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Daredevil Showrunner Defends Vincent D'Onofrio Casting: 'This is Kingpin' - Main Image

While Daredevil fans were fully on board with Vincent D'Onofrio playing Wilson Fisk, it wasn't an easy role to cast. Daredevil showrunner Steven S. DeKnight defends his Kingpin casting despite initial criticisms.

Daredevil Showrunner Had 'Sleepless Nights' Trying To Cast Vincent D'Onofrio

"We wanted to make sure the casting was right," DeKnight explained in a recent interview (via Cbr), "I had sleepless nights over trying to cast Wilson Fisk, Kingpin,"

The showrunner recalled thinking of only one perfect person who could do it, which happened to be Vincent D'Onofrio, specifically when he envisioned a bald version of the actor, as depicted in the comics.

At the time, DeKnight sent a picture of D'Onofrio with a shaved head from the internet and told the exec, "Come on. There's nobody else that can do this. This is Kingpin."

The...

Chicago – Writer/director Brittani Ward is bringing her made-in-Chicagoland feature, “Single Car Crashes” back home to the Gene Siskel Film Center for a special screening run on July 12th-14th & 16th, 2024, after the festival circuit with Cinequest (New Vision Award) and the Midwest Film Fest. For tickets and details, click Scc Siskel.

Ten years after a devastating car crash took his best friend Zach’s life, Sean (Trevor Morgan), still lives small town where he grew up, struggling with his survivor’s guilt. When Zach’s sister Kendall (Lindsey Morgan) – who also was Sean’s first love – returns to town to marry someone else, Sean is forced to confront his failure to launch and the impact it’s having not only on his own stunted life, but on his now nine-year-old son.

’Single Car Crashes’ at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center

Photo credit: five two one films

Writer/director...

Chicago – The Midwest Film Festival of Chicago is on the road this weekend and heading north to Milwaukee to screen writer/director Brittani Ward’s award-winning “Single Car Crashes” at the historic Oriental Theatre on May 11, 2024 (11am). For details and tickets for this road show event, click Mff Road Trip.

Ten years after a devastating car crash took his best friend Zach’s life, Sean (Trevor Morgan), still lives small town where he grew up, struggling with his survivor’s guilt. When Zach’s sister Kendall (Lindsey Morgan) – who also was Sean’s first love – returns to town to marry someone else, Sean is forced to confront his failure to launch and the impact it’s having not only on his own stunted life, but on his now nine-year-old son.

’Single Car Crashes’ at the Midwest Film Festival in Milwaukee

Photo credit: five two one films

Writer/director Brittani Ward...

Actor Taraji P. Henson collaborated with Oscar-winner Brad Pitt for the David Fincher film Curious Case of Benjamin Button. But she figured she’d be the last person Fincher would cast in the picture.

Taraji P. Henson was surprised she ended up being cast in David Fincher’s film Taraji P. Henson | Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

David Fincher and Brad Pitt were already very familiar with each other by the time Benjamin Button came around. But working with the two was a completely different experience for the Empire star. According to an interview from Black Film, Henson acquired the role thanks to a mutual acquaintance.

“Laray Mayfield, who brilliantly cast Benjamin Button. She had seen my performance in Hustleand Flow and actually called David Fincher from the theater and telling him she found Queenie, the part that I play,” Henson said. “This was two years before the film was greenlit, packaged and put together.

Chicago – The World Premiere of a debut feature film is one of the most important days for the production company and in this case Brittani Ward, the writer and director. ‘Single Car Crashes,” a made-in-Chicagoland film, will have its World Premiere at the Cinequest Film Festival in San Jose, California, on March 15th, 2024. For details, click Scc.

Ten years after a devastating car crash took his best friend Zach’s life, Sean (Trevor Morgan), still lives small town where he grew up, struggling with his survivor’s guilt. When Zach’s sister Kendall (Lindsey Morgan) – who also was Sean’s first love – returns to town to marry someone else, Sean is forced to confront his failure to launch and the impact it’s having not only on his own stunted life, but on his now nine-year-old son.

World Premiere of ’Single Car Crashes’ at Cinequest

Photo credit: five two one...

Editors note: Alexis Allen Winter began her casting career in North Carolina in 2007 on One Tree Hill, and moved to L.A. in 2012 where she has worked in the offices of Laray Mayfield, Rich Delia, Courtney Bright and Nicole Daniels, Tamara Notcutt, Gail Goldberg and Sheila Jaffe, winning an Artios in 2020 for her work on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Deadline asked her to weigh in on the current autition controversy involving self-tapes and how it is impacting her business.

I, like most of the casting community, have spent time reading over the latest articles on the current state of casting (and the comments on those articles). It has been gut-wrenching to read and try to digest, especially as someone who learned this industry in the Southeast, where self-tapes have been the prominent form of auditions since I started in 2007 working as a casting assistant and in extras casting.

When he came back for his first feature film in a half-decade, Mank, David Fincher brought his trusted casting director Laray Mayfield into the fold. Over the past few decades, Mayfield has cast nearly all of the features (and even Fincher’s foray into television, Netflix’s Mindhunter) that make up Fincher’s portfolio, including Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl. The pair is quick to praise each other’s style, work ethic and personality.

“Our working relationship is amazing. I am so fortunate to have worked with Dave for as long as I have. We have been working together since ...

When he came back for his first feature film in a half-decade, Mank, David Fincher brought his trusted casting director Laray Mayfield into the fold. Over the past few decades, Mayfield has cast nearly all of the features (and even Fincher’s foray into television, Netflix’s Mindhunter) that make up Fincher’s portfolio, including Fight Club, The Social Network and Gone Girl. The pair is quick to praise each other’s style, work ethic and personality.

“Our working relationship is amazing. I am so fortunate to have worked with Dave for as long as I have. We have been working together since ...

One of the consistent differences between producing television and films is that TV moves fast; when crews are responsible for six to 22 hours of new content every year, directors don’t often have time to shoot take after take until everyone is satisfied with the result.

Well, no one told David Fincher that.

Speaking at an Fyc event for his Netflix original series “Mindhunter” on Friday night, Fincher explained how much time he spent capturing one nine-and-a-half-minute scene for Season 1. Shot with three cameras all running at once, Fincher put his three-person cast and many more crew members through 75 takes before he was ready to call it quits.

Jonathan Groff, who joined Fincher on the panel along with co-star Holt McCallany, Anna Torv, Cameron Britton, and casting director Laray Mayfield, asked his director, “What was the longest scene we had? Seven minutes?”

“No, no,” Fincher said. “The scene with Happy [Anderson] was 11 pages.

Heath Ledger.

Applications are now open for the eighth annual Heath Ledger Scholarship run by Australians in Film.

Established in memory of Australian actor Heath Ledger, who served as an ambassador for AiF, the scholarship is open to emerging Australian actors 18-35 years old.

Since the prize was established in 2008, $230,000 in scholarship prizes have been awarded to date.

"The judges will be looking for an extraordinary young Australian actor with raw talent and charisma — someone who has the potential for real career longevity in Hollywood, not just [to be] the .next big thing., said AiF President Simonne Overend.

The recipient will obtain a Usd $10,000 cash fund, a two year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, two flights on Virgin Australia - one to attend the announcement ceremony and a second flight when the winner is ready to transition their career to the United States -...

The Casting Society of America has announced the nominees of its 31st annual Artios Awards. J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" is among the nominees in its Big Budget Drama category. And why not? The film cast the fantastic unknowns Daisy Ridley and John Boyega along with franchise veterans Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill. All to stellar effect mind you!

According to its site, "Artios" from the ancient Greek, meaning "perfectly fitted." So how fitting! Here's more info on the Artios Awards:

In October of 1985 the Casting Society of America presented the first-ever Artios Awards for Excellence in Casting at an awards luncheon. Held in the Crystal Room of the Beverly Hills Hotel, the event was attended by more than 500 industry leaders and seven Csa members were honored for their work in four different casting categories. In 1988, the first Artios Award for theatre casting was presented...

Feature film nominees announced today: Big Budget – Comedy “The Big Short” Francine Maisler, Meagan Lewis (Location Casting) “The Intern” Bernard Telsey, Laray Mayfield, Tiffany Little Canfield, David Vaccari (Associate) “Joy” Mary Vernieu,...

“Tracking Shot” is a top of month featurette here on Ioncinema.com that looks at the projects that are moments away from lensing. This November, we’ve got a fivesome of projects that we feel are worth signaling out, but before we put the focus on those, the previous month was a rather fruitful one for mostly indiewood film productions. Films that we’ll be seeing in 2016 and which are for the most part still filming include: Mark Williams‘ workplace drama The Headhunter’s Calling (with Alison Brie, Gretchen Mol, Gerard Butler, Willem Dafoe, Alfred Molina), Philippe Falardeau‘s bio boxing drama The Bleeder (with Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Elisabeth Moss), Taron Lexton’s coming-of-ager In Search of Fellini (with Ksenia Solo, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Maria Bello), Kevin Tent‘s Black List scripted rom-com (with Domhnall Gleeson, Christina Applegate, Thomas Haden Church, Nina Dobrev), Sophie Brooks‘ NYC set Euro-fizzled comedy,...

The Casting Society of America (Csa) is kicking off its 31st year right with an exciting list of TV, theater, Web series, and short film nominees for their Artios Awards, set to take place at the height of awards season on Jan. 21. Recognized in the comedy TV series category are last year’s winner Jennifer Euston (“Orange Is the New Black”), who was also nominated in the TV pilot comedy category for Netflix’s “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”; Jeanne McCarthy, the CD behind “Silicon Valley” who also cast the five–time Oscar nominated “Foxcatcher” and landed Amy Adams her Golden Globe–winning role in “Big Eyes;” Eyde Belasco for the groundbreaking Amazon original “Transparent,” starring Jeffrey Tambor; and others. In the TV drama category: Debra Zane for “Bloodline”; Leah Daniels Butler for “Empire”; Nina Gold for “Game of Thrones”; Mark Saks for “The Good Wife”; and Laray Mayfield for “House of Cards” were all recognized.

When Matt Levett was nominated for this year.s Heath Ledger Scholarship along with 17 other rising talents, the actor didn.t fancy his chances amongst what he described as a .an intimidating. line-up.

So he was both stunned and stoked to win the award presented on Monday night Us time in Los Angeles.

The 2009 Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (Waapa) graduate says the $US10,000 cash prize will enable him to further his ambitions in Hollywood.

.It will give me the ability to stay longer and give me a foot in the door,. says Levett, who first went to the Us last September/October, when he signed with the Gersh Agency. The runners-up are fellow Waapa graduate Emilie Cocquerel and Lily Sullivan, who each get a round-trip ticket to Los Angeles and a scholarship to attend Masterclasses at Screenwise Film & TV School for actors in Sydney.

On behalf of the judges,...

Rising young actors who.ve appeared in Unbroken, The Water Diviner, Deadline Gallipoli, Anzac Girls and The Code are among the finalists for the 7th annual Heath Ledger Scholarship.

In all 20 are in contention for the prize which includes two round-trip flights to L.A., a two-year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy, $5,000 worth of visa and immigration services and $10,000 cash.

Presented by Australians in Film, the winner will be announced in Los Angeles on June 1. Two runners up will each receive a round-trip ticket to La and a scholarship to attend masterclasses at Screenwise Film & TV School for actors in Sydney.

Previous recipients were Cody Fern (The Last Time I Saw Richard), James Mackay (The Dressmaker, The Tomorrow People), Anna McGahan (Anzac Girls, House Husbands), Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, The Rewrite) and Oliver Ackland (Party Tricks, Blinder).

The finalists were selected...

Steven S. DeKnight has worked on some celebrated TV programs over his career. He's written for "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and held different producer titles for "Angel," "Dollhouse" and both "Spartacus" incarnations. Now, he's earning critical acclaim for his contributions to "Marvel's Daredevil" which debuted on Netflix last week. Thanks to show creator Drew Goddard and DeKnight, this version of the classic hero is a far cry from the tepidly received 2003 movie that starred Ben Affleck as the Man Without Fear. Netflix's "Daredevil" is the darkest, bloodiest and most grounded Marvel Studios creation yet. And yet, as with most great "Daredevil" stories it features an inevitable showdown between Matt Murdock in his alter ego as Daredevil (Charlie Cox) and Wilson Fisk a.k.a. The Kingpin (Vincent D'Onofrio) as they both fight to transform a pretty upscale neighborhood of Manhattan (O.K., it's still pretty un-gentrified because of all that destruction in "The Avengers,...

Rose Byrne, Ben Mendelsohn, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Vince Vaughn are among the judges for this year.s Heath Ledger Scholarship.

The winner, who will be named in early June, will get $US10,000 in cash and a two-year scholarship at the Stella Adler Academy of Acting and Theatre in Los Angeles, among other prizes.

Previous recipients were Cody Fern (The Last Time I Saw Richard), James Mackay (The Dressmaker, The Tomorrow People), Anna McGahan (Anzac Girls, House Husbands), Ryan Corr (The Water Diviner, Wolf Creek 2), Bella Heathcote (Dark Shadows, The Rewrite) and Oliver Ackland (Party Tricks, Blinder).

Presented by Australians in Film (AiF) , the award was created in 2008 to foster the education and career development of Australian actors in the Us.

The judging panel includes Byrne (Damages, The Internship, Neighbors), Mendelsohn (Bloodline, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Dark Knight Rises), director Darcy-Smith (Wish You Were Here, By Way of Helena) and Vaughn (True Detective,...

TheWrap was inside the Artios Awards nominee party to mingle with contenders at Lisa Vanderpump’s West Hollywood lounge

Hollywood’s most acclaimed casting directors came together at the 2015 Artios Nominee Party on Tuesday at Sur in West Hollywood, in a joint production between the Casting Society of America and Breakdown Services.

As casting directors still strive for recognition — it may just be the last branch not to have its own category at the Academy Awards — the tight-knit community gathered to celebrate each other’s achievements over the past year ahead of the official Artios Awards ceremony on Thursday, Jan.

Because the Casting Society of America shifted the date of its Artios Awards, this year’s nominees include films released theatrically from July 1, 2013 to Dec. 31, 2014, paving the way for last year’s Best Picture winner to nuzzle its way into contention along with 2014 hopefuls like "Birdman," "Boyhood," and "Selma." With categories ranging from Big Budget Drama to Low Budget Comedy, nearly every film that one expects to make the cut made the cut. And then some. The Csa’s nominees put "Guardians of the Galaxy" side by side with "Wolf of Wall Street," "Whiplash" with "Inside Llewyn Davis," and Disney’s "Planes" with "Frozen." If you were dreaming of a re-evaluation of "We’re the Millers," your time is now. 2015’s bicoastal Artios Awards will be hosted by Patton Oswalt (Los Angeles) and Michael Urie (New York City). The evening will also honor two-time Academy Award®-nominee Richard Linklater ("Boyhood...

The Casting Society of America has super-sized its Artios Awards feature film nominations this year, honoring 42 different films and putting some of 2014’s top contenders in categories where they’ll compete against 2013’s awards movies.

For its 30th annual ceremony, the awards for casting directors have moved from their usual fall slot to a late-January date that placed them in the middle of awards season. To accommodate the new date, this year’s eligibility period spanned 18 months instead of a single year, encompassing films released in the second half of 2013 and all of 2014.

See photos: The 17 Breakout Stars of 2014:...

Guardians Of The Galaxy, Into The Woods, Big Eyes and Gone Girl are among the feature film nominees announced today for the Casting Society of America’s 30th Annual Artios Awards. Winners for film, television, theater and new media categories will be announced January 22 at simultaneous award ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles and 42West Cabaret & Lounge in New York City. Patton Oswalt will host in La and Michael Urie in New York.

Csa also will honor Richard Linklater (Boyhood) with the Career Achievement Award, Rob Marshall (Into The Woods) with the New York Apple Award and casting director Ellen Lewis with the Hoyt Bowers Award. Due to the Artios Awards date change this year (from November to January), the eligibility period for film projects was expanded for this award ceremony only, to include films released theatrically from July 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014. Here’s the complete list of...

While the Oscars have yet to make room for casting directors — a pivotal part of the Best Picture equation — the oversight isn't stopping the Casting Society of America from readying its third decade of picking up the Academy's slack. Csa announced Monday morning that the 30th Annual Artios Awards will honor Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Rob Marshall and Emmy Award-winning casting director Ellen Lewis for their individual work in the world of casting. The news arrives with nominations in categories of television, theater, new media and short film, and on the heels of the ceremony's move from November to Jan. 22, the thick of the awards season. Feature film nominations will be announced closer to the show date. Marshall, whose adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" bows Dec. 25, will receive the New York Apple Award, "recognizing individuals who have made special contributions to the New York entertainment...

Giving Netflix a run for its money in terms of the sheer number of original series under its belt, growing production company Amazon Studios will premiere its third pilot season Aug. 28. As in the past, viewers will be able to provide feedback on the pilots to determine if they’ll be ordered to series. Since this crowd-pleasing model first launched three years ago, Amazon has brought several new shows to online viewers, including the upcoming premieres of “Bosch” (based on the book series); “Mozart in the Jungle,” starring Gael García Bernal; “Transparent,” starring Jeffrey Tambor; and “The After,” from “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter. “Alpha House,” the politics-and-comedy series starring John Goodman that was part of Amazon Studios’ first pilot season, is now entering its second season. In the realm of children’s shows, “Wishenpoof!” “Annedroids,” “Tumble Leaf,” “Creative Galaxy,” and “Gortimer Gibbon’s Life On Normal Street” have also all been ordered to series.

Amazon Studios tapped Los Angeles-based casting directors for its first ever drama pilots. “The After” was cast by Los Angeles-based Laray Mayfield, who also casts Netflix’s “House of Cards.” The Amazon drama pilot, which is set at the moment of the apocalypse, is shooting through Nov. 15. “Bosch,” about an Lapd detective, shoots Nov. 4–28. It was cast by “Mad Men” casting directors Laura Schiff and Carrie Audino, who are also based in Los Angeles. Amazon unveiled the pilots Oct. 31 after they were fully cast. For its earlier pilots, the company has relied on New York and West Coast casting directors.

Anyone who writes off the annual Creative Arts Emmys as the boring technical awards is missing out on some serious surprises, shocks, and the making of history—and Sunday night’s awards ceremony (which will air on Fxx in an edited, two-hour special Sept. 21) was no different. “House of Cards” won two Emmys—including one for casting directors Laray Mayfield and Julie Schubert—making it the first new media program to take home the gold and proving that the network system is permanently doomed. Also winners for casting were Jennifer McNamara-Shroff and Blichfeld + Daniels for the final season of “30 Rock,” and Carmen Cuba, for surrounding Matt Damon and Michael Douglas with Rob Lowe, Scott Bakula, and Debbie Reynolds (among others) in HBO’s “Behind the Candelabra.” But as usual, the real tension and joy came from the guest star categories. Melissa Leo made it halfway to an Egot with...

A week before the 65th annual Primetime Emmy Awards rock the entertainment industry, nearly 80 awards were scheduled to be presented at the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony Sunday (Sept. 15) at the Nokia Theatre. Fxx will air an edited version of the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony on Sept. 21 at 9 p.m. Et.

HBO's "Behind the Candelabra" unsurprisingly took home a number of awards, while Bob Newhart won his first career Emmy for guest-starring on CBS' "The Big Bang Theory."

Here is the full list of winners:

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series - 2013: Carrie Preston, as Elsbeth Tascioni on "The Good Wife"

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Drama Series - 2013: Dan Bucatinsky, as James Novack on "Scandal"

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series - 2013: Melissa Leo, as Laurie on "Louie"

Outstanding Guest Actor In A Comedy Series - 2013: Bob Newhart, as Arthur Jeffries/Professor Proton...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.

The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.

Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.

"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...

The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.

That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.

AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.

Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.

Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.

“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”

The 2013 invitees are:

Actors

Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”

Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”

Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”

Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”

Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”

Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”

Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”

Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”

Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”

Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...

When audiences talk about "The Artist," it's usually about Uggie. The dog. Lost in the mix is poor Jean Dujardin, the actual lead in the movie. Although, that's not to say the French actor has been completely ignored -- he is the favorite to win Best Actor at this year's Oscars following a win in the same category at the Screen Actors Guild awards last month. So, after Dujardin's role in "The Artist," is he ready to take Hollywood by storm?

This week's Hollywood Reporter explores the likelihood of Jean Dujardin becoming a household name in America. Unfortunately, it might be tough -- particularly since his first language is French. "[Jean] could only get cast in a U.S. movie that had a role for a person who's French," said Laray Mayfield, a casting director for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." "An American actor is not going to get cast in a French movie either,...

When audiences talk about "The Artist," it's usually about Uggie. The dog. Lost in the mix is poor Jean Dujardin, the actual lead in the movie. Although, that's not to say the French actor has been completely ignored -- he is the favorite to win Best Actor at this year's Oscars following a win in the same category at the Screen Actors Guild awards last month. So, after Dujardin's role in "The Artist," is he ready to take Hollywood by storm? This week's Hollywood Reporter explores the likelihood of Jean Dujardin becoming a household name in America. Unfortunately, it might be tough -- particularly since his first language is French. "[Jean] could only get cast in a U.S. movie that had a role for a person who's French," said Laray Mayfield, a casting director for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." "An American actor is not going to get cast in a French movie either,...

David Fincher is the master of Blu-ray and DVD releases. It all started with the game-changing release of Fight Club (who on this planet didn’t buy this famous special edition) and the awesome, multiple commentary tracks on the Se7en DVD, before he went completely obsessed with loading comprehensive extras on his recent movies Zodiac, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network which you really need to clear about a week of your life to get through.

Fincher’s home video releases are always my favourite and most played on my shelf. And it looks like with The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo’s forthcoming Blu-ray and DVD release that he will release later this year will be no exception.

Producer David Prior has revealed the vast supplementary material we can expect (via Bleeding Cool);

Total running time: 260 minutes and eleven seconds (not to mention at least...

Director David Fincher and casting director Laray Mayfield—collaborators on "The Social Network," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Fight Club," and "Zodiac"—have teamed up once again to tackle Fincher's much-anticipated adaptation of the novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."Mayfield, who won an Artios Award from the Casting Society of America last year for "The Social Network," started talking with Fincher about the casting of the new film in May 2010. "I was both excited and overwhelmed," she says about taking on the highly anticipated project. To prepare, she read all the books in Stieg Larsson's trilogy. Then, to have a point of reference, she watched the 2009 Swedish film version of the novel. "There is always a concern when there is pre-existing material," Mayfield says. But she points out that Fincher was basing his film on the book, not on the previous movie: "David is so honorable to the.

Casting director Laray Mayfield, best known for her work with David Fincher on films like "Fight Club," "Zodiac," "The Social Network," and the upcoming "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," will participate in the Feature Film Casting panel. She will be onstage with casting director John Papsidera, who is best known for Christopher Nolan's "Inception," "The Dark Knight" and upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises." Actorfest La, which is brought to you by Back Stage, the Actor's Resource, will take place on Saturday, November 5th at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles.To help kickstart your career, Actorfest offers more than two dozen exclusive Workshops; Casting Calls; Meet & Drops with Top Casting Directors; a Networking Café; and an enormous Exhibit Hall, at which you can meet with acting teachers, coaches, schools, headshot photographers, and many more vendors who will help you succeed in your career.To register for.

The list of well-known and respected casting directors who will speaking at Actorfest La continues to grow. The latest addition: Casting director John Papsidera will participate in the Feature Film Casting panel.  His credits include such Hollywood blockbusters as Christopher Nolan's "Inception," "The Dark Knight" and upcoming "The Dark Knight Rises" as well as "Zombieland," "Colombiana" and Sam Raimi's next project, "Oz: The Great and Powerful."  He joins Laray Mayfield, casting director of "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," who was previously announced.Actorfest La, which is brought to you by Back Stage, the Actor's Resource, will take place on Saturday, November 5th at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles.To help kickstart your career, Actorfest offers more than two dozen exclusive Workshops; Casting Calls; Meet & Drops with Top Casting Directors; a Networking Café; and an enormous Exhibit Hall, at which you can meet with acting teachers,...

The Casting Society of America unveiled nominations for its 27th annual Artois Awards, recognizing the best in casting. The honors will be bestowed Sept. 26 in simultaneous ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton in L.A. and at District 36 in New York. The Csa also is giving lifetime achievement awards to Whoopi Goldberg (the New York Apple Award), Dick Wolf (the Career Achievement Award) and Meg Liberman (the Hoyt Bowers Award). Here's the full list of nominees: Big Budget Feature – Drama “The Fighter,” Sheila Jaffe, Angela Peri (Location Casting) “Inception,” John Papsidera “The Social Network,” Laray Mayfield “The Town,” Lora Kennedy, Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting) “True Grit,” Ellen Chenoweth, Rachel Tenner, JoEdna Boldin (Location Casting) Big Budget Feature – Comedy “How Do You Know,” Francine Maisler, Lynn Kressel (Location Casting) “Morning Glory,” Ellen Lewis * “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” Francine Maisler * “Red,” Deborah Aquila, Tricia Wood, Craig Fincannon (Location Casting), Lisa Mae Fincannon...

The Casting Society of America announced today the nominees for the 27th annual Artios Awards, honoring artistic achievement in casting. The awards will be presented in duel ceremonies Sept. 26 in New York and Los Angeles. In addition to honoring film, television, and theater casting directors in 23 categories, Csa will present three special awards. This year, Whoopi Goldberg will receive the New York Apple Award; Meg Liberman will receive the Hoyt Bowers Award; and Dick Wolf will receive the Career Achievement Award.Below is the list of nominees:Big Budget Feature – Drama“The Fighter,” Sheila Jaffe, Angela Peri (Location Casting)“Inception,” John Papsidera“The Social Network,” Laray Mayfield“The Town,” Lora Kennedy, Carolyn Pickman (Location Casting)“True Grit,” Ellen Chenoweth, Rachel Tenner, JoEdna Boldin (Location Casting)Big Budget Feature – Comedy“How Do You Know,” Francine Maisler, Lynn Kressel (Location Casting)“Morning Glory,” Ellen Lewis *“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” Francine Maisler *“Red,...

Hey there, film experiencers. Michael C here from Serious Film. After nearly two dozen episodes of this series I think it’s about time I touched on what is probably the most important under-the-radar job there is: the casting director.

Think about the challenges casting director Laray Mayfield was up against filling out the cast of David Fincher’s Zodiac (2007).

The sprawling, decade-spanning narrative covers dozens of important speaking roles, various cops, reporters, and victims, which the viewer is expected to keep straight as they appear and reappear over the course of the story. Actors have to be cast who can embody the personality of the character in a way the script doesn’t have time to explain. Yet within those types, she has to find performers who can deliver a unique flavor that stands out from the pack. Dermot Mulroney, Donal Logue, and Elias Koteas all make believable cops,...

At last week's Producers Guild of America Awards, Scott Rudin made history as the first producer to have two films nominated for the best picture award. Regardless of what happened that night, Rudin was already guaranteed to go home a winner; he had also been named the recipient of the 2011 David O. Selznick Achievement Award, which celebrates a producer's body of work. And an impressive body at that: He was nominated that evening for 'True Grit' and 'The Social Network,' his 73rd and 74th films as a producer, both of which have since earned several Oscar nominations, including for best picture. Rudin's accomplishments are as legendary as his reputation; it's not hard to find stories about Rudin's temper and treatment of employees that run the gamut from terrifying to hilarious. But nobody questions his results. In a lengthy career that began as a teenager assisting theater...

Yesterday, Back Stage and the SAG Foundation hosted a screening of "The Social Network," followed by a Q&A with super-producer Scott Rudin and casting director Laray Mayfield. The pair spoke in depth about some of their most interesting casting experiences (learn how a 12-year-old kid spotted on "Jeopardy!" landed a role opposite Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock) and how they assembled the SAG-nominated ensemble for "Network."Watch The Video At Back Stage's 'Behind The Scenes' Blog...

Welcome to Back Stage's exclusive guide to this year's Screen Actors Guild Award nominees in film and television. Here, you will find a write-up of every nominee for SAG Awards in 2011. Be sure to look for continued coverage of the awards race at our awards blog, "Behind the Scenes," at BackStage.com/bts.The 17th annual SAG Awards will be broadcast live Sunday, January 30, on TNT and TBS.Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture "Black Swan"A horror film set in the world of ballet? That's what Darren Aronofsky has accomplished with "Black Swan," his follow-up to 2008's "The Wrestler." For this film that has been in the works for 10 years, the director was inspired to collaborate with Natalie Portman after seeing her in 1994's "The Professional." But the ballet world wasn't exactly forthcoming for Aronofsky, who did his legwork in researching the demands that professional ballet...

We normally don’t write up stories when websites relating to a film launch. It came close with Fox Searchlight’s excellent Black Swan site, but after viewing the brand-new revamped site for The Social Network, I had to share with our readers. They feature interviews with every noteworthy member of the cast and crew. I’ve embedded them all below and you can check out the site here.

Director David Fincher:

Screenwriter Aaaron Sorkin:

Jesse Eisenberg (Mark Zuckerberg):

Andrew Garfield (Eduardo Saverin):

Justin Timberlake (Sean Parker):

Armie Hammer (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss):

Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth:

Editor Angus Wall:

Editor Kirk Baxter:

Sound Editor/Mixer Ren Klyce:

Costume Designer Jacqueline West:

Casting Director Laray Mayfield:

On Jesse & Andrew’s Relationship:

Harvard:

Check out the rest here.

The Social Network hits Blu-ray on Jan. 11th and you can pick it up for $16.99 on Amazon.

Director David Fincher is going to begin filming the Facebook movie, "The Social Network," in October around Boston and Cambridge. And we now have some rumored casting choices. ScriptShadow has learned that the role of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg will be played by Jesse Eisenberg (Zombieland), the role of Napster co-founder Sean Parker will be played by Justin Timberlake, and Andrew Garfield will portray Eduardo Saverin, Facebook's co-creator who was allegedly betrayed by Zuckerberg. Upon hearing of this, The Playlist checked in with their inside source and found out that all three actors were present during a table-read with Fincher and Laray Mayfield, who has previously cast actors for Fincher's "Benjamin Button," "Zodiac" and "Fight Club." The site goes on to say that contracts have yet to be signed and everything could still change.

Words on the street are, Justin Timberlake is one of the actors set to star in the upcoming Facebook movie, "The Social Network". Carson Reeves of ScriptShadow has brought up the possibility through his Facebook page, writing that the Grammy-winning singer will take the role of Sean Parker.

On a post dated Wednesday, September 2, Reeves didn't only point out on Timberlake's casting rumor, but also on the potential cast for two other major characters. "Getting word that The Social Network cast is set," so his post opened. "And, probably to no one's surprise, Jesse Eisenberg will play Mark Zuckerberg. A bit more of a surprise: Justin Timberlake will play Sean Parker. Wow. Finally, Andrew Garfield will play the part of Eduardo."

Providing support to this rumor, The Playlist insisted that those three actors are indeed in consideration. "A good inside source who's been poking us on this Facebook project lately says that yes,...

Despite their very nature as shape-shifters, actors are constantly typecast. They spend their careers convincing an unimaginative industry that they can play the kinds of roles they've never attempted before. As Fred Durst discovered, it's no different for rock stars who decide to become serious filmmakers. "I get judged all the time [being] Fred from Limp Bizkit. My biggest obstacle in life is that I'm me," admits the frontman for the controversial nu metal band that has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, boasting songs like "Break Stuff," "Get Naked," and "Nookie."He continues, "I've always wanted to make a film since I was very young. And I never had a dream of being a rock star, so to have that come along the way and that lead me into being able to make a film was great. I don't want to waste anyone's time. I don't want to do it...

Once you get nominated for an Academy Award, you must give thanks. Here are some of the thanks ... Brad Pitt’s statement on today’s nominations. “This is a great honor for the movie, and I'm especially happy for David Fincher, for without him there would be no Ben Button.” Anne Hathaway on being nominated for Best Actress Academy Award: “It is such a thrill to be recognized in this category with these remarkably talented women. I was with my parents and my dog when I got the news and we were all overjoyed- although I'm not sure my dog knew what was going on. This is a great day to be an actress!" Taraji Henson’s statement on today’s nominations: “I am very excited, deeply honored and grateful. I thank Laray Mayfield, David Fincher, Frank Marshall and Kathleen...

Chicago – The lucky nominees for The 81st Annual Academy Awards have been responding to their nominations all day. If you’ve ever wondered how Oscar nominees feel about hearing their name announced on one of Hollywood’s biggest mornings of the year, read on for the official responses from Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Brad Pitt, Taraji P. Henson, Danny Boyle, Gus Van Sant, and many more.

Kate Winslet on her best actress nomination for “The Reader”:

“I’m extremely happy to have been nominated. And very fortunate. Playing Hanna Schmitz will always remain one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever been blessed with. I’m genuinely thrilled not just for myself but for the wonderful Stephen Daldry and David Hare. These nominations are a testament to their unwavering commitment to this film. And I’m also very happy for all the people in Germany whose hard work on The Reader,...

Paramount Pictures', Warner Bros. Pictures' and Kennedy/Marshall Company's "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has secured 13 nominations at the Oscars®. The nominee of five Golden Globes is one of the year's most eagerly watched, moving films and simply not to be missed. The film opened on December 25th and has pulled in over $103 million for Paramount Pictures domestically. An additional $14 million has been made from overseas territories. We are now pleased to offer your quotes from directed David Fincher, Best Supporting Actress nominee Taraji P. Henson and Brad Pitt. David Fincher’s statement on today’s nominations: “Benjamin Button was truly a labor of love and I am humbled by the nomination. On behalf of the producers, cast and crew, I’d like to thank the Academy, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros and most of all the city of New Orleans who gave birth to Benjamin.” Taraji Henson...