Monday, July 26, 2010
Michael Welch's 'Unrequited' To Have Free Screening Tomorrow in Kentucky
From LexGo:
In the Twilight movie series, Michael Welch, right, plays Mike, with Anna Kendrick, left, as Jessica, Justin Chon as Eric and Christian Serratos as Angela. Welch's latest film is Unrequited, which was filmed in Kentucky last year and will have its local premiere Tuesday in a free screening at Amstar 14 in Brannon Crossing in Nicholasville.
Central Kentucky moviegoers can consider themselves lucky: On Tuesday, they can see a film that won't go nationwide for several months.
Written and produced by Kentucky production company Lucky Day Studios and shot in the Bluegrass State, Unrequited follows the downward spiral of Ben Jacobs (Michael Welch, The Twilight Saga movies), a troubled young man, as he struggles to cope with his frustrating (to say the least) relationships with the ones he loves, particularly ex-girlfriend Jessica (Sarah Habel). As the title suggests, she doesn't return the feeling.
After being named runner-up on Steven Spielberg's fleeting 2007 Fox reality show On the Lot, which pitted 50 amateur directors against one another, Winchester director Jason Epperson makes a debut with Lucky Day Studios, helming Unrequited. It is the studio's first feature film.
Writer and producer Jeff Day is "very pleased" with how things worked out, especially the performance of the cast.
"Welch is a beast of an actor," Day said, "and Sarah is just as phenomenal. ... We really had some great acting."
Lucky Day and its distributor, Arc Light, are waiting to hear from several film festivals and are working on the overseas marketing before trying to move Unrequited to U.S. theaters, Day said.
"Arc Light, our distributor, is busy selling in territories overseas," Day said. "Our film has sold in Russia, Italy, France, Romania and Eastern Europe. We're really pleased with the overseas reception.
"As for U.S. distribution, we're aiming for that in the fall. We want to wait until the Toronto Film Festival in September, which is where these films get picked up."
He said it also was selected for the AceFest film festival in New York in August.
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Here's information on the screening happening tomorrow, July 27th:
'Unrequited'
What: Premiere of locally produced film. Star Michael Welch (The Twilight Saga: New Moon) will make an appearance.
When: 9:15 p.m. July 27
Where: Amstar 14 cinemas, Brannon Crossing, Nicholasville
Admission: Free; first-come, first-served
Learn more: www.unrequitedmovie.com
Cam Gigandet Chats About 'Priest' with MTV
From MTV:
'It's not like a 'vampire film'; there's so much more to it,' 'Priest' co-star Karl Urban tells MTV News at Comic-Con. Ever since he lit up the screen as delightfully devious "Twilight" villain James, Cam Gigandet's career has been on the rise. When MTV News caught up with him during Comic-Con on Friday (July 23), we asked about his character in the upcoming "Priest" — which is based on the celebrated comic book series — and, since the film coincidentally involves vampires, if he had any hesitation in taking on the part.
"I play Sheriff Hicks," he said. "I'm the sheriff of a small town where my girlfriend gets kidnapped by this pack of vampires, so I enlist Paul Bettany's, Priest's, help, and we are on the road to find and rescue her."
Gigandet said that, although there are vampires involved in the movie, fans expecting the romantic "Twilight"-style vamps will be in for a shock.
"It's very, very different from 'Twilight,' " he said. "The similarities kind of end with what they're called, which is vampires."
Gigandet said the world of "Priest," directed by Scott Charles Stewart, is also entirely different. "The world Scott created is kind of unlike any other," he said. "Sometimes it was hard to visualize what he had in his mind, but I've seen clips, and its unbelievable. ... Just to work with all of these people, they're such an amazing cast. I didn't have any doubts [about taking on another vampire-related role]."
Gigandet's co-star, "Star Trek" star Karl Urban, said he's never seen a movie like this. "This is a post-apocalyptic vampire western," he said. "The emphasis isn't heavily on the fact — it's not like a 'vampire film'; there's so much more to it."
As far as what "Twilight" fans can expect to see, and fans of the original comic book, Gigandet and his co-stars said there is something for everyone in the film, because it is emotional and character-driven.
"[There are] so many different levels, and so many people are doing things that sacrifice for all sorts of love," Gigandet said. "It's not just one set love story. There are so many different levels going on."
"Priest" is set to open in May 2011.
Taylor Lautner Plays A Wrestler in 'Abduction'
In late December, College Wrestling Examiner reported that Taylor Lautner, who plays werewolf Jacob Black in the Twilight movie series was in talks to star in a remake of Vision Quest, the 1985 movie about a high school wrestler.
Now the 18-year-old star of the summer blockbuster Eclipse is playing a prep matman in another movie, Abduction, now being filmed in the Pittsburgh area.
IMDB.com, an independent online resource for television and movies, describes Abduction as, “a thriller centered on a young man who sets out to uncover the truth about his life after finding his baby photo on a missing persons website.” (The website BuzzSugar.com says, “Sounds a whole lot like The Face on the Milk Carton, but everything old is new again in Hollywood, right?”)
Abduction is produced by Lionsgate Films, and directed by John Singleton, nominated for two Oscars for The Boyz in the Hood. Along with Lautner, the cast includes heavyweight Hollywood stars Signorney Weaver, Alfred Molina, and Maria Bello.
Last week, scenes were filmed at Hampton High School outside Pittsburgh. Here’s how an Associated Press article described the situation:
The cheerleaders, dance drill team and marching band were hired as extras. In the movie, Lautner’s school will have the same name, same colors, same mascot as theirs.
Wrestling team members were cast as Lautner’s fictional teammates and opponents. Students spoke reverently about the fact that their math teacher and wrestling coach, Joe Bursick, a Hampton grad, would train Lautner for the movie and appear in it.
“My guys are pretty excited,” Bursick said of his team. “Even some who graduated came back for this.” Wrestling Hollywood’s sexiest werewolf hasn’t exactly hurt their popularity.
Wrestling scenes involving a dual meet between Hampton and Fox Chapel high schools were filmed last Tuesday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. In the movie, Lautner’s character is a prep wrestler; actual Hampton matman Jacob Hart played his opponent.
“I’m supposed to lose to him,” said Hart, who recently completed his freshman year at Hampton. “I don’t like to lose, but in this case, I don’t mind. I’m really looking forward to my acting debut. It will be a lot of fun.”
Hart has impressive mat credentials. Wrestling varsity at 189 pounds in his first year at Hampton, Hart compiled a 26-9 record, which included a second-place finish in the Section 3-AAA tournament and a fourth-place finish in the WPIAL Class AAA championships, just missing the chance to wrestle at the Pennsylvania state tournament.
Hart is wrestling Greco-Roman at 215 pounds at the Cadet Nationals in Fargo for the Pennsylvania team, the first Hampton wrestler to compete at the national event in more than a quarter-century. In addition to being a varsity wrestler and actor, Hart plays football at Hampton.
Taylor Lautner apparently has some personal combat experience himself. At the time a Vision Quest remake was being discussed, E! News reported: “Lautner is an accomplished martial artist, who won several titles as a child.” Hampton coach Bursick gave the Hollywood heartthrob high marks: “He picked up on it (wrestling) really quickly. He’s a very good athlete.”
Christoph Waltz talks Water for Elephants and Filming at UCLA
Christoph took time off Water for Elephants to visit the Green Hornet panel at the Comic-Con this weekend.
"He spoke to Eonline about the filming of “Water for Elephants” and about the cast; his favourite is of course “Rosie”.
Waltz told us that filming is going "very well" despite the paparazzi hounding their set, which is now a daily occurrence.
Despite WFE being one of the most talked-about sets right now, he's totally enjoying working with Rob and Reese and all the baggage that comes with."
Read more at Eonline
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