Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols In for Third Collaboration On “Midnight Special”

May 9, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

michaelshannon Actor-director duo Michael Shannon and Jeff Nichols have already worked together twice on two fascinating, critically acclaimed independent films, and now they are set to reunite once again on Nichols’ first studio picture. Variety reports Warner Bros is backing Nichols’ third feature, “Midnight Special”, and Shannon will star in what is described as a “present day sci-fi chase film.” Nichols also wrote the script.

Shannon is also Warner Bros’ radar and may have had a hand in bringing his two collaborators together, having starred in their upcoming summer tentpole “Man of Steel”, in which he plays the villainous General Zod. Nichols and Shannon previously worked together on both “Take Shelter”, in which Shannon was the star, and the currently playing “Mud”, in which Shannon had a supporting role opposite Matthew McConaughey. He is currently filming futuristic thriller “The Young Ones” with Nicholas Hoult and Elle Fanning.

Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning, Michael Shannon and Kodi Smit-McPhee are the “Young Ones” in futuristic thriller

February 7, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

The futuristic, dystopian thriller may already feel played out, but with a cast this good, it almost doesn’t matter what kind of movie it is. Variety reports Jake Paltrow has recruited Michael Shannon, Nicholas Hoult, Elle Fanning and Kodi Smit-McPhee to star in his “Young Ones”, set on a future post-apocalyptic Earth, and filming has been underway since February 1st.

Smit-McPhee actually appears to be the lead here, as the story follows a 14 year old boy who lives in a near-future when water is Earth’s most precious and fastest-disappearing resource. Smit-McPhee’s character is “forced use his wits to survive” but the vague plot details end right there. Has he figured out a way to make endless water? What does the title “Young Ones” have to do with a water-based plot, other than the age of the protagonist(s)? Mysteries abound but this one is certainly very intriguing.

Smit-McPhee most recently voiced the titular character in Oscar nominated “ParaNorman.” Fanning recently wrapped up “Maleficent” opposite Angelina Jolie, while Hoult’s name is probably going to start popping up on a lot of shorlists soon after headlining surprise hit zombie rom com “Warm Bodies.” Shannon plays that creepy guy in movies like “Take Shelter” and “The Iceman” and will be General Zod in “Man of Steel.”

UPDATE: Jessica Chastain will NOT star in “Iron Man 3″ opposite Robert Downey, Jr.

April 23, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

05/07/12 UPDATE: According to Chastain herself, she is too busy and will be unable to take on this role. The search continues…

Now that she’s proven her acting chops in smaller, more serious roles and landed an Oscar nomination to boot, Jessica Chastain is ready to tackle a tentpole/franchise. And she’s picked a doozy as Deadline reports the actress is in talks to take on a starring role in Marvel’s “Iron Man 3″ opposite Robert Downey, Jr.

Chastain is circling the role of a smart (but, of course, sexy) scientist who goes toe to toe with Tony Stark. The role had been offered to her but it seemed like scheduling conflicts would force her to pass. The studio began meeting with other young actresses including Diane Kruger, Isla Fisher and Gemma Arterton, but when Chastain’s schedule cleared up, she is looking like the one who will ultimately win out after all. Chastain will join Downey, Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Scarlett Johansson and fellow newbie Guy Pearce as geneticist Aldrich Killian.

The film is said to be based on Warren Ellis’ “Extremis” storyline from the Marvel comics, and it seems to reason that Chastain will be playing Maya Hansen, a colleague of Killian’s with whom she develops the Extremis virus, which forces the human brain to rewire itself into something stronger. The scientists hope to send it to the US military, but it falls into the hands of terrorists instead and Hansen teams up with Stark to stop it.

Chastain starred in an unbelievable six films in 2011, including Cannes Palme D’Or winner “The Tree of Life”, Jeff Nichols’ Sundance hit “Take Shelter” and Civil Rights era drama “The Help”, which ultimately won her her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She is currently filming Kathryn Bigelow’s Bin Laden military thriller “Zero Dark Thirty” and will then reunite with co-star Joel Edgerton on “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His and Hers.”

“Kill Bin Laden” co-stars Joel Edgerton and Jessica Chastain to reunite for “His” and “Hers” double feature

February 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Didn’t we just say something about a certain trend happening in Hollywood? Looks like Joel Edgerton and newly minted Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain are the latest to jump on the bandwagon of reuniting co-stars. The two have not yet even begun filming on Kathryn Bigelow’s “Kill Bin Laden”, but are already committing to doing two more movies together.

According to Variety, Edgerton and Chastain will play a couple in an ambitious double feature about a crumbling relationship, “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: His” and “The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Hers.” Ned Benson wrote both scripts and will direct both films, which follow the point of views of the husband, a restauranteur, in one and the wife, who recently decided to go back to college, in the other. William Hurt is also in talks to join the cast in an unspecified role.

Chastain just landed her first Oscar nomination for her role in “The Help” following an incredible year of incredible performances, from “The Tree of Life” to “Take Shelter” and more. She also recently confirmed that she will indeed be playing Princess Diana in a biopic. Edgerton has slowly (and then very quickly) been garnering attention in Hollywood after a starmaking role in gritty Aussie drama “Animal Kingdom.” 2011′s “Warrior” brought him even more acclaim, and he quickly landed the lead in Biglow’s film and the role of Tom Buchanan in Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby.” Chastain and Edgerton are due to begin filming Bigelow’s Bin Laden film soon, so “Eleanor Rigby” will most likely come afterwards. Let’s hope they don’t end up discovering they can’t stand each other!

“The Artist” wins big with New York Film Critics; Jessica Chastain takes Best Supporting Actress

November 29, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 1 Comment

“The Artist” is definitely the first big winner of Awards Season 2011. Following on the footsteps of leading the nominations for the Independent Spirit Awards, the New York Film Critics have just announced they have chosen the silent French film their Best Picture of the year, also naming Michel Hazanavicius Best Director. Indie flick “Margin Call”, which has seen a groundswell of support from bloggers who have seen it, also got a big surge by winning Best First Feature.

Meanwhile, one of our favorites, Jessica Chastain, has cemented her status as a major player by winning Best Supporting Actress for three of her performances this year: “The Tree of Life”, “Take Shelter” and “The Help.” The question now becomes which equally deserving performance other organizations who only allow one film per performer per category will choose to honor – and hope there is no vote-splitting.

Overall, it really was the year of the Pitt with “The Tree of Life” and “Moneyball” each taking major categories, and Brad Pitt himself winning Best Actor for both. Meryl Streep edged out the young upstarts by taking Best Actress for “The Iron Lady” while Albert Brooks was a surprise win for Best Supporting Actor for Nicolas Winding Refn’s ultra-violent actioner “Drive.”

Full list of winners below.

“The Artist”, “Take Shelter” dominate Independent Spirit Awards nominations; “Like Crazy” snubbed

November 29, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 2 Comments

What award season giveth, award season is just as quick to take away. Felicity Jones scored a big win last night for her performance in “Like Crazy”, but overnight, a little steam has been let out of that film’s tires. The Independent Spirit Awards announced their nominations bright and early – and “Like Crazy” has been left out in the cold completely. The big winners this morning out of the West Coast (the New York Film Critics are still voting over on the East Coast – more on that in a bit) is Oscar heavy hitter “The Artist” and Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter”, which tie for the lead in total nominations with five. “The Descendants”, “Martha Marcy May Marlene”, “Drive” and “Beginners” (also a big winner last night at Gotham) follow close on their heels with four each.

One of our personal favorites of the year, Jonathan Levine’s “50/50″, also made a great showing with three nominations, for Best Feature, Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress for Anjelica Huston, while Corey Stoll, who was so memorable as Ernest Hemingway in Woody Allen’s “Midnight in Paris”, scored a surprising and welcome nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The winners will be announced on Saturday, February 25, 2012 and we hope to be there to bring you up to the minute exclusive coverage, but hopefully it won’t be so windy this year. The full list of nominations are below.

Up and Comers Podcast #3: “J. Edgar” and “Take Shelter”; Which actors will be landing the next big projects?

November 8, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge and Rebecca Lewis in Podcast 2 Comments

Thank you for joining us again if you listened to our first two 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).

• 00:00 – 16:00 – We discuss some of the big news that broke over the past week or so, including Eddie Redmayne joining Les Mis; Ryan Gosling and Rooney Mara in Malick’s “Lawless”; THR’s Next Gen List and more.

• 16:00 – 24:00 – Linda discusses and reviews “J. Edgar” and “Take Shelter”, including some gushing over Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, and assessing each of the movie’s awards chances. No spoilers.

• 24:00 – END – We go in depth into discussions about some of the big projects that many young actors will be reading for, including “Winter’s Tale”; “Akira”; “Arthur and Lancelot”; and “Die Hard 5″.

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Hollywood’s favorite rising actress Jessica Chastain to star as Princess Diana

November 7, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 2 Comments

Current awards darling Jessica Chastain is set to play the late Princess Diana, reports Thompson on Hollywood. The news has come from this year’s American Film Market, with the project being tentatively titled “Caught in Flight”, and with German director Oliver Hirschbiegel (“Downfall”) on board.

Based on a “real-life affair that the princess long kept under wraps”, the film revolves around a secret affair between the late princess and a heart surgeon, Dr. Hasnat Kahn, who was said to have been the love of her life. Described as a “love story between a princess locked in a tower and an ordinary man,” the film is set to go into pre-production in March 2012 for the British production company, Ecosse Films, whose credits include “Nowhere Boy” and “Mrs. Brown.”

A film about Princess Diana is sure to be controversial, and the script by Steven Jeffreys is said to not cast the Princess “in a particularly favorable light; she is shown as a damaged person who stalks the doctor after he ends the affair.” But director Hirschbiegel has talked to potential buyers at AFM “about the compassion and wisdom that Dr. Kahn showed the princess”, and Chastain has been racking up awards buzz all year for her performances in three of the year’s hit films – “The Tree of Life”, “The Help” and “Take Shelter” – and has also landed a role in Tom Cruise’s upcoming untitled sci-fi film (formerly titled “Oblivion” and “Horizons”), so we think she could be the kind of actress to bring respect and poise to this kind of role.

Elizabeth Olsen, Felicity Jones, Shailene Woodley score Breakthrough nominations at Gotham Awards

October 20, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 1 Comment

The first of many many awards to come have announced their list of nominees honoring the best films of 2011. Some major Oscar players are at play at the Gotham Awards, a small New York awards show that is even more indie than the Independent Spirit Awards. Sean Durkin’s “Martha Marcy May Marlene”, starring Elizabeth Olsen in her big screen debut as a young woman who escapes from a cult, and Alexander Payne’s “The Descendents”, starring George Clooney and up and comer Shailene Woodley as members of a dysfunctional family, lead the pack with three nominations each. Woodley and Olsen are both nominated for Breakthrough Actor, along with fellow Oscar-hopeful Felicity Jones for “Like Crazy” and two lesser known actors, Jacob Wysocki, playing the title role in “Terri”, and Harmony Santana, also nominated for her feature film debut, “Gun Hill Road.”

Perhaps most surprising is the omission of arguably 2011′s biggest breakthrough star, Jessica Chastain, in the Breakthrough Actor category. Her most publicized role, in blockbuster summer release “The Help”, may not be applicable here, but certainly “Take Shelter” should have done the trick, seeing as how it is nominated for Best Feature and Best Ensemble Cast here. But in any case, this may or may not have any impact on her chances at the “bigger” prizes down the line. Last year little-known indie director/writer Ronald Bronstein took home the Breakthrough Actor prize over the heavily favored, heavily publicized Jennifer Lawrence of “Winter’s Bone”, but that didn’t get him any closer to Oscar and she was nominated just as everyone assumed she would be. So it’s unclear just how the small and independent Gotham Awards will impact Oscar, though certainly Olsen, Jones and Woodley received further cementing of major Oscar player status.

Full list of nominees are below. The awards will be handed out at its ceremony on November 28th.

Watch: The end is near for Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain in new “Take Shelter” clips

October 3, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Wow. Jeff Nichols’ supernatural drama “Take Shelter” already ranked high on our list of anticipated fall movies, but these three new clips released today from the film has built that anticipation even more. Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain, two of the most talented and promising of the next generation of Great Actors, play Curtis and Samantha, a happily married couple whose relationship and lives begin to unravel when Curtis begins seeing signs of an impending apocalypse that no one else sees. His obsession with building an underground shelter for his family strains all his relationships and all the while, there’s an even scarier possibility than that of the end of the world: That Curtis might be descending into schizophrenia, a disease that runs in his family.

The third clip, featuring an argument that’s clearly been boiling up and over, is particularly astonishing. Chastain plays a housewife for the third time this year (following Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” and Civil Rights-era ensemble drama “The Help”) but has once again created and disappeared into an altogether different persona.

“Take Shelter” is now playing in select cities in the US, with a UK release scheduled for November 25th.

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