‘Kick-Ass 2′ Actress to Play Younger Version of Angelina Jolie in ‘Maleficent’
- Details
- Published on Friday, 18 October 2013 03:45
- Written by The wrap
British actress Ella Purnell has replaced India Eisley in Disney’s live-action movie.Seventeen-year-old British actress Ella Purnell has replaced India Eisley as a younger version of Angelina Jolie’s title character in “Maleficent,” according to an individual familiar with the Disney project.The live-action fantasy film stars Jolie as Disney’s ultimate villainess. Story explores Maleficent’s origins and what led her to curse Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning) in Disney’s animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.” The casting switch, first noticed on IMDb by UpAndComers.net, a result of the recent reshoots that took place over eight days and addressed the opening of the film, which establishes young Maleficent’s role in the hierarchy of a peaceful forest kingdom.Veteran production designer Robert Stromberg made his directorial debut with the film, though Disney turned to its “Saving Mr. Banks” filmmaker John Lee Hancock to be on set for the reshoots, as he helped write new pages of the big-budget tentpole’s script.The movie, which was originally shot last summer, co-stars Sharlto Copley, Brenton Thwaites, Sam Riley and Juno Temple.Disney is scheduled to release “Maleficent” on May 30, 2014, the same day Universal releases Seth MacFarlane’s Western comedy “A Million Ways to Die in the West,” which is his follow-up to “Ted.”Purnell, who recently co-starred alongside Chloe Moretz in “Kick-Ass 2,” previously played a younger version of Keira Knightley’s character in Mark Romanek’s “Never Let Me Go.” She’s repped by UTA and Curtis Brown Group.
 |
Angelina Jolie Sets Japanese Singer Miyavi As Brutal WWII POW Camp Guard ‘The Bird’ In ‘Unbroken’
- Details
- Published on Monday, 14 October 2013 04:12
- Written by Deadline
Universal Pictures and director Angelina Jolie have found their villain for the Lou Zamperini tale Unbroken. Jolie has set Japanese guitarist and singer Miyavi to play the role of Mutsushiro Watanabe, known as “The Bird.” That is the guard who made it his mission to break the spirit of Zamperini, and who haunted the athlete-turned-POW’s every step after he was captured in WWII. I’m told by individuals close to the project that it was no easy task to cast this role. After a long search for the perfect actor, the filmmakers continually found themselves returning to Miyavi’s captivating audition, one that mixed grace, ferocity, sensitivity and sophistication. That audition got Miyavi his first lead role in a Hollywood film. Jolie begins production in Australia in two weeks, and Universal releases the film December 25, 2014.Miyavi might be a new face onscreen, but he is well known in international music circles for his unconventional guitar and singing skills and music that incorporates period-authentic guitars and playing styles from the 1940s. Now he’s going back to that volatile wartime era in Unbroken. Miyavi will have to reschedule part of an upcoming Asia tour to perform the role.“As a musician, I questioned whether I should take a break from my craft to pursue this role,” Miyavi said in a statement. “After meeting Angie, it became clear to me that an underlying theme to this story is forgiveness. This resonated with me because that is exactly what I want express through my music. I look forward to taking on this challenge whole-heartedly.”
I must say, I have been fixated on The Bird since I first saw a wonderful short segment broadcast during the Nagano Olympics, where Zamperini returned to Japan in 1998. After running so compellingly in the final lap of his distance race in the 1936 Munich Olympics that Hitler asked to shake his hand, Zamperini was expected to bring home the gold with four more years of seasoning. The 1940 Olympics were scheduled to be held in Japan but all that fell apart in war. Zamperini instead arrived as a bombardier fighting in WWII. Sent on a rescue mission aboard a faulty aircraft, Zamperini and two other crewmen were the only survivors of a crash in the Pacific Ocean. After surviving in a raft for 47 days, the near-dead men were caught by the Japanese navy. And so began a POW ordeal that would have broken most men. In that CBS segment, Zamperini found the grace to forgive his captor, and offered to do it in person. The Bird was interviewed on camera, but he refused to meet with the hero he tormented for so many years.Universal first made a movie deal with Zamperini in 1957, when Tony Curtis planned to make the Zamperini story his followup to Spartacus. He waited forever. It was kept alive for over a decade by Matthew Baer, who is producing with Jolie, Erwin Stoff and Clayton Townsend. The big break was the publication of the book by Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand, which gave the project a second wind. Jolie, who had impressed Universal executives with her 2011 feature directing debut In The Land Of Blood And Honey. She flipped for the book and for Zamperini, and won the job over several other accomplished directors. And suddenly the 96-year old Zamperini sees his movie go into production, with Jack O’Connell playing him.Joel and Ethan Coen wrote the most recent draft of the script, with earlier drafts written by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese. Jolie will have Roger Deakins as her DP, and Universal execs Kristin Lowe and Sara Scott are overseeing for the studio.
 |
Angelina Jolie's first 'Unbroken' image
- Details
- Published on Friday, 11 October 2013 03:54
- Written by USA Today
Angelina Jolie releases her first image from the film "Unbroken." It's of the director and her subject.Angelina Jolie has released the first picture from her directorial effort Unbroken.It's a photo of the director with the inspiration of the story, Louis "Louie" Zamperini. The famed Olympic long-distance runner survived brutal conditions as a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II.Jolie and and Zamperini are actually neighbors in the Hollywood Hills and have become close friends over the film's development.Zamperini even gave Jolie a golden running shoe pendant, a prize from one of his earliest race. Jolie will wear it every day as she helms the film in Australia.In a release with the photo, Jolie said of her subject: "It will be hard to make a film worthy of this great man. I am deeply honored to have the chance and will do all I can to bring Louie's inspiring story to life... He has made me a better person." Zamperini referred to Jolie as "a human dynamo." "I know she will tell this story in the right way," he added. Zamperini's story was made into a best-selling book by author Laura Hillenbrand.Jack O'Connell will appear as Louis Zamperini in the film arriving in theaters Christmas Day, 2014.
 |
Disney's 'Maleficent' to Undergo Reshoots, No Angelina Jolie Required
- Details
- Published on Friday, 11 October 2013 03:51
- Written by Moviefone
There's trouble brewing on the set of Disney's "Maleficent," the Angelina Jolie-starring live action movie delving into the back story of the villain at the heart of "Sleeping Beauty." The Hollywood Reporter writes that the movie will undergo reshoots to fix problems with its opening, with several new scenes written by director John Lee Hancock."Maleficent" producer Joe Roth tells THR that Hancock will be brought on in a supervisory role, but that he would not be taking over directing duties from Robert Stromberg, who's making his feature directorial debut."We asked him to be on set," Roth said of Hancock. "He's not directing. He wrote pages and I hired a first-time director and it's good to have him on set."Stromberg won production design Oscars for his work on "Alice in Wonderland" and "Avatar," and Roth noted that it was Stromberg's reputation for such attention to beautiful detail that secured him the job. Hancock would merely be helping iron out the opening, Roth said, which anonymous sources told THR was completely rewritten by Hancock."The movie is gorgeous to look at and the last 75 minutes are really entertaining," Roth said.The reshoots, to take place over eight days, will not involve Jolie. "Maleficent," which has a budget in excess of $200 million, is still expected to keep its planned opening date of May 30, 2014.
 |
John Magaro Joins Angelina Jolie’s Louis Zamperini Pic ‘Unbroken’
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 09 October 2013 06:25
- Written by Deadline
John Magaro (Not Fade Away) has been cast in Unbroken, the true story of U.S. Olympian-turned-WWII prisoner of war Louis Zamperini which Angelina Jolie is helming for Universal. Magaro will play Frank A. Tinker, an Air Force dive bomb pilot and opera singer who befriends Zamperini en route to a Japanese POW camp. Jack O’Connell won the role of Zamperini and leads a cast that includes Garrett Hedlund and Domhnall Gleeson. The script, adapted from Seabiscuit author Laura Hillenbrand’s nonfiction bestseller, is by William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese with a rewrite by Joel and Ethan Coen. Filming begins mid-October under DP Roger Deakins ahead of an already-set Christmas 2014 release. Magaro is repped by Abrams Artists and Authentic Talent and Literary Management.
 |
Share
