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

the fighter

Jennifer Lawrence the front-runner for “The Silver Linings Playbook” opposite Mark Wahlberg

July 20, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

Is Jennifer Lawrence the most wanted actress in Hollywood? All signs seem to be pointing to yes as she is on the cusp of landing yet another high profile female lead. Deadline reports the young thesp is currently the front-runner to take the female lead in David O Russell’s follow up to “The Fighter”, the Mark Wahlberg starring drama “The Silver Linings Playbook.” If Lawrence signs on, she will have beaten out just about every other hot young actress who were all vying and had tested for the part, including Olivia Wilde, Andrea Riseborough, Rachel McAdams and Blake Lively. Lesson learned: do not underestimate Jennifer Lawrence.

The film revolves around Wahlberg as a man who suffers a mental collapse, goes through treatment at an institution and is released with a new found determination to find the silver linings in life. The female role is that of a depressed woman who goes on a sexual spree in the wake of the death of her husband. She befriends and becomes a love interest to Wahlberg’s character. Lawrence still seems young for such a role to us, but her acting chops will certainly go a long way to convince moviegoers.

Lawrence is no stranger to beating out heavy competition to land big roles. After scoring an Oscar nomination for her revelatory role in last year’s “Winter’s Bone”, Lawrence immediately landed the female lead in Oliver Stone’s highly sought after “Savages”, only to follow that up with an even bigger fish: the lead role of Katniss Everdeen in Gary Ross’s adaptation of monster hit novels “The Hunger Games” trilogy, which she won over the likes of Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe Moretz and Emily Browning. Lawrence immediately dropped “Savages”, paving the way for the usual suspects to fight it out once again, with Lively eventually coming out on top. It had been reported that Lawrence’s follow-up to “The Hunger Games” would be Sissy Spacek’s directorial debut, “Sweet Tea”, but her involvement in that project is now in doubt.

David O. Russell testing Olivia Wilde, Rooney Mara, Blake Lively and more for “Silver Linings Playbook”

June 23, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

Some usual suspects are lining up for the next Next Big Role. Thanks to his huge success shepherding “The Fighter” to audiences and the awards circuit, David O. Russell now has the enviable task of hand-picking the female lead of his next film from a crop of the hottest actresses around. THR reports the sometimes volatile director is screen-testing today and through the weekend for a young lady to play love interest to Mark Wahlberg in “The Silver Linings Handbook”, and names include Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough and Olivia Wilde. Other reports indicate Jennifer Lawrence may also be in the running, though being significantly younger than her competitors and tied up with “The Hunger Games” through September may make her a bit of a longshot even if she was being considered.

The film revolves around Wahlberg as a man who suffers a mental collapse, goes through treatment at an institution and is released with a new found determination to find the silver linings in life. The female role is that of a depressed woman who goes on a sexual spree in the wake of the death of her husband. She befriends and becomes a love interest to Wahlberg’s character.

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“The Social Network” dominates Golden Globes; full list of winners

January 17, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards Leave a comment

“The Social Network” continues to dominate awards season by taking home Best Picture (Drama), Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Score at the annual Golden Globe Awards last night, put on by the dubious Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Also continuing their streaks were Natalie Portman, taking home Best Actress (Drama) for “Black Swan”, Christian Bale and Melissa Leo taking home Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress for “The Fighter”. On the Comedy/Musical side, Annette Bening took home Best Actress for “The Kids Are All Right” as expected, the film winning Best Picture as well, with Paul Giamatti a surprise win as Best Actor for “Barney’s Vision”.

Full list of winners below, thanks to Awards Daily.

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