Chris Pratt Is Becoming a Movie Star
Chris Pratt, the goofy-cute Parks and Recreation actor who got his start as a hunky-lunky older brother on Everwood, has been creeping his way onto the big screen of late. First came a slightly serious turn in the terrific Moneyball, then this year marked his big beefy splash as a Navy SEAL in Zero Dark Thirty. And now he's been cast in his biggest movie role yet. Marvel has chosen Pratt to be the lead in its upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy adaptaion. This is to be the studio's next big franchise series, a space-based Avengers, basically. Pratt will play the humbly named Star-Lord, a half-human half-alien hybrid who is the leader of the Guardians. Pratt won the part over a bunch of other bold-named dudes, among them Joseph Gordon-Levitt, his ZD30 co-star Joel Edgerton, Jim Sturgess, Eddie Redmayne, Lee Pace, and, bizarrely, Zachary Levi, who is Chuck from Chuck. So, this is quite a big deal. And kinda surprising, right? Who woulda thunk that Chris Pratt would ever be a big serious movie star? Not that some silly thing about space twinks zooming around the galaxy is all that serious, but there's a lot of money at stake, and Marvel evidently trusts Chris Pratt with much of it. Dr. Abbott would be so proud! But, OK, it's time to get to work. Meaning, he's really got to get in shape now. Like, serious shape. We love him all cuddly and squishy, but that doesn't really work for a superhero. Hate to say it, but that's the Hollywood world he's entering into. [Deadline]
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On a wayyyy smaller scale, actress Aimee Garcia has been made a series regular on Dexter. Garcia plays Dexter's nanny/Angel's sister on the series, and has so far not had much to do beyond talking to that weird drugged kid they have playing Harrison. She sorta had a storyline when she dated that creepy Dexter obsessive, but that never really went anywhere. Does her joining the cast full-time mean that she's in for some trouble? Like, maybe she finds out about Dexter and he has to kill her? Or [SPOILER ALERT] his new, uh, accomplice has to? Who knows. But we're eager to find out. One thing that Dexter has always done well is tease out whole storylines from little asides and seemingly random characters. It seems Garcia is the next to receive that treatment. Exciting! [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Charming Like Crazy actress Felicity Jones has been cast in a big movie opposite James Franco and Jonah Hill. The movie is called True Story and is based on a memoir about a "disgraced New York Times journalist who resurrected some of his career after discovering that an accused murderer had stolen his identity, and that he would only talk to his namesake." So it's Identity Thief, but a drama. Hill is playing the journalist, and Franco is the crazy murderer identity thief. And Jones? Well, she'll be "the journalist’s long-suffering girlfriend, who tries to stand by her guy even after his screwups cost them everything." Aha. So... that's a fancy way of saying that she's The Girlfriend. I mean, who knows. Maybe it is actually a juicy part, but it kinda sounds like it's being puffed up. Of course Jones is a smart actress, so maybe she'll do something amazing with it, like Anne Heche did with the coulda-been-bland Wife character in Donnie Brasco. But it's quite possible that she'll just be The Girl in a big boy story. Which, sigh. That must be a bummer. You're an up-and-coming young actress fresh off a big Sundance hit and most of what you get handed afterward is a bunch of Girlfriend roles. Who knows, we could be wrong. Maybe she's the crux of the movie! Jones was also recently cast in the sequel to The Amazing Spider-Man, in which she'll likely play some sort of girl. [Deadline]
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Oscar presenters have been announced! Not all, but some. All four of last year's winners — Jean Dujardin, Meryl Streep, Octavia Spencer, and Christopher Plummer — have agreed to come back to hand the trophy to the gender-opposite person who wins in their comparable category. A mangled way of saying that Meryl Streep gives out Best Actor, etc. Well, at least we assume that's how it's going to work. It's possible that they're slowly building a contingent to recreate that thing where a bunch of previous winners make a ritualistic semicircle on the stage and copiously praise each nominee. (Haha, only for the acting categories, of course.) It doesn't seem likely, but it's certainly possible. And let's hope they do! Sure it's cheesy as hell, but it's so remarkably jerk-offy to watch that it's pretty mesmerizing. Actors think actors are really, really amazing, guys. Really. [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Here is a full trailer for Fast & Furious 6, the completely necessary movie that was teased in an ad during the Super Bowl. All your old Fast & Furious friends are back, from Jesse to Zachery Ty Bryan's character from Tokyo Drift. Just kidding, those jerks aren't in it. But Tyrese and Ludacris and The Rock and Vin and Paul and, gasp, Michelle Rodriguez all are. It's foolish at this point to pretend you're not excited, so just go with it. Be excited. These movies are always a stupid good time, and there's nothing wrong with that.
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And here is Jennifer Love Hewitt singing "I'm a Woman" as a promo for The Client List. I dunno. It is what it is. Remember when Jennifer Love Hewitt was a singer? Well, she'd like you to remember. So here this is. Shrug.
