What She’s Been In:
Rebel Wilson, 26, studied at the
Australian Theatre for Young People. In 2003, she decided to go to New York to
train at The Second City after winning an ATYP International scholarship. She
started her career as a stand-up comedian, but got her first real recognition
after appearing in the stage musical The Westie Monologues in Australia (which
she also wrote and produced). She took a few roles in Australia finding success
on TV, starring in a number of comedies (Pizza, The Wedge and Bogan Pride), before returning
to the States taking small roles in Ghost Rider and season one of Workaholics. She has started to
establish herself in Hollywood after her breakthrough role (see below),
co-starring in the comedy Bachelorette,
being funny in a small supporting role in What to Expect When You’re
Expecting and having a voice-role in Ice Age: Continental Drift (all
which came out in 2012).
Breakthrough:
Wilson’s breakthrough came with a
supporting role in 2011’s biggest comedy – Bridesmaids.
She is hilarious playing Kristen
Wiig’s character Annie’s roommate Brynn. In a film full of very funny
people, Wilson was able to stand out, which accounts for her sudden rise in
Hollywood bookings.
October Film:
This month Wilson co-stars in
Pitch Perfect, a musical comedy about an all-girls acapella group The Bellas
who take on their campus all-male rivals. The film has a fantastic cast also
starring Anna Kendrick (one
of the brightest rising
stars), Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, and Alexis Knapp. The film is
perfect for Wilson, as it allows her to show off both her singing and comedy
chops. It is definitely one of the best surprises of 2012. It is a lot of run.
Trailer: Here.
Upcoming:
Wilson has a number of projects
upcoming. First she has two indie films – Small Apartments and Struck by Lightning. The first,
directed by Jonas Akerlund,
is about a man surrounded by strange events and odd neighbors. It also features
Juno Temple (another great star
to watch) and Dolph Lundgren.
The second, directed by Brian
Dannelly, is about a young man who is struck and killed by lightning. Now
dead, he recounts how he blackmailed his classmates into writing for his
magazine. It stars and was written by Chris Colfer. Both have received
positive buzz on the festival circuit. In 2013 she is set to have a supporting
role in Michael Bay’s latest
blockbuster action comedy: Pain
& Gain, starring Mark
Wahlberg and Dwayne Johnson.
It is about a pair of bodybuilders who get caught up in a kidnapping scheme and
extortion ring that gets terribly out of hand. Finally, Wilson has set up a
deal with ABC to create a pilot for a new comedy called Super Fun Night (which she will
write and star in).
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
What He’s Been In:
Scoot McNairy started his career
as a character actor, often playing rebellious and colorful characters. These
characters include small parts in Wonderland,
Art School Confidential, and
Bobby. He has also shown up
in a number of TV series for single episode arcs, notably great episodes of Six Feet Under and How I Met Your Mother. He has
been in three episodes of Bones.
Breakthrough:
McNairy’s breakthrough came with
the brilliant indie sci-fi (Godzilla-like)
thriller Monsters. Directed
by Gareth Edwards (who, funny
enough, is remaking Godzilla),
it is about a cynical journalist (McNairy) and a shaken America tourist who try
to make their way through an infected zone to the safety of the US border after
aliens breakthrough their detention zone and begin to attack the Mexican city
they are both stuck in. It co-stars Whitney Able.
October Film:
This month, McNairy has a
supporting role in the Oscar favorite Argo,
a drama about six US civilians who escaped the embassy in Tehran after it is
taken over by revolutionaries (but who are now trapped in the Canadian
Ambassador’s house) and the CIA-Canadian operation to extract them. The film is
directed by Ben Affleck and
stars Affleck, Bryan Cranston,
John Goodman, and Alan Arkin. McNairy plays one of
the six fugitives (and is very good in the film). Trailer: Here.
Upcoming:
McNairy has the potential to be
the breakout actor of 2012. In addition to a good supporting role in Argo, he
also co-stars in Killing ThemSoftly and has a supporting role in Promised Land. The first is a
crime drama written and directed by Andrew Dominik (the brilliant
filmmaker who made The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) about Jackie Cogan
a professional enforced who is sent to investigate a heist of mob-protected
poker game. McNairy plays one of the stick-up men. It also features Brad
Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, and Ben Mendelson. The second sees Matt
Damon reuniting with director Gus
Van Sant in a film about a salesman for a natural gas company who comes to
a crisis of faith after arriving in a small town where he has been sent to
acquire farms to be drilled for their resources. It also features John Kransinski (who co-wrote
the film with Damon), Frances
McDormand, Rosemarie DeWitt,
and Hal Holbrook. McNairy
plays one of the small town’s farm owners. 2013 is also a busy year for McNairy
with roles in three films set for release. First, Touchy Feely directed by Lynn Shelton and co-starring Ellen Page and Rosemarie DeWitt.
Next (what could be 2013’s best film), Twelve Years a Slave about a
man living in New York in the mid-1800s who is kidnapped and sold into slavery
in the Deep South. Written and directed by (the brilliant) Steve McQueen, it stars Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sarah Paulson, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Garret Dillahunt, Michael Kenneth Williams, Taran Killam, Quvenzhane Wallis, and Chiwetel Ejiofor (not sure there
will be a better cast in 2013). Finally, Non-Stop about an air marshal
who must save an international flight from threating passengers. Director Jaume Collet-Serra reunites with
Liam Neeson, while Michelle Dockery, Julianne Moore, and Corey Stoll co-star.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
What She’s Been In:
Kaya Scodelario, 20, appeared
very briefly in the great sci-fi film Moon and has a small role in Clash
of the Titans (her only Hollywood film to date). She also has roles in a
few British projects, including the action sci-fi film Shank, the new TV series True Love, the thriller Twenty8k, and the romance drama
Now Is Good. But really, her
best and most notably work comes in her breakthrough project (see below)
Breakthrough:
Scodelario’s breakthrough came
when she was cast in a reoccurring supporting role in the British teen TV drama
Skins’s, created by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain, first class (the
show follows new characters every two seasons). She plays one of the series’
leads Tony’s (played by Nicholas
Hoult) sister Effy. She is one of the few characters to be featured in more
than two seasons, as she returned to be one of the leads in the second class
(seasons 3-4). She is excellent in the series, and overall it is one of the
best teen dramas on TV (shaming MTV’s remake).
October Film:
This month Scodelario stars in Andrea Arnold’s minimalist
adaptation of Wuthering Heights,
a classic gothic novel by Emily
Bronte about a poor boy, Heathcliff, who is taken in by the Earnshaw family
where he develops an intense relationship with his new young foster sister. She
plays the older version of Catherine Earnshaw opposite newcomer James Howson as Heathcliff
(their younger counterparts are played by Shannon Beer and Solomon Glave, also both
newcomers). The film is eagerly anticipated because Arnold’s last film was the
excellent drama Fish Tank
and this adaptation of Wuthering Heights, while still in period, feels very raw,
moody and gritty – fresh (which is amazing for something that has been adapted hundreds
of times). Trailer: Here.
Upcoming:
In 2013 Scodelario has two
project expected to see release. First she has the lead role in the indie film Emanuel and the Truth about Fishes
about a troubled young girl who becomes obsessed with her new neighbor, as she
looks very much like the girl’s dead mother. It co-stars Jessica Biel, Jimmi Simpson, Alfred Molina, and Frances O’Conner, and is
directed by Francesca Gregorini
(whose first film was the underrated drama Tanner Hall). Next, she stars
opposite Tom Hughes (who is
good in Cemetery
Junction) in the British romance drama Stay with Me directed by Tim Fywell. It is about two
young people running away from their lives who engaging a whirlwind romance
with heartbreaking results.
Career Highlights:
*Editor’s picks
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