It's a good casting week for charming, dark-haired actors — both Jason Schwartzman and Max Greenfield have joined the casts of buzzy upcoming movies. While Schwartzman will be working for acclaimed director Tim Burton, Greenfield will be reprising one of his famous TV roles. Additionally, Jennifer Lopez also nailed down a dramatic role, and a cast member was added to The Maze Runner. Start clicking to get details on these and more casting updates!
Sad news — The Sopranos star James Gandolfini has died at age 51. The actor reportedly suffered a heart attack early on Wednesday in Italy, where he was on vacation and planning to attend the Taormina Film Festival. James starred in films like True Romance, Get Shorty, and Zero Dark Thirty but will be best remembered for playing mob boss Tony Soprano on the HBO drama for six seasons. He recently wrapped filming on Animal Rescue with Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace and was working on shows for CBS and HBO.
HBO released a statement today, saying, "We're all in shock and feeling immeasurable sadness at the loss of a beloved member of our family. He was a special man, a great talent, but more importantly a gentle and loving person who treated everyone, no matter their title or position, with equal respect. He touched so many of us over the years with his humor, his warmth, and his humility."
This weekend's thriller World War Z finds Brad Pitt tracking down a cure for a gnarly worldwide zombie epidemic. It sounds like the perfect Summer movie, but is it chilling enough to keep you in your seat? Find out whether World War Z is a watch, pass, or rent in our video movie review!
Shailene Woodley may have been cut out of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but she's still front and center on the cover of this week's EW promoting Divergent. She's not alone, either; she's joined by hot costar and onscreen love interest Theo James, who plays Four. The adaptation of the YA novel has been filming in Chicago (where the stars have shared pictures from the set), and apparently Woodley and James are already getting along famously. Woodley said, "We're not into the industry, and have separate lives outside of it. That's refreshing. I don't know what I would do if Four was played by someone who cared what he looked like or spent more time in front of the mirror than I do." Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until the movie's March 2014 release date to see their chemistry in action.
The trailer for Crystal Fairy is the ideal antidote to seeing Michael Cera go psycho in the Magic Magic trailer. In this more lighthearted indie, Cera plays Jaime, a free-wheeling kid visiting Chile (yes, just like in Magic Magic — that movie and Crystal Fairy share the same director, Sebastian Silva). Jamie's not really there to learn the language or absorb culture, though: he wants to do drugs, specifically mescaline. Adding to all the madness is "Crystal Fairy" herself, a hippie chick played by Gaby Hoffman.
Cera and Hoffman make an interesting pair in this movie, and while I'm usually a bigger fan of Cera, I'm kind of fascinated by Hoffman's performance — the child actress is all grown up (and baring it all). Beyond that, you may have to really, really enjoy watching people take drugs to enjoy Crystal Fairy, so to get a taste before the movie's July 12 release, just keep reading.
We were on the scene for last week's Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester, TN — and while beating the heat and snapping photos of festival style, we caught some pretty amazing acts. If you weren't able to make it down to the farm this year, then you're in luck — there are a handful of performers that you can still catch on tour near you this Summer, including Solange, Haim, Macklemore, and Paul McCartney. Click through to see them all and to find out why it'll be well worth your time and money.
The buzz surrounding Fifty Shades of Grey has been revived following this week's news that Sam Taylor-Johnson has been secured as a director, but Hollywood is still talking about who will be cast in the movie. We've got ideas about which stars we can see as smoldering Christian and naive young Anastasia, and some readers even had suggestions for the supporting players (most notably Elena, aka Mrs. Robinson). To help you mix and match your leads, check out this list of casting suggestions, and tell us which guy and gal would make your fantasy Fifty Shades couple.
Christian Grey's Hollywood future is becoming a reality: author E.L. James announced on Twitter that Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct Fifty Shades of Grey, the adaptation of James's steamy novel. British director Taylor-Johnson (who is married to actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is best known for the young John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, and it sounds like the female filmmaker is a fan of the book. In a statement, Taylor-Johnson said, "I am excited to be charged with the evolution of Fifty Shades of Grey from page to screen. For the legions of fans, I want to say that I will honor the power of Erika's book and the characters of Christian and Anastasia. They are under my skin too." As for casting, we'll still have to wait — but we have plenty of suggestions!
