“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” Star Heads to “Downer’s Grove”

February 25, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

zane-holtz Canadian actor Zane Holtz, who played Logan Lerman’s older brother in “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, has been cast in indie thriller “The Curse of Downer’s Grove”, another YA book adaptation, according to Variety. Bella Heathcote plays the lead in the film, with Lucas Till, Kevin Zegers and Penelope Mitchell rounding out the cast. Earlier reports had “Friday Night Lights” star Aimee Teegarden also part of the cast, but there’s been no mention of her in more recent articles.

Derek Martini will direct the film from a script he co-wrote with Bret Easton Ellis, based on the novel “Downer’s Grove” by Michael Hornburg. Heathcote will play the lead character of Chrissie, an unusual high school senior in a suburban town who juggles family drama, unwanted attention from a school bully and attraction to a hot older man all while worrying about the curse that seems to exist in her town: Every year before school ends a member of the graduating class is killed in bizarre fashion. Holtz will be a drug-addicted sidekick to Zegers’ charcter, presumably the overly amorous school bully. Filming is expected to start in the spring.

Holtz made a brief appearance in Stephen Chobsky’s adaptation of his own novel “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, and recently wrapped up starring roles in two indies: Russell Friedenberg’s “Wind Walkers” and Danny Buday’s “Another Stateside.”

The newest YA heroine needs a co-star. Who should play Four in “Divergent”?

January 31, 2013 | Posted by Lindsey Young in Casting, Features 1 Comment

With the announcement that Shaliene Woodley has been cast in the lead role in the upcoming dystopian “Divergent“, as well as Kate Winslet being in talks for an unknown role, this adaptation of the YA novel just got a little more real. Naturally, the next course of action will be to seek out other young individuals (well-known or perhaps not) to fill out the rest of the roles of Tris’ friends and foes alike. It’s no surprise that among Tris’ circle of friends is a love interest, and yes, it’s time to play the casting game again.

After Woodley’s negotiations became public knowledge last year, names were thrown into the casting mix for the pivotal role of “Four”, Tris’ mentor-turned-love interest. Alexander Ludwig (Cato of “The Hunger Games“) tweeted that he had a meeting with Lionsgate about the role. Not too long after, “Teen Wolf” star Colton Haynes caused much speculation among fans when he announced his departure from the MTV show and soon after followed Veronica Roth, author of “Divergent” on twitter while tweeting that he had some “news” to share soon. Related instances? Who knows. They were, however, perhaps meaningless ones as earlier this month, Alex Pettyfer, Lucas Till and Jeremy Irvine were reported to have auditioned for the role. The search is definitely on, but nothing and no one has been confirmed as of yet.

Of the names who have been thrown into the pool, there are some that we at Up and Comers could see as Four – but then there are also some that we think should stay far, far away from this adaptation lest they just turn him into another lacking portrayal of a character with so much to work with. In the words of our Tris Prior herself, “This character needs to be extremely masculine, and his eyes need to scream vulnerability and sensitivity.” We agree, Shailene. And so here are five actors that we think would be great as Tris’ mentor and eventual love interest.

Lucas Till, Aimee Teegarden and Kevin Zegers prepare for “The Curse of Downer’s Grove”

January 30, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

A trio of young rising actors, Lucas Till, Aimee Teegarden and Kevin Zegers, have joined Derek Martini‘s indie thriller “The Curse of Downer’s Grove“, reports Variety.

Based on Michael Hornburg’s novel of the same name, Till will take the lead role as a high school senior who begins to get paranoid over an apparent curse that takes the life of one student every year at the school. Martini co-wrote the script with Bret Easton Ellis and the film will begin production in Los Angeles this February.

Till is currently one of several young male stars in Hollywood vying for the lead role in the adaptation of Veronica Roth’s dystopian novel “Divergent” starring Shailene Woodley and recently wrapped shooting on the spy drama “Paranoia” with Liam Hemsworth.

Since filming on critically acclaimed TV show “Friday Night Lights” ended, Teegarden has been slow in making a name for herself in Hollywood, taking a role early last year “Life At These Speeds” with Douglas Booth and “Love and Honor“, also starring Hemsworth.

Canadian actor Zegers will next be seen on the big screen in the anticipated adaptation of another YA novel, “The Mortal Instruments: The City of Bones” with Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell-Bower and wrapped indie film “All The Wrong Reasons” last year.

Lucas Till, Jeremy Irvine and Alex Pettyfer vying for “Divergent” male lead opposite Shailene Woodley

January 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 6 Comments

Shailene Woodley is still searching for her Four. Two months after she tested opposite a quartet of young leading men, director Neil Burger and the filmmakers behind “Divergent” are still looking for the perfect male lead. Variety reports today that a trio of guys will test opposite Woodley later this week, and the contenders are Lucas Till, Jeremy Irvine and Alex Pettyfer.

Till is the only holdver from the guys who tested in November, so it seems fair to say Brenton Thwaites, Luke Bracey and Jack Reynor did not make the cut, while Variety is careful to point out that Till may have a slight advantage over his new competitors but there are no clear frontrunners just yet. Woodley plays Tris Prior, whose futuristic dystopic world is one in which society is divided into factions (Dauntless, Abnegation, Amity, Candor, and Erudite), and each person is sorted into each faction based on a personality test that determines their dominant character traits. Born into the selfless faction Abnegation, Tris shocks her family when she opts to join Dauntless, the brave, instead. There she meets Four, a fellow Abnegation defector who has now taken on a leadership role in their new faction. Four is stand offish, mysterious and super hot. Well, of course. In any case, they discover they have bigger problems to worry about than their burgeoning romance. The film is scheduled to begin shooting in Chicago this spring for a March 21, 2014 release.

Till is perhaps best known for his role as Havok in “X-Men: First Class” (he’s not yet confirmed to return for its sequel, and scheduling conflicts would surely arise if he landed “Divergent”). He will next be seen Chan-wook Park’s “Stoker” opposite Mia Wasikowska and recently wrapped up shooting on “Paranoia” opposite Liam Hemsworth. Irvine was hand-picked by Steven Spielberg to star in his Oscar-nominated “War Horse” and also recently played Pip in a new adaptation of “Great Expectations.” He recently wrapped up shooting “The Railway Man”, in which he plays the younger version of Colin Firth. Pettyfer, who’s had YA adaptation experience thanks to his starring role in “I Am Number Four”, most recently headlined Steven Soderbergh’s sleeper hit “Magic Mike” opposite Channing Tatum. He recently wrapped up shooting on Lee Daniels’ “The Butler.”

Innocence Ends: Mia Wasikowska on new poster for Park Chan-wook’s “Stoker”

November 28, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

The footage and imagery that emerges from Park Chan-wook’s English language debut “Stoker” continues to be mind-blowingly beautiful and the new poster, unveiled today by Empire, is no exception. Mia Wasikowska, as troubled and abused teenager India, gets the close-up this time around, with the ever-ominous phrase “Innocence Ends” seemingly tattooed across her forhead.

Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, also wonderful is the way this new poster links thematically and visually with the last poster released, which in turn was linked to the promo reel/music video, which built upon the first two trailers. It’s a web that’s becoming as beautiful and subtly sinister as the movie appears to be. India not only has to deal with the death of her father, but her mother (Nicole Kidman) is a bit off her rocker, to say the least, she’s being bullied at school by the likes of Lucas Till and Alden Ehrenreich, and a creepy uncle named Charlie (Matthew Goode) has arrived on the scene to make things worse. Yup, can’t wait.

“Stoker” will be released on March 1, 2013 and the new poster can be viewed below.

Lucas Till joins Haley Bennett and Ashley Greene in horror “Kristy”

November 19, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Lucas Till has joined horror flick “Kristy” (also working under the title “Satanic”), according to Variety. Haley Bennett and Ashley Greene are already part of the film that follows a girl who leads her friends on a quest of survival and answers after being targeted by a mysterious gang of attackers over Thanksgiving break on a desolate college campus. No word if Till will play a friend or foe. Oliver Blackburn begins filming in New Orleans this month, and the shoot is expected to last through December.

“Kristy” shouldn’t affect Till’s chances of starring opposite Shailene Woodley in “Divergent”, for which he’s currently shortlisted for the male lead role of Four. However, his commitment to “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, in which he’ll reprise his role of Havok, just might, as it also films in the spring of 2013. His completed projects include corporate espionage thriller “Paranoia” opposite Liam Hemsworth and “Stoker” opposite Mia Wasikowska.

Shailene Woodley searching for her Four: “Divergent” male lead down to Lucas Till, Brenton Thwaites and more

November 14, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 12 Comments

Now that Shailene Woodley has been set to play Beatrice “Tris” Prior in the next hot YA big screen adaptation, “Divergent”, the search is on to find her love interest and the male lead of the series. Director Neil Burger and Summit – yes, the studio that brought us “Twilight” – is looking for a young man who has just the right chemistry with Woodley to play the character of Four, and Deadline reports yesterday the actress read with Lucas Till, Brenton Thwaites, Luke Bracey and Jack Reynor.

Set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic Chicago, Tris’ world is one in which society is divided into factions (Dauntless, Abnegation, Amity, Candor, and Erudite), and each person is sorted into each faction based on a personality test that determines their dominant character traits. Born into the selfless faction Abnegation, Tris shocks her family when she opts to join Dauntless, the brave, instead. There she meets Four, a fellow Abnegation defector who has now taken on a leadership role in their new faction. Four is stand offish, mysterious and super hot. Well, of course. In any case, they discover they have bigger problems to worry about than their burgeoning romance. The film is tentatively scheduled to begin shooting early next year for an already scheduled March 21, 2014.

Watch: Full trailer for Park Chan-wook’s “Stoker” starring Mia Wasikowska intrigues and terrifies

September 26, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 1 Comment

We saw some footage last week, and it was great. Today we have the full trailer for Park Chan-wook’s English language debut, the creepy family drama “Stoker”, and it’s actually even better. Mia Wasikowska plays India Stoker, the bullied daughter of Nicole Kidman, who’s legitimately scary with her piercing stare and menacing whispers, and the two are mourning the death of India’s father when Matthew Goode arrives in the form of the even creepier Uncle Charlie. He romances the mother, but eyes the daughter and makes no qualms that he considers her “of age” for something “you don’t want to know.” Yikes.

The first tease of footage brought a real spooky, atmospheric sense of foreboding, and in the full trailer we see that the ominous tone does lead to some pretty dark places. Empty fields, deep woods in the middle of the night, a black spider leisurely crawling around, these are all images that intrigue and terrify and have made “Stoker” one of our most anticipated movies of 2013. It will be released on March 1st, and the full trailer can be viewed below.

Watch: First beautiful, spooky footage from Park Chan-Wook’s “Stoker” starring Mia Wasikowska

September 20, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos 2 Comments

Entertainment Tonight has aired the first footage from Korean director Park Chan-Wook’s English language debut, creepy family drama “Stoker”, and it looks beautifully atmospheric and spooky. Mia Wasikowska goes Wednesday Addams with black hair and pale skin to play the teenage girl whose father has just passed away. Nicole Kidman plays her “mother from hell”, and things are further complicated with the arrival of Matthew Goode as Uncle Charlie. Wasikowska mostly plays it straight, while the two adults attempt to out-creepy each other with deranged stares and giant smiles.

Lucas Till and Alden Ehrenreich play bullies at her school who make her life even harder, though it seems she’s got that handled. The real standout from this footage must be the cinematography and the slow, dreamy movement of the camera. All of it skyrocketing “Stoker” up our most anticipated list. You can watch the first footage below, with the first full trailer to come next week. The movie itself will be released on March 1, 2013.

Lucas Till to headline werewolf thriller “Wolves”

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

“X-Men: First Class” star Lucas Till will star in indie werewolf thriller “Wolves”, according to THR. “X-Men” (the Bryan Singer ones from the early 2000s, not the Matthew Vaughn one that Till was in) scribe David Hayter will make his feature directorial debut on the project.

Till plays a young man who transforms into a werewolf and gets falsely accused of murdering his own parents. He goes on the run, “eventually arriving at a small town named Lupine Ridge that has a history of supernatural happenings. There he finds the secrets to his past.” A mid-September shoot in Toronto is planned.

Till is currently shooting corporate espionage thriller “Paranoia” opposite Liam Hemsworth, and will presumably return to work on the “X-Men: First Class” sequel, “X-Men: Days of Future Past”, in early 2013, reprising his role as Alex Summers, the mutant known as Havok. He has two indies, Park Chan-wook’s “Stoker” opposite Mia Wasikowska, and stalker thriller “Crush” with Sarah Bolger awaiting release.

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