GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 06-05 – In Santa Monica, CA

Happy belated birthday to Mark! He’s 38 years old.

GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 05-28 – Leaving the doctors office in Beverly Hills

Leo will also star in the new David Simon/HBO series Treme and several other projects.
Source: Paste Magazine

Most specifically, the casting company is looking for people that meet the following requirements for open roles in the film:

Everyone who attends the casting call must bring a headshot and resume or a current photo and biography to the audition.

The Fighter is a full feature movie that profiles the life of professional boxer Micky Ward, who is originally from Lowell, Massachusetts. Although the film was put on hold for some time, it was expected that it would reunite co-stars from The Departed, Mark Wahlberg and Matt Damon.
Source: Lowell.com

GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 05-17 – Leaving Toast Restaurant [HQ]

GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 05-08 – Leaving Umberto Salon in West Hollywood

“The Fighter” is the true life tale of Boston fighter “Irish” Mickey Ward (played by Wahlberg), who was coached to the world lightweight championship by his half-brother, Dicky Eklund (played by Bale). After suffering a number of defeats, Ward was ready to retire until pushed back into the ring by his brother.

Eklund had once racked up a number of welterweight boxing wins, and fought Sugar Ray Leonard before succumbing to a life of drugs and violence. After serving over 10 years in prison, he returned to the ring as Ward’s coach, and pushed him to victory. Sadly, it was a victory that was short-lived as Eklund remains troubled by drugs and violence to this day.

“The Fighter” has been around Hollywood’s boxing ring for a few years, attracting a lot of big names along the way. It was once set to be helmed by Darren Aronofsky, and was originally to star Matt Damon and Wahlberg. Damon left and was replaced by Brad Pitt, but the project stalled and Aronofsky moved on. Wahlberg has remained attached to the film, and kept up the punishing training required to play Ward.

Despite the interest of Bale and Russell, the project is still uncertain and Relativity Media has stressed that negotiations are still in process. If everyone signs and gets in fighting shape, “The Fighter” will jump into the filming ring this July.
Source: MTv.com

In fact, he says, the film version of Alice Sebold’s best-selling novel about teenager Susie Salmon, who watches from heaven as her family collapses after her murder, is downright uplifting.

“I found the book to be curiously optimistic,” Jackson says by e-mail from New Zealand, where he’s finishing the film. “I felt inspired by Susie’s struggle to come to terms with her own death. In the face of overwhelming grief, she finds hope.

“She holds on to love, and by doing so, she transcends the horror of her murder.”

Don’t expect Lord of the Rings-style special effects to create a nether world, Jackson says. The film, which stars Saoirse Ronan as Susie and Stanley Tucci as her killer, proved one of Jackson’s toughest, particularly scenes of the child’s afterlife.

“It’s God-less in the sense that when Susie dies, she finds herself caught in a place between Earth and heaven — she is in an ‘In-Between,’ as Alice Sebold calls it.” When she moves on, “we’re happy for audiences to imagine this new world in whatever way makes them comfortable.”
Source: USA Today

While Abberton was keen on the idea when it was first floated last year, Crowe – who will co-produce the film – has insisted that it must be true to Australia.

“Why would you do that?” Crowe told UK Sky News yesterday of the Wahlberg rumour.

“That’s like asking Gary Oldman to be in Romper Stomper – it takes away from one of the important things about it.

“This is a great Australian story and it belongs to the Australian film industry … it’s all well and good to finance it from overseas because film is an international medium but we’ve got great actors in our country.”

The film – My Brother’s Keeper – is based on a book by Charles Miranda and Angela Kamper, journalists with The Daily Telegraph.

It is the story of the killing of eastern suburbs standover man and convicted rapist Anthony Hines by Abberton’s brother Jai – and the aftermath in which that saw him acquitted of murder.

Crowe helped negotiate sale rights to US film company Universal, and said the project was well advanced.

Crowe also gave the firmist indication yet that he may direct it.

He said: “We’re on our third different take on the story, probably on our second draft of our third take.

“We’re now in a place where we’re trying it a third way, and it’s a little more satisfying in terms of the punch of the overall film.”

As for his role above co-producer, Crowe said: “It may be (director) or it may end up being something that I’m interested in …

“(Something) that I shepherd for a while and hand on to someone else.

“I go kind of hot and cold with it, whether it’s something I specifically want to do.

“But it’s set up in the right way and has the right production company attached to it, who are not impatient.”
Source: News.com.au

GALLERY LINKS:
• Candids from 2009 – 04-11 – Out and around in Beverly Hills