Ryan Reynolds is in talks for a new thriller, Emma Stone signed on to be Woody Allen's next leading lady, and Kate Hudson and James Franco are headed to London for Good People. Meanwhile, Shia LaBeouf is in talks for not one but two new roles, and The Avengers baddie Tom Hiddleston is in early talks to lead a reboot of a cult classic. Find out more about these deals and more with a roundup of the biggest casting news of the week. Keep checking back as we update!
Iron Man's not the only Avenger who's coming back to theaters this year — Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to the big screen in November, and he's got quite a lot on his plate. His first priority is coming back to Earth for Jane (Natalie Portman), his girlfriend, whom he plucks out of London right in the middle of a science experiment. Odin isn't exactly safe for a human, though, because there's a new bad guy in town named Malekith who has an entire army of Dark Elves. So whom does Thor turn to? Why, his deranged brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who is now locked up (and hasn't seemed to have washed his hair).
I loved the lighter, sillier tone of the original Thor movie (compared to, say, Captain America), but the trailer isn't exactly packed with jokes — though I guess that's to be expected when the word "dark" is right there in the title. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing what develops in Thor's action-packed next chapter come Nov. 8. Watch the trailer after the jump.
Newlyweds Kate Winslet and Ned Rocknroll joined a slew of British stars when they attended the London premiere of Book of Mormon last night. The couple skipped the red carpet but were spotted leaving the theater hand in hand. Plenty of celebrities did walk the red carpet, including Homeland's Damian Lewis, Rufus Sewell, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Downton Abbey stars Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, and Laura Carmichael. These stars aren't the only celebrities who are fans of the hit musical — last week Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake saw Book of Mormon on Broadway in NYC.
Brits and non-Brits alike were out at the British Independent Film Awards in London last night. Anna Karenina star Jude Law took home the Variety Award while the drama Broken took home the top prize of best British independent film. Andrea Riseborough, who was spotted sharing a laugh with The Avengers star Tom Hiddleston, won the Best Actress award for her role in Shadow Dancer.
Felicity Jones, Tom Felton, and Elle Fanning were also on hand at the award show. Elle stole the show in a princess-like pink Oscar de la Renta gown, which was fitting for her latest role. She recently wrapped filming Disney's Maleficent, in which she plays Princess Aurora. The movie pits Elle against Angelina Jolie, who plays the villain Maleficent. Elle told us last month that she was completely starstruck by Angelina when she first met her, even silently freaking out when the A-list mom so much as touched her.
The Glamour Women of the Year Awards were held last night at Berkeley Square Gardens in London, and the stars got dressed up to honor women in the fashion industry. Lea Michele stepped onto the red carpet wearing a dark blue Zac Posen gown, and an Alexander McQueen-clad Jessica Alba was also on hand to celebrate. Eva Longoria brought a splash of color to the carpet in a bright orange Victoria Beckham shift dress, as did Sofia Vergara in red.
Lea was honored with the award for best US TV actress for her ongoing role on Glee while Eva was crowned this year's most inspirational woman. Kelly Rowland took home the accolade for best TV personality and Avengers star Tom Hiddleston was on hand to accept the man of the year trophy. Other stars stepped out to party and celebrate with their friends including a Versace-clad Naomi Watts, Donatella Versace, and Vampire Diaries heartthrob Paul Wesley. Lily Collins donned a little green Alexander McQueen.
Ensemble romantic comedies are a dime a dozen these days, and let's face it: most of those star-studded flicks aren't even that good. But an ensemble superhero movie? Now that's an idea I can get behind. The Avengers rounds up an all-star group of comic book heroes who must get over their inflated egos and differences to take down a villain and save the world. It's a simple enough concept, and the combination of eye-popping special effects, humor, and a stellar cast makes for one hell of a blockbuster movie.
The cast of characters — and each one is very much a character in their own right — is mostly composed of people you've seen before and are happy to welcome back. There's Chris Evans as Captain America, whose situation as a '50s guy living in a 2012 world is funny to the audience, if not to him. Robert Downey Jr. reprises his role as Iron Man, and his wisecracks and borderline obnoxious behavior carry the film and much of the dialogue; Chris Hemsworth is back as demigod Thor, though his role feels a bit downplayed in the midst of the rest of the hubbub. Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and Jeremy Renner return as Nick Fury, Black Widow and Hawkeye, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who kick butt but are never really as much fun as their power-wielding cohorts. The only guy who's new to the group is Mark Ruffalo, who takes on the role of Bruce Banner (aka The Hulk) for the first time, and Ruffalo's so quietly engaging that you won't even remember Eric Bana or Edward Norton in the role.
To see what else is great about The Avengers, just read more
Tom Hiddleston had a breakout year in 2011 thanks to roles in Thor, War Horse, and Midnight in Paris, and he takes on a slew of superheroes as The Avengers' resident bad boy. When I recently chatted with Hiddleston, he talked about why Thor's brother Loki is so evil and how a hug could probably go a long way for him. I also got his response to being voted the hottest guy in The Avengers and having hordes of fans in his corner. His reaction is priceless, so check it out!
Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Scarlett Johansson, and Mark Ruffalo were at Rome's De Russie Hotel on Saturday for a stop on The Avengers press tour before the guys headed to Germany, sans Scarlett, for yet another photocall today. The foursome traveled abroad to promote the superhero movie all last week, kicking things off with an appearance in Moscow before moving onto London and then Italy together. The Marvel movie is expected to enjoy a big debut at the box office. Early reviews for The Avengers have been overwhelmingly positive and the movie is estimated to earn as much as The Dark Knight and The Hunger Games each did in their opening weekends. That could easily make The Avengers the biggest first-weekend earner among superhero movies to date when it hits theaters on May 4.
Scarlett Johansson was joined by her sexy costars Robert Downey Jr., Jeremy Renner, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, and Mark Ruffalo for yesterday's Moscow premiere of The Avengers. Scarlett wore a low-cut Nina Ricci dress and continued her trend of LBD looks on the red carpet, having worn Versace for last week's LA Avengers premiere.
The cast is making their way around the globe prior to the May 4 US release of the film, though Gwyneth Paltrow, who makes a small cameo as Pepper Potts, has sat out this round of promotional events. In addition to chatting up the Marvel film, some of the acts have gotten personal in recent interviews. RDJ shared cute stories about his newborn son Exton in the latest issue of Esquire, and Scarlett's touched on her "devastating" divorce from Ryan Reynolds in Vogue.
