I am a simple woman: I watch any movie starring Rosamund Pike. Ladies First stars Sacha Baron Cohen and Pike. Therefore, it was a must-watch for me, and I overall enjoyed it. Like many of the film’s critics, I think it could have done a few things better, but Ladies First’s heart is in the right place.

It’s a movie that uses multiverses to tell the story of a man coming to understand his privilege. I wish it were more similar to some of the best movies about multiverses, because then its messages may have been a little stronger. Nonetheless, unfortunately, Ladies First covers some topics of gender equality that remain relevant.

Warning: Ladies First spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

Ladies First Acts As a Reminder That Gender Equality Is Still An Issue Today

Damien (Sacha Baron Cohen) is a misogynist who cannot see women beyond sex objects. He then gives one of the most self-involved, out-of-touch-with-reality speeches ever put to film. He believes life is now harder for him as a heterosexual, white male. He believes society now caters to the marginalized to become more politically correct. The thing that makes Damien’s speech hard to watch is that so many men actually believe this nonsense.

They think the world now makes things harder for them, despite proof that white men still dominate many fields, and sometimes it’s the main criterion to obtain a powerful position. You almost believe that movies such as Ladies First shouldn’t exist anymore. Surely people have evolved past that reductive way of thinking? Many men cannot think of women just in terms of what they can do for them, right?

You can find many podcasts, influencers, books, or articles written by men with these ideas that women are inferior and so deserve fewer opportunities. Thankfully, it’s not as normalized as it was in the past. Additionally, many men disagree with this behavior and thought process. It’s not a common thing, but still too popular for people who cannot understand beyond their own worldview. They relate to Damien and men like him in Ladies First.

It Made Me Think Of Similar Movies & Wonder If They Still Work In Modern Times

Ladies First isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s a remake of a French film called I Am Not an Easy Man. What Women Want, 9 to 5, Hidden Figures, and many other great movies that may be ideal for something such as Women’s History Month often deal with the idea of tyrannical men who undervalue and dismiss their female employees or just exhibit sexist behavior. Damien fits right along with many of these men.

It takes something drastic for them to understand their problematic behavior. I have seen What Women Want, 9 to 5, and Hidden Figures. I know Hidden Figures still holds up as an excellent movie celebrating inspiring Black figures. It also highlights gender equality in a very fascinating way. I rewatched 9 to 5 a few years ago, and I believe it still works and is still very funny. It’s one of the best movies of the 80s for a reason. Now What Women Want is a movie I saw so long ago, and now I have no clue if it holds up.

It feels the most similar to Ladies First, so very curious if it offers insightful commentary on gender equality, or totally misses the mark. Ladies First made me want to review films similar to it to see if they aged well and how relevant or irrelevant they are to today’s landscape.

I Actually Enjoyed Ladies First's Romance, But Feel Conflicted About It.

I don’t believe I have ever watched Sacha Baron Cohen in a romantic comedy. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting him to have some of the romantic lead charm. He does. Rosamund Pike and he have instant chemistry as Alex and Damien. You almost want them to get together, despite how repulsive Damien is at times.

However, this is nowhere near one of the best rom-coms of all time for many reasons. The main being that Damien never earns her love or trust. It also appears that he only sees her as a real person (in the alternative universe) when they become intimate. He realizes that he likes her, so he doesn’t want to take away an opportunity.

It makes his final decision feel a bit disingenuous, almost as if he’s doing it to eventually win her over romantically. Additionally, there are so many moral dilemmas when an employee sleeps with their boss. Damien doesn’t tell the lawyers that they slept together, and it’s treated as a noble deed. However, Alex should be reprimanded for sleeping with an employee, just as a male boss should be, especially if coercion is involved. It isn’t in this case, but it’s a gray area when corporate romances happen.

I enjoyed Alex and Damien’s romance because of their chemistry, but the nature of it felt a bit off-putting because of the power dynamic and boundary issues.

The Movie Effectively Showcases The Awfulness Of Certain Male Archetypes

Damien has 0 likeable traits at the start of Ladies First. He doesn’t really become that likable by the end of it either. He just becomes more tolerable. Damien is portrayed and written as an extreme example of this type of behavior, but it still exists. Too many men act and think like Damien. They are just as unlikable as him.

Men like him lack self-awareness, so they could see the character’s behavior and not realize the connection to their own behavior. However, it’s nice to see men like this mocked and reprimanded in movies, instead of celebrated in some spaces. We need more criticism of this type of man.

Damien's Character Growth Was A Little Unbelievable, But I Think That Doesn't Matter

Damien spends most of Ladies First trying to steal Alex’s job. He still has the mentality that he deserves it, but never truly demonstrates why. He just engages in a petty competition. The film itself points out that Damien still doesn’t understand that this is not his birthright as a man.

He only truly starts to grow and change when he and Alex have sex. He then makes the decision not to tell about this intimacy. If he did, he would have gotten what he wanted. Once Damien arrives back in his world, he immediately finds Alex and gives her what she wants. This leads to Alex and the company’s success.

I am never fully convinced Damien learned his lesson, but I think we need to see Alex have success. Ladies First isn’t a movie that’s going to change lives, but you never know what may inspire someone. Women and girls seeing Alex’s success may inspire or encourage them to stand up to their bosses, go after their dreams, or take on a challenge at work. It could also inspire men to be better bosses, more open, or stand up and be beside and behind women. Even silly movies can become powerful to the right audience.

There are major movie franchises, and then there's the James Bond movies. Generations have watched 007's adventures throughout the years, and seen how Amazon-MGM required the rights to the next chapter. For years fans have been wondering what actor would replace Daniel Craig as Bond, and Euphoria star Jacob Elordi recently got the thumbs up from one of his Saltburn co-stars. Since they've got experience in the franchise, the comment holds extra weight.

No Time to Die's ending saw James die, so the pressure is on for whoever is going to follow Daniel Craig's movies. Plenty of names have been tossed around online, including Elordi... who is actually Austalian and not English. During an interview with GQ, former Bond girl (and Saltburn star) Rosamund Pike addressed Elordi playing the MI6 agent, offering:

On top of looking great in a tux, Elordi has a hulking physicality that I think would lend itself well to the role of James Bond. At 6'5, he would be the tallest 007 actor, which would likely making him physically imposing on the screen. And since Pike famously starred as Miranda Frost in Die Another Day (which is streaming with a Peacock subscription) her opinion carries extra weight.

If Jacob Elordi actually ended up being cast as James Bond, it would jive well with reports that the studio is looking for a young actor to take on the role. At the time of writing this story, the Euphoria star is only 28 years old, and presumably could handle the physical toll of playing the beloved character. Although the fact that he's actually Australian IRL might work against him.

Personally, I'd love to see Jacob Elordi in Bond's signature tux. His starpower has been steadily growing for years now, including his recent Oscar-nominated performance in Frankenstein. And with his time on Euphoria coming to an end, the actor's schedule might be open enough to take on such a giant, years-long role. He's a wildly talented performer, but hasn't done a ton of action-heavy roles just yet. Besides, what actor wouldn't want to take on the role of James Bond?

Of course, there's been no indication that the studio is actually circling the Wuthering Heights actor about playing 007. But I maintain he'd be great, and so does Rosamund Pike. What we know about Bond 26 is extremely limited, and finding the right James Bond seems like a top priority. We'll just have to wait and see how lands the role, and if any of the fan ideas end up coming to fruition.

It's currently unclear when the 26th James Bond movie will hit theaters, so we'll have to wait for updates from Amazon-MGM. It's not on the 2026 movie release list, so fans will have to try and be patient.

There have been plenty of movies that swap gender roles in an attempt to bring attention to the disparities that roughly half of humanity face on a daily basis, and the latest of those Ladies First has dropped on the 2026 movie schedule. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Rosamund Pike, the new Netflix comedy imagines a world where women have all the power, but according to the reviews, the filmmakers aren’t as successful in their endeavors as they likely hoped.

Damien Sachs is the misogynistic ad exec at the center of Ladies First, who hits his head and awakens to a world where men are objectified for their appearance and regularly sexually harassed. However, according to William Bibbiani of The Wrap, the movie never finds the right balance between being a comedy and a morality tale. His Ladies First review reads:

Katie Rife of RogerEbert gives the movie 2 out of 4 stars, writing that it’s “shallow” to think that a society ruled by women would adopt the same practices as one run by men, and this simple turning of the tables feels outdated. However, the point is not to imagine a feminist utopia, Rife says:

Todd Gilchrist of Variety says the same thing in his Ladies First review, acknowledging that the new Netflix movie makes some good points, though nobody who needs to hear them is going to click on this particular title. It also feels outdated and doesn’t say anything that hasn’t been said in movies several times before. Gilchrist writes:

Frank Scheck of THR admits there are enough gags in Ladies First that some are bound to land, but that doesn’t change the fact that this movie is “hopelessly old-fashioned.” He writes:

Alex Harrison of ScreenRant rates the movie 3 out of 10, saying Ladies First actually perpetuates “the patriarchal thinking it purports to upend.” Instead of seeing an entitled man get what’s coming to him, we’re made to sympathize with the way Damien is treated and root for his success. It’s “insulting,” Harrison says and a “shameful misfire.” The critic continues:

It sounds like Ladies First isn’t connecting with critics the way the filmmakers likely intended, but despite the message possibly not coming through, it sounds like there are plenty of clever jokes and some laughs to be had. Don’t let the reviews deter you. If you want to check out Ladies First for yourselves, fire up that Netflix subscription, because the comedy is available to stream now.

Hallow Road is another movie that I had never heard of before hitting play. The Hulu subscription is one of my favorites, so I often scroll through it to see if there is a new or old TV show or movie that I need to watch. Hulu recommended Hallow Road to me, and I decided to watch it because I love Rosamund Pike.

Pike's one of my favorite actresses. Going into the movie completely unaware of the plot, I was pleasantly surprised. It instantly drew me into the mystery. Now, I can’t stop thinking about Hallow Road.

Warning: Hallow Road spoilers are ahead. Proceed with caution.

Hallow Road Works Best Because You Never Know What To Expect

Movies that manage to successfully confuse or shock me are my favorites. I am not often shocked because I usually try to figure out what happens next. I could not with Hallow Road. The film has one twist after another. It starts with parents Maddie (Rosamund Pike) and Frank (Matthew Rhys) trying to drive to help their daughter, Alice. The story continues to escalate until we’re left as confused and devastated as Maddie and Frank. I remember constantly being in a state of “what the heck is going on” while watching the film.

I wouldn’t necessarily rank the twists in Hallow Road amongst the most mind-blowing movie twists of all-time, but they kept me intrigued. Once the credits rolled, I was left needing a resolution. However, the movie even warns you that you’re not going to get that with Hallow Road.

The film takes chances, so I think that will divide the viewers, and some may even hate the twists to the point of throwing things, but I admire the film’s ambition. It was an imperfect film with many interesting ideas. It should be commended for not playing it safe and easy.

It Started As a Moral Dilemma Movie But Became More Sinister

I originally thought Hallow Road was just going to be another moral dilemma film. These parents want to save their child from the consequences of her actions. However, they shouldn’t. Alice kills someone and doesn’t fully accept responsibility. Frank is even willing to sacrifice his life to save her. Maddie is more aware that they cannot let Alice walk away free without consequences.

Maddie has her own guilt from not helping someone in need at her job as a paramedic. But the incidents are very different. Maddie doesn’t pay attention to health signs, and someone dies because of that. Alice acts recklessly by getting high and driving. Hallow Road is very much based on the moral dilemma of parents wanting to protect their children at all costs. They love Alice and don’t want to see her life ruined by one mistake.

However, actions should have consequences. Alice needs to atone for her mistakes and crimes. As Maddie and Frank struggle to decide what to do next, a couple appears who immediately have a creepy aura, even while on the phone. Eventually, they reveal themselves as people who want to punish Alice for her crime, and Frank and Maddie for allowing it. They seem like some sort of witch-like cult figures. They’re looking for young people to punish. Hallow Road does a great job of amplifying the horror elements in a limited space.

The film has some of the scariest phone call scenes that I have ever watched. That alone makes it worth watching.

I Had To Watch Hallow Road Multiple Times To Try To Understand It

I wouldn’t say Hallow Road is one of those movies that you want to watch over and over again. However, I think you need to watch it at least twice to pick up on a lot of small details that are important to the story. I watched Hallow Road twice and still don’t quite understand everything about it.

Nevertheless, I did pick up on more things watching it the second time. The film has a lot of clever camera work to build suspense and communicate the shattered family. I also feel like I understand each character more because I paid more attention to things said and done this time around. I know Alice is a bit spoiled because her parents had her young and probably devoted all their time and attention to her.

I remembered Maddie’s powerful story about what happened to someone she was trying to save. However, I didn’t realize during the first viewing that she had become closed off to her family because of it. The little detail with Frank judging Maddie for smoking in the beginning, to him smoking in the end stood out this time. I think Hallow Road is a movie that’s made to be watched multiple times. You need to understand it, but also appreciate how much work went into telling this complex story.

The Ending Left Me Confused But Intrigued

I still don’t quite understand the Hallow Road ending. I am not sure the film’s screenwriter, William Gillies, and director, Babak Anvari, want us to completely understand it. I think we’re supposed to have the same level of confusion and disorientation as Frank and Maddie. Hallow Road is another film with a confusing ending that becomes better because of it.

Maddie and Frank could be hallucinating, and they went into a state of shock when they discovered Alice’s body. The whole film is them hallucinating to cope. There is also a possibility that everything happened as told, and Alice has been kidnapped by some fae-like creatures to be punished for her crime. They turned the real murdered girl into her image, so Frank and Maddie can never find the real Alice and their grandchild.

We will never know the truth, and neither will Frank and Maddie. We’re all now lost, confused, and devastated either way because Alice is gone. I love that the film's ending can’t be neatly understood. It makes the movie more layered and fascinating.

I Enjoyed Hallow Road But Also Felt Like It Needed More

Like many others, I also think movies have become too long. You cannot convince me that any movie needs three hours or more. If a movie needs more time, just make another movie. Yes, I know it’s not that simple, and funding for one movie is hard, but I don’t think many long movies justify their runtime. That being said, Hallow Road is quite short. I appreciated that it’s so short because it made watching it multiple times easier.

However, I think maybe a few more minutes could have helped flesh out the story better. The shift happens in the last 40 minutes. We needed more time understanding what happened to Alice before the end hits us. I also understand that that’s part of the movie's message is that life isn’t simple. Everything doesn’t end satisfyingly and completely. Still. I wanted a bit more movie to help me feel a little less confused. I still think it works as it is, but it could have worked better with a few more minutes.

Spoilers, and I’ll say that once more and a little louder, MAJOR SPOILERS for Now You See Me: Now You Don’t are ahead! Read with caution, and go see the third Now You See Me movie in theaters now.

I love a great plot twist, and to this day, I still think about Now You See Me’s epic surprise. However, I think I’ll have to add Now You See Me: Now You Don’t's big shocker to the list, too. That's because following its premiere on the 2025 movie schedule, I’m still thinking about its massive reveal, what the cast told CinemaBlend about it, and how it could impact the franchise going forward.

Rosamund Pike Told Me Why The Twist Was 'Brilliant'

Ahead of Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’s release, I had the chance to interview the cast right after I saw the movie. I was particularly excited to ask about the giant plot twist toward the end, where it’s revealed that Justice Smith’s magician, Charlie, was related to Rosamund Pike’s villain, Veronika, and he was the mastermind behind the big plan to take her down.

Speaking with the Pride and Prejudice actress specifically about this, she told me all about why she thought it was a “brilliant” twist. After learning about Charlie's true identity and his relation to Veronika during her first meeting with Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’s director, Ruben Fleischer, Pike was excited to play this rich and “dubious” character. She also thought that how Veronika and Charlie were used in the plot twist was not only shocking but meaningful. She said:

It was certainly a brave and very unexpected move. Throughout the film, it’s made clear that Veronika is a power-hungry and demanding boss of a diamond empire from South Africa. Meanwhile, Charlie spends the majority of the movie speaking with an American accent and (seemingly) helping the Horsemen pull off their latest heist.

However, while it seems like Charlie and his friends, Ariana Greenblatt’s June and Dominic Sessa’s Bosco, are the new additions to the crew, it turns out they’re the ones who planned it all.

When it came to filming the reveal that Justice Smith’s character was really running this whole show, Pike gushed about him and the way he used a South African accent during the moment. She said:

The shock on Veronika’s face says it all, and I know my jaw was certainly on the floor too when Smith’s silhouette showed up on screen during that final trick and he started speaking with a different accent. Immediately after that, I also knew I needed to see the movie for a second time so I could see how it laid the groundwork for this twist.

Why You Should Re-Watch Now You See Me: Now You Don't

Much like in the first Now You See Me, the mastermind behind the whole trick turned out to be the person I least expected. Then, to add to that, making him related to the villain made the surprise even more shocking. That means, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t will make for a great re-watch, because now, we can all try and keep an eye out for hints about Charlie’s true identity. To that point, Rosamund Pike told me:

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t is like a magic trick itself, thanks to this plot twist. So, now, I have to go back and rewatch to try and figure out how they pulled it off. Pike explained that a lot of the reason why it works comes down to Justice Smith’s performance. She said:

I agree with her, too. He is amazing in this movie, and his reveal as Veronika’s sibling was mind-boggling. And that is why I can’t wait to rewatch Now You See Me 3 and hopefully eventually see how Charlie’s story continues in a fourth installment.

Based On What Justice Smith Told Me, I Hope They Explore The Impact Of This Twist In Another Now You See Me Movie

Now, considering how Now You See Me: Now You Don’t ended, it’d make a lot of sense if a fourth movie followed it. When I spoke to Justice Smith, he alluded to that idea too. Speaking about how he developed Charlie’s story with Ruben Fleischer, he also teased what he’s looking forward to exploring more:

In this movie, Charlie is the behind-the-scenes guy until his connection to Veronika is revealed. So, we only got to know a bit about his backstory, and we only saw him as the frontman for a few minutes. I’d love to see more of that in another movie, and I’d really like to know more about his backstory.

I’m specifically intrigued by how he got to know June and Bosco, and if the Horsemen ride again, I hope we get to explore their dynamic and history even more.

So, here’s hoping Now You See Me 4 gets to happen, so we can see more magic, more heists, and more backstory when it comes to Charlie, Veronika and this wild plot twist.

One of the greatest movie thrillers in the last few decades has to be Gone Girl. The book-to-screen adaptation of Gillian Flynn's novel of the same name was helmed by David Fincher and starred Ben Affleck and the wonderfully terrifying Rosamund Pike. It’s hard to imagine a single other person in the role of Amy Dunne, but on the eve of filming, Pike wasn’t so sure she could pull it off. She recently opened up about this moment of major self-doubt and how Tom Cruise, of all people, stepped in at just the right time.

During her appearance on The Graham Norton Show (via People) to promote her 2025 movie release, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, she revealed that she turned to an unexpected source of comfort: her Jack Reacher co-star, Tom Cruise. She recounted:

It wasn’t just nerves. Pike, who at the time was gearing up to play the twisted and enigmatic main character in Fincher’s adaptation, genuinely questioned whether she was up to the task. So she reached out to someone she’d worked with before in a moment of early-morning panic. She continued:

The words hit home. Cruise’s gesture, she noted, wasn’t just kind — it was meaningful because of who it came from. “It was such a significant gesture from someone with such a level of fame,” Pike added. And, clearly, it made a difference. Her performance in Gone Girl not only resonated with audiences but also earned her an Oscar nomination, helping to redefine her career.

It’s the kind of behind-the-scenes moment that reminds us how even award-winning actors aren’t immune to doubt. Pike’s honesty adds a refreshing layer to the polished image we often see in press tours and red carpets. It also underscores something fans rarely get to witness: the quiet support systems that help shape the performances we later consider legendary.

Though, admittedly, this isn’t out of the character we’ve come to know of the megastar Tom Cruise. There are countless stories of the actor reaching out, supporting, or sending Christmas cakes to former co-stars. And it's fantastic to hear he had a hand, even if a small one, in giving the actress the push she needed to believe in herself.

The I Care A Lot (streaming with a Netflix subscription) actress' next big-screen turn is in the upcoming Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the third installment in the illusionist-led heist franchise. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, the film sees the original Four Horsemen reunite to pull off an audacious diamond theft with help from a new crew of illusionists. The English actress plays Veronika van der Berg, the film’s primary antagonist and the ruthless matriarch of a global crime syndicate.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t begins its theatrical run on November 14th, so be sure to check your local listings. As for Gone Girl, you can check out Pike’s iconic, assured performance, as it’s streaming for everyone with an HBO Max subscription.

Have you heard that Pride & Prejudice is 20 years old? The movie returned to theaters earlier this year to celebrate that fact, but Keira Knightley and Rosamund Pike also reunited to swap stories about shooting the romance based on the Jane Austen classic. I certainly wouldn’t have guessed Knightley’s story that involved Donald Sutherland turning up to a party in a gas mask, but it’s actually a sweet behind the scenes bit.

Sutherland has no longer been with us for almost a year now, following his death at the age of 88 in June of last year. When remembering the late actor, Keira Knightley recalled a funny story about what it was like to be his co-star. As she shared:

In a new conversation for Vanity Fair, Knightley shared Sutherland’s grounds for being on Pride & Prejudice, which wasn’t an easy clause to follow considering most of the actors on it were 20-somethings who found smoking all the rage at the time. But, here’s the best part:

Donald Sutherland certainly set some clear boundaries when it came to being around smoke on set, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be part of the fun with his co-stars. Can you imagine the sight of Sutherland casually with a gas mask on at a party alongside the likes of Knightley, Pike, Carey Mulligan, Mathew Macfadyen and Tom Hollander? If only there was a picture somewhere.

Apparently Donald Sutherland used to be heavy into cigarettes, allegedly smoking four packs a day “back in the ‘60s and ‘70s” (per RadarOnline) before he decided to quit. Then, he became so against it he’d regularly ask to keep cigarette usage at least 100 yards away from him on movie sets.

When he died last year, it was due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a type of long-term lung disease that makes it hard for the person to breathe. Smoking is the main cause of COPD, so it sounds like Sutherland’s decision to vehemently stay away from smoking was due to serious health concerns.

Pride & Prejudice not only remains one of the best Donald Sutherland movies 20 years after its release, but one of those beloved movies people rewatch all the time (such as the guy who went viral for doing so three times in a row on a plane). These days, people are always talking about the iconic hand flex scene and quoting the movie’s romantic moments left and right. Keira Knightley’s memory of Sutherland on set is totally unexpected, but kind of amazing. You have to love how the actor balanced doing what's best for him and having a good time.

Alexandra Daddario has been turning heads for nearly as long as I’ve been working on the Internet, but she took a break from celebrity fashion for a bit after she and husband Andrew Form welcomed their little one around Halloween this past year. She took a bit of a break from the limelight afterward, but I am pleased to report she’s back on the fashion scene in a stunning dress that I agree is among “the most beautiful” I’ve seen.

Daddario has been partnered with Dior since 2023, when she signed on to be an ambassador for the notable high-end fashion brand. She reps both the lovely clothes from the brand, as well as the La Collection Privée fragrance collection, so while we can’t tell how the actress smelled from this pics, there’s every reason to believe it was rather fragrant. You can take a look at her sheer Dior gown with matching underwear, below.

The Dior event was held in Rome at the Villa Albani Torlonia. Natalie Portman, Rosamund Pike and more were in attendance. Chiffon, lace and other sheer materials certainly seemed to be the dress code of the night.

Ethereal was certainly the feel the celebrities in attendance seemed to be going for, but it may have been a bit chilly out, too. Natalie Portman was seen with a blazer on over her gorgeous-but-whispy dress, and Daddario and others were seen with umbrellas.

The San Andreas actress shared a post to social media with some of her favorite looks of the night, gushing they were among "the most beautiful" she'd ever seen.

To note: This isn't the first time Alexandra Daddario has turned heads for stunning fashion. A favorite of mine was her confectionary cotton candy dress. But she also turned heads at an F1 event earlier in 2025, and there was recently that time she and Brie Larson rocked the same dress to the same event. Insofar as her taste in sheer, that was there before it was on trend on red carpets, as she's recalled the dress she wore when she landed her Emmy nomination.

I have to agree with Daddario's take on the event. Despite the rain, everything looked pretty and in place, and I'm excited to follow the actress on her next Dior adventure, whenever and wherever it takes her.

If you’re someone who enjoys learning about the movie-making process, you certainly know by now that it’s usually not as thrilling as we might imagine it to be, and can even be downright weird at times. This is particularly true when it comes to filming sex scenes. While they can be fun to watch, they generally require the actors to be in some pretty odd situations. Apparently, that was true for Rosamund Pike as she worked with Pierce Brosnan on Die Another Day, which was the 20th James Bond movie, and led to her first experience with “things like nipple covers.”

What Did Die Another Day Star Rosamund Pike Say About Filming Sex Scenes With Pierce Brosnan?

Die Another Day was the fourth and last of Pierce Brosnan’s 007 movies, but the 2002 film was the very first movie that Rosamund Pike worked on. She’s spoken before about being uneducated in the ways of Bond prior to stepping into the role of the double-crossing Miranda Frost, but just went into some additional details while talking to actor David Tennant on his podcast.

Seeing as how it was the first movie the 22-year-old actress had done, she’d had no experience with sex scenes, and while the 52-year-old Brosnan “couldn’t have been lovelier,” it did lead to some hilariously unexpected anxiety on Pike’s part. After noting "I discovered things like nipple covers," she said:

For those who haven’t seen the film in a long time, this happens after the ice palace party in Bond’s…ice palace bedroom. They strip down rather unceremoniously while chatting and get into his…giant ice swan bed, which is covered in furs and such because it must be mighty cold in there. The scene required that the Gone Girl star’s lady bits be covered in tape, but it seemingly ripped more and more hairs out of Brosnan’s chest each time they did a take. She continued:

Pike was able to laugh about it all now, but I simply don’t know if I can think of a weirder situation to be in as an actor. Not only was she working on her first movie, but then the Wheel of Time actress was naked with someone she had to make out with on camera, and thought she was ripping out his chest hair, to boot.

This is the kind of thing that might make someone swear off movie-making for at least a few years. However, it’s no wonder why Pike got the part (especially after declining to strip down for her audition), because she stayed just as cool and collected as Ms. Frost, did her job and, thankfully, realized pretty quickly that the blankets were to blame for all that fur-covered nipple tape. And, now she’s got a funny story she can look back on, on top of a movie experience that launched her career. No harm, no foul, I suppose.

As with many years prior, several upcoming films will bring us tales of joy and woe with animated adventures, heartfelt family films, people overcoming horrific circumstances, fun comedies and more. But, something that many people love to see is a story that focuses either on people who do intriguing work or who have some true magic in their lives. As such, let’s take a look at 32 famous actors who’ve given us that by playing a wizard, witch or magician in some popular movies. 

Nicole Kidman (Practical Magic, Bewitched)

An Oscar winner who’s notably portrayed a witch twice in her big screen efforts is Nicole Kidman. Seeing as how Practical Magic 2 is now being worked on in earnest, you probably remember her 1998 hit with Sandra Bullock easily. But, do you recall her turn as a real witch hired to play a fictional one in the 2005 comedy, Bewitched?

Hugh Jackman (The Prestige)

We actually don’t get as many magicians on screen as one might think, but Hugh Jackman did us all a solid when he starred as one in the 2006 Christopher Nolan movie, The Prestige. If you somehow still haven’t seen this Edwardian London-set thriller, do yourself a favor and track it down. You won’t regret it.

Ian McKellen (The Lord Of The Rings And The Hobbit Trilogies)

This list would be nothing without mentioning maybe the most famous wizard in all of literary history, who made his major motion picture appearances courtesy of Sir Ian McKellen in The Lord of the Rings movies, as well as The Hobbit trilogy. Gandalf the Grey cannot be ignored, and not just because he’s so much taller than most of his traveling companions!

Neve Campbell (The Craft)

Fledgling teen witches count just as much as those who’ve been witchin’ for decades, which is why Neve Campbell’s eventual power-hungry sorceress, Bonnie, is on this list. The Craft is a teen horror classic that’s worth a watch.

Bette Midler (Hocus Pocus)

Here’s another classic movie witch who’s hard to forget. Bette Midler really dialed it up for her performance as Winifred Sanderson in 1993’s Hocus Pocus (along with fellow witchy Sanderson sisters Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker), and the results were so memorable that a Disney+ sequel was made nearly 30 years later.

Jesse Eisenberg (Now You See Me)

We’ve come to another magician, but Jesse Eisenberg’s modern-day character, Atlas, is an illusionist who works in Las Vegas in a popular group…who are really teamed up to steal lots and lots of money. It was so popular that a sequel followed.

Alexandra Daddario (Mayfair Witches)

If anything, we could trust late horror author Anne Rice to pen an intriguing tale that keeps us glued to the pages of a book. It also turns out that White Lotus star Alexandra Daddario can help turn that story into a can’t-miss TV show, as she’s done by playing witchy lead Rowan on Mayfair Witches.

Cher (The Witches Of Eastwick)

Cher has excelled in pretty much every role she’s ever had, and that includes widowed mother/witch Alex in The Witches of Eastwick. This one gets wild but you’ll never regret watching her (or her co-stars Susan Sarandon, Michelle Pfeiffer and Jack Nicholson) as things go from weird to worse.

Nicolas Cage (The Sorcerer’s Apprentice)

We all know that Nicolas Cage has played a multitude of roles during his decades-long career, so it should be little surprise that he’s portrayed as a user of magic. Before you get too deep into wondering whether or not there’s a real difference between a wizard and a sorcerer, just know that Cage played the latter in this 2010 film that takes some inspiration from a segment in Disney’s animated classic, Fantasia.

Tia And Tamera Mowry (Twitches)

Sure, there have already been people on this list who played witches along with other really famous people, and those co-stars weren’t listed as the main star, but guess what: none of those other people starred with their twin, which is the case with Tia and Tamera Mowry in the beloved Disney Channel original film, Twitches. Did this one get a sequel? You bet it did!

Meryl Streep (Into The Woods)

No one can deny the prowess or ability of 21-time Oscar nominee (and three-time winner) Meryl Streep to deliver an amazing performance. The same can be true for when she played the character known simply as The Witch in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods (and, yes, got an Academy Award nomination for her work).

Steve Carell (The Incredible Burt Wonderstone)

And here we have another Las Vegas magician in Steve Carell’s Burt Wonderstone. Instead of watching him steal money, we follow along in this comedy as Burt attempts to reunite with his former partner (Steve Buschemi) so they can gain more traction than a competing magician (Jim Carrey) whose “tricks” mostly involve odd feats of endurance and real pain.

Edward Norton (The Illusionist)

You’d be forgiven for confusing this film with the above-mentioned The Prestige, as they’re both about old-timey magicians and released in 2006. However, this film stars Edward Norton as our…illusionist, and is more of a romantic mystery than Nolan’s thriller.

Lucy Lawless (Salem)

So many evil witches, so little time. The WGN TV series, Salem, was loosely inspired by the Salem witch trials, and focused on a lead who was trying to bring the Devil to earth. But, that wasn’t even the character played by Xena actress Lucy Lawless, as her Countess Palatine Ingrid von Marburg was simply a different and far more evil witch. Can’t anyone use magic to just like, keep everyone’s house clean so we can all have more free time?

Guy Pearce (Death Defying Acts)

It’s actually rather surprising that we’ve gotten this far into the list without coming to someone who portrayed a famous real-life magician, so we can thank Guy Pearce for that. His 2007 supernatural romance, Death Defying Acts, saw him play Harry Houdini.

Angela Bassett (American Horror Story: Coven)

Even for those who don’t follow along with the amazing antics on every season of the anthology series, American Horror Story, it would probably be a little shock to find out that the show has cast several witches during its long run. The subtitle of this 2013 season tells you that it was dedicated to witchy goings-on, and double Oscar nominee Angela Bassett had a notable guest role as real historical figure/Voodoo practitioner Marie Laveau.

Sebastian Stan (The Covenant)

The actor who would come to be known as Bucky “Winter Soldier” Barnes, Sebastian Stan, played a very different type of super-powered character in 2006, when he played teen warlock Chase Collins in the fantasy film The Covenant. It also features stars like Taylor Kitsch and Chase Crawford, who also get their magic on in the film.

Michelle Pfeiffer (Stardust)

As we’ve seen from the entry on Cher, Michelle Pfeiffer had already played a witchy woman by the time she appeared in the 2007 movie Stardust, as an evil (of course) witch looking to retrieve a fallen star to have ever-lasting beauty and youth.

Debbie Reynolds (Halloweentown)

Here’s another Disney Channel classic, which follows a young witch who realizes she has powers on her 13th Halloween, only to be transported to the titular town where supernatural creatures can live without human interference. The late Debbie Reynolds plays her grandmother (also a witch), and returned for all three sequels.

Benedict Cumberbatch (Doctor Strange)

This 2016 MCU entry stars Benedict Cumberbatch as an injured doctor who involves himself in the business of fighting evil with sorcery after losing the use of his hands and heading to a mysterious enclave to look for healing. Cumberbatch has appeared as the character in a number of Marvel franchise films now, including a 2022 sequel to his original solo film.

Mila Kunis (Oz The Great And Powerful)

Here’s a movie filled with magical beings that’s often forgotten. Oz the Great and Powerful saw Mila Kunis, along with Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz, play witches of, yes, that Oz who have to determine if the Kansas magician who’s turned up in their realm is really the “great” wizard they’ve been waiting for.

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone)

This is another actor and portrayal that this list would basically be pointless without. Though Daniel Radcliffe has gone on to portray a wide variety of good and bad guys in the past decade or so of his career, for many he will always be known as the boy wizard, Harry Potter.

Selena Gomez (Wizards Of Waverly Place)

What? Did you forget that Selena Gomez, the Grammy-nominated singer and star of the Hulu hit show Only Murders in the Building, got her first taste of fame on a Disney Channel series? Well, shame on you for not being able to remember that Gomez led Wizards of Waverly Place through a magical four-season run as the supernaturally gifted teen, Alex Russo.

Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)

Do we have yet another MCU stalwart for you? You bet we do! Elizabeth Olsen first took on the role of Scarlet Witch during the post-credits scene of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, later starring in several more of the franchise films and the critically lauded Disney+ series, WandaVision, for which she received an Emmy nomination.

Sam Neill (Merlin)

While there have certainly been a number of movies and shows that have given us versions of the mythical wizard known as Merlin, NBC’s two-part, 1998 miniseries saw Sam Neill use his recent Jurassic Park stardom to show us an adventurous tale of Merlin’s life before the birth of King Arthur.

Rosamund Pike (The Wheel Of Time)

Many of the portrayals we’ve discussed (and will continue to discuss below) have dealt with book-to-screen adaptations that are based on already incredibly popular novels, and The Wheel of Time is certainly one of those. The Amazon series, which takes its story from the 14-book franchise by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson, stars Rosamund Pike as powerful magic user Moiraine Damodred, who takes a group of young adults on a journey to save the world.

Julia Ormond (Witches Of East End)

This Lifetime series, which ran for two seasons from 2013 to 2014, followed the women of the Beauchamp family, witches in a small, fictional seaside town who are led by their mother, Julia Ormond’s Joanna, and have to fight to save themselves and the people of their town from dark magical forces.

Emma Thompson (Beautiful Creatures)

This 2013 Gothic fantasy romance focuses on a teen who will learn on her 16th birthday whether or not her witch tendencies will be for good or ill. Two-time Academy Award-winning actress and screenwriter Emma Thompson plays her mother, Sarafine, who didn’t raise the girl but wants her on that dark side really, really badly.

Tilda Swinton (The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Suspiria)

Considering that Tilda Swinton has played everything from a gender-switching hero in Orlando to the MCU’s version of the Ancient One in the aforementioned Doctor Strange and the archangel Gabriel in Constantine, is anyone surprised to know that she’s played some witches? In both The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe and Suspiria she was very good at playing magical ladies who wanted (or already had and wanted to continue) to do some very bad things, but the latter film has WAY more serious and bloody fun for those who watch.

Jack Black (The House With A Clock In Its Walls)

Frequent funny man Jack Black as a warlock? That’s what the 2018 fantasy The House With A Clock In Its Walls delivers, as the Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle star portrays a boy’s magic uncle who lives in the house of a dead evil wizard and is trying to discover the location and purpose of a clock the previous dastardly owner hid in the walls.

Jude Law (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald)

While much of the Harry Potter franchise featured either actors Richard Harris or Michael Gambon as the beloved Professor Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, when the prequels were made, a younger Albus Dumbledore was needed and they called in Jude Law to fill the wizard’s very important and legendary shoes.

Julianne Moore (Seventh Son)

Last but certainly not least on our list of famed actors who’ve brought wizards, witches and magicians to life is lauded talent Julianne Moore. The Academy Award winner starred in 2015’s Seventh Son as the evil witch Mother Malkin, who escapes after many years imprisoned and looks to restore her full power by any means necessary.

As you can see, many of our most beloved stars have portrayed wizards, witches and magicians!

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been around for more than a decade-and-a-half, and after 30-plus movies, TV shows, and specials, we’ve seen a ton of great actors play fan-favorite comic book heroes and villains. There are even actors who have played more than one character in the expansive franchise. But at the same time, there’s an even larger group of talented big-screen stars who haven’t donned a cape, mask, or spandex in the best Marvel movies. Here are 32 actors we still want to see in the MCU…

Ryan Gosling

For one reason or another, Ryan Gosling has yet to play a character in the MCU. One of the most talented and beloved actors of his time, the Barbie star would be perfect to play several characters ranging from Nova to Mr. Fantastic to even Earth-616’s Norman Osbourne if they wanted to have a younger actor take on the role of the famous Spider-Man villain. 

John David Washington

John David Washington has previously said he’d be open for an MCU role, and it’s probably going to happen sooner or later, considering the son of Oscar winner Denzel Washington is an incredibly talented and versatile actor. The Tenet and The Creator star has the range to handle just about everything thrown his way, be it as a villain or the next great Marvel hero.

Margot Robbie

It wouldn’t be all that surprising to see Margot Robbie join the list of actors to appear in the MCU at some point down the line, it’s just a matter of finding the right character for the beloved actress to play. There have been rumors about a Sue Storm role over the years, but Robbie would also be great playing villains like Lady Deathstrike.

Dev Patel

Dev Patel has established himself as one of the most interesting actors in Hollywood thanks to outstanding performances in movies like The Green Knight, Slumdog Millionaire, and his 2023 work with Wes Anderson. Watching the Lion star take on someone like Reed Richards or even Doctor Doom would be awesome, and he could honestly handle both.

Keanu Reeves

Throughout his career, Keanu Reeves has played iconic action characters like Johnny Utah, Neo, and John Wick. How cool would it be to see the eternally young actor join the MCU as someone like Dracula, Ghost Rider, or even Silver Surfer? We would even settle for a small voice role as a random one-off character.

Cillian Murphy

Cillian Murphy showing up in the MCU would be a massive get for the cinematic universe as it works towards the two upcoming Avengers projects, especially if he were to play Doctor Doom. While other actors would probably be better suited for the physicality of the iconic Marvel villain, Murphy would be perfect for the psychological aspects of the character. Add in his experience from playing Scarecrow in the Dark Knight trilogy and you have a perfect fit.

Vanessa Kirby

Vanessa Kirby has said in the past that it would be an honor to play Sue Storm, but the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning actress could also handle a more sinister role if given the chance. Just imagine Kirby playing someone like Lady Death or even Black Cat if we get another Spider-Man movie.

Cynthia Erivo

How Cynthia Erivo hasn’t landed a role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is somewhere between a travesty and a mystery, because the multi-talented actor has everything you want in an actress to play your next comic book star. Just imagine the Harriet and Bad Times at the El Royale actress showing up as Storm whenever the X-Men are eventually introduced to the franchise. That would be electric to say the very least.

Antonio Banderas

Though Ant-tonio Banderas, Scott Lang’s ant in Ant-Man and the Wasp is already a thing in the MCU, the actor on which the flying arthropods was based has not had a chance to appear just yet. This needs to change and we need to see Antonio Banderas show up at some point down the road. He’s got the skills and intangibles to pull off someone as big as Galactus, a character comic book fans have been dying to see for years now.

LaKeith Stanfield

LaKeith Stanfield has been one of the more interesting actors of the past decade thanks to unforgettable roles in movies like Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah, and The Book of Clarence, and the MCU would be better off if he joined the fray. There was talk in early 2024 of Stanfield replacing Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror, which could work, but he could also bring to life X-Men staples like Cyclopes or even Gambit.

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise flirted with the idea of playing Tony Stark way before Robert Downey Jr. rejuvenated his career in the MCU-launching Iron Man, but we never got to see the Top Gun: Maverick star play the iconic billionaire playboy philanthropist. Though it never came to fruition, we’d still love to see the Hollywood legend show up in the MCU, even if he only briefly played an alternate version of Iron Man.

Christoph Waltz

Christoph Waltz has played great villains in everything from the James Bond movies to Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds, but he’s never played a big bad in the MCU. That should change, sooner rather than later, and he could be a great fit for someone like Norman Osborn or Doc Ock if we get more Spidey movies. He has the charisma, skill, and look for either of those roles.

Jessica Chastain

Jessica Chastain showed up in X-Men: Dark Phoenix, but since that’s outside of the MCU (for now, anyway), she’s fair game. There’s been the Sue Storm talk over the years, but the Interstellar star could also take on someone like Jean Grey and try her luck with the Dark Phoenix character.

Alan Ritchson

Okay, imagine Alan Ritchson in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom. In addition to having a ridiculous physique, the Jack Reacher star can also be cerebral and mysterious, kind of like his character from Fast X. He would be a formidable foe, that’s for sure. And if not, we’d love to see Ritchson take on someone like Rhino or Juggernaut and breathe new life into those characters.

Pedro Pascal

There’s been a lot of talk about Pedro Pascal being the frontrunner for Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four’s eventual MCU debut, and that would be awesome. The star of The Mandalorian and The Last of Us has shown over the years that he has what it takes to lead a successful franchise, and he has enough talent and charisma to pay one of Marvel’s most iconic heroes.

Amber Midthunder

Amber Midthunder became a star-in-the-making after the 2022 release of Prey, and the star of the Predator spinoff prequel could very well make an impact in the MCU if given the opportunity. Lady Hellbender, Lyja, and Silver Fox are just three of the Marvel characters she would be well-suited to play.

Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington has long stayed out of the superhero realm, though he has made a career out of playing characters who are pretty much comic book characters. That being said, we’d love to see the two-time Oscar winner take on a role like Magento or Bahsenga, the warrior shaman who was the first to adopt the Black Panther mantel.

Emily Blunt

Her husband, John Krasinksi, has already appeared in the MCU, albeit briefly, as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so it wouldn’t be crazy to see Emily Blunt show up at some point, either for a similar-sized role or in a larger capacity. According to Deadline, the Oppenheimer star turned down a chance to play Black Widow in Iron Man 2 and was reportedly approached to play other famous characters in the years following. 

Gary Oldman

We’ve seen Gary Oldman play Jim Gordon masterfully in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, but the Academy Award-winning actor has yet to show up in the MCU. It would be so cool to see the legendary actor enter the fold as Dr. Xavier in the eventual X-Men movie, and it would be just as awesome to see him play a more villainous role like Mephisto or even Dracula, with the latter being a throwback to his turn in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Jesse Plemons

Jesse Plemons has been everywhere for the past few years. Well, everywhere besides the MCU. The Breaking Bad and Killers of the Flower Moon star has shared the screen with Marvel actors like Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Christian Bale over the years, and it’s only a matter of time before he follows suit and shows up as a comic book character. This guy has Sabretooth written all over him…

Paul Giamatti

Paul Giamatti has already been in Sony’s Marvel movies thanks to his portrayal of Rhino in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but we’d love to see more of the beloved actor. It doesn’t have to be anything over-the-top like a mech suit, but instead something like a government official who tries to get in the Avengers’ way or is tempted by a big bad.

Glen Powell

Glen Powell has "superhero" written all over him. The Physique, the charm, the million-dollar smile, he has it all. It’s only a matter of time before someone swoops him up and makes him the next great comic book hero, and that someone could be Marvel. Nova, Cyclops, or even a young Magneto would be great fits for the Anyone But You star.

Tati Gabrielle

Since making her acting debut a decade ago, Tati Gabrielle has given commanding performances on shows like You, Kaleidoscope, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, to name a few. The actress, who also has experience in video game adaptations like Uncharted and the upcoming Mortal Kombat 2, would be perfect for the MCU in the coming years, especially if she could land a role like Storm, Black Cat, or other fan-favorite characters.

Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem is an actor with an incredible skillset and the ability to play both nuanced and over-the-top characters, which would make him perfect for something in the MCU. The No Country For Old Men star would be a great fit for the iconic Galactus whenever the villain is introduced in the future.

Rosamund Pike

Rosamund Pike has played all manner of characters over the years, and that makes her a perfect fit for the MCU moving forward. Her dynamic range and ability to play both good and evil roles masterfully would be perfect for comic book staples like Emma Frost and Liandra Nermani, both of whom are tied to the X-Men franchise.

Lily Gladstone

Lily Gladstone became an overnight sensation upon the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, and rightfully so. We’re not saying it’s going to happen, but the Golden Globe-winning actress would be perfect in the MCU. Imagine Gladstone playing Indigenous characters like Silver Fox or Kushala.  

Iwan Rheon

Iwan Rheon technically appeared on Inhumans back in 2017, but this doesn’t mean we don’t want to see him show up in an MCU movie at some point in the future. The Game of Thrones actor, who didn’t appear in as many episodes as you’d think, played Maximus on the short-lived ABC series, so he could reprise his role or he could take on something new. However, it wouldn’t be nearly as intense as Ramsay Bolton.

Viola Davis

Viola Davis has already made her mark in the comic book world with her portrayal of Amanda Waller over in the DCEU, but this doesn’t mean she can’t jump over to the MCU and play an equally menacing character. The Oscar winner has already led a blockbuster with The Woman King, so she is more than capable of doing the same in a Marvel movie.

Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris has already shown up in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe with her portrayal of Shriek in Venom: Let There Be Carnage where she was crushed by a falling cathedral, but there’s no reason she couldn’t just play another version of the character in the MCU or take on a completely different role entirely.

Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson is appearing in Joker 2, and it would be really cool if the legendary actor also landed a role in the MCU somewhere down the road. The Harry Potter and The Banshees of Inisherin star would be perfect for a role if the Thor franchise is to continue, even if it meant voicing someone like Beta Ray Bill. 

Iko Uwais

Iko Uwais, star of the phenomenal Raid movies, has the acting ability and fighting skills to be a big hit in the MCU if given the chance. In the event this does happen, we’d hate for Uwais’ talents to be wasted like they were with his extremely small role in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Daniel Day-Lewis

Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis retired after 2017’s Phantom Thread, but we’d love to see him step in front of the camera again in an MCU movie. The There Will Be Blood and Gangs of New York star would be a killer option for a character like Galactus and drink up all the planets like a big milkshake.

Who knows if we’ll see any of these actors show up in any of the upcoming Marvel movies, but with the way the MCU has shown us over the years, don’t count anyone out.

How many times have you watched an incredible acting performance and looked up to see how many awards it won only to find out that the Oscar went to someone else that year? It’s shocking how many times this has happened over the years for some of the greatest actors and actresses of all time. Here are 32 times an incredible performance didn’t win an Academy Award for one reason or another.

Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction)

Though he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction, Samuel L. Jackson’s name wasn’t called at the 67th Academy Awards. This is nothing against Martin Landau’s performance from Ed Wood, but Jackson’s foul-mouthed and righteous hitman is an all-time great character that should have been recognized.

Robert De Niro (Taxi Driver)

Robert De Niro received an Oscar nomination for his career-defining portrayal of Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese’s 1977 psychological thriller, Taxi Driver, but the unhinged and memorable performance wasn’t enough to win Best Actor. It’s hard to be mad, as Peter Finch’s Academy Award-winning turn in Network is the stuff of legend.

Harrison Ford (Witness)

One of the best actors without an Oscar, Harrison Ford has only one Academy Award nomination to his name, the 1985 crime thriller, Witness. Though not Ford’s most iconic character, his take on Philadelphia detective John Book as he goes to great lengths to protect a young boy is nothing short of amazing.

Morgan Freeman (The Shawshank Redemption)

Morgan Freeman gave the performance of a lifetime as Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding in The Shawshank Redemption. If the movie would have come out any other time besides 1994, a year dominated by Forrest Gump, there’s a good chance the aging prisoner and accomplished smuggler would have earned Freeman an Oscar.

Bill Murray (Lost In Translation)

Bill Murray’s portrayal of cynical, washed-up actor Bob Harris in Lost in Translation will forever be one of the comedian’s most beloved roles. While Sean Penn’s performance in Mystic River is more than deserving of an Oscar, it’s a shame the iconic comedian didn’t get properly recognized for a once-in-a-decade showing.

Whoopi Goldberg (The Color Purple)

Whoopi Goldberg showed off a more dramatic side with her lauded portrayal of Celie Harris-Johnson in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 adaptation of The Color Purple. It’s absurd that the emotional, dynamic, and powerful performance didn’t win Goldberg a much-deserved Oscar, which went to Geraldine Page in The Trip to Bountiful, instead.

Ralph Fiennes (Schindler's List)

Schindler’s List features one of the best Ralph Fiennes performances with his portrayal of Nazi work camp commandant Amon Goeth in Steven Spielberg’s 1993-defining film. And while the movie won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Fiennes’ unforgettable turn was not among them. Instead, he lost out to Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive.

Dustin Hoffman (Tootsie)

If you’re looking for one of the best New York City movies, Tootsie has you covered. If you’re looking for a movie featuring an acting performance that should have won an Oscar but didn’t, Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy has you covered there as well. Seriously, how Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Michael Dorsey wasn't awarded is something we just don’t get.

Denzel Washington (Malcolm X)

Denzel Washington eventually won a Best Actor Oscar for his unforgettable turn in Training Day, but the actor was robbed nearly a decade earlier after not winning the big prize for his take on the titular Civil Rights leader in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X.

Florence Pugh (Little Women)

Florence Pugh was already a rising star at the time of Little Women’s release, but her portrayal of Amy March in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age drama took her to new heights. Though she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, Pugh lost out to Laura Dern from Marriage Story.

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained)

Here’s something wild to think about – Jamie Foxx not only didn’t win an Oscar for his performance in Django Unchained, he wasn’t even nominated for Best Actor. Admittedly, it was a stacked list of actors – Daniel Day-Lewis, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Joaquin Phoenix, and Denzel Washington – but not even being named is just something.

Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

The Wrestler felt like Mickey Rourke’s big redemption arc, more so than the character he portrayed in Darren Aronofsky’s great wrestling movie. Despite pushing himself to the breaking point from both a physical and emotional standpoint, Rourke lost out to Sean Penn’s take on Harvey Milk in Milk.

Michael Keaton (Birdman)

Michael Keaton gave the performance of a lifetime in the 2014 mind-bending drama film, Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), one that seemed to channel the actor’s past in such a way it felt like an autobiography. However, stealing the show as Riggan Thomson, a.k.a., Birdman, wasn’t enough, as the prize went to The Theory of Everything’s Eddie Redmayne instead.

Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird)

Saoirse Ronan has been nominated for an Oscar on four separate occasions, but not a single win, which is something. One of the performances that deserved an Academy Award the most was that of Christine "Lady Bird" McPherson in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird. The portrayal of a confused high school senior on the verge of entering the next stage in her life lost out to Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Tim Curry (Clue)

Tim Curry’s portrayal of Wadsworth in Clue, a butler or undercover FBI agent depending on which ending you watch, is a role that is beloved by fans of the classic murder mystery comedy. However, it wasn’t recognized at the Academy Awards or other ceremonies, which is the real crime.

Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)

Rosamund Pike’s take on Amy Elliott-Dunne earned the sole Academy Award nomination for David Fincher’s Gone Girl, a nod that was more than deserved. However, the incredibly nuanced and dynamic performance failed to win the Best Actress Oscar, which went to Still Alice’s Julianne Moore instead.

Jimmy Stewart (Rear Window)

Jimmy Stewart is one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors of all time and his portrayal of L. B. "Jeff" Jefferies in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window is one of the his top-tier performances. However, his take on an injured photographer who uncovers a murder mystery didn’t even get a nod at the Academy Awards.

Kate Winslet (Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind)

Kate Winslet gave one of her most powerful and unique performances in the 2004 sci-fi dramedy, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Her take on Clementine Kruczynski, a woman who had all memories of her ex-boyfriend wiped from her brain, was rich, beautiful, and iconic, but just wasn’t enough to win Best Actress.

Al Pacino (The Godfather)

Al Pacino put himself on the map with his portrayal of reluctant crime boss Michael Corleone in The Godfather. The gradual evolution of the character over the course of the film’s three-hour runtime should have been enough for an Oscar, but like co-stars James Caan and Robert Duvall, who were also nominated for Best Supporting Actor, he didn’t get the win.

Gloria Swanson (Sunset Boulevard)

Gloria Swanson’s "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." line from Sunset Boulevard is one of the most iconic quotes in all of Hollywood and part of an Oscar-worthy performance. While Swanson was nominated for her take on aging film star Norma Desmond, she didn’t take home the top prize.

Jack Nicholson (The Shining)

Though considered one of Jack Nicholson’s best roles, his portrayal of Jack Torrance in The Shining didn’t result in an Oscar win. In fact, Nicholson wasn’t even nominated for the unforgettable performance. 

John Cazale (The Godfather Part II)

John Cazale’s Fredo Corleone in The Godfather Part II is one of cinema’s great tragic figures as well as one of the late actor’s best characters. What’s even more of a travesty is the fact that the late actor didn’t even receive an Oscar nomination for his efforts. Tragically, Cazale would never receive an Academy Award nomination prior to his shocking death in 1978.

Angela Bassett (What's Love Got To Do With It?)

Angela Bassett received her first Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Tina Turner in What’s Love Go to Do with It?, but the miraculous turn as one of American music’s most famous and influential figures didn’t earn her a Best Actress win. 

Edward Norton (American History X)

Reformed neo-Nazi Derek Vinyard is one of Edward Norton’s most controversial and complex characters of his career, and the American History X performance earned him a Best Actor nod at the 71st Academy Awards. However, Roberto Benigni from Life Is Beautiful ran away with the top acting prize.

Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca)

Somehow, Ingrid Bergman, who was astonishing as Ilsa Lund in Casablanca, not only didn’t win Best Actress at the 16th Academy Awards, she wasn’t even nominated for her iconic portrayal of a woman caught between two men and two different lives in the 1943 black-and-white classic.

Paul Giamatti (Sideways)

In a perfect world, Paul Giamatti would have won the Oscar for Best Actor in Alexander Payne’s Sideways, but alas, that is not the reality in which we live. Miles Raymond is one of Giamiatti’s best characters and carried the movie about two friends on a wine trip they’ll never forget.

Henry Fonda (12 Angry Men)

An amazing courtroom drama, 12 Angry Men is still arguably one of the best movies of all time. While its star, Henry Fonda, received a Best Picture nomination as a producer, his dynamic and rich portrayal of a juror who insisted on getting things right didn’t earn him an acting nod, which is a real miscarriage of justice.

John Goodman (The Big Lebowski)

You can add John Goodman to the list of great actors who have never received an Oscar nomination, which just doesn’t make sense. It’s especially maddening when you consider his legendary portrayal of Walter Sobchak in The Big Lebowski, a character loosely based on John Milius, per Far Out Magazine.

Joaquin Phoenix (Walk The Line)

Joaquin Phoenix has since won an Oscar, but his portrayal of Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s 2005 biographical drama, Walk the Line, was more than deserving of the top acting prize at the Academy Awards. What’s interesting is the fact that Phoenix was beat by his future The Master co-star, the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who won for his take on Truman Capote in Bennett Miller’s Capote.

Ellen Burstyn (Requiem For A Dream)

A little more 25 years after winning an Academy Award for Best Actress thanks to her outstanding performance in Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Ellen Burstyn had another shot at capturing an Oscar with her turn as Sara Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream. Her take on a woman battling unchecked depression, anxiety, and a diet of weight loss pills gave audiences one of the most incredible and sympathetic characters of the early 21st century. Unfortunately, this also happened to be the same year Erin Brockovich was released. 

Paul Dano (There Will Be Blood)

There Will Be Blood is remembered more than a half-decade after its release because of the Academy Award-winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, but one of the three-time Oscar winner’s castmates was also deserving of recognition. Paul Dano’s Eli Sunday (he also played the smaller part of Eli’s twin brother, Paul) is one of the more fascinating characters of modern cinema, and he should have received an Oscar for his troubles. Dynamic is an understatement for this overzealous, petty, and temperamental preacher.

Robert Shaw (Jaws)

Steven Spielberg’s 1975 summer blockbuster, Jaws, won three Academy Awards – Best Filming Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound – but Robert Shaw, who acted his tail off as the boat captain, Quint, wasn’t recognized. This shameful act by the Academy, especially after watching the USS Indianapolis monologue, still stings nearly 50 years after the fact. That scene alone deserved a Best Supporting Actor nomination and win.

Many of these actors won an Academy Award either before or after these movies and performances we just covered, but it’s just wild to think about how some of these roles didn’t take home the big prize at the Oscars.

For those still anxiously awaiting the upcoming Lord of the Rings series (set for September 2022), Amazon Prime Video may have just what you need to stay occupied on their 2021 fall TV schedule, with The Wheel of Time. Developed by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. producer Rafe Judkins, the series follows an experienced wielder of magic (Rosamund Pike) - an ability that becomes a crutch of sorts when she and a group of young “channelers,” as they are called, are thrust into a dangerous adventure. 

The late Robert Jordan’s original fantasy novels that inspired the show apparently feature a total of 2,782 characters, but there are only seven main players that we know of so far in The Wheel of Time cast. We will break down their own personal journeys up to this point one by one, starting with the Academy Award-nominated lead. 

Rosamund Pike (Moiraine Damodred)

The main hero of The Wheel of Time, noted for her impressive channeling abilities, is Moiraine Damodred, played by series producer Rosamund Pike. The English actress, noted for her impressive acting abilities, debuted in the British TV movie A Rather English Marriage in 1998 before transitioning into film with Pierce Brosnan’s final James Bond film, Die Another Day, in 2002. 

Pike would go on to star in several period dramas, like 2005’s Pride & Prejudice, a few sci-fi action flicks like Doom with Dwayne Johnson, some comedies like The World’s End from Edgar Wright, and grounded thrillers like David Fincher’s Gone Girl, which earned her an Oscar nomination in 2015. The I Care A Lot star is also an accomplished voice actress who leant her vocal talents to BBC’s 2018 remake of Watership Down, narrates Archibald’s Next Big Thing for Netflix, and stars in the title role of the dramatic podcast Edith!, which she also produces.

Daniel Henney (Lan Mondragoran)

As Moiraine’s protector, Lan Mondragoran, we have Daniel Henney, who also knows what it is like to break into the American movie industry with an infamous installment of a popular franchise. After appearing in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine as Agent Zero, he joined the cast of the short-lived medical drama Three Rivers, led the 2012 rom-com Shanghai Calling, appeared alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Last Stand in 2013, and landed recurring roles on hit TV dramas Hawaii Five-0 and Revolution.

In 2014, Henney returned to superhero movies as the voice of Tadashi in Big Hero 6 (whom he would reprise in the spin-off series) and also reprised FBI agent Matt Simmons as a Criminal Minds cast regular when the spin-off he originated the character on (Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders) was cancelled after one season. In addition to starring with the Wheel of Time cast, the actor also has a TV movie in the works called Occult.

Josha Stradowski (Rand al’Thor)

Rand al’Thor, a distant relative of Moiraine Damodred who can also wield magic, is played by Josha Stradowski. Originating from the Netherlands, where he got his start performing in theatre, the actor received his big break on the long-running European drama Spangas in 2011.

He won an award for his performance in the made-for-TV LGBTQ+ romance Just Friends in 2018, appeared opposite Marwan Kenzari (Jafar in the live-action Aladdin remake, and Joe in Netflix’s The Old Guard) in the 2019 thriller Instinct, and is leading the cast of the Dutch-language Air Force pilot drama High Flyers since 2020. The Wheel of Time is Stradowski’s English-language debut.

Madeleine Madden (Egwene al’Vere)

Fellow channeler Egwene al’Vere on The Wheel of Time is played by Australian actress Madeleine Madden, who made her American debut as Sammy in Dora and the Lost City of Gold in 2019. However, she did make her feature film debut alongside American actress Christina Ricci in 2013’s Around the Block.

Her first Amazon Prime Video original series (also an Australian import) was the limited series Picnic at Hanging Rock in 2018, which was the same year she appeared in two other Aussie miniseries, called Tidelands and Pine Gap - both of which were distributed in the United States by Netflix. She will be reprising her character from the video game franchise ARK in an upcoming animated series adaptation, and her 1960s-set musical drama, Maestro, is in pre-production.

Marcus Rutherford (Perrin Aybara)

Wolfbrother Perrin Aybara (meaning he bears many characteristics of wolves) is portrayed on The Wheel of Time by Marcus Rutherford. The English actor first debuted in the short crime drama, Country Lines, as Sadiq two years before reprising the role in the feature-length adaptation in 2019.

Outside of joining the Wheel of Time cast, Rutherford has just six other credits to his name, including an episode of the BBC comedy-mystery series Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators, and his lead performance in the UK-based 2018 thriller Obey. More recently, he had a recurring role on the action-packed British series, Bulletproof, for its second season.

Zoë Robins (Nynaeve al'Meara)

Nynaeve al'Meara - a powerful channeler who develops a romance with Lan Mondragoran - is played on The Wheel of Time by Zoë Robins, who has plenty of experience with the fantasy genre so far. The New Zealand native debuted on the dystopian drama The New Tomorrow, followed by a more modern horror TV show called The Killian Curse, before appearing on The Shannara Chronicles on MTV (before it was picked up Spike) first got her noticed in the states.

In 2017, she became the “White Ranger” on Power Rangers Ninja Steel a year before making her feature-length debut in Regina King-directed TV movie The Finest. Her theatrical film debut (and, perhaps, her biggest role to date) was Blumhouse’s remake of Black Christmas from 2019.

Barney Harris (Mat Cauthon)

A more roguish character from the Wheel of Time cast named Mat Cauthon is played in the premiere season (before Dónal Finn replaces him in Season 2) by Barney Harris. His first screen acting credit is the 2015 rom-com All Roads Lead to Rome starring Sex and the City cast member Sarah Jessica Parker. The following year, he appeared alongside the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch for a couple of episodes of the historical miniseries The Hollow Crown.

After playing a soldier in Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, from director Ang Lee, in 2018, Harris appeared on the second season of another British TV show called Clique. After a couple of UK-based shorts, he returned to feature films with Brighton Beach in 2020, and starred in the movie A Brixton Tale in 2021.

As I would come to find out while researching the characters from this Amazon Prime Video TV show, I would practically have to summarize the entire original book series to give you the right amount of exposition. However, I hope I have at least helped you become better acquainted with the actors from the Wheel of Time cast in time for its premiere on Friday, November 19, 2021. Robert Jordan fans best make sure they have an Amazon Prime subscription!

Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike’s newest role as Marla Grayson in Netflix’s I Care A Lot has her looking pretty fearless as a downright ruthless force of nature. While her razor-sharp haircut and flawless business attire are enough to give Pike the intense look her new film is going for, apparently her past film appearances altered her appearance in more unnatural ways. Pike recently looked back on her previous work, where promo material for her films has had her breasts altered. And the actress cares. She cares a lot.

In an interview with Kelly Clarkson on her daytime talk show, Rosamund Pike talks about when she first heard of filters and changing your appearance with a click of a button, a practice that has been applied to her body as well. Here are the actress’ own words on the virtual changes her body underwent for past roles:

If Rosamund Pike is anything like her character Marla Grayson, she’s not one to be crossed. If you haven’t watched her new film I Care A Lot yet, all you need to know is that her character told a distraught son of one of her “clients” that she would “rip his dick and balls off” before the title was even on the screen. I’m just saying, you may want to think twice before altering her already striking appearance without her approval.

The fact is, though, that stars rarely are told or asked if they are okay with their appearance being altered. In the same interview with Kelly Clarkson, who has been outspoken about body positivity, Rosamund Pike muses just how many times her appearance has been messed with without her knowledge. While she obviously notices sometimes, there must be times when she doesn’t. In Pike’s own words:

Changing the appearance of stars, especially those of women, into something deemed more desirable is not exactly uncommon. However, it is becoming more common for the stars to speak out about the questionable practice. Actors are taking their bodies back by calling out the practices in a fight against body shaming and in favor of body autonomy.

Personally, I think Rosamund Pike is a goddess. Why anyone would want to mess with a good thing is beyond me. If Hollywood is altering people who are already the epitome of today’s beauty standards, it’s impossible for anyone to reach the standard on beauty that they would deem acceptable. So, you might as well be your gorgeous self instead! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

Naturally, this story is going to get into massive spoilers for the new Netflix film, I Care A Lot. Stop reading now if you haven’t yet seen the movie, and go watch it!

J Blakeson’s dark, demented I Care A Lot takes a number of twists and turns as it unfolds its narrative. The Golden Globe-nominated Rosamund Pike plays the fiendish Marla Grayson, a polished and high-powered con artist making a living off of assuming legal guardianship over senior citizens who can’t fight the court system that’s wrapped around Marla’s manicured finger. By the end of the film, Marla has figured out how to partner with the one man who has been her lone impediment to global success, gangster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage), and she is renowned as a wealthy entrepreneur.

Only, Marla ends up with a bullet to the chest, delivered by a man (Macon Blair) who had been bilked by this shyster at the beginning of the film. Karma caught up with Marla, and I Care A Lot eventually administered justice to the woman who had danced over, under, and around any sort of major consequences for her actions.

It’s a suitable ending, and one that many viewers probably anticipated. But when we got a chance to sit down with J Blakeson and dig into I Care A Lot, I asked him if they ever entertained an ending where Marla got away scott free, and he admitted:

I’ll admit, the ending of I Care A Lot left me conflicted. While I understood that Marla’s actions were sinister and criminal, something about the way she outmaneuvered the system (and her opponents) made me believe that she’s almost earned the right to get off scott free. No, you shouldn’t “root” for her. But I also think it’s OK for a bad guy to win in a movie every once in a while.

Either way, there’s no question that I Care A Lot is a conversation starter, and the ending of the movie likely will lead to debate and discussion for weeks to come. The movie’s worth a repeat viewing, so hit up Netflix and see why Rosamund Pike earned a well-deserved Golden Globe nomination.

Have you watched Netflix’s latest I Care A Lot? It stars Rosamund Pike and is an infuriating and riveting ride. It’s also the type of movie you should go in as fresh as possible for. As this article is about the ending, it contains SPOILERS UPON SPOILERS UPON SPOILERS. So, if you haven’t watched it yet, this is your warning. Please bail. Go watch the movie and then return.

It seems everyone is having a strong reaction to Rosamund Pike’s latest movie I Care A Lot, myself included. I watched it this weekend and swore out loud at several characters from the safety of my couch because they’re the absolute freaking worst. It’s the type of thing you just have to have feelings about, which is the whole point. The ending especially has proven to be quite the topic of conversation. Some love it. Some hate it. Let the record show Rosamund Pike herself loves it.

The actress recently sat down for an interview in which she talked about the divisive thriller, and during the chat, she gave her own take on the ending. More specifically, she touched on that feeling of being sort of unsure about who you’re rooting for and whether you want to see Marla get away with it. Here’s what she told USA Today…

I’m glad the movie doesn’t let her get away with it. I like rooting for an anti-hero now and again, but I never really found myself rooting for Marla. I appreciate her stubborn determination and her ruthless will to get ahead, but her crimes, at least to me, are way too reprehensible to get away with. She had a chance to walk away and completely misunderstood the opponent she was playing against and how far she was out of her depth. There had to be consequences for her miscalculation, and despite what Pike says in the above quote, I’m not entirely sure that many viewers “sort of want to see Marla win.” My guess is the majority are rooting for Peter Dinklage’s character or possibly rooting for everyone to lose.

Reaction to I Care A Lot has been very strong so far. The film earned Rosamund Pike a Golden Globe nomination, and it has generated a lot of really strong reviews, including one from CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg who gave the film five stars. I’m not sure I’m quite so high. I had a few issues with the car in the water scene and could have used way more Chris Messina, but the fact is I was engaged and glued to my television the entire time. I felt very invested in everything going on, and that's not easy when you don't really identify with or particularly want the best for many characters.

I Care A Lot is currently streaming on Netflix. I’ve been recommending it to friends. Part of that is because I think they’ll actually enjoy the movie. Part of that is because I really want more people to talk to about the third act and whether they liked the choices the movie makes, and part of me feels an absolute need to celebrate Dianne Wiest adding another great role to her already amazing resume.

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If you are a fan of dark comedies, thrillers, and intricate crime stories with over-the-top characters and haywire situations, then J Blakeson’s I Care a Lot is right up your alley. Led by Rosamund Pike as a successful con-artist who makes a living stealing from the elderly after being appointed their legal guardians, the witty and the raucous comedy was released digitally in lieu of a standard theatrical release on February 19, 2021. But with more streamers than award winners in the movie’s all-star cast, you may be wondering where you can watch I Care a Lot streaming.

Where Is I Care A Lot Streaming

If you’re trying to watch Rosamund Pike’s Marla Grayson go from thinking Dianne Wiest’s Jennifer Peterson is just another one of her cash cows to finding herself way over her head as she deals with the ramifications, and a determined mobster played by Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, you’re in luck because there are a number of options depending on your specific location.

For those in the United States as well as territories like Latin America, Germany, South Africa, India, and the Middle East, Netflix is going do the job. All you need to do is log in to your Netflix account and search for I Care a Lot, though the movie will be featured heavily on the streamer’s home page. After you take care of that you’ll be watching this fast-paced and smash mouth crime flick in no time.

Watch I Care A Lot streaming on Netflix here.

Those living in territories like the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand will use Amazon Prime Video in place of Netflix. If you're in those territories, I Care a Lot is included with your Prime membership so no need to fork out any extra cash, especially to someone trying to lock you away in a nursing home.

Have you considered using a VPN? You may already use one as a way to keep your internet access secure when using public wi-fi, but did you know you can use a VPN to watch your favorite streaming content when you're traveling out of region? If you're traveling out of the United States area and still want to catch I Care A Lot on Netflix, consider using a VPN.

Is I Care A Lot Available To Rent Or Buy?

Considering how Netflix doesn't release its original movies on other streaming services or physical media like Blu-ray or DVD, it looks like using your Netflix account is the only way to watch I Care a Lot, at least at this time.

Here’s What CinemaBlend Had To Say About I Care A Lot

With a cast as stacked as the one featured in I Care a Lot and the film’s crime-filled narrative, it should come as no surprise that the movie is latest entry to the list of great con-artist stories. CinemaBlend’s Eric Eisenberg gave the movie 5 out of 5 stars, pointing out how I Care a Lot defies expectations:

Throughout his glowing review of I Care a Lot, Eric Eisenberg gives points for the movie’s ability to make the audience’s skin crawl in the best way, the fact that the cast looks like they’re having a blast, and the clever nature of the narrative.

You can see for yourself when I Care a Lot begins streaming on Netflix (and Amazon Prime Video in other territories) on February 19. If you want to know what else is coming out this year, check out CinemaBlend’s 2021 Movie Release guide.

No one is going to typecast Rosamund Pike. The Oscar-nominated actress is far too talented to be pidgeonholed, though there is no denying that she has a unique talent for playing brainy, icy characters who seem to be two steps ahead of whomever her competition might be. This dates all the way back to her days in the James Bond franchise (she played Miranda Frost in the 2002 installment Die Another Day opposite Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry), and continues to her latest Netflix thriller, I Care A Lot.

Because of her pattern, I asked Pike which of her previous characters could best match wits with his current I Care A Lot character, Marla, and Pike went right to where I figured she would: Gone Girl’s Amy Dunne. Watch the clip above.

Writing about I Care A Lot can be a real challenge, particularly because J. Blakeson’s pitch-black story contains a wealth of unpredictable twists and turns, and it’s best that you go into it as blind as possible. Here’s what I can tell you about Rosamund Pike’s character, Marla Grayson. She’s extremely good at her job, which involves taking over the legal rights to elderly folks who are deemed unable to care for themselves, either physically or mentally. She helps them from their homes, and into the convenience of an elderly care facility, usually at the behest of the courts, because these seniors don’t have family of their own.

Except, what if these people don’t want to go? And what if they disagree with the court that they are unable to make up their own minds, and care for themselves on a daily basis? How do you get the upperhand on Marla, and her devious tactics?

When asked how Marla would face off against Amy Dunne, the similarly devious title role of David Fincher’s brilliant adaptation of Gone Girl, Rosamund Pike reflected:

Now I just want to see these two incredible characters matching wits in a cat-and-mouse game, because the real winner there is the audience… and fans of Rosamund Pike.

I Care A Lot got raves out of the Toronto Film Festival when it premiered, and will now screen on Netflix. Beginning Friday, Feb. 19. Our own Eric Eisenberg gave it a perfect 5 stars, and he’s correct. Watch it. It will not let you down.

Every now and then, there’s that gig you sign up for that seems like the biggest challenge of your life. For actor Rosamund Pike, one such moment kicked off her career with an impressive bang, as her role in the 20th James Bond film, Die Another Day, served as her introduction, for better or for worse, to the world of movies. Pike’s performance as Miranda Frost is made all the more remarkable when you take into account the fact that, as she explains below, she was totally in the dark about the world of Bond:

In this admission to EW, Rosamund Pike has probably just given the world the biggest clue to how her feature film debut in Die Another Day still stands as one of the pieces to that particular movie that stands up to the rigors of time.

A controversially campy movie even in its own day, Pierce Brosnan’s final entry in his tenure as 007 has taken a fair amount of stick in the almost two decades that have succeeded its release in November 2002. But included among James Bond’s CGI glacier surfing and another impressive performance from Halle Berry as fellow Bond Woman Jinx, is Pike’s icy portrayal of a woman with a secret.

Spoilers for you readers who haven’t seen Die Another Day, but Rosamund Pike’s Miranda Frost was the bad Bond Woman of the picture. Introduced as a double agent working for MI6, Frost was secretly in league with Toby Stephens’ villain Gustav Graves the entire time. Which make her remarks pretty amazing as, with that lack of knowledge surrounding the James Bond tradition, Pike was allowed to forge her own path with Miranda’s character. The result was a villain that could stand toe to toe against James Bond, baiting the trap with expert precision.

Sometimes, going into an enterprise like the James Bond series without foreknowledge is a blessing. It certainly looks that way for Rosamund Pike, as even compared to the newer era of Bond Women that have graced the screen, her Die Another Day character holds up extremely well. One could even say that with her experience as the secretly villainous Miranda under her belt early on, Rosamund Pike’s eventual casting as Amy Dunne in David Fincher’s adaptation of Gone Girl was something that was always fated to happen.

Rosamund Pike can be currently be seen in the Amazon Original movie Radioactive, which is now available for streaming on Prime Video.

Another week has gone by, and with it another handful of trailers that have made their way onto the internet. Marketing is a major aspect of film production, and often dictates how much money each respective release will make in theaters. Cinephiles need to get psyched, in order to motivate them to shell out money and head to the theaters.

The Toronto Film Festival took place the past two weeks, and plenty of movies have debuted there in hopes of drumming up initial critical success and anticipation-- hopefully bringing them Awards Season attention as well. And while not every moviegoer could attend the Fest, some of the movies have released full trailers online, serving as a consolation prize of sorts. Here are all the trailers you might have missed this week.

Midway

Famous wars and battles have always proven to be great fodder for movies, able to captivate audiences in a visceral way. We've seen this in projects ranging from Dunkirk to Pearl Harbor, although the latest addition to the genre is Roland Emmerich's Midway. The White House Down director's upcoming drama is based off the Battle of Midway from World War II, and he's assembled a killer cast to bring the story to life. This includes Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Woody Harrelson, Darren Criss, and Dennis Quaid. The trailer teases an epic and thrilling journey, and the movie will arrive in theaters on November 8th.

Like A Boss

Like a Boss is a decidedly lighter movie, and its first trailer got a fair amount of attention on the internet upon being released this week. Directed by Miguel Arteta, the upcoming comedy is a take on the beauty industry, and looks like a hilarious and fun time in the theaters. The story follows two friends played by Rose Byrne and Tiffany Haddish, as they attempt to start a beauty company together. The problem is their respective attitudes, which should create workplace comedy. Salma Hayek and Billy Porter make up the supporting cast, with the movie hitting theaters January 10th, 2020.

Waves

Waves is one of the trailers on this list coming from a movie that participated in the Toronto International Film Festival. It Comes At Night director Trey Edward Shults directed the upcoming drama, which follows the life of Kelvin Harrison Jr.'s Tyler and his family. In it, Tyler is pushed to the limit of his young life by father Ronald played by This is Us standout Sterling K. Brown. The movie has been getting serious praise, and boasts more talent like Hamilton's Renee Elise Goldsberry and Lucas Hedges. Waves will get its full theatrical release on November 1st.

Little Monsters

Zombies have been the source of inspiration for quite a few movies, with the apocalyptic genre becoming more popular through the release of projects like Zombieland and AMC's The Walking Dead.  Abe Forsythe's Little Monsters looks like it isn't going to take itself too seriously, taking a page from Sean of the Dead. The upcoming comedy stars Lupita Nyong'o as a teacher, whose school trip goes terribly wrong when the zombie apocalypse begins. Josh Gad plays TV personality Tedd McGiggle, who looks like he's going to be a serious scene-stealer in the genre bending project. Little Monsters will get a limited theatrical release on October 8th, before streaming on Hulu starting October 11th.

Radioactive

Radioactive is another TIFF participant that released a trailer this week. The Rosamund Pike-led movie is set to close out the festival tomorrow night, in a gala presentation. The upcoming biopic is directed by Marjane Satrapi, following the life of physicist Marie Curie. Pike plays that protagonist, as she attempts to make her scientific work known and change the world in the process. Sam Riley and Anya Taylor-Joy fill out the cast, and it looks like Rosamund Pike will put the same type of conviction and ferocity into her performance as she did in Gone Girl. Radioactive will hit theaters sometime in 2020.

In Suicide Squad, Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag is an Army Special Forces colonel who finds himself surrounded by criminals as part of a dangerous mission. For Joel Kinnaman’s new movie The Informer, he again plays a highly trained soldier surrounded by criminals, only this time he is more outnumbered and has almost no one on his side. Check out Joel Kinnaman fighting his way through prison in the new trailer for The Informer:

Anytime you watch a crime drama where a police informant is surrounded by criminals, there is a sense of constant tension that things could go south at any moment and that is definitely present in the trailer for The Informer. Joel Kinnaman’s Pete Koslow is an FBI informant, forced into prison, where he is constantly watched and under threat and to survive he’ll have to fight his way through.

The one thing that’s not clear from this trailer is that Joel Kinnaman’s character is a former Special Forces soldier, and he wound up becoming a felon after a fight to protect his wife. So he’s got some serious skills and might be doing his best Rorschach impression from Watchmen, letting everyone know they’re locked in there with him. The trailer makes it look like the fights will be particularly bloody and brutal in this film, but Pete’s skills may not be enough given everything he’s up against.

What’s intriguing about this crime drama is the dynamics at play between the various parties. Pete Koslow is a pawn in the games of the FBI and the mob, with the former using him to take down NYC’s biggest mob boss and the latter using him to funnel drugs into the prison. Not to mention the NYPD, which seemingly comes after him when one of their own is killed while undercover.

The corruption angle that this story seems to be leaning into means that not everyone wearing a badge is a good guy. That should give The Informer some moral ambiguity to play in, which should heighten the tension even more. This all puts Pete in an extremely dangerous situation with no easy way out.

He may be an informant for the FBI, but as we see in the trailer, their word to him means nothing and he is a completely disposable asset. But of course it’s not just his life on the line, he has a family under threat as well. That means that if he wants to get out of prison and save his family, he’ll have to do everything himself.

In addition to Joel Kinnaman, who besides Suicide Squad is probably best known for his television work like The Killing, Altered Carbon and most recently Hanna, this trailer shows what a talented cast The Informer has put together. Between this and Gemini Man, it’s a good year for Clive Owen playing manipulative characters.

The recently cast star of Amazon’s Wheel of Time series, Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike is also on hand, as is Common and Bond 25 Bond girl, Ana de Armas. The Informer is directed by actor Andrea Di Stefano, who made his directorial debut with the 2014 crime drama Escobar: Paradise Lost.

The Informer arrives in theaters on August 16. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of everything else headed your way this summer.

Whenever prestige picture season rolls around, the usual glut of biographical dramas tend to follow. We've seen quite a few roll through town by this point of the year, ranging from the crowd-pleasing Bohemian Rhapsody to the quickly forgotten First Man. It feels like the genre is taking more of a stab at becoming a marketable industry, rather than just a prestige player. Yet for all of the activity this sort of film has seen in recent times, A Private War feels like a refreshing film in a time that sees its genre, and its serious tone, often used for awards consideration and now box office profit.

A Private War focuses on the career of Marie Colvin (Rosamund Pike), famed war correspondent for The Sunday Times' foreign desk. Between 1986 and 2012, Colvin was drawn to covering the most dangerous, most interesting conflict zones that weren't part of common news coverage. Starting with her first assignment to Sri Lanka, and ending in her final assignment in Homs, Syria, shortly after the Arab Spring, the film focuses on her life as defined by her career and the people she knew.

There are two decisions that A Private War made from its inception that ensured its success: the hiring of documentary filmmaker Matthew Heineman to helm his first biopic, and the casting of Rosamund Pike to play Colvin herself. The former is a stroke of genius, simply for the fact that while this is a dramatized version of Marie Colvin's life and career, it feels like a documentary film.

The visual language on display puts you right in the middle of whatever moment Marie's living through, be it covering a combat zone that's being shelled, or the moments in her life where she's falling apart in the quiet of normal day to day events. It makes for an intense viewing experience that allows Heineman to draw on the skills that made Cartel Land and City of Ghosts such noteworthy documentaries.

But of course, the big subject that should, and probably will, spark a lot of discussion is Rosamund Pike's portrayal of Marie Colvin. While Gone Girl garnered her quite a bit of acclaim, as well as several nominations, during the film's dance with critics and audiences, Pike has always been a strong performer on screen. A Private War is quite possibly her finest performance, as she treats each scenario she's placed into with reverence and dramatic gravitas. With a good mix of humor and despair, Rosamund Pike brings Marie Colvin's legacy to life on the screen in such a way that it's one of the most vibrant biopic portrayals we've ever seen, much less in this year's market.

It also helps that a supporting cast of notable actors are there to help anchor down Pike's stellar work in A Private War. Tom Hollander's role as Colvin's Sunday Times editor, Sean Ryan, is a particularly noteworthy occurrence, as this is his second time out in the biopic rodeo this year, the first being in the role of Jim Beach in Bohemian Rhapsody. Unlike that previous film, however, Hollander's talents are properly displayed in this film, as he's given more of a range of behaviors and emotions to play around with.

Also helping out are Jamie Dornan, as Marie Colvin's photographer colleague / friend Paul Conroy, and Stanley Tucci, as Marie's boyfriend, Tony Shaw. Both actors get to shine in their own respective ways. Much like Rosamund Pike, all of her supporting colleagues balance humor and serious emotion in their telling of the tale.

With the state of the world being what it is, and the attention being paid to the profession of journalism and how it's regarded at large, A Private War is being released at the perfect time. Marie Colvin didn't shy away from the ugliest "unknown" conflicts the world had to offer, and while she had personal reasons that drew her to such stories, she also did it because they were stories she felt had to be told. A Private War tells Marie Colvin's story, which is just as vital as any conflict that she'd covered, and it does so with respect for its subject and the audience. It should not be missed.

It's been four years since Rosamund Pike's astounding performance in the Gone Girl and we're still far from over it. The actress played the intensely dark character Amy Dunne so believably that she started to look inward and question her own morals. In her words:

Looks like while Gone Girl was playing with our minds, it also did quite the number on Rosamund Pike too. In an interview with The Off-Camera Show, Pike explained how as an actor it's a combination of pretending and convincing yourself your role is real. So she naturally wrestled with just how she was able to tap into such a maddening character so well. The experience was an unsettling one for not only that reason, but also because of the crazy preparation she did to get into character.

To get ready for her body slashing scene, Rosamund Pike visited a butcher and practiced with her box cutter on some unlucky pig carcasses with incredible intensity, just as incoming customers walked in on the scene. The actress also recruited a Dora the Explorer doll to pose as Neil Patrick Harris' character, to practice how she would murder him in the film-- placing the poor stuffed doll on a six foot stake as a stand in before filming the disturbing sequence. The measures the actress may seem a bit extreme, but it was necessary for Pike to pull off her most memorable performance.

Diving into deep research for a role wasn't isolated to Gone Girl either, the actress also put a quite a bit of effort into getting into character for one of her more tacky films, Doom. Rosamund Pike revealed that since her character Samantha Grimm had to dissect monsters for a living, she went ahead and joined a human dissection class.

Rosamund Pike's attention to detail with her roles puts her as quite an overachiever among actors, as it seems she has taken a hands on approach to getting into character since the dawn of her career. She does pretend to be other people for a living though, so why not get a little in their shoes in preparation?

Rosamund Pike is playing another intense role in the upcoming release of A Private War in which she plays American war correspondent Marie Colvin who was often at the frontlines at global conflicts in the Middle East. Jamie Dornan joins her as British photojournalist Paul Conroy in the dramatic true story about the taxing life of journalists who cover war. A Private War comes to theaters on November 16.

Rosamund Pike is generally known for playing the cool blonde in most of her movies. Sometimes sweet, usually headstrong and occasionally bloody-minded and calculating, Pike has already gone a long way toward showing audiences that she's capable of giving us some very different characterizations on screen. Well, now she's going to be showing us yet another side of herself in her new film, A Private War. Pike is taking on the real-life story of American journalist Marie Colvin, and from the looks of the new trailer, she's definitely found herself one badass character this time. Take a look:

As you can see, Marie Colvin wasn't any ordinary reporter. She was obsessed with finding the truth behind many of the world's most dangerous conflicts, and went to war zones in the Middle East, Chechnya, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and East Timor during the 27 years she worked for the British newspaper The Sunday Times. The heart-pounding trailer starts by letting us know that the work Colvin did could get her in trouble, as the governments she reported on were never amused by an outsider coming in and trying to get to the root of the wars they were a part of.

The trailer take us through many of the dangerous war zones that Marie Colvin went to, including the one which led to the loss of her eye, but is also keen to show us that she did have many people on her side as she traversed the globe looking for the truth in very hazardous places. One of those allies was her trusted photographer, Paul Conroy, who's played in the film by Fifty Shades Freed actor Jamie Dornan. The film will follow Colvin and Conroy to one of the most dangerous assignments of their lives, as they cover the war-torn Syrian city of Homs.

The title of the film seems to serve a dual purpose, and Rosamund Pike helps sell each aspect of A Private War equally well. Clearly, Colvin was completely dedicated to exposing the truth behind some of the most dangerous conflicts in the world, and willingly put herself at risk many times because, as Pike says at one point in the trailer, she needed to see it for herself. With that commitment, though, came some self-doubt. This was not about her mission to get to the truth, but about her unfailing desire to go to experience these war zones first hand, and the personal toll it took on her life. So, it seems that Colvin was fighting to get to the truth and also fighting with herself a bit as she continued to put herself in danger to do her job how she felt it needed to be done.

It certainly looks like Rosamund Pike has taken to the task of playing a tough, committed war correspondent with a badass ferocity that will make A Private War, which also stars Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander, Corey Johnson and Fady Elsayed, an intriguing watch. The film hits theaters on November 2, and you can see what else is still coming to the big screen by checking out our 2018 movie release schedule.

It's been a fascinating year for the entertainment world, as a seismic shift in conversation seems to be happening in the business. Following the explosive accusations made against Harvey Weinstein, the dam broke, and women began sharing stories of sexual misconduct, harassment, and inequality in both show business and beyond. The #MeToo movement has inspired plenty of celebs to share their stories, and that includes Gone Girl actress Rosamund Pike. Pike first burst into the scene as Bond girl Miranda Frost in Die Another Day, but it turns out that her audition was majorly uncomfortable. Namely, she was asked to take her clothes off for a self-tape. As Pike recently told it,

Well, that's certainly one way to get a job. Bond girls have been sex symbols since Dr. No's Honey Ryder, a tradition that has continued through the most recent installments in the James Bond franchise. And while Pike seemed comfortable disrobing on set in the context of a character (she did so covered in blood for Gone Girl), being judged solely on her appearance in an audition was something she just wasn't comfortable doing.

Rosamund Pike's comments in an Audible Session (via THR) is just the latest story of women being put in uncomfortable positions in the entertainment world. Being asked to wear fewer clothes for a self-tape didn't vibe with Pike's personal morals, and she ultimately refused to do it for her Die Another Day audition. The actress had serious resolve at just 21 years old, and still landed the role of Miranda Frost in the final Pierce Brosnan-led movie.

Ultimately Miranda Frost didn't bare nearly as much as skin as Halle Berry's Jinx Johnson, who wore a famous orange bikini and ended up being the heroine of the story. The two Bond women came to blows in the film's final conflict, with Miranda getting a knife through the heart in the process.

You can catch Miranda Frost's big ending below.

While there have been plenty of Bond Girls who have quickly faded into obscurity, Rosamund Pike has managed to have a long successful career in movies. She's currently got three films in post-production: A Private War, Three Seconds, and Radioactive.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Bond, as well as Rosamund Pike's still growing career. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

One of the biggest hot topics of discussion is show business revolves around proper inclusion and visibility. There has been a strong call for more dynamic characters played by people of color, women, and members of the LGBT community. As such, there has been a call for the beloved character James Bond to change with the times, especially since Daniel Craig is finishing his tenure as 007 with the next installment. There have been campaigns to have the next Bond be either a person of color or woman, but one notable Bond Girl doesn't think the latter should occur. Rosamund Pike had a major role in Die Another Day, and recently revealed why she doesn't think a female 007 is the right solution to the problem of inclusion. She said,

Rather than simply flipping the sex of James Bond, Rosamund Pike seems to believe that a new character and franchise should be crafted with a female protagonist. It could certainly be set within the 007 universe, but it would operate independently from the martini sipping MI6 agent we all know and love.

Rosamund Pike makes a pretty great point, as having a female James Bond will have certain complications. There will be an unfair comparison to the male Bonds, and the character would have a hard time standing on its own two feet. Instead, the Gone Girl actress believes a new dynamic female special agent should be crafted. As she told Uproxx,

Rosamund Pike makes another great point here, especially considering the history of James Bond. 007 was the ultra masculine energy when first arriving on the silver screen, and has some outdated and misogynist scenes that haven't necessarily aged well. Therefore having a woman occupying the space may feel a bit disjointed.

The former Bond Girl's idea for a female special agent can be seen in Charlize Theron Atomic Blonde. That film went over very well, and Theron was placed on the short list for a female 007 alongside Gillian Anderson. Ultimately Lorraine Broughton as a character stood on its own, and didn't need the James Bond name to make the movie a success.

Stick with CinemaBlend for updates on all things Bond. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

We're coming up on an interesting time at the box office. While Black Panther has dominated for close to a month, there is a slew of interesting new projects coming out in theaters. While Tomb Raider will no doubt provide some fun action to moviegoers, 7 Days in Entebbe is a decidedly more serious drama. The new film, directed by José Padilha, tells the story of infamous 1976 hijacking of Air France Flight 139, and the week long standoff that followed. The film also makes a bold choice by having a choreographed dance sequence framing the narrative. I recently spoke with actor Daniel Bruhl (Captain America: Civil War, Inglorious Basterds) who stars as terrorist Wilfried Böse. When asked about the dance, Bruhl spoke to what it represented in the film.

It looks like Daniel Bruhl is particularly fond of the dance sequence in 7 Days in Entebbe, as it allows the film to bring something new to the tale of the infamous real-life hijacking.

Indeed, there have already been three film adaptations about the event, and the week hostages spent in Entebbe, Uganda. The first two were American TV movies, titled Victory in Entebbe and Raid on Entebbe respectively. Additionally, an Israeli film titled Operation Thunderbolt also told the story, although it has since faded from the pop culture lexicon. The use of a dance piece is just one way that 7 Days in Entebbe attempt to set itself apart from the past adaptations, in addition to the way it focused on the large cast of characters.

7 Days In Entebbe doesn't simply follow the events around the hijacking and taking of hostages back in 1976. Rather than only focusing on the likes of Daniel Bruhl's Wilfred Bose and Rosamund Pike's Brigitte Kuhlmann, the new movie includes a wide variety of real life figures who factors into the events. This includes Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and his cabinet, soldiers involved in the raid, the passengers, and those simply watching the events on the news.

Through the entirety of 7 Days in Entebbe, there is a dance piece being shown to the audience. The wild dancing helps to highlight the terrifying nature of the situation, as well as the overall political ramifications of the hijacking. It bookends the piece, and allows for some of the more alarmingly powerful moments of the film.

7 Days in Entebbe is in theaters now. Be sure to check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

While there’s certainly no shortage of dramas set during the Second World War, the upcoming thriller HHHH looks to break the mold in a genre that’s had more than its share of entries. Reportedly taking a nuanced, character-centric approach, the film features an impressive cast, looking to bring this historic tale of an elaborate assassination mission to the big screen.

According to a report from Variety, the biographical World War II drama, HHHH, based on the novel of the same name by Laurent Binet, will see the addition of a primary cast that mixes established commodities along with up-coming names that already makes the film sound promising. Let’s take a look at the lineup.

Jason Clarke as "Reinhard Heydrich"

The rapid, post-Zero Dark Thirty rise of Clarke, which yielded a starring role in last year’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and will see a major big-budget action role in this summer’s Terminator: Genisys, will take an intriguing turn with HHHH. Clarke plays Heydrich, a high ranking Nazi official who worked closely with the architect of atrocities, Heinrich Himmler, and is actually the film's titular character. The title references an acronym for what Germans called him, "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," meaning "Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich."

The first chapter of the film essentially depicts Clarke’s Heydrich as a protagonist, focusing on his rise to prominence in the Nazi party in a way that producer Alain Goldman refers to as "intimately and professionally" as he descends to a dark place.

Rosamund Pike as "Lina Heydrich"

Settling comfortably into what seems to be a post-Gone Girl typecasting as a manipulative maker of machinations, Pike plays Lina Heydrich, Reinhard’s wife. She is described as an aristocratic type of character, constantly looking to improve their social standing, who, like a race-obsessed Lady Macbeth, apparently introduces the Nazi ideology to Reinhard, setting him on his repugnant course depicted in the film’s second half.

Jack O’Connell as "Jan Kubis" and Jack Reynor as "Josef Gabcik"

In exploring a duality in human nature with Heydrich’s story, the focus shifts in the second chapter of the film to two operatives of the Czechoslovakian resistance who are tasked with assassinating him in 1942. O’Connell (pictured left), formerly of U.K. TV’s Skins, turned some heads with his role in last year’s World War II Pacific theater prisoner drama, Unbroken, as well as '71.

Reynor (pictured right) is coming off a prominent role amongst giant robots and explosions in last year’s Transformers: Age of Extinction. For the Colorado native, this role as Gabcik will see him, along with the Brit, O'Connell, as two would-be Slovak paratrooper assassins tasked with making Heydrich their quarry in what potentially could be exciting, action-packed sequences.

Mia Wasikowska as "Czech Resistance Fighter"

Finally, we have the addition of Wasikowska, the elegant actress probably still best known from her starring turn in Tim Burton’s 2010 rendition of Alice in Wonderland. She plays a yet-to-be-named girl living in Nazi-occupied Prague who operates as part of the resistance on behalf of the country’s driven-underground government. Most likely she will be involved with the dynamic duo of O'Connell and Reynor.

HHHH is co-written and will be helmed by Cédric Jimenez, whose resume contains a few films in France, but is a bit otherwise thin at the moment. However, with filming set to begin in Prague and Budapest in August, with this tremendous cast and a seemingly inventive take on the WWII genre, it could ultimately be a name-making vehicle for Jimenez.

The MTV Movie Awards never pretended to be the Oscars. This is the ceremony, after all, that one time handed a Golden Popcorn trophy to Friday the 13th slasher Jason Voorhees for his Lifetime Achievement. They gave Jim Carrey a Best Male Performance trophy for Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls… which is the worst Ace Ventura movie. And they honored the Twilight films with Best Movie trophies ON FOUR SEPARATE OCCASIONS!

So yeah, we expect a little insanity when the MTV Movie Awards nominations come out. But the following 10 nominees are some of the most head-scratchingly bizarre recognitions, for assorted reasons. Let’s whittle through this year’s crop of potential MTV Movie Award winners to see who’s surprised to be included, and what bizarre categories in which they find themselves.

Jennifer Lopez, Best Scared-As-Shit Performance

Forty days. That’s how long Jennifer Lopez’s sultry, cheesy thriller The Boy Next Door has been in theaters. It came out in 2015, and still qualifies for this year’s MTV Movie Awards, alongside movies like Boyhood, Birdman and Whiplash. Why? No clue. But the movie made enough of an impact on the MTV voters that they dropped Jenny from the Block into the awesomely titled Best Scared As Shit Performance category. I guess her reps told the network ahead of time that she’d show up if nominated.

Rosario Dawson and Anders Holm, Best WTF Moment

The "Best WTF Moment" category is a puzzle. In most cases, they list the names of the actors, and the movies from which the WTF moment happened. Then, it’s up to you to guess. But all you have to see is the names Rosario Dawson and Anders Holm to know EXACTLY which WTF moment MTV selected from Chris Rock’s Top Five. It involves a tampon. And hot sauce. And … well, just rent the movie, and prepare for the worst!

Kate Upton, Best Shirtless Performance

Shirtless? Like, completely shirtless? I’m pretty sure I’d remember that. And Kate Upton didn’t go topless in The Other Woman. The above photo proves that she spotted the skimpiest bikini top possible. But the dudes competing with Ms. Upton for the coveted Best Shirtless Performance category completely shedded their clothing, and therefore earned their nominations. I’m calling shenanigans.

Rosamund Pike, Breakthrough Performance

For her role as sinister Amy Dunne in David Fincher’s Gone Girl, beautiful Rosamund Pike finally sees her name in the Breakthrough Performance category at the MTV Movie Awards. Try to overlook the fact that she’s been acting professionally since 1998. Or that she was a Bond girl in 2002’s Die Another Day. Or that she played the CGI blockbuster game with Wrath of the Titans, and co-starred alongside Tom Cruise in Jack Reacher. Is Gone Girl her biggest role to date? Probably. But this recognition’s pretty late.

Meryl Streep, Best Villain

Further proving the notion that Meryl Streep gets nominated simply by showing up on screen in whatever movie, the frequently brilliant but overpraised Streep collects her second nomination for Into the Woods (after the Academy bestowed similar honors). The part that I don’t get – and didn’t get when this same thing happened at the Oscars – is that Streep’s barely in Into the Woods. She comes and goes, choosing her moments. But does she give a performance? And a performance worthy of awards nominations? There are multiple villains I would have honored over Streep… but when Dame Meryl appears on screen, awards voters from every organization fall all over themselves to try to give her a trophy.

No Birdman in the Movie Of The Year Race

I get that MTV wants to distance itself from the Academy, so they nominate a number of films that the Oscars wouldn’t touch. Neighbors, The Fault In Our Stars and The Interview can contend for MTV Movie Awards, but they have no place (and no categories) at the Oscars. But if MTV’s going to reach out to films like Boyhood, Selma and American Sniper, shouldn’t Birdman – the eventual Best Picture winner – find a slot in MTV’s Best Movie of the Year category? I mean, Emma Stone is recognized for her performance. And MTV saw the Keaton-Norton fight. But no nom for Best Movie of the Year? Bizarre.

Eddie Redmayne, Best On-Screen Transformation

This is another WTF bit of category hopping. Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne gets an MTV Movie Awards nomination for his amazing portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. But he doesn’t get into the Best Male Performance category, where he would have competed against Bradley Cooper, Chris Pratt, Ansel Elgort, Miler Teller and Channing Tatum. Instead, he gets relegated to an On-Screen Transformation category. Maybe MTV wants to recognize him, but also wants to see someone else contend in the Actor category? Because my money’s currently on Chris Pratt to have a very good night.

It’s only been a few months since the theatrical release of Gone Girl, but as we learned yesterday, director David Fincher, writer Gillian Flynn, and star Ben Affleck are all very much itching to get back to work together. It’s been revealed that the trio are now reteaming for a remake of the Alfred Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Train, with Affleck set to play the movie’s protagonist. The big question that remains, however, is who will play opposite him as the film’s murder-trading villain.

Reported to be titled simply Strangers, sources have said that elements of the original story are set to be changed in a significant way in the new film – including the fact that the setting will be modern day and that a private plane will be taking the place of a train. That being said, the relationship between the two lead characters is still expected to be the central focus of the narrative, and to play against Ben Affleck as the hero the project will need a high-caliber talent. We still don’t know who the ultimate choice would be, but we do have a few suggestions…

Matt Damon

There used to be a time when Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were seen as an inseparable pair, both starring in movies and winning Academy Awards together. However, it’s been about 16 years since the two men had significant roles in the same movie, last seen starring together playing the angels Bartleby and Loki in Kevin Smith’s 1999 religious comedy Dogma. David Fincher’s Strangers on a Train is a perfect opportunity to end that streak. One might argue that the reunion could possibly be a bit too much of a distraction, but the project would provide the two actors with a fantastic dynamic, and give Damon a chance to go really crazy for the first time since The Talented Mr. Ripley. Affleck and Damon have proven in the past that they can be a terrific on-screen duo, and this project may be ideal to get them back together.

Rosamund Pike

As mentioned in the intro, David Fincher’s version of Strangers on a Train will make some pretty key story deviations from the original Patricia Highsmith novel and the 1951 Alfred Hitchcock adaptation, but why is the plot the only thing that has to change? What about the gender of the antagonist? If Fincher were to go this route, then a particularly easy choice may just be to once again enlist Rosamund Pike. Not only would the actress’ inclusion actually bring the entire Gone Girl main team, but Pike has certainly proven that she can sell homicidal nut as good as anyone. It’s true that making the character Bruno Antony a woman would definitely change the dynamic between her and the protagonist Guy Haines, but that may honestly be extremely refreshing considering how many times we’ve seen this narrative play out with two men.

Don Cheadle

Don Cheadle’s career isn’t quite what it was about 10 years ago when he was earning incredible critical praise for his performance in Hotel Rwanda, but starring with Ben Affleck in Strangers on a Train could both be a great opportunity and a perfect bit of casting. One needs to look no further than his performances in films like Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight and Carl Frankin’s underrated Devil in a Blue Dress to recognize the actor’s skill at playing dangerous, violent individuals, but at the same time he can lay on the charm as thick as most other leading men in Hollywood. Depending on when things get rolling on this project, Cheadle may wind up having some scheduling issues due to his commitment making his television series House of Lies, but given the opportunity he could be a terrific foil for Fincher’s new film.

Brad Pitt

It’s not exactly a secret that David Fincher and Brad Pitt work extraordinarily well together. Their feature film collaborations over the last 20 years have resulted in what can easily be considered some of their best respective work, and they will likely be included in the selection of titles that the two men for which the two men will be forever remembered. They’re so great together, in fact, that it would be a crime to never see them team up again – so why not reunite for Strangers on a Train? Pitt and Ben Affleck have never had the chance to work together before, but they could be a truly fantastic match-up, and it would be rather amazing to see them square off in the film’s big climactic moments. Also, if there’s a selection of people in the world who could potentially convince a complete stranger to kill someone for them, Brad Pitt would certainly be one of them.

Jonah Hill

There are some people out there who still have a bit of trouble taking Jonah Hill too seriously thanks to his comedy background, but let’s be real here: the guy is a damn good actor. Beyond just being incredibly funny in movies like Superbad and 21 Jump Street, the guy has put on some honestly amazing and memorable performances these past few years in movies like Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street - and he has the Academy Award nominations to prove it. As such, he may be an odd but perfect choice to star opposite Ben Affleck in Strangers on a Train. Because he’s so unassuming, Hill could easily lean on a creepy vibe for the role – similar to what he did in Martin Scorsese’s movie for comedic effect – and create a version of Bruno Antony that is terrifying and unique.

Ed Harris

In Strangers on a Train, the protagonist and antagonist have classically been around the same age, but if David Fincher’s version were to mess with that idea a bit, it would be fantastic to see him get someone like Ed Harris to play opposite Ben Affleck. It’s true that you would have to change the Bruno Antony character motivation a bit, as someone Harris’ age probably doesn’t have a father that they want snuffed out, but it would also enable a wholly different kind of relationship for the two leads. Because he’s a bit older and potentially less able to physically keep up with someone Affleck’s age, Harris’ version of Bruno could possibly be more of a mind-game player and manipulator, which would really suit the role just fine. Plus, Harris just showed us this past summer in Snowpiercer that he can still be extremely menacing just talking and walking around.

Neil Patrick Harris

Yes, we’re once again dipping back into the Gone Girl pool here, but can you really blame us? Neil Patrick Harris was perfect as the creepy, controlling Desi Collings in David Fincher’s last film, and if he can do that well in a supporting role we would love to see him get bumped up to being a lead. It doesn’t really take that much imagination to picture NPH charming the hell out of Ben Affleck after a random meeting, and eventually getting him to start spilling dark secrets and murderous desires. This is also a part where having an actor play against type could add an extra layer of sinister, just in that it would make the character’s surprising psychosis that much more effective. Now that How I Met Your Mother if officially over and done with, now is the time for Neil Patrick Harris to really start focusing on his film work, and Strangers on a Train could be perfect for him.

Toby Kebbell

Despite the fact that he already has a good number of blockbusters on his resume, English actor Toby Kebbell isn’t exactly a household name just yet – but it may just be a matter of time before he is. Last year he was incredibly impressive doing motion capture work as the villainous Koba opposite Andy Serkis in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and the next couple months and years will see him in massive projects like The Fantastic Four, Warcraft and the Ben-Hur remake. His star is certainly rising, and now may be the perfect time for David Fincher to swoop in an attach him to play opposite Ben Affleck in Strangers on a Train. Kebbell has the talent to both play charming and dangerous, his British accent could be used as an interesting character affectation, and even the fact that he’s a good 10 years younger than Affleck could be used to the story’s advantage.

Anthony Mackie

Anthony Mackie exists on a level of "underrated" so great that it’s inevitable he eventually gets a big starring role that blows us all away. Why can’t that role be in David Fincher’s Strangers on a Train? The guy has proven many times that he can generate tremendous chemistry with his co-stars – look no further than his work with Jeremy Renner in The Hurt Locker or with Chris Evans in Captain America: The Winter Soldier - and, perhaps more importantly, he has the ability to be both tremendously affable and deadly serious. It’s true that we have not yet seen him get into that psycho killer sense of mind just yet, the closest perhaps being his role in Michael Bay’s Pain & Gain, but given his talent level it’s hardly a stretch to see how he might melt into that part.

Amy Adams

Just because Rosamund Pike has the Gone Girl connection doesn’t mean that she could potentially be the only candidate to play a female version of Bruno Antony, and Amy Adams would honestly be another great choice to turn the villain into a more femme fatale type. Adams has been consistently putting out great work for years now, but one area where she has always been somewhat stuck is playing more innocent characters. With the opportunity to work with David Fincher on Strangers on a Train, she could completely change that. Imagine her taking the role one step beyond her work in American Hustle, being charming and duplicitous with an added and highly-enhanced killer instinct. It might wind up be a strange pairing with Ben Affleck, given her role as Lois Lane opposite his version of the Caped Crusader in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, but it’s also not hard to imagine them working well together in antagonistic roles.

SPOILER WARNING: The following article contains many, many spoilers for David Fincher's Gone Girl. If you have not seen the film, and do not wish to read details about the ending, please click over to another one of our wonderful articles!

Those who have seen David Fincher's Gone Girl know that the film has a pretty definitive ending. Amy (Rosamund Pike) returns, she gets away with both murder and faking her own death, and Nick (Ben Affleck) is forever trapped in a marriage and raising a family with a complete psychopath. It's a nice a tidy story that wraps up well... but what if we were to get a Gone Girl 2? Weird as it may sound, author Gillian Flynn actually has some ideas.

Speaking with the New York Daily News at the BAFTA LA Annual Awards Season Tea Party, Flynn revealed that she has actually put some thought to the idea of a Gone Girl sequel, and already has big ideas about the direction it could possibly go. Noting that any kind of follow-up wouldn't happen immediately, the author pitched the idea of bringing director David Fincher and stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike back together to look in on how the characters and see how they are doing. She told the newspaper,

One can assume that even after a few years removed from the events of Gone Girl Nick won't be able to ever trust Amy again or look at her in the same way. So what if the sequel was about Nick actually plotting to kill his wife? You can still get clever with the crime element of it, as Nick would have to try and be just as crafty and manipulative as his spouse - but there is also a another very interesting media angle that could be used in the story, as certainly the press and public wouldn't be as quick to assume that Nick is the killer after he was proven innocent last time.

Of course, the other side of the coin is the naturally big question of whether a Gone Girl 2 is really necessary. The first film was certainly a huge hit, making $365 million globally on a $61 million reported budget, but the movie really does function all by itself and doesn't exactly beg for a follow up. Gillian Flynn actually getting David Fincher, Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike to return, however, would certainly be a big feather in the sequel's cap, so who can really say at this point what the best future may be.

Movie-goers paying attention to the credits for Gone Girl may have found themselves wondering why Reese Witherspoon didn't wind up starring alongside Ben Affleck in the acclaimed drama. The actress served as a producer on the film, and since she is roughly around the same age as Rosamund Pike, some might find it curious why she didn't end up taking the role of Amy Dunne for herself. Now that query has been answered, as Witherspoon has revealed that it all came down to what sounds like a frank conversation she had with director David Fincher.

Reese Witherspoon was recently a participant in a Hollywood Reporter-organized roundtable that saw her seated alongside the likes of Julianne Moore, Laura Dern, Hilary Swank, Amy Adams and Patricia Arquette, and during the conversation the Academy Award-winning actress explained why she didn't end up with the titular role in Gone Girl. She noted that she was always open to the idea of playing Amazing Amy in the film, but what it ultimately came down to was David Fincher's decision - and what Fincher decided was that he wanted someone else for the part. Said Witherspoon,

While it would certainly be interesting to know the exact reasons why David Fincher didn't feel Reese Witherspoon wasn't the right fit for Gone Girl, I also completely understand why the actress might not want to go about blurting what they were. She may have ended up agreeing with the director's decision, but I imagine that was still a rather rough conversation.

Reese Witherspoon actually had a very big hand in getting Gone Girl made in the first place, as it was the company that she co-founded, Pacific Standard, that first picked up the rights to Gillian Flynn's novel back in 2012. A key part of the production company's mission statement is finding and creating more great roles for women in Hollywood, and that's exactly what Gone Girl provided Rosamund Pike. Of course, Witherspoon has also been using the company to help herself as well, as she is both a producer and the star of the new drama Wild, which has been earning quite a lot of buzz.

Gone Girl is still in theaters and has proven to be a big box office hit, with a global take of $319 million (making it the third biggest David Fincher film behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Se7en). We'll likely continue hearing about it in the next few months, as it stands a chance in more than a few award categories - including Best Actress.

Rosamund Pike has experienced somewhat of a career renaissance thanks to her devilishly good performance opposite Ben Affleck in David Fincher’s rather magnificent, Gone Girl. The English actress has now admitted that she’d be up for returning for a sequel to the film too, but only if the novel and film’s writer, Gillian Flynn, joins her.

Now I’m going to have to add a SPOILER WARNING here because what's said would ruin the entire film if you haven't seen it (or read the book). So if you haven’t seen Gone Girl yet you really shouldn’t read ahead. You have been warned.

Rosamund Pike at first told Variety, after being asked whether she’d consider a Gone Girl sequel, "No, no, no," but then she clearly started to warm to the idea as she then noted, "Only if Gillian [Flynn] wrote it. I don’t like the idea of someone coming in and saying I could get my hand on these characters. The filmmakers don’t even want people to know Amy is even alive at the end. People have been good about." Told you she spoilt it.

I’m guessing that the people left here now have either seen Gone Girl or are currently crying into their keyboards because its conclusion has now been ruined. No matter which category you fall into I think we can all agree that Gone Girl 2 would be a terrible idea. The decadent poetic thriller about the disintegration of Rosamund Pike and Ben Affleck’s marriage was a tremendous indictment of the 24-hour news cycle wrapped in an absurd murder-mystery. It is almost certainly going to stand the test of time as a solo entity. Returning to the characters would almost immediately ruin what made Gone Girl so good in the first place. At the end, Amy and Nick are now stuck in their marriage because of the mountain of lies that they told to each other, and the fact that she’s pregnant with his child means that there is simply no way out for him.

A Gone Girl spin-off movie that revolves around Tyler Perry’s charismatic attorney, Tanner Bolt, is something that everyone who has seen the film can get behind though. Maybe Perry can even convince Fincher to join him for the film. The fact that he now knows who the legendary director is should at least help him get the filmmaker on board. Most viewers went into Gone Girl thinking that Perry would struggle to make an impression against the likes of Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Carrie Coon, Kim Dickens, and Patrick Fugit, but instead he stole the show as the brash, knowledgeable lawyer who knew exactly how to play the publicity game. Arguably, he might even deserve an Oscar-nomination for his efforts too. In all fairness though, Perry didn’t have to do too much because you can’t help but fall in love with a character called Tanner Bolt. Which is now one of the greatest names to ever be committed to celluloid.

One week before it is due to open in theaters, David Fincher’s Gone Girl opened to critical acclaim as part of the New York Film Festival line up. Every time a prestige picture like Gone Girl opens from now until the end of the year, we’re likely going to spend some time dissecting the movie’s Oscar chances, and for Gone Girl, they’re pretty great. Join the conversation in this week’s Monday Movie Memo, featured above.

Gone Girl adapts Gillian Flynn’s best-selling novel about Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), a self-absorbed, unemployed writer who becomes the center of a murder investigation when his picture-perfect wife, Amy (Rosamund Pike), goes missing. As much of a whodunit as it is a biting critique on the media, Gone Girl sizzles with mesmerizing performances, and once again shows Fincher at the top of his game.

Our full review will be on the site shortly. Until then, read about:

- The moment in Gone Girl that showcases Ben Affleck’s Batman skills.

- The one David Fincher movie Ben Affleck HAS to screen before he begins a directing gig.

- And the possible changes Fincher made to the ending of Gillian Flynn’s novel.

Gone Girl opens everywhere on October 3.

Yes, one of the oddest bits of casting news of recent months is true-- Tyler Perry and Neil Patrick Harris are both working with David Fincher. According to Deadline Perry and Harris are among several cast members now confirmed for Fincher's Gone Girl, an adaptation of Gillian Flynn's hit novel that starts production this fall. Rosamund Pike and future Batman Ben Affleck star as Amy and Nick Dunne, a pair of New York writers whose marriage sours after they move back to his Missouri hometown around the time the economy collapses. Then Amy disappears, and it sure looks like Nick did it-- but Flynn's novel repeatedly pulls the rug out from the reader and makes the situation a lot more complicated than it appears.

Perry will play Tanner Bolt, the lawyer Nick hires after it becomes clear that he's the main suspect in Amy's disappearance. Bolt is described in the book as the "Husband Hawk" or "Dick Defender," the guy who swoops in on those public cases when it seems a husband has killed his pretty wife-- think Scott Peterson. Bolt's description in the book seems to match him to a blow-dried preppy type, someone Affleck himself could actually effectively play, but Perry presents a pretty neat twist, a guy with plenty of charisma and confidence who could easily become a slimy defense lawyer.

Harris's role, also finally confirmed, is harder to describe without spoiling the story's twist, but he'll play Amy's ex-boyfriend Desi, who emerges late in the film. If you've read the book you know he's perfect for it. If you haven't… get ready to see the cuddly NPH in an entirely new way.

Kim Dickens and Patrick Fugit have also signed on to fill major roles, as the two local detectives investigating the disappearance, but the biggest new addition is Carrie Coon as Margot, the twin sister of Affleck's character Nick. A Tony Award nominee after her role in the recent revival of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?, Coon has little screen experience, which ought to make for an interesting relationship with her mega-famous onscreen brother. Dickens and Fugit are likely to be more familiar even if you don't immediately recognize their names. Dickens is a regular on HBO's Treme who's also appeared on Friday Night Lights and Lost, and Fugit is most famous as the kid hero in Almost Famous, with more recent roles in We Bought A Zoo and the upcoming Thanks For Sharing.

Gone Girl starts production this fall, and some kind of release around this time next year sounds about right for a film with this high-profile cast and hit source material. And yes, Tyler Perry counts as "high-profile" whether you like it or not.

The cast of Gone Girl is fleshing out and getting more interesting-- and way weirder-- than we ever would have guessed. First up Rosamund Pike, named recently as director David Fincher's top pick for the lead role, has officially signed on according to The Hollywood Reporter. On top of that, two more actors are being eyed for supporting parts: beloved Tonys host and all-around entertainer Neil Patrick Harris.. and Tyler Perry.

Cue the record scratch noise! Perry, who has built an incredible empire with his series of films, TV shows, stage plays and iconic role as Madea, has only acted in a handful of films that he didn't direct, including a cameo in J.J. Abrams' Star Trek and an ill-fated lead turn in last year's critically savaged Alex Cross. After that movie flopped badly last year Perry seemed perfectly happy to return to producing some movies and directing his own, entirely on his own terms. But now he's back to acting, and teaming up with David Fincher?? Listen, Gone Girl is a novel that's completely crammed with twists, but this is wilder than just about anything that Gillian Flynn wrote.

As you might remember from last summer when every single person you knew was tearing through the book, Gone Girl tells the story of a terrible marriage between Amy (Pike) and Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), who are already failing to get along when Amy suddenly disappears, and Nick becomes the prime suspect. At first the story is told both from Nick's perspective, as he copes with the realization that she's gone, and in flashbacks from Amy's diary, in which we see how their relationship starts and when things really start to go south. There is a gigantic twist in the middle of the book that changes how we see everything that comes after… and that potentially brings in the characters Harris and Perry might play. The best idea I can come up with is that Perry would play one of the detectives who helps Nick in his attempts to find Amy after her disappearance. Harris seems incredibly well-suited to a rich ex-boyfriend figure who shows up late in the book, but saying much more about the role would be unfair. Just say that Harris's famous suit-wearing skills could serve him well in the role.

David Fincher has a knack for casting his films, able to turn unknowns into stars, bring performances we never expected from the likes of Brad Pitt and Jake Gyllenhaal, and turn characters you wouldn't have thought twice about into someone fascinating-- just think of that opening scene in The Social Network and the risk of Rooney Mara's character becoming a throwaway. Based on Alex Cross and his Madea performances I can't possibly imagine what Fincher sees in Perry, particularly for fitting into the grim, fast-paced world of Gone Girl. But haven't we learned by now that it's smart to trust him?

If you're a fan of the book, share your own casting speculation in the comments. Gone Girl is set to begin production this fall.

Every actress in Hollywood ought to be beating down David Fincher's door to try to snag the lead role in his next film Gone Girl, and it looks like one of them has finally made it through. THR reports that Rosamund Pike is the director's choice to star in the film, an adaptation of Gillian Flynn's breakout hit novel that Flynn is adapting herself. Ben Affleck hopped on board last week to play the male lead, but the trickiest part by far belongs to the titular girl Amy, the thirty-something wife to Affleck's Nick who goes suddenly missing.

Though it takes sharp aim at our culture of obsessing over pretty white women who go missing and whose husbands are suspected of foul play (think Laci Peterson), Gone Girl is not about your average missing girl-- though it wants you to think so at first. At the beginning of the book we meet Nick as he is realizing that his wife is missing and processing the many ways in which it looks like he's to blame; at the same time we read chapters from Amy's diary, starting when she and Nick first meet in New York and leading to their move to Nick's hometown in Missouri, both to help take care of his ailing mother and to cope with a market for journalists that has completely fallen apart. We read about Nick's befuddlement when Amy goes missing, while at the same time seeing diary entries that document their failing relationship. And then… the book changes entirely.

Of course I'm not going to tell you how it changes, except to say that the character of Amy is a whole lot more complicated than the innocent victim whose husband wants her out of the picture. And that could make for a really, really interesting role for Pike, an actress far less famous than most of the names we've been hearing-- Emily Blunt, Natalie Portman and Charlize Theron were supposedly in the running, while Reese Witherspoon is producing but won't star. Fincher has proven in the past that he's not blinded by celebrity when picking actresses for a high-profile role, selecting Rooney Mara to play Lisbeth Salander in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo over the likes of Portman and Scarlett Johansson. And casting a lesser known actress as Amy could be crucial, allowing Pike-- or anyone who winds up cast-- to introduce to the audience to Amy without the weight of star expectations on her.

And Pike, who has been quietly stellar in everything from An Education to Jack Reacher, could be a fascinating choice for the role. She's got a natural refined chill to her, perfect for playing born rich-girl Amy, but is also capable of letting loose and playing a ditz like her An Education character. Who knows how she'll work opposite Affleck-- or even how much screen time the two will share, given the way the story unfolds-- but any actress who can hold her own against a charisma magnet like Tom Cruise ought to be just fine. Pike is an unexpected but oddly perfect pick for the role, and as Gone Girl gears up to start production in the fall, hopefully they can get her locked in and on her way toward joining Affleck in cinema's worst-- but most fascinating-- marriage.

You’d think people in movies would know better than to go out on blind dates nowadays, but they just keep on doing it. Do they ever work out? Comedies use them for wacky character fodder and dramas use them to create tension between strangers. And thrillers, of course, use them to put one of their characters in mortal danger.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Rosamund Pike will be playing a small town damsel in distress in that scenario starring in Return to Sender, the upcoming psychological thriller directed by Fouad Mikati (Operation:Endgame). The film will also star Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead) and Nick Nolte (Gangster Squad). The screenplay was written by newcomer Patricia Beauchamp and Joe Gossett, who wrote Ryan Phillippe’s directorial debut Shreveport.

The film follows Pike as a meticulous nurse in a small town who goes on a blind date with a guy (Fernandez) who isn’t exactly who he says he is. She experiences a life-altering event that she spends the rest of the film finding the courage to overcome. Nolte will play her father. I get the feeling this has something to do with rape, but it’s unclear whether this will look more like The Accused or The Brave One. Actually, let’s just get Jodie Foster for this one, too.

Pike was last seen in Jack Reacher with Tom Cruise and has Edgar Wright’s The World’s End and James Oakley’s mystery thriller The Devil You Know on the horizon. Nolte will soon hopefully be starring in the adaptation of A Walk in the Woods with Robert Redford. Fernandez, meanwhile, is currently starring in starring in the recently released Syrup and will soon be seen in Zal Batmanglij’s mystery thriller The East, which opens later this month.

Return to Sender has already begun production in New Orleans.

Jack Reacher is undoubtedly a movie about a man who works solo, a man who solves cases, and a man who is a bit of a loner. However, secondary to the plot is Reacher’s partner in crime, a defense lawyer named Helen who has a tempestuous relationship with her DA father, resulting from years of distrust and fighting for the other side. Now, Paramount Home Entertainment has extended us an exclusive Blu-ray bonus clip that looks into the relationship portrayed by Rosamund Pike and Richard Jenkins in the film.

Reacher’ s a little lacking in the emotional department and its nice to get a few father-daughter moments between Pike’s Helen and Jenkins’ Rodin, because even if the two don’t get along, the audience can see how invested they are in each other. That butting of heads with a caring component certainly adds to the watchability of the film and in the clip it's nice to see how the actors felt about their characters and how they were able to bring that strained but precariously balanced relationship to the table.

If you haven’t been able to catch the thriller, Jack Reacher is hitting Blu-ray and DVD next Tuesday, May 7, following an early digital release on April 23. Blu-ray copies will offer several bonus features, including audio commentary from Tom Cruise and Christopher McQuarrie, a “Combat and Weapons” featurette, and more. You can check out the full list of bonus features in our earlier post. With a sequel potentially coming our way, the flick may be one worth checking out, and you can obtain the flick digitally, or pre-order it on Amazon right now.

It ain’t easy getting work in this industry, especially a film like Wrath of the Titans, but boy did director Jonathan Liebesman take on, well, a monster. While Clash of the Titans went on to make a killing at the box office, $493.2 million worldwide, many moviegoers weren’t particularly happy with the experience. In a way, not only is Liebesman responsible for making his own movie good, but also for making up for the last one a bit.

Sam Worthington is back as Perseus, who is now a father. With the gods’ power waning, Zeus (Liam Neeson), Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston) are unable to maintain control of the Titans and, led by their once banished father Kronos, they threaten humanity yet again. Perseus has no choice, but to leave his son and quaint life as a fisherman behind to go head to head with some of the most vicious monsters of the underworld.

Kronos, Chimeras, Cyclopes, explosions an ever-changing labyrinth, some of the most prominent actors in the business, an extra dimension and more – forget the franchise’s past; Liebesman had his hands full regardless. Now, in honor of Wrath of the Titans’ March 30th release, Liebesman took the time to sit down and run through the entire process from the preparation needed to do 3D right to the steps to making the real world elements blend with those digitally created and much more. Check it all out in the interview below.

How does something like this fall into your hands?

Jonathan Liebesman: It doesn’t really fall into your hands. [Laughs] In my case it took like ten years now that I think about it. You work on movies and then I did this film Battle: Los Angeles where I had to fight for the job really hard and fortunately on this one they approached me. And obviously the cast is incredibly and the subject matter is fun and the budgets they give you are amazing, so it’s kind of a no-brainer as an opportunity.

So after you get this great opportunity is there ever a moment where you go, wow, now how am I going to pull it off?

There’s always that. Even when you’re doing a student film, you go like, ‘Fuck, how are we gonna do this?’ There’s the exact same anxieties. It’s no different. It’s just as big a part of your life.

And how about the fact that there’s another film in this franchise and that that film made a ton of money, but some people didn’t necessarily think it was worth theirs?

Well, it’s hard because you hope that they’ll pay for this one and come back and see it. Everyone acknowledges and wants to make something better and, you know, they’re such talented people whether it’s the cast, the crew, everybody. Look, if you’re gonna go into something completely intimated, don’t do it. I think what money gets made is out of my hands. There’s The Hunger Games this week, which no one expected, which is destroying the universe. So you can’t expect these things; you just try and make the best movie you can make.

How about the 3D because a big reason people weren’t thrilled with the first is you pay so much money for the ticket and then the 3D wasn’t that great?

The thing is, that was an easy solve because the 3D on the last movie was shit because they finished the film and decided to convert it and gave it six weeks to be converted, which is 1,800 shots in six weeks, no shots were even planned to be 3D shots, no sequences were planned to be 3D sequences. You can’t win. We knew we were gonna be a 3D film so you plan everything for 3D, you have a stereographer on set everyday, you start your post conversion a year in advance instead of six weeks in advanced and you create moments that suit 3D. It was a different ballgame. Those poor guys were set up to fail. This was a completely different situation. We had a great team from Harry Potter that did great conversions, so we always had our best foot forward with the 3D on this movie.

Now how does that affect your preparation process in terms of storyboarding or whatever it is you do to get ready to shoot?

You think in terms of what can we bring into negative space or what happens often, I had to learn this, negative space means when something is in the audience and so if you bring Perseus and Pegasus into negative space, there’s an effect where they feel miniaturized, but we actually used that to the advantage, say, in scenes with Kronos, because you really feel like Perseus is tiny and Kronos is massive with the 3D. So the 3D really enhances things. Also I believe the best looking 3D is when you bring little things into the audience, like embers or water droplets or stuff like that, so we added a lot of that or showed a lot of that stuff so you could bring it into the audience.

Funny you say that, at one point there was this one ember that felt like it was coming right towards my eye and I actually winced!

I think that stuff works the best. For 3D to be good you can’t cut things off in the frame and so embers are tiny, so they’re not gonna be framed out and the longer something stays in frame for 3D, the more effective it is, so those are always best - bubbles, embers, dust.

So going from the highly technical to black and white, when you get a script like this what happens if you come across something that isn’t working? Do you have the ability to make adjustments?

Well, you ask a lot of people, you sit down with the writers. It’s always a discussion on a movie like this. Unless you’re Chris Nolan, it’s always gonna be a discussion of can we make this better, this is what I’m going for, it’s about fathers and sons, maybe we can push that more in this scene. That’s studio filmmaking. The benefit of a studio filmmaking is you get an incredible distribution and you get an incredible budget. The downfall is obviously you are responsible to the people giving you the money.

Speaking of the father son stuff, the added drama here kind of creeps into the action, too, specifically in terms of the use of close-up shots in the battle sequences.

I think for me the most effective action that I’ve seen is movies like Private Ryan or the Bourne movies where it is subjective and the action is character driven. In say Bourne, it’s like Matt Damon’s stress as he goes through situations or Private Ryan, the fear of the soldiers or even in M:I 4 it was really great the way they used Tom Cruise and he’s always under pressure in every scene and it’s about him so you don’t even think you’re in an action scene. You just know you’re in a scene where he has to win. So those are my favorite action scenes and we were just trying to, I guess imitate that kind of stuff.

How do you do that and also make sure that the audience understands the geography of a battle?

It’s interesting. I think it’s more important to know emotionally what the character wants. I asked that exact question to Paul Greengrass after I saw Bourne Ultimatum because I was like, ‘Paul, I don’t know how you managed to let me know where the hell I was because it was just so quick and fast.’ I said, ‘How do you know when to cut wide, when do you go in close?’ He didn’t really answer me, but what I realized was you just know what the character wants and you go with it and you feel like you know the geography. Of course you have a wide shot that shows you a vibe of the location, but it’s more about if emotionally you’re with the character, the geography matters a lot less.

Can you tell me about your locations? Obviously there’s a ton of green screen and CGI, but imagine a lot of the material must have been there physically, too.

We were on a ton of locations, which is important. We wanted to shoot as much on location as possible and I think effects have gotten to a point now that sometimes you don’t even know it was green screen. Especially in contemporary modern movies, you have characters in a city and the city wasn’t there and you’re like, really? There was a lot of stuff here where they put a landscape behind someone and it was like, holy shit, I forgot we were on a green screen there. So location as much as possible, but for practical reasons, sometimes you have to shoot green screen and just know how to light so you look like you’re outside.

How do you go about blending the real people with all your digital monsters?

If you want effects to work, they have to interact with the world and the characters as much as possible, so what you’ll do is set charges on trees that’ll blow a tree up and then the animator has something to interact with and it’s always gonna look real. With the Chimera running through a village, you’re blowing up walls and stuff. And also, Sam is excellent at creating things. There’s a shot where the labyrinth is coming apart and reconfiguring, and Sam’s looking all over the place and that’s giving everyone cues to do things. If the actor’s not giving you that, it’ll never seem real. It’s a lot of how you light a scene. I like hard sunlight on CGI because it blows out the highlights. When you design a creature, make sure the textures you’re picking for them are textures that computers render well. That’s why Transformers looks so good, because steel and plastic is very easy to render with CGI whereas flesh and biological stuff is difficult. So it’s just a lot of making decisions to make your life easier.

Speaking of that labyrinth scene, you’ve got one shot during the reconfiguration where it looks like a piece of the set legitimately slid under Sam’s feet. Is that practical at all?

That’s CG. That’s all CG. That was what blew me away. You want to know the one which really blew me away was where Bill Nighy is doing that thing with the door [mimics motions of Nighy grabbing portions of the door], the door isn’t there and I was like, ‘Holy shit.’ That, to me, blew me away when I started seeing those dailies. He’s just doing this to green blocks and they rendered it so photo-realistically, I was like, holy shit, I should have made like a door monster or something. [Laughs]

How was it working with guys like Bill, Liam and Ralph? You’ve had great casts before, but these guys are some really heavy hitters.

Fantastic. These guys are incredible and you feel stupid directing them because they’ve been directed by like geniuses in genius movies and you feel not worthy and stupid, like you’re gonna fuck their career up.

Was there ever an awkward moment, like maybe the first day you were directing them, and you just didn’t know how to do it?

There’s always awkward moments, but, as the director, you must always pretend you know. Even when they go, ‘That’s a stupid idea,’ you’re like, ‘It’s a joke guys. Calm down. Did you think I’d really ask you to do that?’

Does that trick work on a set with hundreds of crewmembers and extras?

Always. Always works. ‘Guys I was just joking. Come on! We don’t have to do this,’ you know? [Laughs]

What’s the hope from here with this movie? I assume if all goes to plan, there’ll be round three.

I hope it makes some money!

Is there any option in your agreement to return?

No option in my agreement, but I hope it makes a lot of money and they want to keep going. That’s up to them, not to me.

Richard Jenkins, the actor known for making just about everything he's in better no matter how small his part, is about to work his magic opposite Tom Cruise. Variety reports that the veteran actor has signed on to join One Shot, the sniper drama and adaptation of Lee Childs's book starring the character Jack Reacher. Cruise is playing Reacher, of course, but Jenkins has a pretty substantial role as the district attorney responsible for prosecuting the person accused of the sniper attacks.

You may remember that Rosamund Pike is also set to play the district attorney (and Cruise's love interest), and that's no mistake-- Jenkins is playing her father, so they've got some kind of family legal legacy going on. The actor has always been pretty much everywhere throughout his long, long career, but he seems all the more visible since his Oscar nomination for The Visitor in 2008-- this year alone he's been in Friends WIth Benefits and Hall Pass, and will appear in The Rum Diary before the year is over. LIke I said, he's a worthwhile addition to pretty much anything-- if I were Tom Cruise I'd be worried about Jenkins stealing the movie out from under me.

One Shot still remains a tricky prospect not only as a new starring vehicle for Cruise-- who, aside from how good Mission: Impossible 4 looks, seems to be a little past his prime as a leading man-- but as an adaptation of a series of books with a loyal fan base who didn't seem to want Cruise as the star. But Christopher McQuarrie, who is directing, seems like a smart enough guy to bring something interesting to what sounds like a standard thriller plot. I mean, if he's smart enough to cast Jenkins, he must have something up his sleeve.

As he eyes a crop of nubile, much-younger actresses as potential co-stars for his next movie, Tom Cruise is somehow morphing into a real-life version of Matthew McConaughey's Dazed and Confused character: "I get older, they stay the same age." The soon-to-be-50 actor has impressively held on to his chops as an action star despite undeniable middle age, and apparently to prove it has to bring in actresses much younger than he is to surround him, whether Paula Patton in the upcoming Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol or the newly released shortlist of actresses who might join him in his next film, One Shot.

According to THR, Cruise and One Shot's director Christopher McQuarrie have their eye on three actresses to play the female lead, a tough lawyer who teams up with Cruise's character, Jack Reacher, to solve the mystery of a string of sniper killings. The list includes 29-year-old Hayley Atwell, fairly unforgettable as the sassy female lead in Captain America: The First Avenger; 29-year-old Alexa Davalos, last seen lost somewhere in the chaos of Clash of the Titans; and 32-year-old Rosamund Pike, of An Education and Pride & Prejudice and Barney's Version, and weirdly enough, replacing Davalos as Andromeda in the upcoming Clash of the Titans sequel.

As reported earlier this month, McQuarrie and Cruise had also eyed Another Earth breakout star Brit Marling, but she's opted to team up with Robert Redford on The Company You Keep instead (I guess those Sundance loyalties run deep).

One Shot starts production this fall in Pittsburgh, so they'll likely have to make a decision soon, but there's no guarantee the pick will be any of these three actresses. All of them seem like perfectly good choices, up-and-coming actresses who could get a higher profile from playing the probably thankless female lead in a Tom Cruise action movie, but all of them talented to actually make something of the role anyway. Atwell's time in the Marvel universe is probably over thanks to the giant time leap that happens at the end of Captain America, so if she wants to continue her brand of sassy, smart-talking female heroines, maybe this is her best step forward.

As unnecessary and unwanted a sequel to Clash of the Titans may be, the cast has been subject to some positive upgrades. Joining Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and the rest thus far have been Edgar Ramirez, Tony Kebbell, and possibly James Franco. Now they are close to adding another.

Deadline reports that Rosamund Pike is close to a deal that would see her play Andromeda in the Jonathan Liebesman-directed Wrath of the Titans. The role was played by Alexa Davalos in the first film, but she will be unavailable for the sequel. In the first film Andromeda plays a large role, as Hades wants to sacrifice her to the Kraken, but Perseus is able to turn the sea monster into stone with the head of Medusa and save her. The report says the the role remains a major one in the sequel.

Pike was recently rumored for the role of the non-Lois Lane female lead in Zack Snyder's Superman, but it would now appear that she is out of the running. Only time will tell if that was the best career decision.

Since the casting of Henry Cavill as Clark Kent in Zack Snyder’s new Superman, the internet has been deluged with a whole host of casting rumors dedicated to guessing who will be cast as his Lois Lane. Those rumors all assumed one very fundamental thing: That Lois Lane would actually be in the movie. If you’ve been following along with this project at all it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that, maybe she won’t.

The film is reportedly set before Clark Kent gets his job at the Daily Planet, during a time he spends wandering the world experiencing local cultures and impressing people with his ability to eat spicy food. Clark Kent didn’t meet Lois until he went to work at the Daily Planet and if that’s really the plot, then Lois wouldn’t be in the movie. Instead according to Variety the names you’ve been hearing rumored for the Lois Lane part are probably really just contenders for some other unspecified female lead who is not Lois Lane in any way.

Along with the fairly logical conclusion that Lois Lane won’t be in the new Superman movie Variety also drops out their own list of possible female lead frontrunners. They’re going with Alice Eve, Diane Kruger, and Rosamund Pike. All three of those actresses, it’s worth noting, are very blonde and look absolutely nothing like Lois Lane. On the other hand, some of the other actresses rumored definitely seem very Lois like. Here’s the others listed so far: Mila Kunis, Olivia Wilde, Kristen Stewart (confirmed dropped out), Rachel McAdams, Jessica Biel, Malin Ackerman, Dianna Agron.

Bottom line here, pretty much anyone who claims to know who Snyder’s planning to cast as the film’s female lead, should be treated as a fool and mostly ignored. No one knows. All names are being considered, but if it’s not Lois Lane, does it really matter all that much? Since it’s not Lois we know that whoever they cast will only be in one movie, to be instantly ignored and forgotten in the sequel whenever Lois finally does show up to take her rightful place in Superman’s life. At least this story led you to a really nice Alice Eve photo. You’re welcome.

When Rosamund Pike's name was floating around the rumor mill for Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, the assumption was that she would play Emma Frost until Alice Eve got the job, and then that she would play Moira MacTaggert. Whether or not Pike ever had the job, though, we'll never know-- THR is now reporting that Rose Byrne has the job, just in time to join the production before it starts at the end of the month.

Though no one really knows how the characters will fit into the movie, in the comics MacTaggert was both a colleague and love interest of Charlies Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, who will be played by James McAvoy. She helped found Xavier's Scool for Gifted Youngsters, which is presumably where she'll fit into this origin story while also making time to make out with McAvoy (and really, who wouldn't?)

Byrne has a regular gig on TV's Damages but got a chance to stretch with a funny turn as a spoiled pop princess in this summer's Get Him to the Greek; doing superhero movie duty looks like just another example of a young actress branching out as she attempts to establish herself as a proper star. With so many names crowding the First Class lineup-- Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon and the aforementioned Alice Ever are also on board-- it probably won't become Byrne's show, but hey, between this, the TV show and the ridiculous "Ring Around My Posey" music video from Greek, no one will ever be able to claim the girl doesn't have range.

Pretty faces aren’t the only things consuming all the X-Men: First Class casting buzz--maybes and question marks are too. Other than the old generation of mutants, Michael Fassbender as Magneto and James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, none of the casting news so far can be confirmed. Does Kick-Ass’ Aaron Johnson have a role in the film? Is Rosamund Pike playing Moira MacTaggert? What about Amber Heard? Is she confirmed to play Mystique? Have Alice Eve’s talks to take the role of Emma Frost concluded? And what about Caleb Landry Jones? Is he officially Banshee?

All of those questions are still unanswered, but at least we do have one done deal to report; too bad it’s a no go for First Class. As reported by Showbiz 411, Benjamin Walker is taking a pass on a part in the film to reprise his role as Andrew Jackson in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson when the show moves to Broadway. Apparently Walker has been back and forth between the two projects for quite a while now and actually signed a deal to play Beast in the film. But now he’s opting out and it might have something to do with Fox’s hopes to turn X-Men: First Class into a Twilight-like production.

The article proposes that due to Fox’s latest missteps – Knight and Day, The A-Team and Marmaduke – the suits are growing concerned and are ready to do whatever it takes to make sure First Class is done right. For them, that means casting a whole bunch of Taylor Lautners. Showbiz 411 even claims the studio checked Lautner’s availability.

Every review of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson I’ve come across praises Walker’s performance and Showbiz 411 goes as far as to say he’s a shoo-in for a Tony nomination next spring. That’s sounding like much more of a sure thing than X-Men: First Class, so perhaps it was the right choice for Walker.

Amber Heard may end up stripping naked and covering herself in blue body paint for her next movie role. Production Weekly says she’s up for the role of Mystique in X-Men: First Class.

Since this is a prequel she’d be playing a younger version of the shape-shifting character made famous by Rebecca Romijn in the other X-Men films. Physically at least, she seems a suitable replacement. Romijn’s take on the character required almost no dialogue, and the character spends a lot of time as other people (which means being played by other actors), so I’m not sure the part really requires anything beyond the ability to look good naked. Heard has that nailed.

Also rumored for First Class is Rosamund Pike. Last week word was that she might play Emma Frost, but now Production Weekly says she’s playing Moira MacTaggert. In X-Men lore, the character is a Scottish scientist and an expert in mutants, who at some point in the past was also a love interest of Charles Xavier. Since First Class tells the story of Professor X’s early days, she could be an essential component.

Finally, despite rumors that Fox wants Michael Fassbender for the role of Magneto, PW says he doesn’t want to play him. That may mean the search for Magneto is back on.

With a British director on board and at least one British actor (and maybe two) starring, it's no surprise to hear yet another English name rumored for a role in X-Men: First Class. According to Forces of Geek and a source they trust, Rosamund Pike has met with Matthew Vaughn about potentially playing Emma Frost in the X-Men origin story.

Pike would be joining James McAvoy (as Professor X) and possibly Michael Fassbender (as Magneto) in the film, which has a release date of June 3, 2011 and therefore needs to start filming really, really soon. Forces of Geek's source has no idea how close Vaughn might be to casting Pike or anyone else in the role, nor is there info on how big a role Frost might play in the origin story about Professor X and Magneto founding the school for young mutants. You may remember the character showed up briefly near the end of X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so the character may play a key role in tying all these X-Men universes together. Pike isn't exactly a major star, but with substantial roles in Pride & Prejudice, An Education and even the dismal Surrogates, she's too big to be signing on for just a bit part. If she takes the role, it seems fair to expect some serious action from Emma Frost coming up.