Role Call: Smooth Criminal

by · February 14, 2016

This week, we find a Tom Felton of Biblical proportions, learn about the dozens of new projects our favorite Harry Potter alumni have signed on to do, and watch Gary Oldman fulfill his dream of becoming a rock star. All that and more in MuggleNet’s weekly Role Call!

Well, the verdict is in! A Bigger Splash made a big splash at the box office last week with positive reviews popping up right and left. In a particularly positive review, the Nottingham Post found Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) to be an absolutely alluring piece of the film’s plot.

Sharing its title with a 1967 David Hockney painting, A Bigger Splash is energized by Fiennes’ unflinching portrayal of an emotional wrecking ball.

A Bigger Splash is currently in theaters, capturing audiences of all kinds with its raw, eccentric, and emotional story set over a salty Mediterranean backdrop.

Emma Watson (Hermione Granger) has been cast alongside Tom Hanks in the upcoming film adaptation of the The Circle. Adapted from the book written by Dave Eggers, the story of The Circle strikes a chord as it discusses society’s attachment to technology.

The story centers on a young woman (Watson) who joins a social-media company. After getting pressured by the company’s founder (Hanks) to step in front of the camera, she attracts a vast group of followers and finds her identity threatened by her brush with the spotlight.

A theatrical release for this film is still being figured out, but we will tell you as soon as new details about the film unfold.

Did you catch How to Get Away with Murder last Thursday night? Well, in case you didn’t know, the show that has millions of people on the edge of their seats returned on February 11, following the suspenseful winter premieres of Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. If you’re like me and the only thing you remember from the previous episode was Alfred Enoch’s (Dean Thomas) character, Wes, shooting Annalise in the stomach (OMG, WHAT?!), you for sure need a recap of the show.

How to Get Away with Murder is an undoubtedly confusing show, so luckily before the show aired on Thursday night, the cast tweeted out a crash course in the events that lead up to the newest episode. Watch the video below to have the cast lead you through the past episodes or catch up with more detailed looks at flashbacks and predictions from Entertainment Weekly or TVLine. No matter what, we are definitely in for some drama this season from our very own Alfred Enoch and the rest of the Keating Five.

It was announced this week that the Wells Film Festival will hold an Alan Rickman (Severus Snape) tribute on its last day. To pay homage to Rickman, the festival will close with a screening of A Little Chaos, which he directed. Charles Hazlewood, a world-renowned conductor and close friend to Alan Rickman, will open the tribute by giving an introduction to the film and talking about the legacy Rickman has left behind. The tribute will take place at the Wells Film Centre on Sunday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m.

On February 8, a tribute concert was held at The Roxy in honor of David Bowie, where several celebrities turned up to perform some of their favorite songs. Among these celebrities were Ewan McGregor, Seal, and none other than Gary Oldman (Sirius Black). Watch below as Oldman steals the show as he sings “The Man Who Sold the World”.

The trailer for Gary Oldman’s newest Criminal was also released this week, giving us a glance into this insane movie’s plot:

In a last-ditch effort to stop a diabolical plot, a dead CIA operative’s memories, secrets, and skills are implanted into an unpredictable and dangerous death-row inmate in hopes the he will complete the operative’s mission.

Watch the trailer below for a glimpse into the movie that takes confusion to a whole different level and catch Criminal in theaters on April 15!

John Hurt (Mr. Ollivander) has signed on to star in the upcoming film That Good Night, in which he plays a once-famous screenwriter preparing for death.

Hurt’s character has two final wishes in life: to be reconciled with his long-lost son, and to ensure he doesn’t become a burden on his wife by hiring a mysterious ‘visitor’ to help him pass painlessly; however, his wishes do not go to plan.

Hurt is thrilled to be playing this character and had nothing negative to say about his role in this upcoming film:

I [am] very much looking forward to putting all the jigsaw pieces together that make up this fascinating and paradoxical character.

That Good Night begins shooting in March across locations on the Algarve coastline of Portugal as well as at GSP’s studio facilities in Yorkshire, England. Additional casting is expected to be revealed soon, but until then, we are so excited to see John Hurt play this dramatic role!

David Tennant continued filming for R.D. Laing’s biopic, Mad to be Normal, this week and was spotted around Yorkshire at Scampston Hall. In the film, Scampston Hall will be featured as a Hampstead mansion and the scene of a party. Most recently used as the setting for BBC’s An Inspector Calls, Scampston Hall offers a beautiful and unique backdrop for the film. Mad to be Normal follows the story of R.D. Laing, a controversial psychiatrist who became somewhat of a cult figure in the 1960s and 1970s. The biopic has only been filming for a couple of weeks, but it is expected to be released later this year. Catch a couple pictures snapped from the filming of Mad to be Normal below!

John Williams (composer for the first three Potter films) will be performing at the Hollywood Bowl this summer alongside a slew of other talents. The Hollywood Bowl takes place in Los Angeles, California and hosts a lineup of performances ranging from rock, to jazz, Americana, classical, and a lot more. Acting as conductor, John Williams will be performing September 2-4 alongside the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

It was announced on Twitter this week that Tom Felton‘s (Draco Malfoy) Risen will be released in Australia on February 18. The film is expected to be released in the US one day later, on February 19, after being delayed in November.

A clip of Risen also surfaced this week and shows the discourse between Tom Felton’s and Joseph Fiennes’s (Ralph Fiennes’s brother) characters. Risen follows a non-believer named Clavius (Fiennes) trying to figure out what happened to Jesus Christ after the Crucifixion.

Tom Felton_Risen

In this clip, we see Lucius (Felton) cornering Clavius, who is leading a group of men to escape the soldiers who are on their trail. Check out the clip below to find out what happens in this tense scene and catch the movie in theaters this month!

Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange) is currently in negotiations to star in the upcoming biopic JT LeRoy. The biopic will be based on the memoir of Savannah Kroop who was behind the complicated ruse of JT LeRoy:

A woman who pretended to be a man who identifies as transgender, tricking the rich and famous in Hollywood, the fashion world and elite literary circles.

James Franco has signed on to appear in the film and Kristen Stewart is currently in negotiations, like Bonham Carter. JT LeRoy is in the pre-production stage with a 2016 production start date planned.

Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle) will walk the Glasgow Film Festival red carpet for the UK premiere of her new movie, Urban Hymn. The film will premiere on February 19 at the festival, where Shirley will attend post-screening discussions about the film.

Urban Hymn follows Shirley’s character, Kate, who, in the aftermath of the London riots, goes from working as a sociology lecturer to a residential care worker. Kate eventually develops a bond with a belligerent teenager, a relationship that shows the human story about how two damaged individuals can come together in the midst of struggle. Check out the Glasgow Film Festival’s trailer for Urban Hymn below!

Warwick Davis (Filius Flitwick, Griphook) had a bit of fun this week with the kids at Coningsby St. Michael’s School who were having a Hogwarts-themed school sleepover. Both the kids and the staff dressed up in Potter attire and then were treated to a personal video by Davis inviting them on a Hogwarts journey. The children received tickets to catch the Hogwarts Express at Platform 9 and 3/4 and were then Sorted into Houses by the school’s very own Sorting Hat. Davis, who played the Charms professor in the Potter films, even led a Charms class for the students. The sleepover also included games, wand making, and potion brewing, a truly magical experience! See some pictures of this Potter sleepover below and let’s hand one to Warwick Davis for keeping the magic alive for all of these children (and the staff of course).

Earlier this week, Brendan Gleeson (Alastor Moody) accepted the leading role in the upcoming crime comedy Mr. Cranky. Gleeson’s casting is the first to come for this project, but we can expect more casting to follow, as the plot for the film has already been released.

When a gangland war erupts thanks to crime boss Kevin Darcy’s (Gleeson) short temper, his ex-girlfriend becomes the victim of a car bomb intended for him, and he finds himself saddled with her seven-year-old daughter. More used to putting people to sleep with his fists than bed time stories, it would seem Kevin has finally met his match in the precocious Angela who’s quick to enforce her own rules on clean language. Against the odds whilst lying low on the glitzy Gold Coast, the unlikely pair soon form a bond to rival any father daughter relationship, with a little help from Candy, an under qualified nanny.

However, trouble has a way of finding Kevin and it’s not long until he’s being pursued by a drug-dealing circus clown, Lebanese hitmen, a gang of Hells Angels and the long arm of the law, all the while becoming a better father and a better man.

We are excited to see how Gleeson portrays this unblinkingly dramatic role. Mr. Cranky is set to shoot sometime in September, in the hopes of an eventual release in early 2017.

Brendan Gleeson will also be starring alongside Emma Thompson (Sybill Trelawney) in drama-thriller Alone in Berlin at the Berlin Film Festival next week. As we said in last week’s Role Call, the film follows a German couple who start an anti-Hitler campaign during World War II after learning that their son has been killed on the front line. The story is based on the book Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada, which memorializes the lives of Otto and Elise Hampel, who resisted the Nazis in the 1940s.

The first official screening of the film at the festival will be on Monday, February 15, but there will be several subsequent screenings until February 18. If you are unable to make the festival, have no fear! The film has recently been acquired by several entertainment companies, allowing others to see it sometime in the near future. Until then, check out some of the stills from the movie below!

Stephen Fry (voice of UK Potter audiobooks) will be producing the upcoming British dark comedy Croak, which also stars David Thewlis (Remus Lupin) as the lead. Croak is based on the film’s director, Kevin Thomas’s, short film Sunday Roast, which takes a comedic look at the film industry. In addition to starring in the film, Thewlis also wrote the script, drawing from his experience from writing his first novel The Late Hector Kipling in 2007, a dark comedy like the film. Croak is currently in pre-production with filming expected to start in July 2016.

Colin Farrell, who was recently cast as Graves in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, will be headed to US theaters next month in his upcoming film The Lobster. Set in a dystopian not-so-distant future, The Lobster follows a world where single people are rounded up and sent to a hotel where they have 45 days to fall in love. If after the 45 days they fail to find a partner, they are transformed into an animal of their choice and released into the wild.

I think we can all agree that this movie follows a plot unlike anything we have ever heard before, but I am mighty interested to see how it plays out. Colin Farrell stars as a recently divorced man who checks into the hotel with his brother, who just so happens to be a dog. Watch the trailer for The Lobster below and catch it in US theaters March 11!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNkvCtLnl9g

Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew) has been nominated for a BPG (Broadcasting Press Guild) Award for his role as Maurice Grosse in The Enfield Haunting. The TV miniseries follows the stories of the famous Enfield poltergeist in 1977, who allegedly caused a series of bizarre and terrifying events at an ordinary house in Enfield, North London. Catch the BPG awards on March 11 and see the three-part miniseries of The Enfield Haunting on AETV.

A first look for the second season of Clémence Poésy’s (Fleur Delacour) The Tunnel was released this week, hinting at an intense backdrop for the upcoming season. As glimpsed in the teaser below, a gigantic plane crash in the English Channel brings a new meaning to chaos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoKslEoVdOU

The upcoming season brings with it a whole new crop of stars and a thrilling plot:

When a plane crashes into the Channel, killing everyone on board, Karl (Stephen Dillane) and Elise (Poésy) are faced with bigger questions; forging connections from the clues thrown up by a vast field of debris… This thriller moves between the coasts of Kent and Northern France via the Eurotunnel, against a backdrop of a continent in crisis.

The second series of The Tunnel, The Tunnel 2: Debris, will return to Sky Atlantic early this year, reuniting the Anglo-French detective duo played by Dillane and Poésy.

Clémence Poésy also recently joined the cast of Final Portrait, directed by Stanley Tucci. The story of the film will be adapted from James Lord’s 1965 memoir, A Giacometti Portrait.

The film will focus on the relationship between American art critic James Lord and his friend, Swiss painter Alberto Giacometti, whom Lord decides to sit for a painting for not realizing he is totally unprepared for his demanding nature.

The film is currently in pre-production, but it will begin shooting in a month at Twickenham Studios and on location around London.

That’s all for this week’s Casting News. Which movies are you most interested to see? Did you love Gary Oldman toasting to David Bowie? Let us know in the comments!