow’s untitled thriller which had been working under the title “Kill Bin Laden.” British actress Jennifer Ehle – who has long been rumored – has now been confirmed as well. EW also lists formerly rumored named including Idris Elba and Tom Hardy, but those are still on shakier ground, especially given how large the cast already is.

Edgerton will play a Navy SEAL in the Mark Boal-scripted film about the elimination of the most wanted terrorist in the world, while Ehle’s part is unknown. Perhaps she will be taking over for Rooney Mara, who passed on the role of a female journalist embedded with the soldiers. Chastain will play a military analyst while the younger Edgerton, Pratt and Jason Clarke are also SEALs. Filming is imminent with a release date of December 19 already in place.

Best known thus far for his stunt work on films like “The Matrix” and the “Star Wars” sequels, Edgerton also runs Blue Tongue Films with his brother and other Australian filmmakers, which produced 2010′s starmaker “Animal Kingdom” and this year’s Sundance entry “Wish You Were Here.”

“Friday Night Lights” star Kyle Chandler to “Kill Bin Laden” for Kathryn Bigelow

February 17, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Seriously, this movie just gets better and better. With Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow behind the camera and a cast that already included Joel Edgerton, Jessica Chastain, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong and Edgar Ramirez, the latest bit of news feels like an answer to the question “What do you give the movie that already has everything?” How about a little dash of Coach Taylor? Deadline reports “Friday Night Lights” star Kyle Chandler is the latest to join the cast on the topical untitled Navy SEALs thriller previously titled “Kill Bin Laden.”

The secretive filmmakers won’t comment on any of the actors who have been cast so far, but Deadline reports Chandler will be playing a CIA agent. Edgerton, Clarke and Pratt play SEALS, while Chastain will be a military analyst. Strong and Ramirez’s roles are unknown. Though the film had been in development for a couple of years (and originally revolved around an unsuccessful earlier assassination attempt on the Al Qaeda leader), it became a top priority when Osama Bin Laden was really killed by Navy SEAL Team 6 last year in a covert operation. Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal are expected to rewrite the ending of their film to reflect the thrilling new development. Filming is imminent with a release date already set for December 19, 2012.

“Kill Bin Laden” co-stars Joel Edgerton and Jessica Chastain to reunite for “His” and “Hers” double feature

February 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Didn’t we just say something about a certain trend happening in Hollywood? Looks like Joel Edgerton and newly minted Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain are the latest to jump on the bandwagon of reuniting co-stars. The two have not yet even begun filming on Kathryn Bigelow’s “Kill Bin Laden”, but are already committing to doing two more movies together.

According to Variety, Edgerton and Chastain will play a couple in an ambitious double feature about a crumbling relationship, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His” and “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers.” Ned Benson wrote both scripts and will direct both films, which follow the point of views of the husband, a restauranteur, in one and the wife, who recently decided to go back to college, in the other. William Hurt is also in talks to join the cast in an unspecified role.

Chastain just landed her first Oscar nomination for her role in “The Help” following an incredible year of incredible performances, from “The Tree of Life” to “Take Shelter” and more. She also recently confirmed that she will indeed be playing Princess Diana in a biopic. Edgerton has slowly (and then very quickly) been garnering attention in Hollywood after a starmaking role in gritty Aussie drama “Animal Kingdom.” 2011′s “Warrior” brought him even more acclaim, and he quickly landed the lead in Biglow’s film and the role of Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby.” Chastain and Edgerton are due to begin filming Bigelow’s Bin Laden film soon, so “Eleanor Rigby” will most likely come afterwards. Let’s hope they don’t end up discovering they can’t stand each other!

Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue spotlights Jennifer Lawrence, Rooney Mara and 9 more “thoroughly modern actresses”

January 31, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features, Lists 4 Comments

It’s one of our favorite annual traditions and it’s here! Every March, the Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue introduces, celebrates and spotlights some of the hottest rising actors around (so you see why we love it so much) and this year is no different. Choosing to go all-female (unlike last year), the new issue features eleven of our favorite young actresses, who are everywhere at the moment – or soon will be. Rooney Mara, Jennifer Lawrence, Mia Wasikowska and Jessica Chastain take the front panel and are joined on the inside fold-out cover by Elizabeth Olsen, Adepero Oduye, Shailene Woodley, Paula Patton, Felicity Jones, Lily Collins and Brit Marling.

The girls gracing the front cover have certainly earned their spots this year. Two (Mara and Chastain) recently earned their first Oscar nominations, and one (Lawrence) was nominated last year. Mara and Chastain burst onto the scene in 2011 from virtual anonymity, Mara in the transformative role of Lisbeth Salander in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and Chastain in, well, just about every other movie (“The Tree of Life”, “The Help”, “Take Shelter”, just to name three). Both Wasikowska and Lawrence are Hollywood Issue cover repeats, but both have come a long way since their last covers. Wasikowska, featured on 2010′s cover, had broken out in “Alice in Wonderland” but in 2011 proved she had gravitas as a serious leading actress, putting her on many people’s wishlists for the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in “Jane Eyre.” Lawrence, on the other hand, traveled something of an opposite path. She featured on last year’s cover after scoring an Oscar nod for tiny Sundance indie “Winter’s Bone” but 2012 she’ll give blockbuster franchise a shot as she leads “The Hunger Games”, tipped to be the next teen sensation a la “Twilight.”

Academy Awards Snubs and Surprises, Full List of Nominees include Rooney Mara, Jonah Hill and more

January 24, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 2 Comments

It certainly was a morning full of surprises and snubs as the Academy Awards announced their nominations this morning. There was plenty to be ecstatic about and plenty to scratch your head over, so let’s dive in to some of the biggest reveals.

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”, Stephen Daldry’s adaptation of the 9/11 novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, had been deemed down and out by most prognosticators after getting severely mixed reviews and not being lauded by any other group aside from the Broadcast Film Critics, but the Academy clearly fell for the emotional movie (sidenote: so did I) and it landed the biggest shock of the morning as the final Best Picture nominee announced. Max Von Sydow, in a riveting mute performance, also landed a well-deserved (but quite surprising as well) Best Supporting Actor nomination. Similarly, Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” was a movie that seemed to be missing out on key precursors and thus had little shot at any nominations in major categories, but came on strong and landed Best Picture, Best Director and – most deservedly – Best Cinematography.

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.

BAFTA nominations solidify Oscar frontrunners, boost “Drive”, “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”

January 17, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

The support for Nicolas Winding Refn’s violent, stylish arthouse action flick “Drive” was perhaps the biggest – and most pleasant – surprise to us when the British Academy of Film and Television announced their nominations for the 2012 Film Awards this morning. The film scored unexpected nominations for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Supporting Actress for Carey Mulligan. “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” was also well-deservedly represented, nominated for Best Film, Best British Film, Best Director, Best Actor – Gary Oldman, Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as a bevy of below-the-line noms.

The usual suspects – aka Oscar hopefuls – were also well represented here, including our Breakout Stars Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer of “The Help” receiving expected Best Supporting Actress nominations. Both are expected to repeat on Oscar nomination morning a week from now. Melissa McCarthy, an on-the-bubble hopeful in the same category for “Bridesmaids”, got a big boost from BAFTA here with a nomination. “The Artist” continues its seemingly unstoppable march towards Oscar, with Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best (Lead, not Supporting) Actress for Berenice Bejo, among many other category nominations. Jonah Hill took a turn for the serious in “Moneyball” and is recognized by BAFTA in the Best Supporting Actor category as well – he is now well on his way to his first Oscar nomination.

The full list of nominations are below. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony on Sunday, February 12 at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

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