Michael Angarano Joins Jason Statham in “Heat” Remake

March 20, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

michael-angarano Michael Angarano has joined the cast of “Heat”, a remake of the 1986 Burt Reynolds film that will star Jason Statham, according to Deadline.

The official synopsis of the film, not to be confused with the 1995 Michael Mann film of the same name, reads as follows: “This tightly-wound, fun action-thriller, tells the story of a tough recovering gambling addict (Statham) who makes his living providing protection in the rough edges of the gambling world. Statham’s character refuses to resort to gunplay, strictly using hand and edged weapon combat. When a dear friend (Sofia Vergara) is brutally beaten by a high-rolling mobster, he helps her get her revenge and he ends up in more trouble than he ever imagined.” Simon West is directing, and Angarano will play Cyrus Kinnick, who hires Statham’s character as a bodyguard. William Goldman adapted both the 1986 film and the new remake from his own novel.

Angarano can currently be seen in dark comedy “The Brass Teapot” opposite Juno Temple and will soon head to Tribeca to premiere “The English Teacher”, in which he stars opposite Julianne Moore and Lily Collins. He also has heist thriller “Empire State” with Liam Hemsworth awaiting release.

Juno Temple joins “The Dark Knight Rises” co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt in “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”

January 18, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Juno Temple, Jeremy Piven and Ray Liotta are the latest cast members to join Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller’s comic book sequel adaptation “Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”, according to The Playlist.

Miller and Rodriguez are already underway filming on the sequel to 2005′s “Sin City” based on Miller’s graphic novel, and a large chunk of the original cast is returning, including Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jaimie King, Jessica Alba and Rosario Dawson. Gordon-Levitt will play a newly created character named Johnny, a “smooth gambler” role that had originally been offered to Johnny Depp, but there are no details on who the newest cast members will play. It’s also unclear if Temple has taken the female lead role that had not yet been cast last we heard, a role originally meant for Angelina Jolie. If so, it’s quite a get for the young British actress.

Temple, a current nominee for BAFTA’s EE Rising Star Award, last appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Batman conclusion “The Dark Knight Rises” and will next be seen opposite Michael Angarano in indie comedy “The Brass Teapot”, the trailer to which we unveiled earlier today. She recently completed filming on Disney’s Sleeping Beauty reimagining “Maleficent” opposite Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning, as well as supernatural thriller “Horns” with Daniel Radcliffe and Max Minghella.

WATCH: New trailers include Disney stars in jail and on the race track, and a charmingly ridiculous indie pic

January 18, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Videos 1 Comment

It’s nothing new to see tween actors and actresses trying their hardest to break away from their pop cultural personas but “Spring Breakers” might be the biggest break several have tried all at the same time. Harmony Korine‘s day-glo blast of hedonism and violence stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson, along with a K-Fed inspired James Franco.

It’s rated R and following on from the US and European poster release, A24 and Annapurna Pictures have released a trailer which shows us why. It’s caused debate amongst fans of the actresses as well as critics, but it looks like a crazy, incredible explosion of a twisted American Dream.

Contrasting the insanity of the “Spring Breakers” trailer is Zac Efron‘s “At Any Price“, which was doing the festival rounds in 2012. Starring Dennis Quaid and Efron as a father and son with a tumultous relationship, the family’s farming business is threatened by an unexpected crisis and Efron’s desire to race cars. This new trailer showcases the urgency and drama of the film, set to be released April 26th 2013.

Away from the tween stars are two indie actors whose stars are slowly rising. “The Brass Teapot” starring Juno Temple and Michael Angarano looks to be a charming, fun and heartfelt indie pic following a young couple who discover a brass teapot that makes them money whenever they hurt themselves. Soon they must come to terms with how far they are willing to go and how money can change people. “The Brass Teapot” will premiere on VOD on February 28th before a wide release on April 5th.

And “21 And Over”, starring Miles Teller has a new TV spot as it gears up for a March 1st release. When straight-A college student Jeff Chang’s (Justin Chon) two best friends Casey (Teller) and Miller (Skylar Astin) surprise him with a visit for his 21st birthday, he decides to do the unexpected for a change – even with a critical medical school interview early the next morning.

Click below for the videos of all the above mentioned films.

Nikki Reed and Michael Angarano join Liam Hemsworth and Emma Roberts in “Empire State”

May 24, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Liam Hemsworth thriller “Empire State” has rounded out its supporting cast with “Twilight” star Nikki Reed, Michael Angarano, “Entourage”‘s Jerry Ferrera, Paul Ben-Victor and Chris Diamantopoulos, according to Deadline.

Dwayne Johnson and Emma Roberts had already been cast in the heist thriller described to be based on “the true story of a 1982 NYC armored car company robbery thought at the time to be the largest cash heist in U.S. history.” Hemsworth plays one of two friends who pull off the daring heist in the 1980s-set thriller. No word who the other friend may be (our guess is on Angarano), though Roberts will play a waitress and Hemsworth’s love interest, while Diamantopoulo will play a mob boss who suspects the two youngsters while the rest of New York believes it was a major mob conspiracy. Production begins next Tuesday in New York, with Dito Montiel directing from an Adam Mazer script.

Reed appears in the final installment of the “Twilight” saga, “Breaking Dawn: Part II”, this November. Angarano was last seen in Steven Soderbergh’s “Haywire” and recently completed two indie comedies, “The Brass Teapot” opposite Juno Temple and “The English Teacher” opposite Julianne Moore and Lily Collins.

Michael Angarano to romance “English Teacher” Julianne Moore

October 4, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Michael Angarano sure has a thing for older women. After his charming but misguided wooing of Uma Thurman in Max Winkler’s “Ceremony”, the quirky indie actor now has his sights set on Julianne Moore. According to Variety, Angarano has booked the romantic lead in “The English Teacher”, which sees Moore in the title role and also co-stars Nathan Lane.

Craig Zisk directs the film about a small town high school teacher whose world is turned upside down by the return of a former student, whose journey to New York to try to make it as a playwright has ended in failure. Angarano would play the writer, who Moore’s charcter falls for.

Angarano, recently seen in Kevin Smith’s “Red State” and teen comedy “The Art of Getting By” opposite Freddie Highmore and Emma Roberts, was shortlisted for Marc Webb’s “Amazing Spider-Man” and always seems just on the verge of something big. He recently wrapped dark comedy “The Brass Teapot” opposite Juno Temple and is part of Steven Soderbergh’s ensemble actioner “Haywire”, starring alongside the likes of Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender and Ewan McGregor.

Newcomer Ben Rappaport to play Meryl Streep’s son in “Great Hope Springs”

September 8, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

An almost TV star is making a play for the big screen in a big way. Variety reports Ben Rappaport, star of ill-fated NBC comedy “Outsourced”, has been cast in “Great Hope Springs” as the son of an aging couple facing intimacy issues, played by Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. Not bad for a 25 year old guy who’s only been on the industry’s radar for a year!

In the David Frankel directed comedy for Sony Pictures, Streep and Jones play “a long-married couple struggling with intimacy issues who receive an intense week of marriage and sex therapy from a famed relationship guru, to played by Steve Carell.”

Rappaport, a graduate of the drama department at Julliard, made his onscreen debut just a year ago in “Outsourced”, which saw him as the manager of a newly outsourced call center in India for an American novelties company. The show saw declining ratings and was not picked up for renewal after its full first season run. But it seems Rappaport is finding continued success, with Variety reporting he has already completed his big screen feature debut in the upcoming Michael Angarano-Juno Temple dark comedy “The Brass Teapot.”

Michael Angarano and Juno Temple topline dark comedy “The Brass Teapot”

May 15, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Michael Angarano and Juno Temple will weigh desperation against morality in the vein of “The Monkey’s Paw” and “Button, Button” in indie dark comedy/fantasy “The Brass Teapot”, reports Screen Daily from Cannes. The two hot rising stars will play a broke young couple who steal a brass teapot that produces cash every time someone feels pain.

Commercials director Ramaa Mosley makes her feature directorial debut on the film while Tim Macy wrote the screenplay. “We were excited to produce Brass Teapot when it was simply a great script and an ambitious director,” producer Kirk Roos said. “So, it was a super bonus to land an amazing cast on top of an already sexy and smart dark comedy.”

Temple recently landed a pivotal role in Christopher Nolan’s final “Batman” film, “The Dark Knight Rises” and joined the cast of “Magic, Magic” with Michael Cera and Emily Browning. She’ll next be seen as Queen Anne in “The Three Musketeers 3D” and lesbian werewolf thriller “Jack and Diane” opposite fellow up and comer Riley Keough. Angarano was a finalist for the “Spider-Man” reboot and was recently seen in Kevin Smith’s industry-defying horror “Red State” and Max Winkler’s “Ceremony”. He’ll next be seen in Steven Soderbergh’s highly anticipated “Haywire”.

“The Brass Teapot” is gearing up for a July shoot in New York City.

the brass teapot