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 spectacular now

“Hunger Games” Star Dayo Okeniyi Joins Alex Pettyfer – Gabriella Wilde “Endless Love” Remake

May 3, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Dayo Okeniyi, who played Thresh in “The Hunger Games”, continues to be one of the most prolific and fast-rising young actors to break out of the 2012 blockbuster. THR reports today he has landed a major role in Universal’s remake of 1980s romantic thriller “Endless Love” starring Alex Pettyfer and Gabriella Wilde.

Wilde and Pettyfer play a pair of high school students who fall deeply in love and whose intense relationship puts her parents on edge. When they are forced to break up until the end of high school, Pettyfer’s character sets an ill-fated plan into motion to appear as a hero in front of them to win back their favor, leading to tragic consequences. Okeniyi is lining up the role of Pettyfer’s daredevil best friend, while Robert Patrick recently took the role of Pettyfer’s father. Shana Feste directing the remake.

Okeniyi, who made his feature debut in “The Hunger Games” but whose fate in the story won’t allow for a return in the sequel, has nevertheless lined up quite the upcoming slate. He will next be seen opposite Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley in Sundance hit “The Spectacular Now” and he has also wrapped filming on gambling drama “Runner Runner” with Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake.

“The Way, Way Back” and Other Sundance Hits Populate LA Film Festival Lineup

May 1, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in General News 1 Comment

The Los Angeles Film Festival announced its lineup for the 2013 festival and it is filled to the brim with all those Sundance movies that made a splash in Utah back in January. Coming of age comedy “The Way, Way Back” starring newcomer Liam James opposite Steve Carell and Sam Rockwell will close the festival, while Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award winner “Fruitvale Station” with Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer will be presented as a Gala. Nicolas Winding Refn’s highly anticipated “Drive” follow-up “Only God Forgives” starring Ryan Gosling will also be making its North American premiere as a Gala following its World Premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month.

Over in the Summer Showcase, which purports to offer “an advanced look at this summer’s most talked about independent film releases”, films living up to that promise include more Sundance favorites – James Ponsoldt’s “The Spectacular Now” which won stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley a Special Jury Prize for Acting, and David Lowery’s “Ain’t Them Bodies Saints” with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck, another Sundance winner for Best Cinematography for Bradford Young – as well as SXSW’s Grand Jury Prize winner “Short Term ’12″ starring Brie Larson.

The full lineup and press release can be found below.

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Theo James Cast as Four in “Divergent”, Miles Teller Also Joining Cast

March 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

theo-james Well this one was a nailbiter. Months after we first heard about Shailene Woodley searching for her Four, news has finally arrived that British actor Theo James has landed the much sought-after male lead in Neil Burger’s adaptation of hit YA novel series “Divergent.” Additionally, the supporting cast is also coming together quick, and Summit/Lionsgate is closing deals with Kate Winslet (long rumored), Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Ray Stevenson. Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Zoe Kravitz, Jai Courtney and Maggie Q were previously announced.

Filming begins imminently in Chicago on the futuristic dystopian tale starring Woodley as Tris Prior, who lives in a society which divides its people into factions based on their most dominant character traits. She’s part of Abnegation, who values selflessness above all else, but abandons them at her choosing ceremony to join the Dauntless, who are known for being brave. There she meets Four, one of the leaders of her new faction. Courtney plays Eric, another Dauntless leader and Four’s rival (but rest assured, not for Tris’ affections). Elgort plays Tris’ brother, who also shocks their family when he chooses to leave Abnegation for Euridate, the faction that values knowledge. Q and Kravitz play Dautless faction members and Tris’ allies, while Winslet plays Jeanine, the leader of the Euridite who becomes a major villainous figure. Teller will also play a villain, a Dauntless bully named Peter. Eckhart seems logical for the role of Marcus, an Abnegation leader and Four’s father.

James, who many people recognize from “Downton Abbey”, starred opposite Kate Beckinsale in “Underworld: Awakening.” Teller, Woodley’s co-star in the upcoming “The Spectacular Now”, is earning raves for that Sundance and SXSW hit, and recently wrapped up shooting on ensemble rom com “Are We Officially Dating?” with Zac Efron and Michael B. Jordan.

Shailene Woodley may play Hazel in adaptation of hit YA novel “The Fault in Our Stars”

February 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 6 Comments

shailene-woodley UPDATE (02/19/13): As we suspected, Josh Boone has been confirmed to be the director on this project. Will Woodley be confirmed soon?

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Shailene Woodley is the hottest ticket in town and she may have just landed another major role. Rumors are swirling that Woodley has been cast as the lead in “The Fault in Our Stars”, based on the John Green bestselling YA novel of the same name, and Hypable has come closest to legitimizing the reports, securing a confirmation from her publicist that she “is being considered” for the part, though they caution she has not been cast yet. Officially, anyway.

The film, following the love story between two cancer-stricken teens, has been in active development, with the producers recently telling MTV News that a director would be announced imminently and filming to commence in late summer. We had our suspicions about Woodley taking the role (aside from the fact that she would be perfect for it) when she and Green followed each other on Twitter recently amidst the dealmaking, and today she retweeted Green’s tease that “Big news is forthcoming in re The Fault in Our Stars movie.” So right now it’s looking like she could be our Hazel, but either way, if Green isn’t full of empty promises, we should be finding out very soon.

“The Fault in Our Stars” has no release date yet but should hit sometimes next year, which would mark quite a trifecta of big movies for Woodley in 2014. She’s currently filming the role of Mary Jane in “The Amazing Spider-Man 2″, set for release on May 2, 104, and she’ll then head to Chicago to film the lead role of Tris in YA adaptation “Divergent”, set for release on March 21, 2014. Woodley recently won a Special Jury Award for Acting for her role in “The Spectacular Now” at Sundance, and also recently just wrapped up shooting on indie “White Bird in a Blizzard.”

“Fruitvale” sweeps Sundance awards; “The Spectacular Now” leads take Special Jury Award for Acting

January 26, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Awards 3 Comments

Another fabulous year for rising stars has just concluded the Sundance Film Festival, which wrapped up 2013 with its annual award ceremony tonight in Utah, hosted by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, whose directorial debut “Don Jon’s Addiction” ended up being one of the bestsellers of the fest.

The award season for next year got off to an early start as Ryan Coogler’s directorial debut “Fruitvale” starring Michael B. Jordan swept the US Dramatic Competition category, winning both the Audience Award and the top prize of the night: The Grand Jury Prize. The film, which co-stars Octavia Spencer, Ahna O’Reilly and Melonie Diaz, captivated Sundance with its gritty retelling of the true story of Oscar Grant (Jordan), who was tragically fatally shot by police in a scuffle in the Bay Area on New Year’s Eve 2009. Its awards potential was immediately obvious and Oscar heavyweight Harvey Weinstein took note, buying the film for more than $2 million, beating out Fox Searchlight, Paramount Pictures, Focus Features and CBS Films. An awards-friendly fall release date can’t be far behind for this year’s festival’s undeniable winner.

“The Spectacular Now”, the other big buzzed about film of the fest, took home a Special Jury Prize for Acting for its two young stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. The two have received rave reviews from festival goers for their portrayal of a high school couple in James Ponsoldt’s coming of age drama. The film was picked up by upstart distribution company A24, so we’ll have to wait and see how much the film figures into next year’s awards race. A summer release is tentatively scheduled.

The full list of awards are below.

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Sundance Deals: Buzzy premieres “Fruitvale”, “The Spectacular Now”, “Don Jon’s Addiction” find homes

January 21, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in General News Leave a comment

After a slow start and intense bidding wars, the buzziest Sundance premieres have began to find homes.

“Don Jon’s Addiction”, Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s starry rom com directorial debut, landed at Relativity Media after being sold for record-breaking numbers. It will receive a wide theatrical release, most likely over this summer. [

“More like The Spectacular Wow”: Sundance raves Miles Teller – Shailene Woodley coming of age drama

January 19, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Reviews Leave a comment

It’s with that easy pun the high praise kicked off immediately upon credits rolling on James Ponsoldt’s coming of age drama “The Spectacular Now”, which premiered last night at the Sundance Film Festival. One of the films we’re super excited about, fast rising stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley play an unlikely high school couple whose relationship rests on Big Themes like alcoholism, college and plenty of family drama. It’s not exactly an original idea and could have easily gone wrong or made forgettable, but it appears Ponsoldt has knocked his follow-up to last year’s “Smashed” out of the park.

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It’s prom night for Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley in new images from Sundance premiere “The Spectacular Now”

January 16, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Images Leave a comment

We are one day away from opening night of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and today we have new images from one of our most anticipated films premiering at the festival, James Ponsoldt’s adaptation of Tim Tharp novel “The Spectacular Now.”

The Playlist unveiled the new images featuring the movie’s young leads Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley all dressed up and getting close at prom. As fans of the book know, prom is not just a romantic night out for Teller’s Sutter and Woodley’s Aimee, but turns out to be a pivotal moment in their relationship. The film also stars Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler and “The Hunger Games” star Dayo Okeniyi, and will make its world premiere in Park City on Friday night.

We can’t wait for this one and hope it lives up to the book and its impressive cast and crew. The new images of Teller and Woodley can be viewed below.

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Sundance 2013 Preview: 13 Films We’re Excited For

January 15, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Features 4 Comments

We are just about 48 hours away from the kick-off of a brand new edition of the Sundance Film Festival, where many rising stars begin their year and perhaps their career. Exhibit A: newly minted Oscar nominee Quvenzhane Wallis, whose “Beasts of the Southern Wild” performance was first given its stamp of approval by the Sundance audience last year. Exhibits B & C: her Best Actress category competitors, Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chatain. Both of them got their big break via Sundance in recent years too – Lawrence in 2010 with “Winter’s Bone” and Chastain in 2011 with “Take Shelter” – and have clearly leveraged those moments into successful and promising careers with longevity.

This looks to be another strong year filled with potential breakouts and we can’t wait to be introduced to them. Here are 13 films playing at the festival beginning next week that we are very excited for.

Start Here: The Spectacular Now >>

 

Brie Larsen to headline indie Bollywood musical “Basmati Blues”

January 3, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Rising star Brie Larson is definitely turning out to be someone to keep an eye on, with Showbiz 411 hinting that she may soon be in for a career boost in the vein of Jennifer Lawrence and Jessica Chastain. Whether that boost comes from the new project she just landed, however, remains to be seen. Showbiz411 reports (via The Playlist) Larson will play the lead role in American-girl-in-India Bollywood style musical “Basmati Blues.”

Newbie director Dan Baron will shoot the film entirely on location in India and a search is now on for an Indian male lead to star opposite Larson. Plot details are vague, with IMDB calling the film a “musical comedy about love, adventure, and a grain of rice that could change the world” which will apparently feature the music of country band Sugarland.

Larson is one of the busiest and fastest rising young actresses of the moment after turning in a breakout role opposite Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in surprise hit “21 Jump Street.” She recently wrapped Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut “Don Jon’s Addiction” opposite Scarlett Johansson, which is headed to Sundance in a couple weeks, and she’ll also be in Utah representing James Ponsoldt’s adaptation of “The Spectacular Now”, in which she stars opposite Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. She’s also completed filming on indie drama “Short Term 12″ and is attached to two indie comedies, “Squirrel to the Nuts” and “Relanxious”, both opposite Olivia Wilde.

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