Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde Land “Endless Love” Remake Leads

March 21, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

gabriella-alex Filmmakers have been searching for a pair of young actors to headline a remake of 1980s romantic thriller “Endless Love” and have finally found them in Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde, according to Variety.

Director Shana Feste screen tested five young actresses last month, Wilde among them, but Pettyfer has apaprently pulled off a coup for his role, taking it from Brenton Thwaites, who the filmmakers reportedly liked enough to pair in readings with all the girls. In any case, it’s now Pettyfer and Wilde who will play intensely in love high schoolers whose relationship is forbidden by her parents, leading to tragic consequences. Filming begins this spring.

Pettyfer, last seen in “Magic Mike”, also tested for the lead in “Divergent” but ultimately lost out to Theo James, and most recently wrapped up shooting on Lee Daniels’ “The Butler.” Wilde is one of our Faces to Watch in 2013 and will soon be seen opposite Chloe Moretz in Kimberly Pierce’s remake of “Carrie.”

Channing Tatum in the mix for David Fincher’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”

February 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Brad Pitt out, Channing Tatum in? The Playlist reports that David Fincher’s long-gestating remake of “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” has officially lost one Sexiest Man Alive but may be replaced with another.

But not so fast. Tatum, along with the other actors Fincher is interested in, is not available to shoot the film until next year, so this is not likely to be anyone’s next project. The original 1954 film, also based on the Jules Verne novel, starred Kirk Douglas as Ned Land, James Mason as Captain Nemo, Paul Lukas as Professor Pierre Aronnax, and Peter Lorre as Conseil, so it looks like Fincher needs three more stars. Meanwhile, filmmakers have been location-scouting in Australia and are close to finalizing a deal to shoot the 3D underwater epic Down Under.

Tatum is likely busy with the Wachowskis’ “Jupiter Ascending” to commit to a summer shoot on “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.” He’s currently wrapping up Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher” and is also developing a sequel to “21 Jump Street.” Working with Fincher on such a high profile project would be a big get for the increasingly in demand leading man after having a breakout year in 2012 with “21 Jump Street”, “Magic Mike” and “The Vow.” He can currently be seen opposite Rooney Mara in Steven Soderbergh’s “Side Effects.”

“Magic Mike” star Cody Horn to play a ghost hunter in untitled James Wan supernatural thriller

January 31, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

“Magic Mike” and “End of Watch” star Cody Horn will play a ghost hunter in her next film, according to THR. Alan Horn’s daughter has signed on to join Maria Bello and Frank Grillo in “The Untitled James Wan Thriller” to be directed by Will Cannon.

Wan wrote the thriller about a psychologist (Bello) and a police officer (Grillo) who investigate the deaths of five people who were killed attempting to summon a ghost. Sounds like Horn’s ghost hunter character may be meeting a grim fate judging by that description (speculation, not spoiler). Filming begins next week in Baton Rouge.

Horn began acting in 2010 and became most known for a recurring role on season 8 of NBC series “The Office.” Last year she began popping up on the big screen, most notably as Alex Pettyfer’s older sister and Channing Tatum’s love interest in Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper sleeper hit “Magic Mike.” She also played a cop in David Ayer’s Jake Gyllenhaal-Michael Pena drama “End of Watch.”

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.”

Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence continue awards reign with Golden Globe nominations, “Lincoln” leads with seven

December 13, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Awards Leave a comment

Another day, another list of nominations annnounced. Today it’s the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes, and pushing its reign further towards Oscar success is Kathryn Bigelow’s “Zero Dark Thirty“, which picked up nominations including Best Picture, Best Director for Bigelow and Best Screenplay for Mark Boal. Quentin Tarantino‘s “Django Unchained” is bouncing back from being left out of yesterday’s SAG nominations with five nominations including two in Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Christoph Waltz and Leonardo DiCaprio.

“Zero Dark Thirty” star Jessica Chastain has been nominated in the Best Actress in a Drama category but making for a change, Chastain won’t be competing against her currently expected Oscar competitior Jennifer Lawrence, as Lawrence has been nominated in the Best Actress in a Musical/Comedy category. Chastian will come up against Marion Cotillard for her brilliant turn in “Rust and Bone” and Naomi Watts in “The Impossible”.

Lawrence’s “Silver Linings Playbook” co-star Bradley Cooper also gets some love from the HFPA with a nom in the Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy category, alongside Hugh Jackman for “Les Miserables” and Jack Black in the critically acclaimed but little seen “Bernie“.

There were several notable films and performances left out though, including “Beasts of the Southern Wild” nor the Globes-friendly “Magic Mike” and “Pitch Perfect“. The cast of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower had begun to garner small wins with critic’s groups, and the Golden Globes seemed like a good place for their awards hopes to expand but there was no room for Ezra Miller nor Emma Watson.

Click below for a full list of nominations. The Golden Globes ceremony will be hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, and will air Sunday, January 13 on NBC.

Alex Pettyfer heading to “Cali” with Kristen Stewart

July 25, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Kristen Stewart has found her partner in crime in British actor Alex Pettyfer. Variety reports Pettyfer has landed the male lead and will play opposite Stewart in gritty indie actioner “Cali”, scheduled to begin filming later this summer under the direction of Nick Cassavetes.

Stewart and Pettyfer will play a pair of Southern Californian lovebirds who have become rich and successful through some not so savory or legal means. After making and selling a fake snuff film starring Stewart’s character Mya, the two drive off into the sunset, only to be forced to return “from the dead” years later to face the people they scammed when Mya’s sister gets into trouble. Stewart has revealed she will be blonde and tan in the film, a far cry from the pale, brunette Bella Swan that has made her an international superstar. “I’m going to get into the best shape of my life,” she told Women’s Wear Daily magazine. “I’m going to look like a stripper. I’m going to looks like a porn star.” Michael Diliberti wrote the script.

Pettyfer, who gained fame and notoriety from teen fare like “I Am Number Four” and “Beastly”, was most recently seen in Steven Soderbergh’s sleeper summer hit “Magic Mike”, and is committed to indie thriller “Diamond Dogs”, as well as Lee Daniels’ historical drama “The Butler.”

Lee Daniels casts Alex Pettyfer in “The Butler”

June 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Lee Daniels has had his eye on Alex Pettyfer for a while. He wanted to cast him in “The Paperboy” over a year ago, but scheduling ultimately couldn’t be worked out and the role, for better or worse, went to Zac Efron. Now it appears the time is right for the actor and director to finally work together, as Deadline reports Pettyfer has joined the all-star cast of Daniels’ next, “The Butler.”

Pettyfer will play the supporting role of Thomas Westphall amongst a cast that already includes Forest Whitaker, David Oyelowo, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Oprah Winfrey, Minka Kelly, Cuba Gooding Jr, Terrance Howard, and Lenny Kravitz. Whitaker plays Eugene Allen, the White House butler who started out as 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. Pettyfer’s Westphall “appears early in the life of Forest Whitaker’s character and has a pivotal influence on the rest of that character’s life.” Filming begins in mid-July.

Pettyfer, who gained fame and notoriety from teen fare like “I Am Number Four” and “Beastly”, will soon be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s LA Film Festival closer “Magic Mike”, and is committed to indie thriller “Diamond Dogs.”

Alex Pettyfer to lead thriller “Diamond Dogs”

May 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

“Magic Mike” star Alex Pettyfer will headline indie drama “Diamond Dogs”, according to Variety.

Pascal Chaumeil, who is gearing up to shoot “A Long Way Down” with Emile Hirsch and Imogen Poots, will direct Pettyfer as a popular high school student whose life spirals out of control when he accidentally kills someone, a crime his father then tries to cover up. The search is currently on for a high profile actor to play the teen’s sheriff father. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Alan Watt.

British thesp Pettyfer had been deemed the Next Big Thing a year or two back on the cusp of “I Am Number Four” and “Beastly” being released, but both movies tanking at the box office, coupled with tabloid rumors of the young actor’s bad attitude, put a halt to his on-the-verge career. A bounce back could be in the near future though, as Steven Soderbergh’s male stripper buddy dramedy “Magic Mike” is set for release in June, with positive buzz already going strong.

Channing Tatum to the rescue in “White House Down”

May 14, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Channing Tatum is ready to save the world. Variety reports the “21 Jump Street” star has landed the lead role in action flick “White House Down” and will star for apocalypse expert Roland Emmerich from a script by James Vanderbilt. While plot details are vague, Tatum plays, unsurprisingly, a Secret Service agent who must save the life of the President of the United States when the White House is taken over by an enemy group. Filming is set to begin in late summer with the other two lead roles of the President and the head of the Secret Service still to be cast.

Tatum gained some newfound cred and respect this year when weepy romance “The Vow” opened to numbers that exceeded all expectations and “21 Jump Street” surprised audiences with his comedic abilities. He’s currently working with Steven Soderbergh for a third time in “Bitter Pill” opposite Rooney Mara, shooting next month. Tatum and Soderbergh’s second collaboration, “Magic Mike”, is set for release next month. “G.I. Joe Retaliation” is also set for release this summer and he’s also set to star opposite Mila Kunis in Andy and Lana Wachowski’s “Jupiter Ascending.”

Watch: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer and Cody Horn in first trailer for male stripper flick “Magic Mike”

April 18, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Channing Tatum strips down, waxes philosophical and tries to get the girl in the first trailer for Steven Soderbergh’s highly anticipated male stripper dramedy “Magic Mike.” Based on Tatum’s own adolescent experiences as a male stripper, the young wannabe stripper is played in the movie by Alex Pettfyer, though it’s clear the film belongs to Tatum’s titular character, Pettyfer’s mentor and an entrepreneur who has his hands in many businesses that deal in cash.

The footage is much more understated that we may have expected, with plenty of non-male-stripping moments between characters, particularly between Tatum and newcomer Cody Horn as Pettyfer’s older sister and obvious love interest to his mentor.

Tatum and Soderbergh are currently in the midst of their third collaboration, “Bitter Pill, in New York. Meanwhile, “Magic Mike” will open on June 29th. See the first trailer below.

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