Garrett Hedlund

Garrett Hedlund Joins Coen Bros.’ INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 9th, 2012 at 5:55 pm

Joel and Ethan Cohen’s folk drama Inside Llewyn Davis keeps looking better and better. Justin Timberlake, Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, and John Goodman are all set to star in the flick which follows a young musician (Isaac) trying to make it in the 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. Now Showblitz reports that Tron: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund is in negotiations to join the cast. Every actor cast thus far has at least a little musical background, and Hedlund is no different as he showed off his singing chops in Country Strong.

The actor is set to star in Warner Bros.’ Akira, but production on that film was recently halted as the studio wants more time to develop the script. That push on Akira opened up room in Hedlund’s schedule to fit Inside Llewyn Davis in.

Garrett Hedlund in Talks to Star in AKIRA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: November 3rd, 2011 at 12:34 pm

A few weeks ago, we reported that Warner Bros. may be trying to turn Jaume Collett-Serra‘s Akira remake into a cure for insomnia by making TRON: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund the frontrunner for the lead role.  Now it looks like he’ll have it because according to Variety [and first reported by Twitch] Hedlund is in talks with WB to play Kaneda.  Warner Bros. couldn’t make an offer to Hedlund until the budget was in place and I’m assuming the offer was, “You starred in TRON: Legacy and you’re getting a second chance at a major sci-fi blockbuster.  You’re welcome.”  If you think I’m being overly harsh on Hedlund, please direct me to the movie where he gave a magnetic and captivating performance.

But maybe he hasn’t been given the chance.  Maybe films like Georgia Rule and Country Strong haven’t provided Hedlund with the chance to shine.  However, he’s playing Dean Moriarty in the adaptation of On the Road, and that’s a damn fine character so we’ll see how he does.  If you’re unfamiliar with Akira, hit the jump for a synopsis of the original manga.

Warner Bros. Greenlights AKIRA Remake for February 2012 Start; Jaume Collet-Serra to Direct and Garrett Hedlund Might Star

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: October 19th, 2011 at 7:28 pm

If you’ve been keeping tabs on the development of the Akira remake over the past couple years, you know it has been a long and bumpy road up to this point.  Warner Bros. has always remained committed to the property, though.  According to Variety, the studio has finally made it official with a greenlight for a $90 million budget and an eye toward a late February/early March start date.  The report confirms that Jaume Collett-Serra (Unknown) will direct, and provides this synopsis for the Steve Kloves script:

Set in New Manhattan, the cyberpunk sci-fi epic follows the leader of a biker gang who must save his friend, discovered with potentially destructive psychokinetic abilities, from government medical experiments.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Davisson Killoran are producing for Appian Way alongside Andrew Lazar, representing Mad Chance.  Katsuhiro Otomo, the man behind the Akira manga and the writer/director of the 1988 anime adaptation, will executive produce the remake.  More after the jump.  [Update: ...including a comment on the news that Tron: Legacy star Garrett Hedlund's is the frontrunner for one of the lead roles.]

Director Albert Hughes Leaves AKIRA

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 26th, 2011 at 1:43 pm

Director Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) will no longer be directing Warner Bros. adaptation of the acclaimed manga Akira.  Hughes left the project over “creative differences”, but before you assume that’s the nice way of saying Hughes told the studio to fuck straight off, Deadline reports that he still plans to set up a different movie at the studio in the near future.

It’s possible that Hughes left the film over the studio’s uncertainty over who to cast in the lead roles of Tetsuo and Kaneda.  At first, they were looking at a diverse array of actors ranging from rising stars like Andrew Garfield and Garrett Hedlund to more established names like Robert Pattinson and Chris Pine.  But then Keanu Reeves started circling the project and suddenly Warner Bros wanted a more established box office star.  However, he passed on the film and now the studio is back to their original list.  That has to be frustrating for a director and I’m not surprised that Hughes has backed out.  Hit the jump for more details on the project.

TRON: LEGACY/TRON 5-Disc Blu-ray Collector’s Set Review

by Scott Wampler    Posted: April 3rd, 2011 at 4:21 pm

When Tron: Legacy was announced, fans of the 1982 original were dumbfounded: nearly thirty years after the fact, Disney was putting together a sequel.  Furthermore, they’d somehow convinced Jeff Bridges– star of the original Tron– to reprise his role as Kevin Flynn, Encom’s whiz-kid CEO.  That (and the sizzle reel the studio unveiled at Comic-Con a few years ago) indicated that Disney was taking this sequel very seriously: Joseph Kosinski’s Tron: Legacy promised to look, feel, and behave a lot like the original Tron… but with all the cutting-edge special effects and 3D that weren’t available back in the early 80′s.  After poking through the 5-disc Blu-ray set that Disney’s put together for Kosinski’s film, it’s clear that they’re interested in turning Tron into their next, big, Pirates of The Caribbean-sized franchise… but will another Tron sequel, an animated Tron TV show, and an onslaught of Tron merchandise catch on in the way that Disney’s clearly hoping it will?  Y’know, I think it’s got a shot.  Read on for our full review of the 5-disc Tron: Legacy Blu-ray collector’s set, after the jump.

Joel Edgerton, Dominic Cooper, Garrett Hedlund, and Luke Evans Testing for Lead in THE BOURNE LEGACY

by Jason Barr    Posted: March 24th, 2011 at 3:28 pm

With Universal’s The Bourne Legacy staring down the barrel of an August 3, 2012 release, the studio is finally bringing some tangible casting work to the forefront.  Per Deadline, four actors are currently scheduled to screen test for the film’s male lead at the beginning of April: Joel Edgerton (forthcoming remake of The Thing), Dominic Cooper (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Garrett Hedlund (Tron: Legacy), and Luke Evans (Clash of the Titans).

While the report is quick to mention that the actor eventually cast for the role may fall outside of the four listed here (for example, both Shia LaBeouf and Taylor Kitsch are believed to be in the mix, although neither is expected to test for the role at this time), this news at least gives fans of the franchise an idea of how Universal is approaching writer/director Tony Gilroy’s spin-off installment. It is believed that the studio sees the Bourne franchise itself as being more important to the film’s overall success than a huge name lead to place at the top of its marketing materials. With this in mind, and with production set to get underway later this year, I expect this story to be the tip of the casting iceberg surrounding The Bourne Legacy.

AKIRA Shortlist: Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 21st, 2011 at 10:13 pm

The live-action remake of Akira is on its way, folks, thanks in large part to the pen of Steve Kloves (the Harry Potter series).  Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are reportedly very pleased with Kloves’ rewrite and eager to get Akira in front of cameras in August.  Recent casting rumors have been all over the place for the teenage main characters Kaneda and Tetsuo: from Zac Efron (23) to James Franco (32) to Brad Pitt (47).  The implication has been that the studio is seeking a “massive star” to anchor the film, which apparently leads to some leeway in the agery.   Deadline lists the actors that have received a script from the studio:

• For Tetsuo: Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield, James McAvoy
• For Kaneda: Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake, Joaquin Phoenix

The Hughes brothers (Book of Eli) are on board to direct Akira, which adapts Katsuhiro Otomo’s 6-volume manga.  The plan is to make two films, each of which covers three books in the series, as producer Andrew Lazar told us last summer.  Hit the jump for more information on the project and background on the story.

Watch TRON: THE NEXT DAY, a Clip of New Footage from the TRON: LEGACY Blu-ray/DVD

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: March 12th, 2011 at 6:26 pm

We know that Disney filmed additional footage specifically for the DVD/Blu-ray release of Tron: Legacy, but the nature and intent was in some doubt.  It was first reported there might be a teaser trailer for Tron 3, but that appears untrue.  (Another Tron sequel still hasn’t been greenlit, mind you — though it’s close.)  Some of this footage has surfaced online as a 10:27 clip  titled “Tron: The Next Day.”  The focus is bridging the decades between the two Tron films, and the story ties heavily into the “Flynn Lives” viral campaign before Tron: Legacy‘s release.  Garrett Hedlund, Bruce Boxleitner, and Dan Shor make appearances.

The current over/under on this leaked clip is about four hours, and I’m betting on the under.  So watch “Tron: The Next Day” while you still can after the jump.

Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Kellan Lutz Meet With Tony Gilroy for THE BOURNE LEGACY – Updated

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 24th, 2011 at 7:41 pm

It was about a year ago that Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass moved on from the Bourne franchise, but Universal isn’t ready to part ways with the lucrative franchise.  The studio hired Tony Gilroy, a man with writing credits on the first three Bourne scripts, to write and direct a titled The Bourne Legacy.  Though the title is borrowed from one of the books in the Bourne series, The Bourne Legacy is a standalone project – wholly original story which does not feature the character Jason Bourne.

In the absence of Damon, Universal needs a strapping young man to put on the posters.  The studio has begun the search for the actor to play a new assassin character with a “similar background” to Bourne.  Gilroy has reportedly met with Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, and Kellan Lutz about assuming the mantle.

[Update: Joel Edgerton, Josh Hartnett, Paul Dano, Michael Pitt, Oscar Isaac, Michael Fassbender, Luke Evans, Alex Pettyfer, and Benjamin Walker have been added to the list of contenders.  Details after the break.]

New Images of Kristen Stewart and Garrett Hedlund in Walter Salles’ ON THE ROAD

by Talia Soghomonian    Posted: February 3rd, 2011 at 10:22 am

The first set photos from the big screen adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s seminal novel On the Road were published last November, and new images from the Walter Salles directed movie have finally been released.  The images show Salles’ choice of muted colors to depict the Sixties aesthetics and the smoky, hazy Beatnik ambience in which On the Road‘s heroes, Sal and Dean, evolve. Actors Kristen Stewart, Sam Riley and Garrett Hedlund look über-cool enough to play the lead roles of the Beat Generation’s most famous protagonists.  Hit the jump for the synopsis and images:

Leighton Meester Exclusive Video Interview COUNTRY STRONG

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 5th, 2011 at 7:55 pm

Right before the Christmas break, I got to sit down with Leighton Meester to talk about her new movie Country Strong.  By now you’ve probably seen the clips (or the trailer) and know the film is about an emotionally unstable country star (Gwyneth Paltrow) that gets involved with a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund). In addition, Tim McGraw plays her husband and Meester (Gossip Girl) plays a beauty-queen-turned-singer who is trying to make a name for herself.  The film opens everywhere this weekend.

Anyway, during the interview Meester talked about what it’s like to promote a big Hollywood movie, how did she get involved in the project, how she really sings in the movie and who she plays, and what the last year has been like for her trying to balance making movies and filming Gossip Girl.  Hit the jump to watch:

Gwyneth Paltrow Exclusive Video Interview COUNTRY STRONG; Plus Updates on Soderbergh’s CONTAGION and THE AVENGERS

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: January 4th, 2011 at 6:43 pm

Right before the Christmas break, I got to sit down with Gwyneth Paltrow to talk about her new movie Country Strong.  By now you’ve probably seen the clips (or the trailer) and know Paltrow plays an emotionally unstable country star that gets involved with a rising young singer-songwriter (Garrett Hedlund). In addition, Tim McGraw plays her husband and Leighton Meester (Gossip Girl) plays a beauty-queen-turned-singer who is trying to make a name for herself.

Anyway, during the interview Paltrow talked about the challenges of making the film (she actually sings and she’s good), how she got attached to the project, what this year has been like for her, and will she record an album.  But I think the best part of the interview was the very beginning.  That’s because I got Simon Pegg to give me two questions to ask her (they’re close friends) and her reaction is great.  I won’t spoil what I asked.  Finally, towards the end of the interview, Paltrow talked about how Pepper Potts won’t be in Joss Whedon’s Avengers movie and reveals who she plays in on Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion.  Hit the jump to watch:

TRON: LEGACY Review

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 16th, 2010 at 9:32 pm

TRON: Legacy is an odd sequel as it attempts to capitalize on the technologically groundbreaking but commercially unsuccessfully 1982 film TRON.  The original film has built up a cult following over the years and even managed to occasionally find its way into pop culture with South Park‘s depiction of Moses resembling the Master Control Program and the YouTube celebrity “TRON Guy”.  The sequel attempts to reinvent the series as sleek and cool, but the result is a simplistic visual style that attempts to mask a poorly-paced story filled with bland characters.  TRON: Legacy comes alive with an amazing score and some eye-catching set pieces, but the sequel makes this franchise look like it should be shutdown rather than rebooted.

Free Advance Screenings of TRON: LEGACY Tonight in Select Cities

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 13th, 2010 at 12:51 pm

If you can’t wait to see TRON: Legacy and live in a major city, you have a chance to see the film tonight early and for free.  Flynn Lives, the viral website for the film, has announced that first come, first serve screenings for the film will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle, and Toronto.  The website advises that you arrive at least two hours before the screening, but no lines will be allowed to form before 5pm.

Hit the jump to check out the showtimes and theater locations for the screenings.  TRON: Legacy stars Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and Jeff Bridges.  It opens in 3D this Friday.

8 Movie Clips from COUNTRY STRONG; Hear Gwyneth Paltrow, Leighton Meester and Garrett Hedlund Sing

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: December 13th, 2010 at 9:37 am

With Country Strong opening in limited release  December 22 and everywhere Friday, January 7th, Screen Gems has released 8 clips which showcase the characters and the music.  If you haven’t heard of Country Strong (watch the trailer here), it was written and directed by Shana Feste and it stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Leighton Meester, and Garrett Hedlund. Here’s the synopsis:

Soon after a rising young singer-songwriter (Hedlund) gets involved with a fallen, emotionally unstable country star (Paltrow), the pair embarks on a career resurrection tour helmed by her husband/manager (McGraw) and featuring a beauty-queen-turned-singer (Meester).  Between concerts, romantic entanglements and old demons threaten to derail them all.

Something that surprised me about the film is that everyone who sings is really singing.  Meaning when Paltrow, Hedlund and Meester are on stage, you’re really hearing their voices  And they’re all pretty good.  Hit the jump for more – including 8 clips:

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