Ansel Elgort Offered Lead in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’

EW.COM – Hazel has found her Gus!

Ansel Elgort has been offered the role of Augustus Waters—the male lead opposite Shailene Woodley—in the eagerly anticipated adaptation of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, directed by Josh Boone. Green’s beloved, best-selling book is a love story that is equal parts funny, sweet, and heartbreaking in its telling of Hazel and Gus, two teens who meet in a cancer support group. (EW had it on the Best Fiction of 2012 list)

“Ansel is whip-smart and uber-charismatic and everything I dreamed for Augustus Waters,” John Green tells EW in an exclusive statement. “I am by nature a cautious pessimist, but I’ll just say it: Now that we have Shailene and Ansel, I am completely, unreservedly psyched about this movie.”

Director Josh Boone tells EW: “Ansel Elgort is the epitome of the boy John Green brought to life so vividly in his novel and he truly embodies the character traits we admire so much about Gus. His humor, sensitivity, honesty and confidence floored us. Watching him with Shailene was like seeing the film for the first time. Hearing then say okay to each other was incredibly moving. We couldn’t be more thrilled to have found our Gus.”

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‘The Spectacular Now’ Gets Release Date

DEADLINE.COM – Upstart distributor A24 has set a June 14 limited theatrical release launch of the Sofia Coppola-directed The Bling Ring, and it has set an August 2 limited release for the James Ponsoldt-directed The Spectacular Now. This spring, A24 launches Ginger & Rosa and Spring Breakers, films also aiming at a young demographic.

The Bling Ring stars Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, Gavin Rossdale and Paris Hilton, latter of whom was actually ripped off by the title characters, young bandits who broke into the homes of well to do celebutantes. The film’s based on the Vanity Fair article The Suspects Wore Louboutins by Nancy Jo Sales.

The Spectacular Now was scripted by (500) Days of Summer scribes Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber and stars Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley, Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Elizabeth Winstead in a drama about a mismatched young high school students. It was bought at Sundance in January.

‘The Spectacular Now’ Added to SXSW Lineup

It looks like SXSW is going to be a bit of Sundance South in 2013. With Park City premieres like “Don Jon’s Addiction,” “Computer Chess,” “Prince Avalanche,” “Before Midnight” and “Upstream Color” all headed to Austin, one more movie that unspooled at the festival is making its way to the city of BBQ.

Zal Batmanglij’s “The East” will be the Closing Night film of the 2013 SXSW Film Festival. It’s familiar territory for the director, who followed a similar trajectory in 2011 with “Sound Of My Voice,” with that film too taking a bow at Sundance and playing SXSW a couple months later. But capping off an exciting week or so of moviegoing is a nice way to return. The film stars Ellen Page, Alexander Skarsgard, Brit Marling and Patricia Clarkson, and tells the story of a young woman who infiltrates a radical environmentalist activist group but finds her moral boundaries becoming blurred.

As we noted in our review, the film is one that should get many people talking, and it seems like a good note to end SXSW on. Meanwhile, even more Sundance titles have also been added to the lineup including James Ponsoldt’s “The Spectacular Now,” docs “Muscle Shoals,” “Pussy Riot – A Punk Prayer” and “Linsanity” as well as Ramin Bahrani’s “At Any Price” and many more. Check out the official website for more details. The festival runs from March 8-16.

Source: Indiewire

NYMag: Shailene Woodley Is Single, But Loves Hugging

When we were waiting to talk to Shailene Woodley Saturday afternoon at Rebecca Taylor, we overheard her confess that she loves coming to Fashion Week because she hates shopping. We’ve heard of these mythical shopping haters, but never truly believed in their existence until now. This means we may also have to reevaluate our stance on Bigfoot and Two and a Half Men fans.

Overall, though, it seems hard to believe that Woodley hates much of anything. She hugged her seatmates, she gave the photographers a cheerful thumbs up, and when we stepped up to interview her, she swept us into an embrace, despite the fact that we had never met her before that moment. “You’re a good hugger,” she announced, when she released us. “Thanks,” we said, mentally apologizing to her if we still smelled like the tuna we’d had for lunch.

Woodley looked utterly cool and adorable in a slim leather moto jacket and an enviably perky ponytail as we — inspired by all the hugging — chatted a bit about Valentine’s Day. “I’m single right now,” Shailene said. “And I think the most important thing in life is self-love, because if you don’t have self-love, and respect for everything about your own body, your own soul, your own capsule, then how can you have an authentic relationship with anyone else?” Pretty deep stuff for Fashion Week — are we allowed to honor our capsule by buying it some leather pants? It seems like the answer ought to be yes, at least in these parts.

Source: NYMag

Kate Winslet Nearing ‘Divergent’ Role

Though Summit and Neil Burger’s “Divergent” is still on the lookout for its male lead to pair with Shailene Woodley, it may have found a major co-star for her with Kate Winslet in talks to join the movie.

Summit is eyeing a film trilogy; it acquired the Veronica Roth novel in March 2011, shortly after which Burger beat out a slew of helmers to land the coveted gig. The story has a futuristic, “Hunger Games”-like teen-on-teen violence setting and follows 16-year-old Beatrice Prior, whom Woodley is set to play. It is unknown what part Winslet would play in the film.

Burger will helm, with Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher producing through their Red Wagon banner. Vanessa Taylor is rewriting the script that Evan Daugherty penned and Burger helped develop.

Though Winslet is no stranger to starring in a big-budget-tentpole, the film would mark her first opportunity at a possible franchise.

Summit is also still trying to find its male lead to pair with Woodley. The studio recently tested Lucas Till, Alex Pettyfer and Jeremy Irvine, but sources say the shingle may go older after not finding its guy with the latest readings.

The CAA- and United Agents-repped Winslet can be seen in Relativity’s “Movie 43,” which bows this weekend, as well as Paramount’s “Labor Day,” which bows sometime in the fourth quarter of 2013.

Source: Variety

A24 Acquires Rights to ‘The Spectacular Now’

Great news! I really can’t wait to see it.

One of the most active new distribution companies on the independent film scene, A24 nailed down a deal to take North American rights to “The Spectacular Now” in the early morning hours Monday. The company plans a summer release for the film, which had its premiere Friday in the U.S. dramatic competition.

Directed by James Ponsoldt, whose previous film, “Smashed,” screened in competition at Sundance in 2012, “Spectacular Now” was adapted from the Tim Tharp novel by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (“(500) Days of Summer”). It tells the story of the complex relationship that develops between two teenagers with very different approaches to life.

Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley star, with Brie Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kyle Chandler and Andre Royo co-starring. Tom McNulty, Shawn Levy, Andrew Lauren, and Michelle Krumm produced.

“We fell in love with this film the minute that we watched it and we know the rest of the country will embrace this timeless love story,” said A24 principals David Fenkel, John Hodges and Daniel Katz. “James has directed a wonderful film that depicts young love with complete authenticity and has two young stars giving incredible performances with Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.”

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Hollywood Reporter Reviews ‘The Spectacular Now’

As they did in his 2012 Sundance hit Smashed, the perils of alcoholism loom large in James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now, a sincere, refreshingly unaffected look at teenagers and their attitudes about the future. Wonderfully acted by the kids and adults and smartly adapted from Tim Tharp’s novel by the (500) Days of Summer team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber with a studious avoidance of hipster posturing, this fundamentally serious film poses a commercial challenge by the way it not so much falls between two stools as it embraces both adolescent and grown-up perspectives. The right distributor would be the one that could miraculously attract both audience segments, however fanciful that dream might be.

It says a lot for the depth of the writing and the characterization to acknowledge that it takes the entire film to fully get a handle on Sutter Keely. Ineffably played with a genial, easy-going charm by Miles Teller (Project X, Footloose), this high school senior has a devil-may-care, no-problem attitude that more than compensates for his lack of classic good looks and attracts guys and girls like the sun; even the most impressive kid in school, the black star athlete and class president, envies his smooth skills. Still, his line of b.s. has its limits, prompting his girlfriend to jump ship and him to get plastered.

But even as he awakens at 6 a.m. on the lawn of an unfamiliar home, Sutter’s got a ready line of patter for one of its occupants, classmate Aimee (Shailene Woodley), a bright, industrious, innocent girl who’s into sci-fi and has never been part of the in-crowd or had a boy friend.

For Sutter, this perceived ugly duckling would be easy pickings but he soon comes to really like her and it’s a tribute to one aspect of his nature that he doesn’t take advantage of her naivete or eagerness until she’s good and ready. To her amazement, he asks her to the prom, but red lights flash when he gives her a present of a flask, something one may or may not have noticed he almost always carries with him.

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