Jeremy Renner replaces Christian Bale, joins Bradley Cooper in David O. Russell’s next

July 17, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Two of the busiest, most sought-after leading men are set to share the screen at last. Variety reports Jeremy Renner is in negotiations to join Bradley Cooper in director David O. Russell’s next untitled drama, formerly working under “American Bullshit.” Christian Bale had previously been slated to star opposite Cooper but fell out.

The film will follow the real life political drama Abscam, which was set up by the FBI in the 1970s and 80s. Cooper will play Mel Weinberg, a con artist who was forced into doing undercover work for the FBI to catch corrupt political officials. Renner will play the FBI agent who busts him and turns him into an ally. The Abscam investigation ultimately culminated in the conviction of a United States Senator and five members of the House of Representatives, all of whom were videotaped making illegal deals with the undercover Weinberg. A February 2013 start date is scheduled.

Renner, who recently appeared in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and “The Avengers”, has one more blockbuster actioner to go this year, “The Bourne Legacy”, in which he takes the mantle from Matt Damon as an amnesiac government operative gone rogue. He has also wrapped up filming on fairy tale revision “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” and an untitled drama opposite Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix.

Paula Patton heads for the “Baggage Claim” in new romantic comedy

May 8, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Fox Searclight has set “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”‘s breakout star Paula Patton to star in romantic comedy “Baggage Claim”, reports Deadline. Multi-hyphenate David Talbert has adapted the screenplay from his own 2003 novel and will also direct the film, this September.

Patton will star as Montana Moore, a 35 year old flight attendant who is the oldest unmarried member of her family. When her baby sister gets engaged, she embarks on a 30 day or 30,000 mile to snag herself a fiance. Soon, four very different suitors present themselves: “Damon Diesel, a P. Diddy wannabe; Reverend Curtis P. Merewether, pastor of Greater House of Deliverance, Tabernacle of Praise, Worship, and Miracles; pompous attorney-turned-councilman Langston Jefferson Battle III; or Quinton Jamison, a multimillionaire who’s twenty years her senior.”

One of Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue cover girls, Patton turned heads after playing the female lead opposite Tom Cruise in “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and has also appeared in supporting roles in in movies from “Hitch” to “Swing Vote” to “Precious.” She recently wrapped up ensemble indie drama “Disconnect” and is gearing up for thriller “2 Guns” opposite Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington, whom she previously worked with on “Deja Vu.”

Lea Seydoux out of Michael Gondry’s “The Foam Of Days”, newcomer Charlotte Le Bon in

March 11, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

It’s fair to say that despite placing Lea Seydoux on our 20 Faces to Watch feature late in 2010, Seydoux has not broken out in the way that Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara and Chris Hemsworth have.

The French actress was in last year’s hit “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” and Woody Allen’s Oscar winning “Midnight in Paris”, but despite excellent performances in both, neither particularly got her name out there in the same way as Paula Patton or Corey Stoll respectively.

News from The Playlist that Seydoux has now dropped out of Michel Gondry’s upcoming “The Foam Of Days” due to scheduling conflicts adds to the sense that 2012 might not be her year either.

Still, it’s good news for another little known actress, as the same report indicates that Charlotte Le Bon has replaced Seydoux in the role. Le Bon will be joining Audrey Tautou, Romain Duris, Gad Elmaleh and Omar Sy “in the story that follows Colin, the wealthy inventor of olfactory-musical-instrument the “pianocktail”. He marries Chloe, but unfortunately, she falls ill during their honeymoon thanks to a water lily that enters her lung, and the only way to treat the ailment is to surround her with flowers — and the expense soon drains his funds.”

Le Bon has only one film credit to her name, the action-adventure film “Astérix et Obélix: Au Service de Sa Majesté” which will be released in Europe later in the year.

For Seydoux though, 2012 will remain a busy year. She premiered her film “Farewell, My Queen” at the Berlin Film Festival where it received mixed reviews, and she will continue the year filming several productions, including a new version of “Beauty & The Beast” with Vincent Cassell (“Black Swan”) and a romantic film “Grand Central” with Tahar Rahim (of the Oscar nominated “A Prophet“.)

Up and Comers Podcast #9: Our off-topic favorites of 2011 (books, music, TV) and anticipated movies of 2012

December 30, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Podcast Leave a comment

Thank you for joining us again if you listened to our earlier podcasts or if you are new to the program, welcome! Once a week, Linda and Rebecca will take to the internet airwaves to discuss a variety of subjects, including all the latest news, movies we’ve seen recently, the Oscar season and more topics that interest us (or you! Please send us your suggestions for topics to talk about).

This week’s podcast WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS so please read below for the specifics before hitting PLAY.

• 00:00 – 25:00 – We review “Margaret”, “Drive”, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (12:00 – 17:30 spoiler-filled discussion), “Hugo”, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” and “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.”

• 25:00 – 67:40 – We go off-topic from up and comers to talk about things aside from movies that we loved in 2011 (though we do start with our favorite performances of the year). Our favorite TV shows, musical artists and albums and books.

• 67:40 – END – To wrap up the year and our last podcast of 2011, we take a look at some of the movies that we are looking forward to in 2012.

Have a happy new year! We should resume regular weekly podcasts starting on Tuesday, January 10th.

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Lea Seydoux and Paula Patton get physical in new “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol” clip

December 2, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Videos Leave a comment

It’s all action and no talk in this new clip for “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”.

In this fourth film in the franchise, Tom Cruise‘s Ethan Hunt, and colleagues, are tasked with clearing the name of IMF which has been framed for a terrorist bombing. Also starring Jeremy Renner, who will be taking over the franchise after this film, Lea Seydoux, Paula Patton and Simon Pegg, the clip focuses on Patton and Seydoux trading blows, perhaps indicating one of them may be a traitor to Hunt’s team.

Seydoux was one of our 20 Faces to Watch in 2011 feature but apart from a small role in the charming Woody Allen flick “Midnight in Paris”, has continued to star in mostly European films, including “Farewell, My Queen” with Diane Kruger and “As Linhas de Torres” with John Malkovich. This will also be a high profile role for Patton, who has yet to break out but has a few interesting upcoming roles, including the thriller “Disconnect” with Jason Bateman and Alexander Skarsgård.

Jeremy Renner is the “King of Heists” in new bank robbery thriller

September 21, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Things didn’t work out so well the first time Jeremy Renner tried to rob a bank, in Ben Affleck’s 2010 critically acclaimed “The Town”, but hey, at least he got an Oscar nomination out of it. Now he’ll take another crack at it and just may pull if off this time, as Deadline reports the busiest actor in Hollywood is attached to star in “King of Heists”, a 19th century thriller that’s based on one of the most famous and successful bank robberies in US history. Renner will also act as a producer on the project.

Renner will play George Leslie, an architect turned criminal mastermind who took the New York scene by storm in 1878 when he and his crew pulled off a successful robbery of more than $3 million from Manhattan Savings Institution. Masquerading with his teenage wife as a high society couple, Leslie spent months studying makes and models of every bank vault in the United States, and invented a device he called the “Little Joker” which could record bank vault combinations when placed inside the lock. For a ten year period between 1874-1884, it’s believed Leslie and his crew were responsible for over 80% (over 100 robberies carried out) of all bank robberies in the US.

After receiving back to back Oscar nominations, for Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” and then Affleck’s “The Town”, Renner really is the most wanted man in Hollywood – in the best way possible. After the upcoming “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, which is intended as a passing of the torch for the franchise from Tom Cruise to Renner, he also completed work on fairy tale reinvention “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunter” opposite Gemma Arterton (releasing March 2012) and originated the role of Hawkeye in Joss Whedon’s all-star superhero team-up “The Avengers” (releasing May 2012). He is now starting work on his third franchise, headlining Tony Gilroy’s spy spinoff “The Bourne Legacy.”

Jeremy Renner offered “The Bourne Legacy”

April 21, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 6 Comments

Sorry Joel Edgerton. Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and Universal have formally offered the lead role in “The Bourne Legacy” to Jeremy Renner, reports Deadline. Despite the fact that Renner is already set to take over the “Mission Impossible” franchise with “Ghost Protocol”, the studio apparently sees Renner as the next Matt Damon, who was in a similar place of rising stardom when they cast him as Jason Bourne, the amnesiac ex-government operative on a mission to learn the truth about his own history. Renner will play a new character, but will follow a similar character arc as Damon’s Bourne.

Both sides of the negotiating table are said to be keen on the deal, but as THR points out, Renner’s schedule is the last hurdle to clear. Paramount had to maneuver heftily in order to get Renner on board both “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” and “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, and now the “Bourne” team may have to make similar arrangements in order to not interfere with Renner’s commitment to “The Avengers”, in which he plays Hawkeye. “The Avengers” is scheduled to begin filming soon, with production ongoing through August and September, which is when “Bourne” is expecting to begin lensing. This also pushes back production on thriller “By Virtue Fall”, which Renner is attached to star in opposite Eric Bana. He will presumably film that in early 2012 after “Bourne” wraps.

Looks like the two-time Oscar nominee has his immediate future all mapped out. Other young actors can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief that Renner will be unavailable to take any more coveted roles for the time being.

Jeremy Renner on “The Avengers”: “It feels like a very collaborative effort”

November 22, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in Interviews Leave a comment

Jeremy Renner hasn’t read the script for “The Avengers” yet, he tells MTV News from Dubai, where he’s shooting the next “Mission Impossible” movie opposite Tom Cruise. He has, however, been keeping in touch with his fellow “Avengers”, in particular Robert Downey Jr, who has read the script. “I have not [read the script], and that’s what I was chatting about,” he said of texting Downey, currently on location in London filming “Sherlock Holmes 2″. “Feeling it out, saying hi, and seeing how he’s doing on ‘Sherlock.’ Just touching base with my bud.”

Despite the lack of script, Renner has met and discussed creative elements of the film with the entire cast, director Joss Whedon and even reps from Marvel. “We did a creative meeting with everyone months ago before everyone took off,” he said. “We met with Joss and the cast and Marvel, just in terms of the script and where we want it to go. It was a little pow-wow. It feels like a very collaborative effort. Right now we’re off and dividing and conquering, but soon we’ll link up and get the rest of the guys and work on that. I’m very thankful for everyone I get to work with. It’s a tremendous time in my life.”

As for his character of Hawkeye, Renner doesn’t put on pretenses for the fanboys and say he’s been a huge fan since childhood. In fact, he’s still learning as he goes along, but he’s got a couple of ideas of his own already. “I don’t know a lot about the Hawkeye character, but I’ve been digging around a bit and there are things from his past I think I could play out physically. I have a few ideas of certain styles of training I want to do for that character. Bow-and-arrow stuff is the obvious one. I think I’m going to have to do some lifting for that. I’m curious to hear what Joss and the Marvel guys think about when I run a few ideas by them.”

Renner will begin filming “The Avengers” in February 2011, alongside Marvel veterans Downey, returning as Iron Man, Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, Chris Hemsworth as Thor (solo movie due out May 6, 2011) Chris Evans as Captain America (solo movie due out July 22, 2011) and fellow newbie Mark Ruffalo, who takes over the role of The Hulk from Edward Norton. “The Avengers” hits theaters May 4, 2012.

mission impossible: ghost protocol