Ben Affleck's Younger Twin
Today in show business news: An actress nearly ten years younger than Ben Affleck has been cast as his twin sister, Dane DeHaan books yet another big role, and Angelina Jolie will be given another Oscar.
.Today in show business news: An actress nearly ten years younger than Ben Affleck has been cast as his twin sister, Dane DeHaan books yet another big role, and Angelina Jolie will be given another Oscar.
David Fincher is hard at work casting Gone Girl, his adaptation of Gillian Flynn's terrific mystery novel, and the big news today is probably that Tyler Perry has been cast as a slick, ambulance-chasing lawyer in the film. He's a big star and this is a serious movie directed by an Oscar-nominated director, so that's the main story. Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit have also been cast, so good for both of those likable actors. But, I'm sorry, I can't get past this smaller detail: Actress Carrie Coon, who burst onto the New York theater scene last year in the Chicago transfer Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, has been cast as Ben Affleck's twin sister. According to this article from last year, Carrie Coon is 32 years old. Ben Affleck is 41. And they are playing twins. Riddle me this: If the main character was a woman and she had a twin brother would they cast an actor who was ten years younger than the star? I do not think they would. That is absurd. Coon is by all accounts a very good actress and this is great for her career and I don't begrudge her that, but good lord, people. This whole "actress years" thing needs to stop. Don't make Debra Winger run away again. "Why does your sister look so much younger than you. Weren't you born, like, on the same day?" It's silly. Affleck is pretty young looking, I get that, but come on. Oh and in the book the female lead, played by Rosamund Pike (yay!) in the movie, is older than Affleck's character. But, whaddaya know, Pike is 34. So. Ugh. But, I'm sure it'll be a great movie anyway. Still looking forward to it. [Deadline]
Satellite service DirecTV has ordered ten short movies from writer/director Neil LaBute, because that's what we need more of. More Neil LaBute. There just isn't enough Neil LaBute in this world, is there? Hopefully some of the characters in these short films will be sexist. Wouldn't it be interesting if Neil LaBute made something about horrible sexist men that kind of celebrated them while supposedly criticizing them? That's something we've not seen yet. [Deadline]
Dane DeHaan, the rising young actor who will appear this fall in Kill Your Darlings and next year in The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Andrew Garfield Biting His Lower Lip for Two Hours Because That's What You Guys Want, has signed on to play James Dean in a new movie about Dean's relationship with photographer Dennis Stock (talk about Stock photography!). Stock will be played by Robert "Fast Eddie" Pattinson. Hm. Now when they say "relationship," do they mean, like, a Sal Mineo type of a thing...? Who knows. All we can hope is that this does not mean that DeHaan is headed down a James Franco-y path. Franco played Dean once and look what happened to him. Be careful, DeHaan. [The Hollywood Reporter]
Angelina Jolie is getting another Oscar! She'll receive the Academy's humanitarian award at next year's ceremony. If she keeps this up, pretty soon she's going to have more Oscars than she has kids! And she has four thousand kids! (Ha, aren't jokes about Angelina Jolie's kids still so funny, relevant, and necessary? Just evergreen comedy right there.) Also receiving honorary Oscars, meaning sorry your career's mostly over and we forgot to give you one of these years ago, are Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury. So that'll be nice. Coupla white-hairs standing there all happy and then Angelina Jolie, not even 40, strides by and says "I've already got a real one, but this is nice too," and their days are ruined. Poor Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury. If only they had years of acclaim and admiration and success to comfort them. Oh and honorary Oscars. If only. [The Wrap]
Exciting! HBO's True Detective, that's the moidah mystery series starring Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, is officially premiering in January. The eight-episode series is about the hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana and was directed by Cary Fukunaga, who made the beguiling 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre, among other things. Can't wait! Forget True Blood, it's True Detective time. And then True Girls. [Deadline]
Here is a trailer for One Chance, the based-on-a-true-story film about a shlub who surprises a nation when he sings beautiful opera music on Britain's Got Talent. The shlub, called Paul Potts, will be played by recent Tony winner James Corden. It looks cute. Not great, but pretty good. Plus all those Venice vistas!