Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll to Star in MGM+’s Upcoming Series “Earth Abides”

Posted on June 25, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Rodrigo Fernandez-Stoll has land a planet-sized role.

The part-Latino Canadian actor, writer and producer will star in Earth Abides, a fresh take on George R. Stewart’s classic sci-fi novel of the same name for MGM+.

In Earth Abides, when a plague of unprecedented virulence sweeps the globe, the human race is all but wiped out. In the aftermath, as the great machine of civilization slowly and inexorably breaks down, only a few shattered survivors remain to struggle against the slide into extinction.

Written by showrunner Todd Komarnicki), the limited series starring Alexander Ludwig and Jessica Frances Dukes comes from MGM+ Studios and executive producers Kearie Peak and Lighthouse Productions’ Michael Phillips and Juliana Maio.

Fernandez-Stoll, whose latest credits include Ghosts and Priscilla, will play Jorge. A civil engineer in his native Venezuela, Jorge finds his purpose once more amongst the San Lupo community.

Aaron Tveit wlll star alongside Fernandez-Stoll in Earth Abides, which will debut on MGM+ in late 2024.

Other new cast members include:

Rodrigo Elyse Levesque (Orphan Black) will play Maurine, who is beautiful but troubled. Used to a life of wealth and sophistication, past traumas have left her despondent.

Luisa D’Oliveira (The 100) will play Molly, a doctor with a deep-rooted strength and directness. Molly is a supportive and dependable force within the community, helping many through their struggles while hiding her own.

Birkett Turton (iZombie)will play Ezra, a former music club owner who is full of personality. Everything about him sets Ish on edge.

Hilary McCormack (Killjoys) will play Jean, once a mesmerizing musician and singer who is now a loving mother and recovering addict.

Jenna Berman (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) will play Evie, a young autistic woman with radiant beauty who finds peace in art.

Kearie Peak and Michael Phillips (The Sting), along with Juliana Maio, serve as executive producers. Komarnicki serves as writer and showrunner. Additional writers include Karen Janszen, Tony Spiridakis, Evan Hart, and Kyle Stephen.

Bronwen Hughes is set to direct the pilot and episode two. Rachel Leiterman will direct episodes three and four, and Stephen Campanelli will direct episodes five and six.

Earth Abides is distributed worldwide by Amazon MGM Studios Distribution.

Jacob Elordi Nominated for BAFTA Film Rising Star Award

Posted on January 10, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi’s meteoric rise continues…

The 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor has been nominated for the prestigious BAFTA Film Rising Star Award 2024 by the by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Following his breakout roles in The Kissing Booth film trilogy and Euphoria, Elordi led Saltburn opposite Barry Keoghan, Amazon Prime Video’s BAFTA-nominated psychological drama from Emerald Fennell. He also starred as Elvis Presley in the biographical film Priscilla.

Elordi will compete against Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri, Mia McKenna-Bruce, who led hit British indie film How to Have Sex, and Talk to Me’s Sophie Wilde.

Nominees were announced by actor and producer Stephen Graham at a press conference hosted by film critic and radio host, Ali Plumb.

The jury, chaired by Anna Higgs, BAFTA Film Committee Chair, featured actors Daisy Edgar-Jones, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Himesh Patel, casting directors Lucy Bevan (The Batman), and Nina Gold (Game of Thrones), film producer Adam Ackland (The End We Start From) alongside leading industry specialists.

Last year’s gong was won by Sex Education’s Emma Mackey and previous winners include Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, John Boyega and Tom Holland.

“These remarkable individuals represent what BAFTA and the EE Rising Star Award stand for as the future of the film industry, embodying innovation, dedication, and a commitment to storytelling that captivates audiences worldwide,” said BAFTA CEO Jane Millichip.

Host Ali Plumb added: “Each rising star talent deserves this spotlight, having provided extraordinary performances serving as inspiration for the next generation.”

Jacob Elordi to Star in Guillermo del Toro’s Netflix Film “Frankenstein”

Posted on January 8, 2024 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi is preparing for a monstrous role…

The 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor will form part of the all-star ensemble cast of Oscar-winning filmmaker’s Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein at Netflix.

Elordi will play the iconic monster, replacing Andrew Garfield, who fell out due to strike postponements that led to scheduling conflicts.

The Saltburn actor joins a cast that includes Christoph Waltz, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley and Christian Convery.

Oscar Isaac, who will play Victor Frankenstein, and Mia Goth are set to star in the pic.

del Toro is writing, directing and producing alongside J. Miles Dale, who served as a producer on del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities for Netflix.

The classic Mary Shelley novel follows Victor Frankenstein, a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a creature to life in a monstrous experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.

del Toro has been developing the Frankenstein project for some time and long has wanted to make a movie centered on the iconic story. It is unknown whether his version would be a period pic or set in modern times.

Elordi has had a busy stretch with multiple awards-season films bowing including the Amazon MGM Studios film Saltburn, in which he starred opposite Barry Keoghan. He also played Elvis Presley in A24’s Priscilla directed by Sofia Coppola.

“Priscilla” Star Jacob Elordi Reportedly Appearing at Upcoming Venice Film Festival

Posted on August 27, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi is bringing his blue suede shoes to Italy…

The 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor will reportedly make an appearance at this year’s Venice Film Festival despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, according to Deadline.com.

Sources tell the entertainment sire that Elordi, who portrays Elvis Presley, and Cailee Spaeny, who portrays Priscilla Presley, will appear to promote their film Priscilla, directed by Sofia Coppola.

The film also has an interim agreement with SAG-AFTRA, which would allow for the cast to promote the film. Priscilla Presley is also among the contingent.

Sofia Coppola is set to attend the festival alongside the following filmmakers: David Fincher, Michael Mann, Richard Linklater, Woody Allen, Yorgos Lanthimos and actor-turned-director Jack Huston. Some directors attending are WGA members but will be there “as directors.”

The landmark 80th Venice Film Festival kicks off next Wednesday and runs until September 9th. It opens with Italian WWII action film Comandante. The fest was due to open with the Zendaya starrer Challengers but that film backed out of the slot due to the strike.

Mubi Acquires Distribution Rights Across Multiple Territories for “Priscilla,” Starring Jacob Elordi as Elvis

Posted on August 22, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi’s king of all projects is going global…

Mubi has acquired the rights across multiple territories for Sofia Coppola’s upcoming feature Priscilla, starring the 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor as Elvis Presley.

The announcement comes ahead of the film’s world premiere in Competition at the 80th Venice Film Festival.

Under the deal, the global film distributor, production company and streaming service will retain all rights in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, Latin America, Benelux and Turkey.

The company is planning to release the drama theatrically in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Latin America, Belgium and Netherlands, starting in 2023, and will announce release dates soon.

The Match Factory is handling sales for the rest of the world excluding North America and Italy, which have been previously announced as pre-sold respectively to A24 and Rome-based Sky Italia subsidiary Vision Distribution.

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Priscilla is based on the 1985 memoir Elvis and Me co-authored by Priscilla Presley and Sandra Harmon.

Cailee Spaeny stars as Priscilla opposite Elordi (Euphoria, The Kissing Booth) as Elvis, with Dagmara Dominczyk also featuring in the cast.

The official synopsis reads: “When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend. Through Priscilla’s eyes, Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla’s long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.”

The production released a teaser trailer for the film back in June, showing quick shots of the Presleys’ story, from her school girl years and his Army days through marriage, pregnancy, parenthood and fame.

The film unites Coppola with a number of long-time collaborators including cinematographer Philippe Le Sourd, costume designer Stacey Battat, editor Sarah Flack and production designer Tamara Deverell.

The Match Factory is handling international sales for both films.

The Venice Film Festival runs August 9 to September 9.

Jacob Elordi’s “Priscilla” to Have North American Premiere at This Year’s New York Film Festival

Posted on July 20, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi is bringing his blue suede shoes to the Big Apple…

Film at Lincoln Center has set Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, starring the 26-year-old half-Spanish Australian actor as Elvis Presley, as the Centerpiece selection for the 61st New York Film Festival.

The A24 film starring Cailee Spaeny as Elvis’ wife, Priscilla Beaulieu, will make its North American premiere at Alice Tully Hall on October 6.

The festival runs from September 29 to October 15, opening with Todd Haynes’ May December starring Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore.

Never has there been a more obsessed-over icon than Elvis Presley, yet no one knew him more tenderly than Priscilla, whose story as Elvis’s romantic partner and only wife has rarely been told from her perspective.

Coppola, who often depicts women living complicated lives behind closed doors, follows Priscilla’s love affair with Elvis, played by Elordi, from her early years as a teenage army brat in West Germany to her surreal arrival at Graceland.

“I am honored to be back at the New York Film Festival with my new film and to be telling Priscilla Presley’s story, the unseen side of a great American myth,” said Coppola. Her screenplay was based on Priscilla Presley’s 1985 memoir Elvis and Me.

Coppola’s On the Rocks (2020) and Marie Antoinette (2006) were NYFF selections.

“Priscilla is a culminating triumph for Sofia Coppola, a filmmaker with a singular gift for illuminating the interior lives of her characters,” said Dennis Lim, the festival’s Artistic Director. “It’s a showcase for a pair of star-making performances and a work of tremendous empathy and emotional nuance. We are looking forward to welcoming Sofia back to the festival with one of her very best films.”

Coppola was the second woman to win Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival for The Beguiled (2017). Her other films include directorial debut The Virgin Suicides (1999), Lost in Translation (2003 Oscar, Best Original Screenplay), Somewhere (2010 Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival), The Bling Ring (2013) and A Very Murray Christmas (2015).

She served as producer on Fairyland (2023). She also directed a production of La Traviata at the Rome Opera House alongside Valentino and production designer Nathan Crowley.

Priscilla’s cinematography was handled by Philippe Le Sourd, with original music by Phoenix.

Jacob Elordi to Star in TV Adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Novel “The Narrow Road to the Deep North”

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi has narrowed down his next project…

The 24-year-old Spanish-Australian actor and Euphoria star will serve as the lead in Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant’s limited series adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North.

Kurzel and Grant’s adaptation had been in development with Fremantle for several years but Sony Pictures Television has taken rights and Sony’s recently-launched Australian label Curio Pictures will produce.

Elordi, who is best known for playing Nate in HBO smash hit Euphoria, will play Dorrigo Evans, an army surgeon whose brief love affair with Amy, the young wife of his uncle, sustains and haunts him through his darkest days as the reluctant leader of men prisoners in a Thai-Burmese camp during World War II.

The book won the 2014 Booker Prize and was critically acclaimed for its themes of war, marriage and love.

Kurzel is directing, Grant is writing and the pair are executive-producing alongside Flanagan, Porter and Rachel Gardner.

“The character of Dorrigo Evans requires a multi-layered actor who can bring strength, sensitivity and charisma to the role – qualities Jacob has in spades,” said Porter. “Together with the creative powerhouses of Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant, there couldn’t be a more exciting team to bring this important novel to life.”

Elordi broke out in Netflix YA smash The Kissing Booth. He starred in Euphoria creator Sam Levinson, Zach Helm and Adrian Lyne’s Hulu feature Deep Water earlier this year and is playing Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla opposite Cailee Spaeny.

Jacob Elordi to Star as Elvis in Sofia Coppola’s Film “Priscilla”

Posted on September 12, 2022 by Tom Castaneda

Jacob Elordi has got a tale to tell…

The 25-year-old half-Spanish-Australian actor will star as Elvis Presley in Sofia Coppola’s film Priscilla, about the King of Rock and Roll and his wife.

Coppola will direct the feature film, which is based on the memoir Elvis and Me by Priscilla Beaulieu Presley.

Cailee Spaeny will portray Priscilla Presley opposite Elordi as Elvis.

Published in 1985, Presley’s intimate account of her life with Elvis became a New York Times Bestseller and an international sensation. Coppola adapted the script as well.

Coppola had reportedly been eyeing this film for some time as her follow-up to On The Rocks and began putting the pieces together to the film off the ground by this fall. While she met with a number of actors for the Elvis role with Elordi ultimately landing the highly coveted role, Spaeny has been her top choice from Day 1 for the role of Priscilla.

The film will shoot in Toronto in the Fall.

Elordi is best known for his roles as Noah Flynn in Netflix‘s The Kissing Booth teen film franchise and Nate Jacobs in the HBO series Euphoria.

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