March, 2010

Let’s get this straight: the title of Bradley Rust Gray’s THE EXPLODING GIRL is purely metaphorical; there are no full-scale detonations of actual people in this movie. If that’s what you seek, there’s always John Cassavetes - from ten different angles - in THE FURY. No, Gray’s film is something else entirely. It’s an intimate character study starring Zoe Kazan as Ivy, a young woman who’s returned home to New York City after finishing her freshman year at college. Though Ivy seems happy enough at the beginning (she pals around with her best friend from childhood, and talks on the phone with her boyfriend from school), there’s a tentativeness to her that’s rare for a girl her age; she’s not at all comfortable in her own skin. Turns out Ivy has a right not to trust her body: she’s epileptic. And while she’s on medication that’s supposed to least control the frequency and severity of her seizures, she’s still limited by her affliction.

Though quick to note that she is quite different from her character, Kazan was determined to depict with complete verisimilitude the life of an epileptic girl - and this respectful commitment has yielded a performance that is revelatory for what it doesn’t show. She communicates Ivy’s inner turmoil by refusing to register any kind of emotional response to the frustrations (both great and small) that plague her every day. It’s an extreme reaction to the fact that, at any given moment, her body could betray her weaknesses without her permission. In other words, Ivy cherishes control.

It’s difficult to play a character who holds back so much, but Kazan pulls it off beautifully. After impressing over the last couple of years with supporting turns in REVOLUTIONARY ROAD, ME AND ORSON WELLES and THE ADVENTURES OF PIPPA LEE, Kazan has proven that she can carry a film just by being - something very few actors can do. And while she may come by some of her talent genetically (her parents are screenwriters Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord, her grandfather Elia), the kind of skill she evinces in THE EXPLODING GIRL requires dedication. Kazan is in this because she loves the craft, not because it’s expected of her.

Aside from THE EXPLODING GIRL, you can also catch Ms. Kazan on Broadway in Martin McDonagh’s new play, A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE (currently set to run until June 6th). Both are discussed in the below interview, which took place early Monday morning (Pacific time) following the Oscars. I note this because I can’t believe I was conscious (though that didn’t stop me from bungling the title of McDonagh’s play). Fortunately, Kazan was wide awake in New York City and heroically eloquent. Read More

 

Not really say Disney and Nickelodeon Executives. Boys’ tastes are changing.

Has there ever been a better moment for tween girls? “Hannah Montana” and “Wizards of Waverly Place” reign on the Disney Channel. Tween idol Taylor Swift rules the radio. There are even tween girls in the White House. Since mega-successes like “High School Musical,” Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers showed execs the way, pop culture has been flooded with tween girl entertainment. And yet another promising series about a cool teen girl, “Victorious,” debuts on Nickelodeon on Saturday.

But what about the boys? Some parents are asking whether the TV landscape has undergone a tween gender shift that leaves boys in the lurch. “Is it just me, or does it seem when it comes to what’s going on in the tween world, it’s mostly about the girls?” asked a parenting blogger at the website Charm City Moms.

Many of the nominees for “Nickelodeon’s 23rd Annual Kids’ Choice Awards” (airing at 8 p.m. Saturday) seem more like girls’ choice. In the favorite TV show category, nominees are “iCarly,” “Sonny With a Chance,” “The Suite Life on Deck” and “Wizards of Waverly Place,” all of which have a majority female viewership, according to the Nielsen Co. Read More

You really can’t judge the audition. I recommend you prepare and do your best to be the character. The casting director will recognize that you are a good actor and take note of that. Plus you don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. It could be that they have changed the character a bit and now are seeking someone more like you. It just may be that they never got around to changing the character description. Who knows…I say you just be happy you are getting to meet another casting director.

Good luck,

Lorena

Adam Hicks has signed on for a recurring role on the Disney Channel skein “Jonas.” Hicks can still be seen as Luther on the Disney Channel XD show “Zeke and Luther.” Hicks will play the Beverly Hills neighbor that befriends the Jonas siblings when they move in to L A.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

That is a very good question and there could be a variety of reasons why they are telling you this. I will share one very possible answer.

The producers of a show select their choices for their pilots but ultimately the network needs to approve the actors. When the network takes the time to audition the actors, they want to have a few choices to choose from. For this reason, the producers may be certain they have found the right actor for the role but you will hear the casting is still going on. They are just looking for more choices to bring in front of the network so they can ultimately make their selection.

Lorena

Robert began his acting career when he was eight by enrolling in an after school drama program sponsored by Trinity Repertory Company. Later that year he landed a role as Turkey Boy in Trinity’s A Christmas Carol. Since that time Robert has performed a variety of roles on stage. Recently, Robert has also turned his efforts to film as well as theater. His first principal role in a movie was in Bride Wars, he later earned a role as Oscar in the movie Sorcerer’s Apprentice (2010). However, Robert’s role as Rowley in the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid is his biggest role to date.

Robert is passionate about reading, acting, and writing his own screenplays. He loves riding his Razor scooter, and playing in his recreational basketball league. He also enjoys playing video games and playing with his action figures.

Robert entered his first year of middle school as a sixth grader in September 2009.

Source: imdb.com

Zachary Gordon as Greg

Where You’ve Seen Him: Primarily on TV (How I Met Your Mother, 24), and as the voice of Baby Melman in Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008). His limited big-screen roles include “Kid #6 in Jump-Jump” in Four Christmases (2008) and “Young Bloom” in The Brothers Bloom (2008). This is Zachary Gordon’s big break.

Casting Grade: As we’ve previously noted, Zachary Gordon looks to be a dead-ringer for the role of a charmingly dorky middle-school kid because the 11-year-old plays one in real life.

Source: www.reelzchannel.com

ER” alum Goran Visnjic is in negotiations to star opposite Katee Sackhoff in the ABC drama pilot “Boston’s Finest,” which also has cast Nia Long.

Additionally, Dougray Scott and Molly Parker are set to star in CBS drama presentation “Quinn-Tuplets.”

In other pilot castings, Josh Henderson is leading the cast of the CW’s drama “Betwixt,” Randall Park has joined the Fox comedy “Tax Man,” and Omid Abtahi has boarded Fox drama “Pleading Guilty.”

“Finest” centers on a detective (Katee Sackhoff) who teams with a disgraced ex-cop (Visnjic) to solve crimes and untangle the conspiracy that sent him underground. Long, repped by Gersh and Hyphenate’s Glenn Riberg, will play her friend, mentor and partner. Read More

By Dorothy Pomerantz, Forbes

Daniel Radcliffe was just 11 years old when he played Harry Potter for the first time in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.” It was the young actor’s first major role, and for better or worse, it has come to define him. When the series ends in a few years, it will be difficult to see Radcliffe as anything but a grown-up Potter.

He’s making grown-up money for the last two installments of Warner Bros.’ huge franchise: $20 million per film. The studio was happy to pay him — the “Harry Potter” films have earned a total $4.3 billion at the box office so far.

That makes Radcliffe and his co-stars Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron) the teens with the biggest hauls at the box office.

Studios love finding teen talent. Young actors (except Radcliffe) always earn far less than an adult would. Kids love to see movies featuring teens, and those kids will go see movies more than once and stock up on film merchandise. Read More