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While The New York Times today reports that DreamWorks intends to groom its I Am Number Four star Alex Pettyfer for stardom, Fox and New Regency have got him next. Pettyfer and Matt Bomer have been added to play starring roles in Now, the Andrew Niccol-directed film that stars Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried. 
DreamWorks clearly hopes that Pettyfer will front a franchise in I Am Number Four, an alien story which will span multiple books. Pettyfer is also on a short list — along with Aaron Johnson and Max Irons and a couple others, I hear — for Bryan Singer’s Jack the Giant Killer. He also will stars in Beastly next year for CBS Films. As for Bomer, he’s got a high profile feature role, after almost coming out of nowhere to get a big feature shot several years ago, when Brett Ratner pushed hard for him to play Superman in a three-picture arc. That possibility went away when Ratner dropped from the project. Bomer has gone on to star in the USA Network series White Collar. Now takes place in a future where the aging gene has been turned off, and life as measured by units of time becomes the currency.
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Ah, two more white guys being groomed for stardom by powerful white guys. Has there ever been a diversity actor being groomed for stardom?
Do you think Will Smith just happened?
the closest to a new Will Smith is Tyler Lautner, who’s part Native American. Otherwise, I can’t point to any actors of color who get the kind of grooming and push that young white male actors get. Look at someone like Colin Farrell. After Tigerland, the studios threw themselves at him. Why? Who knows?
But that always happens. A handsome, young white male actor is deemed great and doors open quickly.
‘Now’ seems like a riff on a short film ‘The Price of Life’ made in 1987 by Stephen Tolkin. It was a fantastic, really memorable film, equal to the best of the original Twilight Zone episodes. Can’t find it anywhere on DVD — too bad.
The script is horrible.
Yes it is. Great respect for Niccol on account of GATTACA but “Now” is exceptionally contrived and pointless, not nearly as good as his pioneering work of the nineties.
Great to see Matt Bomer get a big role – amazing talent! He’s the next-gen Paul Newman.
Also thrilled to see Bomer get a big leading man role. I’ve loved him since Chuck, he’s effortlessly charming on White Collar. He deserves to break into film as well.
When White Collar premiered I knew Matt was destined for major stardom. Unique combination of looks, talent, inteligence and above all, always a class act! Other actors should take a page from his play book.
Sigh — when will the studio cats learn they can’t look through a stack of head shots and “anoint” the Next Big Young Star and then proceed to shove him or her down audience’s throat and expect it to stick.
It doesn’t matter how physically hot they are or if they have the right look or if the dailies are looking great from their first film — AUDIENCES decide who they respond to and who’ll they pay to see on screen. The ability to do this is what any fledgling star needs to prove before studios start hanging franchises around their neck.
Don’t try to shove more Megan Fox’s down our throats, PLEASE!!!!!
I’d like to agree to your point very much – but I can’t. The reason is that the production of movies is extremely expensive. Therefore the entertainment business is not what an economist calls a “competitive market”, it is closer to a “captive market”. This means you don’t have a choice from some thousand movies with some different thousand actors in the lead to vote for at the cinema box office with your payment.
For that reason the studios even for action movies prefer actors who could be living in a Senior Citizens Residence, because those actors were successful for decades, so why take the risk to introduce a young actor with no fan base in the lead ? With the “legends” there is a much bigger chance to get a return of investment or even a blockbuster or at least reduce losses.
And even if some new actors are introduced, for example Shia LaBeouf, I mean, I can’t say he’s a bad actor, but as far as I’m concerned, he doesn’t have any charisma. For me, to watch his movies might be entertaining, but I can’t really connect to or identify with any of his characters, which means, whatever the plot is, I won’t have any breathtaking moments or being sucked in by the movies storyline. It is like the whole movie is playing on the other side of some several foot thick glass wall. But I can’t exchange the actor, so my options are either to see those movies or read a book instead..
Most actors never seem to get a chance to show their talent or their experience. For example Paul Butcher had spent almost half a decade in front of a TV-camera each week when he was thirteen. After that, he got a guest appearance in a TV-show like for example “Criminal Minds” perhaps once a year. Will we ever have the chance to vote for or against him at the box office ? I have my doubts – but time will tell.
The same applies to the music business, to stay with that example, if you compare the “Living-room-productions” of Justin Bieber and Paul Butcher it is easy to tell that Paul Butcher is a much better vocalist than “the Biebs”, and he sings bilingual (English and Spanish). But since he doesn’t have a famous producer/promoter like Usher, it might be difficult for him to get a chance on the music market.
But let’s come back to the topic, of course the best solution was if everybody could vote for her/his favorite actors and musicians with a payment. Unfortunately that is not possible.
I have got a DVD-collection with some thousand movies, and this happens to include all four Alex Pettyfer movies ever released so far. Unlike most actors, he didn’t start with small parts. When he was discovered at the age of 14, his first part was the lead in a classic drama with absolutely no experience, and he did a great job!
For the second movie where he also played lead, the casting process for his character had 500 competitors and took three month of various tests until he was the only one out of 500 actors who managed to pass all tests.
My Opinion is that Alex Pettyfer is excellent actor and I think its a very good idea of Steven Spielberg / Dreamworks to groom him, though I’m not sure whether this will happen or is just a hollow statement of intention that will be forgotten in six month time.
Anyway, I can’t wait to see his next movies coming out this winter !
Sure Pettyfer is good looking but can this guy act??
In case you wondered what that haircut looked like in both blonde and brunette, there you go.
This Pettyfer dude is a scumbag. He’s already screwed over several of his reps, other producers and he’s only 20. He better hope he can act.
Isn’t he on his 3rd agent already? I love it when these kids waltz in and think they know how to play the town. And nothing bad is going to happen to them if they screw over established powers that be. sounds like this kid is in for a rude awakening.
He is an ass to everyone, especially women. Truly horrible to them.
Hm. How can Alex be groomed for stardom when he’s already a HUGE star (in his own mind – just ask him)? If CBS couldn’t get him to show up for reshoots on BEASTLY before this post, good luck now. Amy better have Les make the call.
John James ,please, Matt Bomer is not the next Paul Newman ! Maybe he is the next Matthew Broderick. Ben, I agree with you. Why can’t Hollywood executives support and nuture actors ( and actresses) of color ? Will Smith and Denzel Washington are proven box-office superstars. Samuel L. Jackson, Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence, Dwayne Johnson have had their share of box-office successes.
Matt Bomer is a great actor and a gorgeous man
Alex groomed for stardom? Haha. Love how Hollywood keeps trying to make actors out of Abercrombie. Marlon Brando he ain’t.
Matt as Superman?
What is this Ratner on?
cant get enough of Alex Pettyfer hes the hottest actor around bring on 2011 and i am number four
Don’t let the mask fool ya.
Jeez, I wonder how many of these glowing comments on these actors are by the actors’ flaks, PR, studio, etc.?
Sorry to be cynical. Bomer is a good actor but Paul Newman? What work has Bomer done that compares to anything Newman did? Where ahs Bomer shown the intensity, bravado, etc. for which Newman was known?
Let the guy build up a body of work before crowning him the new king.
And, speaking of actors who were groomed, think about Matthew McConaughey. I just don’t understand that guy’s success! Remember he did “A Time to Kill,” playing a white lawyer defending a black man on trial. Next thing you know, Steven Spielberg had to have McConaughey playing a white lawyer defending black men in “Amistad.” Hand? Meet face!
That’s Hollywood.
The newman comaprisons likely come from similarities at an early stage of his career.Mr. Bomer is an excellent actor,he easily created the best new tv character of the 09-10 tv season,and as said somewhere above in trail,always conducts himself with dignity which is a novel in this biz as we all know.I see the makings.