The Playlist

Aussie Actor Callan Mulvey Books Kathryn Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty' & '300: Battle Of Artemisia'

By Simon Dang
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March 28, 2012 10:24 AM
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1 Comment

News

After years on Australian television, actor Callan Mulvey is making a move into the American film market. The actor has come into his own over the last few years, starring in the small-screen police-actioner "Rush" and it seems like the weekly exhibition of his action chops must have caught the right eyes somewhere as he's now scored roles in two big films in the works this year.

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Tom Hardy Apparently Eyed For Gareth Thomas Biopic, But Mickey Rourke Still Wants The Job

By Joe Cunningham
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March 28, 2012 9:38 AM
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3 Comments

News

The story of rugby player Gareth Thomas is a fascinating one. The Welsh rugby legend represented his country on 100 occasions, scoring 40 tries and becoming one of the greatest to ever play the game. He had a brief swansong representing Welsh club side Celtic Crusaders, before making a foray into reality television with an appearance on "Celebrity Big Brother" earlier this year. But the remarkable part of the story is that in 2009, after finalizing his divorce from his childhood sweetheart, Thomas announced publicly that he was gay. That made him the first openly gay rugby player, and easily the most high-profile gay athlete in Britain.

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Thomas Beatty's Dark Comedy 'Teddy Bears' Adds David Krumholtz, Melanie Lynskey, Jason Ritter, Gillian Jacobs & More

By Simon Dang
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March 28, 2012 9:22 AM
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News

With his father Ned Beatty in tow, you'd be inclined to think Thomas Beatty could have called in a few more favours for his directorial debut, but it looks like the writer-director is keeping things small-scale with the microbudget, dark comedy "Teddy Bears," co-helmed by his wife, photographer Rebecca Fishman.

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'Talk To Me' & 'Eve's Bayou' Helmer Kasi Lemmons To Adapt Zadie Smith's 'On Beauty'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 28, 2012 8:58 AM
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1 Comment

News

Unless you're up on your British literary phenomenons, you're in the McSweeney's crowd, or you're studying fiction at NYU, the name Zadie Smith might not be terribly familiar. Her first novel, the multi-cultural epic "White Teeth" caused a bidding war on the basis of an extract when the writer was only 22, and became an instant best-seller in 2000, a fate followed by her next two books, 2002's "The Autograph Man" and 2005's "On Beauty," the latter of which was nominated for the Booker Prize, the U.K.'s most prestigious literary award. But aside from a British TV miniseries version of "White Teeth," which showcased early turns from Naomie Harris and James McAvoy among others, Smith, who is currently a tenured professor of fiction at NYU, is yet to have a big-screen film made of one of her works.

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Rebel Wilson Feeling The 'Pain And Gain'

By Ryan Gowland
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March 28, 2012 8:40 AM
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News

After a scene-stealing turn as Kristen Wiig's annoying roommate in "Bridesmaids" (aided in no small part by Matt Lucas), Rebel Wilson wasted no time capitalizing on the movie's success, grabbing roles in Hollywood projects faster than you can say "Melissa McCarthy." This year alone, Wilson is already set to appear in the Chris Colfer-penned, coming-of-age comedy "Struck By Lightning" (debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival next month), Lionsgate's ensemble pregnancy comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting" in May, The Weinstein Company's not-a-"Bridesmaids"-sequel-but-get-confused-and-buy-a-ticket-anyway comedy "Bachelorette" in June, and in Fox's animated sequel "Ice Age: Continental Drift" in July. If that wasn't enough, the Australian actress has already wrapped the musical comedy "Pitch Perfect," and has lined up her next project, Michael Bay's "Pain And Gain."

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Sex, Love And Ice Cream: Trailer & Images For 'Free Samples' Featuring Jesse Eisenberg

By Ryan Gowland
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March 28, 2012 8:21 AM
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News

The 11th Tribeca Film Festival is only a few weeks away, and will feature plenty of indie movies vying for audience attention and studio distribution, so credit newcomer director Jay Gammill and Film Market for getting the word out early on their quirky comedy "Free Samples." The film stars Jess Weixler — known most notably for staging a war on penises in Mitchell Lichtenstein's 2007 horror-comedy "Teeth" — as a Stanford law-school dropout who gets stuck working in an ice cream truck for a day and is distracted by every goofy weirdo in town while she tries to figure out what to do with her life. Among those distractions is Jason Ritter (who also worked with Weixler in the 2009 romantic drama "Peter and Vandy") and Jesse Eisenberg, who could be Weixler's love interest in the movie (or could just appear in a handful of scenes).

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Kirsten Dunst Hits The Set Of Sofia Coppola's 'The Bling Ring'

By Simon Dang
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March 28, 2012 7:58 AM
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0 Comments

News

After Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale was spotted on the set of Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring," likely playing a club-promoter cohort of the titular group of teens, set photos today reveal former Coppola muse Kirsten Dunst ("The Virgin Suicides," "Marie Antoinette") on set with Emma Watson and, judging by her attire, we'd say it looks like more than just a simple set visit.

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Paul Thomas Anderson's 'The Master' Officially Set For October 12th Release

By The Playlist
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March 27, 2012 10:06 PM
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13 Comments

News

There's good news and bad news tonight. The potentially bad news is that the glut of commentors who insist that Paul Thomas Anderson's upcoming drama, "The Master" isn't actually called that are wrong according to Box Office Mojo. The good news, as promised by Annapurna Pictures, the financiers and producers of the film, it has nabbed a October release date.

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Zooey Deschanel And Rising Star Domhnall Gleeson Circling 'Love Actually' Helmer Richard Curtis' 'About Time'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 27, 2012 9:50 PM
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News

It's possible that it's escaped your notice (if you've been, you know, in a coma or a cave or something), but Zooey Deschanel became something of a megastar in the last twelve months. The indie hearthrob had already been on her way, after rom-com "(500) Days Of Summer," but took a risk in moving to the TV world by headlining Fox's "New Girl." It's a risk that's paid off in spades -- the show's been one of the biggest hits of the past season (and quietly, after a dreadful, 'adorkable' start, become a pretty decent little comedy), and has made the actress a household name.

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Stanley Tucci Bags Lead Opposite Emma Watson In 'Harry Potter' Director David Yates' Drama 'Your Voice In My Head'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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March 27, 2012 8:41 PM
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4 Comments

News

If your part calls for an actor in their 40s or 50s, and you're part of a big studio movie, the reality is that the same handful of names are always going to be at the top of your casting wishlist -- the Cruises, the Clooneys, the Pitts, the Hankses, the Depps. These are the guys who get every offer in town, and as such, those actors get to pick and choose from the cream of the crop.

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