movie news

Broadway hit Rock of Ages is set to leap from stage to the screen when the movie version is released in 2012. The casting has been slowly coming together, and the lead role has finally been cast: Diego Boneta has snagged the part of Drew Boley. The relative newcomer (though 90210 and Pretty Little Liars fans will recognize him) will play the bus boy/aspiring rocker trying to get his big break in LA. Besides him, there have been other recent cast developments — check out a rundown of the actors set to star in the film, directed by Adam Shankman.

• Along with Boneta, Russell Brand is also in talks for a role, which many are speculating is that of Lonny, who narrates the movie and runs The Bourbon Room, the fictional LA club where Drew works.
• Tom Cruise is attached to the part of rock star Stacee Jaxx.
• Julianne Hough has the female lead of Sherrie Christian, the small-town girl with big dreams.
• Amy Adams recently signed on to play the journalist who is easily seduced by Jaxx, Cruise's character. UPDATE: Adams is no longer on board, and Malin Akerman has taken the role.
• Paul Giamatti will play the manager of Jaxx's band.
• Alec Baldwin is Dennis Dupree, owner of The Bourbon Room.
• Mary J. Blige will appear as Justice Charlier, proprietor of exotic dance establishment The Venus Club.
• Bryan Cranston is in talks to play the mayor of Los Angeles, and Catherine Zeta-Jones will play the his wife.

If you're a Rock of Ages fan, let me know — are you on board with these casting choices?

Will and Jaden Smith are about to make their next film a family affair: they have signed on to costar in a science fiction action adventure film, which will be directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The father-son pair will play father and son in the film too, which will be set in the future. Jaden's character is that of a young boy exploring an abandoned planet in a spaceship his estranged father (Will) is also on. The last time the Smiths costarred was in 2006's The Pursuit of Happyness.

After a couple of weeks of rumors and speculation, Lionsgate has officially chosen its male leads for The Hunger Games. Josh Hutcherson beat a handful of other strapping young lads to play Peeta, a baker's son who's chosen to participate in The Hunger Games along with Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence). Liam Hemsworth has nabbed the smaller role of Gale, Katniss's BFF that she leaves behind when she's forced to participate in the games.

I can definitely see Hutcherson as self-deprecating but charming Peeta (even though the character technically has blond hair), while Hemsworth should do fine as quiet, broody Gale. I know fans of the books have strong feelings about who they've been envisioning in the roles, so can you see these gentlemen alongside Jennifer Lawrence?

If you're keeping track of the competing Snow White films, you know that Kristen Stewart has been tapped to play the heroine in one, Snow White and The Huntsman. Now its rival film, The Brothers Grimm: Snow White, has its female lead, too. Lily Collins, best known for The Blind Side, has signed on to play Snow White in the film, which is being directed by Tarsem Singh.

Although Saoirse Ronan was rumored to be getting the role when Armie Hammer signed on to play the Prince, Singh joked with me that Collins won the role thanks to her full eyebrows this past weekend at WonderCon!

Saoirse Ronan came dressed for the fanboys at yesterday's WonderCon panel for Hanna. The young star showed up rocking a Wonder Woman t-shirt, as she sat alongside director Joe Wright to preview new clips from their upcoming thriller before a crowd of excited fans. The two collaborated previously on Atonement, but if you've seen the trailer for Hanna, then you know this is nothing like their previous work. But then again, the character Hanna is nothing like your typical heroine. Check out the panel highlights below to find out why.

• The first question of the panel went to the director, Wright: why do a film like this after movies like Atonement and Pride & Prejudice? He said Ronan was actually the one who suggested he take it on. One of the things that attracted him to it was the fact that "It's not a franchise, not based on a comic, not even based on fairy tale specifically," which gave the director creative license to dream up his own world.
• Wright joked that two of the bad guys in the film were actually inspired by his own bullies from when he was growing up. "It was my way of getting back at them, by having them slain by a girl," he quipped.
• Ronan beats up guys twice her size in the flick, and the actress endured plenty of training to get the fight scenes, particularly in martial arts. "I suddenly had muscle in my arms, and I was strong," she said. "I had never experienced that before!"
• As for why Ronan loved the script, she explained: "It's important that we have strong female characters in movies now." And unlike other "sexy or cool" leading women in film, Ronan likes that Hanna is a misfit. "She is weird, and I think Hanna as an action heroine — if that's what you want to call her — is quite elegant in her temperament and behavior except when she's kicking ass. I think we haven't seen an action heroine like this yet."
• Wright also touched on the importance of heroines in movies, and got up on his soapbox to address female empowerment. "The place of young women in society, and the continued sexual objectification of women — I find that whole culture terrifying and kind of disgusting really," he said. "I wanted to address that with this film. I remember when the Spice Girls came out in the '90s and they called it 'girl power.' I think that's bullsh*t. I probably shouldn't say this, but I look at posters for recent films with girls kicking ass; there's one out at the moment, in bikinis and crop tops, and this is supposedly female empowerment, and that's bullsh*t. Female empowerment is not about sex; that's the point of female empowerment. It's about brains. So I was very keen to look at those issues with this movie, and Hanna exists outside of that." Obviously Wright was getting in a dig at Sucker Punch, but his little speech received huge cheers from the audience.

The Three Musketeers was short two Musketeers at WonderCon today. Logan Lerman who plays the young rebel D'Artagnan came out to support the project along with Luke Evans who costars as Aramis. But Matthew Macfadyen (Athos) and Ray Stevenson (Porthos) were absent, as was Orlando Bloom, Milla Jovovich, and Christoph Waltz. Not to worry though, because the panel still helped shed light on the upcoming retelling of the classic story. Read below to get the dish on what to expect.

• The panel started with the same teaser we saw just a couple weeks ago; however, this time I was definitely more on board with the film. Watching it on a big screen with surround sound made it much more exciting.
• Lerman talked extensively about his training for the film, particularly the fencing he had to learn. In the big, intricate fights, he had to perform as many as 150 moves in just one scene! That's a lot to remember, but it was dangerous too. "Every time the swords hit, there were sparks!" he said. Even though the actors did their own fight scenes, no one got seriously injured. Evans noted that there were a few sword cuts. He quipped: "You want us to say there were fatalities, don't you?"
• Lerman talked a bit about his costars who weren't in attendance. He describes Jovovich's character in the film as an "asskicking m'lady" who terrifies the Musketeers, and joked that Waltz "brought his Oscar every day" to set."
• While the Musketeers have been portrayed in film before, both of the stars promised that this new version will bring its own slant to the story. "We're looking at it as the untold chapter of the story," said Lerman. "Make them the James Bond, Navy SEALs of their time." Evans suggested that there's always room for another film version."They're good stories," he said. "They last forever, and they deserve a place in everyone's generation. This one is the same."
• As for their look in the film, apparently it comes down to one thing: hair. "I had a lot of hair in this one, it's true," laughed Lerman. "Sexy hair," added Evans.

Henry Cavill was announced as the new Superman just two months ago, but at WonderCon today, it quickly became apparent that the handsome hero already has a following. Cavill took the stage along with Luke Evans and Isabel Lucas, director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall), and producer Mark Canton (300) to present never-before-seen footage from their upcoming mythology action flick, Immortals. Freida Pinto, Mickey Rourke, and Kellan Lutz also star, though they were unable to attend (Lutz unfortunately missed his flight after a Breaking Dawn shoot went until 6 a.m. this morning!).

The movie tells the story of the Greek Perseus, a warrior who gets handpicked by Zeus (Evans) to save humankind from evil King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke). Lutz plays Poseidon, Lucas steps in as Athena, and Pinto costars as Perseus's love interest. But even though the stars were at WonderCon to talk about their new action project, Superman was a very hot topic.

• Canton and Singh opened up the show with a first-ever look at footage from Immortals. The clip showcased Cavill and his crazy physique from training for the role, along with quick moments from other members of the cast (though I didn't catch Lutz in the teaser unfortunately). But more so than the actors, Singh's visual aesthetic is the obvious star of the project. The director said he approached the film as a mix between a Caravaggio painting and Fight Club, but mainly, it feels very reminiscent of 300 — and no wonder, since it has the same producers. The camera shots are artistic and several of the scenes are in slo-mo for maximum dramatic effect.
• One difference audiences may notice is the young spin the film is taking with some of the characters. At only 32, Evans is nearly half the age of the most recent version of Zeus we've seen onscreen (Liam Neeson), but director Singh gave an explanation that actually makes a lot of sense: "If you wanted to live forever, would you want to look like anyone in their 40s or 50s or 60s, like me and Mark, or would you want to look like that?"

For more on the film, plus what Cavill had to say about Superman, read more

WonderCon is in full effect here in San Francisco, and today I checked out another panel for an upcoming movie: Cowboys & Aliens. The actors in the film, Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde, weren't able to attend, but directer Jon Favreau and producer Roberto Orci gave the crowd a lot to be excited about. They spilled details about the Western-meets-alien-invasion action flick, and showed the audience several minutes of footage, which definitely improved upon the teaser we saw a few months ago. Check out the most scintillating bits from the panel below.

• Favreau kicked off the panel by saying how grateful he was for events like Comic-Con and WonderCon. Because of the support of the fans, he says that the conventions remain a priority, and that he is "very grateful for what you guys have done for my career."
• Favreau complimented star Daniel Craig, calling him an "awesome, professional, great dude." Craig was ideal for the movie because Favreau admired his work in Layer Cake and the Bond films, saying that he's "sort of a vulnerable but really badass hero."
• As for the film's other huge star, Harrison Ford, Orci admitted that they never thought he would agree to the film. The victory in getting Ford, Favreau said, is that he is "bringing this entire history" to the movie, and alongside Craig, they have "two generations of action stars."
• Favreau is excited about the mashup of the Western genre with the aliens, noting that "the fun isn't in making fun of the fact that they're in a Western," but that the fun is in the alien presence "blowing their minds."
• Although Favreau frequently cameos in the movies he directs, he doesn't appear in Cowboys & Aliens. The funny reason for it, he said, is because Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane made fun of him for wanting to!

Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively hit WonderCon in San Francisco today to talk about Green Lantern. After we were treated to several minutes of footage from the film, the stars took to the stage to address the challenges of the superhero movie and what it was like to work together.

• Reynolds seemed happy and excited to be talking about the film, especially after the footage was shown. When asked how it felt to be here after working hard on the movie, he was candid, saying it "actually feels pretty good when you see that sh*t right there." As for why he wanted to star in the film, he said that he had confidence in the movie because of the studio, Warner Bros., and how well they've handled other important projects, like Harry Potter (great-looking, funny, and a Harry Potter fan? He may be too perfect.) He also cited the technology, noting that its availability is why "we can make a movie like this."
• Asked about what it was like to work with each other, Lively first joked that it was "horrible," but their chemistry and mutual admiration was clear. Lively said that Reynolds was "so much fun to work with," and that he's "impossibly likable." Reynolds called the experience fantastic, and mentioned that they read together during the casting and "we just had chemistry. . . one of the few things in film you can't create."
• Reynolds talked about his training and diet to become the Green Lantern, which consisted of gymnastics and eating "orphan children" (a joke, I presume) for six months. He admitted that it was kind of tough, saying, "I'm not an old guy, but I'm not 19 anymore."

To find out what else Reynolds and Lively talked about, including who Reynolds think could play The Flash, just read more

Disney is bringing Miss Marple, the star character of many Agatha Christie novels, back to life — but this time they're giving her a face-lift. Jennifer Garner has signed on to tackle a more youthful version of the sleuth, who has been previously portrayed by actresses like Margaret Rutherford and Angela Lansbury. Are you familiar with any of the Miss Marple stories? And can you see it as a reboot with Garner?