vanessa hudgens Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch has been like a rare jewel of girl power with its all female cast, but a little testosterone never hurt anyone, especially if belongs to Jon Hamm. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Hamm has just signed on to be the sole man on set against the likes of Emily Browning, Jena Malone, Abbie Cornish, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, and Carla Gugino.

As you know, the film centers on a young girl named Baby Doll (Browning) who is sent away to a mental health institution by her stepfather. He intends to have her lobotomized in five days time, and the horror of that sends her and her fellow inmates planning for an escape in a twisted Alice in Wonderland world of adventure and ass-kicking. THR notes that Hamm's role is being kept under tight wraps, that he's only known to be playing someone named High Roller. But given what major role has yet to be cast, I'm willing to bet he's playing the stepfather. I wouldn't be surprised if we see Hamm doing a bit of Captain Hook duty, and popping up as the antagonist of the girls' dream world as well.

Between the cast, the concept, and the girl sized t-shirt, there's not much more Snyder could add to this film to make me long for 2011 more than I already do. But something tells me he'll find room for some 300 and Watchmen cast cameos, and then the wait will really become unbearable.

How do you reconcile a potentially naked Disney star with a director of extreme violence -- and a PG-13 rating? Director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead, 300, Watchmen) recently suggested that he might deliver a PG-13 rated film for the first time in his career, but without softening the action of his upcoming Sucker Punch. Now comes word that Disney star Vanessa Hudgens "will strip naked" for her role as a prostitute in the film, according to Metro UK.

Except that she doesn't actually say that. Her actual quoted words are: "I'm playing a character named Blondie and it's set in a brothel in the 1950s, so there's not a whole lot of clothes." From that, the publication surmises that she'll be naked. More likely, she'll be dressed in revealing, sexy outfits that don't show as much as her leaked private photos did (which reportedly showed everything). Unless, of course, Snyder plans to shoot additional footage that can then be released as part of an "unrated" or "director's cut" version for DVD and Blu-ray, while keeping a PG-13 rating in mind for theaters.

Whatever the case, at least this is one bit of casting news for the film that has been nailed down. Hudgens was previously reported to be "in talks." Emily Browning will star alongside Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, and Jamie Chung. Described as "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns," Sucker Punch starts production this fall and aims for an October 2010 release date.

It's about time. After pulling off one hell of a comeback, shedding Doogie Howser, and becoming the bad, lascivious thorn in Harold and Kumar's side, then kicking butt as all things evil in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Neil Patrick Harris is finally getting a starring feature gig, plus another supporting role. The Hollywood Reporter posts that NPH will star in a new indie comedy called The Best and the Brightest, and offer some support to CBS Films' Beastly.

First, the starring gig: Co-written and to be directed by Josh Shelov, the film focuses on a Delaware couple who move to the Upper East Side and get embroiled in the world of private kindergarten -- probably not the sort of gig any of us were expecting. Harris will happy-with-his-status dad while Bonnie Somerville plays mom, who is quite class-aware. On top of them, the cast boasts Amy Sedaris, John Hodgman, Peter Serafinowicz, Bridget Regan, Kate Mulgrew, and Christopher McDonald. Not too shabby at all.

Now the supporting gig: Have you heard about Beastly, that modern Beauty and the Beast revamp that will star Vanessa Hudgens and Mary-Kate Olsen? Well, get ready for this: NPH will play a blind tutor who helps Alex Pettyfer after he gets "turned into a hideous young man." It's too random for me to even imagine how this will play out.

Are you happy with this latest bit of news, or were you hoping for something entirely different to come out of NPH's How I Met Your Mother break?

Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch has been a revolving door of casting and schedule conflicts. Last month, the film lost Amanda Seyfried but quickly replaced her with Emily Browning. Now, he's cast Jena Malone and Jamie Chung, who have stepped in to replace Evan Rachel Wood and Emma Stone, respectively.

Wood and Stone were both forced to drop out due to schedule conflicts and as of now, only Abbie Cornish and Vanessa Hudgens remain out of the original line-up, which was always in negotiation anyway.

But don't despair, because every casting report gives us a bit more of its grindhouse plot. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Malone will be playing Cornish's younger sister, both of whom have the unfortunate luck to be locked in this hellish mental institution. Chung will be playing Annie, "a country girl with a big heart." (I want to add "as big as all Texas" but I'm not going to jump to geographical conclusions. Maybe she's from West Virginia or Tennessee.)

There's not much more to say about the casting, except that I'm glad to see a little diversity by way of Chung, and I'm uncertain about Malone. She's certainly a very respectable young actress (and co-producer these days) but she always comes off so brittle and humorless. Maybe all she needs is a part like this where she can cut loose and have fun ... and how can you not have fun with a film like this? It's a laugh just writing about it.

Yesterday there was a rumor that a new video was premiering on Funny or Die called Zac Efron's Pool Party, and that it starred the most random cast ever assembled. Well, it was real, it's now online (watch it below), and it stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Thomas Lennon, Queen Latifah, Nicole Ritchie, Carmen Electra, Justin Long, Brody Jenner, Lance Bass, Brittany Snow, Jessica Stroup, Chelsea Staub, Jessica Rose, Nicole Sullivan, Joel Madden ... and the list goes on. Granted, I'm not very familiar with some of these kids because I'm, well, sorta lame and out of touch with the hottie youth circles -- but when you bring a group like this together, I'd assume you're guaranteed to take away a few decent laughs, right?

Well ... I'll admit this ain't the funniest piece of viral action I've ever seen from Funny or Die, but it's cute and it has its moments (Justin Long's underwater antics cracked me up, and both Lennon and Sullivan steal every scene), and I'd watch it if you've got a few minutes to spare. Basically, the set up is that Zac Efron is hosting a pool party for this friends when his nasty, trailer-park uncle (Lennon) shows up with his equally-as-trashy girlfriend (Sullivan). Hilarity ensues. Check it out below and let us know what you think.

Losing your lead actress might daunt some directors, but not Zack Snyder. Snyder doesn't sleep, he waits -- and he already has a replacement for Amanda Seyfried. Entertainment Weekly reports that Emily Browning will take on the role of Baby Doll in Snyder's upcoming Sucker Punch.

You probably best remember the Australian-born Browning as the young Angelina Jolie lookalike in A Series of Unfortunate Events -- and if you're a guy, you've probably been counting the days for her to grow up, which she did in this year's The Uninvited.

I haven't seen enough of Browning to say if she's a better lead than Seyfried or not. She's definitely dabbled more in the Gothic than Seyfried, who was an appealing pick precisely because she hadn't played dark and violent yet. She's the kind of girl who shouldn't land in a mental institution, whereas Browning (and I'm going purely off Unfortunate Events) looks as though she might expect it.

Shooting is still set to begin in the fall, and EW is still reporting that Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone remain "in talks," so we could still see some faces come and go. Schedule conflicts are really killing off the cool casting this year.

Shortly after Watchmen's second weekend in theaters, word began to spread that because the film was a financial failure, Warner Brothers would stop making R-rated superhero movies (even though Watchmen wasn't really a "superhero movie") and start concentrating more on PG-13 superhero movies, like The Dark Knight (which should've been R-rated). Confused yet? But that's not stopping Warners from taking wild chances on other R-rated material, like Zack Snyder's $100 million all-female "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns," Sucker Punch -- due to begin production this fall (with an October 2010 release date), starring Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone

So they can't make an R-rated Batman movie, but line up an all-female cast on an original script set in the 1950s with no established audience and, heck, Warners will throw a good $100 million at it. Why not? The NY Observer says they'd be "shocked" if the studio actually moves ahead on this project, now that lead Amanda Seyfried has dropped out -- coupled with the fact that the last time they gave Snyder over a hundred million, he gave them a film that won't even come close to making that money back. Is Sucker Punch really that much of a gamble, or will the idea of hot young starlets kicking ass bring the horny teenage fanboys (and girls) to theaters in droves?

Personally, I like that Warner Bros. is taking these risks. And maybe they can afford to with The Dark Knight cleaning house and three more Harry Potter films on the way, but if we're not going to get our hardcore R-rated superhero movies, then there needs to be a happy medium. They need to satisfy that audience with something cool and flashy, like Sucker Punch.

What do you think? Is Sucker Punch a risky investment considering what happened to Watchmen? Or do you think the all-female action film will be too hot to resist?

Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch just lost its Baby Doll, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Amanda Seyfried had been tapped to play Baby, the unlucky girl whose sleazy stepfather locks her up in a mental institution and schedules her for a lobotomy.

The reason is one that seems to be damning a few actresses this spring -- schedule conflicts. Sucker Punch was scheduled to shoot in the fall, the same time as the fourth season of HBO's Big Love. HBO won't release her from her commitment, and apparently doesn't want to work around it. (There's a joke about fundamentalist Mormons and compounds here, but I'm not going to make it.)

It's a shame, as Seyfried really fits the "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns" theme Snyder's film is aiming for, and she's one of the most promising young actresses around. She's been picking smart scripts lately, and the idea of seeing her dabble in action was a pretty cool one.

There's no word on who might step up to replace her. Just about every other young up-and-comer (Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone) were negotiating to join, so the pickings are slim. One of them might be able to angle for the lead now that Seyfried is gone. Or maybe Snyder should look to someone even younger -- is Emma Watson free?

Not one to take a breather, Zack Snyder is immediately launching into his next project (and his first original script), Sucker Punch.

I don't want to get all gushy and fangirly, but this might just be a film for the girls who identified with this. It might even be a film that embodies the Bechdel Rule. It's an R-rated, $100 million dollar action movie set in the 1950s, and it centers on a girl imprisoned in a mental institution by her evil stepfather. Due to be lobotomized, she loses herself in a fantasy world where she dreams about escaping with her fellow inmates. Or, as Snyder describes it, it's "Alice in Wonderland with machine guns."

Entertainment Weekly reports that Amanda Seyfried is in negotiations to play the lead, and that Evan Rachel Wood, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, and Emma Stone are also in talks. Production doesn't start until fall, so we could see a few of these faces shift, but I'm liking the line up so far.

But seriously, how cool is this? It's the exact opposite of the chick flicks we've been inundated with of late -- and while I don't think violence and ass-kicking automatically make a film feminist, it's a step in the right direction.
Even Snyder is cheekily aware of that: "I already did the all-male cast with 300, so I'm doing the opposite end of the spectrum."

If nothing else, it might just help Warner Bros reconsider that whole "no female leads" stance they took in 2007.

Looks like the High School Musical kids are starting to leave the nest, as Vanessa Hudgens may go the Megan Fox route and skip on over to slash her way through a horror flick. During an interview on the Comics to Comics podcast, Dead @ 17 creator Josh Howard said that Mike Dougherty (Superman Returns, X2: X-Men United) will adapt the Viper Comics series for the big screen and that High School Musical hottie Vanessa Hudgens is eying the lead role.

Dead @ 17 follows a girl named Nara Kilday who is killed and then reborn to fight demons. Sounds sorta like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, except everyone in the film is already dead. From Wiki: "Nara Kilday is killed, and finds herself mysteriously revived. She discovers she has to prevent the coming of Bolabogg, a demonic lord. This series also introduces Hazy Foss, her best friend, and Elijah, a friend of the two girls who Nara has a crush on. The mysterious Noel appears, who helps the three fight hordes of undead and other monstrosities. Nara banishes Bolabogg back to his realm."

I just can't get past the whole "who Nara has a crush on" part. Imagine being some dorky high school kid who finds out a really cute chick has a crush on you -- but then, crap, she's dead ... and she fights demons. Kinda nasty. Hudgens was also recently talked-about for a role as a werewolf in the Twilight sequel New Moon, but that may not be happening after all.

Which role would you rather her take on: A werewolf in New Moon or an undead demon fighter in Dead @ 17?