Alice Englert – Beautiful Creatures.

Dakota Fanning (Very Good Girls) and Elle Fanning (Ginger & Rosa).

Douglas Booth – Romeo and Juliet.

Chris Zylka – The Amazing Spider-man.

Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables) and Bella Heathcote (Killing Them Softly).

Ezra Miller – The Perks Of Being A Wallflower.

Garrett Hedlund – On The Road.

Liam Hemsworth – The Hunger Games.

Samantha Barks – Les Miserables.

Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games), Max Irons (The Host) and Olivia Munn (Magic Mike).

Selena Gomez – Spring Breakers.

Shailene Woodley – The Amazing Spider-man.

Vanessa Hudgens (Spring Breakers) and Sam Claflin (The Hunger Games).

Amy Adams – The Master.

Abigail Breslin – The Call.

Hailee Steinfeld – Ender’s Game.

Photos Via Shine On Media and Fashion Scans Remastered

What do you think of the events that happened at Sundance? Were you surprised by any of the deals that were made? Take a look at the portraits in the gallery below:

Source: Entertainment Weekly

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

In her first film since The Girl With The Dragon Tatoo, Rooney Mara joins Casey Affleck and the indie-ubiquitous Ben Foster in a near-modern day Western about a pair of Texas criminals. After a job goes south, Affleck’s Bob takes the fall for his wife shooting a police officer, allowing the pregnant Ruth to raise their child in freedom, waiting for the day they can be reunited.

But then Bob springs loose after four years, and things get complicated as both the law and a trio of underworld scum come looking for him at Ruth’s doorstep.

The film is a taught, quiet, slow-burn thriller, showcasing the acting chops of all three of its leads. Affleck is particularly good as the tortured soul, hardly remorseful for his past sins and motivated by a singular goal of joining his family. Mara, who despite her A-list making role in the aforementioned David Fincher adaptaion is still relatively unknown to audiences, gives us a wholly new side of herself, adopting a convincing Texas drawl and the emotional subtlety of a woman torn between past and present.

Grade: B+

In A World…

Most Sundance comedies come with an asterisk, some sort of dark element or imbedded creation that toes the line between laughter and tears. How surprised I was, then, to see a bona-fide, low stakes comedy and, what’s more, a really good one at that.

IAW follows Carol – played by writer, director and star Lake Bell – the daughter of a Hollywood voice-over legend struggling to break her way into the business. The film is set after the real life death of “The Voice of God” Don LaFontaine amidst a fictional trio of voice actors vying to take over the now empty throne of movie trailer narration (hence the title, i.e. “In a world, where no one is safe…”).

The movie is structured as an ensemble comedy, with the plot playfully and effortlessly hopping between several sub-plots involving marriage problems, daddy issues, and a bit of romance. Most notably, Bell has so carefully and expertly rounded out her cast with a who’s-who list of underrated comedy actors (Rob Corddry, Demitri Martin, Nick Offerman, etc.) that essentially everything that takes place on screen zips and buzzes with perfect timing and chemistry.

The final five minutes over-extends the movie’s welcomes, and the ultimate climax leaves a little to be desired, but overall In A World.. is one of the more sincere and effortless laughs I’ve had in some time.

Grade: A-

Afternoon Delight

In this riff on the bored housewife tale, Afternoon Delight gives us HIMYM’s Josh Radnor and Girls’ Kathryn Hahn as a married couple with a flickering flame. After a spice-it-up date night at a local strip club, Hahn’s character develops a sort of curious fascination with a stripper/sex worker (Juno Temple) who she then hires as a live-in nanny.

Her justification for doing so is a new-feministic desire to help a fellow sister out of a bad situation, but it becomes increasingly clear that the wife’s motivation lies in some vicarious obsession with the danger and raunch of the young woman’s taboo life.

The characters in Afternoon Delight never seem fully realized, and their motivations similarly dip into convenience from time to time. The resolution after the inevitable crises is also swept up with a little too much haste, quickly arriving at catharsis without really demonstrating exactly how, or why, anything has changed.

But, the film is nothing if not interesting, lingering in the quiet moments between words and the hidden meanings behind the actions and routines shared by friends, lovers and strangers. Radnor and Hahn are enjoybale as an extremely everyday alt-Hollywood portrayal of a married couple and while the premise is not likely something most people will encounter in their own lives, the characters seem like an amalgam of everyone you’ve ever known.

Grade: B

Ass Backwards

With a cast that includes the amazing Casey Wilson (Happy Endings), June Diane Raphael (New Girl, as well as my favorite podcast How Did This Get Made), Bob OdenKirk (Breaking Bad) and Jon Cryer (Sixteen Candles — I refuse to acknowledge his more current role) it’s somewhat baffling how AB could have gone so terribly, terribly wrong.

To simply say that this “comedy” fails would neglect the physical discomfort you feel while watching it. It’s a lot like watching two hours of bad high school improv.

Written by Wilson and Raphael, Ass Backwards follows the dimwitted Chloe and Kate as they make a road trip home to participate in a pseudo-reunion of a beauty pageant they lost as children. The structure is essentially a female Dumb and Dumber, as an incessant series of implausible and contrived errors lead the pair to a community of uber-feminists, an amateur night at a strip club (gee, no one’s ever done that joke before), the hovel of a crack addict and finally, to the beauty pageant where the audience is ultimately put out of their misery.

Grade: D-

Very Good Girls

In VGG, Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen play a pair of 17-year-old besties in their final carefree summer before the onset of college-aged adulthood. They’re portrayed, a little heavy-handedly, as a perfectly joined yin and yang, with Fanning the daughter of a rich mansion-dwelling nuclear family and Olsen the hippie offspring of gluten-free and free-range dining Richard Dreyfous and Demi Moore (who, oddly, is given almost nothing to do in the film).

One day, while biking the boardwalk on Coney Island, they meet David, a grumpy but beautiful ice cream vendor. He is the poster child of cliched YA fiction male romantic interests, with his gruff and sullen exterior hinting at a gentle and artistic center that both women immediately pick up on and swoon over.

David’s lazy creation is but the most egregious of the film’s two-dimensional character and plot constructions. The plot ambles along well-traveled paths, briefly arriving at an impressive union of sight and sound in the middle section, only to lose itself in a swamp of inexplicable character actions and forced conflict as it limps its way to the finish line.

It’s not that Good Girls is particularly bad, it’s just that its coming-of-age retread is aggressively mediocre.

Grade: C+

BY ERIC RADDATZ

ERIC RADDATZ
Naomi Watts & James Frecheville take Q&As at the Eccles Theater after their movie Two Mothers premiered at Sundance, the reigning king of U.S. indie film festivals in Park City, Utah

Splashed across gorgeous flowing blue skies with miles of crisp pinnacling white-blanketed snow hills ablazen with parties, music, snowboarders, filmmakers, food, fun and more film celebrity than you may ever find at one place except the Oscars, is Sundance. Everyone here is connected. Everyone here is from somewhere else. Everyone here seems to be having a pretty good time.

Several thousand miles from Fort Myers, this festival is bringing in $70-80 million of revenue for the locals, many of whom whine and roll their eyes about the thousands that congregate in a city that is usually just a quiet, quaint ski town.

Ask Robert Redford and he will tell you he did not set out to be commercial with Sundance, taking place in Park City, Utah all this week. “We set out to be diverse. It just so happens that being diverse proved to also be commercial.” The founder of the Sundance Film Festival met with press last week at the Egyptian Theater to answer questions and ponder the current state of what is likely considered by professionals as the reigning king of U.S. indie film festivals and discuss what direction it is heading.

Alongside of him was Sundance Film Festival Director John Cooper, who after being asked  if anything stood out as different than in festivals past, mentioned that there were many films this year in which there seemed to be a lot of explicit sexually-charged situations and content. There was, in fact,  a hardcore sex scene in every movie I saw at Sundance this weekend. And I wasn’t looking for that.

ERIC RADDATZ
Jerusha Hess, who cowrote Napolean Dynomite, premiered Austenland at Sundance, the reigning king of U.S. indie film festivals in Park City, Utah

Within the first full day of programming there was in fact Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame, engaging in a gay sex and masturbating scene, Joseph Gordon-Levitt masturbating to pornography in a film with Scarlett Johansson and Naomi Watts & Robin Wright characters having numerous nude and sex scenes— that seemed to be real — with each other’s sons. And that was just at the Eccles. In the days following there was plenty of sex—group sex, straight & gay sex, sex among cannibals and well— just about any sex you can think of.

When reminded of complaints regarding some of the content, Redford reminded the audience that “the narrowest of mind can sometimes bark the loudest. We’ve over time come to ignore it,” he said. “It’s a free country and maybe they should look at the Constitution.” After talking about the festival’s reach into London and denying any movement into Brooklyn he was sure to mention that that the city, while it may complain, certainly loves the monetary infusion.

Even back in the ’60s Redford might not possibly have imagined the day when not just indie film producers would celebrate with him in Park City with such savoir fair, but even the biggest of blockbuster stars would come in for the  celebration. Lots of them. Stars en masse.

ERIC RADDATZ
A line of ticketholders outside the Egyptian Theater at Sundance, the reigning king of U.S. indie film festivals in Park City, Utah

During the festival you cannot help to run into stars. Without even trying very hard I got a chance to meet Michael Cera, Jerusha Hess, writer of Napolean Dynomite, Naomi Watts and Jane Seymour. Watts’ handshake was much firmer than Cera’s, I would say. Naomi giggled a little, a little louder than Cera, after I brought up that despite her movie Two Mothers being adapted from Doris Lessing’s Two Grandmothers, it totally had a SNL Motherlover’s feel to it. I had Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg’s song stuck in my subconscious the rest of the night, even at Silver, where I couldn’t believe the great hip hop & old school dance music playing. And way more intimate than Tao—where everyone seemed to be going. You could not bump into someone without them having a story about someone famous they met. The hills, clubs, cafes and theaters were crawling with them. (*CLICK HERE FOR A LIST ATTENDING AND EXPECTED TO ATTEND) (OR *CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM SUNDANCE’S WEB SITE)

Just getting a ticket to a film required commitment and patience, however. Everyone is looking for a ticket at Sudance and it is no wonder. With multi-levels of ticket packages—from an individual ticket costing $15 to the thousands-of-dollars event packages— the festival with a reputation for excellence had most patrons averaging only a couple to a few screenings at best. It can be tricky if you aren’t one of the stars, VIPs or filmmakers.

In fact, the general public is asked to sign up months in advance, get assigned to a window of purchasing opportunity nearly two weeks before the festival and even then they generally come up short handed with the films they were trying the hardest for. So they are told to wait in line for standbys. Most will take whatever shows they can get and hundreds get in line every morning at the box office to see if any fresh tickets have become available.

Jane Seymour at the Eccles Theater for the premiere of Austenland at Sundance.

Across the city the festival’s flagship Eccles theater, with a capacity at 1,400 or so, people would wait in line hours to get just a chance that some might not show up at the sold out shows they purchased tickets to. Early in the festival Crystal Fairy, the first to play the opening day, let about 50 of such aforementioned diehards in. The next film Austenland let in about 15. By the time Don Jon screened there were ZERO standby tickets given out. Hundreds filed out after waiting two hours in line and neglecting other shows they might have had a better chance to get in with groans and mumbles. Many, including myself were hoping to catch glimpse of Scarlett Johansson, who didn’t come as she was busy doing Broadway’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. “Anybody got a ticket?” was being said over and over outside the Eccles as Joseph Gordon—Levitt and Tony Danza paraded in for the screening of Don Jon.

Tons of volunteers work the festival so they can enjoy the festivities, actually. Seems to be a pretty good idea. Many who came in from all over the world were outside, directing traffic, working the box office and events for the perks. Many of them get to attend parties, screenings and meet many of the filmmakers and stars they would not get a chance to otherwise.

ERIC RADDATZ
Michael Cera outside the Eccles Theater at Sundance after his film Crystal Fairy played at the reigning king of U.S. indie film festivals in Park City, Utah

If you personally would like to see some of the films but are unable to attend, the festival plays a dozen or so online during the festival hours at http://www.youtube.com/ytscreeningroom . Give it a shot. You may not get a chance to say you met any stars but you will save some bucks.

Or if you are having trouble getting tickets in town, check out http://www.sundance.org/availability/ as it updates what is still available to be seen.

The festival, presented by the Sundance Institute, takes place January 17-27, 2013 in Park City, Utah. For more information head to www.sundance.org

—Eric Raddatz is a filmmaker living in SWFL who has only once tried to submit one of his films to Sundance.

Here are the basics though:

1) It is cold here. Wear layers:

With highs in the upper 20s this week and lows in the teens I’d advise you consider layers. Snow has blanketed the mountains & streets. It is beautiful out here, actually. But if you are not VIP, industry or have not maneuvered a complicated & difficult ticketing system you may be utilizing the ‘wait in line 2 hours before the film you want to see’ method of watching films. Many even after jumping through the hoops of pre-registering for a “time slot” to purchase tickets have come up empty-handed with films they really want to see. There are lots of goodies, though, so it is worth it.

Here is a list of what is playing http://filmguide.sundance.org/schedule/grid

2) It’s expensive here. Bring lots of cash:

From lodging in Park City even into Salt Lake you are gonna drop some dollars. You can find accommodations if you look, though. Just not inexpensive accommodations. Stay in Park City if you want to be in the middle of it all. Good luck finding a spot though. Many places have been sold out for months. If you want to attend the parties, afterparties and special screenings you will be dropping thousands. Beware—even one ticket will set you back $15. Forget about buying tickets online at this point, though. That expired last December. Look on Craigslist or try just going to the theater and ask if anyone has an extra. At a restaurant, just now, I overheard fresh staff being told “We have no specials at ALL during Sundance.” So much for discounts. Raking in the dough is just simply the way they roll here.

Ticket information is at https://www.sundance.org/festival/tickets/

3) Prepare to see good films. Prepare to see some stars.

Sure I want to see Don Jon’s Addiction starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Scarlett Johansson, and Julianne Moore. “Jon Martello objectifies everything in his life: his apartment, his car, his family, his church, and, of course, women. His buddies even call him Don Jon because of his ability to pull ’10s’ every weekend without fail. Yet even the finest flings don’t compare to the transcendent bliss he achieves alone in front of the computer watching pornography.” Premiering at the Eccles Theatre in Park city Jan. 18 at 6:30 p.m.. For ticket information go to http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/13028/don_jons_addiction.

But I also want to see Ashton Kutcher in jOBS, a story about Steve Jobs; Amanda Seyfried, in Lovelace, as story about before Deep Throat became a cultural phenomenon that took a multitude of risks, one with a porn star named Linda Lovelace; Nicole Kidman in Stoker, Naomi Watts and Robin Wright in Two Mothers; Dakota Fanning in Very Good Girls, a story about ‘best friends—introspective Lilly and free-spirited Gerry—spend their last summer at home in New York City before parting ways for college. The girls meet Brooklyn boy David, whom they both fall for, and Lilly soon begins a secret relationship with him.’

I can’t wait to see the sweeping story of the birth of a movement — 99%—The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film,; also Citizen Koch—”The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 lifted a century-long ban on restricted corporate election spending, unleashing a new era of unbridled special-interest campaign finance. Citizen Koch examines the mushrooming struggle between money and democracy through the dramatic lens of the 2011 standoff in Wisconsin.”

I also will be looking to enjoy God Loves Uganda, Life According to Sam, Manhunt, Twenty Feet to Stardom, Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, Touchy Feely, Upstream Color, Google and the World Brain, Pussy Riot—A Punk Prayer, The Gatekeepers, It Felt Like Love, The World According to Dick Cheney, Ass Backwards, We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks, Social Butterfly, Outlawed in Pakistan and When I Walk.

Of course, you will not be able to see everything as many of the shows overlap in numerous theaters. So choose carefully.

4) If you can’t stand the sight of stars, wear blinders. They are everywhere.

Trot past the snowboarding hippies, film nerds and rich partiers and there will be a ton of recognizable faces from the silver screen here. Below is just a sampling of stars expected to attend. So if celebrity-gazing isn’t your thing, be sure to watch out for the following culprits; Scarlett Johansson, Felicity Jones, Mariel Hemingway, Morgan Spurloc, Alfred Molina, Ellen Page, James Franco, Amy Ryan, Amanda Seyfried, Forest Whitaker, Kate Bosworth, Ethan Hawke, Amy Poehler, Sarah Silverman, Julianne Moore, Nicole Kidman, Juno Temple, Bill Pullman, Radha Mitchell, Casey Wilson, Alicia Keys, Shia LaBeouf, Steve Carell, Jason Isaacs, Michael C. Hall, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Paul Rudd, Naomi Watts, Isaiah Washington, Danai Gurira, Mia Wasikowska, Ellen Page, David Sedaris, Henry Thomas, Guy Pearce, Tim Blake Nelson, Rutger Hauer, Maya Rudolph, Matthew Goode, Kathryn Hahn, Alison Brie, Ed Harris, Mamie Gummer,  Lake Bell, Anthony Edwards, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brit Marling, Ben Foster, Ron Livingston, Stephenie Meyer, January Jones, Kristen Bell, Dave Grohl, Daniel Radcliffe, Shailene Woodley, Julia Ormond, Octavia Spencer, Evan Rachel Wood, Sharon Stone, Dermot Mulroney, Demetri Martin, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks and Holly Hunter are all expected to be in town. Oh, and Robert Redford.

5) Be sure to check out films at Fort Myers Film Festival this year.

The weather is way better and the films are just as good—and, better at times. One local here said “before Sundance got big we actually used to go down there. But it is nuts now.” Another on a trolly who has been here since the beginning sighed and said “here we go again.” At least Fort Myers is fresh and exciting for the locals. And they support their local filmmaker. Be sure to checkout a younger festival for the warmth of open doors, little hassle and great films. For more information go to www.fortmyersfilmfestival.com. Tickets are only $5 for films there and the opening night gala tickets are only $19. Don’t pass it up.

Eric Raddatz is the Presentation Editor for Florida Weekly, the founder of the Fort Myers and Naples film festivals in Florida and a first-time attendee at Sundance—which while he is very excited about, will still swear is still not as good at the Fort Myers Film Festival in many ways.

The shortlist has just been announced and now it’s in your hands to vote for your top newcomer to the world of film.

To help you make up your mind, here’s a little bit about each fantastic nominee…

Elizabeth Olsen.

Probably for the last twenty years she’s been known as the little sister to the extremely famous Olsen Twins and their numerous franchises. But, Elizabeth diligently stayed in school, she studied at the Tisch School of the Arts, and despite some smaller roles in the past, burst on to the scene at  the end of 2011 in the critically acclaimed Martha Macy May Marlene. Some would say she was robbed of an Oscar nod for her performance, but that hasn’t stopped her throughout 2012, other films such as Liberal Arts have been well received by critics and 2013 will be a big year for her with two films eagerly anticipated – Very Good Girls, with Dakota Fanning and the Western remake of Oldboy with Josh Brolin.

Andrea Riseborough

Working her way up the ladder with smaller parts in Made in Dagenham and Never Let Me Go, RADA graduate Andrea Riseborough has also starred in the ill-received remake of Brighton Rock and the even more ill-received W.E. (Madonna’s dire directorial outing). Although these have dive bombed at the box office, these film failures have been nothing to do with Riseborough’s talent, which resonates on-screen. She brings an air of old school talent, charm and dedication, from her early parts as Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley to her latest outing – Shadow Dancer, where she managed to pick up a well deserved BIFA prize for Best Actress. It’s clear that if she wins this award or not, Riseborough will have an exciting career ahead.

Juno Temple

Heralding from a film family, Juno Temple has managed to steadily work in a wide variety of films, from Killer Joe to The Dark Knight Rises (blink and you’ll miss her as Selina Kyle’s sidekick). Starting off as a child actress, as she’s got older she’s received critical acclaim for roles in films such as Atonement and Notes on a Scandal. Ever diverse Juno Temple is clearly an actress who likes to challenge herself and with American dark fantasy thriller Horns coming out later this year and also starring Daniel Radcliffe, it looks like 2013 is going to be very exciting for this actress.

Suraj Sharma

If you were going to be cast in one film to launch your career, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi was most certainly the pick of the bunch. Chosen over thousands of other hopefuls, nineteen year old Suraj Sharma commands the seas and a Bengal tiger in this epic tale of a boy lost at sea. Very few people could have played the part so well, and for a newcomer, he deserves all the praise he’s going to get for this film. Outstanding performance.

Alicia Vikander

Very few people can steel the show from Keira Knightley, but in Anna Karenina, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander does just that. Vikander’s Kitty is so genuine, sweet and compassionate towards Domhnall Gleeson’s Levin that she is easily the best thing about this film. Her next international film outing will be in The Seventh Son, opposite Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges and its pretty clear that she’ll quickly be making a name for herself outside of her native Sweden in the months to come.

The BAFTA Awards takes place on the 10^th February so make sure you follow @bafta to find out more details on how to cast your all important vote.

Looks like Ryan Seacrest will be the only one back! (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Mike Evans, the Hollywood Insider, has the scoop on just about everything “Hollywood”!

In today’s report…What celeb has a tree house? American Idol News: Aretha Franklin wants to be a judge, but she out of the demo. Nigel Lythgoe wants Paul McCartney to be a judge and rumors are swirling that he’s been talking with Katie Holmes!?!?!  Other possible judges include, Mariah Carey, Pink, Beyonce, and Katy Perry. TV Ratings: Glass House is a disaster!!! Very Good Girls is currently shooting with Dakota Fanning and Demi Moore! And finally, Sean Penn has quietly completed an anger management course!

kluv

Where Is He Now?

It’s easy to answer the question “where is Dustin Hoffman now?” since he hasn’t stopped making movies at all. Since 1985, Hoffman has appeared in at least one movie every year (except for one: 2000). 1997, in particular, proved to be a big year for Hoffman. He was awarded the Golden Globe’s Cecil B. Demille Award, which is an honorary Golden Globe for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment.” He was the 45th recipient of the award, winning the year after Sean Connery and the year before Shirley MacLaine. That year, for his performance in Wag the Dog, he also received his seventh Academy nomination for Best Actor.

In 2004, Hoffman would appear in five different movies: Freedom2speak v2.0, Finding Neverland, I Heart Huckabees, Meet the Fockers, and Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. For Finding Neverland, he was included in the nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture by the Screen Actors Guild. For his role as Bernie Focker in Meet the Fockers, he was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. While the MTV Movie Awards really mean little to nothing in my opinion…it’s still something.

And then, in 2007, Hoffman appeared in, what I personally believe, is one of the best children’s movies of all time: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. Hoffman plays the eccentric Mr. Edward Magorium, and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. If you look back up at the picture posted above, you’ll see Hoffman as Mr. Magorium. It’s amazing, and while it may be a silly movie, I recommend that everyone see it.

2008 was an easier year for Hoffman as he never actually appeared on-screen in any movie but instead lent his voice to three animated films: Kung Fu Panda, Horton Hears a Who!, and The Tale of Despereaux. Being the most successful of the three, Kung Fu Panda gave Dustin Hoffman the Annie Award for Best Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production. He would go on to reprise his role as Master Shifu in the sequel, Kung Fu Panda 2, which appeared in theaters in 2011.

In 2011, Hoffman also appeared in the HBO television series, Luck, which was recently cancelled. Hoffman played the lead role as Chester “Ace” Bernstein, a lifelong mobster who has recently been released from a three year prison sentence.

For the future, Hoffman is rumored to appear in possibly three movies: The Song of Names with Anthony Hopkins; Very Good Girls with Anton Yelchin and Dakota Fanning; and The Giver with Jeff Bridges. All three are in the pre-production stage so nothing is completely confirmed, but either way, you can expect Hoffman to appear in at least one film during 2012. Can’t wait!

Josh Kaye for Classic Movie Hub

The 22-year old actress made her film debut in Martha Marcy May Marlene, an indie drama about a young woman who tries to rebuild her life after escaping from a cult, for which she was nominated for Breakthrough Award and Best Ensemble Cast.

Next year Olsen, who is often seen wearing ensembles from her sister’s lines The Row and Elizabeth and James (named after her and her brother), will be starring in the Rodrigo Cortes thriller Red Lights and Liberal Arts a movie by actor/director Josh Radnor. In 2013 she’ll play alongside Dakota Fanning in the romantic dramedy Very Good Girls.

Not bad for a girl who we hadn’t heard from up until a year ago.

Silent House opens March 9

Open Road and Liddell Entertainment wisely waited for Fox Searchlight to spend their marketing and PR energy to promote Elizabeth Olsen in Martha Marcy May Marlene before scheduling the opening of their own Sundance Olsen-starrer, Silent House, for March 9. Impeccably choreographed, if too often to ogle Olsen’s ample cleavage, Suffice it to say that Sarah’s camisole turns crimson in a couple of places, the house is visited by two other creepy figures, and the ending throws all that has preceded it into a new and rather ugly light. Kentis and Lau get mildly Hitchcockian with popping flashbulbs out of “Rear Window” and at least one “Rope”-style trick to disguise an edit, but “Silent House” mainly leans on its Uruguayan predecessor, give or take the final minutes of “REC” and “The Blair Witch Project.”

2012 is also slated to see Ms. Olsen in the thriller Red Lights (co-starring Robert De Niro); Liberal Arts with Zac Efron and Richard Jenkins; and Very Good Girls, about two best friends (Olsen and Dakota Fanning) who vow to lose their virginity and end up falling for the same guy. (Trivia alert: the two actresses attended the same California high school, though they graduated in different years.) “What I love about [Very Good Girls] is that it feels so real,” says Olsen. “It shows the love of two girls and how they’re family. And it’s about the time when you figure out why it’s important to be honest.”

Jadwal syuting untuk pembuatan film baru Dakota yang berjudul “Very Good Girls” akan ditunda dikarenakan adanya financial problem, atau masalah keuangan yang melibatkan biaya produksi yang tinggi.

Hal ini dikonfimasi oleh lawan mainnya, Elizabeth Olsen, yang mengatakan bahwa, “Ini rumit. Banyak orang yang tidak mau mendanai film seperti itu. Tapi, tentu saja, kalau ada vampir atau hal aneh semacamnya, akan lain ceritanya..”

Kabar ini menyedihkan memang, bagi kalian yang menyukai cerita yang mengangkat tema komedi cinta remaja. Dan bagi kalian yang sudah membaca sinopsisnya, mungkin berpikir bahwa film ini terlalu frontal dan mengandung konten dewasa. Bercerita tentang dua orang sahabat yang berjanji akan kehilangan keperawanan mereka pada akhir tahun ajaran, tetapi sialnya, mereka jatuh cinta pada pria yang sama.

“Very Good Girls”, Olsen melanjutkan, “Nyata bercerita tentang dua sahabat, mereka memiliki hubungan yang nyata dan apa adanya, dan bagaimana mereka menghadapi dan berinteraksi satu sama lain. Hal itu (kehilangan keperawanan) memang terjadi di film, sudah jalan ceritanya, tapi bukan satu-satunya yang dibahas.”

“Banyak orang mengaitkan persahabatan remaja adalah sesuatu yang remeh, yang banyak terjadi di film, khususnya film Disney dan film-film musikal lainnya. Aku keberatan, karena persahabatan adalah sesuatu yang terjadi kehidupan nyata, bukan hanya dalam cerita (Disney dkk).”

Syuting yang direncanakan akan dilaksanakan pada musim gugur tahun ini, akan ditunda hingga masalah keuangan ini terpecahkan. Tidak tahu kapan, tetapi tetap akan dijalankan sesuai prosedur yang berlaku.

Sumber: Indiewire

Dakota Fanning

Naomi Foner’s Very Good Girls is the next teen comedy successor to the American Pie series.

Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Peter Sarsgaard, Dustin Hoffman and Sissy Spacek have joined Foner’s production, which will be financed by Ealing Metro International and Prescience.

Foner wrote and will direct, currently is being shopped around the Cannes Film Festival. Fanning and Olsen will star as high school friends who are on a mission to lose their virginity following graduation but end up falling for the same guy, a charming street artist. Sarsgaard hopefully.

How did Carrie Bradshaw afford her lifestyle as a columnist on Sex in the City? One blogger managed to calculate all of her expenses to find how much debt she would have. [Source]

TopShop will open its second location in the states in Chicago! [Source]

Music

Lupe Fiasco and Trey Songz will perform at this year’s MTV’s 2011 Movie Awards. [Source]

For her sweet sixteen, Big Boi gave his daughter Jordan a record label called Purple Kidz. [Source]

Oh Land will be kicking off her summer tour w/ Sia beginning in July. [Source]

Ben Gibbard opens up about his dark past and battling alcoholism in the June issue of SPIN Magazine. [Source]

Television

America’s Next Top Model has announced the contestants for their All-Star Season. [Source] Round 2.

Taylor Momsen and Jessica Szohr will leave Gossip Girl at the end of the season as series regulars. [Source]

Zooey Deschanel will star in a new FOX Pilot called “The New Girl.” [Source]

NBC passes on Wonder Woman pilot. [Source]

Ashton Kutcher will join “2 and a Half Men.” [Source]

Movies

Will Smith stops traffic with his $2 million 1,150 sq feet trailer while filming Men in Black 3. [1][2]

Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen will star in a new film called “Very Good Girls.” [Source]

Seattle

Designer Monique Lhuillier will be visiting Nordstrom’s Flagship store downtown on 5/19. Bridesmaid dress viewing will be from 6-7PM [Source]

Other

Levi Johnston looks extremely good looking on the cover of his new book due out September 27: Deer in the Headlights: My Life in Sarah Palin’s Crosshairs [Source]

Leonardo DiCaprio has called it quits with longtime girlfriend Bar Rafaeli. [Source]

Hayden Panetierre and her giant boyfriend Wladimir Klitschko have split. [Source]

Autumn Reeser has given birth to a beautiful baby boy named Finn. [Source] Named after Glee?

Bristol Palin admits that the plastic surgery on her face was for medical reasons. [Source]

Actor Mike Myers is about to become a dad for the first time at age 47. [Source]

Lady Gaga is no longer in a relationship w/ Lüc Carl. [Source]

Facebook has found themselves to be in a potential scandal w/ Google. [Source]