During the 2010s, Mia Wasikowska was one of those actresses who continuously landed big-screen roles. The Australian star rose to prominence in the United States thanks to her leading role in Tim Burton’s 2010 movie Alice in Wonderland, which got the sequel treatment via 2016's Alice Through the Looking Glass. From there, she went back and forth between mainstream movies and independent films and has seemingly removed herself from the spotlight in recent years. Now, Wasikowska is explaining her decision to step away from Hollywood.

Both studio and indie projects kept the actress very busy over the last decade, as she took on the role of Jane Eyre, starred in the Oscar-nominated dramedy The Kids Are Alright and had a key role in Guillermo Del Toro's Crimson Peak. But after completing Alice Through the Looking Glass, which became a flop, Mia Wasikowska decided to stick with smaller features that filmed in Australia. The now-33-year-old actress told IndieWire that a sense of isolation from her home country played into her decision to leave Los Angeles:

Now that she's in her 30s, it seems like the star is putting a lot of focus on her personal pleasure. She clearly still has a passion for acting but just wants her journey to be more of a gradual one compared to the constant grind that comes with Hollywood. As her recent roles had her delving into the “perky psychopath” trope in movies like Maps to the Stars, Crimson Peak, and The Devil All the Time, her latest part in the Australian drama Blueback is more inspirational. It sees her play the adult version of a young girl who befriends a wild blue groper and makes it her mission to protect the ecosystem from destruction. The movie premiered in Australia earlier this year and currently 72% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

We may not see Mia Wasikowska in too many mainstream projects in the U.S. these days, but she still seems to be very popular with Australian audiences. With that, one has to wonder whether she'd ever consider returning to Tinseltown at some point. On that notion, she said:

Mia Wasikowska is indeed lucky enough to have the option to “dip in and out” of acting projects and still have stable footing in the business. If there are any roles that Wasikowska regrets not taking, though, it's the Academy Award-nominated movie Carol. She explained that because shooting for the LGBT romance got pushed back, she took on Crimson Peak. This led to Rooney Mara replacing her, and she ended up being nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars. But Wasikowska seems to understand the realities of the business and is clearly living her best life away from Hollywood.

Be sure to check out our 2023 movie releases just in case the star makes something that finds its way to mainstream audiences. And in case you have an itch to rewatch her Alice in Wonderland flicks, you can stream them using a Disney+ subscription.

Based on the novel of the same name by Donald Ray Pollock (who also serves as the movie's narrator), Netflix's The Devil All The Time is a morbid and moody streaming exclusive, featuring an all-star ensemble which includes noteworthy stars like Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgard, Mia Wasikowska, Haley Bennett, Sebastian Stan, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, and more. Co-written and directed by Antonio Campos (Christine), it's not an easy film to watch, and it ultimately divided critics, though its substantial star power made it a Netflix hit shortly after its debut.

While watching the film, if you found yourself wondering where you've seen this actor or that person before, we're here to help. This stacked cast is filled with a lot of recognizable talent, though it can be hard to remember everything they've done in the past few years. With that said, here's where you probably recognized them.

Tom Holland (Arvin Eugene Russell)

As Arvin Eugene Russell, the son of Willard and Charlotte and the step brother of Leonara, Tom Holland plays the lead role in The Devil All The Time. By now, most moviegoers know Holland best as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The English actor played the part in five films, including Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home. In addition to these mega-blockbusters,

Holland also starred in The Impossible, Locke, In the Heart of the Sea, The Lost City of Z, The Current War, and How I Live Now. Additionally, he provided his voice to last year's Spies in Disguise and this year's Dolittle and Onward. Outside of film, Holland notably played the title role in a stage production of Billy Elliott. Next, the actor will be seen in Chaos Walking, Cherry, and Uncharted.

Bill Skarsgård (Willard Russell)

In the role of Willard Russell, Arvin's father and Charlotte's husband, Bill Skarsgard is seen prominently in the first act of The Devil All The Time. The Swedish actor has been in the acting business in 2000, though he didn't find a wide audience until he memorably adopted the role of Pennywise in IT and IT: Chapter Two.

Prior to these horror hits, Skarsgard was also seen in Anna Karenina, The Divergent Series: Allegiant, and Atomic Blonde, to name a few. Following IT's success, Skarsgard nabbed some more high profile roles in movies like Deadpool 2, Assassination Nation, and Villains. Outside of film, the actor played a role in Netflix's Hemlock Grove and he was recently seen in Hulu's Castle Rock. Up next, Skarsgard is set to be seen in Naked Singularity and Cherry, which also stars Tom Holland.

Riley Keough (Sandy Henderson)

Playing the part of Sandy Henderson, a serial killer in an unsettling marriage with Carl, Riley Keough provides one of the lead roles in The Devil All The Time. The eldest granddaughter of Elvis Presley, Keough has impressed in a variety of movies and shows — both big and small — within the past few years. She made her debut in The Runaways back in 2010, and she was notably seen in the lead role of The Girlfriend Experience's acclaimed first season. 

Other noteworthy appearances include Magic Mike, Mad Max: Fury Road, American Honey, It Comes At Night, Logan Lucky, The House That Jack Built, Jack & Diane, Hold the Dark, Paterno, The Lodge, and Earthquake Bird. Also, Keough starred in Zola, which earned a great deal of acclaim following its premiere at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It's unclear when it's expected to be released.

Jason Clarke (Carl Henderson)

As Carl Henderson, a serial killer in a troubling relationship with his wife Sandy, Jason Clarke plays a key role throughout The Devil All The Time. The Australian actor has bounced between film and television since the mid '90s, though he later found success and recognition in movie roles like Public Enemies, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Trust, and Lawless before Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby, White House Down, and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes made him a prominent performer. 

From there, Clarke has notably been seen in Terminator Genisys, Everest, All I See Is You, Mudbound, Chappaquiddick, Winchester, First Man, and last year's Serenity and Pet Sematary remake. He's also known for his starring role in the series Brotherhood, which ran from 2006-2008. The actor was also seen in last year's mini-series, Catherine the Great. Next, he'll be seen in Silk Road.

Eliza Scanlen (Lenora Laferty)

In the role of Lenora Laferty, Arvin's adopted step sister, Eliza Scanlen plays a tragic role throughout the middle section of The Devil All The Time. The Australian actress is a relative newcomer, though she got her start on the popular soap opera series, Home and Away. From there, she starred in HBO's mini-series, Sharp Objects, and she played Beth March in Greta Gerwig's Little Women. 

Most recently, Scanlen was seen in the acclaimed indie, Babyteeth, earlier this year. Outside of film and television, Scanlen appeared in stage productions of To Kill a Mockingbird and Lord of the Flies last year. She also wrote and directed the short film Mukbang earlier this year. Next, Scanlen is expected to be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's newest untitled thriller, which is currently slated for release on July 23rd, 2021.

Sebastian Stan (Sheriff Lee Bodecker)

As Sheriff Lee Bodecker, Sandy's law enforcement brother, Sebastian Stan plays a prominent role in the second half of The Devil All The Time. Much like his co-star Tom Holland, Sebastian Stan is best known for his commitments to the MCU in the role of Bucky Barnes, i.e. The Winter Soldier. As this (occasionally) antagonistic character, Stan has been seen in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame. 

Outside of Marvel movies, Stan is known or recognized for his performances in films like I, Tonya, Ricki and the Flash, The Martian, Destroyer, The Bronze, Black Swan, Logan Lucky, Hot Tub Time Machine, and Rachel Getting Married. He also starred in Gossip Girl and the mini-series Political Animals. He'll next be seen in Monday, which recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and 355.

Robert Pattinson (Reverend Preston Teagardin)

In the role of Reverend Preston Teagardin, a shady new preacher, Robert Pattinson provides a memorable turn throughout the mid-section of The Devil All The Time. Though he's still best known for his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight saga, Pattinson has since expanded himself into a variety of bold and off-kilter projects, both big and small. 

Notably, Pattinson has starred in Good Time, The Lighthouse, High Life, The Rover, Cosmopolis, Maps to the Stars, The Lost City of Z, Damsel, Queen of the Desert, The King, and Waiting for the Barbarians. He also recently starred in Tenet, and he's been seen in films like Water For Elephants, Remember Me, How To Be, Little Ashes, Vanity Fire, Life, The Childhood of a Leader, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Next, Pattinson stars in The Batman, one of his most high-profile roles yet.

Haley Bennett (Charlotte Russell)

Playing the part of Charlotte Russell, Arvin's mother and Willard's wife, Haley Bennett played an emotional role in the first 30 minutes of The Devil All The Time. Making her debut in 2007's Music and Lyrics, Bennett has been seen in films like College, Marley & Me, Kaboom, Kristy, The Equalizer, The Magnificent Seven (2016), The Girl on the Train, Hardcore Henry, Rules Don't Apply, Thank You For Your Service, and The Red Sea Diving Resort. 

She was also seen in Swallow earlier this year, where she also served as an executive producer. Up next, Bennett is set to be seen in Hillbilly Elegy, which is another Netflix prestige drama, later this year. She's also attached to Cyrano, the new film from Joe Wright, her partner.

Harry Melling (Roy Laferty)

As Roy Laferty, Lenora's evangelical preacher and Lenora's father, Harry Melling is a prominent player in the first third of The Devil All The Time. To many, Melling is most commonly known for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter franchise. these popular fantasy films remained his only film acting experience, though he branched out into other cinematic endeavors with 2016's The Lost City Of Z, which also starred Tom Holland and Robert Pattinson. 

From there, Melling was seen in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Keeper, Waiting for the Barbarians, and, most recently, The Old Guard —another high-profile Netflix blockbuster. While these titles remain his only film roles, it's worth noting that Melling also starred in shows like Merlin, His Dark Materials, and 2019's War of the Worlds. Next, he'll star in Say Your Prayers and Macbeth. Additionally, he'll appear in Netflix's The Queen's Gambit.

Mia Wasikowska (Helen Hatton Laferty)

Playing the role of Helen Hatton Laferty, Lenora's mother and Roy's husband, Mia Wasikowska isn't given a lot of screentime in The Devil All The Time, but she plays a key role in the movie's first act. As an actress, Wasikowska is best known for her title role in 2010's Alice in Wonderland and its sequel, Alice Through The Looking Glass. She is also well-known for her work in Jane Eyre, The Kids Are All Right, Stoker, Lawless, Albert Nobbs, Maps to the Stars, The Double, Only Lovers Left Alive, Crimson Peak, Damsel, Madame Bovery, Tracks, and Piercing. 

Wasikowska was also recently seen in Judy & Punch and Blackbird. Outside of film, the actress also played a reoccurring role in In Treatment. Next, she's set to star in Bergman Island, the newest film from director Mia Hansen-Løve.

Michael Banks Repeta (Young Arvin Russell)

As a young Arvin Russell, the nine-year-old version of our lead protagonist, Michael Banks Repeta is seen prominently throughout the first half of The Devil All The Time. The child actor is still making his way into Hollywood. Notably since this movie is easily his biggest role to date. Outside of his work in this new streaming movie, Repeta was recently seen in episodes of HBO's Lovecraft Country and The Outsider. He also played a role in the series Gone and a recurring role in Manhunt. 

The young actor was in the film Uncle Frank, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. It's expected to be released on VOD on November 26th. The actor got his start in the 2017 short film, Happy Birthday, Barbara, and he'll next be seen in the short film, Mercy.

The Devil All The Time is now available to stream on Netflix.

Are you ready to go back through the mirror? This holiday weekend, Walt Disney follows up on its mega-hit Alice in Wonderland -- which grossed north of $1 billion dollars back in 2010 – with the colorful Alice Through the Looking Glass. Tim Burton decided to pass on the sequel, but original stars such as Johnny Depp, Mia Wasikowska, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter all returned for a second adventure in Underland. Will you?

As our regular readers will know, this is NOT a review of Alice Through the Looking Glass. (That, you can find right here.) Instead, this is a conversation on the film’s use of 3D, helping you decide whether or not your hard-earned money should be spent on the 3D ticket if and when you decide to check out Alice at the movies. Disney has been on a roll with its 3D output recently, earning good-to-great scores for Captain America: Civil War and The Jungle Book. Can Alice extend the streak? Let’s see.

Fit Score

4/5

The majority of the story told by director James Bobin in Alice Through the Looking Glass takes place in the whimsical world of Underland (a phrase coined by Tim Burton in the original film). And everything that we have come to know about Underland paints it as a trippy and psychedelic land, meaning the visuals absolutely should lend themselves to creative 3D manipulation. Add in Time (Sacha Baron Cohen) as an adversary, and Alice comes across as a solid fit for a 3D big-screen treatment.

Planning & Effort Score

4/5

After a dismal and flat start (visually), involving scenes set in the "real" world of London, Alice Through the Looking Glass proved that Bobin and his crew remembered the 3D aspect when Alice (Mia Wasikowska) returned to the magical realm of Underland. For a few minutes, I feared that the 3D would be totally ignored – those opening scenes are ugly – but the effort really starts to shine once the movie is safely ensconced in the surreal environments of Underland, where the Mad Hatter’s home, Time’s clock headquarters, and the waves of time are able to take full advantage of all that 3D has to offer.

Before the Window Score

2/5

Sadly, Alice is just the latest 3D movie that can’t figure out how to make anything pop off of the screen (the area we consider Before the Window). Not that there weren’t opportunities. The movie actually opens with a thrilling sailboat sequence that SHOULD have had masts, sails and anchors poking out at us. It never happened. Once, when Alice stuck her fingers through the mirror, I thought her hand almost broke the film’s plane. Outside of that, no real effort went into making objects land in an audience’s lap. Even a blue butterfly, which could have been a great effect fluttering around the theater, looked flat and incomplete. Why can’t 3D movies figure out this once-important aspect of the technology?

Beyond the Window Score

3/5

Usually, this is where a 3D movie makes up for the fact that objects don’t pop off the screen anymore. Proper 3D conversions can create lush, deep visual environments that are fun to explore with our eyes. And while SOME of this occurs in Alice Through the Looking Glass -- especially when Alice (Wasikowska) is hopping through the colorful Underland – there are too many scenes in Looking Glass that do next to nothing with their deep focus. Those early London scenes are actually very blurry in the backgrounds. And several Underland scenes are set in the dark, so there isn’t much to see. Not worth the time, sadly.

Brightness Score

2/5

As I just mentioned, there’s a fair amount of Alice that is set at night, or in darkened scenes that diminish the strength of 3D. Candle-lit cinematography in two key locations – in Time’s clock headquarters, and on the waves of time that Alice rides – produce visuals that are silver and indigo, largely, and those muted colors don’t help the 3D to pop. Some scenes, most involving the Hatter (Depp), blast color and brightness across the screen. But Alice gets an overall poor grade for its scattered use of brightness, which is needed to overcompensate for the shade of the 3D glasses.

Glasses Off Score

4/5

Alice Through the Looking Glass has significant blur on its images when you take your glasses off during a screening. Once Alice enters Underland, James Bobin and his team likely relied heavily on green-screem to create their visuals, meaning they had full control over their 3D manipulation. So if you try to watch Alice scenes with no glasses on – giving the bridge of your nose a break – you will have a tough time making out what’s happening in screen because of the blur. This means there’s a strong amount of 3D done in post-conversion. I just wish it looked better.

Audience Health Score

4/5

I’ll give Audience Health a good grade, because the action scenes in Alice, when they occur, are smooth and subdued. The choreography isn’t choppy, and we’re never left catching our breath or steadying ourselves against he rapid camera swings that tend to disrupt a 3D presentation. That also means Alice isn’t very exciting… but on the positive side, the meager way that the action scenes glide leads to a healthy 3D experience (which probably is good for kids).

3D SCORES RECAP

3D Fit

4

P & E

4

Before The Window

2

Beyond The Window

3

Brightness

2

Glasses Off Test

4

Audience Health

4

Total Score

23/35

Final Verdict: Not great. And the categories that matter most, from Before the Window to Brightness, got the worst grades. Good intentions are one thing, but the surreal nature of Underland should have produced some crazy, inventive and eye-popping 3D visuals, and Alice Through the Looking Glass did not. Coming off the 3D domination that is The Jungle Book, I was hoping that Disney had figured out how to really make their live-action fairy tale fantasies explode off the screen. Alice doesn’t, so save your money.

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Click to visit our full To 3D Or Not To 3D Archive.

Guillermo Del Toro loves a good ghost story, and it looks like he brought us just that with the first Crimson Peak trailer. Little did we know that the full trailer, just dropped below, would give us an even better and creepier look at just what Uncle Guillermo has cooked up in his manor of death and deceit.

The official Crimson Peak Facebook page dropped the new look at Del Toro’s latest horror offering, and judging by the fact that Stephen King is officially on record stating that the film is "gorgeous and terrifying… it electrified [him]," it looks like the man has done his job, and then some.

Crimson Peak tells the story of Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), a young woman with a fascination for ghosts, as well as two charming gentleman callers (Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Hunnam.) Of course, most Victorian-era stories would focus on that turmoil, but it’s settled rather quickly when Edith marries Sir Thomas Sharpe (Hiddleston) which is also right about the time that things start to get freaky. Not only are there ghosts that Lady Edith fully believes are haunting the halls of Crimson Peak’s titular estate, but there’s also something weird going on between Sir Thomas and his sister, the deeply unsettling Lady Lucille (Jessica Chastain.)

What that something is, we don’t know, but there are a lot of theories that could fly from what we’ve been shown in this trailer alone. Those theories only really occur after the credits have dimmed though, as this trailer doesn’t fail to grab the attention of us viewers, as it leads us down the miniature version of the haunted house tale we’ll be able to experience for ourselves this fall. Probably the best part about this trailer is that it doesn’t feel like Crimson Peak is giving away too much of its secrets, or even its undoubtedly more bloody moments, in this further peek into its madness.

And make no mistake, Crimson Peak has a lot riding on it, as it’s another joint venture between Universal and producing partner Legendary Pictures. With Jurassic World sharing that same distinction before it, it’s a good bet that executives are going to be watching these two films very keenly to see if the era of good feelings between the two can resume, or if it’s time to shake the line up around a little bit to avoid another Blackhat. Going on what we’re seeing in this trailer though, we’d like to think that there’s nothing to worry about, and our trust in Guillermo Del Toro only further boosts our confidence that this dark and sexy night terror could be something worth being haunted over.

Crimson Peak opens in conventional and IMAX theaters on October 16, and we’ll be among the first in line to see what Guillermo Del Toro has in store for our scare craving psyches.

While there’s certainly no shortage of dramas set during the Second World War, the upcoming thriller HHHH looks to break the mold in a genre that’s had more than its share of entries. Reportedly taking a nuanced, character-centric approach, the film features an impressive cast, looking to bring this historic tale of an elaborate assassination mission to the big screen.

According to a report from Variety, the biographical World War II drama, HHHH, based on the novel of the same name by Laurent Binet, will see the addition of a primary cast that mixes established commodities along with up-coming names that already makes the film sound promising. Let’s take a look at the lineup.

Jason Clarke as "Reinhard Heydrich"

The rapid, post-Zero Dark Thirty rise of Clarke, which yielded a starring role in last year’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and will see a major big-budget action role in this summer’s Terminator: Genisys, will take an intriguing turn with HHHH. Clarke plays Heydrich, a high ranking Nazi official who worked closely with the architect of atrocities, Heinrich Himmler, and is actually the film's titular character. The title references an acronym for what Germans called him, "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," meaning "Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich."

The first chapter of the film essentially depicts Clarke’s Heydrich as a protagonist, focusing on his rise to prominence in the Nazi party in a way that producer Alain Goldman refers to as "intimately and professionally" as he descends to a dark place.

Rosamund Pike as "Lina Heydrich"

Settling comfortably into what seems to be a post-Gone Girl typecasting as a manipulative maker of machinations, Pike plays Lina Heydrich, Reinhard’s wife. She is described as an aristocratic type of character, constantly looking to improve their social standing, who, like a race-obsessed Lady Macbeth, apparently introduces the Nazi ideology to Reinhard, setting him on his repugnant course depicted in the film’s second half.

Jack O’Connell as "Jan Kubis" and Jack Reynor as "Josef Gabcik"

In exploring a duality in human nature with Heydrich’s story, the focus shifts in the second chapter of the film to two operatives of the Czechoslovakian resistance who are tasked with assassinating him in 1942. O’Connell (pictured left), formerly of U.K. TV’s Skins, turned some heads with his role in last year’s World War II Pacific theater prisoner drama, Unbroken, as well as '71.

Reynor (pictured right) is coming off a prominent role amongst giant robots and explosions in last year’s Transformers: Age of Extinction. For the Colorado native, this role as Gabcik will see him, along with the Brit, O'Connell, as two would-be Slovak paratrooper assassins tasked with making Heydrich their quarry in what potentially could be exciting, action-packed sequences.

Mia Wasikowska as "Czech Resistance Fighter"

Finally, we have the addition of Wasikowska, the elegant actress probably still best known from her starring turn in Tim Burton’s 2010 rendition of Alice in Wonderland. She plays a yet-to-be-named girl living in Nazi-occupied Prague who operates as part of the resistance on behalf of the country’s driven-underground government. Most likely she will be involved with the dynamic duo of O'Connell and Reynor.

HHHH is co-written and will be helmed by Cédric Jimenez, whose resume contains a few films in France, but is a bit otherwise thin at the moment. However, with filming set to begin in Prague and Budapest in August, with this tremendous cast and a seemingly inventive take on the WWII genre, it could ultimately be a name-making vehicle for Jimenez.

It's hard to imagine what our summer movie landscapes would have looked like without the talent pool from Australia. What would X-Men be without Hugh Jackman? The Dark Knight without Heath Ledger? Pirates of the Carribean without Geoffrey Rush? Thor without Chris Hemsworth? Or Iron Man 3 without Guy Pearce? Australian actors have become an integral part of Hollywood in blockbusters like as well as prestige pictures, from Cate Blanchett's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Lord of the Rings and Elizabeth to Mia Wasikowska'a Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs or Lawless. But some of Australia's brightest stars have joined together for a sprawling collaboration called, The Turning.

Based on the book of short stories by celebrated Aussie novelist Rim Winton, The Turning will unfold seventeen stories, each directed by a different helmer, that will link and overlap to reveal the turning points in peoples' lives. Blanchett and Wasikowska will be making their directorial debuts, helming chapters called "Reunion" and "Long, Clear View" respectively. Blanchett's Lord of the Rings co-star David Wenham makes his mark as a filmmaker with "Commission." The Snowtown Murders helmer Justin Kurzel tackles "Bone McPharlin's Moll," and celebrated cinematographer Warwick Thornton helms "A Big World."

Also on the directors' slate are Marieka Walsh ("Ash Wednesday"), Stephen Page ("Sand"), Ashlee Page ("On Her Knees"), Ian Meadows ("Defender"), Claire McCarthy ("The Turning"), Academy Award nominated animated short maker Anthony Lucas ("Damaged Goods"), Yaron Lifschitz ("Immunity"), Rhys Graham ("Small Mercies"), Shaun Gladwell ("Family"), Robert Connolly ("Aquifer"), Jub Clerc ("Abbreviation"), Tony Ayres ("Cockleshell"), and Jonathan auf der Heide ("Fog").

Blanchett will also appear in the film, as will such noteworthy names as Miranda Otto (War of the Worlds), Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids) and Hugo Weaving (Cloud Atlas). Stories told within The Turning range from a following a pair of brothers whose relationship is in dire need of repair, to the tale of a battered wife and mother who becomes fixated on the seemingly happy lives of her neighbors, and the transformation of a boy attracted to older women to a middle-aged man trying to make sense of his past. This setup means different directors will be telling different parts of a character's narrative, making The Turning an enticing cinematic experiment. The book has been praised for its raw emotion and intriguing insights into people's innermost thoughts and motivations. It will be interesting to see how 17 directors will express these ideas, and whether or not such a complicated collaboration can make for a cohesive and compelling feature film.

The Turning will make its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival next month. It's unknown when this experimental offering will make its way Stateside. For more on The Turning, check out the film's Facebook page, where you can find pics like this this first look at Brenna Harding in Ayres' contribution, "Cockleshell."

Among the recent news to come out of Cannes is word that The Weinstein Company has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Carol, a feature adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's lesbian love story. Cate Blanchett, who played a role in the adaptation of another of Highsmith's stories, The Talented Mr. Ripley, will star alongside Mia Wasikowska in the film, which is set to be directed by Todd Haynes.

Known as Carol and also The Price of Salt, the book, which was originally published in 1952 (written under the pseudonym Claire Morgan), centers on Therese Belivet, a lonely young department store clerk working in New York and stuck in a relationship she's not particularly thrilled with, who falls for customer Carol Aird after the two meet and become friends. News of Blanchett and Wasikowska's involvement in the film actually broke last year, but at that time, John Crowley was said to be directing. This week, THR posted word that Blanchett and Wasikowska will star in the adaptation, which has been written by Phyllis Nagy and will now be helmed by Todd Haynes.

Not only does Blanchett have a connection to the book's author through her role as Meredith in The Talented Mr. Ripley, but she's also worked with Haynes before. She starred as Jude in Haynes' Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There. While THR doesn't specify who's playing who, the role of Carol is described as in her thirties, which makes Blanchett the likely candidate for that part, with Wasikowska (Stoker) presumably playing Therese.

Filming will start in October in London and New York.

There's been a fair amount of rumor and speculation around the casting for The Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire, but it's mostly been centered around the male roles-- rumors about Philip Seymour Hoffman signing on, for example, or who might play the hunky Finnick. But one of the most important new characters who appears in Catching Fire is Johanna Mason, a fierce and sometimes antagonistic former Hunger Games champion who our heroine Katniss is forced to get along with. And now, finally, we've got some hints about who might play her.

According to The Playlist, Mia Wasikowska and model Zoe Aggeliki are among the actresses up for the part, and Aggeliki could be close to signing a deal in the next few days. She's obviously the smaller of the two names, but Catching Fire will be a giant movie no matter who they cast, and Mia Wasikowska didn't exactly become a household name even after starring in the huge success Alice in Wonderland. Aggeliki may also be better known by the time Catching Fire comes out-- she's appearing with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges in R.I.P.D. next summer, and has also been cast in the upcoming Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters.

I was still really enjoying the speculation that Emma Stone might play the Johanna role, but odds are she's too expensive for a role that probably won't affect the box office one way or another. Whoever gets cast as Johanna has a great, challenging role ahead of her, and I'm still not entirely sure who I think the right person would be. What about you guys?

The envy of lady bookworms everywhere, Mia Wasikowska, continues down her path of portraying beloved literary heroines by signing on to Sophie Barthes' adaptation of Gustave Flaubert's steamy classic Madame Bovary. The sparkling ingénue, whose played in Jane Eyre and Alice in Wonderland, will star as Emma Bovary, a young beauty who impulsively marries a small-town doctor to leave her father's pig farm far behind. But after being introduced to the glamorous world of high society, she soon becomes bored with her stodgy mate, and so seeks excitement and status outside the bonds of marriage. There's no word yet on who will play her husband or lovers, but Paul Giamatti is presently attached to play Monsieur Homais, a pompous apothecary who is a friend to the title character's cuckold, yet an unexpected ally to the willful Emma.

Barthes and Giamatti memorably teamed up to create the 2009 comedy Cold Souls, where the curmudgeonly leading man played a beleaguered—but hilarious—version of himself. In the film, Giamatti feels exhausted by the weight of his soul, so when a magazine article advertises soul storage, he reluctantly tests it out. When his soul is literally lost he goes on a globe trekking adventure that involves soul smuggling, a demanding soap opera star, and the Russian mob.

Inspired by a peculiar dream, Barthes wrote the Cold Souls script with Giamatti at the center. After happenstance led to the pair crossing paths, he gamely read her screenplay and in short order offered to produce and star. The results are a remarkably funny and affecting film that was ultimately--and unfairly--maligned for superficial similarities to the works of Charlie Kaufman.

Barthes created an imaginative and sophisticated blend of humor and pathos in Cold Souls, so I'm eager to see what she'll do with the tale of Madame Bovary. Variety reveals her adaptation will be a period piece that remains true to its source's plot, but insists the screenplay by Rose Barreneche emphasizes "more youthful and contemporary themes." I can't help but wonder/hope if this means more sex, and less shame.

Though it started as a misguided American remake of a foreign classic, the new take on Oldboy has been looking more and more intriguing, first thanks to Spike Lee signing on as director, then Mia Wasikowska and Josh Brolin being offered the lead roles. Last we heard Clive Owen was also considering signing on as the film's major villain-- it would be a reunion with his Inside Man director Spike Lee, after all-- but as it turns out, it's not meant to be.

According to a brief and otherwise undescriptive tweet from Variety's Jeff Sneider, we shouldn't expect Owen to play the villain role. He doesn't specify a reason or give information on who won't replace him, but Sneider tends to know casting scoops in general, so I'm inclined to take this as fact. Unfortunately Owen is just one of many high-profile actors to pass on the film-- Colin Firth had initially been eyed for the main role before passing, and Rooney Mara also apparently turned down Wasikowska's role. Obviously the film comes with some baggage, being a remake of the famous Japanese film of the same name, but I was hoping more of these high-profile actors might be willing to take the risk and sign on for something potentially great.

So while the role seems open again, who do you want to play the villain facing off against Brolin? Are there any English-speaking actors who can match the original? And don't say you want them to scrap the film entirely-- it might not be the most popular opinion, but this remake is still looking interesting, and I'm dying to see where they wind up going with it.

So far, news pertaining to the planned Oldboy remake has ranged from “Huh?” to “OK, cool,” to “Please God, stop.” First, I’m opposed to a remake of a film that’s fantastic in its own right. What’s the point? But if you simply must repackage Park Chan-wook vengeance mystery, casting Josh Brolin in the lead is a solid idea. I’m not sure I’d go with Spike Lee as the director, but if he’s able to recruit Inside Man collaborator Clive Owen as the picture’s chief villain, all the better.

Now the casting wheel is spinning once again. Twitch says The Kids Are All Right star Mia Wasikowska has been offered the lead female role opposite Brolin in Lee’s remake. Coincidentally, Wasikowska just wrapped work on Park’s first English-language picture, Stoker, about a young girl whose strange uncle shows up days after her father dies.

I wonder if the Korean director guided Wasikowska toward Lee’s project? She’s a fabulous actress who quietly shattered souls in Jane Eyre opposite Michael Fassbender and managed to be one of the bets things about Tim Burton’s bizarre Alice In Wonderland. But I’d never think of her for Oldboy, which means it could be a brilliant stroke of stunt casting. Lee is known for handpicking the right actors for his ensembles, and he’s going against the grain for this remake. Remember when people automatically assumed it would be Denzel Washington mowing down killers in a tight hallway as he tried to figure out who imprisoned him for years? That ain’t happening … but maybe we’re in for something special, instead.

Since breaking out among indie film fans with his committed and unforgettable performance in Steve McQueen's Hunger, Michael Fassbender has worked with a dream team of directors: Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Steven Soderbergh (the upcoming Haywire), David Cronenberg (the upcoming A Dangerous Method), Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank) and, yes, Matthew Vaughn (this little thing called X-Men: First Class). But for Jane Eyre, Fassbender teamed up with 33-year-old director Cary Fukunaga, whose single previous feature Sin Nombre was outstanding, but not exactly a career that speaks for itself like Cronenberg's or Tarantino's.

Not only that, but Fassbender was tackling the role of the moody, imperious romantic hero Edward Fairfax Rochester, the enigmatic love interest played in the countless Jane Eyre adaptations by the likes of Orson Welles, George C. Scott and William Hurt. But together with co-star Mia Wasikowska as Jane, Fassbender and Fukunaga pulled off the unthinkable-- an adaptation of Jane Eyre that makes the story feel fresh and vital again. I talked to Fassbender a few weeks ago in all the challenges of making that happen, from wrapping his mind around the complicated language of Charlotte Bronte's novel to moving away from the Welles performance, which with all due respect he calls "dated." He also talked about the other directors he's worked with recently, and how Fukunaga's style compares to Cronenberg and Soderbergh, among others.

Check out my interview below, and if it's playing near you please see Jane Eyre this weekend or as it rolls out into wider release throughout March. It's wonderful.

Did you watch the version of Jane Eyre that starred Orson Welles?

To be honest with you it's dated for me. Orson Welles is amazing, but it's very dramatic, that performance. I watched all of them really, right up to Toby Stephens.

You seemed to recognize that the story has been done a million times. What convinced you it was worth doing again?

My mother and my sister, who are big fans of the book from when I was a teenager and growing up. I read Jane Eyre six or seven years ago, and it's a classic for a reason, because the characters are so fantastic and so complex and so detailed. I's an age-old story. That battle for love, and the fight that goes on until Rochester can finally… well both of them end up healing each other. They're both sort of wounded animals, and together they can find peace.

Even though you're trying to get away from old-fashioned interpretations of the story, you've still got this older language to deal with. Is that a hurdle in getting the more modern version of the story across?

You have to work a lot at the language, because the language is the music of the piece. To try and find the right rhythms for that is the key. Sometimes the more dramatic the line, the flatter you would play it, but not always. When I watched Orson Welles, he's like "Jane, Jaaaaaane" and all these crazy faces. The gothic element of it, it comes through with the character is, that he's this Byronic hero. He encompasses the idealism, the destruction, the intelligence, the shady past, the passion and courage.

And there's this wild secret that's just part of who he is. It's not a big bombastic thing.

And I wanted him to be carrying it on his shoulders all the time. She's [Rochester's first wife, who lives in the attic] got a hold on all of them-- Rochester, Fairfax, Mrs. Poole, Jane by coming in the house. She starts to inhabit the house, and there's a living, breathing human being.

You've been doing all this work in the last year with this long list of amazing directors, to the point that it seems like you're choosing projects based on the director. Are you doing that, and how does Cary line up with all of these experienced directors you've worked with?

Cary, I just saw SIn Nombre and thought, this is a beautiful film. Cary has a real understanding of human beings and knows how to tell a story. And it's delicate and sensitive and violent and aggressive and uncompromising, I just thought he's a serious talent. That's kind of the only way I go about it. That really is what I do, I go by the director and the script. That's the easiest way to choose, it makes things pretty simple.

Is it different working with someone like Cary or Steve McQueen, who are new to filmmaking, and Soderbergh, who's made so many films?

It's just different techniques.What I found is, they're really nice. There's a sort of respect there, they kind of let you do your thing. They kind of sway you or nudge you, but there's no real direct direction. They're real filmmakers that understand the moment to moment stuff. They just have an awareness of how to go about a set. Soderbergh and Cronenberg, they're like engineers or scientists, they're so precise and clear. I'm pretty sure both of those guys are editing as they shoot. Cary is very quiet and reflective, and he does an awful lot of prep, and he's got a great eye for a free. And Steve McQueen, I'm working with him at the moment again [on Shame, currently filming in New York City], and he's pretty unique. When you're in good hands, you look good.

You've got these two huge movies coming [X-Men: First Class, in June, and Prometheus with Ridley Scott filming this year], where the acting is part of something much bigger than you. How is that different, and that director relationship different?

It's different but the nuts and bolts remains the same. What my job entails kind of remains the same. All the other stuff going on is different--it's much bigger, waiting for people. But it's also fascinating for me to look around and learn other things. What I like about the film thing is it's a coming together of people, and everybody has something to offer. Most people read the script, and you'll see it one way and I'll see it another way, and everyone will come with their thing. You put it in the middle and you sort the most interesting thing out of that.

How much of that do you do on a movie like Jane Eyre, where the book is already there and it's so totemic?

Well the book's got everything in it. There's no reason to change something. Like people say, oh, do you improvise with Quentin Tarantino? There's no point. You can't really write anything better. He's written it, and you're not going to write it any better. You deal with what you've got to deal with, then you make sure you're not lazy with it. Every line is in there for a reason. Because the book is so dense, the tricky job for Cary and a writer is condensing it into an hour and a half.

What would getting lazy mean?

I don't know. I think with Rochester, for me it was trying to find what was going on in every scene. It was so easy to say, oh, I'll do moody over that. But why did he say that? Where did that line come from? Was he thinking about Jamaica there, or what's going to happen with Jane? It's not the obvious is what I'm saying. You don't want to fall back on tricks. He's so weird, and you want to find that weirdness as well as possible.

After coming back from the dead, John Hillcoat's The Wettest County in the World has already managed to amass quite an impressive cast. Originally set to star Shia LaBeouf, Ryan Gosling, Michael Shannon and Amy Adams, the new group includes LaBeouf (the only consistent cast member), Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain. Now the prohibition drama has added four more names that will certainly raise your eyebrows.

Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska and Jason Clarke have all signed on to join the Hillcoat film, according to THR. Adapted from the book by Matt Bondurant and based on a script by Nick Cave, the plot comes from the true story of the Bondurant boys, who were bootlegging siblings who operated in in Prohibition-era Virginia. In the film Pearce will be playing an "overly violent" deputy who proves to be the Bondurant's biggest oposition; Oldman will play a gangster who hires the Bondurants; Wasikowska will play a " local Mennonite girl" who will also be LaBeouf's love interest; and Clarke will play the third Bondurant boy. While Oldman, Wasikowska and Clarke will be working with the director for the first time, Pearce previously starred in Hillcoat's The Proposition.

Considering how close the project came to not happening, this is pretty damn impressive. Currently in pre-production, the film is set to start up later this month. Given Hillcoat's filmography and this cast, I think it's more than okay to be excited.

A year ago, Amanda Seyfried was Hollywood’s new it girl. Now, that title arguably belongs to Mia Wasikowska, as does a key role in the upcoming Albert Nobbs adaptation originally earmarked for Seyfried. Whether this is in fact an upgrade, a response to Wasikowska’s blooming starpower or simply a scheduling conflict is anyone’s guess, but the new Glenn Close cross-dressing vehicle is moving forward with Wonderland’s Alice on board.

According to Bleeding Cool, the specific role in question is that of Helen, though as I’m largely unfamiliar with the play based on a George Moore story, I can’t really give you any further details. Speculated about for what feels like years now, The Singular Life Of Albert Nobbs isn’t new to casting changes. Orlando Bloom and Jonathan Rhys Meyers were both previously involved, but they’re out, at least for now.

The film is set in Ireland in the 19th century and will follow Glenn Close’s character as she disguises herself as a man. It’s the sort of film that will likely need Oscar nominations to reach a wide audience, but at least at this point, there’s no reason to suspect they won’t come.

Trying to define the term “A-lister” with any sort of consistency is like trying to describe why ninety-five percent of the population seems to think Jennifer Aniston is sexier than Kate Winslet. If you were listing their features on paper, I’m not sure you’d have ninety-five tally marks next to Aniston. Kate Winslet has stunning eyes, a beautiful smile, a nice figure, but she’s more classically beautiful, which, oddly, works against her on the sexy scale. Jennifer Aniston just is sexier. And using that full-proof logic, let me now bring forth the rambling, semi-coherent definition which we’ll be using for the purposes of this piece of ordered deliciousness.

An A-lister is the person Hollywood goes to when they want a sure thing. Their name goes on the poster along with their face. Everyone else ends up somewhere in the background. They’ll carry at least a strong portion of the running time (though sometimes less than half), and ultimately, the success or failure of the film will affect their earning power more than anyone else’s. They’ll have an uncanny knack for getting their ideal projects greenlit and it wouldn’t seem weird if you heard two different tables at the same restaurant having a conversation about said person. They don’t necessarily need to be on a Julia Roberts level, but they do need to be better known for their acting than Jeff Daniels. He’s the cut off point. My mom knows who Jeff Daniels is, and has seen some of the stuff he's been in, but I guarantee I will never in my life hear her ask when his next movie is coming out.

None of the actors and actresses on this list are more known for their acting skills than Jeff Daniels is, but we, the visionaries here at Cinema Blend, believe someday they will be. We believe someday our moms will be asking when their next films will be out, and three, perhaps even four, separate restaurant tables will be espousing some sort of opinion on which of their movies they like best. We believe they will leave us with an amazing collection of brilliant movies and quite a few we’d rather forget. We believe someday we’ll be able to say things like “That wasn’t as good as Aaron Paul’s last movie” without getting blank stares. We believe there’s a Tom Cruise in here, a few Vince Vaughn’s and maybe even a Lauren Bacall. We believe these things because we can’t help ourselves and because one of us is one-sixteenth Gypsy. Here’s a look at twenty up and coming actors who will one day lead big-budget event films and Oscar-worthy dramas. Their mere interest in a film will inspire rewrites and the removal of studio tape, and by their forties, we’ll be playing Sporcle quizzes trying to remember all their acting credits.

Amber Heard

Amber Heard is one of the most devastatingly beautiful girls in a town full of devastatingly beautiful girls. Her A-list looks have helped get her this far, and odds are that alone won't be enough to get her farther. Still, I'm betting Amber has something bigger and better than early-life hotness in her. Not because she can act necessarily, the jury's still out on that, but because she seems willing to try. See Amber could very easily sit back and be another Blake Lively, but she hasn't done that. Her career so far makes one thing very clear: She's a gamer. She's good looking, yes, but she keeps getting work because she's pretty much up for anything. Got a weird indie-movie where she'll be engaged in a naked threesome? Count her in and forget the body double. Nic Cage doing some crazy, hell-themed, car-revenge movie and you need someone to play his badass chick sidekick? Sign her up. Need a babe to play Seth Rogen's underage girlfriend in a stoner-action comedy? Amber Heard is there. Amber Heard's approach is no-holds barred, an actress who's actually there because she seems more interested in acting than being a brand. She doesn't have a list of things she won't do in her contract and because of that I think her big break will happen at any minute. I'm betting it'll be as frequently naked muse Chenault in The Rum Diary, if that long since finished Johnny Depp movie ever released. But even if it isn't, she'll be big some day anyway, because Amber Heard is up for anything.

Anton Yelchin

Remember that scene in Step Brothers where Rob Riggle tells Will Ferrell he wants to punch him in the face? Not for any particular reason, of course, there's just something about that suck hole that needs punching. That's how I feel about Anton Yelchin's passive-aggressive, one hundred and eight pound frame at the start of every movie. There's just something about him that bothers me, makes me want to yell “man up” during random intervals until he feels self-conscious and changes, but as the movie goes on, I always start to hate these Anton Yelchin characters a little less. Then by the end, I'm cheering as they go skinny dipping with Amanda Seyfried and make out with Kat Dennings. I don't know why it happens, perhaps it's because Anton Yelchin's emaciated frame is Oliver Twisty, but more than likely, it's because these characters are supposed to come off as effeminate douches until they slowly start to figure it out. Such is the power of Anton Yelchin that he could convince me to hate him, the bastard.

Donald Glover

Donald Glover is the next Tina Fey. I mean that. He's a creator as much as he is a performer, a guy who when he wants to do something is willing to simply step up and make it happen himself. He's prolific. A fountain of creative genius. He already starred in, co-wrote, and produced one of the funniest movies of the decade. It's not Donald Glover's fault that people weren't smart enough to see it. You really should run out and buy a copy of Mystery Team. On Community he's one half of the funniest comedic duos since Larry and Balki, but he's destined for bigger things than Bronson Pinchot. People were half-joking when they started a grass roots campaign to convince Sony to make Donald the next Spider-Man, but would anyone have minded if they'd taken the internet seriously and actually cast him? Probably not. He's too talented, too likable, for just about anything (even something as ill-conceived as Sony's Spider-Man reboot) he does to suck. He'll be huge, he'll do it all on his own, his way, through talent, hard work, and sheer likability. No, he's not related to Danny Glover.

Emma Stone

Emma Stone has proven she can be a charming-ish love interest (Superbad), a solid supporting actress who can occasionally carry a scene (Zombieland), and now, with last month's release of the enjoyable Easy A, she's proven she can topline an above-average comedy that actually makes its budget back. That leaves her with a choice. She can either attempt to become Anna Faris, a not really worthwhile goal she will fail at, or she can try to be the next Jennifer Aniston, a more reasonable use of her talents she can definitely succeed at. It'll all come down to genre choices. I can't tell you how many reviews of Easy A I've read that have called Emma Stone a funnywoman. She's not. Gilda Radner was a funnywoman. Emma Stone is a good actress with excellent comedic timing. She's more than capable of servicing comedic material, but trying to force laughs on her own will ultimately prove a different story. Here's to hoping she goes the Jennifer Aniston route, and in doing so, takes a few more Office Space's than Along Came Polly's.

Terry Crews

I'm voting for Camacho. That needs to be on a bumper sticker, somewhere. Terry Crews is heading into his mid-forties and he's been working non-stop in film and television for more than a decade on more than forty different projects. You might think that at his age, after so much work, if he was going to make it big it would have happened by now. But Samuel L. Jackson was forty-six before Quentin Tarantino recognized what he could do, and made him a mega-star by casting him in Pulp Fiction. That's where I see Terry Crews. He's the kind of actor who only really gets big late in life, the kind of guy whose talent doesn't really mature until he's long past his sexual prime. Terry Crews is just getting going. He's becoming that guy that everybody recognizes from somewhere, and would probably like to vote for in a dystopian future where everyone's dumb and our president is a retired wrestler. He can play the warm and caring father, or kill with comedic timing. He can flex his muscles and hold his own with the likes of Stallone and Rourke. Everything, whether it's an Old Spice ad or a gun battle, is a little bit better with Terry Crews in it. It's just taking the world a little while to figure it out and now it's only a matter of time before he hooks up with the right filmmaker and gets his own Royal with Cheese.

Tom Felton

I'm not convinced, but if interviews and Youtube videos are any indication, Tom Felton sucks. Which doesn't mean he's a terrible actor—the opposite in fact is true. While his cameo in Get Him To The Greek gains him more street cred with me, his incredible performances in the Harry Potter franchise are what gains him street cred with 95% of everyone else. Which is sort of funny, because Tom Felton/Draco Malfoy only accounts for like 7% of Harry Potter references. Outside of Harry Potter, Felton's been writhing in the muck of a bunch of gritty indie flicks that only like 3% of the population has seen (.5% accounted for by Felton's family members) —case in point, you ever heard of 13 Hours or The Disappeared? This equivocating has caused Mr. Felton to be about as popular as banana peppers on a Subway sandwich. Of course, Vegas odds says there's like a 4% chance of him somehow ending up on the A-List. Because I'm a risk taker, and because I'm pretty sure Felton might just be an acting genius, I'd take the over in a second (22% of you should be smart enough to, too).

Anna Kendrick

On the surface Anna Kendrick seems eternally suited to be pigeonholed in the thankless role of best friend to whoever it is they've hired to play the movie's lead. The girl she's playing best friend to will have better hair, and Anna Kendrick would be doomed to spend her character actress life in a world revolving around the part someone else is playing. But Kendrick's better than that and while she may not have the best hair in whatever movie she's in, no matter how she's used there's always the sense that she's that girl you know, and will probably meet again. She seems real, in a way so few others have, and when given the opportunity to do something other than play the best friend, she knocked it out of the park. Maybe she'll keep playing the supporting role for a few more years, but when you watch Anna Kendrick there's the sense that she has something pretty great inside her somewhere. She seems real, in a way too few Hollywood actresses do. She's more than just the lead character's best friend, she's your best friend too, and too rare to leave her stranded at fourth billing in someone else's film.

Kieran Culkin

Eighty percent as cute and every bit as talented as his more famous older brother Macaulay, Kieran Culkin took a seven year hiatus from Hollywood after his Golden Globe-nominated lead performance in Igby Goes Down, only to recently return in a few juicy supporting roles including off-beat man whore Wallace Wells in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. Brooding, angsty and always delightfully eccentric, Kieran Culkin usually comes off like that kid in Honors Math who ditches out the side door to chain smoke and read Phillip K. Dick novels. In all honesty, it's probably bad for society that we romanticize those underachievers, the Will Hunting's of the world, but how could we not when people like Kieran Culkin tinge their middle fingers with infectious rebellion and at-all-costs individuality.

Chloe Moretz

We stopped being amazed by child actors who actually seemed good at their job, some time not long after Haley Joel Osment proved it was possible for kids not to suck on screen in The Sixth Sense. Haley Joel was a big deal, and every kid actor that came after him, no matter how good, is not. But Chloe Moretz is at least as good as Osment and as a bonus, she has parents who don't really seem to care about traumatizing her all that much. It's probably not good for her eternal soul and I worry that all that time she spent covered in sticky red entrails during the filming of Kick-Ass may have turned her into Dexter, but if she can avoid the massive drug problems of similarly treated child actors then Chloe Moretz could grow up to be something pretty good. Or even if she does turn into a coked out party kid as she gets older, there's still the chance she'll end up turning into Drew Barrymore, hopefully minus a starring role in Poison Ivy 7.

Gillian Jacobs

Gillian Jacobs is the kind of woman who looks like she doesn't need to wear makeup, the kind of girl who you feel certain rolls out of bed looking that way, and only looks cuter when her hair is messed up. She's one of the most underrated components of NBC's Community, going toe to toe with Joel McHale as the empowered female who secretly would rather be the girl next door. Gillian has wicked comedic timing and she's versatile too. Whether she's playing a day-shift stripper in Choke or a British party crasher in Helena at the Wedding every scene sparkles just a little more when she's in it. One look at her and she just seems like she's destined for something bigger, like she should be replacing Julia Roberts as the new queen of rom-coms, or at the least providing a less uptight, judgement-free alternative to the ones starring Katherine Heigl. At some point Jacobs is going to hook up with Judd Apatow and blow the world away, until then enjoy her on TV and plan for the day when your wife will own all of her movies on DVD.

Clark Duke

The first time I saw Sex Drive, I turned to my roommate and said, “Hey, that's the kid at the party in Superbad.” “No,” he said, “That's the kid from Greek.” Such is the it factor of Clark Duke, that his second feature film and first major supporting role would immediately remind me of his only other film, a one-off bit part he's not even credited for, and remind my roommate of a show on ABC Family. There's just something about his mannerisms that is really funny, like if a 1976 Chevy Chase took two years off to eat excessively and somehow grow more sure of himself. Clark Duke is a throwback. He's the chubby, cocksure, loud idiot for the internet generation. God only knows if he'll reach the lofty heights of Belushi, but I'm pretty sure he'll smash a few guitars along the way.

Michael Pitt

I've known Michael Pitt was going to be famous for the last ten years. Remember Finding Forrester? He's the kid who can't come up with Coleridge, even though his last name is Coleridge. I remember watching the nervous sweat pool around his cheeks and thinking this kid's got it. Then, the next year he showed up in Bully, playing a stoner that impulsively joins a murder plot because he wants to have sex with one of the girls involved. Again, awesome. Same thing in Hedwig And The Angry Inch and The Dreamers and Funny Games. Now, Michael Pitt is the second lead on Boardwalk Empire, Scorsese's new HBO Prohibition drama. Do I really even need to tell you he's awesome in it? This kid has literally been the best thing about almost every film he's been in, the only thing holding him back has been his penchant for taking obscure indie films most people don't see. There's a way to be groundbreaking and at least partly mainstream. Someday Michael Pitt will mark his territory in that place and at that point, he'll have turned into his generation's Gary Oldman.

Mia Wasikowska

In the space of a single year, this year, Mia Wasikowska has managed to play the lead in one of Hollywood's most financially successful blockbusters while at the same time tackling a pivotal supporting role in one of the year's most critically acclaimed indies. And still, almost no one seems to know her name, let alone how to spell it. That won't last long. She has too much range. She does quietly complex almost unlike any other young actress you've seen lately on screen, and she has a knack for channeling that into bravery and strength when it's needed. Mia has a kind of ethereal grace, the kind you'd get from Grace Kelly, combined with an inexplicable layer of Christina Ricci oddity. She's beautiful, without looking exactly like anyone else you've already seen on screen. Maybe she'll get caught up in corset dramas, that seems to be where she's most comfortable, but expect to see more of her.

Aziz Ansari

A good comedy needs three things: a funny premise, talent and momentum. Sometimes that momentum can come from a flawless script, but more often than not, it channels from the main actor either through energy or cleverness. Jim Carrey, Chris Farley, these guys are house of energy comedians, they come at you with all they've got, hoping to infect you with their determination. Woody Allen, Christopher Guest, these guys are clever, improving and subtly bouncing off what's given with a relentless wit that builds throughout a film. At twenty-seven years old, I've seen Aziz Ansari do both. From the brilliant Funny People Randy spin-off to the low-energy retorts of Tom Haverford on Parks And Recreation, Aziz Ansari is quietly one of the most talented comedians we've seen in years. He can carry the show like at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards or he can steal a scene here or there like in Observe And Report. It's like young Bill Murray and old Bill Murray fucked and had a dark-skinned baby. Good God, people would not pay money for that sex tape.

Joel McHale

Now nearly 40, you have to think with a hit TV show like Community under his belt that Joel McHale is more interested in putting a new pool in his backyard than getting even more famous, but it's probably going to happen to him anyway. His eerily perfect combination of easygoing charm and biting, sarcastic wit in a Hollywood ready body is too much for anyone, let alone a studio exec sure to see dollar signs, to resist. The current incarnation of Saturday Night Live isn't going to crank out any more new movie stars any time soon and we have to find the next Adam Sandler somewhere. Maybe it'll be Joel McHale, who probably believes he's far more likely to end up mirroring Rodney Dangerfield's career path than Billy Madison's, but you never know when he'll hallucinate a girlfriend stealing penguin. He did a good job in Soderbergh's otherwise blah The Informant! last year. It's only a matter of time before the movie world starts to notice, and craves more of his lanky, cynical talents.

Ben Foster

Ben Foster has played a psychotic prisoner in My Name is Earl, a learning disabled teen in Freaks and Geeks, and a confused and sexually frustrated artist in Six Feet Under… and this eclectic bibliography only accounts for his early television work. Whether he's playing a psychotic, erotic cowboy in 3:10 to Yuma or a panicked yet determined brother in Alpha Dog, Foster always keeps his audience in rapt attention. Maybe it's the nuance of crystal eyes. Maybe it's that dreamy/scary effect he shrugs out like its nothing (somewhere there's a girl all ready to change him). All I know, is back in the day Foster and fellow coworker Jewel Staite (of Stargate: Atlantis fame) were on this show that nobody remembers, with a title everyone knows (Flash Forward). It was about two kids, one a class clown, one a girl who tried to act grown-up, trying to make it through the ups and downs of middle school together. When Foster's teenage self entered that set, he walked on-screen like he was some Ellis Island immigrant knowing he had arrived. He may make famous for his off-kilter good looks, he should make famous for his acting skills, but I think he could make it on charisma alone.

Aaron Paul

Aaron Paul is a brilliant actor, but perhaps more importantly, he's handsome and creepy and depending on how he's dressed and how his face looks, either an intellectual member of high society or a learning-disabled product of inbreeding. He easily waffles between extremes with the slightest alterations. Johnny Depp can do that too, one minute a conquering hero, a merciless villain the next, all while never saying a word. It's all in the face, that handsome, yet up to no good smirk, the one that won Aaron Paul an Emmy for his work on Breaking Bad. Do yourself a favor and check out the remake of The Last House On The Left or his turn as Sarah's ex-Mormon boyfriend Scott on HBO's Big Love. I haven't the slightest idea where Aaron Paul will end up in ten years, but I can promise you the path to get there will be littered with a lot of strange films.

Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith is going to be a massive movie star, whether you like it or not, and whether he deserves it or not. His dad is Will Smith, one of the only big Hollywood box office draws left on the planet, and Will has sort of made it his mission to turn Jaden into his heir apparent. It's happening, you can't stop it. The good news is that Jaden might not actually be bad at it. The Karate Kid remake was one of the few movies worth seeing this summer and while most of the credit goes to the brilliant work of Jackie Chan, Jaden wasn't half-bad for a 12-year-old. He has a famous Dad, he probably doesn't have to try that hard, but he seems to be trying hard anyway. Maybe Jaden has inherited enough of his father drive, determination, and flat out talent that we won't mind all that much when he's shoved down our collective throats. At least he hasn't tried to become the next Jonas Brother, he could have done that you know, and it would have worked. The kid, for now at least, seems genuinely interested in acting. He'll be a star and maybe this is one case when nepotism isn't such a bad thing.

John Francis Daley

John Francis Daley is either going to be huge, or he's going to be exactly as big as he is now for several years to come before fizzling out. I really can't make up my mind. You see, common sense tells me his time has passed. Even though he's barely twenty-five years old, the last half-decade has been dominated by hyper-intelligent, socially-awkward, shyly cute nerds like Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg. John Francis Daley is nothing, if not that character. He's been playing that character since he was called Sam Weir on Freaks & Geeks. Hell, he's still playing that character (now named Dr. Lance Sweets) on an above-average crime show on network television. He's like the bizarre-o Matthew Grey Gubler. For the love of God, those two should be churning out scientist double date comedies like Harvard-educated Cheech and Chong's, but alas, the two crime crushers have yet to connect. I think maybe John Francis Daley might headline a few thinking man's Rom Coms at some point, but maybe that's only because I've learned what the likes of Seth Rogen, James Franco, Linda Cardellini and Busy Phillips had to teach me: being associated with Judd Apatow gets you a couple of Scooby Doo flicks and an invitation to the Hanks Family Thanksgiving, at worst.

Justin Timberlake

Like Michael Vick, John Travolta and Disney's non-Pixar animation department, Justin Timberlake has been written off an almost uncountable number of times. He went from Star Search to The Mickey Mouse Club to N Sync to pop superstardom, all of which involved handsomeness, likeability and singing. Then, out of nowhere, he went from Saturday Night Live guest host to Alpha Dog to Black Snake Moan and now to The Social Network, literally crushing every performance like acting was his primary skill. And the sick thing about it is, it just well may be, all while ignorant purists keep writing him off. I can't tell you how many times before The Social Network came out people told me, "Yeah, it sounds great, but it's got Justin Timberlake." We need to face facts, people. Justin Timberlake is not only handsome beyond words, he's an excellent actor who throws himself into the work. If you gave me three possible outcomes for JT's future: fading away, continuing on as an above-average supporting performer or achieving Hollywood success beyond his musical achievements, I would undoubtedly put it all on the latter, even if he did start his career as a Mouskateer.

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Suggest candidates of your own in the comments section below.

Now that The Kids Are All Right has proven she can act after all the aimless wandering she did in Alice in Wonderland, Mia Wasikowska is due to become a bona fide star. Is playing a classic literary heroine the way to do it? Well, it can't hurt. Coming to theaters March 11 next year, Jane Eyre stars Wasikowska as the titular governess with Michael Fassbender as Rochester, her employer and secret love. The film is directed by Cary Fukunaga, who made an impressive debut last year with Sin Nombre and is shifting gears considerably to take on this English period piece.

Over at the film's official Facebook page they're ramping up the publicity campaign by releasing two stills from the film, both featuring Wasikowska done up in her mid-19th century best. The stills don't tell us all that much, to be honest, but Wasikowska looks perfect for the role, and it will be interesting to see how Fukunaga tackles the traditional settings of the period piece and adds something fresh to it (if he takes a page from what Joe Wright did for Pride and Prejudice, I won't complain). Anyway, check out the two stills below, and look for your gloomy romance on the moors come March 11.

I know adaptations of centuries-old novels aren't usually the things that get the movie fan community's blood pumping, but I am excited about the upcoming movie version of Jane Eyre, and you should be too. Not only is it directed by Sin Nombre up-and-comer Cary Fukunaga, not only are the likes of Judi Dench and Sally Hawkins showing up in lead roles, but it stars two of the most promising recently famous actors out there-- Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.

Wasikowska, who you know as Tim Burton's Alice, and Fassbender, who you know as Sgt. Archie Hicox from Inglourious Basterds, will star their tortured love affair on the English heaths shortly. Focus announced this week that filming begins next week. Based on Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre stars Wasikowska as the titular heroine, a governess hired to care for the children of the cold, imposing Mr. Rochester (Fassbender). Per the press release, "The isolated and imposing residence – and Mr. Rochester’s coldness – have sorely tested the young woman’s resilience, forged years earlier when she was orphaned. As Jane reflects upon her past and recovers her natural curiosity, she will return to Mr. Rochester – and the terrible secret that he is hiding…" Those of you who remember freshman year English can fill in the rest.

Though we live in a society where women are granted and assumed to be the equals of men, somehow that notion still hasn’t caught on in Hollywood. Most of our glass ceilings have long since been shattered except in our movies where, let’s face it, women are usually second class citizens. Sure in our films strong female characters exist, but more often than not they only exist in the service of procreation or in the bettering of men. Sandra Bullock has an Oscar nomination for playing just such a character in The Blind Side: a strong, confident woman in a movie about how she made a man become a better football player. Or there’s Carey Mulligan nominated for her work in An Education, where she plays a young girl who chooses love over higher education. It’s only when it doesn’t work out for her that she picks up a book and decides to plan a life. On screen, independent women are all too often only something that happens when they can’t get pregnant. Or at least that’s the explanation offered for Meryl Streep’s strong-willed Julia in Julie & Julia.

Movies about women who choose to think for themselves rather than accept their pre-determined societal roles exist, but these films are rarely accessible, especially to younger audiences. Instead your daughter probably spends her time idolizing Disney’s princesses, most of whom exist solely to service love. It’s a great way to teach your kid to put on makeup, but if you’re hoping for offspring with substance her options for real, feminist role models in entertainment are pretty sparse. I’m not suggesting you raise a daughter who doesn’t shave her arm pits, but perhaps just once in awhile, a little balance is order.

This weekend you’ll have the chance to tip the scales back towards independent women by taking your family, and most importantly your daughter, to see Alice in Wonderland. It’s far from a great film, but it does something no other family movie has done in far, far too long by treating women as other than baby makers and potential girlfriends. Tim Burton’s Wonderland is a female dominated world. In another movie, they’d be content to have a woman as the bad guy. In movies, women in power often end up like the Red Queen: vain, petty, heartless things obsessed with their own egos. Except here she’s balanced by Anne Hathaway’s delightful performance as the Red Queen’s opposite and equal, the kindhearted and wise White Queen who inspires loyalty with a strange combination of graceful, timid femininity and fierce, unwavering determination. But most of all, there’s Alice.

Alice’s character arc sets her on a path where she must make a choice. It’s the same choice that Carey Mulligan made incorrectly in An Education really, but for Alice it’s even harder. In the real world it’s Victorian England, an era where women were expected to wear pretty dresses and get married when and where they were told. Wonderland only happens because Alice is at a crossroads. She falls down the rabbit hole right at the moment she’s about to decide whether to fit in, play the subservient woman, or stand up and think for herself. Even before she falls we know this is not a woman who would be content with the status quo. Alice thinks and speaks for herself. She believes in six impossible things before breakfast. But she’s a woman, and that means she should sit down and shut up, doesn’t it?

Inside Wonderland something magical happens to Alice and I’m not talking about smoking out with the Blue Caterpillar. The Mad Hatter calls it rediscovering her muchness, but it’s really about finding the courage to be the person she truly wants to be, society be damned. Inside Wonderland Alice consistently, even at her lowest of lows, stands up for herself and refuses to give in. Sometimes what’s happening doesn’t make sense, but she’s a consistently strong character who is on a path to realizing the courage she needs to exercise the strength that’s already inside her. And at the end of the film when she straps on a suit of armor and goes into battle, it’s not to protect a bunch of babies or to fight her way to the perfect man. It’s not even really to defend her friends. Alice fights for herself, for the freedom to be who she is. Once back in the real world, her muchness rediscovered, that’s exactly who she is. Absolutely Alice.

What’s really great about Alice is that she does all of that while hanging on to those princess trappings your daughter surely loves. This isn’t Angelina Jolie wearing cargo pants and shooting things with guns; that’s primarily a male fantasy, not a female one. Burton’s Wonderland imagines from a female perspective. Alice stays distinctly female in both mannerism and appearance as she rushes about changing outfits over and over as she grows and shrinks in a way that’s sure to delight any girl who’s just been swapping outfits on her Barbie. Her hair hangs long, flowing, gold locks even when it’s utterly unpractical; such as when wielding a Vorpal blade in a suit of armor. Alice is, in a sense, the first truly feminist Disney princess and your kids are sure to latch on not only to the character, but her wholly positive message, without even knowing it.

Yet it’s not all message here. What Alice really is, is the ultimate father daughter movie. It’s packed with eye-popping effects and Tim Burton’s all too nearly over the top tendency towards the macabre, along with the pefect girly stuff to hook in your kid. Dad’s will dig Alice’s fight with the Jabberwocky and the movie’s trippy 3D and in the process, feel good about taking your daughter to something which won’t cause her to marry some convenience store asshole with a Camaro. Tim Burton knew what he was doing here, from the movie’s poppy, tween Avril Lavigne credits song to its ribald sense of humor. Sometimes it’s clumsy, sometimes it’s silly, and because of that Alice in Wonderland isn’t a great movie, merely good. But it is a great father daughter just sitting out there, waiting to happen. Don’t let your daughter grow up without Alice in Wonderland. Things being what they are in Hollywood, there may never be another movie like it.

The next time you take a group photo, make sure you have a token black guy, or risk being called a racist. That’s what’s happening to the folks at Vanity Fair who had famed photographer Annie Leibovitz do a photoshoot with a group of up and coming young starlets, all of whom happened to be Caucasian.

This is of course, unacceptable, particularly during black history month. Most magazines have better sense. You won’t see any white people on the cover of Ebony Magazine (unless of course they’re covering Michael Jackson), they know what’s up. But not Vanity Fair. They’re out of touch and in their racist craze they took Abbie Cornish, Rebecca Hall, Anna Kendrick, Carey Mulligan, Amanda Seyfried, Kristen Stewart, Emma Stone, Mia Wasikoska, and Evan Rachel Wood and put them on the same page together. They should have known that if you’re going to have that many white women in a room they’d better be lesbians. From now on, hopefully Vanity Fair will have the sense to take their cues from “O” Magazine and just put Oprah on the cover.

This isn’t Vanity Fair’s first racist photoshoot either. The seem to take pictures of a bunch of white women quite often and only occasionally do they remember to bring in someone with a tan. But now, with Barack Obama in the white house, finally we have the means to stop it.

It hasn’t always been this way at Vanity Fair. They used to have their priorities straight. In fact back in 2001 they hired Annie Leibowitz for a far more noble task when she photographed a group of models, and white women weren’t invited. Get a look at what Vanity Fair was like before the racism right here.

But these days Vanity Fair is more racist than ever. Here’s a look at their latest clan rally cover. See more racist photos from the shoot over there.

Mia Wasikowska is probably going to be very famous soon, given that she is playing the lead in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland, a movie that's already highly anticipated based on the title and the director alone. But right now she's still an untested property, and for whatever reason, that's exactly what Gus van Sant is looking for.

THR is reporting that Wasikowska has been cast in Restless, van Sant's high-school romance drama that, as we reported earlier, is a "contemporary and distinct take on young love." Most interestingly, Wasikowska apparently ditched the Robert Redford Civil War drama The Conspirator to be in the film, which either means that the part in Redford's movie was no good, or Gus van Sant has a seriously great script on his hands. Whatever he did to get her, he'll probably have a performance from an honest-to-God movie star by the time Restless comes out.