Category: News

Jennifer Lawrence Talks Shailene Woodley Advice

July 21, 2013

ACCESS HOLLYWOOD – Jennifer Lawrence won the Oscar for Best Actress this year, but the “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” star says her parents now have custody of the coveted gold statue.

“My parents took it back to Kentucky, ‘cause I felt odd having it, like, on display in my house,” the 22-year-old star – who won the Academy Award for her performance in “Silver Linings Playbook” – told Access Hollywood’s Scott Mantz at Comic-Con 2013 in San Diego, Calif., on Saturday.

“If anybody’s coming over to my house, I didn’t want them to remember that. Just kind of puts a weird energy out,” she explained.

The actress initially tried placing the prestigious award in an inconspicuous place, before surrendering it the care to her parents.

“I put it in the hallway towards the bathroom, and my mom was like, ‘I’m taking it. It shouldn’t be here.’ And now it’s on a piano in Kentucky!”

Jennifer also dished on the advice she recently gave fellow young star Shailene Woodley, who was nervous about how her life would change if she took on the role of Beatrice “Tris” Prior in the upcoming film, “Divergent.”

“She asked, basically, ‘If you had the opportunity to do this again, would you? Because it’s scary. It’s life changing,’” Jennifer, who had her own doubts about signing on to play Katniss Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” movies, shared. “And I said, ‘Yes. As many things change, as many things are horrible and scary, it’s worth it if you love the movie,’ which she did.”

“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” hits theaters on November 22.

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

May 10, 2013

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.”

Continue readingAnsel Elgort Offered Lead in ‘The Fault in Our Stars’

‘The Spectacular Now’ Gets Release Date

February 28, 2013

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.

NYMag: Shailene Woodley Is Single, But Loves Hugging

February 9, 2013

NY MAGAZINE – 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.

Collider Reviews ‘The Spectacular Now’

January 19, 2013

COLLIDER – “Live in the moment” is a nice platitude and a crappy life philosophy. Vivacity is all well and good. We should appreciate the present, but we can’t live only for the present. We have to think about tomorrow because we’re probably going to be there. In his wonderful new film The Spectacular Now, director James Ponsoldt explore the live-for-the-moment mentality with an authentic and earnest look at high school emotions, anxiety about the future, and first love. Led by extraordinary performances from stars Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, The Spectacular Now is a thoroughly charming and surprisingly powerful coming-of-age story about the fear of looking ahead and the seductive safety of living in the present.

Sutter Keely (Teller) is the life of the party. He knows everyone’s name and always has access to booze. After breaking up with his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson), Sutter drunkenly drives home only to awake on the front lawn of classmate Aimee Finicky (Woodley). Aimee is pretty, but shy and removed from the popular crowd. Sutter’s attempts at a rebound quickly turn into genuine feelings towards Aimee. Their relationship blossoms as they become drinking buddies, he gets her to come out of her shell, and she nudges him towards the introspection he’s thoroughly avoided.

Woodley wowed audiences in 2011’s The Descendants, and her work in The Spectacular Now is even better. No offense to her co-star, but it’s a bit more difficult to convince us that a girl as pretty as Aimee would be unpopular, but Ponsoldt doesn’t try to pull a She’s All That by saying that she’d be beautiful if only her hair wasn’t pulled back in a ponytail. He’s not trying to give Aimee a physical makeover because Woodley shows us that the character is beautiful on the inside. When she talks about her dream marriage at the dinner party of Sutter’s sister Holly (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), we can’t help but fall in love with Aimee.

Woodley is fantastic, but the breakthrough turn comes from Teller. If The Spectacular Now becomes a hit, Teller becomes a star. He is funny, charismatic, and completely believable as a guy who is happy to pretend he’s one-dimensional because he doesn’t want to look beyond his narrow self-definition. When Sutter’s world starts being upended by honest emotions that force him to reevaluate his personality and his relationship with his estranged father (Kyle Chandler), Teller plays the drama with just as much power and passion as the comedy. Credit must once again be shared with Ponsoldt who skillfully transitions the movie from a big, bold comic first half to a thoughtful, heartfelt dramatic conclusion.

By investing in his characters and giving the actors room to flesh out their characters, Ponsoldt stops his movie from being a cautionary tale. Obviously, “living like there’s no tomorrow” isn’t a good life strategy, but it’s an understandable escape. It’s undoubtedly entertaining to watch Sutter flee from his responsibilities and neglect plans for life beyond high school. But The Spectacular Now never lets its protagonist off the hook. The movie doesn’t lecture and it doesn’t scold; it simply lets the present play out to an uncertain and ultimately more rewarding future.

Rating: A-

Shailene on Mary Elizabeth Winstead in ‘Smashed’

November 26, 2012

VARIETY – I became so lost in the raw vulnerability of Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s acute and accurate portrayal of an alcoholic woman, my mind seemed to forget that I was watching a movie starring an actress instead of observing a dear friend who was fighting personal inner battles.

Mary paved her road of empowerment with penetrating strength and unabridged vulnerability. She sucked me into Kate’s world, a world of messy, difficult, unclear paths that are filled with obstacles and tribulations beyond reason. She did not glamorize AA meetings. She did not victoriously display the perks of abstaining from substances. She did not give me the impression that life gets easier once an individual becomes sober. Rather, she navigated her way through waves of confusion, self-doubt, dependence, separation, honesty, responsibility and courage without ever demanding empathy or compassion from her audience.

I was naturally drawn to root for this woman, to cheer for her triumphs and to cry for her blunders. Mary’s performance left me humbled as she carved her way out of a blinding inebriation with forceful perseverance and pure, stripped-down human bravery.