Move Over, Miley?
Is the onscreen competition between Miley Cyrus and fellow tween Disney sensation Selena Gomez about to get real?
I’m told Disney executives are so worried about Cyrus’ recent controversies that, more than ever, they want to make Gomez an even bigger star.
The 15-year-old Gomez now stars in the Disney Channel hit Wizards of Waverly Place, but last year she appeared on two episodes of Hannah Montana as Mikayla, one of Hannah’s pop star rivals.
“Selena sings and acts and is really young,” a source reports. “She is going to be the next Miley Cyrus. [Disney executives] really want this.”
Next up for Gomez is the Warner Bros. movie Another Cinderella Story, scheduled for a fall release. No surprise, but I’ve just learned that Gomez has recorded several new songs for the flick.
“The studio has high hopes for this,” says my source.
But a Disney rep insists there are no plans to try and replace Cyrus in any way with Gomez.
“We are fortunate to work with a host of young actors and actresses who are each unique and making their own trajectory based on their talent,” the rep said via email this morning. “However, Wizards of Waverly Place is a bona fide hit with kids and families, and licensees and retailers are indeed interested in the series. As for Selena, she deserves all the success that’s coming her way.”
Note to Gomez: If Vanity Fair comes calling, wait a few years before calling them back.
Teresa Palmer is Wonder Woman?
The big news today is the supposed casting of Wonder Woman in the big screen Justice League movie. Moviehole claims that Teresa Palmer may have scored the role. Yes, she’s blonde, but hair can always be dyed. They wouldn’t make Wonder Woman blonde would they? A couple weeks ago we mentioned that Palmer was part of a group of actresses who had auditioned for George Miller during the marathon casting sessions in Hollywood.
Age 21 years of age, Palmer is the youngest of the bunch of Wonder Woman hopefuls. Her publicity materials list her as 5′ 5¾”, which is considerably shorter Amazon character who is known for her curvaceous long legs. The modern day character is 6′3″ while the older version was much shorter (5′11″ was “amazonian” height for a woman in the 1960’s). Palmer starred in December Boys and The Grudge 2.
Again, this casting has not been 100% confirmed by the studio. But looking over the past hopefuls for the role worries me a bit. Does Warner Bros have any idea what they are doing with this film? It’s beginning to look a lot like the JJ Abrams Star Trek casting, young actors with little to no name value.
Jesse Eisenberg cast in SuperBad Follow-up, Adventureland
The Squid and the Whale star Jesse Eisenberg is set to star in SuperBad director Greg Mottola’s next film Adventureland.
“I play a lot of directors’ awkward stages in their lives,” Eisenberg revealed to MTV, adding that the comedy won’t be nearly as broad as “Superbad.” “It’s probably closer [in tone] to ‘The Daytrippers.’”
Based off Mottola’s own experiences at the Long Island amusement park, Adventureland is a period comedy film set in the 1980’s which follows a college graduate who was prepared to spend his summer in Europe before starting Grad School. But when his father is laid off, he is now stuck at his home in Long Island, NY. He is forced to bet a job at a local amusement park called Adventureland where comedy ensures and love blossoms. Filming is set to begin this October in Pittsburgh.
Eisenberg is one of the better young actors working today. If you haven’t seen him in The Squid and the Whale or Roger Dodger, please add those movies to your netflix list now. I just recently caught him in The Hunting Party, which was also very enjoyable.
Allison Mack Biography
Allison Mack (born July 29, 1982) is a German-American film and television actress.
She was born in Preetz, Germany, but moved to the United States when she was two.
She then began studying at The Young Actors Space in Los Angeles when she was seven. She currently stars as Chloe Sullivan on the WB series Smallville. She and co-star Kristin Kreuk have become close friends.
Mack began acting at the age of four in commercials for “German Chocolate”. She then went into modeling for a short period because her mother thought she “looked cute in clothes.” Her first major TV role came in an episode of the WB series 7th Heaven, where she gained a lot of attention playing a teenager who cut herself.
In 2000, she starred in two short-lived series: Hiller and Diller and Opposite Sex. She also starred along-side Sam Jones III in an R. L. Stine miniseries The Nightmare Room. Her filmography includes Eric Stoltz’s directorial debut My Horrible Year!, where she plays a girl having great difficulties in her life as she turns sixteen, and Camp Nowhere.
In the summer of 2006 Mack’s voice will be heard as the sister of the main character in the Warner Bros. CGI movie, The Ant Bully.