Cinema constantly has new talent each and every year, making great films and opening audiences’ eyes to new characters, stories and worlds. August offers new films from three such talents.
What She’s Been In:
Chastain, 30, got her start in 2004 with a role in the TV adaptation of Dark Shadows. From there, she continued to get small TV parts (shows like Veronica Mars, ER, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, and Journeyman) until 2008 when she got her first feature film role in Jolene, for which she receive acclaim from critics winning the Seattle International Film Festival award for Best Actress. Next she co-starred in another small film Stolen. But, big things were just around the corner.
Breakthrough:
Chastain won the role as Mrs. O’Brien in Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life, starring opposite Brad Pitt. She is fantastic in the film, giving a performance that is both strong and completely venerable. In a way, she serves as the film’s emotional heart. Though she began work on other big roles prior, The Tree of Life is her first major starring feature film performance showcasing her talent to critics, fans and industry professional yielding her a very busy schedule – not including The Tree of Life she has eight films due in 2011/2012. She is likely to be 2011’s breakthrough female star.
August Film:
In August, she co-stars in The Help with Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard. The film is about a young writer, Skeeter, who decides to do an article from the perspective of the black house workers in her southern hometown. The film taps into the civil rights moment of the time, and one that is still on-going. Chastain plays the newest resident to Jackson, Mississippi, who forms a friendship with Minny, one of the disgruntled house workers.
Upcoming:
Chastain has a ton of stuff coming out – in September she co-stars in The Debt and Take Shelter. The Debt is about three Jewish operatives that hide a terrible secret, while Take Shelter is about a man who is plagued with apocalyptic visions which begin to take an effect on his family. Then, she stars in Al Pacino’s adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s play Wilde Salome and co-stars in Texas Killing Fields about a local detective who teams up with a NYC cop to investigate a series of unsolved murders. In 2012 she has two high profile prestige projects: Terrence Malick’s untitled new film, a love story also starring Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Rachel Weisz, and Javier Barden, and John Hillcoat’s The Wettest Country in the World about Depression-era bootleggers. It also has a wonderful cast with Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman and Mia Wasikowska.
Career Highlights:
1) The Tree of Life (2011) – leading* [Rent]
*Editor’s picks
What He’s Been In:
Yelchin, 22, got his start at the age of nine in the indie film A Man is Mostly Water. From there he continued to get small film roles in 15 Minutes, Along Came a Spider and Hearts in Atlantis. However, TV offered him bigger opportunities and provided his career a spark. He appeared in Taken, The Practice, Without a Trace, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and NYPD Blue before getting a series regular role in Huff. Meanwhile, he was also receiving bigger feature film roles, co-starring in House of D and supporting in Fierce People and Alpha Dog. Recently, he appeared as Mel Gibson’s son in The Beaver and voiced Clumsy in The Smurfs.
Breakthrough:
Yelchin’s breakthrough came in two parts: first he had his first leading role in Charlie Bartlett, with Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis and Kat Dennings in support. He is quite good in the film, garnering recognition across Hollywood, leading to part two. He next won huge supporting roles, playing iconic characters in two of the 2009’s biggest films: J.J. Abrams’s Star Trek and Terminator Salvation (playing Chekov and Kyle Reese respectively). Being the biggest movies of his career, Yelchin’s face is now recognizable to many movie fans.
August Film:
In August he stars in the remake of Fright Night (the original came out in 1985), playing opposite Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Imogen Poots (another star to watch, see below), Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Toni Collette. The film is about Charley Brewster, a teenager living in a suburb of Las Vegas who suspects his new neighbor is a vampire. Yelchin plays Charley. The film is directed by Craig Gillespie and looks to be a great mix of action, horror and comedy.
Upcoming:
Yelchin has a lot upcoming, mostly indie films but also a few Hollywood productions. In late 2011, he co-stars with Felicity Jones and Jennifer Lawrence (another star to watch) in the romance Like Crazy, which won Best Film at Sundance. He has a supporting role in Roland Joffe’s lesbian love story You and I and co-stars with Emma Roberts (yet another star to watch) in the teen drama/romance Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (though both of these films are struggling to get distribution and may both go straight to video). In 2012 he is set to star in Odd Thomas, a mystery thriller with Tim Robbins, Willem Dafoe and 50 Cent, and The Winter Queen, an action crime drama with Milla Jovovich. In 2013, he will reprise his role of Chekov in the next installment of Star Trek.
Career Highlights:
7) Like Crazy (2011) – leading [Rent]
*Editor’s picks
What She’s Been In:
Poots, 22, got her start as a model while also taking a role in one episode of the British series Casualty in 2004. Her first film role (and second role overall) came in 2006 when she was cast as Young Valerie in V for Vendetta. Then she started to garner more work, appearing in 28 Weeks Later, Miss Austen Regrets, Me and Orson Welles, Waking Madison, Chatroom, Christopher and His Kind, and the TV series Bouquet of Barbed Wire – mostly all British productions.
Breakthrough:
Poots’s breakthrough (for more avid film viewers, as these movies were not widely seen) came in the form of four films released in 2010 and 2011. The first of which was Solitary Man, starring Michael Douglas and Jesse Eisenberg. Poots has only a small role, but commands the screen. Next, she had another small role in the action adventure Centurion with Michael Fassbender (a star to watch); while her role was again small she again made an impact on the film. She was perfect in the role of Blanche Ingram in Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre. And finally, she played a great mean boarding school girl in Cracks, playing well off Juno Temple. While all four roles were quite small, Poots stood out in each film.
August Film:
In August, Poots co-stars with Aton Yelchin in Fright Night (see above). It is her first big Hollywood role and should get her name and face out there in the States. I like her poster for the film (as seen here, though it is not as good as David Tennant’s) and on a side note, KiD CuDi’s music video for the film is great. She plays the role of Amy in the film, Charley’s love interest and friend, who the vampire, played by Colin Farrell, also takes an interest in.
Upcoming:
Poots looks to have a breakthrough year in 2011/2012 as in addition to Fright Night, Jane Eyre and Cracks she has seven films scheduled for release. First, she co-stars in A Late Quartet about a world-renowned string quartet that struggles to stay together, with Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener. Then, she co-stars with Craig Roberts and Kevin McKidd in Comes a Bright Day, a theist thriller. Next, she co-stars with Juno Temple and Emily Mortimer in the thriller A Single Shot, to be followed by a drama The Laureate with Orlando Bloom and Kerry Condon. Then, she co-stars with Penn Badgley in the music drama Greetings from Tim Buckley, with James McAvoy and Jamie Bell in the crime comedy/drama Filth, and finally with Richard Ried and Julie Christie in the vampire romance (because another one cannot hurt) Hello Darkness.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
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