Adam Driver (and Maybe Amanda Seyfried) in for Noah Baumbach’s “While We’re Young”

May 1, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

After working together on the upcoming “Frances Ha”, director Noah Baumbach is bringing Adam Driver back into the fold, with the “Girls” star now in talks for the long-gestating “While We’re Young”, according to The Wrap.

The film is about two couples, an older, uptight married one comprised of a documentary filmmaker (Ben Stiller) and his wife (Naomi Watts) who find their lives turned upside down when they befriend a free-spirited younger couple, to be played by Driver and a still-to-be-cast young actress, with THR suggesting Amanda Seyfried is one candidate. Filming will take place in New York this fall should everything come together, though it should be noted this project has been on and off for years, with other actors like Jesse Eisenberg and James Franco in Driver’s role.

Driver is one of our Faces to Watch in 2013, for obviously very good reason. After a small role in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated “Lincoln”, in 2013 he’ll continue to make his mark on the indie scene with roles opposite Greta Gerwig in “Frances Ha”, which charmed festival audiences last year, as Daniel Radcliffe’s best friend in rom com “The F Word”, and opposite Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in the Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” He’s also completed filming on Australian outback drama “Tracks” opposite Mia Wasikowska, will star in Shawn Levy’s ensemble comedy “This is Where I Leave You” and most recently landed his first starring role in indie comedy “The Coward”, which will co-star Chris O’Dowd.

Mia Wasikowska Joins Juliette Binoche in Olivier Assayas’ “Sils Maria”

March 25, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

mia-wasikowska Australian rising star Mia Wasikowska has joined Juliette Binoche in French director Olivier Assayas’ newest, “Sils Maria”, according to IonCinema (via The Film Stage).

The “Carlos” director had been developing the film for a while, and once described it as “[a] Juliette Binoche movie about Juliette Binoche with Juliette Binoche”, making Binoche’s involvement, um, pretty crucial here. Sils Maria refers to a region of Switzerland, where the film will be set and where Maria Enders, the Binoche-based actress character (played by Binoche), will sojourn and reflect back on her life and career. Wasikowska will play an assistant and most of the action in the film will take place in one room. The English-language film will shoot this summer in Germany and Switzerland.

Wasikowska, who broke out when she played Tim Burton’s titular “Alice in Wonderland” in 2010, has been earning acclaim for starring in the opposite of mindless popcorn films ever since. She can currently be seen opposite Nicole Kidman in Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut “Stoker”, and has wrapped filming on a few intriguing projects, including Jim Jarmusch’s “Only Lovers Left Alive” opposite Tilda Swinton and Tom Hiddleston, Australian outback set survival tale “Tracks” and Dostoyevsky adaptation “The Double” with Jesse Eisenberg.

Adam Driver Takes Over Zac Efron’s Role in “This is Where I Leave You”

March 11, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

adam-driver “Girls” star Adam Driver’s big screen takeover continues. THR reports Driver is in talks to join Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda, Kathryn Hahn and Corey Stoll in Shawn Levy’s family comedy “This is Where I Leave You”, in a role originally earmarked for Zac Efron. Scheduling with the film and his commitment to “Girls” may be an issue , so this is not a done deal just yet.

Levy took over directing duties for Adam Shankman (who remains as a producer) and is assembling a new cast around Bateman’s Judd, a sad sack kinda guy who recently lost his wife due to infidelity with his boss and whose father has just died. The father’s dying wish was for his surviving family to sit Shiva for the full seven days after his passing. This means all four siblings (Bateman’s Judd, Fey’s Wendy, Stoll’s Paul and much younger brother Philip, originally to be played by Efron but now taken over by Driver) plus their mother (Fonda) are trapped together for a week as all sorts of secrets are spilled and shenanigans go down. Hahn plays Bateman’s unfaithful wife, while the search continues for Penny, Judd’s old high school crush.

Driver is one of our Faces to Watch in 2013, for obviously very good reason. After a small role in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated “Lincoln”, in 2013 he’ll continue to make his mark on the indie scene with roles opposite Greta Gerwig in Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”, which charmed festival audiences last year, as Daniel Radcliffe’s best friend in rom com “The F Word”, and opposite Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in the Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” He’s also completed filming on Australian outback drama “Tracks” opposite Mia Wasikowska and most recently landed his first starring role in indie comedy “Coward.”

“Girls” Star Adam Driver Is A “Coward” In First Lead Film Role

February 28, 2013 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting 1 Comment

adam-driver “Girls” breakout star Adam Driver, one of our Faces to Watch in 2013, has booked his first lead role on the big screen. Deadline reports Driver will topline indie period comedy “Coward”, to be directed by “Ceremony” helmer Max Winkler.

In the comedy set in 18th Century England, Driver will play a nobleman whose family has a long history ending up on the losing side of to-the-death duels. When he’s challenged to such a duel, he hires a criminal to take his place. The criminal ends up rather liking the lifestyle of the rich and steals Driver’s character’s identity. Winkler wrote the script with Matt Spicer and it’s adapted from the Nick Jones play. Deadline reports the increasingly in demand Driver was offered several projects but chose this one.

Driver is clearly a rising star to keep an eye on. After a small role in Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-nominated “Lincoln”, in 2013 he’ll continue to make his mark on the indie scene with roles opposite Greta Gerwig in Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”, which charmed festival audiences last year, as Daniel Radcliffe’s best friend in rom com “The F Word”, and opposite Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in the Coen Brothers’ “Inside Llewyn Davis.” He’s also completed filming on Australian outback drama “Tracks” opposite Mia Wasikowska.

“Girls” star Adam Driver heads Down Under with Mia Wasikowska for camel trek drama “Tracks”

August 23, 2012 | Posted by Linda Ge in Casting Leave a comment

Adam Driver, the breakout star of HBO series “Girls”, has landed the male lead opposite Mia Wasikowska in Australian set desert drama “Tracks”, according to Deadline.

Wasikowska will play real life writer Robyn Davidson, whose book “Tracks” is the basis of the film. In 1977, Davidson trekked over 1500 miles through the desert to the centre of Australia by herself, with only four camels and her dog for company. With no intention of chronicling the journey, she was approached by National Geographic to write an article about it. Driver will play Rick Sloman, the National Geographic photographer who met up with her at various points in her journey to photograph her progress. Filming under the direction of John Curran will begin in Australia in October.

Driver, most known for his role as Hannah’s repulsive yet intriguing boyfriend Adam on Lena Dunham’s divisive HBO series “Girls”, has also been making his mark on the big screen. He plays the role of Samuel Beckwith in Steven Spielberg’s forthcoming “Lincoln” biopic starring Daniel Day Lewis, and also stars opposite Greta Gerwig in Noah Baumbach’s “Frances Ha”, which is Toronto-bound. He’s currently filming indie rom com “The F Word” with Zoe Kazan and Daniel Radcliffe.

Mia Wasikowska heads home to trek across the Australian desert in “Tracks”

May 23, 2012 | Posted by Rebecca Lewis in Casting Leave a comment

Fresh off a triumphant visit to Cannes Film Festival, starring in John Hillcoat’s “Lawless“, Austrailian actress Mia Wasikowska is set to head home Down Under for her next feature.

Variety reports the young actress will be starring in “Tracks“, based on Robyn Davidson’s non-fiction book of the same name. In 1977, Davidson trekked over 1500 miles through the desert to the centre of Australia by herself, with only four camels and her dog for company. With no intention of chronicling the journey, she was approached by National Geographic to write an article and it proved so popular that she decided to write a book on her experiences.

Davidson was joined on the trip by photographer Rick Smolan whom she continued an on-again off-again relationship with over the course of the nine months. Casting for Smolan will occur over the next few months, ready for filming to begin in the fall.

The pic will be directed by John Curran. Producers Iain Canning and Emile Sherman, who also produced Oscar winner “The King’s Speech” and the critically acclaimed “Shame”, told Variety, “we are so excited that Mia has come on board to play this extraordinary role in ‘Tracks’ … John is an incredibly talented filmmaker and we feel the story of one woman, transforming her life by attempting the impossible, is both universal and timely.”

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