Daniel Radcliffe
Radcliffe was intrigued by acting at an early age, but his parents initially dismissed his aspirations until 1999, when he played the title character in a British TV-movie of David Copperfield and won...
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BirthDate BirthPlace |
07/22/1989
Fulham, London, England |
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Sundance 2013: James Franco's BDSM Porn, Drunk Policemen, and More — TRAILERS
January 17, 2013 12:44pm ESTThis year's Sundance Film Festival has only just kicked into gear, and has already launched some of the more interesting, and some of the strangest, prospects for the future of film. The Park City celebration of cinema has hosted several trailers for upcoming projects, with the trifecta of edgy subject matter: topics range from BDSM pornography (sex), to inebriated law enforcement officers (drugs), to the musical majesty that is Muscle Shoals (rock and roll). Check out a small collection of some of the trailers Sundance has yet to debut! Kink Notable creative forces: James Franco (producer) Premise: This documentary explores the lives and work of the men and women who run the BDSM fetish website kink.com, pulling back the curtain on a subculture that, even in the pornography industry, is considered taboo. Wrong Cops Notable creative forces: Quentin Dupieux (writer/director); Marilyn Manson, Eric Wareheim, Grace Zabriskie, Ray Wise (actors) Premise: The offbeat filmmaker behind oddball features like Rubber, Nonfilm, and Wrong delivers a story about a gang of incompetent, amoral police officers who aim to cover up an accidental shooting. Muscle Shoals Notable creative forces: Aretha Franklin, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bono, Alicia Keys, Steve Winwood, Jimmy Cliff, Wilson Pickett, Percy Sledge, Gregg Allman (featured subjects) Premise: A celebration of Muscle Shoals, Ala., from where record producer Rick Hall's FAME studio launched new waves of music as well as countless artists throughout the 20th century. [Photo Credit: RabbitBandini Productions] More: Sundance 2013 Line-Up Sports Daniel Radcliffe, Rooney Mara, Jessica Biel, and More 'Spring Breakers': Selena Gomez in the Darkest Damn Movie You'll Ever See — TRAILER 'Mud': Matthew McConaughey Might Be a Crazy Vagrant... Kind of Like Real Life — TRAILER Sundance Post-'Beasts': The Festival Is More Important Than Ever You Might Also Like: 100 Hottest Women of the Century: Do You Agree? Lance Armstrong’s Oprah Confession: 28 Revealing Quotes
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Hollywood.com at Sundance 2013: 10 Movies We're Dying to See
January 16, 2013 4:31am ESTThis year, Hollywood.com will once again be jetting off to Park City, Utah for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. For 10 days, the small mountain town becomes the epicenter for all things movies, with A-List stars and filmmakers from around the world congregating to get their taste of independent cinema. Sundance plays host to movies big and small, with comedies starring our favorite funny people, dramas sporting famous faces ready to blow us away, and complete unknowns ready to emerge as the next Beasts of the Southern Wild. Just because you've never heard of the director, lead actor, or lead actress doesn't mean the movie and its crew won't be walking the red carpet at the Oscars next year. This is where the journey begins. To prepare you for the discoveries to come, our two correspondents on the ground in Park City, Matt Patches and Brian Moylan, sifted through the hundreds of films playing the festival to whittle down a list of their most anticipated list. The top 10 has a little bit of everything — check out their picks and keep your eyes peeled for more Sundance coverage to come: ACOD We've seen Adam Scott and Amy Poehler fall in love on Parks and Recreation, but can we buy them as adversaries? Scott plays a befuddled guy (and inspiration for his shrink's self-help book) who is trying to broker peace between his long-divorced mother (Catherine O'Hara) and his father (Richard Jenkins), who is married to the zany Poehler. If this is half as funny as it sounds, it will be the funniest movie of the festival. — Moylan Ass Backwards Every Sundance has its handful of breakouts and with a costarring role in the David Sedaris adaptation C.O.G. and a prominent part (as well as co-writer credit) on the midnight premiere Ass Backwards, that festival star could be Casey Wilson. She's due for it too: a brief stint on Saturday Night Live led her to become a regular on Happy Endings, and now she has her own flick. Ass Backwards, which follows two women who "both tied for dead last in their hometown beauty paganent" way back when, sounds twisted in all the right ways. — Patches Before Midnight This past summer, Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, and director Richard Linklater headed to Summer to shoot the third entry in their "Before trilogy," the story that began with a romantic chance meeting in 1995's Before Sunrise and resurfaced for 2004's Before Sunset. Can the trio continue the magic by having the intertwined lives of Celine and Jesse connect again? With a heap of emotion invested in the fictitious pair, I sure hope so. — Patches Blue Caprice Sundance's NEXT category features a slate of low, low-budget films contending with the star-driven movies that have now become a staple. They're usually amazing too, which is why I'm keeping an eye on Blue Caprice, a black and white docudrama that puts us in the middle of the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, all from the perspective of the shooters. My heart is racing already. — Patches The East Brit Marling and director Zal Batmanglij blew attendees minds in 2011 with their cult sci-fi thriller Sound of My Voice and they return this year to Sundance with a project that's equally mysterious. The East focuses on a contract worker infiltrating an eco-terrorist group — not too dissimilar sounding from Sound of My Voice. Marling returns, joined this time by Ellen Page and Alexander Skarsgård. A larger scope should give Batmanglij more playing room, and even more of a chance to repeat their previous success. — Patches Kill Your Darlings Daniel Radcliffe makes his first Sundance appearance playing poet Allen Ginsberg during his days at Columbia University. With a bevy of great actors (including Dane DeHaan, Ben Foster, Michael C. Hall, Jack Huston, Elizabeth Olsen), Kill Your Darlings may approach the biopic with recognizable indie sensibilities, but it's on our radar just to see if Radcliffe has a real dramatic life after Potter. — Patches NO What do we want for Sundance? Socially conscious indies from around the world that make us think while being entertained, right? Well, that and pictures of celebs in ski gear. No one will be skiing in this Chilean movie where Gael Garcia Bernal plays a real-life ad man in the '80s who engineered a campaign to get voters to oust dictator Augusto Pinochet. This checks off every box in the Sundance requirements while seeming original at the same time. — Moylan Prince Avalanche After two misses with Your Highness and The Sitter, David Gordon Green returns to his indie roots for Prince Avalanche. Pairing two actors I can't help but love, Paul Rudd and Emilie Hirsch, the film should meld the director's penchant for comedy and past character study work. If it's a happy medium, it should be one of the festival's best. — Patches The Spectacular Now The addiction drama Smashed was one of the best movies to play 2012's festival. Director James Ponsoldt returns to Sundance with his next, The Spectacular Now, adapting similar themes (alcoholism appears to be an important part of the tale) to a story of adolescent relationships. Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, two up-and-comers with thoughtful work to their names, star, giving us hope that the movie digs deeper into youth culture than most Hollywood films would even allow. — Patches Two Mothers What's the only thing better than a movie about a woman falling in love with her best friend's son? A movie about two best friends falling in love with each other's sons! When the two mothers are played by Naomi Watts and Robin Wright (no more Penn) and directed by Anne Fontaine, it's sure to be a deep psychological insight about love and longing rather than the rom-com set up it sounds like. — Moylan What movies are you looking forward to hearing more about? Check out the films announced to play Sundance and tell us! Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches [Photo Credit: Benaroya Pictures] More: Sundance Post-'Beasts': The Festival Is More Important Than Ever 'Upstream Color': The Mysterious Sundance Premiere 10 Years in the Making — TRAILER Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Host 2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony From Our Partners: Megan Fox’s 12 Hottest Moments (Moviefone) Golden Globes: Tina and Amy’s Best Zinger’s (Moviefone)
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'Upstream Color': The Mysterious Sundance Premiere 10 Years in the Making — TRAILER
January 15, 2013 12:27pm ESTIf you were hoping to find out what the new movie and 2013 Sundance Film Festival premiere Upstream Color is about, the first trailer for the film, director Shane Carruth's follow-up to his 2004 indie breakout Primer, is probably not the place too look. Although gorgeous, the trailer reveals almost nothing about the plot other than the fact that Upstream Color is a movie with people in it, and it might make you long for a cold, sunny winter day. Here's what we do know, however: Carruth has kept a low profile since his ultra-low-budget 2004 Sundance hit, which he directed, wrote, produced, starred in, edited — he was also the cinematographer and composed his own music. According to the Los Angeles Times, Carruth plays those roles again in Upstream Color. "In the movie, a young woman (Amy Seimetz) is abducted and seemingly brainwashed via an organic material harvested from a specific flower. She later meets a man (Carruth) and after the two fall for each other, they come to realize he may also have been subjected to the same process," the Times writes of the movie's plot. What can we learn from the trailer? Upstream Color has the same quiet, low-fi vibe as the time-travel-oriented Primer — and appears to be just as confusing. Or, as the LA Times puts it, "densely layered." Carruth tells the paper that he hopes people will keep an open mind when watching his new movie nearly a decade after he first broke out. "What I don't want is this whole concept of it being a puzzle movie or Primer being a puzzle movie," Carruth told the Times. "That's not a fun little box to be in." Check out the trailer and judge for yourself. Upstream Color premieres at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, and will debut in New York in April before hitting digital and cable platforms. Follow Jean on Twitter @hijean [PHOTO CREDIT: ERBP] More: Sundance 2013 Lineup: Daniel Radcliffe, Rooney Mara, and More The Best Movies of Sundance 2012 A 'Ben-Hur' Reboot: How It Could Go Wrong or Right From Our Partners: Megan Fox’s 12 Hottest Moments (Moviefone) Golden Globes: Tina and Amy’s Best Zinger’s (Moviefone)
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Sundance bosses determined to keep the flu away from the festival
January 15, 2013 12:15pm ESTStaff from the Park City Medical Center will hand out 5,000 free bottles of hand sanitiser to visitors heading to the festival later this week (ends17Jan13) in an effort to make sure no one famous, like Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Daniel Radcliffe and Jessica Biel, catches the virus while checking out movies at Sundance. Utah health officials are also urging all visitors to get vaccinated before making the trip. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to jet into Park City for the 10-day indie film celebration. The Sundance caution comes just days after a number of stars admitted they were battling the flu at the Golden Globe Awards on Sunday (13Jan13) - winners Jennifer Lawrence and Hugh Jackman were both ill on the red carpet and Meryl Streep was so sick she had to pull out of presenting duties.
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Robert Redford in talks to bring Sundance to New York
January 11, 2013 4:00am ESTThe Hollywood veteran wants to expand his independent movie showcase, which is held annually in Park City, Utah, to the Brooklyn area, reports New York Post gossip column Page Six. According to the publication, Redford is in talks to launch a "large-scale New York festival" which would rival the city's yearly Tribeca Film Festival, which De Niro co-founded in 2002 with producer Jane Rosenthal. A Sundance spokesperson says, "We continue to seek new programmatic opportunities in regions across the country and internationally." The 2013 Sundance Film Festival will kick off in Utah next Thursday (17Jan13), and will feature movies from Hollywood stars Daniel Radcliffe, Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon and Amanda Seyfried.
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Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Host 2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony
January 05, 2013 8:19am ESTWe'll have to wait with bated breath to find out if, in fact, Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Star-Lord in the upcoming Marvel film Guardians of the Galaxy, but we know this for sure now: the actor, who is a big time movie star with some serious indie cred to boot, will host the 2013 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony. The Sundance Institute announced that JGL — who had a Ryan Gosling-like year of handsome ubiquity in 2012 with films like The Dark Knight Rises, Looper, Lincoln, Premium Rush, and that very memorable Saturday Night Live opening monologue — will be the emcee for the ceremony, which takes place on January 26 in Park City, Utah. (The event will be live-streamed on www.sundance.org/festival, for those who aren't lucky enough to see him in the flesh.) John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival, said in a statement, “Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s accomplished and original artistic perspectives have contributed greatly to Sundance Institute and the independent film community. As host, he is sure to add flair to our Awards Ceremony in similarly exciting ways, and we are thrilled that he will join us in recognizing outstanding achievements at this year’s Festival.” The star tweeted that he is "Honored & excited" to take on hosting duties. The JGL-hosted show will honor the feature films that play at Sundance (the 31-year-old actor has starred in Sundance darlings like (500) Days of Summer and had his own short film Sparks debut at fest back in 2009), while awards for the short films will be handed out at a separate event. The Sundance Film Festival kicks off on January 17 and runs through the 26th. Be sure to check back to Hollywood.com for all our up-to-the-minute Sundance coverage. [Photo credit: WENN.com] More: Sundance 2013 Line-Up Sports Daniel Radcliffe, Rooney Mara, Jessica Biel, and More Joseph Gordon-Levitt a Superhero After All? Marvel Eyes Him For Next Franchise — REPORT Joseph Gordon-Levitt Won't Play Batman in 'Justice League,' But We Can DreamFrom Our Partners: ’Buckwild’ Stars Talk ‘Jersey Shore’ Comparisons: ‘I Ain’t Paying For No Tan’ (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) (Celebuzz) Oscars 2013: Best Picture Race Is Down to ‘Lincoln’ Versus ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (Moviefone)
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WENN 2012 Hollywood quiz
January 01, 2013 4:00am EST1. A slew of stars were given the honour of carrying the Olympic torch on its tour around the U.K. over the summer, but not everyone was granted the opportunity to run with the flame ahead of the London 2012 Games - who missed out on the occasion? a. Daniel Radcliffe b. Sir Patrick Stewart c. James McAvoy 2. Which country was Tom Cruise filming in when Katie Holmes filed for divorce? a. France b. Iceland c. Canada 3. Which Baldwin brother took legal action against Kevin Costner amid allegations he was cheated out of profits after selling his shares in an oil filtering business? a. Daniel b. Alec c. Stephen 4. In August, actress Jennifer Aniston got engaged to Justin Theroux, her co-star in which movie? a. Horrible Bosses b. Wanderlust c. He's Just Not That Into You 5. Saucy summer blockbuster Magic Mike was based on which actor's real-life experiences as a stripper? a. Joe Manganiello b. Matthew McConaughey c. Channing Tatum 6. In July, actress Kristen Stewart confessed to an "indiscretion" with the director of which of her films? a. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 b: Snow White and the Huntsman c. The Runaways 7. Which celebrity couple got married in 2012 without first getting engaged? a. Anne Hathaway and Adam Shulman b. Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied c. Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds 8. Actress Kristin Chenoweth was critically injured on the set of which hit U.S. TV show last summer? a. Glee b. The Good Wife c. Hot in Cleveland 9. What is the name of the actor Sienna Miller welcomed her first child with in 2012? a) Jude Law b) Tom Sturridge c) Rhys Ifans 10. Sally Field had to beg Steven Spielberg for an audition to play Abraham Lincoln's wife Mary Todd in the critically acclaimed biopic Lincoln. Why? a) She was too old b) She was too fat c) She was too famous 11. What was the name of Daniel Radcliffe's first feature film release of 2012 following the end of the Harry Potter franchise? a. The Lady in Red b. The Woman in Black c. Lady Jane Grey 12. Which famous British actor took on a starring role in the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony reciting verses from William's Shakespeare's The Tempest? a. Hugh Grant b. Rowan Atkinson c. Kenneth Branagh 13. Which Hollywood star married actor Adam Shulman in California in September? a. Natalie Portman b. Miley Cyrus c. Anne Hathaway 14. Halle Berry lost a bitter custody battle with her ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry over their daughter in November. What is their child's name? a. Nahla b. Simba c. Naomi 15. This Hollywood hunk can normally be found fighting for a good cause but in 2012 he was chosen as the rather unusual frontman for Chanel's signature fragrance, Chanel No5. Who is he? a. Brad Pitt b. Colin Farrell c. George Clooney 16. Which actress despaired that she 'looked like her gay brother' after an extreme transformation for a movie role? a. Penelope Cruz b. Anne Hathaway c. Jennifer Lawrence 17. Which actress named her new baby daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence? a. Tina Fey b. Uma Thurman c. Jemima Kirke 18. Which British royal was hospitalised during the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee? a. Charles, Prince of Wales b. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh c. Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge 19. Which TV legend was laid to rest four months after losing his battle with cancer? a. Sherman Hemsley b. Dick Clark c. Larry Hagman 20. What is the name of the 2012 Bond movie? a. Skyscraper b. Skyfall c. Skylander 21. Jennifer Lawrence played the lead role in movie hit The Hunger Games. What was her character's name? a. Katniss b. Katnip c. Katbliss 22. Which film won the Oscar for Best Picture? a. Moneyball b. The Artist c. Hugo 23. Which film star did NOT get married in 2012? a. Matthew McConaughey b. Daniel Craig c. Anne Hathaway 24. British actress Carey Mulligan married which member of musical group Mumford and Sons in April? a. Marcus Mumford b. Ben Lovett c. Ted Dwane 25. Name the only surviving member of the original cast of Dallas who was not part of the hit TV drama's 2012 reboot. a. Charlene Tilton b. Steve Kanaly c. Victoria Principal 26. Which veteran porn star has been immortalised in two movie biopics due out this year? a. Linda Lovelace b. Ron Jeremy c. Sasha Grey 27. Which moody movie star was dramatically rescued by coast guard workers after becoming stranded during a kayaking trip off the coast of New York in September? a. Colin Farrell b. Dustin Hoffman c. Russell Crowe 28. Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese joined forces again in 2012 to shoot their fifth movie project - but what is the name of the new film, due for release this year? a. The Beast of Broadway b. The Monster of Manhattan c. The Wolf of Wall Street 29. Which movie won the coveted Palme d'Or prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival? a. Amour b. Cosmopolis c. The Paperboy 30. In November, movie hardman Sylvester Stallone launched a stage musical version of which of his famous film franchises? a. Rambo b. Rocky c. The Expendables 1. a 2. b 3. c 4. b 5. c 6. b 7. c 8. b 9. b 10. a 11. b 12. c 13. c 14. a 15. a 16. b 17. b 18. b 19. a 20. b 21. a 22. b 23. b 24. a 25. c 26. a 27. c 28. c 29. a 30. b
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Natalie Portman and Kristen Stewart are Forbes magazine's most bankable stars
December 27, 2012 4:00am ESTNatalie Portman and Kristen Stewart have topped a new list of Hollywood's most bankable stars. Portman leads the pack on Forbes magazine's countdown of Hollywood’s Best Actors For The Buck, returning $42.70 (£26.70) for every dollar studio bosses spend on her, thanks mainly to her leading role in indie film Black Swan. Stewart is second, on the strength of her Twilight films and this year's (12) Snow White and the Huntsman, returning an average of $40.60 (£25.40). Shia LaBeouf, Robert Pattinson and Daniel Radcliffe round out the top five. Earlier this month (Dec12), Eddie Murphy topped Forbes' list of the Most Overpaid Actors of 2012. He returned an average of just $2.30 (£1.40) at the box office for every dollar he earned. You Might Also Like: Surprise! Kate Winset Marries Ned Rocknroll: Wedding Details 20 Hot (and Horrifying) TV Nude Scenes
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20 Biggest Breakout Stars of 2012
December 18, 2012 11:03am ESTOn the screen (big or small), the airwaves, and in the bookstore, we were captivated by new talent in 2012. From fresh faces with fresh voices, like Lena Dunham and Rebel Wilson, to veterans who were really given the chance to shine this year, like Channing Tatum and Jonathan Banks, here are the 20 stars that grabbed hold of our attention in 2012 — and we hope won't let go any time soon. TV's Breakout Stars Lena Dunham She may be a polarizing figure, but even naysayers can’t deny that this was the year of Lena Dunham. The writer/director/producer/author/actress barreled right into the upper echelon of entertainers with her stripped down, brutally honest HBO series Girls and rolled right into a $3.6 million dollar book deal. And all this at the age of 26. As her Girls character Hannah Horvath mumbles while high on opium tea: Dunham’s not necessarily the voice of her generation, but she’s certainly a voice of a generation. Plus, Louis C.K. agrees that what she’s doing is “important,” and he’s pretty tough to argue with. Max Greenfield In just one season, Max Greenfield's wonderfully douchey character Schmidt joined the ranks of classic singularly named sitcom sidekicks like Kramer and Fez. Greenfield's nuanced performance as the (actually quite insecure deep down inside) Schmidt helped make New Girl into one of the best comedies on television, and forever changed the way we said "chutney." Mindy Kaling After years of toiling away behind a desk on The Office, Mindy Kaling is finally front and center in her Fox comedy The Mindy Project. Don't let the crappy name fool you, the comedy about a ditzy doctor looking for love in a crazy office is more original and off-kilter than it would suggest. Jessica Paré It would be impossible to sing the praises of the brilliant Season 5 of Mad Men without singing the praises of the sexy, talented woman who sang 2012's most unexpected viral sensation: "Zou Bisou Bisou." Whether you loved or hated Paré's Megan, her impact on the show this season was undeniable. Chris Messina Every girl needs a guy to drool over, right? For Mindy Kaling, it's the somewhat jerky macho man played by Chris Messina on The Mindy Project. With character turns in Argo, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and recurring spots on Damages and (ugh) The Newsroom, this dreamboat hasn't had any time to rest. Damian Lewis As war hero turned terrorist turned (maybe?) CIA ally Sergeant Nicolas Brody on Showtime's acclaimed series Homeland, Damian Lewis kept us on the edge of our seats Sunday after Sunday. Despite Claire Danes' quivering chin's attempt to steal every scene, Lewis' Brody acted as the show's emotional heart. In 2012, Lewis took home the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy he so deserved. Jonathan Banks When an actor has been in the game as long as Jonathan Banks has, making a career on dozens of supporting and guest roles, it’d take a superhuman performance to launch him to the forefront of the pop culture conversation. After two years as Breaking Bad’s no-nonsense backup player Mike Ehrmantraut, Banks earned colossal notoriety with his turn in the AMC series’ fifth season. Mike, always a well liked character, became the show’s central pull when Banks instilled in him the strength, frustration, and pain that award-caliber performances are made of. His rise and fall as a prominent player in the business dealings of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and in his own relationship with his beloved granddaughter exhibited everything the crime drama mainstay Banks had at his disposal, about which we might never have known. Thankfully, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan gave this once nameless character the spotlight this year, placing in Banks' capable hands the show’s pulsing humanity. Up Next: The Biggest Breakouts on the Silver ScreenMovies' Biggest Breakouts Quvenzhane Wallis It always sparks chatter when a newcomer to the acting game gives a breathtaking performance — but Quvenzhane Wallis is the extreme. A five-year-old first-time actor at the time of her role in the magnificent tearjerker Beasts of the Southern Wild, Wallis doesn’t just take your breath away, she lays claim to your entire respiratory system. No performance in all of 2012 was bigger than young Wallis’. Despise her age, she managed to not only to keep up with director Benh Zeitlin’s Earth-shattering parable for the tragedies of Hurricane Katrina, but she launched the story to otherworldly levels of emotional resonance. Wallis’ role in the feature has attracted her to great auteur Steven McQueen, which means that she’ll be enjoying a long, steady career of quality projects as long as she might wish to. Ezra Miller Considering readers’ devotion to Stephen Chbosky’s classic, life-affirming novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the celebration of the book’s big screen adaptation is all the more impressive. One of the most important elements in the construction of such a perfect adaptation is the casting, one of the many areas in which writer/director Chbosky triumphed: Logan Lerman was a terrific Charlie and Emma Watson a stellar Sam. But standing out among them was Ezra Miller, who brought so much life and humor, so much pain and turmoil into the character of Patrick that you’ll forget you ever imagined him in another light. Earlier in the year, Miller dazzled and horrified as the tormented teenage star of We Need to Talk About Kevin, inspiring shivers and tears with his incarnation of the dark, disturbed main character driven to horrible violence. As such, we can call Miller’s range boundless. Rebel Wilson It’s no small feat to steal the spotlight from comedy bigwigs like Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph, especially when you only have a few short lines in the entire movie – but that’s exactly what Rebel Wilson did in Bridesmaids. This hilarious Aussie comedian became a household name after that, going on to star in another raunchy wedding-themed film Bachelorette, and becoming the first person cast in the collegiate a capella comedy Pitch Perfect. Dane DeHaan DeHaan looks like a young Leonardo DiCaprio — meaning he would have been fine taking easy parts that capitalized on his good looks. Luckily, in 2012 the actor did so much more than that, parlaying his time on In Treatment into a string of roles in risky works like Chronicle, Lawless, and Lincoln. 2013 is also looking bright, with The Place Beyond the Pines, a sprawling family drama that debuted to raves at this year's Toronto Film Festival, arriving in the Spring, and Sundance 2013 premiere Kill Your Darlings, which DeHaan costars in alongside Daniel Radcliffe. Oh, and he just landed a juicy part in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, in case all that heavy material was starting to scare you. Channing Tatum “An hour [to sum up] the year? Am I supposed to just scratch the surface of Channing Tatum's meteoric rise?" We feel your pain, Liz Lemon. There's no way this entry would do justice to the year Tatum had, what with his People's Sexiest Man Alive title and eclectic, surprising performances on the big screen (Magic Mike, 21 Jump Street, The Vow). It's his world now, we're all just just happily living in it. Scoot McNairy After his impressive turn in the 2010 sci-fi indie film Monsters, it was only a matter of time before Hollywood picked up on McNairy and wrangled him for bigger features. Going quiet for more than a year, McNairy dominated the Fall award season with eclectic roles in Argo, Killing Them Softly, and Promised Land. The actor held his own against big names like Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, a nearly impossible task made easy by McNairy's ability to slip into any shoes, from criminal junkie to farmhand to Iranian embassy worker. Up Next: Music and MoreThe Biggest Breakouts of Music, Sports, and Literature Ryan Lochte Though he may now be the world’s most famous “Sex Idiot” per 30 Rock, Ryan Lochte broke out in 2012 thanks to his skills in the pool. At least initially. After winning five medals in London during the Summer Olympics, Lochte’s fame grew thanks to his go-to exclamation ("Jeah!"), his economy of words (“I like swimming because racing”), and of course, that grill. Oh, and he’s pretty hot too. Phillip Phillips Despite his extensive health problems (which plagued him through his run on American Idol), Phillips has managed to carve out a nice little fan base with his ubiquitous hit “Home.” After winning the Fox singing competition, Phillips recorded his first and only Mumford and Sons-ish single, sending it straight to NBC as the theme of this year’s Summer Olympics in London. Now, the familiar trotting and cooing of Phillips’ musical equivalent of comfort food can be heard just about everywhere. If only that album of his would come our way a little faster! Ed Sheeran If you turned on the radio at some point this year, you know who Ed Sheeran is. This English singer-songwriter is best known for his hit, “The A Team,” and for co-writing “Little Things,” “Over Again,” and “Moments” for super group boy band One Direction. He also played at the Olympics' closing ceremony and co-wrote (and is heard on) Taylor Swift’s track “Everything Has Changed.” Frank Ocean This year, Ocean broke out of his role as a ghost writer for big acts like Justin Bieber and John Legend and released one of the most beloved albums of 2012, Channel Orange, which features singles like “Pyramids” and “Sweet Life” characterized by subdued rhythms, experimental elements, and haunting melodies that music-lovers quickly embraced. But it wasn’t simply his talent and flair for innovation that shined in 2012, it was his bravery. Ocean became one of the first openly gay hip-hop artists in mainstream music, and was quickly embraced for his openness in a world often characterized as homophobic. Jess Walter With six novels and a prestigious journalism career under his belt, Jess Walter is in no way a newcomer. However, his extraordinary novel Beautiful Ruins not only snagged a spot on the New York Times's 100 Notable Books of 2012, but also made him a household name. Walter's sweeping tale of love, which spans five decades and takes us from the Italian countryside in the 1960s to Hollywood pitch meetings in the present day, is the kind of story that stays with you. Walter is similarly a talent who is sure to weather the ages. Gillian Flynn Gillian Flynn's first two novels (Sharp Objects and Dark Places) earned critical acclaim and book awards buzz, but no book made more of a splash this year than Flynn's tightly written thriller Gone Girl. The eye-catching black and neon cover was a subway staple, and book clubs all over the country discussed the novel's big twist at length. Now, Flynn is in talks to adapt her suspenseful tale of betrayal and murder to the big screen, ensuring we'll see much more of her, as well as her unforgettable characters, Nick and Amy, in the years to come. E. L. James After the year she's had, E. L. James hardly needs an introduction. In 2012, James transformed from a British housewife writing Twilight fan fiction in her spare time to the year's best-selling author (for her erotic Fifty Shades trilogy). She was named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World, and one of Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People. Not too shabby. [Photo Credit: WENN (2); INF Photo] More: Staff Picks: The 15 Best TV Shows of 2012 (And the 5 Worst) Play it Again: The 12 Best Albums of 2012 The 20 Best Movies of 2012 (and the 5 Worst) You Might Also Like: 20 Hottest Bikini Bodies of 2012: Megan Fox and More! Honey Boo Boo vs. Kardashians: An Xmas Card Showdown
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How Do You Measure Up? 'The Hobbit' Height Chart
December 14, 2012 12:41pm ESTBilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins, only three feet tall. Bilbo! Bilbo! Bilbo Baggins, the bravest little hobbit of them all! Now that we've mastered the tricky language of Middle-earth and learned how to remember which hobbit is which just in time for the release of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, in theaters Friday, it's time to brush up on the varying heights (yes, they vary) of Tolkien's inventions. Bilbo (played by Martin Freeman), as Leonard Nimoy so wonderfully helped us remember through song, is only three feet tall. But what about the others who put the "bit" in hobbit? This Tolkien fansite puts eleven of the thirteen dwarves between four-and-a-half and five feet, while Thorin (Richard Armitage) aka "the tall dwarf" is estimated at 5' 2". This got us thinking, who else in Hollywood could join the hobbits and dwarves along on their travels? Jersey Shore star Snooki is a very hobbit-like 4 '8", while actress Kristen Bell could easily go on an Unexpected Journey at just 5' 1". Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe could cross franchise boundaries as he stands at 5 '5" and Tom Cruise, who could add some more star power, is just 5' 7". Check out our Hobbit height chart line-up below. [Photo credit: Wenn (4); Warner Bros] More: The Hobbit Inspires Trolls Vs. Dwarves — The Pop Culture Journey Remember All the Hobbit Dwarves with This Mnemonic DeviceThe Hobbit: What the Heck is a 'Warg?' Middle Earth Vocabulary For Non-Nerds You Might Also Like: 20 Hottest Bikini Bodies of 2012: Megan Fox and More! Honey Boo Boo vs. Kardashians: An Xmas Card Showdown
