It would seem that casting news for Young Adult Hollywood revolves around just a few hot and very in-demand names, and what a busy bunch they are! But because things change in showbiz faster than Tarzan swings on vines through the jungle, the names on that list are changing all the time. So to that end, we here at YA Mag will undertake the hefty task of keeping you up to date each month on who’s playing what, who’s not, and who should. The roles and stars everyone can’t stop talking about are all here…
MOVIE CASTING
On the movie musical front, the dream duo of Emma Watson (Bling Ring) and Miles Teller (Spectacular Now) are in the process of heading up La La Land, about a musician and actress who find love but must balance their relationship with their respective dreams.
Speaking of Miles Teller, Hawaii Five-0’s (and Lost’s!) Daniel Dae Kim joins him in Insurgent, follow up to YA lit-hit (our catchphrase for a successful YA book-turned-film) Divergent. The rumors point to Kim starring as character Jack Kang, leader of Candor. We can’t wait!
Amistad’s Djimon Hounsou will be a part of the new live action version of Tarzan, to be directed by Harry Potter’s David Yates. Hounsou will play a fierce Congolese warlord. And True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgård is attached to play Tarzan!
TV Casting
ABC Family
Attention-getting series Revolutionary Road received an upgrade to its cast in the form of Doug Savant, Alexis Carra and Sebastian de Souza. De Souza will portray bad boy Wes, while Carra is slated as a high school guidance counselor. Original Melrose Place’s Savant will play the lead’s obtuse politician father.
Another buzzworthy series appearing in this section previously is Stitchers, which now boasts Minni Jo Mazzola and Diane Farr. The latter will bring to life the role of the head of a secret government program, while the former will play the main character’s antagonistic roommate.
CW
Jonathan Keltz, aka Leith, will be back in Reign, now as a series regular! This is definitely good news for Greer, wouldn’t you think?
IN DEVELOPMENT
ABC Family is in the process of developing a musical comedy entitled Rated P for Parenthood, from the minds of Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos and Jamie Denbo. The show, based on the stage play, will focus on the stages of modern day parenting.
Nickelodeon is working on the animated series The Loud House, created by newcomer Chris Savino. The show will detail the life of a boy growing up with nine sisters.
And taking a tip from Tarzan above (as well as Cinderella which we reported on last week), the live-action Beauty and the Beast now has a director attached: Dreamgirls’ Bill Condon! Reported to be darker in tone than previous iterations of the story, we just hope it’s at least as good as the animated masterpiece from the same studio!