First Look: Elizabeth Olsen sports dark hair and tattoos on the set of Spike Lee’s “Oldboy”

November 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

Elizabeth Olsen looks pretty badass in our first glimpse of the “Martha Marcy May Marlene” star on the set of Spike Lee’s remake of Korean revenge thriller “Oldboy.” E! Online and Just Jared snapped the first photos in New Orleans.

Sporting new dark brunette locks and a barb wired tattoo, Olsen looks more than ready to play Marie, a young social worker who aids an equally badass-looking Josh Brolin (see pics of his own startling transformation here) in his quest for answers after his character is held captive for over a decade without any idea why or who put him there. Who put him there is the film’s villain, played by “District 9″ star Sharlto Copley. It should be very interesting to see what his character looks like.

Lee’s currently filming remake of Park Chan-wook’s 2003 Korean cult classic will be released on October 11, 2013. A couple of images of Olsen on set can be viewed below, and more at the original sources.

Nate Parker joins Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” opposite Elizabeth Olsen

September 4, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

After collaborating on “Red Hook Summer”, rising star Nate Parker has inked a reunion with director Spike Lee, signing on to star opposite Elizabeth Olsen, Josh Brolin and Sharlto Copley in the remake of Korean thriller “Oldboy.” Variety reported the news earlier this morning.

Brolin will play a man who was imprisoned and tortured for over a decade without any knowledge of why. When he is finally freed, he goes on a quest for answers and revenge against Copley as the man who put him there. Olsen will play a social worker who helps him along the way, and Parker will play a doctor who works with her. Samuel L. Jackson is also expected to take on a key role as the manager of the hotel where Brolin’s character was held hostage. After a long gestating period of casting musical chairs, filming is finally set to begin next month.

Parker appeared in George Lucas’ “Red Tails” earlier this year and can currently be seen in Lee’s “Red Hook Summer”, as well as in Richard Gere thriller “Arbitrage” starting September 14th. He reportedly gives a standout performance in that film, and he also just wrapped David Lowery’s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” opposite Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara.

“The Hunger Games” and “Prometheus” stars join forces on indie “Son of the South”

June 27, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

“Prometheus” star Rafe Spall and “The Hunger Games” tribute Jacqueline Emerson will star in indie drama “Son of the South”, according to Variety. Spike Lee will executive produce and Barry Alexander Brown will direct the drama set in the 1960s, based on the autobiography of Bob Zellner, “The Wrong Side of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement.”

Spall will play Zellner, who was the son and grandson of KKK members, but who ultimately decided to join the Civil Rights movement as one of the first white members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, joining black students in sit-ins, marches and more, often becoming a target of violence. Emerson will play his fiancee, Carol Anne, and the supporting cast includes Marianne Jean Baptiste, Lou Gossett Jr., Clint Dyer and Saskia Reeves.

Spall, who recently appeared in “One Day” and “Anonymous”, can currently be seen in Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” and just wrapped up rom com “I Give It A Year” opposite funny ladies Anna Faris and Rose Byrne. Emerson played the cunning Tribute Foxface opposite Jennifer Lawrence in “The Hunger Games”, and “Son of the South” will mark her first follow-up to that phenomenon.

“District 9″ star Sharlto Copley in early talks for Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” opposite Josh Brolin and Elizabeth Olsen

April 12, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Third time was the charm for landing Elizabeth Olsen as the leading lady in Spike Lee’s remake of Korean horror classic “Oldboy” (Rooney Mara and Mia Wasikowska both said no), will the same work for the villain? After Christian Bale and Clive Owen passed on the chance to torment Josh Brolin, the filmmakers are turning to South African actor Sharlto Copley. Variety reports Copley has been offered and is now in early talks to play the film’s mysterious villain.

Brolin plays a man who goes on a quest for answers and revenge after he emerges from a hotel room after fifteen years of imprisonment without any knowledge of why or who put him there. Copley will be the mysterious billionaire responsible for the aforementioned fifteen years of imprisonment and torture. While the female lead had formerly been described as a chef (just like in the Korean film), Variety’s new report indicates Olsen will actually be playing a casemaker who helps Brolin investigate his past.

Copley made his feature film debut in “District 9″, which went on to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, and then quickly lined up American roles in the remake of “The A-Team”, in which he played Murdock opposite Bradley Cooper, and a reunion with “District 9″ director Neil Blomkamp in sci-fi epic “Elysium”, the plot of which is still tightly under wraps despite filming having concluded several months ago. Before taking on “Oldboy” – if he takes on “Oldboy” – Copley will head to Hungary in May to shoot Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s “Open Grave.”

Elizabeth Olsen in talks for female lead in Spike Lee’s “Oldboy”

February 28, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Rooney Mara said no, then Mia Waikowska did too, but it seems Spike Lee may have finally found his leading lady for Korean revenge thriller remake “Oldboy.” Twitch Film is now reporting that Sundance darling Elizabeth Olsen is the latest starlet to receive an offer for the female lead role opposite Josh Brolin, while THR updates “early talks” have already begun and a deal is likely.

Olsen, like Mara before her, is no stranger to playing young women with dark and twisted circumstances thrust upon them, so she seems like a great choice for the role of a young chef named Marie, who gets embroiled in Brolin’s character’s quest for answers and revenge after he emerges from a hotel room after fifteen years of imprisonment without any knowledge of why or who put him there. Marie isn’t the only character Lee had trouble locking down, as the villain in the film has also gone through several offers to the likes of Christian Bale, Colin Firth and Clive Owen, but has thus far not resulted in any signed contracts. Meanwhile, production on the film has been pushed back to late summer, buying the filmmakers’ a bit more time to get their cast together.

After a stunning Sundance debut last year in “Martha Marcy May Marlene” (and the less buzzy, releasing soon “Silent House”), Olsen quickly started garnering awards attention and began building up her bright future resume. She signed on for coming of age drama “Very Good Girls” opposite Anton Yelchin and Dakota Fanning, then period piece “Therese Raquin” opposite Glenn Close, then Beat generation origin tale “Kill Your Darlings” with Dane DeHaan and Daniel Radcliffe. She also returned to Sundance last month with two more buzzy projects, Josh Radnor’s sophomore directorial vehicle “Liberal Arts” and Rodrigo Cortes’ sci-fi thriller “Red Lights.” Meanwhile, she also may land one hell of a big budget blockbuster in Akiva Goldsman’s “Winter’s Tale.” If her dance card isn’t completely filled up by now, that is.

Mia Wasikowska offered female lead in “Oldboy” opposite Josh Brolin

December 16, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Gotta love these casting musical chairs. “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” is having a hard time finding its Lizzie Bennett, “Akira” is still trying to lock down its cast, and go ahead and add Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” to that list as well. After signing on Josh Brolin for the lead in the remake of the Korean revenge thriller, the filmmakers are having a harder time getting actors to commit to the film’s other roles. Offers to play the villain opposite Brolin have gone out to Colin Firth and Christian Bale, and is now in the hands of Clive Owen, while the pivotal female lead is now being offered to Mia Wasikowska after Rooney Mara turned it down.

Twitch Film reported on the news earlier today. It’s not the first time – nor, surely, will it be the last – that Mara and Wasikowska have shown up on the wishlist for the same roles. They both recently turned down “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, and tested for Terrence Malick’s “Lawless”, which Mara ultimately won. While Mara was perhaps wary of being typecast in another dark and twisted tale so soon after “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, Wasikowska would be a fantastic choice in the role of a young chef named Marie, who gets embroiled in Brolin’s character’s quest for answers and revenge after he emerges from a hotel room after fifteen years of imprisonment without any knowledge of why or who put him there.

Coincidentally, Wasikowska recently wrapped up shooting “Stoker”, the English-language debut of Park Chan-wook , director of the original “Oldboy.” After breaking out in Tim Burton’s billion-dollar grossing “Alice in Wonderland”, Wasikowska proved her serious acting chops in “The Kids Are Alright” and “Jane Eyre”, and seems content to be sticking to small dramas for the foreseeable future, with a role in Glenn Close’s Oscar hopeful “Albert Nobbs” and John Hillcoat’s “The Wettest County in the World” also on the horizon.

Rooney Mara sought for Spike Lee’s “Oldboy” remake opposite Josh Brolin

September 28, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 6 Comments

Rooney Mara goes to some dark and twisted places to play Lisbeth Salander for David Fincher’s English language adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, and without going into spoiler-filled details, she may find herself going even darker and even more twisted if this new report comes to fruition. Twitch Film reports Mara is being targeted to take on the female lead role in Spike Lee’s “Oldboy”, a remake of the iconic Korean mystery/thriller which stars Josh Brolin and possibly Christian Bale. While Twitch are quick to point out talks have not progressed to any official offers being made yet, they reported on Brolin’s likely casting at this exact stage in his talks with Mandate Pictures, so Mara’s deal could be cemented soon just as Brolin’s was.

The original film, directed by Park Chan-wook and based on the Japanese manga of the same name, revolves around a man – to be played by Brolin – who is held captive in a room for fifteen years without any knowledge of why. Upon his release, he begins a violent quest for answers and revenge and along the way falls for a young chef, renamed Marie for the remake, which is the role Mara would play. The plan is to begin filming in the fall when Brolin wraps up Ruben Fleischer’s “Gangster Squad.”

There was a lot of outcry and hesitation over Mara’s casting as Salander in Fincher’s “Dragon Tattoo” last summer, but many fears were calmed when “The Social Network”, Fincher’s 2010 masterpiece, was released and Mara’s acting chops were on full display in a scene-stealing supporting turn. Unsurprisingly, Fincher’s discovery has led Mara to bigger and better projects, recently being shortlisted for the likes of David O. Russell’s “The Silver Linings Playbook” and Terrence Malick’s untitled next feature. The one she may have landed is Warren Beatty’s Howard Hughes biopic, though there’s no telling when that production may be kicked off. For now, her future remains wide open and brighter than ever.

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