Joel Kinnaman in negotiations to join Tom Hardy in “Child 44″

March 14, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Fast rising star Joel Kinnaman is in talks to star alongside recent break out stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace in “Child 44“, a soviet-era drama adaptation.

The film, set in the 1950s, is to be directed by Daniel Espinosa – meaning it will be the third collaboration between Kinnaman and Espinosa, who worked together on “Snabba Cash” and most recently the “Robocop” reboot.

In the film, adapted for the screen by Richard Price, Hardy is a Soviet agent, who whilst investigating a series of murders soon becomes a target of suspicion from his own government. Rapace plays his wife, whose loyalty is a front as she is hiding secrets of her own, and THR reports that Kinnaman will play Hardy’s enemy, an ambitious but murderous man.

Kinnaman is in high demand in Hollywood. He starred in AMC’s remake of the Danish show “The Killing” and will reprise his role later this year in seaosn three. He was wooed for several projects, including “The Man from U.N.C.L.E” and “Arthur and Lancelot“, and was most recently seen alongside Greta Gerwig in indie rom com “Lola Versus” and Ryan Reynolds in Espinosa thriller “Safe House.” Just last week Kinnaman was joined thriller “Run All Night” with join Liam Neeson.

Joel Kinnaman to “Run All Night” with Liam Neeson

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

joel-kinnaman Joel Kinnaman is in final negotiations to play Liam Neeson’s son in action thriller “Run All Night”, according to a THR. Jaume Collet-Serra will direct the film, which revolves around Neeson’s aging hitman as he takes on his former boss to protect his family. Kinnaman will play Neeson’s estranged son, who witnesses a murder and becomes the target of a hit himself. Filming is scheduled to begin this fall.

Kinnaman already had a great career back in his native Sweden, but it was American TV series “The Killing” that put him on Hollywood’s radar. It didn’t hurt that Swedish thriller “Snabba Cash” became a crossover hit with English-speaking audiences as well, and soon Kinnaman began getting cast in big Hollywood movies. He starred in David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (with an expanded role if and when the sequels get rolling), and alongside Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds in “Safe House.” He recently wrapped up filming what could be his biggest break to date, in Jose Padilha’s reboot of 80s sci-fi action classic “Robocop.”

THR’s Next Gen 2012: Elle Fanning, Rebel Wilson, Joel Kinnaman and Suraj Sharma

November 7, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features, Lists 1 Comment

In a surprise move, and likely a reflection of this weak year for breakout film stars, THR’s annual Next Gen list for 2012 is dominated by television actors. Out of ten, only four are film actors: Elle Fanning, Rebel Wilson, Joel Kinnaman and Suraj Sharma.

The other six, though some may have dabbled on the big screen, are all new stars of new series on the small screen. Dakota Johnson impressed us with a brief turn in David Fincher’s “The Social Network”, but THR is recognizing her now for her role on new Fox comedy “Ben and Kate.” Andrew Rannells went directly from a Tony-nominated Broadway role in “The Book of Mormon” to being the star of NBC’s “The New Normal.” Stephen Amell has made a career out of guest-starring on various TV series before landing a big break starring on The CW’s “Arrow.” And while Taylor Kinney may have a role in Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming “Zero Dark Thirty”, he’s more recognizable as the lead of “Chicago Fire.” Mamie Gummer is Meryl Streep’s daughter as well as the star of new CW series “Emily Owens, M.D.” while Zosia Mamet – daughter of David Mamet – is contributing her considerable comedic talents to HBO’s “Girls”, in which she plays scene-stealing Shoshana.

Talented as they may be, all these rising TV stars are, for the foreseeable future, committed to their respective shows and are unlikely to even have time or opportunity to star in any movies. So let’s turn our attention to the four budding movie stars who also squeezed their way onto THR’s list this year.

Jeremy Renner out, Benedict Cumberbatch and Joel Kinnaman in for Bill Condon’s Wikileaks film?

October 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 4 Comments

Back in July, we got word that Dreamworks and director Bill Condon were meeting with the ever in demand Jeremy Renner about taking on the role of Julian Assange in a planned Wikileaks film, but could that all be changing now?

Deadline reports the studio is now seriously looking at British actor Benedict Cumberbatch for the role of Assange, and Swedish rising star Joel Kinnaman for the role of Assange’s former right hand man, Daniel Domscheit-Berg. But, they caution, the studio would confirm nothing and it seems Renner really isn’t completely out of the conversation yet, so this is all far from finalized.

Dreamworks is taking its source material from Domscheit-Berg’s “Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website” and “WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War on Secrecy” by David Leigh and Luke Harding, British journalists who worked at The Guardian and helped Assanage publish his first findings. Meanwhile, other filmmakers and even Assange himself remain at work on their own retellings of the formation of the whistleblowing organization.

Benedict, the acclaimed star of BBC’s “Sherlock”, recently wrapped up the villain role in JJ Abrams’ sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness” and will play ‘Little’ Charles Aiken opposite Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in “August: Osage County.” Kinnaman, who caught the industry’s attention in AMC series “The Killing”, is currently filming Jose Padilha’s remake of “Robocop.”

REVIEW: “Lola Versus” is warm and funny with a breakout turn from Greta Gerwig

May 25, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Reviews 1 Comment

There is a bigger message to “Lola Versus”, the follow-up to “Breaking Upwards” from writer/director team Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones, but the filmmakers cleverly use conventional romantic comedy tropes to jumpstart the conversation. Greta Gerwig is warm, winning and genuine as Lola, a 29 year old New Yorker perfectly satisfied with how conventional and right on track her verge-of-30 life is going, who then appears to wake up from a great dream into reality when her fiance (Joel Kinnaman, in a fully realized performance that could have easily been reduced to one dimensional) panics and breaks up with her three weeks before their wedding.

What follows is one young woman’s search for true happiness, mostly through – what else? – a myriad of other romantic partners. Lola has a breakdown in her first attempt to go to a bar as a single woman, begins to imagine she has feelings for her best guy friend Henry (a particularly good Hamish Linklater) and agrees to date a creepy roller blader who sings along to Ani DeFranco in bed, all while contending with Kinnaman’s Luke who won’t leave her alone long enough for her to get over him. Meanwhile, every timid Lola has an outrageous best friend like Lister-Jones’ scene-stealing Alice, offering up her own brand of romantic advice like weed-in-a-bottle right before an important date and checking out the highest rated “Best bar in a bad neighborhood” on Yelp.

Watch: Greta Gerwig tries to get over Joel Kinnaman in first trailer for indie rom-com “Lola Versus”

April 5, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

The indie scene’s newest It Girl takes a stab at headlining the closest thing the indie crowd can get to a mainstream romantic comedy in the first trailer for “Lola Versus.” Directed by Daryl Wein and starring Greta Gerwig in the titular role, Lola is a suddenly adrift almost-30-year-old dumped by her fiance weeks before the wedding. Lola attempts to get her life back on track through therapy, power eating junk food and a series of sexual misadventures with new guys, all the while still occasionally being confronted with her new ex, a rock star who happens to look like Joel Kinnaman. I would be upset too, Lola.

“Lola Versus” (from the studio that brought you “500 Days of Summer”, in case you’ve forgotten) will be released on June 8th. See the first trailer below.

Greta Gerwig ditches Joel Kinnaman on first poster for “Lola Versus”

April 4, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

A bit of iffy Photoshop and heavy-handed metaphors accompany Greta Gerwig on the first poster for indie romantic comedy “Lola Versus”, unveiled today by Vulture. Gerwig stars as the titular Lola, who is dumped by her fiance three weeks before the wedding and embarks on a journey to try to come to terms with turning 30 as a single woman who perhaps hasn’t accomplished everything she thought she would.

“The Killing” star Joel Kinnaman co-stars as the aforementioned runaway groom, but he’s only represented here, perhaps deservedly so, as just another photograph of an old boyfriend she’s throwing away. We get the symbolism, Lola, but do you really have to litter to show off your newfound resolve to let go of the past?

Proudly proclaimed as being “from the studio that brought you (500) Days of Summer” (which is admittedly a bit better than “From the toys made by the same company that made toys that eventually became the Transformers movies” employed by another upcoming movie), the Daryl Wein comedy will be released this summer. See the full poster below.

Kit Harington and Joel Kinnaman out, Colin Farrell in for “Arthur and Lancelot”

March 14, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

The good news: one of my most anticipated upcoming projects that had seemed DOA a couple of months ago, may now be back on. Variety first reported that Warner Bros has tentatively revived David Dobkin’s Arthurian legend actioner “Arthur and Lancelot”, but here’s the bad news: rising stars Kit Harington and Joel Kinnaman, who had been set to take on the roles of Arthur and Lancelot, respectively, are now both out due to new scheduling conflicts as a result of the delay. The film had been set to begin shooting in January for a projected March 15, 2013 release, but all of that is out the window now.

The studio is now talking to a bigger star to take the lead, with THR reporting that the roguish and charming Colin Farrell is eyeing the role of Lancelot. Plot details are allegedly under wraps, but earlier reports indicated this incarnation sees Arthur as an orphan being raised by a poor knight in a small village while Lancelot is a nobleman disgruntled with the current state of politics. Dobkin has said it revolves around “the birth of democracy as a concept and it’s positing Arthur as the first man to say all men are created equal.”

After the delay and seeming cancellation of “Arthur and Lancelot”, Harington went on to join Warner Bros’ “The Seventh Son” and is currently filming season 2 of HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones.” Kinnaman’s career is going even better, having recently landed the lead in MGM’s “Robocop” reboot. He, too, is back at work on the second season of his own hit series, AMC’s “The Killing.”

Confirmed: Joel Kinnaman is the new “Robocop”

February 24, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

UPDATE 03/03/12: Deadline reports negotiations are now closed and Kinnaman has officially signed on as MGM’s new “Robocop.”

Is Joel Kinnaman the new hot commodity in Hollywood? It sure seems that way, with studios and filmmakers eager to woo the Swedish actor for all sorts of big projects, from “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” to “Arthur and Lancelot.” With the latter film on hold indefinitely, MGM is hoping Kinnaman has room to take on the title role in its “Robocop” remake. Deadline reports Kinnaman will be receiving an official offer for the role, but as always, we are probably still a ways away from locking down anything or anyone official.

Josh Zetumer wrote the script and Jose Padilha will direct the new film based on the 1987 sci-fi classic that starred Peter Weller. It was such a pop culture icon that the movie spawned two sequels, a television series, two animated TV series, and a television mini-series, video games and two comic book adaptations. And now a remake. Kinnaman would take over the role of a murdered police officer who is recruited to become a cyborg cop.

Kinnaman is currently working on the second season of divisive AMC series “The Killing”, which ended its first season on a twist of a cliffhanger involving his character. On the film front, Kinnaman’s star is rising fast after breaking out in hit Swedish thriller “Snabba Cash” and the soon to be released sequel; he also has roles as Daniel Craig and Robin Wright’s magazine co-editor in David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” and as the man who operates Ryan Reynolds and Denzel Washington’s “Safe House” under his belt. We’re just hoping to see him as Lancelot.

Marion Cotillard offered Morgana in “Arthur and Lancelot” opposite Kit Harington and Joel Kinnaman

December 1, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Still no Guinevere in sight for the new adaptation of “Arthur and Lancelot”, but looks like Warner Bros and director David Dobkin are closing in on some heavy talent for the role of sorceress Morgana, half-sister to Arthur (and spoiler alert: the mother of his child, Mordred). Vulture reports French actress and Oscar winner Marion Cotillard has been offered the role opposite “Game of Thrones” star Kit Harington as Arthur and “The Killing” star Joel Kinnaman as Lancelot.

Recently THR unearthed some specifics to the previously vague plot. Harington’s Arthur will be an illegitimate son being raised by a poor knight in a small village while Lancelot is a disillusioned nobleman. Arthur’s eventual rise to becoming an inspiring leader positions him “as the first man to say all men are created equal”, according to Dobkin. Disappointingly, THR believes that at this stage of the game, Guinevere will most likely only have a small role, with more prominence if the film is successful enough to garner sequels. Morgana, on the other hand, may prove to be a pivotal role, if it could attract the level of talent and star power that Cotillard possesses (if she accepts, of course).

Cotillard, who won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role as French chanteuse Edith Piaf in 2007′s “La Vie en Rose”, is a favorite of Warner Bros, having starred for them in “Inception”, then “Contagion” and next “The Dark Knight Rises.” She was also recently seen as a 1920s seductress in Woody Allen’s charming Oscar hopeful “Midnight in Paris.”

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