Jena Malone Joins Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Inherent Vice” Adaptation

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

jenamalone “The Hunger Games” star Jena Malone has joined the already large and still very much growing cast of Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon novel “Inherent Vice”, according to The Wrap. Joaquin Phoenix stars, with Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio Del Toro and Martin Short in supporting roles.

Phoenix plays Larry “Doc” Sportello, a pothead/private investigator in 1970s Los Angeles, who’s paid a visit by his ex-girlfriend (Witherspoon) with concerns that there may be a plot to harm her new boyfriend, a rich businessman. Soon enough both of them go missing and Doc encounters a large, colorful cast of characters in his quest to track them down. Malone is up for the role described as an ex-druggie who asks for Doc for help, ~~who fans of the book will pinpoint as Hope.~~ She’s the partner of Wilson’s character Coy Harlingen, who appears to have died in a drug overdose but is very much a part of the entire twisty turvy story. Del Toro has a small role as Doc’s lawyer while Short’s character has not been unveiled. Filming begins this month, and there’s still plenty more weird characters to cast. UPDATE: PTA fansite Cigarettes and Red Vines reports Malone will actually be playing Japonica Fenway, a runaway and Doc’s first case as a detective.

Last seen on the big screen opposite Emily Browning in Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch”, Malone recently appeared on hit TNT mini-series “Hatfields & McCoys” and is attached to play acclaimed novelist Carson McCullers in “Lonely Hunter.” She will also, of course, appear this November in the pivotal role of Johanna Mason in “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Amanda Seyfried In Talks for “Three Little Words” Opposite Reese Witherspoon

May 6, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

“Walk the Line” director-actor duo James Mangold and Reese Witherspoon are set to reunite on an adaptation of memoir “The Little Words”, and Amanda Seyfried is in talks to star opposite Witherspoon, according to THR.

Described as a Dickens-esque tale, Ashley Rhodes-Courter’s story involves being abandoned by a teenage mother and entering the Florida foster system by the time she was three. She was shuttled between 14 foster homes, witnessing corruption and abuse along the way, but remained steely in her pursuance of an education. The film, adapted by Lewis Colick and Michael Petroni, will center on the relationship between the young girl and an unpaid volunteer (Witherspoon) she meets in her early teen years, who must track down the girl’s birth mother (Seyfried) in order to give up her parental rights so she could be legally and permanently adopted. A September start date in Florida is eyed.

Last seen as Cosette in Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning adaptation of musical “Les Miserables”, Seyfried also earned acclaim at Sundance this year, where “Lovelace” premiered to mostly rave reviews. She’s currently filming Seth MacFarlane’s Western comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West” opposite Charlize Theron and could join Adam Driver in Noah Baumbach’s “While We’re Young.”

Corey Stoll and Arnold Oceng Join Reese Witherspoon in “The Good Lie”

April 3, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

goodlie Uganda-born British actor Arnold Oceng has landed the lead role in true life African refugee story “The Good Lie” opposite Reese Witherspoon, according to Deadline, who further report that Corey Stoll and Sarah Baker have also joined the cast.

Philippe Falardeau is directing the film about four Sudanese “Lost Boys” who were orphaned by and during the Second Sudanese Civil War in the 1980s. Thousands of young boys walked for thousands of miles across Africa and ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya five yearas later. In 2001, over 3,000 Lost Boys were allowed to resettle in the United States and this film will tell the story of four of them, with Oceng playing one of the quartet. Witherspoon plays a “brash American woman” who is assigned to help the boys.

Oceng has been working steadily in Britain for years, appearing in such films as romantic comedy “The Knot” and acclaimed drama “My Brother the Devil”, but “The Good Lie” should mark a major breakthrough in Hollywood for the actor. Stoll impressed as Ernest Hemingway in Woody Allen’s 2010 Oscar-nominatd “Midnight in Paris” and most recently appeared as tortured Congressman Peter Russo in Netflix series “House of Cards.” He recently premiered comedy “C.O.G.” at Sundance and has wrapped up shooting on Liam Neeson thriller “Non-Stop” and will next shoot ensemble family dramedy “This Is Where I Leave You” opposite Jason Bateman and Tina Fey.

Drama student James Hamrick lands role of Damien Echols in “The Devil’s Knot”

June 14, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 4 Comments

An aspiring actor who hasn’t even graduated drama school yet has landed a major high profile role any young actor would kill for. Variety reports that after an extensive nationwide search, totally unknown college student James Hamrick has landed the role of Damien Echols, the leader of the West Memphis Three, in Atom Egoyen’s dramatization “The Devil’s Knot.” The two other WM3 members are being played by unknown actors as well, with Justin Castor as James Baldwin and Kristopher Higgins as Jessie Misskelley, though both have had other professional acting jobs before.

The three young actors, who should now firmly be ones to watch, will be supported by an all-star cast led by Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon, as well as “The Killing” star Mireille Enos, Alessandro Nivola, Dane DeHaan, Amy Ryan, Colette Wolfe and Kris Polaha. The film is based on the bestselling book by Mara Leveritt, and follows Firth’s private detective Ron Lax, who took the case of Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley pro bono and was one of their earliest supporters. He eventually provided key DNA evidence implicating Nivola’s Terry Hobbs, which led to the WM3′s release in 2011, 17 years after their conviction. Filming begins on June 25th in Georgia.

Hamrick is currently enrolled in the drama department at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Dane DeHaan in early talks to join “The Devil’s Knot”

June 13, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

One of our favorite up and comers Dane DeHaan is in early, tentative talks to join the cast of West Memphis Three drama “The Devil’s Knot”, according to Variety. Amy Ryan is also in early talks for a role, though in both actors’ cases, scheduling still needs to be finalized, and as DeHaan is set to be married around the same time shooting takes place, his place amongst the cast is far from firm. Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon lead a cast that also includes Alessandro Nivola, Mireille Enos and newcomers Kristopher Higgins and Justin Castor, who will be playing two of the three accused teens at the center of the court case.

Atom Egoyan is directing “The Devil’s Knot” based on the bestselling book by Mara Leveritt, which follows Firth’s private detective Ron Lax, who took the case of Damien Echols, James Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley pro bono and was one of their earliest supporters, and eventually provided key evidence that led to the three men’s release in 2011, 17 years after their conviction. Higgins and Castor play Miskelley and Baldwin, respectively, while the role of Echolls remains to be announced. DeHaan is eyeing the role of a teenager who had a connection to the three young murdered boys the West Memphis Three were accused of killing. Shooting begins on June 25th in Georgia.

DeHaan starred in this year’s low budget sci fi hit “Chronicle” and recently made his first appearance at the Cannes Film Festival with John Hillcoat’s prohibition era actioner “Lawless.” He recently wrapped up Beat Generation origin pic “Kill Your Darlings”, in which he played Lucien Carr, and Derek Cianfrance’s “The Place Beyond the Pines”, in which he plays the son of Ryan Gosling’s character.

Newcomers Kristopher Higgins and Justin Castor to play two of the West Memphis Three in “Devil’s Knot”

June 12, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

With all the high profile names joining the ever-growing cast of West Memphis Three dramatization “The Devil’s Knot” – Colin Firth, Reese Witherspoon, “The Killing” star Mireille Enos and most recently Alessandro Nivola – the trio of accused teenagers at the center of the high profile court case remained uncast. That has now changed as Deadline reports Justin Castor has been chosen to play James Baldwin in the film, while Kristopher Higgins will play Jessie Misskelley. Casting for the role of Damien Echolls, painted as the leader of the trio, has yet to be announced.

Colette Wolfe and Kristoffer Polaha have also joined the cast of the Atom Egoyan directed film. Baldwin, Misskelley and Echolls were accused and convicted of killing three young boys in 1994, and the case immediately drew high profile media attention as far-reaching as Hollywood since there was no physical evidence implicating the teens. They were finally released from prison in 2011 and several documentaries have already been made about their case, including the critically acclaimed “Paradise Lost” trilogy and Peter Jackson’s upcoming “West of Memphis.” Egoyan’s film will be the first dramatization of events featuring actors.

Castor has made guest appearances on “Glee” and “CSI: NY” and will make his feature film debut on “Devil’s Knot.” Higgins recently recurred as Peter on ABC Family series “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” starring Shailene Woodley, and also had roles in teen-friendly fare including Disney’s “Prom” and Andrew Niccol’s sci-fi actioner “In Time” opposite Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried.

“The Killing” star Mireille Enos joins West Memphis 3 drama “Devil’s Knot” opposite Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon

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

“The Killing” star Mirelle Enos continues to build an intriguing big screen resume, with Deadline reporting her latest get is a role in West Memphis 3 drama “The Devil’s Knot”, which already has Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon attached to star.

Witherspoon, Firth and Enos all play real life figures who orbit around the trio of Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley, widely believed to be wrongly convicted of killing three young boys in 1994. They were finally freed in 2011 after years of high profile support in the media. Though several documentaries have been made of the trial, “The Devil’s Knot”, to be directed by Atom Egoyan, will be the first dramatization. Witherspoon plays the mother of one of the victims while Firth plays a private investigators who was one of the earliest supporters of the trio. Enos will play key witness Vicki Hutcheson.

Enos, one of our Faces to Watch in 2012, earns high marks for her work on AMC series “The Killing”, even while the show itself divides its viewers. In 2012 she has two high profile projects awaiting release: Ruben Fleischer’s “Gangster Squad” with Ryan Gosling and Sean Penn, and zombie apocalyptic thriller “World War Z”, in which she plays the wife of Brad Pitt’s character.

Watch: “This Means War” for Tom Hardy and Chris Pine in first trailer

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

Is Reese Witherspoon so fair as to be compared to Helen of Troy? Tom Hardy and Chris Pine sure are doing their best to prove she’s worth the fuss in the first trailer for “This Means War”, the genre-bending romantic comedy/action flick that sees the two guys as top notch CIA agents and best friends who unwittingly fall for the same girl. Ok, sure, she’s not exactly launching a thousand ships, but with modern technology – rocket launchers and spy drones and whatnot – plenty of damage can still be done in the name of love, not the least of which to the guys’ formerly rock solid friendship.

We think the McG-directed film looks like a lot of fun and it’s nice to see Hardy in such an unexpected genre (don’t think we’ve forgotten about “The Princess Diaries 2″, Mr. Pine). “This Means War” hits theaters on February 17, 2012. See the new trailer below or in glorious HD at Apple Trailers.

Michael Shannon reunites with “Take Shelter” director on coming of age drama “Mud”

September 26, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols, the actor-director team currently earning raves for festival favorite “Take Shelter”, are reuniting again, according to Deadline. Shannon has joined the cast of Nichols’ new coming of age drama “Mud”, which began shooting today in Arkansas. He joins an all-star cast that also includes Reese Witherspoon, Matthew McConaughey, Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson, Ray McKinnon, Joe Don Baker and Paul Sparks.

The story revolves around two teenage boys who encounter a mysterious fugitive and rather than turn him in, they help him evade his captors and try to help him reconnect with the love of his life.Newcomer Tye Sheridan, who played one of Brad Pitt’s sons in “The Tree of Life”, will play one of the two teenagers.

“Mud” will actually mark the third collaboration between Nichols and Shannon, who also shot “Shotgun Stories” together. Shannon, currently filming the lead villain role of General Zod in Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot “The Man of Steel” opposite Henry Cavill, can also be seen in the new season of HBO’s critically acclaimed “Boardwalk Empire.”

Watch: Second trailer for “Water for Elephants” starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon

March 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

We are happy to report that, judging solely from this trailer anyway, Robert Pattinson’s little American accent problem, which was so distracting in all the “Twilight” films and “Remember Me” (seriously, just let the character be British if it’s that impossible!), seems to have improved greatly for his new 1930s era romance flick “Water for Elephants”. Pattinson is Jacob Jankowski , a veterinary student who literally runs away with the circus after the death of his parents. Working as a vet for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth, he meets the head animal trainer, the vicious and brutal August, played by the scene-stealing Christoph Waltz and his beautiful young wife Marlena, played by Reese Witherspoon.

More dialogue and drama in this full length trailer than the first teaser trailer, but the real star remains the beautiful Rodrigo Prieto cinematography. “Water for Elephants” releases in theaters on April 15, 2011.

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