Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass Have a “Reawakening” in Medical Thriller

May 13, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” director David Gelb is set to direct Olivia Wilde and Mark Duplass in medical thriller “Reawakening”, according to Variety.

Wilde and Duplass will play two of a group of medical research students who discover a way to bring subjects back from the dead – but of course with sinister consequences. The project is described is having “Frankenstein” themes but with a twist, and sounds to me like Stephen King’s “Pet Semetary” may be an influencer as well.

Duplass is the indie scene multi-hyphenate and mumblcore staple whose latest films behind the camera were “Jeff, Who Lives at Home” and “The Do-Deca-Pentathlon” and who has branched out to acting in more mainstream films such as “People Like Us” (also co-starring Wilde) and “Zero Dark Thirty.” Wilde, one of the busiest young actresses in Hollywood, was last seen in magician comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” opposite Steve Carell and has Ron Howard’s “Rush” out later this year opposite Chris Hemsworth. She recently wrapped up shooting “Third Person” opposite Liam Neeson.

Nicole Beharie, Olivia Wilde and Hailee Steinfeld to star in Civil War drama “The Keeping Room”

October 30, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Olivia Wilde, Hailee Steinfeld and “Shame” star Nicole Beharie will star in gritty Civil War set drama “The Keeping Room”, according to THR.

Written by Julia Hart and to be directed by Daniel Barber, the film will follow two sisters and one slave during the dying days of the Civil War who are forced to defend their home from a band of soldiers who have broken off from the Union Army. Filming will begin in March 2013 in North Carolina.

Steinfeld is no stranger to Westerns, having made her feature film debut and earned her first Oscar nomination for her role as Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers’ “True Grit.” She has been steadily working since, and will have a big 2013 when films including “Ender’s Game” and “Romeo and Juliet”, in which she has lead roles, will be released. She recently wrapped up filming on indie musical drama “Can a Song Save Your Life?” and is currently filming “Hateship, Friendship” opposite Kristen Wiig.

Wilde also has Western experience, if you count “Cowboys and Aliens.” One of the busiest young actresses working today, she was last seen opposite Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks in family drama “People Like Us” and is currently filming anthology style romantic drama “Third Person” opposite Liam Neeson. Awaiting release are such high profile flicks as Ron Howard’s “Rush” opposite Chris Hemsworth, Spike Jonze’s “Her” with Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams and magician comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” opposite Steve Carell and Jim Carrey.

Beharie played Marianne opposite Michael Fassbender in visionary director Steve McQueen’s modern masterpiece “Shame”, and will next be seen opposite newcomer Chadwick Boseman, who plays Jackie Robinson in baseball biopic “42.”

Anna Kendrick and Olivia Wilde lead quartet of “Drinking Buddies” in indie comedy

July 11, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Anna Kendrick, Olivia Wilde, Ron Livingston and “New Girl”‘s Jake Johnson will star in indie comedy “Drinking Buddies”, according to Deadline.

Joe Swanberg will direct the “indie improv comedy” about a “fun and flirtatious friendship that goes off the rails.” Livingston plays the guy part of that friendship, Chris, while there’s no word on whether Kendrick or Wilde will play the female. Kendrick’s casting was announced first, though Wilde seems the more conventional choice. Filming begins in Chicago later this month.

Wilde and Kendrick are two of the busiest actresses around, with the Oscar-nominated Kendrick soon to be seen in her first starring role in “Pitch Perfect”, and supporting roles in political thriller “The Company You Keep”, the animated “ParaNorman” and David Ayer’s cop drama “End of Watch.” She recently wrapped on indie comedy “Get a Job” opposite Miles Teller. Wilde is even busier, having recently wrapped on such high profile projects as Ron Howard’s “Rush” and currently filming Spike Jonze’s new untitled flick opposite Joaquin Phoenix. She’ll next be seen in magician comedy “Burt Wonderstone.”

LA Film Fest REVIEW: Alex Kurtzman’s “People Like Us” is a solid family drama bolstered by strong performances

June 16, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Reviews Leave a comment

One may not expect Alex Kurtzman, co-writer and producer of some of the most high profile blockbuster action flicks of the past few years – the first two “Transformers”, “Star Trek”, “Cowboys and Aliens” and currently the sequel to “The Amazing Spider-Man”, among them – to make his directorial debut with a small scale character study and family drama, and it’s perhaps even more unexpected that he pretty much succeeds at it. “People Like Us”, which premiered at the LA Film Festival last night, may not be breaking any new ground in the relationship drama genre, but it’s bolstered by smart writing, some genuinely surprising moments and a talented cast all performing at the top of their game.

Olivia Wilde joins Spike Jonze’s untitled film opposite Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams and Rooney Mara

May 30, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Where does she find the time?! In demand actress Olivia Wilde – who we seem to be writing casting stories for every other day – has landed yet another intriguing project. Deadline reports that Wilde is now part of the cast of Spike Jonze’s next untitled offering, which already boasts a cast that consists of Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara and Samantha Morton.

Mara replaced Carey Mulligan a couple of months ago on the highly secretive project that’s purported to revolve around a man (presumably Phoenix) who falls in love with the voice of a computer, ala iPhone’s Siri. Plot details beyond that are sparse and it’s unclear who any of the amazing female supporting cast will be playing, though we do know Jonze wrote the script himself and this is an entirely separate project from the one he is also working on with a script by Charlie Kaufman. Filming is expected to begin soon.

Wilde recently wrapped up filming on Ron Howard’s Formula One biopic “Rush” opposite Chris Hemsworth and is now onto “Better Living Through Chemistry” opposite Sam Rockwell in a role she took over from Jennifer Garner. Upcoming juggling acts will consist of indie comedies “Relanxious” and “Squirrels to the Nuts”, both with Brie Larson, and anthology-style romantic drama “Third Person” opposite Liam Neeson. That’s to say nothing of the movies she’s already completed and will be seeing audiences soon, which include “People Like Us”, “Deadfall”, “Burt Wonderstone”, “The Longest Week” and “The Words.” PHEW!

Olivia Wilde to star in Paul Haggis’ “Third Person” opposite Liam Neeson

May 16, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Paul Haggis is the latest filmmaker to hop aboard the anthology style storytelling trend, and has set Liam Neeson and Olivia Wilde to play a couple in one of three interconnected stories in “Third Person”, according to Deadline.

Neeson told TalkTalk back in April, “I’m doing a movie in September for four weeks with Olivia Wilde. We have some serious love-making to do so I have some push-ups to do… It’s a really interesting part and I get to go to bed with Olivia Wilde! It’s a small film. It’s a really interesting script.” So who will Neeson and Wilde play? Haggis’ film will follow a frustrated writer and his lover in Paris, a mother fighting for custody in New York and an American man helping to free an Italian woman’s daughter from a local gangster in Rome.

Wilde is currently filming Ron Howard’s Formula One biopic “Rush” opposite Chris Hemsworth and recently completed work on magician comedy “Burt Wonderstone” opposite Steve Carell and Jim Carrey. She recently premiered graphic thriller “Deadfall” opposite Eric Bana at the Tribeca Film Festival, and is also committed to indie comedy “Relanxious” opposite Brie Larson and Jason Sudekis. She’ll next be seen opposite Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks in “People Like Us”, which opens in June.

Watch: Chris Pine and Elizabeth Banks meet “People Like Us” in first trailer

March 29, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Hot off the success of “The Hunger Games, Effie herself Elizabeth Banks introduces the first trailer for her next movie, “People Like Us”, which is surely hoping for a bit of an awareness bump thanks to its suddenly way more famous star. Formerly titled “Welcome to People”, Chris Pine stars in the family drama as a man who is reunited with a sister and nephew he never knew he had after the death of his alcoholic father. His father left him a large inheritance, along with instructions to give some of the money to the daughter he hid from his wife and son. Banks and Pine play the newfound brother-sister duo, with Olivia Wilde on board as Hannah, Pine’s character’s girlfriend. Michelle Pfeiffer is also on board to play Pine’s mother.

The directorial debut of uber-successful screenwriter Alex Kurtzman, “People Like Us” boasts a confident summer release date of June 29th. Watch the first trailer, courtesy of Moviefone, below.

people like us