New leads topbill fave flicks

Everything’s coming up roses – and movie roles – for “fierce” new actor, Thomas McDonnell, this year. He’s cast as the rebel artist who steals the show in the comedy-drama, “Prom” (only his second film), but due to the buzz surrounding his performance, he was asked to audition for Tim Burton’s “Dark Shadows” – and won the coveted role of young Barnabas Collins, who will be played as an adult vampire by no less than – Johnny Depp! That definitely is the way to go for a hot, young comer just raring to hit the big time.

Lead singer

Aside from being an actor on the verge of a major acting career, McDonnell is also a musician (the lead singer of a rock ‘n’ roll band called Moon that released its first CD last year) – and a gifted visual artist whose works have been exhibited internationally! Some people have all the – pluck!

For her part, Jamie Chung, who got good notices as the fiercely loyal Amber in “Sucker Punch,” is cast as the only female lead player in “The Hangover, Part II,” which is now a certified hit, having already grossed (in more ways than one) $205 million worldwide.

In the film, Jamie’s character, Lauren, is marrying Stu (Ed Helms) in Bangkok, despite her father’s vigorous objections. Her other film outings include “Grown Ups” and “The Man with the Iron Fist” with Russell Crowe.

Blake Lively is another young female comer who’s being kept busy and peripatetically visible on the silver screen. After her acclaimed performance in “The Town,” she plays Ryan Reynolds’ feisty love interest, Carol Ferris, in “The Green Lantern.”

Producer Donald De Line observes, “Blake and Ryan had great chemistry together right off the bat. It translates nicely on the screen, whether their characters are in the heat of battle – or of passion!”

Lively thoroughly enjoyed playing her character in the film, an alpha female who’s definitely no damsel in distress. In fact, she’s the one who stresses out her male counterparts, and the actress had a blast putting her macho costars in their place!

In the field of comedy, the new big-screen comers are the comedic duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the stars of the current sci-fi spoof, “Paul.” They first acted together in a little comedy about zombies, “Shaun of the Dead,” filmed in 2003. The flick didn’t set the box office on fire, but it did make their producer, Nira Park, realize that she had a potentially hot, new comedy team in Simon and Nick, so she asked them what other ideas they had for production.

Spoof

They suggested a spaced-out sci-fi spoof about two British comic-book fans who encounter a genuine alien while on a road trip across the United States – and the seed for “Paul” was planted.

It took six more years before the project was finally filmed, but the long wait was worth it, because “Paul” has turned out to be a sleeper hit, a “small” film with surprisingly boffo muscle at the box office.

Now that they’ve been launched, the new comedy team of Pegg and Frost bids fair to be the biggest comedic discoveries of the season. What they have going for them that’s endearingly different is their laid-back, nerdy way of making viewers laugh, a welcome departure from the sharp, shrill, “ack-ack attack” style of most new comics. – Thanks, Simon and Nick, for the sweet relief!