DeHaan joins “The Wettest County in the World”

Not that it really matters, but I've officially decided that “The Wettest County in the World” is my favorite non-big-budget film in the works right now. On top of the fact that the cast is utterly fantastic, I am thrilled to see what the team of screenwriter Nick Cave and director John Hillcoat can do with another historical drama.

The last time the two worked together was for the ridiculously underrated 2005 film, "The Proposition." The film truly was breathtakingly shot and had some great performances from both Guy Pearce and Danny Huston.

This time around the two will collaborate for “The Wettest County in the World," which is an adaptation of Matt Bondurant‘s historical crime drama novel. The story is based on the author's grandfather and two grand-uncles - three infamous brothers who made up a fierce criminal gang at the center of the American South's moonshine trade.

The brothers eventually were shot in December 1930 after they refused to join the illegal cartel set up by the Commonwealth's attorney Carter Lee, grandnephew of Robert E. Lee. Carter Lee subsequently was tried for conspiracy.

The film is set to star a bunch of young, talented actors, including Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy and now looks as if it is about to add another one. According to Up and Comers Dane DeHaan ("In Treatment," "True Blood") has joined the cast of the Prohibition drama.

DeHaan made his onscreen debut only two years ago and scored a breakout role on HBO’s critically acclaimed “In Treatment” last year and was recently cast in a recurring role on the new season of “True Blood.”

DeHaan will be taking on the role of teenage bootlegger Cricket, the partner-in-crime for Jack (Labeouf), the youngest of three leading brothers and the main protagonist. Hardy is set to play Forrest, the middle brother, while Chastain will play his love interest.

Everything I hear about this film just increases my anticipation for it. Shia LaBeouf and Tom Hardy are easily two of my favorite actors working right now and the story of the film sounds utterly interesting and compelling. But what may be the best part of the film in the writer-director team of Cave and Hillcoat. I can't stress enough how great "The Proposition" was. If you haven't seen it and have a Netflix account, please move it to the top of your queue, because it's absolutely worth it.

Production set to get under way next month and is aiming for a 2012 release.

Shia LaBeouf As A Young Karl Rove?

Once "Transformers 3" wraps, Shia LaBeouf has yet to lock down any films to star in and The L.A. Times reports that the actor is keen on the comedy/drama "College Republicans" as Anonymous Content.

If he selects it, LaBeouf would play a Karl Rove, or rather the younger incarnation of the former Bush advisor as he vies for the position of chief campus conservative under the guidance of Lee Atwater, his campaign manager (and of course future Republican National Committee chairman). Wes Jones penned the script but no director is yet attached though Richard Linklater's name has emerged as a possibility.

LaBeouf has also been previously mentioned in conjunction with an adaptation of the John Grisham legal thriller "The Associate," however that project has been stuck in development for two years and has no director attached.

Loved Shia since "Even Stevens". I love that he wants to take on challenging roles, he's a solid performer, brings some great chops to any movie he's in. Although I'm not a Karl Rove fan, I'll keep an interest for my boy LaBeouf.

First Look At The Cast Of "Wall Street 2"

Vanity Fair brings us the first collective shot of the cast from Oliver Stone's upcoming "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps."

The film centers on Jacob “Jake” Moore (Shia Labeouf), a hungry, young hedge-fund worker who is dating Gordon Gekko’s (Michael Douglas) estranged daughter, Winnie (Carey Mulligan). Jake believes that his boss, Bretton James (Josh Brolin), somehow has had a hand in the suspicious death of his mentor (Frank Langella). Gekko agrees to aid the fresh-faced Jake in his plans for revenge.

Susan Sarandon co-stars as Moore's mother while Charlie Sheen returns in a small cameo as Bud Fox.

The cast looks sharp, dapper and appropriately dressed in the group shot, along with the more casually dressed director, Stone. Taken by Annie Leibowvitz, the pictures have a unique feel to them. A second shot of just Douglas in character as Gordon Gekko on Wall Street also is a great, with the columns of Federal Hall lurking in the background.

Stone spoke a little with Vanity Fair about the project, and returning to characters he directed over two decades ago.

He said: "When Gekko comes out of prison in the beginning of this movie, he essentially has to redefine himself. He’s looking for that second chance. Gekko couldn’t manipulate the markets like he did back then. It’s so big, so huge, that to be a minor player you need to be a major bank.”

I am very excited for this film, and I think it has potential to be one of the best of the year. The original was a great piece of filmmaking, and it’ll be thrilling to see Douglas take on a character he left over 20 years ago.

Stone said this about the role of Gekko: "I think that [Douglas] really delivers an interesting version of Gordon Gekko, 22 years later. It’s not the same man. Age has made him suffer. Also, I would point to Shia LaBeouf as the motivator for the movie. He’s the young spirit that’s learning."

I’m a big fan of Shia LaBeouf as well, and this film could be his breakout role in a ‘serious’ film. LaBeouf has proved he can bring in the money, with hits like “Transformers” and “Disturbia,” but it’ll be good to see the young actor in a serious, complex role. LaBeouf even took the Series 7 exam in real life and did a great amount of research in preparing for the role.

Added Stone: "We were on the street, every day. We saw people and, of course, we listened as much as we could. Of course you have the bankers point of view, too."

"Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps” will be released April 23, 2010.

Transformer Sequel Details... Finally!

By Matt Jussim

Finally, after all the trailers, exclusive photos, and footage of Watchmen, Terminator: Salvation, and Star Trek, that have come out over the past six months, there’s something we all can get REALLY excited about.

The buzz is finally starting to grow on one of 2009’s biggest releases: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has finally gotten the “exclusive” treatment with Empire Magazine releasing the first official images of the film, and in USA Today with a report from the set. And the pictures look fantastic.

A gallery of pics from Empire shows Shia LaBeouf (bandaged hand and all) running with the always stunning Meagan Fox away from what looks like certain danger. There’s a pic with a car flying through the air, and awesome tank fight, a badass shot of Optimus Prime and a couple with some army rangers and more tanks. The best ones of all though are shots of the crew filming at the Pyramids in Giza, which will serve as the climax of the film. The Great Pyramids look unbelievable, and it is a definite upgrade in location from the first films climax, which took place at the Hoover Dam and the creatively named Mission City.

The sequel to 2007’s blockbuster Transformers looks to be bigger and even more explosive than its predecessor. The USA Today article describes the plot and some details of the story.

This time around, Sam (Shia LaBeouf) has learned a secret about the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history, which leads to the Decepticons to pursue him rather than wanting to kill him. The rest of the world meanwhile is still dealing with the aftermath of the events in the first film, and tries to figure out which of the creatures to trust, while an international coalition has allied itself with the Autobots.

The movie will introduce new characters, including some important Deceptions: Soundwave, a communications expert, and Devastator, whose arms and legs are built from other Transformers (can’t get any more poetic than that). The good guy Autobots will have Jetfire, a former villain whose age and failing physical state leads him to help Optimus Prime’s crew.




















The film’s action sequences seem as if they will be extremely realistic due to the fact that the movie has the seal of approval from the U.S. Department of Defense. This allowed director Michael Bay and his crew to film at the Army’s New Mexico missile range, and also to follow jets and fighter planes as they navigated through the skies. Some of the equipment used were two A-10 Thunderbolt II “Warthog” tanks; six F-16 Fighting Falcons; 10 armored Humvees; the Army’s Golden Knights parachute team, two armored personnel carriers and two missile launcher vehicles.

The near $200 million dollar production will feature 40 robots, and as I mentioned before the filmmakers were granted permission to shoot not just around, but also actually on the 5,000 year old Great Pyramids for the first time ever.

I was a huge fan of the first movie, and from the looks of it, the sequel is going to be even more exciting and action packed. Along with LaBeouf and Fox, the sequel will star returning cast members Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Tuturro. Newcomers include Matthew Mardsen as a Special Forces ranger, Isabel Lucas as a girl at Sam’s college and The Office’s Rainn Wilson will have a cameo as a university professor.

The first teaser trailer for the film will possibly debut in February during Super Bowl XLII. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released on June 26th, 2009.