The Playlist

Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson Cast As Gale & Peeta In 'Hunger Games'

By Catherine Scott
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April 4, 2011 6:06 AM
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3 Comments

Finally, the wait for fangirls (and boys) everywhere is over. Lionsgate announced today that Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth are officially cast -- after being outed as frontrunners last week -- as Peeta and Gale, respectively, in the company's huge tentpole adaptation "The Hunger Games." The boys join female lead Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss; Hutcherson plays Lawrence's love interest when she's placed in an arena to fight for her life, while Hemsworth is Lawrence's best friend waiting at home. The decision comes at the end of a long wait for casting choices. Other candidates for the parts included Hunter Parrish of "Weeds" and Lucas Till of the upcoming "X-Men: First Class" for Peeta and Disney star Drew Roy for Gale.

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Tony Kaye's 'Detachment' With Adrien Brody, Christina Hendricks & More Added To Tribeca Lineup

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2011 6:00 AM
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4 Comments

Kings Of Leon Documentary Also AddedOver a decade into his career, Tony Kaye is likely still wondering what it feels like to shoot a movie, edit it and then release it easily into theaters, no fuss no muss. "American History X" found him battling with Edward Norton over the cut of the film. He would return eight years later with "Lake Of Fire," a documentary about abortion that no one saw. Then there's the New Orleans thriller "Black Water Transit" starring Laurence Fishburne, Karl Urban and Brittany Snow that is still presumably being haggled over in the mess that David Bergstein created with Capitol Films. But last year, Kaye shot "Detachment," a drama set within the education system and lo and behold it's ready to make a premiere without any fights with his lead actor or the financiers going under leaving the film in limbo.

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Dumb Governator Comic Will Also Be Dumb Movie, Good Luck With That

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2011 5:12 AM
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3 Comments

Larry King To Be A Recurring Character On The Cartoon ShowOh hey, so in case you forgot, Arnold Schwarzenegger's first project out of office is incredibly lame sounding "The Governator." First announced last week, the brewing franchise (seriously) will span comic books and television with Arnie reimagined as a crime-fighting former politician (sigh) who has his own Bat-cave sort of thing under his mansion, is assisted by a techie security guy named Zeke Muckerberg and squares off against Gangsters Imposters Racketeers Liars & Irredeemable Ex-cons (or G.I.R.L.I.E. Men, for short). It sounds like Stan Lee, who is helping develop this thing, didn't see one bad idea he couldn't use and now this mess of awfulness is being developed into a movie.

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2 New Clips From SXSW Alien Invasion Hit 'Attack The Block' Debut

By Cory Everett
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April 4, 2011 4:15 AM
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0 Comments

It's been about three weeks since Joe Cornish's alien invasion flick "Attack The Block" debuted at SXSW to rapturous reviews (including our own) and the film is still without a U.S. distribution deal. The film screened last week in L.A. to similarly positive notices, possibly hoping to gain some more traction towards a deal stateside before its May debut in the U.K. If anyone involved with the film is hoping to keep that ball rolling, we think New York might be a great place for another screening. (Hint, hint.) But to tide us over, Empire has just debuted 2 new clips from the film which you can check out below.

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Woody Allen Goes Meta With Appearance In French Film 'Paris Manhattan'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2011 3:58 AM
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0 Comments

These days, Woody Allen rarely steps in front of the camera, even less for a film directed by someone else. His last onscreen appearance in one of his own films was in "Scoop" and in someone else's film, you would have to go back over a decade to Alfonso Arau's "Picking Up The Pieces" (though he did have a small cameo the same year in "Company Man"). But Europe has made no secret of their love for the writer/director/actor and he's returning the favor.

Review: 'His Way' An All Too Brief, Surface Look At The Life Of Legendary Producer Jerry Weintraub

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2011 3:44 AM
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0 Comments

They don't make 'em like Jerry Weintraub anymore. Born in Brooklyn, he quickly climbed the ladder, earning early success in the music business, working with a staggering array of talent including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, The Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Neil Diamond, Eric Clapton, John Denver and more. Once he conquered the music game, Weintraub moved over to the movie business making a name for himself with Robert Altman's "Nashville" and going on to put his mark on films like "Diner," the "Ocean's Eleven" trilogy and "The Karate Kid." It's been a hell of a ride for the producer who, now in his '70s, shows no sign of slowing down and said recently, "the word ‘retirement’ it’s not in my vocabulary—they’re gonna take me out with my boots on.”

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Legendary Writer Robert Towne To Pen Mini-Series 'Pompeii'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 4, 2011 3:20 AM
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3 Comments

The 2007 writers' strike wound up either rushing a lot of films into production or killing them off completely: one of the many projects to bite the dust was an adaption of Robert Harris' "Pompeii." Set to be directed by Roman Polanski, with Scarlett Johansson and Orlando Bloom in the leads, problems with the film's spiralling budget were only compounded by the impending work stoppage and the feature film was canceled. Polanski went on to film another Harris novel, "The Ghost Writer," instead. Last spring however, "Pompeii" kicked back to life with Ridley Scott snatching up the rights and looking to take it the television mini-series route and now he's handed it to one of the most famed screenwriters of all time.

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Saoirse Ronan Talks Possibility Of Working With Joe Wright Again, Remains Cagey On 'Anna Karenina'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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April 4, 2011 2:57 AM
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3 Comments

She might be a good half-decade off being able to drink legally, but Saoirse Ronan has already racked up an impressive array of performances in her career so far. What's more, she seems to know a good deal more about media management than actors three times her age -- while a veteran like, say, Michael Caine is constantly thwarting Christopher Nolan's plans for secrecy, Ronan knows how to run rings around the press when it comes to rumors. She's already come out with a firm refusal to confirm or deny just about anything about her rumored presence in "The Hobbit," and when we caught up with the actress at WonderCon over the weekend, where she was promoting her Joe Wright-helmed thriller "Hanna," she stayed pretty mum on the latest speculation -- that she's set to work with the director a third time on his upcoming adaptation of Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina"

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Ryan Reynolds Says 'Green Lantern' Is Not 'The Dark Knight,' Not A Comedy Either

By Edward Davis
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April 4, 2011 2:41 AM
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3 Comments

Actor Says The Story For The 'Green Lantern' Sequel Is "Set In Stone" & Hinted At In This FilmCall it comeback week for Warner Bros' "Green Lantern" superhero franchise but a few months ago it was a completely different story. When the EW magazine cover that first revealed lead actor Ryan Reynolds in costume hit, the core geek crowd were not feeling the CGI-created mask or suit. The first trailer didn't fare much better and was criticized by fanboys for its cheap effects and far-too-goofy tone.

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