Long-Gestating “The Crow” Remake Lands on Luke Evans

May 4, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

After circling Tom Hiddleston and Alexander Skarsgard, it appears “The Crow” has finally landed. Deadline reports the long-gestating gothic thriller remake has snagged British rising star Luke Evans for the lead role, who apparently had been director F. Javier Gutierrez’s first choice all along.

Evans will take on the role of Eric Draven, a rock star brutally murdered while trying to protect his fiance from a gang of thugs. He is resurrected by supernatural forces and seeks revenge. The original film starring Brandon Lee – itself adapted from comics by James O’Barr – spawned three sequels but with a different victim and resurrection each time. Gutierrez had always preferred Evans for the role, reports Deadline, but the increasingly busy actor had appeared unavailable. The filmmaker is so keen on his choice actor, in fact, that production on the film will now be pushed to early 2014 in order to accommodate Evans’ schedule.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals”, Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack and has the villain role in Universal’s “Fast Six”, which led to his first leading role in the studio’s “Dracula” origin tale film, which he will shoot next opposite Sarah Gadon. He also plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy and headlined indie horror “No One Lives.”

Luke Evans To Star in “Dracula” (Formerly “Dracula: Year Zero”)

April 8, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

British rising star Luke Evans is ready to put the second part of that moniker to the test, as THR reports he has landed his first starring studio role, as the titular original vampire in “Dracula: Year Zero.” Gary Shore is making his directorial debut on the film, which at one point had Sam Worthington attached to the lead role.

But it’s now Evans who will star in the origin tale, which sees Dracula as a young Prince who offers his soul up to a bloodthirsty sultan when his wife and child are threatened, becoming the world’s first vampire (because they’re soulless, ya know). Thought the project has been in development for years, it’s finally received an official green light and will begin filming this year.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals”, Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack and has the villain role in Universal’s “Fast Six”, where he likely eared the goodwill of the studio to get cast in “Dracula.” He also plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy and headlined indie horror “No One Lives.”

Liam Hemsworth close to joining political sci-fi thriller “The Raven”

April 3, 2013 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting 1 Comment

We just got word that Liam Hemsworth is the chosen “The Hunger Games” star who will present the first footage of the anticipated sequel “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” at next week’s MTV Movie Awards, and now Hemsworth has even more news! The rising young actor is close to being confirmed as the lead of sci-fi thriller conspiracy film, “The Raven“.

Ricardo de Montreuil will be sitting in the director’s chair for the film which is based on his own short film of the same name. Michael Gilio and Justin Marks have scripted the feature length pic, and Deadline confirms that prep work has begun for a start date of June.

Set in an alternative futuristic LA, Hemsworth will play Chris Black, a man who is on the run from the political regime after they discover he possesses a power that could lead to their destruction.

Hemsworth, who starred alongside Miley Cyrus in the 2010 weepie “The Last Song“, broke out in last year’s box office smash “The Hunger Games” which also starred Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson. The Australian actor has since gone on star next to action film heavyweights Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis in “The Expendables 2” and filmed two thrillers – “Paranoia” and “Empire State“. Late last year we discussed the potentially too-good-to-be-true news that Hemsworth may star with his older brother Chris (“Thor”) in a Steve McQueen biopic, which we still have our fingers crossed for.

Luke Evans offered villain role in “Fast Six” opposite Paul Walker and Vin Diesel

May 2, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Is Luke Evans the new Jason Statham? In a manner of speaking, perhaps. While reports had been swirling that the British action star was being courted for a role in Justin Lin’s “Fast Six” – yes, that’s the fifth sequel to “The Fast and the Furious” franchise – Twitch Film now reports it’s Statham’s fellow UKer Evans who has been officially offered the role of the film’s villain. As it’s just an offer at this stage, Evans’ involvement in the film is nowhere near certain.

The franchise that stars Paul Walker and Vin Diesel began in 2001 revolving around illegal street tracing, with Walker and Diesel on opposite sides of the law. That’s evolved nicely into a partnership between the two as they team up against various foes and the series has been in a state of transition over the past couple of films, taking the duo and their friends and foes from street racing to more general heist thriller/action scenarios. Dwayne Johnson hopped aboard the franchise in “Fast Five” as a new foe, and “Haywire” star Gina Carano will be part of his team for “Fast Six.” Evans will presumably be on neither team though, and will instead be a bigger foe for both Walker/Diesel and Johnson/Carano.

Evans has been steadily building up a high profile resume, recently seen in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals” and Edgar Allen Poe inspired murder mystery “The Raven” opposite John Cusack, but his biggest break yet may come later this year when he plays Bard the Bowman in Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”

Alice Eve beats out Hayley Atwell and Teresa Palmer to land “Star Trek 2″ role

November 30, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

The long-anticipated sequel to JJ Abrams‘ successful 2009 reboot of “Star Trek” is finally making some headway. Most of the original cast will return, Benicio Del Toro was announced earlier this month to be taking on the villain role, and today Variety reports British actress Alice Eve has been chosen by Abrams for an unspecified role, with a deal expected to close soon.

Eve tested for the role – believed to be a brand new character never before seen in “Star Trek” canon – alongside “Captain America”‘s Hayley Atwell and “I Am Number Four” star Teresa Palmer. She will join a young cast full of up and comers including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, John Cho and Anton Yelchin. As with all Abrams projects, there are very little plot details and everything will presumably remain under the strictest secrecy until much closer to the release date. There is presumably one more role – supporting villainous role alongside Del Toro – to be cast before filming begins in early 2012. “Star Trek 2″ already has a release date of May 17, 2013.

Eve had a breakout year in 2010 with a starring role in “She’s Out of My League” and a supporting one in “Sex and the City 2″, then figured prominently into the final season of hit HBO series “Entourage.” She will next be seen on the big screen opposite John Cusack and Luke Evans in Victorian mystery/horror “The Raven” and as a younger version of Emma Thompson’s bureau chief in “Men in Black III.”

Watch: Luke Evans and Alice Eve in “The Raven” trailer

October 7, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Videos Leave a comment

Those of you in attendance at Comic-Con in July have seen it already, but Relativity Media has finally put online the first trailer for historical murder mystery “The Raven”, starring John Cusack as the famous mustached crime novel writer Edgar Allen Poe whose grisly stories prove to be the source of inspiration for a mysterious new serial killer. Sort of a “Sleepy Hollow” / “From Hell” feel here as Poe teams up with a dogged detective, played by Luke Evans, in a race against the clock to find the killer and stop him before he kills Poe’s kidnapped beloved, played by Alice Eve.

Director James McTeigue and the cast revealed at Comic-Con that the story follows the last four days of Poe’s life, so there’s not a fully happy ending in store, though the action and the mystery still seems intriguing and the release of the trailer to coincide with the anniversary of Poe’s death is clever. The film also stars one of our favorite British up and comers Oliver Jackson-Cohen in a supporting role.

“The Raven” will be released on March 9, 2012.

Luke Evans toplines indie horror flick “No One Lives”

May 9, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

He may have lost out on the Bourne reboot, but Luke Evans isn’t struggling to fill his schedule. THR reports from Cannes that the British up and comer will star in indie horror film “No One Lives”, a sort of “The Strangers” in reverse about a gang of criminals who take a young couple into an abandoned house to be tortured, only to have the tables turned on them. Filming will begin on June 13 in New Orleans. No word on who Evans will play or who might join him in the cast. Ryuhei Kitamura, who directed the 2008 horror cult hit “The Midnight Meat Train”, will from a screenplay by David Cohen.

Evans can be seen in two high profile blockbusters later this year, as leader of the Olympians Zeus in Tarsem Singh’s “Immortals”, out November 11 (coincidentally, he played a different Greek God, Apollo, in 2010′s “Clash of the Titans”), and as Aramis in a new adaptation of “The Three Musketeers 3D”, out on October 14. Evans is also said be so good in “The Raven” opposite John Cusack that producers developed an action film just for him to star in.

Rising British actor Luke Evans is “The Amateur American”

March 11, 2011 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 2 Comments

British actor Luke Evans is the next young star with still unproven mettle getting a potential blockbuster built just for him. Deadline reports FilmNation Entertainment has bought and will develop “The Amateur American” as a starring vehicle for Evans, who they are banking on to become one of the next hot young stars to break out in a big way. The action-thriller will be written and directed by Ross Katz, and expected to begin shooting in September. The film will center around Evans, who will play “a young American living in Paris who accepts a job working for a shadowy employer and soon finds himself framed for murder and caught up in a web of deceit.”

Evans follows in the footsteps of names like Taylor Lautner and Alex Pettyfer, who have had studios and producers develop projects around them in recent months, though to this day, neither has showcased any ability to carry a movie. Dreamworks is said to be developing a James Hunt biopic for Pettyfer, though the highly disappointing box office numbers for their projected hit “I Am Number Four” (coupled with even worse numbers for “Beastly”) may make the studio pause for a moment. Lautner, on the other hand, reportedly has many offers on the table but his first feature that doesn’t come with “Twilight”‘s international brand recognition doesn’t open until September. Given Pettyfer’s flops, Lautner seems like a highly risky investment as well.

Evans, at age 32, is a bit older than his tween-friendly counterparts, but age and maturity might given him an edge over the competition, bringing a gravitas and believability to becoming an action hero that both guys and girls, of any age, can root for. The producers reportedly put their faith in Evans after seeing his work in “The Raven”, in which he stars opposite John Cusack. He has also had plenty of action-movie experience, playing Apollo in “Clash of the Titans”, Zeus” in the upcoming “Immortals” and Aramis in “The Three Musketeers”. On top of that, his impressive dramatic chops are also on full display as the kind and grounded Andy opposite Gemma Arterton in “Tamara Drewe”.

Our money is on Evans.

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