Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Stars to Watch: Part 2 – Movies Spotlight – October 2010

Cinema constantly has new talent each and every year, making good films and opening audiences’ eyes to new characters, stories and worlds. Six such newcomers in particular are having a breakthrough year – Chloe Grace Moretz, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara (Part 1), Emma Roberts, Aaron Johnson, and Gemma Arterton (Part 2), each with a new film coming out in October.

Emma Roberts:

What She’s Been In:

Roberts, 19, became enthralled in the movie business from a young age, practically growing up on the film sets of her aunt Julia Roberts and father Eric Roberts. Thus, she decided at the age of five to be an actress and made her debut in 2001 at the age of nine in Blow as the daughter of the drug dealing protagonist played by Johnny Depp. She was also an un-credited extra in America’s Sweethearts, which her aunt Julia starred in. She had small roles in a few other films and TV series before landing her first major role as Addie Singer on the Nickelodeon TV series Unfabulous (I say major because she was cast as the series lead and the show aired for four seasons). In 2006 she got her first lead role in a feature film, Aquamarine, which finally got her exposure as a potential teen star, but also pigeon-holed her a bit for teen and pre-teen films (what are essential “B” movies for young girls), like: Nancy Drew, Wild Child and Hotel for Dogs. She also appeared in the ensemble 2010 film Valentine’s Day.

Breakthrough:

While making films like Nancy Drew is fine, to grow as an actress Roberts needed to take on tougher roles in more interesting films. She got a part in the indy film Lymelife in 2008, which did well that year at the Toronto Film Festival. Roberts suddenly found herself as an in demand actress of indy films. She took on roles in five indy films, highlighted by James C. Strouse’s The Winning Season about a has-been coach who is given a shot at redemption when he is asked to run a local girl’s basketball team – she stars opposite Sam Rockwell. Her teen films may have got her name and face out to more movie-goers, but her work in these indy films has her name and face circulating among producers and directors (which really is more important) and industry people see all the films including two of her better indies that only got a very limited release: the very positively reviewed Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac which she stars with Anton Yelchin and Oscar winning writer Dustin Lance Black’s directorial debut What’s Wrong with Virginia.

October Film:

However, this month’s film It’s Kind of a Funny Story will likely serve as her real breakthrough for cinema-goers (and I say cinema, as it is more of an indy film than a Hollywood blockbuster). The film has been receiving lots of positive buzz out of the festival circuit and critics are singling out her performance as one of the best aspects of the film. It is directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (who are adored by indy film critics), and is about a depressed teenager looking for a new start by checking himself into an adult psych-ward. Roberts plays another patient (and Zach Galifianakis is in it too, just in case you needed one more reason to see it).

Upcoming:

In 2011 Roberts has two new films scheduled for release (and maybe a few of her 2010 indy films will get some wider distribution). First she has a smaller film, Homework, about a solitary high school student who comes out of his shell once he strikes up a friendship with a girl he has like for a long time. She co-stars with Freddie Highmore. Then, she has the co-lead in the Wes Craven’s ensemble horror series Scream 4, which will be her second high profile ensemble film. Hopefully, her performance, which is great, in It’s Kind of a Funny Story will garner her good roles in the future, as she certainly has the potential to be an “A-list” star in Hollywood.


Career Highlights:

1.) Lymelife (2008)  supporting [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent] 
2.) The Winning Season (2010)  lead* [DVD/Rent]
3.) Twelve (2010) – supporting [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
4.) It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) – supporting [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
*Editor's Picks

Aaron Johnson:

What He’s Been In:

Johnson, 20, started his career at age six acting on the stage opposite Rufus Sewell in Macbeth (The Scottish Play). After a few plays he switched his focus to film, debuting in the family film Tom & Thomas. He also had roles in a number of British TV series and TV movies as well as small bit parts in American films including Shanghai Knights and The Illusionist. In 2007, he got more notoriety in the U.K. getting starring roles on the TV series Talk to Me and Nearly Famous, which in turn lead to parts in the British films Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging and Dummy and small parts in American films The Greatest and Temple Grandin (off topic, but this film is great and Claire Dane’s performance in it is probably going to be the best of 2010). He was ready for a breakthrough role in the U.K.

Breakthrough:

That film for Johnson was Nowhere Boy (released in the U.K. in 2009, and released in the states this month, more below). His breakthrough in America came with the release of Kick-Ass, in which he plays the title character. The film directed by Matthew Vaughn made Johnson’s face instantly recognizable to fans across the country (though it was Chloe Grace Moretz who stole the show). The film not only made him a star (at least with fanboys and fangirls) but also set him up to have a viable film franchise in American.

October Film:

While it came out last year in the U.K., Nowhere Boy is ready to be a hit this month in America after success both in its initial release across the pond and on the festival circuit. Johnson plays a young John Lennon as he grows up, gets into music and eventually co-founds The Beatles (sounds like a dream role right). The film has loads of positive buzz behind it and should solidify Johnson as one of the marquee young actors.

Upcoming:

Up next, Johnson has two thrillers: one by Hideo Nakata (director of Ringu) called Chatroom, in which a group of teenagers drive each other’s bad behavior to new levels, and the other about a new cell phone that brings with it bad luck to whomever comes in procession of it, aptly named The Phone (and yes, I too agree that these both sound pretty awful). And then in 2012, he stars in Kick-Ass 2: Balls to the Wall (which presumably will be as awesome as the first). There is no doubt that after Kick-Ass and Nowhere Boy, he will be in high demand in Hollywood.


Career Highlights:

1.) Kick-Ass (2010) – lead* [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
2.) Nowhere Boy (2010) – lead* [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
*Editor’s picks

Gemma Arterton:

What She’s Been In:

Arterton, 24, got her start in the 2007 British TV movie Capturing Mary while she was still in drama school. She also won the role of Rosaline in Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Globe Theatre in London that year before graduating. She made her feature film debut in the boarding school comedy St. Trinian’s (which basically resembles a bad American college comedy). She also got a small bit part in Guy Ritchie’s RocknRolla, though her mini-breakthrough came with the lead in the critically acclaimed BBC miniseries Tess of the D’Urbervilles and as a Bond Girl in Quantum of Solace. Building upon her growing status as a budding star in British cinema, she took a small but memorable role in the ensemble comedy Pirate Radio and starred in the good thriller The Disappearance of Alice Creed – starring or featuring in seven TV series/miniseries and films in about two years primed her to have a huge year in 2010.

Breakthrough:

And a huge year she has had – starring in two blockbusters. She first starred in the remake Clash of the Titans. The film was not too great, and the script was certainly not kind to her character, but she came through untarnished and with loads of recognition by American audiences. Much the same can be said for her second big film of the year Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (though this was met with a much more positive reception by the general movie-going audience than me). Regardless of whether the films were good, they both were huge successes for Arterton as she is now an “it girl” in America.

October Film:

Probably directly due to her being in the two blockbusters from earlier in the year (and also the director is notable for American audiences, well those that follow film more than a little bit), her new British film Tamara Drewe is getting distribution in the states. Arterton plays the lead in the film about a young newspaper writer who returns to her hometown to prepare her childhood home for sale following the death of her mother. The film is directed by Stephen Frears (who sometimes makes really good films) and has received good to ok reviews in England. But the success of this small film in American is not relevant to Arterton’s status in the states; she is here and in vogue.

Upcoming:

Arterton has secured another good project for herself with London Fields, a film about a psychic who has a vision and feels compelled to visit a London dive bar where she encounters two men; one of them might be her killer. The film is to be directed by Michael Winterbottom (who has made a few excellent films) based on a script by David Cronenberg (whose fans know his stuff is out there). Then two other tentative projects before 2012’s Clash of the Titans 2 (which we of course need, utterly).


Career Highlights:

1.) Tess of the D’Urbervilles (2008)* – lead [DVD/Rent]
2.) Quantum of Solace (2008) – supporting [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
3.) Pirate Radio (2009) – supporting [Blu-ray/DVD/Rent]
*Editor’s picks

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