How do you make the prospect of an Oliver Stone movie even more anticipated than just having the director on board? Give it an incredible cast.

That’s exactly what’s happened with Stone’s upcoming film, Savages, which is due to be released in the autumn this year. Co-written by acclaimed best-selling crime novelist Don Winslow and Shane Salerno, adapting Winslow’s own novel, the film has a fantastic cast that includes Benicio del Toro, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, Taylor Kitsch, John Travlota, Uma Thurman, Emile Hirsch, Joel David Moore, and Salma Hayek.

The Playlist have got the first look at the film, and in just one still, you get a sense that this is going to be awesome.

“Blake Lively plays the gal pal of two Laguna Beach drug dealers (Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch) who is kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel who wants to move in on their turf. Del Toro plays the cartel enforcer with Uma Thurman as Lively’s Mom, Salma Hayek as the leader of the cartel, John Travolta as a burnt-out DEA agent, the recently Oscar-nominated Demian Bichir as a double-crossing attorney who represents Hayek’s cartel, Joel David Moore as a computer nerd and Emile Hirsch  in an unnamed role.”

In this first image, we see Lively after she’s been kidnapped, looking a little worse for wear, with del Toro clearly making her feel right at home, blowing smoke into her face.

There isn’t a person on this cast that I don’t love, and as you can imagine, I can’t wait for this to come out. The premise sounds brilliant, and you can’t go wrong with a director like Stone going behind the camera for this. The man has three Oscars to his name, as well as a further four nominations, and here’s to hoping that he’ll have another huge success on his hands towards the end of the year. Savages will be with us on 28^th September, which means we have another eight months of anticipation before we can see it on the big screen. I can’t wait. For now, here’s the great first look at the film. As usual, click to enlarge.

The first trailer for Albert Nobbs, the upcoming film led by Glenn Close, landed last month, and though the feel of the trailer was a little different to what I was expecting, it nonetheless was an intriguing look at the film.

Having played at some of this year’s film festivals, it’s been getting some mixed reviews, but all seem to agree that Close’s performance in the titular role, playing a woman passing as a man, is excellent.

We’ve now got a new poster to share with you, courtesy of IMP Awards, focusing on Close front and centre, with two of her co-stars, Mia Wasikowska and Aaron Johnson, standing either side.

“Glenn Close co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the play about a nineteenth-century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a man and works as a butler for twenty years. Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Johnson co-star in this intelligent and often surprising period drama.”

I don’t know if it’s just me, but something about this new poster makes me think of those seaside / tourist mini-attractions where you stick your head through the hole of a cardboard cut-out for a funny photo. But maybe that’s just me.

Regardless, it’s a pretty nice poster, drawing attention to one reviewer’s admiration of Close’s performance in the lead. The film is yet to have a UK release date scheduled, and though it initially had some Oscar buzz surrounding it, it looks like its US release date has been lined up for the end of January, which I think (though don’t quote me on this) would put it outside the eligibility dates for the 2012 Oscars. (Which, in turn, would undoubtedly open the doors for Michelle Williams and Tilda Swinton to head up the nominations in the Best Actress category, but only time will tell.) Without further ado, here’s the new poster to enjoy.

We got the first official look at Glenn Close dressed rather convincingly as a woman disguising herself as a man back in 19th Century Ireland. And along with showing us Close in her costume, it also gave us a nice look at two of her co-stars, Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) and Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass).

The first trailer for the film has now gone online over at Yahoo Movies, and it is an interesting one. To begin with, the trailer gives the film a family feel, which isn’t quite what I was expecting. Beyond that, it does a good job of giving us a look at what should be a fine performance from Close.

“Glenn Close co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the play about a nineteenth-century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a man and works as a butler for twenty years. Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Johnson co-star in this intelligent and often surprising period drama.”

Anthony has already seen and reviewed the film, and though it sounds like it does have some flaws, he notes that Close’s performance is a brilliant one, and one that will almost certainly at least see her win her sixth Oscar nomination.

The film doesn’t yet have a release date scheduled here in the UK, but hopefully it will be coming out soon, because the trailer has me intrigued. Without further ado, here’s the first trailer for Albert Nobbs for your viewing pleasure. The music is a little bit wonderful.

Albert Nobbs is an interesting character thrown into a very average film.  He is a shy and timid man that does his duties, counts his tips and goes to sleep.  This is a perfect summary of what the movie does for it’s entire run time.  It’s a film that could have been a compelling look into the drastic measures women went to get ahead in this past, but turns out to be a one trick pony.

In Albert Nobbs Glenn Close pulls off a character and leads a story that few actresses could manage, and tells the tale of a woman that poses as a man in order to sidestep the oppressions of the opposite sex.  The problem comes in the form of predictable storytelling that few will care about and even fewer will see.

The story is set in Ireland in the 19th Century.  We see Albert preparing for the business of the day and are put into the world that he lives in.  It is a world of tedious bosses, arrogant guests and promiscuous maids.  The strongest aspect of the film and the thing that will get you through the two-hour running time is the cast.  Mia Wasikowska plays Helen Dawes, a young maid who desperately wants to quit her job.  She meets a young man, Joe, played by Aaron Johnson.  Joe and Helen hit it off and the two plan a life for themselves in America and as the story progresses, we find out that Nobbs is saving money to open a tobacco shop and soon begins to court Helen in order for her to marry him.

I know what you are thinking, however, the idea comes from a chance meeting with Mr. Page, played by Janet McTeer, who just happens to be in the same boat as Nobbs, a woman pretending to be a man.  The problem is the subplots have little conflict or influence on the main plot, and much of the film drags because of it.

The hype surrounding Glenn Close’s turn as Albert Nobbs is deserved.  I don’t think there is another actress that could make the character as believable as Close did.  And it’s not just hair and make-up, its the understated qualities of the performance that make it the Oscar nominated performance everyone is saying it is.  Will Close score an Oscar nom? Almost certainly.  Will she win?  That remains to be seen.

All in all, the movie’s viewership hinges on the Nobb’s character and Close gives a performance that gets us to the end credits.  Wasikowska and Johnson are fine in their respective roles and Brendan Gleeson is thrown into the mix for some light dramatic irony, however, this is the Glenn Close show by far.  Director Rodrigo Garcia doesn’t do much with the material outside of telling the supporting cast how to make Close look better, and that’s a shame, because the film could have been so much more than it is.

In the end Albert Nobbs is a film that doesn’t do much more than show us how great of actress Glenn Close is, and leaves much to be desired.

**~~~ (2/5)

More awesome images from the TIFF peeps! Here we have another great official look at Glenn Closes’ new movie, Albert Nobbs where as you’ll see, she looks like nothing you’ve seen before!

Albert Nobbs stars Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Janet Mcteer, Brendan Gleeson, Aaron Johnson and is directed by Rodrigo Garcia.

Glenn Close co-wrote and stars in this adaptation of the play about a nineteenth-century Irishwoman who disguises herself as a man and works as a butler for twenty years. Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Aaron Johnson co-star in this intelligent and often surprising period drama.

Source: TIFF

Blake Lively, best known for her role as Serena van der Woodsen in The CW’s hit TV show Gossip Girl, has taken the lead female role of Ophelia in the upcoming Oliver Stone crime thriller, Savages, Variety reports.

The ever impressive John Travolta has also signed on for the film, taking the role of a DEA agent.

Naturally, Travolta is capable of pretty much any role you throw at him, and his casting is great news for me. His role as the cop in Face/Off, alongside Nicolas Cage as the antagonist, made the film one of my all-time favourites, and there’s no doubt in my mind that he can pull off a DEA agent to perfection.

Though I know a lot of people look down a bit on Gossip Girl, I personally think both the writing and the cast’s performances are superb, and in my eyes, Lively is one of the finest young actresses working at the moment. I think that it’s great news she’s looking to star in more and more films when Gossip Girl isn’t filming, because she’s a brilliant actress. Her role in The Town, Ben Affleck’s immense film of last year, demonstrated she’s not afraid to try things outside of her comfort zone. Being now cast in Stone’s next film as the free-spirited shared girlfriend and confidante of two guys running a marijuana operation out of Laguna Beach sounds like an excellent choice with which to expand her horizons.

There’s simply no question that Oliver Stone is an incredible director, a visionary of the past few decades. His films have earned a total of nine Academy Awards, and over thirty nominations, with him at the helm, with Stone himself taking two for Best Director (Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July) and one for Best Adapted Screenplay (Midnight Express).

The film is based on the 2010 novel of the same name, written by Don Winslow, who is scripting the film with Shane Salerno. The film,

“follows two Laguna Beach marijuana kingpins forced to work for a Mexican drug cartel after Ophelia, the free-spirited girlfriend they share, is kidnapped.”

Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass) and Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are in talks to play the two male leads, with Benicio del Toro closing in on a role as part of the Mexican drug cartel.

Savages will be Stone’s first film after last year’s Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, the sequel to his very popular 1987 original, and it sounds like Stone has certainly got the potential to have a great film with Savages. As it looks now, the cast and the story both have great promise, so it all sounds good so far. I’m hoping that it will be yet another chance for Lively to bolster her already successful movie career. She’ll be starring in this summer’s blockbuster, Green Lantern (out on 17th June), and is currently filming Hick, alongside Chloë Moretz, Rory Culkin, and Alec Baldwin. If her performances to date are anything to go by, she’ll be excellent in them all.

West End Films have released a promo poster for Albert Nobbs, a feature film adaptation George Moore’s short story.

Directed by Rodrigo García (Mother and Child), Albert Nobbs stars Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Aaron Johnson, Brendan Gleeson, Janet McTeer and Pauline Collins.

Albert Nobbs centers on a woman (Close) who poses as a man in order to find work and survive in 19th century Ireland.

Close adapted the screenplay alongside prize-winning author John Banville.

Check out the promo poster below:

Source: Rope of Silicon

Aaron Johnson (Nowhere Boy) and Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) are reportedly in talks to join Working Titles’ Anna Karenina.

Johnson and Law would star opposite Keira Knightley (Never Let Me Go) in the Joe Wright-directed adaptation.

Anna Karenina, one of many adaptations of Leo Tolstoy’s acclaimed novel, will tell the story of a restless high-society wife (Knightley) who ruins her life after straying from her kind-but-boring husband with an exciting-but-unreliable charmer.

Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) wrote the screenplay and production is expected to get underway in the Autumn.

Source: Variety

Following on the heels of his soon to be co-stars Bill Nighy and Stanley Tucci, things are getting very interesting our own Nicholas Hoult who is working out a deal to sign in Bryan Singer’s Jack The Giant Killer. This confirms the story we ran in December last year putting Hoult fellow Brit Aaron Johnson in the frame.

Hoult was glimpsed last night in the X-Men: First Class trailer in his Beastly guise and readers of the site will know that I was a big fan of the man in Tom Ford’s A Single Man opposite Colin Firth. Roles in the aforementioned X-Men film and Mad Max: Fury Road are in his future but the leading role in Singer’s film is his most visible role so far.

The film is Singer’s take on the tale which has his roots in British folklore and was previously made in 1962 by Nathan Juran with Kerwin Mathews in the lead role, facing off against Ray Harryhausen’s monsters. Let’s hope it fairs better than Hoult’s last dalliance in the world of myth, where Titans Clashed and appalled cinema goers.

Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone) has been added to the cast of Savages, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Don Winslow.

Oliver Stone will direct from a script by Winslow and Shane Salerno.

In addition to Lawrence’s casting, Stone is also meeting with several top actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio (Shutter Island), Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Tom Hardy (Inception), Benicio Del Toro (The Wolfman), James Franco (127 Hours) and Garrett Hedlund (Country Strong).

Savages centers on a love triangle between two best friends and O (Lawrence), the wild child girlfriend they share.

Lawrence will next be seen in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class – the trailer for which can be viewed here.

Source: Deadline

Two distinguished names from the supporting actor world are on board for Bryan Singer’s long-awaited rejig of the Jack and the Beanstalk legend, Jack the Giant Killer.

The Wrap are reporting that Stanley Tucci and our very own Bill Nighy will join the cast, which is still waiting on the announcement of a lead, although Aaron Johnson’s name has cropped up a number of times in the past. As the film is scheduled to begin production in London this March, that piece of casting can’t be too far away from being revealed.

In the story of a long-standing peace between humans and giants which comes under threat when a human princess is kidnapped and taken to the giants’ kingdom, Nighy will play Fallon, the leader of the giants, whilst Tucci is set to take on more overtly villainess role of Roderick, an adviser to the king.

From the director of the original Ring (who was also behind both it’s sequel and the US remake’s second installment) comes a London-based cyberspace teen psychological shocker, Chatroom.

Five different teens with varying social hang-ups meet online in a chatroom created by William (Aaron Johnson), an introverted teen (and previous self-harmer) who initially appears to lend a sympathetic ear to the group, offering his own words of advice and support. It soon becomes apparent however, that William is actually manipulating his newly found cyber friends, unearthing their weaknesses and failings and exploiting their vulnerabilities to satisfy his own twisted needs. Things threaten to take a turn for the worse when Jim, the soft-spoken member of the group (who has some deep-rooted emotional issues), presents the ideal target for William’s ultimate (and potentially lethal) scheme.

Those who are expecting a dark, modern twist on The Breakfast Club (with liberal lashings of J-Horror thrown in for good measure) will be sorely disappointed with what’s on offer here. The film fails at pretty much every conceivable level and even the title and subject matter now seem extremely archaic and irrelevant, particularly with the advent of online social networking.

A large problem with the film stems from the fact that the director (veteran Japanese horror director Hideo Nakata) appears to really struggle with the language and cultural barrier he’s unaccustomed to. Many of the performances are weirdly off-key (and not in a good way) and are too big and theatrical, which makes for a jarring viewing experience, and leaves the young cast, including upcoming Br(It) girl Imogen Poots and Johnson (so good in Kickass, but completely over-the-top and clichéd in the villain role here), completely adrift. His character’s motivations in particular are extremely petty and odd (William’s rage seems to stem from his novelist mother’s decision to use his older brother as the face and name on the series of Harry Potter/Indian Jones-esque children’s adventure books she’s written!). The film is full of strange inconsequential plot points like this which only serve as an annoying distraction.

The biggest disappointment however, is that the fear and acute sense of foreboding dread which Nakata successfully managed to bring to the forefront in both his original versions of The Ring and Dark Water is completely missing here. Visually, the film looks like an after hours episode of Hollyoaks, and is further hindered by the equally cheesy and outdated cyberspace graphics and imagery. Only one scene where William watches a shocking video of a young Japanese girl, who casually and coolly commits suicide by jumping out of her bedroom window, approaches anything close to resembling the director’s older, respected work.

Originally a stage play, the film adaptation never manages to transcend its original setting, despite the maker’s attempts at providing a visual manifestation for surfing the internet in the form of having the characters actually enter a room (which is designed by William in the pre-credit sequence) where they chat face-to-face, plus a series of corridors filled with busy human activity, which is intended to represent web traffic. These devices wear thin very quickly and a scene in the chatroom where a middle-aged man attempts to pass himself off as a little girl (whose innocent school-girl disguise begins to glitch, sporadically revealing his true form) is just plain embarrassing.

From its ridiculous, laugh-out loud denouement at London Zoo (which has all the cinematic grace of a Children’s BBC drama programme) in which the rest of the chatroom kids show up out of nowhere, to the hilariously contrived ending, the film is a massive misstep for Nakata. The director maybe should have done some online chatting of his own, and consulted his peers about this film’s script and locale before he agreed to make it.

Do yourself a favour and logoff and shut down if this film comes your way.

The Daily Mail have revealed the first images of Glenn Close in her new movie, Albert Nobbs where the makeup and clothing department have done an amazing job turning her convincingly into a man. I watched the Salt Blu-ray extras today and spent 10 minutes watching how they supposedly made her look like a man – the only issue was, she still looked like a woman! Obviously this production has spent rather a lot more time on the job in hand since it’s the main storyline of the movie.

Plot: Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th century Ireland.

The movie also stars Aaron Johnson, Michael Gambon, Mia Wasikowska, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and is directed by Rodrigo García.

We are rather disturbed by this image! Anyone else?!

Aaron Johnson (Chatroom, Kick-Ass) has signed on to star in a feature film adaptation of the Broadway hit The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs.

Johnson will star opposite Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers.

Orlando Bloom and Amanda Seyfried were previously attached, but both dropped out when filming was postponed earlier this year.

Albert Nobbs, a story of a woman (Close) in 19th Century Ireland who disguises herself as a man in order to survive, will be directed by Rodrigo Garcia (Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her) from a script by John Banville and [Glenn] Close.

Production is set to commence shortly on-location in Dublin, Ireland.

ThePlaylist reported this story.

Chatroom, the latest exercise in hide-behind-the-sofa horror from Ringu’s own Hideo Nakata, has upped the promotional ante with a new featurette (via Bloody Disgusting).

We have already had a trailer and a poster for Chatroom, with each new insight into the movie only adding to the anticipation. Promising the anti-Social Network, Chatroom will provide a welcome contrast to The Social Network’s award season panderings.

With Johnson reportedly in the running for Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer, Chatroom looks set to add to an already impressive résumé that to date includes Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Kick-Ass and Nowhere Boy. To see what the actor has to say about his latest picture, check out the featurette below.

Bryan Singer’s re-working of Jack and the Beanstalk (Jack the Giant Killer) is finally beginning to take shape and now two young British up-and-coming stars are amongst the number of actors vying for the lead role.

The Hollywood Reporter have mentioned both Aaron Johnson (Kickass) and Nicholas Hoult (About A Boy, TV’s Skins) as a two potential leads in the role of the young farmer who is tasked with leading a rescue mission to the giants’ kingdom to free a princess.

Singer is a producer on the upcoming X-Men: First Class and apparently used the casting process for that film to pre-select candidates for his feature, hence the inclusion of Hoult, who is currently playing the part of Beast in Matthew Vaughn’s prequel.

According to the site, Singer had originally planned to begin production this past summer, but due to all the time it’s taken to plan all the effects work and the studio carefully watching the budget, the director has had the luxury of a little more time to concentrate on the casting, as the film start date has now been pushed back to March next year.

Sounds like this production is shaping up to be the exact opposite to that of  Singer’s original X-Men, which was reportedly rushed into production, causing much anxiety for the director, who had to contend with hurried, underdeveloped effects work and the Wolverine casting headache drama (although that didn’t turn out too bad!).

In light of the recent poster, Revolver Entertainment have released the official UK trailer for their forthcoming internet-thriller Chatroom.

Directed by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Hideo Nakata, Chatroom stars a host of up-and-coming UK actors, including Aaron Johnson, Imogen Poots, Hannah Murray, Matthew Beard and Daniel Kaluuya.

Synopsis: When jaded teens Jim, Eva, Emily, and Mo meet William online, they’re seduced by his charisma. But William isn’t what he seems. He’s calculating and manipulative and doesn’t have time for people in the real world. Jim is vulnerable and has no idea how dangerous his new friendship with William will be. When Jim confesses he’s on anti-depressants, William knows he’s found a victim. He vows to help Jim get off his drugs, and the rest of the group fall in line. What begins as friendly advice to help Jim becomes twisted, and Eva and Mo realize the deadly game William’s playing, but the wheels are in motion. Jim is set on a path of self-destruction and is going to do the unthinkable. As Eva, Emily, and Mo try to save Jim, William begins a terrifying game of cat and mouse, chasing them across the Internet, shutting down their systems and cutting them off from his victim. Fantasy meets reality when William and Jim are face-to-face in rush hour on the underground. Without the faceless security of the online world, everything becomes real. It’s now a race against time to save Jim, but the clock is ticking… and we fear someone must die.

Chatroom will be released in the UK on December 22.

Revolver Entertainment have unveiled the official UK poster for Chatroom.

Directed by Japanese filmmaker Hideo Nakata (Ring), Chatroom stars Aaron Johnson (Kick-Ass), Imogen Poots (4.3.2.1), Matthew Beard (Hippie Hippie Shake), Hannah Murray (TV’s Skins) and Daniel Kaluuya (TV’s Skins).

Synopsis: When jaded teens Jim, Eva, Emily, and Mo meet William online, they’re seduced by his charisma. But William isn’t what he seems. He’s calculating and manipulative and doesn’t have time for people in the real world. Jim is vulnerable and has no idea how dangerous his new friendship with William will be. When Jim confesses he’s on anti-depressants, William knows he’s found a victim. He vows to help Jim get off his drugs, and the rest of the group fall in line. What begins as friendly advice to help Jim becomes twisted, and Eva and Mo realize the deadly game William’s playing, but the wheels are in motion. Jim is set on a path of self-destruction and is going to do the unthinkable. As Eva, Emily, and Mo try to save Jim, William begins a terrifying game of cat and mouse, chasing them across the Internet, shutting down their systems and cutting them off from his victim. Fantasy meets reality when William and Jim are face-to-face in rush hour on the underground. Without the faceless security of the online world, everything becomes real. It’s now a race against time to save Jim, but the clock is ticking… and we fear someone must die.

Chatroom will be released in the UK on December 22.

Digitalspy reported this one.

Aaron Johnson assures us that Kick-Ass 2 is on the way, we have had an idea of the plot and comic book scribe Mark Millar says the sequel has been greenlit. Then Lyndsy Fonseca goes and throws a spanner in the works by saying it is a way off being made yet.

In the words of the song, whatever will be will be and although I cannot wait for another dose of Kick-Ass, it looks like we may all have to. Having said that, we need not wait for the sequel in comic book form as that is well on its way and you can enjoy the cover art below, showing Kick-Ass and Hit Girl, care of Newsarama.

After chasing wild geese with X-Men: First Class, nobody is going to be jumping to conclusions regarding Aaron Johnson’s involvement in Jack The Giant Killer. With director Bryan Singer seeing the greenlight, however, it shouldn’t be long before we’re finally talking in definitives.

Touted as the role that today’s crop of young actors are circling, New Line’s retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk story is recieving a great amount of interest,

With script-writers Darren Lemke and Mark Bomback aboard the darker-is-better bandwagon, audiences can presumably expect a Jack who growls and fewer magic beans. While Singer 0rganized considerable visual effects pre-production,  Christopher McQuarrie – who collaborated with Singer on The Usual Suspects – reworked the script until it received its recent greenlight.

Deadline had it first.