Ansel Elgort Is Augustus Waters in "The Fault in Our Stars" Opposite Shailene Woodley

From siblings to star-crossed lovers! EW reports rising star Ansel Elgort has been offered the male lead in "The Fault in Our Stars" opposite Shailene Woodley - who plays his sister in the currently-filming dystopian adaptation "Divergent." The two Read more

Dylan O'Brien Lands "The Maze Runner" Lead; Ki Hong Lee Also Joins

UPDATE: Director Wes Ball tweets that Ki Hong Lee has also joined the cast as Minho, a fellow Glader and ally to Thomas throughout the series. Lee is probably best known as a regular on short-lived ABC Family Read more

Shailene Woodley Confirmed for "The Fault in Our Stars"

I mean, duh, we called it. It has now been officially confirmed with glowing quotes from director, producer and author in tow that the increasingly in demand Shailene Woodley will play the lead role of Hazel Grace Lancaster Read more

Up and Comers Presents: 20 Faces to Watch in 2013

After a somewhat unpredictable year in which the stars we expected to break out largely didn't but fresh faces came out of nowhere to surprise us all, we are ready to look ahead to the new talent waiting to Read more

Up and Comers Presents: The Breakout Stars of 2012

Another year, another new crop of fresh talent. Just like last year, the hardest part is narrowing down which of the dozens of the year's rising stars shone the brightest. This year we heralded the arrival of the unlikeliest Read more
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The Young Lovers of Nicholas Sparks Adaptations: A Retrospective

February 13, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features Leave a comment

sparks-safehaven

As Julianne Hough and Josh Duhamel prepare to embark upon being star-crossed lovers in a film adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel – “Safe Haven”, opening on Valentine’s Day – we look back at the tragic lovebirds who came before them. Sparks movies are critical flops and box office successes but seem to be hit and miss when it comes to creating stars. For the purpose of this study, we’ll omit the two Sparks adaptations which starred established stars. Kevin Costner, Robin Wright, Richard Gere and Diane Lane are doing just fine, thank you very much.

Are Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams still the most iconic of Sparks couples? How have Sparks adaptations helped or hurt the careers of the likes of Mandy Moore, Shane West, Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried? Hough and Duhamel are two actors whose careers could certainly use a breakout-style boost, but as we will show here, leading a Sparks adaptation is no guarantee of movie stardom. We’ll see how they fare when “Safe Haven” is released tomorrow, but for now, let’s take a look back at the couples who came before them.

Start Here: A Walk to Remember, 2002 >>

 

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Watch: first trailer for Zac Efron’s “The Lucky One”

December 12, 2011 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Videos Leave a comment

Zac Efron’s move into more serious drama hasn’t been hugely succesful so far, with Charlie St Cloud and Me and Orsen Welles both performing badly at the box office, but his next film may just be the winning combination needed – a Nicholas Sparks adaptation and the opportunity to get his shirt off and flex the muscles.

In The Lucky One, Efron plays a soldier who finds a woman’s picture in a war zone and credits her as the lucky charm that saves his life. On his return home, he sets out to find the young woman, and love blossoms as he keeps the picture a secret. Plenty of drama, tears and confessions to be expected, and in this first trailer released today, we get all three.

Also starring Taylor Schilling, Blythe Danner and Jay R. Ferguson, The Lucky One hits cinemas on May 4th 2012.

First Look: Zac Efron in first trailer/featurette for Nicholas Sparks’ “The Lucky One”

November 28, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Zac Efron didn’t make much of a splash in his first attempt at telling an adult romantic story in 2009′s “Charlie St. Cloud”, but he’ll get a little help this time around from the star power of Nicholas Sparks, whose novel, “The Lucky One”, spawned Efron’s new film.. Indeed, it seems Sparks gets more camera time than Efron and co-star, newcomer Taylor Schilling, in the first look at the film, about a soldier who finds a woman’s picture in a war zone and believes it’s a lucky charm that saves his life and subsequently sets out to find her upon returning home.

Of course Sparks and Co. are ready with soundbites indicating this one is different from his other works, though it looks pretty standard weepy Sparks romance to us. The only question remains: Who dies in the end? A gun-wielding abusive ex seems a likely suspect, but so do some treacherous waves Efron finds himself fighting against. Find out who “The Lucky One” is on April 20, 2012.

“Lucky One” Taylor Schilling marries Ben Affleck in “Argo”

August 29, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Newcomer Taylor Schilling has been given one hell of an introduction to mainstream feature films. Having wrapped up romancing Zac Efron in Nicholas Sparks’ “The Lucky One”, she is now upgrading to an even bigger Hollywood heartthrob. Variety reports Schilling will play Mrs Ben Affleck in political thriller “Argo”, also directed by the actor. Schilling is the first female to jump on board the cast that already includes Bryan Cranston, Kyle Chandler, John Goodman and Alan Arkin. Recently “Monsters” breakout star Scoot McNairy also signed on.

Based on Joshuah Bearman’s April 2007 Wired magazine article “How the CIA Used a Fake Sci-Fi Flick to Rescue Americans from Tehran,” “Argo” is a retelling of true events that surround a CIA operative team smuggled out American diplomats being held hostage by pretending they were a Hollywood movie crew. Affleck plays Tony Mendez, the leader of the operation, while Schilling will be Christine Mendez, a former teacher whose role is, predictably, to sit at home and worry about her husband.

Schilling had been most known for a regular role on the short lived medical drama “Mercy” before landing the female lead opposite Efron in the next Sparks adaptation, which have a history of being box office successes and sometime star makers (see: Mandy Moore, Ryan Gosling, Rachel McAdams, Liam Hemsworth). Clearly Schilling’s just getting her feet wet landing love interest and wife roles – albeit high profile ones; hopefully we’ll get to report on her landing something a little meatier soon.

First Look: Zac Efron filming “The Lucky One”

November 11, 2010 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

Zac Efron sports a beard, a tattoo and some serious angst in these first filming pictures from “The Lucky One”, based on the Nicholas Sparks novel that sees Efron playing U.S. Marine Logan Thibault, who believes a picture of a woman he’s never met is a lucky charm, and sets out to find her after his deployment ends. Unknown actress Taylor Schilling will play Elizabeth, the mysterious woman in the photograph who, to be expected in a Nicholas Sparks tearjerker, has some secrets that threaten to tear their newfound love apart.

Efron has been making a concerted effort to separate himself from his “High School Musical” days, giving solid performances in “Hairspray” and “Me and Orson Welles” but fizzling out a bit with “Charlie St. Cloud”. He’s most recently been linked to “Akira” and a remake of “Snabba Cash”.

“The Lucky One” is currently in production under the direction of Scott Hicks in New Orleans and is set for a 2012 release. See full size versions of Efron on set under the cut.

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