Twilight’s Kellan Lutz to play Greek God Hercules in new 3D romance tale

April 5, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Last year we had two Snow White films and next year it’s looking like two Hercules films! Kellan Lutz, star of the “Twilight Saga” films has been cast as the titular star of Renny Harlin‘s “Hercules 3D“, the second big budget production based on the Greek God to begin casting this year.

“It takes more than a good physique to portray the most legendary, mythological personality in history — and Kellan has exactly that, personality,” Harlin told THR. “He’s not afraid to explore the strengths and vulnerabilities of the character, and he impressed me with his passion and heart.”

Lutz and co will begin shooting in May in Bulgaria from a script by Sean Hood, Harlin and Giulio Steve. Harlin’s “Hercules 3D” will be a romance story, following Hercules and his love for a mortal princess of Crete who has been promised to his older brother.

This could be the breakout role Lutz has been looking for. Recognizable as Emmett Cullen in all five of Summit’s worldwide smash “The Twilight Saga” films, Lutz has also starred alongside Henry Cavill in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals” – which would have provided him with Greek God experience for the “Hercules” audition! Last year he joined Nina Dobrev and Jonathan Daniel Brown in drama “Kid Cannabis” and took the lead in a new genre film, “Tatua“.

“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.

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.

‘Twilight’ star Kellan Lutz to star alongside Mickey Rourke once again in indie thriller ‘Java Heat’

October 11, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

As tween heartthrob Taylor Lautner has left the Twilight Saga ready to be groomed as the next big Hollywood action star – signing on to star in Fox 2000′s futuristic prison society action thriller Incarceron, being considered for the role of David opposite Dwayne Johnson’s Goliath in Director Scott Derrickson’s retelling of the Old Testament tale, and starring in, by all accounts the terrible action-thriller Abduction – fellow Twilight star Kellan Lutz, who has an equal amount of action-hero potential as Lautner, has been quietly forgotten about (probably due to box office duds such as 2010′s A Nightmare on Elm Street remake and the little-seen Love Wedding Marriage.)

Lutz is sure to be hoping for a turn around of luck, with Tarsem Singh’s upcoming Immortals due for release on November 11th, and A Warrior’s Heart (also starring Twilight alum Ashley Greene) due for release in December, and Variety is reporting that Lutz has now boarded Margate House Films’ Java Heat, an indie thriller that “revolves around a mysterious American (Lutz) who teams with a Muslim cop to track down a new breed of klepto-terrorists in Southeast Asia.”

Also starring will be Lutz’s Immortals co-star, Oscar nominated actor Mickey Rourke, who will play a jewel thief, and the mastermind behind the terrorist acts. Java Heat will be directed by Conor Allyn, from a script co-penned with father Rob Allyn, but there is no word yet on when production will begin.

Watch: New “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” trailer

September 13, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Edward and Bella finally get married and then things quickly go to hell when their honeymoon becomes a PSA for safe sex. Bella’s got one in the oven, and thanks to the miracle baby taking after her vampire father, she’s proving to be too much for her meek little human mother to carry to term and then deliver. Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart and the rest of the cast all return to the roles that made them international superstars, for the next to last time as they all work together to protect Bella from her demon spawn and from outside forces who, understandably, want to kill it (and her if necessary) before it hatches and wreaks havoc upon the world. Will they succeed? Well, we won’t be finding out any time soon. With the last book being split up into two movies (thanks “Harry Potter”!) it’ll be over a year before we get full closure on the saga of Edward and Bella.

“The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part I” is released on November 18th, with “Part II” scheduled for exactly one year later.

Brittany Snow joins indie horror film “Would You Rather” as actor and exec. producer

July 22, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

Brittany Snow, best known for her TV roles on shows such as “American Dreams” and more recently “Harry’s Law” is trying her hand at the big screen again, as well as some executive producing, joining the indie horror film Would You Rather.

From an original script by Steffen Schlachtenhaufen, Would You Rather “centers on a young woman who, in her desperation to help her ailing brother, agrees to compete in a deadly game of “Would You Rather,” hosted by a sadistic aristocrat.”

The film’s cast includes Jeffrey Combs, Sasha Grey, John Heard, Robin Lord Taylor and Lawrence Gilliard Jr.

Snow has several films lined up, including comedy Petunia with Thora Birch, and drama Syrup alongside Amber Heard, Kellun Lutz and Shiloh Fernandez, all with no release dates though.

Kellan Lutz and Camilla Belle in talks for indie dramedy “Bumped”

May 14, 2011 | Posted by Lindsey Young in Casting 1 Comment

Variety reports that Kellan Lutz and Camilla Belle are currently in talks to star alongside each other in Stephen Herek’s indie dramedy “Bumped.” The film tells the story of five strangers who get bumped off their flight resulting in a long layover at O’Hare Airport in Chicago. While in limbo, details about each individual’s personal lives are revealed and eventually changed.

Although Lutz is most well known for playing Robert Pattinson’s burly vampire brother Emmett in “The Twilight Saga” films, along with the release of the first installment of Breaking Dawn in November, he also has “Immortals” which hits theatres the same month. He’s also been cast in the role opposite Mandy Moore in “Love, Wedding, Marriage.” Belle, meanwhile, was last seen in “From Prada to Nada” and will next film “Zebras,” the South African soccer flick.

Production for “Bumped” is expected to begin next month.

Watch: First trailer for “Immortals” starring Henry Cavill

April 27, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Looking like “Clash of the Titans” on acid and steroids, director Tarsem Singh turns up the saturated bright colors and glistening bulging muscles of his Greek Gods in the first trailer for “Immortals”. Featuring a new generation of action heroes, the action is led by future Superman Henry Cavill as Theseus, a mortal manipulated by the Greek Gods into battling the mad king Hyperion (Mickey Rourke), who seeks to unleash The Titans, the superpowers that the reigning Olympians banished. The Olympians include Luke Evans as Zeus, Isabel Lucas as Athena and Kellan Lutz as Poseidon while Freida Pinto is also on board as Phaedra, an oracle who can see possible futures, but only if she remains a virgin. This complicates things because, of course, she has a hard time resisting Theseus’s aforementioned glistening muscles.

“Immortals” releases in theaters on November 11, 2011.

Garrett Hedlund, Kellan Lutz and just about everybody you can think of in the running for “Bourne Legacy”

February 24, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

With “Superman”, “Jack the Giant Killer”, “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” and more high profile roles recently cast, the attention inevitably turns to the next must-have part every young actor in town is hungering after. Variety reports that one such hot project is “The Bourne Legacy”, the spin-off to the Matt Damon starring billion-dollar grossing spy action trilogy that won’t star Damon but a new character with a similar history. And in contention for the highly sought after role includes five actors, three very up and coming and two more established: Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Kellan Lutz, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire. The trade adds that while writer/director Tony Gilroy has a certain kind of actor in mind, Universal, the studio behind the film, have thrown in their own wishlist of names as well. There is no distinction which of the five falls into which category. The chance for an upset landing a lesser known actor in the role is also high because Gilroy is insisting on screen-testing all candidates, something that could alienate more established actors like Gyllenhaal or Maguire.

Deadline updates that Joel Edgerton, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer and Benjamin Walker have also met with Gilroy or are in the mix in some way, but some may have scheduling conflicts right off the bat. Other roles still also need to be cast but will come after the male lead is locked down.

The film already has an August 2012 release date and a planned production start this spring, so Gilroy and Universal should make their decision soon.

First Look: Henry Cavill, Kellan Lutz and Freida Pinto in “Immortals”

February 10, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images 4 Comments

Before you see Henry Cavill suit up as the Man of Steel in Zack Snyder’s “Superman”, you can see him in a more ancient superhero role, as Theseus in this fall’s ancient Greek epic “Immortals”. EW has the first stills from the film, which you can see below.

Theseus is a mortal manipulated by the Greek Gods, including Luke Evans as Zeus and Kellan Lutz as Poseidon (seen below), into battling the mad king Hyperion (Mickey Rourke, also pictured below), who seeks to unleash The Titans, the superpowers that the reigning Olympians banished. We also have our first look at Freida Pinto in the role of Phaedra, an oracle who can see possible futures, but only if she remains a virgin. ”She’s conflicted,” director Tarsem Singh tells EW. “Her ability helps Theseus, but it also prevents her from being the fully realized woman she wants to be.”

Pinto is most known for her role in 2008′s Oscar steamroller “Slumdog Millionaire” and also has “Miral” awaiting release. Lutz can drum up almost as many teen screams as Robert Pattinson wherever he goes due to his role as Emmett, Edward’s vampire brother, in the “Twilight” movies. And you’re probably very familiar with Cavill’s resume by now, but previous to becoming Clark Kent, he was most known for the hit Showtime series “The Tudors”.

“Immortals” clashes into theaters on November 11, 2011.

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