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

john cusack

David Cronenberg Gives Mia Wasikowska a “Map to the Stars” With Robert Pattinson

May 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 4 Comments

mia-wasikowska David Cronenberg continues to build an impressive cast for his next feature, and today has added Mia Wasikowska, Olivia Williams and “The Killing” kid actor Evan Bird to “Map to the Stars.” The trio join previous cast members Julianne Moore, John Cusack, Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon for the LA-set drama.

Bruce Wagner wrote the script on the long-gestating project, which involves Hollywood characters like actors, agents and managers, with both Cronenberg and Pattinson using words like weird and absurd to describe the tone of the piece. Deadline also gives us our first hint of the characters that will populate this world, with Bird as a troubled child star, Williams as his mother and Wasikowska in apparently a very juicy role as his “disfigured, schizophrenic, fame-obsessed sister.” “Map” will be Canadian director Cronenberg’s first time shooting in the US, Los Angeles, specifically. Filming will begin in July.

After breaking out in Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland”, Aussie Wasikowska has stuck solely to small, interesting films like this one, earning raves for her portrayal of “Jane Eyre” and most recently in Park Chan-wook’s “Stoker.” She has wrapped filming on a few more intriguing projects, including Jim Jarmusch’s Cannes-bound “Only Lovers Left Alive” opposite Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, Australian outback set survival tale “Tracks” and Dostoyevsky adaptation “The Double” with Jesse Eisenberg.

Sarah Gadon to Reunite With Robert Pattinson For David Cronenberg’s “Map to the Stars”

April 18, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

sarah-gadon The “Cosmopolis” duo of Robert Pattinson and Sarah Gadon are reuniting, and will star together in their director David Cronenberg’s next feature, “Map to the Stars”, according to Deadline. John Cusack and Julianne Moore have also joined the cast of the LA-set thriller, replacing previously-rumored cast members Viggo Mortensen and Rachel Weisz.

Bruce Wagner wrote the script on the long-gestating project, which involves Hollywood characters like actors, agents and managers, but beyond that there’s very little plot details, though both Cronenberg and Pattinson have used words like weird and absurd to describe the tone of the piece. It will also be Canadian director Cronenberg’s first time shooting in the US, Los Angeles, specifically. No word yet on when filming might begin, but the film will be out to buyers next month at Cannes, and with such stars attached, it probably won’t take too long to get funded.

Gadon can surely be considered a Cronenberg regular by now, even more than Pattinson, with this being her third film with David Cronenberg (“Cosmopolis” and Michael Fassbender-Viggo Mortensen period drama “A Dangerous Method” came previously), and she’s also done a movie with his son, Brandon Cronenberg, “Antiviral.” She recently wrapped up filming on thriller “An Enemy” opposite Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent historical drama “Belle” with British thesps Sam Claflin and Gugu Mbatha-Raw.

“Friday Night Lights” star Minka Kelly lands the role of Jackie Kennedy in Lee Daniels’ “The Butler”

May 23, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Looks like it will be Minka Kelly – and not Mila Kunis – who will be playing Mrs. JFK in Lee Daniels’ historical drama “The Butler.” The director tells ScreenDaily that he has chosen the “Friday Night Lights” star for the role of Jackie Kennedy, to play opposite Matthew McConaughey as John F. Kennedy. Forest Whitaker stars in the film as Eugene Allen, the titular White House butler, with Oprah Winfrey as his wife and David Oylowo as his son.

Based on Wil Haygood’s 2008 Washington Post story “A Butler Well Served by This Election”, the story will follow Allen as he goes from an entry level “pantry man” in pre-Civil Rights 1952 to serving eight presidents over 30 years and witnessing firsthand such historical events as the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr, John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy. The rest of the cast includes John Cusack as Richard Nixon, Alan Rickman as Ronald Reagan and Jane Fonda as Nancy Reagan, as well as Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Nicole Kidman and Lenny Kravitz in unspecified roles.

Kelly broke out as cheerleader Lyla Garrity on critically acclaimed NBC series “Friday Night Lights”, which ended last year. After a starring role in horror flick “The Roommate” turned out to be a dud, Kelly has mainly stuck to TV, with a recurring role on hit NBC series “Parenthood” and as one of the new “Charlie’s Angels” in a reboot of the 1970s series.

First Look: Zac Efron is “The Paperboy” in stills from Lee Daniels’ Cannes entry

April 20, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

It’s that wonderful time of year when we start getting our first looks at some of the major movie events of the year. Today brings Lee Daniels’ follow-up to the Oscar-winning “Precious”, “The Paperboy.” French media site Allocine has released the first stills from the Cannes-bound film, starring Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, John Cusack and Matthew McConaughey.

Efron plays an aimless young man who gets drawn into his older brother’s journalistic investigation into a murder. McConaughey plays the reporter, while Cusask is the prison-dwelling maybe murderer and Kidman, a woman who’s having a romance-by-correspondence with him. That is before Efron enters her life. The whole thing takes place in Florida, and just like the poster, the images alone give off an atmosphere of sweltering heat that’s easily ignitable. This is definitely one we hope to catch at Cannes next month.

See the first two images of Efron below and be sure to hit Allocine for all the pictures from the film, including an eye-popping Kidman scene.

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Lee Daniels wants David Oyelowo to be “The Butler” in political biopic; Mila Kunis approached to play Jackie Kennedy

February 15, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

British actor David Oyelowo’s conquering of Hollywood continues, as THR reports “Precious” director Lee Daniels is interested in his “The Paperboy” star to take on the titular role in “The Butler”, a biopic about Eugene Allen, the black butler that served eight presidents in the White House from 1952 to 1986. THR further reports that Daniels is assembling a hell of a supporting cast with the likes of Mila Kunis, John Cusack, Hugh Jackman and even Oprah Winfrey being offered roles of real life American historical figures.

Based on Wil Haygood’s 2008 Washington Post story “A Butler Well Served by This Election”, the story will follow Allen as he goes from an entry level “pantry man” in pre-Civil Rights 1952 to serving eight presidents over 30 years and witnessing firsthand such historical events as the Vietnam War and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr, John F. Kennedy, and Robert Kennedy. THR reports Kunis has been offered the role of Jackie Kennedy, Cusack President Richard Nixon and Winfrey Allen’s wife. Financing and scheduling are still being shuffled around and as we know from Daniels’ past projects, the cast could look totally different by the time cameras roll, but it’s certainly an inspired grouping as is.

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“American Horror Story” star Evan Peters joins Emma Roberts in “Adult World”

February 9, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

The long-gestating Emma Roberts comedy “Adult World” is finally heading into production and she’s now got a couple of co-stars in John Cusack and recent TV breakout Evan Peters, according to Deadline. Scott Coffey began directing the film this week in upstate New York from a script by Andrew Cochran.

Roberts plays Amy, a young poet/recent college graduate who believes she’s the next big literary sensation. When she’s met with nothing but rejection letters from the literary industry, she’s forced to move back in with her parents and get a real job – at an erotic bookstore called Adult World. Cusack plays a famous author Roberts has always idolized, while Peters’ role – Manny – is unknown. “Adult World examines the contemporary state of post-graduate life in America,” TreeHouse Pictures president Justin Nappi told Deadline. “This is a smart satirical comedy that will resonate with a lot of people.”

Last year Peters was shortlisted for the male lead role of Peeta Mellark opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Gary Ross’s adaptation of “The Hunger Games”, but ultimately lost out to Josh Hutcherson. Other film credits include “Never Back Down” and “Kick-Ass” while he’s been much more prolific on TV, appearing on everything from “One Tree Hill” to “The Office” to “The Mentalist” before landing his big break last year as creepy Tate Langdon on Ryan Murphy’s surprise hit FX series “American Horror Story.”

First Look: Zac Efron drives retro first poster for “The Paperboy”

December 28, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images 3 Comments

Millennium Films has unveiled the sexy cool first poster for “The Paperboy”, Oscar-nominated director Lee Daniels’ follow-up to his 2009 “Precious.” Nicole Kidman rides shotgun next to Zac Efron, who takes center stage looking like a smoldering 70s matinee idol, a far cry from his previous kid-friendly projects, and the whole poster gives off more of a Tarantino B-movie vibe than a legal drama.

The story follows a Miami Times reporter (Matthew McConaughey) who returns to his hometown to investigate the murder of a local sheriff. Efron, as his directionless younger brother, chips in to help, and in the process falls for the woman (Kidman) who has been involved in a prison-correspondence romance with the accused murderer (John Cusack). The film underwent a complete cast makeover when Efron replaced Alex Pettyfer, McConaughey took over for Bradley Cooper, Kidman replaced Sofia Vagara and Cusack, Tobey Maguire. A complete upgrade, if you ask us.

No release date yet, but this is definitely one we’ll be keeping an eye on in 2012. The full poster is below.

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Watch: Luke Evans and Alice Eve in “The Raven” trailer

October 7, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Those of you in attendance at Comic-Con in July have seen it already, but Relativity Media has finally put online the first trailer for historical murder mystery “The Raven”, starring John Cusack as the famous mustached crime novel writer Edgar Allen Poe whose grisly stories prove to be the source of inspiration for a mysterious new serial killer. Sort of a “Sleepy Hollow” / “From Hell” feel here as Poe teams up with a dogged detective, played by Luke Evans, in a race against the clock to find the killer and stop him before he kills Poe’s kidnapped beloved, played by Alice Eve.

Director James McTeigue and the cast revealed at Comic-Con that the story follows the last four days of Poe’s life, so there’s not a fully happy ending in store, though the action and the mystery still seems intriguing and the release of the trailer to coincide with the anniversary of Poe’s death is clever. The film also stars one of our favorite British up and comers Oliver Jackson-Cohen in a supporting role.

“The Raven” will be released on March 9, 2012.

Vanessa Hudgens joins thriller film “The Frozen Ground” with John Cusack and Nicholas Cage

September 12, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Vanessa Hudgens, still perhaps most well-known for her starring role in the Disney musical franchise High School Musical, has been slowly choosing roles outside of that genre, unfortunately with mixed success. 2009′s Bandslam was a charming dramedy, that through the wrong marketing failed to capture the right audience, and two films in 2011 – Beastly and Sucker Punch – suffered from terrible reviews and poor box office success.

Deadline today reports that Hudgens has signed on to The Frozen Ground, a thriller based on “true events surrounding Alaska’s most notorious serial predator, Robert Hansen”.

Also starring John Cusack and Nicholas Cage, the film follows Hansen (Cusack) who over “12 years abducted more than 24 women, flew them into the Alaskan wilderness, and hunted and murdered them. Hudgens will play the one teenage victim who escaped. When she returned to tell her story, nobody believed her. Cage will play the Alaskan State Trooper who finds her on the street. Together they work to bring Hansen to justice.”

Certainly a departure far from the twee singalongs over at Disney!

Filming begins mid October on location at Anchorage, Alaska. The film is to be directed by first time director Scott Walker, who also wrote the script.