Ruby Jerins - News and Interview

Kevin Gillette from the Fringe Report Blog recently interviewed Ruby Jerins. She talked to him about how she got started acting, gets into character and how she balances her busy schedule.

Ruby Jerins is a very busy actress – between film engagements (“Shutter Island” and “Remember Me,” to name two recent works), a recurring role on television’s “Nurse Jackie”, ballet, and school, she barely has time to just be Ruby. But she was able to carve out some time to talk with Fringe Report’s Kevin Gillette via Skype, and a portrait of a charming, talented and energetic young girl emerged

To read the rest of the article, please click here:
Fringe Report.com


Ruby will also be guest starring in an episode of Law and Order - SUV which premieres on NBC on September 22nd. The episode is entitled Bullseye and is the second part of the two part series premiere. Check your local NBC station for the time.

Also, Ruby's Showtime television series, Nurse Jackie, is up for an Emmy award for Best Comedy Series! The Emmy's air tonight on NBC.

Cast Spotlight - Kate Burton

Kate Burton was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the daughter of famed actor Richard Burton and producer Sybil Williams Burton. When she was young, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother to New York City. She spent the school year with her mother in NYC where she attended the United Nations School. In the summers, she would spend time with her father on sets or taking trips. After graduating from high school, she wanted to be a diplomat and attended Brown University studying history and Russian. She earned a bachelor degree in Russian Studies and European History. After spending a summer with a friend, who was a drama student, Kate decided that she wanted to try acting. She applied and was accepted into the Yale University School of Drama. She was cast in her first Broadway production, Noel Coward’s Present Laughter upon her graduation in 1982. Directed by George C. Scott, she was a success.

She followed that role with other Broadway fare, including the roles of JJ in Doonesbury, Lyssa Dent Huges in An American Daughter and Maureen Folan in The Beauty Queen of Leenane. In 2002, she was nominated for two Tony Awards for two roles that she played that year. She was nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of the title role in Henrik Ibsen’s play Hedda Gabler and for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role of Pinhead/Mrs. Kendal in The Elephant Man. Only four other actors have ever been nominated for two Tonys in the same year.

Kate has performed in other theater roles including in Chekov’s The Three Sisters (2003) at London’s Playhouse Theater, Helen in the Off-Broadway production of The Water’s Edge (2006), the Adult Woman in the Broadway production of Spring Awakenings (2007), the Ranevskaya in the The Cherry Orchard (2006) at Boston’s Huntington Theater and as Constance Middleton in Somerset Maughham’s The Constant’s Wife for which she was nominated for another Tony Award for Best Leading Actress.

Kate has also doen a wide variety of work for both the large and small screen. She had appeared in such films as The First Wive’s Club(1996), Swimfan(2002), Stay(2005), and Max Payne (2008).

Her most noticable roles, though, have been for Television. In addtion to guest starring in TV series such as Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Judging Amy, Numb3rs, Medium and The Good Wife, she has had re-occuring roles as ADA Susan Alexander in The Practice, Rose in Rescue Me and Ellis Grey in Grey’s Anatomy and Erica Gardner in Law and Order.









Sources:
The Independent.co.uk
IMDb.com
IBDB.com
Wikipedia.com

Cast Spotlight - Robert Pattinson and “Remember Me”: Part One

Our frequent contributor Jessegirl has written another wonderful article for us. This article, part one of two, looks at Robert Pattinson and his Remember Me experience.


-by jessegirl August 1, 2010

“As an actor, you can elevate the human condition or cheapen it.
I would assume it’s the same with anything you do-
you try to elevate and maybe someday you will.”

-Robert Pattinson, speaking to Jenny Lumet for Details, March 2010.



Working Conditions:
The summer of 2009 Remember Me was shot on location in NYC. Thanks to modern technology like Twitter, paparazzi and fans swarmed every outdoor locale, from the University to Central Park. Video and still cameras shot every move Pattinson made in public and these hounds were as intrusive as NYC ordinances allowed, to the dismay not only of the star but also of the beleaguered director and bewildered crew. Pattinson’s fans lined the streets, cell phones poised, and eagerly awaited his exits from his trailer; Brosnan and Ellington both reported that everyone knew from the screams when Robert was coming to work. There are countless photos of him walking to and from the set escorted by half a dozen burly guards. Others of him with his head down, trying to salvage the tiniest bit of privacy, which amounted to that square foot of cement directly under his feet.

(Right about here is the place to show you what I mean. Ironically, the best way to illustrate the effect this had on the actor is to show you shots taken by the paps. I will not do that. I have full confidence in your imaginations. So, imagine it.)

For an actor, the ability to concentrate, to focus on your character and your lines, is paramount. Pattinson knew too that he was learning his craft. This twin intrusion from paps and fans, he admitted, drove him insane until he learned to mentally blank it out. It was a crazy and pathetic situation, but Pattinson handled it with grace. He was, as Brosnan said, the embodiment of grace under pressure (take note, Christian Bale).

But ask yourself, as you read this, how would you handle it if you were so intensely scrutinized at your place of employment, if you had no way to escape except into yourself? If you can imagine what it was like for him to be so besieged, are you sympathetic for his plight?


Signing On:
By 2009, after Twilight’s success, it was assumed that Pattinson’s turn as Tyler Hawkins had been orchestrated as a star vehicle for him. It was not. If critics had done their homework they would have known that Pattinson signed on to the project long before Twilight’s release, before his fame. He’d been reading countless scripts and read “Memoirs” (Remember Me) in a car park. In video interviews on the Remember Me junket he said he’d read about 50 scripts, and this one stood out. The young male protagonist seemed complex and would give Pattinson lots of rich emotion to work with. The script flowed naturally, the dialogue rang true and the relationships seemed real to him. “There was something so powerful about it, when I first read the script,” he told On The Red Carpet’s George Pennacchio.

Nick Osborne, the producer, and Allen Coulter, the director, heard Pattinson was interested and they met with him. The men were ‘all on the same page’ on the project. So Pattinson signed on. And then Twilight came out.

But after Edward Cullen made his screen debut, everyone was watching and wanting and expecting the moon from Robert Pattinson. An interesting article: “Hollywood is Watching: Can Robert Pattinson Open a Film?” came out which laid out Hollywood’s modus operandi—set them up and pull them down—and its target was Pattinson.(Remember Me Saturday:Can Robert PAttinson Open A Film?)

Pattinson admitted what anyone would in his situation. In another video interview he said it is “difficult to learn when everyone is expecting you to be number one...it is quite worrying”. It’s actually cruel. Unfortunately, Hollywood, the media, and the paps, don’t care.

Where did that tiny square of cement go?



Why make films?
Apart from the much told story about acting being a way to meet girls, Pattinson’s reasons for acting are, according to him, very personal. He said—in a number of Remember Me junket video interviews—that he picks roles which help him develop as a human being, which are cathartic and a sort of therapy. Whether one believes this idealistic view or not, this man can think up a storm. And his commitment to Remember Me reveals a man with integrity.

He is committed to making quality films, so that his name ‘will stand for something’, to eschewing money and fame. Now this sounds odd considering the Twilight franchise, but it must be remembered that he signed on to that when that was a little indie film. Frankly, any astute actor knows the money from the blockbusters gives him freedom to pursue films which really matter. And smart actors are applauded for doing that.

In a recent interview (moviesonline.ca )he said something interesting about career choices: “You try to make every little thing, you try to add something to it...I try to choose things which I think I can give something more to or help to elevate it to something.” There’s that word ‘elevate’ again.



Sticking with “Remember Me”:
Remember Me had difficulty getting financing because it was not an easy story to pigeon-hole. The great ones never are. Pattinson said it “seemed like there was a reason it had been written and a reason it should be made”. Uh-huh. To put it mildly. He, Osborne and Coulter knew they had something special in Fetter’s story and they did everything possible to get it made properly. Their personal investment never flagged.

When Manny the Movie Guy interviewed them [March 10, 2010] asking about Pattinson staying with the role even after the Twilight fame, Fetters and Coulter confirmed Pattinson’s unwavering commitment to the project. Coulter said that there was never a question of Pattinson’s loyalty, and that he always watched the dailies. Fetters: “It speaks to his integrity as an artist that he connected to the character and to the material and wanted to see it through...his commitment and the passion he brought...he was deeply serious about portraying this character.”

In fact, Pattinson’s commitment went beyond acting in the film. He is credited with the executive producership. Whoa! How often does that happen with actors this young? The thing we all have to realize is that Pattinson is no ordinary man, and that the others responsible for this film had much invested emotionally in it. They weren’t shy to use any and every way to make sure the story got told properly.


What Pattinson’s specific involvement was I’m not sure. He was in on script changes, even helped with the casting process (Emilie de Ravin), and tried to get it marketed as something other than a teen romance, to change a trailer which misrepresented it. As he told George Pennacchio (On the Red Carpet), “I didn’t want it to be compromised in any way...so I said anything I can do...I want to do my bit to protect it.”Perhaps his role here was minimal but that he had one at all is salient. And, in his usual self-deprecating manner, Pattinson said he wanted them to put the credit “in really small font”.

Clearly these men—Osborne, Coulter, Fetters and Pattinson—had a vision, undertook this project with passion, and would collaborate in unusual ways so that the result would be true to the story. This is something to admire in all of them, and this beautiful, profound film, is the result. (It has come to my attention that Meredith Milton and Eric Feig need to be mentioned as they got the Summit to put up the $16M production cost.)

Colleagues’ Experience of Pattinson on Remember Me
In print and video interviews the rest of the cast had nothing but good things to say about Pattinson. They all have a great deal of respect for him. And they should know, shouldn’t they?



Ellington tells Nicola McCafferty (OK.co.uk) that Pattinson was ‘as nice as can be’ and ‘utterly always so humble’. De Ravin talks about him bringing ‘intricate details to the character’, and that they both ‘shared the same amount of passion and need to do whatever we could to make this movie work’. Cooper stated that ‘Robert can deliver that sensitivity’. Brosnan felt like a father to him. He mentioned Pattinson’s executive producer gig in many interviews, obviously impressed with that he is ‘using this power, fame and fortune to good intentions...to find good material...and have a career that will be long-lasting’. They’ve all said a lot more but this will suffice for now.



We’ve already heard from Coulter and Fetters but to add to that, Coulter told Manny the Movie Guy that ‘we didn’t know that he’d be as good as he was. I thought, you know, I can get a good performance out of this young man...but he was extraordinary’. You may choose to believe that this is all part of the official view, designed to create a positive bubble around the film. Perhaps. You must decide. I choose to believe them.

Pattinson’s long-time friends and family support him and protect his privacy as much as they can. They don’t tell tales out of school. This regard and respect is significant.


Tyler
Tyler was going through the same transitional phase Robert was, from late adolescence to manhood (he says he chooses roles which cover the same things he’s going through at that point in his life). Yet Tyler was also a conflicted, complex guy, not at all the stereotypical character most scripts present. Therefore, Tyler was interesting. Pattinson knew right away how Tyler spoke. “I had a voice immediately”, he said, and he thought he could add something to it.



Pattinson saw Tyler ‘not really living at the beginning’ but ‘by the end he accepts whatever will be’. On the DVD added feature, he says that Tyler ‘is a guy who is a little bit lost’ and that Ally ‘shows him how to live and how to mature’. He also talks at length about Tyler’s confrontation with his father in the boardroom. It’s funny how he sees his character. To Pattinson the boardroom scene illustrates ‘grudges and grievances which he’s held for years...and they are just old’, and ‘he’s sick of the same rages’. Perhaps because we, the audience, witness only one such confrontation, it had a different meaning for me. I thought it was pivotal and actually affected Charles greatly.

In any case, Pattinson presented a character with subtle dimensions and great humanity, and he did it so well that audiences came to love the Tyler he showed us. Pattinson talks about it being an ensemble cast; well, maybe all the other actors, yes. But it is Tyler’s story; he is the linchpin, the centre, and must convince and win us over. This is a big role for the actor; really, he shoulders the thrust of the story. If we do not care about Tyler by that climactic ending, then what’s the point? But Pattinson does such a good job that we have the phenomenon of grown men, teenage boys, as well as women of all ages, crying for Tyler. Oh, he didn’t do it alone, for the entire cast was superb; all brought a believability and humanity to their characters as well. But his achievement should not be underestimated.



The Performance
From his explosive outbursts in the boardroom and in the street fight, to the tender moments he shares with his little sister, Tyler is a multi-dimensional, complicated and sympathetic character. But whatever else he is doing, he is mourning his brother and using his journal to work through this grief. All of his actions are predicated on this overriding fact. Despite his vacant demeanour, he does not really brood. He is in pain and we see it. His vulnerabilities are so evident it is almost painful to watch—as in the scene where he shows Ally his tattoo—but then we see his emotional bravery too. It is not long before most of us are rooting for him. By the time he stands at the tower, we begin grieving too.

I could go over almost any scene to describe the excellent job Pattinson did to bring this character to the screen. Break it down. Point out the body language here, the facial expressions there, the reactions to the other characters. But I felt it necessary to address peripheral issues like the fans, paps, misapprehensions first, so I’ll save his performance for ‘Part Two’.

Critics were uneven in their judgement of Pattinson’s performance and too many brought up Jimmy Dean and brooding. First, all artists learn from their predecessors. Second, if Dean is to be referenced at all it would be to show that in this instance Pattinson has gone him one better.



Most critics who were positive seemed relieved to report that Pattinson can act at all, clearly of the opinion that his previous roles, and especially Edward, don’t count. That’s debatable too, given that so many critics have no idea what the character of Edward Cullen entails.

Kevin McCarthy, whose review of the whole film is excellent, thinks Pattinson "delivers a very strong performance"[http://www.bdkreviews.com/review.php?movie=rememberme]. And Jackie Cooper: “The most important and fascinating part of the film is that you believe these characters...There is not one false not struck among them...Pattinson is totally impressive as Tyler.” [http://www.jackiekcooper.com/MovieReviews/MovieArchive/RememberMe.htm]. Dustin Putman: “...Pattinson, he is in full command of his leading role and never falters.” Uh huh.

Final Words...
That Pattinson pulled out such a brilliant performance under the working conditions I described before is amazing. That he did it with so much grace is impressive. Given everything Robert Pattinson had shown us of himself, he is a decent man.

I know paps and fans camped out on his Water For Elephants shoot but because of distances neither can violate his privacy and the work on set as happened in the summer of 2009 on the Remember Me set. And recently, again, paps are making his private life hell so he cannot even walk down a street without their in-your-face gleeful violation. Is it too much to ask to treat him with decency? These men just ‘cheapen the human condition’.

Oh man, it sounds so old-fashioned, but if everyone would just treat him as they themselves would wish to be treated, maybe he could breathe. And not have to hang his head down, always searching for that elusive square of privacy. If Tyler Hawkins were the only character Pattinson brought to life, if his screen credits stopped right now, he would have achieved this goal of elevating the human condition. Such was the power of his portrayal, of the role, of the film.

Cast Spotlight Pierce Brosnan Part 2

Pierce seemed always destined for the role of James Bond. In a number of interviews, he has said that he was influenced to become an actor by Sean Connery’s performance in Goldfinger, the first movie he had ever seen.

In 1981 while accompanying his first wife Cassandra Harris on the set of For Your Eyes Only (1982), he was spotted by the producer of the Bond films, Albert Broccoli, who felt he would be perfect for the role of Bond when Roger Moore retired. In 1986 Brosnan was offered the role, but had to decline due to his commitments to Remington Steele. The next Bond, Timothy Dalton starred in two films until the series became embroiled in legal issues over owernership rights which lasted six years. When the series was set to begin filming again, Dalton declined to continue in the role. On June 7, 1994 Brosnan was announced as the fifth Bond.

He played Bond in four films, Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999) and Die Another Day (2002). His performances were received with critical praise and the films were very successful at the box office. In 2004 due to breakdown of negotiations with the studio, Pierce stated that he was done with the role saying “Bond is another lifetime, behind me”.

During the time between Bond roles, Brosnan kept very busy. In 1996, he started his own production company, Irish Dream Time along with partner Beau St. Clair. Brosnan starred in the company’s first production, The Thomas Crown Affair (1999). Other projects during that time include Professor Donald Kessler in Mars Attacks (1996), vocanologist Harry Dalton in Dante’s Peak (1997), Archie Grey Owl in Grey Owl (1999), and Andy Osnard in the spy thriller The Tailor of Panama (2001).

Brosnan has kept very busy post-Bond. He played Daniel Rafferty in Laws of Attraction (2004) a film which he was also executive producer. In 2005, he played Julian Noble in the Irish Dream Time production of The Matador, a role which garnered him a Golden Globe, Saturn and Irish Film and Television nomination for Best Actor. He also had roles in Seraphim Falls (2006), Married Life (2007), Shattered (2007) (which is also produced), Momma Mia (2008), and The Greatest (2009).

His production company has produced seven films, including The Nephew (1998), Evelyn (2002) in addition to the films that he has been previously been listed as producer. Future endeavors for the company include The Thomas Crown Affair 2.

Currently, he has three films out in the theaters, Percy Jackson and the Olympians (2010) in which he plays Chiron and The Ghost Writer (2010) in which he plays Adam Lange. Remember Me, in which he plays Charles Hawkins, is scheduled to be released on March 12.

Outside of his film work, Pierce is a very active in environmental issues and was awarded the 2007 Goldene Kamara award for his dedication.

Other awards and recognition include a Lifetime Achievement from the Chicago Film Festival, the International Star of the Year from the Cinema Expo in Amsterdam, an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the Dublin Institute of Technology, and honorary doctorate from the University College Cork and an Order of the British Empire which was bestowed by the Queen of England.

For more on Pierce's career, please click here:
Pierce Brosnan Part 1

Cast Spotlight Gregory Jbara

Gregory Jbara (pronounced juh bar uh) will be playing Les Hirsch, Tyler and Caroline’s step-father.

Gregory was born in Westland, MI and attended Wayne Memorial High School in Wayne, MI. He began college at the University Of Michigan School Of Music in the musical theater program, but he would transfer to The Juilliard School where he would study acting and receive his BFA.

His resume is both extensive and varied. He has done work on and off Broadway, has been in films and on television, has done voiceovers for animation and preformed songs for recordings. There is a very good chance that you have seen Gregory in something that he has done.

He first appeared on TV in 1987 in a guest spot on The Newhart Show. In 1988 he appeared in the stage production of Serious Money as a LIFFE Member and a trader. 1988 also was the year that he first appeared on the big screen. He played Tommy, an office boy in the the feature, The House on Carroll Street (1988) starring Kelly McGillis and Jeff Daniels.

Since then, Gregory has been busy. On Broadway, he originated the roles of the catcher Sohovik in the revival of Damn Yankees! (1994-95), Squash Bernstein in Victor/Victoria (1995-97), Andre Thibault in Dirty, Rotten Scoundrels (2005-06) and Dad in Billy Elliot (2008-present). He was a Drama Desk nomination for his role as Thibault and won both the 2009 Drama Desk and the Tony Award for best featured actor for his role as Dad. He was also in Chicago as the second Billy Flynn. He has signed on for another season of Billy Elliot.

Some of his other theater projects include roles in Precious Sons for which he received the Backstage West Garland 2000 award and Neil Simon’s Oscar and Felix. Other off-Broadway and touring plays that he appeared in include Forever Plaid, Privates on Parade, Little Fish and There’s Someone in the House that Jack Built.

His film projects include Walter Brackett in In & Out (1997), Edward in The Out-of-Towners (1999), Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1999), Hank in The First $20 Million Is Always The Hardest (2002). He also appeared in Ira and Abby (2006), World Trade Center (2006), Project 96b (2007), Exit Speed (2008), the short film Out of Step (2008) and his voice is heard singing in Enchanted (2007).

Gregory has been a guest star on many television programs including Suddenly Susan (1998), Frasier (1999), Malcolm in the Middle (2001), Ally McBeal (2001), Crossing Jordan (2002), Providence (2002), The West Wing (2003), Touched by an Angel (2003), Without a Trace (2003), Friends (2004), Century City (2004), Conviction (2006), The Unit (2007) and Monk (2008). He has also had recurring roles in Drew Carey (1998), That’s Life (2000, 2001) and Grounded for Life (2002-2005).

He has also provided voice overs for the animated shows Rocket Power (1999-2000), The Family Guy (1999-2008) and American Dad (2008-2009).

His recordings include the Broadway cast recordings of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Victor/Victoria and Damn Yankees! and Little Fish on Ghostlight Records; First Lady Suite on PS Classics; Brigadoon and Annie Get Your Gun on EMI; A Broadway Christmas, Unsung Musicals II, Unsung Berlin, Peter Pan, and Drat The Cat! on Varese/Sarabande.

Gregory was also the announcer on Ripley’s Believe It or Not for three seasons, played Kenny in a Carnegie Hall concert of Very Warm May, and sang You’ve Got a Friend in Me from Toy Story for the TV special 75 Years of Disney Music. He also sang the title song for the animated Disney flick Home on the Range.

Sources:
GregoryJbara.com
IMDb.com
IBDb.com

Photo Credit:
BroadwayWorld.com

Cast Spotlight Lena Olin

"What's most interesting and most real to me in my work is to never make the role a complete character, because then you lose a part of the truth. I can't say that this person is just like this or like that. Because you can never do that with real people in real life, so if you try that on stage you lose the truth."

In Remember Me, Lena Olin has been cast as Tyler and Caroline’s mother Diane Hirsch.

Lena Olin was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the youngest of three children. Both of her parents were actors; her father had appeared in several early Ingmar Bergman films. She did very well in school and graduated with a 4.9 out of 5.0 score. When she was 19, Lena won the title of Miss Scandinavia. Before Lena decided to pursue acting, she found work as a substitute teacher in languages and as a nurse in a hospital. She even studied medicine for awhile.

Her first screen role was in the Ingmar Bergman film, Face to Face (1976). A family friend, Bergman was impressed enough by Lena that he would encourage her to study at Sweden's National Academy of Dramatic Art where she was accepted in 1976. She took her first major film role, Dolores in The Adventures of Picasso, while she was still attending the school. Graduating in 1979, Lena was involved for the next 14 years on stage with Sweden’s Royal Dramatic Theater. She won critical acclaim with performances as The Daughter in August Strindberg’s A Dream Play, Titania in Shakespeare’s A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream and Margarita in the stage adaption of Mikhail Bilgakov’s The Master and Margarita. She also had roles in several Ingmar Bergman productions, one was as the title character Julie in Strindberg’s Miss Julie. Another of her roles with Bergman, Cordelia in King Lear toured national theaters in Paris, Berlin, Oslo, Moscow, Copenhagen and London. During her time on the stage, she continued to take small film parts in both Bergman and Swedish Television's TV-Theatre Company films.

In 1984, Lena appeared in her first international film, bringing her into the world’s eye. She played the lead character Anna Engerman in Bergman’s After the Rehearsal (1984). The film was originally only supposed to be released in Sweden, but it found it’s way into other markets, including the United States. In 1988, Lena starred in her first English speaking role, that of Sabina in the internationally produced political film, The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) . Starring opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche, she first caught the attention of the film’s executive producer ( Bertil Ohlsson) when he saw her in a London performance of King Lear in 1984. Ohlsson told producer Saul Zaentz who met Lena at a dinner party and was also taken with her. She finally met with the director, Philip Kaufman , and was given the role. Lena would be nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her efforts in this role.

Now recognized as a respected and talented actress, offers started coming in from Hollywood. Newly a mother, she would make sure her she spent as much time with her son as possible, including bringing him to the set, along with a nanny who would watch him while she was filming. Even though her son was the top priority, she still wanted to continue working.

Her next big film was Enemies – A Love Story (1989). In this film, Lena played Masha, a married woman who is having an affair with a holocaust survivor (Ron Silver) who is ghost writing for a rabbi. Anyone in the film industry who had not noticed Lena before, noticed her now. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and would win the New York Film Critics Circle Award for this role.

Still based in Sweden, Lena continued to win roles in a wide variety of films. Next up, was the Sydney Pollack directed film Havana (1990). Lena played the role of Roberta, a revolutionary in 1958 Havana, Cuba whose husband was killed trying to escape from prison. Her lover Jack, played by Robert Redford, tries to keep her out of danger. In her next role, she portrayed the seductive, dangerous hit woman Mona Demarkov in Romeo is Bleeding (1993). In Romeo, Lena actually did her own stunts and an action scene was nominated in 1994 for the MTV Movie Award’s Best Action Sequence.

In 1995, Lena and her new husband took the plunge and moved to the United States, settling with their family just north of New York City. She continued her film work with a wide variety of roles and co-stars. In 1996, she starred with Andy Garcia and Ian Holm in Night Falls in Manhattan (1996)in which a DA finds himself in the middle of a police corruption scandal. Interestingly, this film was directed by Sidney Lumet, who is the father of Remember Me screenwriter, Jenny Lumet. Sidney also wrote the screenplay for the Night Falls.

Other film roles include Dr Elizabeth Bowen, a doctor who falls in love with her patient (Richard Gere) in Mr. Jones (1993) and Dr Annabelle Leek in Mystery Men (1999). She portrayed the satanic cult leader Liana Tefler opposite Johnny Depp and Frank Langella in one of my favorite films, The Ninth Gate (1999).

In 2000, she teamed up with her husband, director Lasse Hallstrom for the film Chocolat. In this film, Lena portrayed Josephine Muscat who gets neighborly help at the chocolate shop. She was able to work again with Juliette Binoche and Johnny Depp. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for this role.

She also portrayed the vampire Maharet opposite Stuart Townsend in Queen of the Damned (2002), the mother of a troubled youth (Ryan Gosling) in The United States of Leland (2003), the crazy radio host Ruby opposite Harrison Ford and Josh Harnett in Hollywood Homicide (2003) and as Andrea, a Venetian mother trying to find a husband for her daughter in Cassanova (2005). Heath Ledger, Jeremy Irons and Sienna Miller also starred in this romantic comedy.

From 2002 to 2005, Lena switched mediums from the big screen to the small screen. She took the role of KGB agent and Sidney Bristow’s (Jennifer Gardner) mother, Irina Derenko on the ABC series Alias. It was obvious from her portrayal of the hit woman in Romeo is Bleeding that Lena would be perfect for this role that introduced her to a younger audience. She was nominated for an Emmy in 2003 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

More recently, Lena has been busy. In 2007, she portrayed the mother of a young man (Hayden Christensen) who found himself awake but paralysed during surgery, in the thriller Awake. She also had the small role of Ilana Mather in The Reader (2008). She has filmed another movie, a very small indie The Devil You Know, where she plays a reclusive ex-movie star with a secret. It appears that at this time, the film has not secured a distributor and no release dated has been scheduled.

Lena’s vast experience and her critical acclaim makes her a great addition to the cast of Remember Me.






To get to know other members of the cast, please check out some of the cast spotlights here: Remember Me Cast Spotlight




Sources:
lena-olin.com
IMBd.com
Wikipedia.com


Photo Sources:
Splash New Online.com
Sociallite Life.com
lena-olin.com

Cast Spotlight Robert Pattinson Part 1

I am very excited to be able to post the following biography for Robert Pattinson. Reading this for the first time last fall, my thoughts were that this was the best and most in depth biography on Rob’s career that I had read. I still think that today.

Shannon was generous enough to allow me to post it here!

Please enjoy and stay tuned for Part 2 which takes a look at what Rob has been doing since the original article was written.



Hollywood’s Unassuming Talent
Britain’s versatile and fearless breakout star
By: Shannon McShane

“I think some people might be a bit surprised,” Pattinson says. “But I didn’t want to get stuck in pretty, public school roles, or I knew I’d end up as some sort of caricature. Playing Dali has been a complete turning point for me. It’s the first part I’ve had that has required really serious thought. I became completely obsessed with Dali during the filming, and I read every biography I could get a hold of. He was the most bizarre, complex man, but in the end I felt I could relate to him. He was basically incredibly shy.”



It is that same shyness that Robert Pattinson found he shared with his character, Salvador Dalí in the film Little Ashes, that makes him all the more unassuming and unique to his fans.

Some might say he should be used to all the attention he’s been receiving recently, having played the memorable Cedric Diggory, in the film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005. But being famous is not something Robert ever had in mind when he started acting at the Barnes Theatre Club at the age of 15. Robert, born in May 13, 1986, and his two older sisters, Victoria and Lizzy, were raised in the greater London area, in Barnes, Surrey. His father, Richard, worked importing vintage model cars from America, and his mother, Clare, for a modeling agency. It was at his father’s encouragement that he joined the Barnes Theatre Club.

“It was a drama group right around the corner from where my house was. My dad wanted me to be an actor. He basically kept seeing this group of pretty girls in a restaurant and he asked them where they’d been. This is my dad’s character for you, he told me I should go to this group. I had never done any acting before…”

He worked backstage on his first production there, and then decided to give acting a try. His first role was a small part in Guys and Dolls. However, the next play he auditioned for landed him the lead in Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

“So I auditioned for Guys and Dolls and got a little tiny part as some Cuban dancer or something and then in the next play I got the lead part, and then I got my agent. So I owe everything to that little club.”

This agent, who was in the audience during one of Rob’s performances in Tess of the d’Urbervilles, took notice of this young actor, and signed Rob as a client. Having secured himself an agent in the business, it didn’t take long for Robert be noticed. His first film had him playing a small role as an older Rawdy Crawley in Reese Witherspoon’s Vanity Fair. While his scene did not actually make it into the movie, it can be found in the special features as an alternate ending.

Vanity Fair

The Ring of the Nibelungs

Soon after came his character of Giselher, in a TV film that is known by several names: The Sword of Xanten, Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King, and perhaps its most well known title, The Ring of the Nibelungs. This epic TV production, based on the Nordic legend that inspired JRR Tolkien to write The Lord of the Rings, was filmed in South America, and took about 3-4 months on location. However, Goblet of Fire was to begin casting while Robert would be in South America filming, so the casting agent – who happened to also be the casting agent for Vanity Fair – contacted Mike Newell on Rob’s behalf, and Mike agreed to see Robert before he left for South America. Because of this, Rob was the first person seen for casting of the fourth Harry Potter film.

The day he returned from South America, he got a callback for Goblet of Fire and within that same week he was told he’d landed the part of Cedric Diggory.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Newell said: “Cedric exemplifies all that you would expect the Hogwarts champion to be. Robert Pattinson was born to play the role; he’s quintessentially English with chiseled public schoolboy good looks.”

With a growing confidence in his ability to play Cedric, and a nervous excitement which he channeled into reading the script and book repeatedly, Robert took his first steps toward fame.

“I read the book before the audition and I kind of felt there wasn’t any part of the character which I didn’t think I could play…But I just felt quite at ease with it. I just really wanted to do it really well because I’m still young and everything, and a relatively inexperienced actor…I was just concentrating a lot and put quite a lot of work into it in the beginning.”

And all the work paid off in the end. The role Robert created in Cedric is one of the most memorable in all the Potter movies. Had any other young actor been cast in that role Cedric would most likely have been a throw-away character, but Robert brought him to life. And so the acclaim began. He spoke of the London premiere of Goblet of Fire in a 2005 interview with theTelegraph -

‘On the night, he stepped from his limo to face 12,000 people and a barrage of flashbulbs. “I was in a trance the whole way through it,” he remembers. “The day before I was just sitting in Leicester Square, happily being ignored by everyone. Then suddenly strangers are screaming your name. Amazing.”

After Harry Potter-mania had died down, Robert went back to London and pursued two of the best roles we’ve seen of him to date. The Haunted Airman and The Bad Mother’s Handbook.

In 2006, Robert took on the role of Toby Jugg, once a WWII flight lieutenant, confined to a wheelchair after being wounded in action. The role required Rob to portray both traumatized and paranoid, while still making the audience sympathize with what his character was going through.

The Haunted Airman

The film is described as, ‘a very disturbing, beautifully made and satisfyingly chilling ghost story’ in a review featured by The Stage. They went on to speak about Rob: ‘an actor whose jaw-line is so finely chiseled it could split granite - played the airman of the title with a perfect combination of youthful terror and world weary cynicism.’

Not the easiest of emotions to convey. However, the most poignant words about Robert in this role come from writer and director of The Haunted Airman, Chris Durlacher. When I asked that he describe his experience working with Robert and what he remembered most, he said,

"I loved working with Rob. He has that rare mix of humility and an inner confidence, which means that he's both a happy and a challenging colleague. From the moment, in the first rehearsals when we put Rob in the 1940s wheelchair that he was stuck in for most of the film I could see Rob working his way into the shattered mind of his character, Toby. So as we were the shooting the film, whatever Rob did, rather whatever Toby did, it always felt honest and real. I wanted the audience to sympathise Toby but also to be frightened of him; to fear for him and to be fearful of him. It's really tricky to pull that off, but Rob did, so all compliments to him."

High praise for this young actor, still a newcomer to film, who at this time was only 20 years old.

Next up the following year, my favorite character portrayed by Pattinson thus far, Daniel Gale in The Bad Mother’s Handbook.

The Bad Mother's Handbook

Ask any die-hard Rob Pattinson fan, and 9 out of 10 will tell you their favorite Rob-role is that of Daniel Gale. Why is that? I’ve often asked myself that question, since I absolutely include myself as 1 of those 9…but how can I explain the draw of this character, of Rob as Daniel Gale, without gushing about the entire film? So, perhaps it’s better explained by the fans.

Laura Rollinger and Tracy Garrett, both Project Managers for the [late] Little Ashes Promotional Blitz Project had this to say,

“Yes, [Daniel Gale] is my favorite Rob role so far and I do very much like his portrayal. I think a lot of it has to do with his physicality. Rob nails the awkward movements and gestures that bring heart and truth to the character, and to the story. I think he shines through even though he is one of the smaller parts in the story. Where some actors could have distracted from the story, he adds to it, and brings it more to life. I also like it because it is a smaller quirkier project that demonstrates more of his versatility.”
-Laura Rollinger


“I absolutely adore Robert's performance of Daniel Gale. And yes, I would probably say it's my favorite role of his. I've said this before, but I just love the physicality he brought to the role. He holds himself so awkwardly—slumped shoulders, toes askance, elbows askew. Then he couples that with a really interesting delivery of his lines… Suddenly, I was like, wait...he's got comedic chops, too? He was Daniel in every way. Robert took what he was given on the page and ran with it. Such an incredible talent...and his Daniel Gale showed me the way.”
-Tracy Garrett


So…what have we got? Physicality…versatility…delivery…even quirkiness. Not the typical adjectives to describe heartthrobs. And therein lies the reason as to why this actor is so set apart from that stereotype. As Daniel Gale, Robert completely transformed himself, physically and characteristically. You may be looking at Rob, but all you can see is Daniel. That, to many fans and critics alike, is one of the most important things about becoming a great actor…something Robert Pattinson already seems to have challenged and won.

This brings us to projects that haven’t been released yet. The short film, The Summerhouse, the widely known Twilight, and the two Independent Films, How To Be and Little Ashes.

In corresponding with the producer of this short film, the latest news is that the film, while still in post-production, should be finished this fall. However, they did release a three minute clip of the short, which has done little to keep fans at bay. If anything, it’s created more of a desire to see Rob in this short film. He plays an ‘ambivalent,’ 18 year old young man, who leaves his girlfriend, Jane, for another, only to be scorned himself and then go running back to Jane. Though playing an ‘unsuitable boy,’ it is a small role that many want to see him play.

How To Be and Little Ashes…two Independent Films that, though not released as of yet, people are already responding to. How To Be takes us on a journey of crisis that is ‘growing up’ and dealing with finding one’s place in the world, told from the perspective of an awkward and frustrated musician, Art.

How to Be

Director Oliver Irving in his interview with online blog site, the Movie Fanatic had this to say: “Rob definitely comes alive when the cameras roll though. His performances were always heightened by pressure - he would often in rehearsals say – ‘OK it's not right now, but I know what is needed and I’ll get it on the day.’ This took an awful lot of faith in him but he was pretty much true to his word… I would say that his most truthful performance to date can be found in this film.”

How To Be tells the story of Art, having a quarter-life-crisis. After his girlfriend breaks up with him and as his ‘music career’ is going nowhere, he moves back in with his parents. Both Art and his parents are less than thrilled. When Art discovers self-help guru Dr. Ellington, and his book titled ‘It’s Not Your Fault’ Art thinks he’s finally figured out how to be, well, less pathetic. And from there, the heartwarming story and comedy continues to ensue.

Portraying the role of Art has earned Rob the ‘Best Actor in a Feature’ Award at the Strasbourg Film Festival, in September 2008. Not surprising at all, and sure to be the first of many awards and praise to come his way, based on how his peers and directors speak of him.

Little Ashes. Rob Pattinson as Salvador Dali. What more is there to say?

A lot actually…

Little Ashes

“Love. Art. Betrayal... Little Ashes brings to life the long-hidden, highly controversial relationship between the young Salvador Dali and the doomed poet Federico Garcia Lorca.” –short synopsis

As the film is circulating the Film Festival circuit, praise for Rob’s portrayal is already surfacing. The film will be screened October 7, 2008 at the Raindance film festival in London. However, Chris Presswell already had the pleasure of reviewing this film, and had this to say of Rob,
“Robert Pattinson brings Dalí to the screen with precisely the irreverent and eccentric personality you would expect from one of the creators of Spain’s avant-garde movement.”

All who have seen Rob as Dali, from fellow actors in the film, to the Producers who were involved with the filming, all agree and commend his performance. As we shared with you in the opening quote, playing Dali was a turning point for Rob. The research he put into it, the versatility he drew from to do the role justice, and the relatability he found in the complexities of Dali.

Little Ashes portrays Rob as a young Dali, entering the Residencia de Estudiantes in Madrid, 1922…

“In the progressive educational environment of the Residencia, he is exposed to some of the most influential philosophical and artistic theories of the day. Eighteen-year-old Dali wanted to enter the circle of students to which Federico Garcia Lorca and Buñuel belonged. Lorca’s fame was growing, and when filmmaker Buñuel moved to Paris, the relationship between Lorca and Dali deepened.” – Marilys Horgue from LittleAshesRelease.com

The film has been described by insiders as ‘sexy’ and even ‘racy,’ but without a doubt, there will also be controversy. But with controversy sometimes comes acclaim. Something I’ve already predicted Robert should get used to. But, one thing is for sure, Robert fans are impatient to see him in this film. Some have said they want to see Rob in Little Ashes even more so than in Twilight.

Salvador Dali beats Edward Cullen? When it comes to Rob Pattinson, anything seems possible!

This is brings us, finally, to the role that has teen girls screaming around the world…Edward Cullen in Stephenie Meyer’s novel-turned-film, Twilight. Though a lot of recognition came for Robert during his Harry Potter days, ‘Twilighters’ have put ‘Potter-mania’ to shame.

Twilight

“His career could be extremely unique,” director Catherine Hardwicke said. “He’s a powerful, sexy leading man and slips incredibly well into different periods and styles. I’d also love to see him work on Tim Burton-esque films where he has the opportunity to create completely wild, original characters that become classics.”

More high praise from a recognized director. It seems that everyone who works with Robert has nothing but great things to say about him. Catherine mentions how well Rob can slip into different periods and styles. Versatility. But, how does such an actor prepare for a role like that of Edward Cullen? This is a character who is portrayed as perfect. The first instinct would be to play up on that…to try to play ‘perfect.’ But not Robert. It’s been said that out of the thousands of actors who read for the role, Rob was the only one who didn’t play ‘perfect’ but rather, he read it more tortured and deep. He’s never seen Edward as perfect, he’s recognized that only Bella sees Edward as perfect, so he had to internalize and come up with how Edward would feel about himself.

As if to validate his performance and choices, halfway through filming, author Stephenie Meyer shared with Robert her unfinished manuscript of Midnight Sun. This companion novel to Twilight is told completely from Edward’s perspective. As it turned out, Rob had already understood the character and nailed the accuracy of who Edward was. Not too surprising however, considering how much though Rob had put into the role even before the cameras were rolling.

Two months prior to shooting, Rob left his home in London and went out to the film site early, in Portland, Oregon. He wanted to be alone and distance himself from family and friends, wanting to feel the loneliness he knew Edward was feeling. He kept a journal of ‘Edward’ thoughts, and really started getting into character. He takes every role he plays very seriously, shown here and in the research he did for playing Salvador Dali. I’m not sure I know of many 22 year olds who would go to such measures to get to know themselves as their characters.

But Rob has always been unique. He has managed, in the midst of the buzz and hype, to stay true to himself. He has had the same best friends since his days in school. He still wears some of the same clothing he has owned since he was 12 years old. He gives refreshing and witty responses through every interview he does. Even when being followed down streets by the paparazzi, he manages to be polite and funny during the intrusions.


I feel it needs to be mentioned, as it has played a large part in his life, that Rob is also a musician. Music was actually his first passion, long before acting found its way into his life. He began playing piano when he was three years old…classical guitar at the age of five. He’s had a couple of bands, all made up of friends who shared interests in music. He has shared that he plays guitar, piano, a bit of saxophone, (harmonica as we will see in How To Be,) and he also sings.

“He’s a beautiful musician, a very creative soul, very similar to Edward. He just totally reads the most interesting stuff, and sees the most interesting movies, and is very introspective and diving into his existential self.” – Catherine Hardwicke

Fans are very excited for Twilight for yet another reason. Catherine, being so impressed with Rob’s musical talent, asked him to contribute to the film’s soundtrack. As a result, Rob will have two original songs he composed playing in the movie and on the soundtrack.

One thing is for sure, Robert Pattinson is destined to be one of the greats. He’s the whole package and I know I’m excited to see where he takes us in his career.



Thanks Shannon!!


Photo Credits:
GQ Magazine photo by Nathaniel Goldberg
Entertainment Weekly Photoshoot by James White
How to Be Official Site
Little Ashes Official Site
Gallery at robertpattinson.org
Gallery at Twilight Poison.com
Gallery at Robert-Pattinson.com.uk

Cast Spotlight Pierce Brosnan Part 1

“When I found acting, or when acting found me, it was a liberation. It was a stepping stone into another life, away from a life that I had, and acting was something I was good at, something which was appreciated. That was a great satisfaction in my life.”

While most are most familiar with Pierce’s role as the legendary secret agent, James Bond, he has played other very memorable roles on stage and on both the small and large screen.

Pierce was born in Navan, County Meath, Ireland on May 16, 1953. At the age of 11, he moved to London to be with his mother, who had moved there much earlier, and her new husband. He was enrolled in the Elliot School in Putney, West London where he excelled in art and English. At the age of 16, Pierce left school and started training as a commercial artist in a photography studio while attending Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Deciding that he wanted to pursue acting, Pierce enrolled in the Drama Centre of London where he studied theater. Graduating in 1976, he took the position of acting assistant stage manager at York’s Royal Theatre.

His professional acting debut was in the production of Wait Until Dark. His performance caught the eye of Tennessee Williams who cast him in the role of McCabe in his play, The Red Devil Battery Sign. During the next few years, he performed in the productions of Noel Coward’s Semi Monde, The Maid’s Tragedy, Painter’s Palace of Pleasure, No Orchids for Mrs. Blandish, and most importantly, Franco Zeffirella’s Filumena. Filumena, a London Lyric Theatre Production, ran for a year and a half. Based on his performance, he was cast in the BBC’s Murphy’s Stroke as a race-horse trainer. It was Pierce’s first foray on the small screen. Later that year, he appeared in his first film, a 26 minute short film Resting Rough.

A year later in 1980, Pierce landed his first full length big screen movie role, a non-speaking part in the thriller Long Good Friday. He also appeared in the Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d. But the good news for Pierce was that his performance in Murphy’s Stroke was seen by a group of American producers who were casting for the US TV mini-series The Manions of America, which followed two Philadelphia families, one English and one Irish, through the years. The mini-series was very successful in the United States and it also served to introduce Pierce to the American public.

Now was the time for him to check out the options in Los Angeles. Pierce and his wife took a 2 week trip to LA so that he could to do some auditions. The very first audition that he did was for the NBC series Remington Steele. He got the part, but had to wait six months for filming to start. During that period, he returned to London and played the role of first husband Robert Gould Shaw, in the Masterpiece Theater min-series Nancy Astor. (Lady Astor was the first woman to sit in Parliament). When the series finally made it to American TV in 1984, Pierce would be nominated for the first time for a Golden Globe.

Finally in 1982, Remington Steele began filming. Originally Pierce’s character, Steele was to be a mysterious partner who would only be on screen for a few minutes each episode, but due to his ever increasing popularity, his role became more and more prominent. Remington Steele lasted for five seasons, but when its run had finished, Pierce was still busy filming both feature films and TV films. During the next seven years he would star in a wide variety of projects. His TV work included the TV mini series Noble House (1988) where he played tai-pan of the trade corporation or “house” and Around the World in 80 Days (1989) where he played Phileas Fogg the man who travels around the world. His TV films include the HBO film, The Heist (1989) where he plays a framed con-man getting his revenge and the thriller Murder 101 (1991), where he plays an author framed for murder. During this time he also appeared in such TV films as Victim of Love (1991), Death Train (1993), The Broken Chair (1993), Don’t Talk to Strangers (1994) and Night Watch (1995).

Among his feature work at that time, was the thriller The Fourth Protocol (1987) where he played a KGB agent, the British action thriller Taffin (1988) in which he plays a tough Irish debt collector who tries to save the town, the adventure thriller The Deceivers, where he played a British tax collector who works to solve a series of murders, the horror thriller The Lawnmower Man (1992), where he plays the scientist whose VR experiment to enhance intelligence goes awry. In 1993, he starred in the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire along with Robin Williams and Sally Field, playing Field’s jerk boyfriend. His other films during this time include Mister Johnson (1990), Live Wire (1992), Entangled (1993) and Love Affair (1994).

Please stay tuned for Part 2 of Pierce's bio featuring James Bond and beyond.





Sources:
IMDb
Tiscali.com
wikipedia
piercebrosnan.org
piercebrosnan.com

Photo Sources:
Social Lite Life.com

Cast Spotlight Tate Ellington Part 2

Back in June when Remember Me first started filming, I wrote a spotlight on Tate which detailed some of his work to date. But reading about roles doesn't really give one a feel about an actor. Wondering what we might expect from Tate, I searched through the internet and came upon a couple of clips and a trailer that featured Tate in his role of Oliver in The Elephant King.

Oliver is described by viewers of the film as a quiet, retiring, semi-depressed man child who has been sent to Thailand by his parents to bring home his wayward brother. His performance was described as "absolutely amazing, leaving a memorable impression that makes you want to see him in more films in the future."

So take a look and get a little taste of what Tate can bring to the screen.


Link to first spotlight on Tate.


Clip 1: Tate and Jonno Roberts Brothel Scene


Clip 2: Tate and Ellen Burstyn Car Scene


Elephant King Trailer



Source:
Elephant King Clips and Trailer
aceshowbiz.com

Cast Spotlight Ruby Jerins Part 2

The short film that Ruby Jerins starred in, Zoe's Day (2007), is available to view on YouTube. If you haven't seen her in Showtime's Nurse Jackie, you can watch her here in this short (10 minute) film.



Zoe's Day
Director - Rebecca Gwynne
Writers - Rebecca Gwynne (co-writer)
..........Lauran Janes (short story)

Cast
Mother - Lauran James
Father - Michael Kelly
Zoe - Ruby Jerins

Producer - Grayson Ross
Co-Producer - Lisa Edwards
Executive Producer - Rebecca Gwynne

For more information on this film,
IMDb Zoe's Day

Source
youtube.com

Cast Spotlight Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper was born on July 9, 1951 in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was raised. His first acting job was as a paperboy in a production of A Streetcar Named Desire, where he was first working as a set-builder. He continued to perform in the local Barns Players, the local Kansas City community theater. He later graduated from the University of Missouri, where he majored in agriculture and acting. He also served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve.

Chris’s first roles were in the Broadway plays The Ballad of Soupy Sales (1983) and A Different Moon (1983). His earliest film roles were as Joe Keneham in Matawan (1987) and as July Johnson in the TV mini-series Lonesome Dove (1989).

A large portion of his roles have been characters that are either in the government or in some type of law enforcement. The most notable of these roles are as Deputy Dwight Looney in John Grisham’s A Time to Kill (1996), Col Frank Fitts in American Beauty (1999), the Revolutionary War’s Col. Harry Burwell in The Patriot (2000), a merciless CIA director in The Bourne Identity (2002), the inept Colorado gubernatorial candidate Dickie Pilager in Silver City (2004), Lt. Col. Kazinski in Jarhead (2005), Jimmy Pope in Syriana (2005), FBI agent turned Soviet spy Robert Hanssen In Breach (2007) and FBI investigator Grant Sykes in The Kingdom (2007).

Other roles for Chris include a pyromaniac in Money Train (1995), the coalminer father in October Sky (1999), a racehorse trainer in Seabiscuit (2003), and Alvin Dewey in Capote (2005).

Chris’s most acclaimed role was as John Laroche in Adaptation (2002). For his portrayal, he won the Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Adaptation is about the struggles of a screenwriter trying to adapt a non-fiction book about a rare orchid dealer (John Laroche) into a screenplay. In addition to winning the Oscar, Chris won 11 best supporting actor awards for this role from other critics associations. He also won the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture for his role in American Beauty. All in all, Chris has received 20 awards and has been nominated for 18 others.

In addition to Remember Me, there are more films with Chris that are in production. Chris has two other films (The Company Men and The Tempest) that are in post-production and one film (The Road Back) that is in development.

Sources
Remember Me Live Journal
Social Lite Life at Celebuzz.com

Cast Spotlight Ruby Jerins

From the photo stills and videos taken from the Remember Me set on Friday, it looks like Ruby Jerins has been cast in the role of Caroline Roth, Tyler’s little sister.

Ruby has been involved in acting since 2001, when she played a flower girl in the short film, The Wedding, which won Best Short Film at the Molodist Film Festival in 2001.

In 2006, she appeared in an episode of Guiding Light and on SNL as the little girl dressed as Princess Amendola. She was also cast as Jill Marks for 5 episodes of As the World Turns, in the same year.

Ruby was cast in 12 episodes of the ABC drama Six Degrees as Eliza Morgan in 2007, and in 2008 appeared in an episode of CBS’s Law and Order.

Earlier this year, she was cast as Olivia Strobl in the HBO film Taking Chance, a drama based on real-life events. Fellow Remember Me cast mate Tate Ellington also appeared in this film. Prior to that she starred in the short film Zoe's Day (2006)as Zoe.

If you want to catch Ruby’s acting now, she is currently playing the role of Grace Peyton on the new Showtime series, Nurse Jackie.

Ruby is the daughter of artist Edgar Jerins and actress Alana Jerins. In June of 2007,Ruby was awarded a Recanati-Kaplan Excellence in the Arts Scholarship.

Sources:
Zimbio.com
comingsoon.net

Cast Spotlight Tate Ellington

Rumour on the net has Tate Ellington being cast for the part of Aidan, Tyler Roth’s friend and room-mate. Pictures appeared yesterday and Monday of Tate and Rob being filmed as they were walking around the campus of NYU.

Tate Ellington has had both theater and film experience. Currently he is appearing on Broadway in the Roundabout Theater Company’s production of The Philanthropist which also stars Matthew Broderick. Tate plays a young student who is also a playwright. The play runs through June 28th.

His film credits include the character Oliver Hunt in the drama Elephant King (2006). Oliver is the quiet, shy brother who is involved in a continuous victim-bully relationship with his domineering and angry older brother. They try to come to terms with their relationship amid drink, drugs and women in exotic Thailand. Elephant King was a selection to the Tribecca Film Festival in 2007, and Tate was awarded the 2007 Brooklyn International Film Festival Certificate of Excellence for this role.

He was cast in the horror film, Red Hook (2009), in which he plays Gavin, the boyfriend of an agoraphobic college freshman who has to go on a scavenger hunt through out New York City in order to save his life. Red Hook is due to be released later this year.

Tate has had parts in Breaking Upwards (2009), a romantic comedy indie flick, Taking Chance (2009) a real-life based real-life drama, Decent (2007), Red (2008), and You are Alone (2005), all three dramas.

He has two movie shorts to his credit too. Lower East Side (2005) is a 17 minute short. Tate was one of three cast in Ariana (2004), a 27 minute short which won the 2006 Audience Award for Best Short Film at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. He plays the live-in lover of a man who is dealing with the advancing dementia of his live-in grandmother.

Tate has also guest-starred in two TV series, Fox’s Rescue Me and the 2009 summertime ABC drama, The Unusuals.





Photo Sources.
mrpattinson.com
ONTD at livejournal.com
robpattinson.blogspot.com