Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Larry Charles
Release Date: July 10, 2009
Running Time: 81 min
MPAA Rating: R
Distributor: Universal Pictures

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You can say what you want about him, but Sacha Baron Cohen has a knack for pissing people off.  In his new movie Bruno, he does just that – but not for the reasons you would think.  At its core, Bruno is nothing more than an indirect sequel of sorts to its wildly successful and superior predecessor, Borat.  The character is slightly different, but the structure is the same.  Both feature Baron Cohen playing a foreign character on some fish-out-of-water quest that allows him to interact with unsuspecting people while he pushes the boundaries of taste in the hope of yielding something funny.  This time around we have Bruno; a gay Austrian fashion reporter who gets fired from his television program.  He decides to come to America to become the most famous person in the world.

It has enough in common with Baron Cohen’s previous work so it has to be good, right?  I mean, all I’ve been hearing for weeks is that it is more outrageous and over the top than the movie that made Baron Cohen famous.  It seems that outrageous and funny aren’t hand in hand after all.  

Look, I get it; the formula has worked for Baron Cohen for years and all of his original characters pretty much follow it to the letter, but as far as Bruno is concerned I just can’t seem to get on board.  As a movie, it has no rhythm.  The mockumentary style of its intent is abandoned for a narrative that never really finds its footing and feels like a series of overblown sketches instead of what they were aiming for.

According to Universal Pictures, Bruno is a satire that uses “provocative comedy to powerfully shed light on the absurdity of many kinds of intolerance and ignorance…”  

A decent portion of the segments had very little to do with peoples reaction to his sexuality; they were just a series of events that involved a loud character – who happened to be gay – trying to illicit a specific response.  Sometimes it worked, but most times, not so much.  It sort of proves my point – for people who do, they don’t dislike Bruno because he’s gay; they dislike him because he is annoying.  At the end of the day, is it really fair to use the loudest, most extreme examples of the gay lifestyle against the unknowing to then wait for any reaction so you can cry “Homophobia!”?  After watching how effortless Borat seemed to be, beating people into submission seems a little like cheating. 

The single reason Borat was so successful, besides being wickedly funny, was that the character was likable.  He had a certain unassuming naiveté that drew you in before he hit you with his over the top politics and opinions.  It was at that point that one of two things happened; the target either reacted or was lulled into a certain relaxation that made them feel comfortable enough to voice their own prejudices.  This was the charm of Borat and the thing that was regrettably absent during any of the segments in Bruno. 

It is unfortunate, but not totally Baron Cohen’s fault.  With Borat he was able to catch people off guard.  You could almost say that Bruno failed to connect because Borat was so successful.  People are honed in enough that they either don’t want to be “had” or they play dumb enough to make the cut.  Either way it’s just not funny anymore.  Once a magician shows you how he does the trick, it stops being cool.  

If there is one thing I commend Bruno for, it is creator/actor Baron Cohen’s relentless pursuit for authenticity.  I continue to be impressed by the actual craft that goes in to making his films.  Not so much the production, but the way he is able to fearlessly remain in character regardless of the situation.  It’s his one golden ticket that he cashed in one too many times.  If he is going to shock the world again, he’s going to have to dig deep next time and give us something completely different.  He’s already famous, now he just has to prove he earned it.

Official [ Movie Site ]

Hello fellow Twilight fans! Yes, that means tMF loves Twilight, and we've been covering it since October 2007. By doing this Blog-a-thon, I'll have the pleasure to write my thoughts as often as I want and update you all on what's coming up.

Let me just clarify a few things and also give you an update on what we're doing that directly relates to the search...

Search is limited to new sites and blogs: The search will no longer include those we have mentioned already. But thanks to their regular viewers for still taking the time to let us know how much they appreciate these sites - as I mentioned, we want the fans to give us links to the new kids on the Twilight block.

Now on with the search, and what I have to say about some of the new sites I already had the pleasure of visiting.

Just like any ordinary Twilight fan, I do regular visits and sometimes I simply skim, and will not read articles in details. The thing is, Twilight news blogs are everywhere, and with almost identical posts. I guess, it depends on where you are most comfortable and then stick with that site when it comes to the latest news. While I tend to ignore the more juicier stuff (posts filled with rumours and innuendoes), I think many fans love them. Thus, there is a captive audience to satisfy such cravings.

What makes an awesome blog? I think, what separates the 'awesome' from the 'good' is the ability of the writer/blogger to add his distinct personality to the news. I think blogs that follow this practice generate more reactions from its readers. Whether I agree or not to the writer's views is not the issue here, it is his ability to make me react and participate on the topic he initiated. I had that pleasure when I visited the following Twilight blogs/sites:

What impressed me the most about Amanda Bell (The Twilight Examiner) is the diversity and the 'entertainment factor' that is almost always present on her articles. I also think she is not like other bloggers who simply rely on what the big sites are posting and then just go with the flow. A lot of the articles I actually read in details (which I don't often do) are thought-provoking, original and can even challenge some of my Twilight conceptual foundation.

Just look at the variety:

• Bruno and Robert Patinson's fashion sense: If you were ever curious what Bruno, that loveable scamp created by none other than the sinfully imaginative Sacha Baron Cohen, would have to say about the fashions of The Twilight Saga: New Moon and Remember Me Robert Pattinson, wonder no more. [ read more ]
  

• What if MTV Films had made Twilight (tMF: thank God, they didn't!) read the article here.
  

• The Edward versus Jacob dichotomy in 'New Moon' and 'Eclipse' : This is a personal favorite of mine: In Twilight, we got but a glimpse of the future of Edward and Jacob's distaste (or, perhaps better spun, dis-smell) for one another near the end at the prom scene. [ read more ]
  

• If there were to be a 'Twilight' spin-off, what would you want it to be about? I have some very strong opinions on this topic. I'll post my comment later on. [ read more ]
  

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Here @tMF, I also make it a point to write original articles, so I am aware of how difficult it is to do that. I also wanted to make some corrections on her article about tMF's survey: I'm a he not a she! The first 3 sites (Lexicon, His Golden Eyes and Twilight Moms were the top 3 from the 1st list, while Bella and Edward, TA,  and Twilighters.org were from the second Top 3 hitlist.

I think Ms. Bell ought to be commended for her work, and if you have not visited The Twilight Eaminer, then I advise you to do so...

Someone said that reading books is no longer hip and fashionable, but I tend to disagree. While I have adjusted to the fact that some of the 'older' books are already accessible via the internet, I still prefer savouring the smell of paper and ink, putting a marker on a particular page and testing my patience by NOT looking at the last chapter!

Twilight critics may continue to have the opinion that Twilight fans are nothing but a bunch of screaming school girls, but I would suggest they look at the writings and reviews of some of these fans. In particular, I want them to see Life Beyond Twilight. An example would explain why:

If you're an Edward fan like me, then New Moon may leave you slightly disappointed on account of its "severe Cullen deficiency". Stop Googling ladies, it's not a disease! I'm talking about the lack of a certain sparkling vampire with great hair and a dazzling smile. (Insert heavy sigh here) Even though the Quileute wolves were an exciting addition to the story, so much time was spent retelling their tribal history that I lost interest in the storyline. Our lovable Cullen's were missing from almost the entire book, in fact, they didn't make a significant appearance until the last 100 pages! I cry foul to that SM!

On a good note, I think New Moon provides us with some of the best emotionally charged scenes in the series. The pain that Bella feels when Edward abandons her is extremely well written; totally capturing the type of heartbreak and misery a teenage girl would experience when losing the love of her life. [ read more ]

Here's another sample:

At first I was taken back by this setting, allowing my bias for the usual sexy, urbane vampires take over. However, once I got to know the delightfully-tacky people of Bon Temps, I completely fell in love! Their tendency to resemble what most people would call "typical trailer trash" surprisingly became the heart of my enjoyment. The setting truly adds to the unique charm and continuous comedy in the series. [ read more ]

Laney Belle, the author also wrote other reviews, and what makes her writing very interesting is the injection of her own sense of humour. But she can also be quite critical. In other words, she is not afraid to voice her exact opinions, even though others may disagree. Remember, you can still be fan even though you disagree with some of the views of the author.

There are 3 vixens (the term the authors wanted to be known) who collectively supply Life Beyond Twilight with articles and reviews. Check them out by clicking this link.

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Please be aware that I'm presenting the new fansites in random order. You also need to be a bit patient with me, because I tend to spent my time enjoying the new sites, but rest assured tMF will make it a point to visit all your recommendations.

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Comments SoYun Kim, the PR Interactive director of the Palisades Mediagroup:

This film is so timely especially in light of what is happening in Iran and the need for change. As the title suggests this film is about stoning - the brutal form of punishment usually for women. The intent of the film is to bring awareness that this is still practiced today and hopefully to end it forever.

It already won the Audience Award for best picture at this year's Los Angeles Film Festival and is consistently receiving rave reviews from critics.

I had the opportunity to live and work in the Middle East, particularly in Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen.While the goverments of these countries are promoting their people's new and modern ways and that anyone can visit and enjoy their beautiful lands, there still exist certain tradition and practices, that in the Western world, would not be acceptable anymore.

There was a time when I witnessed a public execution - a man in his late thirties actually lost his life, while a gathered crowd celebrate. If you think I'm only joking, you can read a BBC article in which they interviewed Saudi Arabia's leading executioner.

Stoning, a very cruel and inhumane punishment, still exist in some parts of the Middle East. I've heard of it directly from some people who have actually witnessed how it's being done. This movie, which deals with this cruel punishment, would be more than a wake up call to anyone who values life and believes that truth and justice cannot be compromised.

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Film Synopsis: In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything.

This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally charged experience of THE STONING OF SORAYA M. Based on an incredible true story, this powerful tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about mob rule. Who will join forces with the plot against her, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what's right. It is both a classic fable of good and evil and an inspiring tribute to the many fighting against injustice around the world, THE STONING OF SORAYA M. was a rousing runner-up to SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE as the Audience Favorite at the Toronto Film Festival.

Academy Award® nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG) stars in the heroic role of Zahra, an Iranian woman with a burning secret. When a journalist (Jim Caviezel, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, DÉJÀ VU) is stranded in her remote village, she takes a bold chance to reveal what the villagers will stop at nothing to keep hidden.

Thus begins the remarkable account of what happened to Soraya (Mozhan Marnò), a kind, spirited woman whose bad marriage leads her cruel, divorce-seeking husband to conspire against her, trumping up charges of infidelity, which carry an unimaginable penalty. Moving through a minefield of scheming, lies and deceit, Soraya and Zahra will attempt to prove Soraya's innocence in a legal system stacked against her. But when all else fails, Zahra will risk everything to use the sole weapon she has left - the fearless, passionate voice that can share Soraya's story with a shocked world.

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THE STONING OF SORAYA M. is inspired by Paris-based journalist Freidoune Sahebjam's acclaimed international best-seller of the same name which, rife with intrigue and moral outrage, first brought global attention to the real Soraya, who in 1986 was buried to her waist in her hometown square and stoned by her fellow villagers.

Director Cyrus Nowrasteh, along with his wife and fellow screenwriter Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, saw in Soraya one story that stands for thousands of untold tales around the world, from Africa to Asia, from Europe to America, wherever people are battling prejudice and injustice. Their screenplay takes the hard facts surrounding Soraya's fate and carves from them a lyrical, fable-like entertainment that gets under the skin by posing a provocative question: who among us would throw stones and who would take a stand against them?

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I remember the first time tMF posted the Top 3 Twilight Fansite list, we were surprised at the number of fans' reactions. They came in the hundreds and wrote such awesome reviews! Back then, no major movie sites or blogs, except a few including tMF, were interested in covering Stephenie Meyer's books. See one of our earliest article on Twilight (dated October 2007 here). I was even surprised at the 'animosity' shown by what some might call the mainstream media (see example here).

Back to the list, for days we visited many sites and blogs in search of the best. So giving credit where its due, we have...

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The Twilight Lexicon - The author of the book herself, Stephenie Meyer, described the Lexicon as the 'Twilight universe's brightest star'. Comprehensive and up-to-date, the Lexicon boasts of a diverse list of articles that relate directly to the book and the movies, the characters, scenes and situations, historical backgrounds and references, and many others. What makes this site exceptional is that both owners (Lori Joffs and Laura Byrne Cristiano) have direct personal relationship with Ms. Meyer, giving them the insight into areas not even the most resourceful writer or blogger could possibly matched. Says Lori:

The Lexicon’s relationship with Stephenie started from Day One. Starting a website was just a random thought I had. I didn’t actually put it into full gear until I had a thumb's up from Stephenie to do so. She reviewed my fanfiction, which left me more than shocked! When I e-mailed her to say thank you, I also asked how she would feel about a dictionary of sorts being created to help the fans have easier access to the information. She thought it was a great idea and said that she would supply me with information to help fill in any gaps I had. I asked a few hesitant questions, thinking that she would be very reluctant to give out too much information.

Read our interview with the owners of Twilight Lexicon here. tMF is currently doing another interview, this time putting the spotlight on New Moon, and some other 'provocative' Twilight-related topics, stay tuned!

His Golden Eyes - Hip, stylish, innovative and fun, His Golden Eyes caters to the younger set of the Twilight fandom. But what the site has to offer in terms of content and community go beyond mere age categorization - His Golden Eyes has an identity all its own. When it comes to the latest news and scoop, I think this site is one of the first to post the latest. Recently, His Golden Eyes appeared to be inactive, but worry no more, Kimmy and her team are back and the site is more awesome than ever! Says Kimmy on starting His Golden Eyes:

I started this website as a free web site, and after the number of hits started to rise I decided to get a domain name. I am very surprised how successful it has become, thanks to all our fans! When I go to my website, there are sometimes more than 500 people online at once, all eagerly waiting for news.

I'm pretty sure that "500 people online" is much more now than ever.

Twilight Moms - Our previous description still sounds quite appropriate:

With more than 3800 registered users and an average daily post of 1,259, the forum at Twilight Moms is truly a wonderful Twilight community. Someone from tMF joined a number of these Twilight boards, and we have observed that some of them have issues with management and organization, but not this forum. With such diverse topics and with so many members posting almost at the same time, it takes more than willpower and patience to prevail, but we salute the Admins at Twilight Moms for operating a true Twilight community, and they even outscooped some of the other Twilight sites!

Lisa Hansen and her team have updated what was once a fully-integrated bulletin board into a comprehensive site with news, announcements and more. Here's more from Lisa:

After creating TwilightMOMS it was refreshing to have this one tiny part of my life that I was able to control and organize however I wanted. But as it grew it became very obvious that I had to let go and allow people to help me. I'd love to be able to claim that I am solely responsible for making the site what it is today, but the truth is, I have numerous women who donate and volunteer their time and talents toward running the site. They are amazing. Utterly AMAZING! Those amazing women coupled with the structure of the administration and moderators keeps the site running like a well-oiled machine. [ read more ]

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The Second Twilight Fansite Hitlist: A few months have passed, the Twilight frenzy is almost at its peak - it's now only a few weeks before the movie hits theaters. We did another list, this time Twilight sites must have tripled in numbers - the playing field is more complex and competitive but the community atmosphere remains intact. tMF conducted a poll to see what fans have to say, but before that, we already posted the updated list:

(Publisher's Note: I wished that everything we did @tMF has been preserved. Unfortunately, our last site migration/transfer failed to include hundreds of articles and comments. We're still trying to fix things, but I hope adding some sort of backgrounder to this article would make it much more understandable.)

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Bella and Edward - I think the unique personality of the website that stands out for me. It looks and feels like an authentic and witty fangirl is operating the site - from the way the stories and articles were written to the kind of reactions the viewers provides and her reactions afterwards. Of course, Michelle now has a lot of people who help her maintain B&E.

Twilighters.Org: I consider TwilightersdotOrg to be the most tech-savy of all the Twilight fansites, yet the owners and publishers are too young, Geo and Chris! But that's the truth. Site-wise, they have a very clean, polished look that is easy on the eyes, yet filled with so much information that is enjoyable and relaxing to read. Their Image gallery is also one of the most comprehensive. Perhaps one of the best feature they got is their highly-entertaining podcast. You need to watch it yourself of course. Its a great feature, giving their viewers with a more personal form of communication and sense of community.

Twilighters Anonymous - The first thing I noticed about TA is the way they organized their content - the news blog provides more than just news and opinions separately, but a synergy of both - without going overboard (and acting like authoritative rulers in a dark fictional world) and then they ask for reactions and to no surprise, the fans react and thereby completing the circle - if you're looking for what social networking and dynamism is all about, then look no more. Of course, they also have a forum for more extensive discussions, but I was impressed because instead of the duplicity I expected (blog comments versus forum), the discussion has a feeling of continuity.

TA also won the poll when we asked readers on their favorite sites. Here's a TA article for the details.

We also made special mention of Twilight Series Theories, Twilight Source and Twilight Novel Novice, three Twilight-related sites that really impressed me. I was also supposed to launch an interview with Novel Novice's owner, Irene Truitt, and hopefully it will be posted very soon!

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The Playing Field Right Now: I think that the playing field now appears a bit on the 'nasty' side- the papz, the rumour mongers, and the celeb trash bloggers have launched their respective invasions - and carved their own niche', as they say. I'm not even going to mention and describe in details how the big movie sites have started their own Twilight sections - but I would recommend to Twilight fans to look carefully at the extent and variety of the articles being posted by these big sites, because it will add a unique dimension to your Twilight jouirney as well.

tMF is also about to begin our third search for the best Twilight fansites, and would like to ask the help of the fans to narrow down the field and enable us to once again pick the sites that are really making a difference.

Aside from those we've already mentioned, are there some new kids on the block worthy of a mention? Tell us and we'll check them out, find out what makes them special and come up with a new top 3 list!

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Just like our recent Top 50 hottest young actors, we've narrowed down our list from 88 to 50, and set an age limit. If you miss seeing some of your favorites, so do we - including Maggie Gyllenhaal (31 years old) and Amy Adams (34 years old). Definitely some of the names you'll see on the list are emerging talents - the ones you will see getting the big roles in the near future - and some of them already have, with awards and nominations to boot.

# 20 - Emma Roberts - Acting runs in the family. While Emma Roberts got her introduction into the movie industry via her relationship with Julia Roberts (who happens to be her aunt), her talent and determination to play diverse roles ultimately gave her the recognition she deserves. Her transition from playing young characters to adult roles can only be described as 'smooth sailing' - graduating from youthful roles towards more challenging, matured and enduring characters - as the young detective Nancy Drew, as Adriana in the acclaimed Derick Martini film, Lymelife, as the spoiled brat Poppy in Wild Child and as the orphaned Andi in Hotel for Dogs, among others.

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Says Emma on her role in Lymelife:

I had just finished Hotel for Dogs, and I wanted to do something just completely different. So the script [for Lymelife] kind of just came out of nowhere, and I read it and I really liked it. I met Derick and I really, really liked him. For the most part the cast was set, and I thought the cast they had chosen was brilliant. It was something I really wanted to be a part of; when you want to be a part of something like that, you'll do whatever they want you to do. [ read more ]

Emma was reported to be inclined towards indie films, which she confirmed in the Collider interview:

I just feel like with independent movies... they're really free to do whatever they want. They're not afraid to make a statement about anything, and there's not a huge studio behind them making sure that everything is wholesome and politically correct and all that. In mainstream movies, they want everything to make perfect sense, and in independents, it can be all over the place. People can just have fun with it.

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# 19 - Kat Dennings - She started in television - making appearances in shows like CSI, ER and Sex and the City. But it was in Charlie Bartlett that she really made such a good impression. As Susan, she plays the love interest of Anton Yelchin, who is playing the title role. Kendra @Jake Weird posted a review of the film, and was quite specific on Denning's role, exactly what I remember!

A pretty drama student, Susan Gardner (Kat Dennings), mistakes Charlie for a teacher when she sees him wearing a tie, and she is immediately attracted by his quirky manners, offhand remarks, and his skills in improvising theatre comedy. She is the daughter of the school's principal Nathan Gardner (Robert Downey Jr.), with whom she has a difficult relationship.

Maybe this unsatisfactory family bond is one of the reasons for the mutual attraction between Susan and Charlie. [ read more ]

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I have to agree. That scene alone was enough for me to remember Dennings, and it's just a supporting role. In her more high-profile movie, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Dennings plays Norah opposite Michael Cera who plays Nick.My favorite reviewer, Karina Longworth @Spout said:

From its animated notebook-scrawl opening credits to a final scene in which two people finally, effortlessly unburden themselves of a MacGuffin and just decide to be together, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (based on the young adult novel by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan) seems to have been packaged in the hopes that the lightning that made Juno an unignorable commodity a cultural phenomena will strike twice. Nick and Norah isn't quite the assault to the teen romance genre that Juno was, and that's both good and bad. Michael Cera's Nick, Kat Denning's Norah, and their assorted pals drift fluidly between irony-as-defense and taking both themselves, and the idea of love, very seriously. The result is a film that's much more of a traditional teen romance, but also a more honest one.

I was amused and tried to maintain an open mind with Juno, but in Nick and Norah, I was simply enjoying myself.

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# 18 - Juno Temple - Remember the young woman at the center of the controversy involving the major characters in Atonement? Yes, she's the one who accused Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) of rape. That's not all - she also played the daughter of Cate Blanchett's character in Notes on a Scandal. Check out Ms. Temple's photo from Drama Magazine!

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She has won critical praise for playing these supporting roles. One reviewer said that she played her part in Notes on a Scandal with "petulance and angst," (from Miranda K. Pennington @ Ithacan Online) while her performance in Atonement has been called "impressive" by Variety.

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The Telegraph did a profile of Ms. Temple and one part talked about how she became an actress:

...at 15, she realised she wanted to be an actress. 'I just had to turn around to my parents and say, "I really want to do this."' It was then that her mum suggested she attend the audition for Notes on a Scandal: '"You know what Juno?" she said, "If you want to do this, go and see your competition."' Richard Eyre remembers the sweet girl he met back then. 'None of Juno's personal qualities was required in the part,' he says. But even though she had never really worked before, Eyre knew she could do it. Already 'she was an actress. I knew she could play it without having to be it.' Now Juno Temple is one of our best new acting talents... [ read more ]

Ms. Temple has five new feature films to be shown this year and the next - including the historical-drama-thriller Glorious 39 (with Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, among others), Cracks (with Eva Green) and Noah Baumbach's latest feature, Greenberg, where she plays a lead role.

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But Seyfried is not simply into supporting roles, no matter the acclaim. This year and the next are going to be Ms. Seyfried's years as she is regarded as one of the young actresses to dominate the movie scene.

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Here's the breakdown why that seems to be the case:

At the moment it looks like her chances of being taken more seriously are steadily increasing. She is currently filming Jennifer's Body - a movie scripted by Diablo Cody, the Oscar-winning stripper-turned-screenwriter who wrote this year's surprise Academy darling, Juno. ‘Diablo's a great girl,' says Amanda, ‘not wild at all but very ambitious. She was telling me about the way people treated her when she worked in strip clubs and we even went to one together here in Toronto. After that I never want to step into one of those clubs again.'

She has also completed work on the movie Boogie Woogie, shot in London with Joanna Lumley, Alan Cumming and Stellan Skarsgård - one of her potential Mamma Mia! fathers, this time playing her lover (‘but that was cool because he's very sexy').

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# 16 - Rebecca Hall - She plays Vicky in Woody Allen's more recent feature, Vicky Christina Barcelona, which also stars Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson. For her performance, she was nominated for a Golden Globe- Best Actress - Musical or Comedy. But is Rebecca Hall, just suddenly arrived on the scene without any warning or introduction whatsoever? Actually, the British actress can also be seen in Starter for Ten (with James McAvoy on the lead) and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, so her acclaim is not really a surprise. In fact, she already earned quite a distinction in theater - In 2003, Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for her debut stage performance in a production of Mrs Warren's Profession.

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The first thing you notice about Rebecca Hall - on stage, as in person - is her sheer loftiness. There may be taller women, but she is serenely, aristocratically vertical. In her own words, she is "a giant" - disablingly so, given the half-pint proportions of so many actors. In the cauldron of performance, she has had to compromise. "I've got really good at dropping my hip and drooping my shoulders, and making myself look small," she says. No amount of folding herself into creases will stop her from towering over Simon Russell Beale, opposite whom she is now playing at the Old Vic in two great classical roles. But there is another side effect of being 5ft 10in - and not blonde - in her line of work. Or so she reckons. You get typecast as a brainbox. "I'm often cast as clever people. It doesn't mean I necessarily am."

She recently played Emily Dickinson in Brian Crano's Official Selection and will next star in the highly-anticipated Dorian Gray.

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# 15 - (Tie) - Emma Watson and Kristen Stewart

I am inclined to consider the stylish, fashionable and charming Miss Emma Watson simply as one of cinema's most refreshing and exciting young actresses, while the intense and highly-dedicated Kristen Stewart as the next most important Hollywood leading lady. Many would probably disagree with having a tie, but that's just it. Of course, Stewart and Watson are two different, unique individuals capable of performing well on the big screen.

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Let's take a closer look:

Kristen Stewart - She'll be Isabella Swan to all Twilight fans and will always be Edward Cullen's most beloved. But she has played a number of movie roles worth mentioning, among them as the unassuming Tracy Tatro, a country girl who fell in love with Emile Hirsch in Into the Wild, as the troubled and lonely teenager Martine in The Yellow Handerchief, and as Sam, the older and tomboyish daughter of Patricia Clarkson in The Safety of Objects, her debut film.

She also portrayed the young Melina Sordino, ostracized by her schoolmates, alienated by both her mother and father, and is a rape victim who decided not to utter a word in the official Sundance selection, Speak. Says critic Chris Parry on Kristen's performance:

As Melinda, Kristen Stewart doesn't just shine, she burns. In a role where most of what she says doesn't come in the form of words, the teen star of Panic Room and Cold Creek Manor shows that she's far more than just a 'teen actress', delivering a flawless performance. Of course it helps that the script is magnificent, the director at the top of her game and that the cast around her is actually made up of teenagers, rather than twenty-something actors dressed down to look like high school kids. [ read more ]

Of course, let us not forget her role as Jodie Foster's diabetic daughter Sarah in David Fincher's psychological thriller, Panic Room. It was in this hot-wired thriller that Kristen first received critical acclaim. Her latest as the alluringly sharp-tongued arcade girl, Em Lewin (opposite the talented Jesse Eisenberg) in Adventureland, is one of the first indication of her getting cast in more matured roles. Perhaps her next high-profile role - which maybe her most challenging yet - is playing the legendary Joan Jett in Floria Sigismondi's The Runaways, a coming-of-age biopic about '70s teenage band The Runaways.

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Emma Watson - Born in France but very definitely known as a young British actress, Emma Watson has become an attractive, stylish and versatile talent. AskMen wrote an awesome profile of Emma, and below happens to be my favorite part:

Some actors never experience commercial success, and then there’s Emma Watson. The Oxford schoolgirl made her acting debut in 2001 in an intimate little film called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Based on the best-selling novel by J.K. Rowling, the blockbuster film went on to make $975 million worldwide en route to becoming one of the most lucrative movies of all time. Emma Watson has since shown off her impressive acting chops in the successful sequels...

Says the actress on her role in the hugely successful Hary Potter series:

I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity to be in such a fantastic film and worked with so many tons of people. I mean, my ambitions couldn't even dream of the scale and greatness that Harry Potter is, and so, I'm so very lucky about that. But as Dan said, I love performing, I love being creative. There's so many different aspects of the film world that even if I didn't pursue acting, then I... I mean, something, something in it I might end up doing. Whatever gets thrown at me, I'm just going to go with the flow and see what happens.

Glamour and Emma Watson: To prove she is up for the title 'Most Glamorous Young Actress', her shots in the latest Burberry campaign has been declared a winner, and it was no less than Vogue which reported:

THE biggest ego boost of my life," is how Emma Watson described her recent Burberry campaign shoot with Mario Testino - and now we can have an exclusive peek at just what that incredible day was like for the young actress.

"Emma is part of the Burberry family, we've worked with her on lots of different things," Burberry creative director Christopher Bailey revealed whilst on location in Westminster with Watson and Testino. "She is one of the great new British icons."

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# 14 - Sienna Miller - Being a fashion model is often considered a disadvantage for those aspiring to become an actress. Such is the case with Sienna Miller. Being involved with Jude Law didn't help either, or so it seems. Says Miller:

It was like best of times, worst of times. I don't want to talk about Jude out of respect to him, but at the point that it was happening I was falling madly in love with him. In one sense it was a really happy time. I'm not going to talk about what it was like, because it was really intense and really intimidating. Boring!

For now, relationships are definitely taking a backseat for Sienna Miller. Aside from being a finalist in BAFTA’s Orange Rising Star, the actress is one of the busiest with a string of back-to-back film projects.

After Factory Girl, Stardust and Interview, Miller was part of four highly-anticipated films: Hippie Hippie Shake (with Cillian Murphy), The Edge of Love (also with Murphy and Keira Knightley), A Woman of No Importance and Stephen Sommers’ GI Joe where she plays The Baroness.

Jealous and insecure critics have lambasted her for 'weak character portrayal' in her recent movies (well, mostly in Factory Girl), but the criticism is often related to the fact that they can't get over her being a former model. Why is that? Some people seem to find it hard to accept models as being capable of more than just posing for fashion photogs...

Given the proper acting vehicle, Miller can compete with anyone in the acting department.

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# 13 - Deborah Francois - When I think of the sensational Belgian actress, Deborah Francois, the first thing that register are her two powerful, unforgettable performances - as Bruno's (Jeremie Renier) girlfriend, Sonia, who got pregnant in Dardenne Brothers' Cannes big winner, L'Enfant and as Mélanie Prouvost, a gifted piano player out for revenge in The Page Turner (La tourneuse de pages). If there is anyone in European cinema today that ought to be considered as one of it's most talented performers, then it has to be Deborah Francois!

The 3-time Cesar awards nominee (and winner) for Most Promising Actress just recently won the 2009 Prix Romy Schneider - an award given since 1984 in memory of famous actress Romy Schneider in Paris, France. American audiences ought to watch out for Ms. Francois, she's simply stunning!

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Says Marcy Media, who desribed Ms. Francois as the New Ingenue:

The Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals may be cinematic worlds apart, but 21-year-old Belgian actress Déborah François already has managed to conquer them both. She made her acting debut in Jean-Pierre Dardenne's "L'Enfant," which went on to win the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2005. Now François' first English-speaking film - "Unmade Beds," by Argentine director-writer Alexis Dos Santos - is earning critical acclaim after screening at the recent Sundance festival. "Unmade Beds" uses an unconventional format, mixing still photography, live action and musical performances from underground British bands such as (We Are) Performance, Connan Mockasin and Plaster of Paris to narrate the intersecting lives of a group of young bohemians in a London loft.

"I kind of fell in love with the role of Vera on the spot - [it was the] kind of sex, drugs and music movie I had never done," explains François of her attraction to the project.

And perhaps a taste of a lifestyle she never got to explore. Though the ingenue hails from the university town of Liège, she has had little time for long nights out. Since being discovered at 16, at an open casting call for "L'Enfant," François has been launched headfirst into a string of French films. [ read more ]

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# 12 - Michelle Williams - Nobody can deny that Michelle Williams is one fine young actress. In fact, Ms. Williams maybe regarded as one of today's most sought-after actress. After her impressive portrayal of Jen Lindley in Dawson's Creek, she made the succesful transition into the big screen via a list of notable films.

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Let's take a closer look at William's acting career so far...

In 2006 she appeared in The Hawk Is Dying with Paul Giamatti. In 2007, she was in The Hottest State opposite Ethan Hawke; and in the Todd Haynes directed I'm Not There with Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Julianne Moore. In 2008, she starred with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman in the Marcel Langenegger directed film Deception.

Williams has been noted to "repeatedly taken chances on under-the-radar indies", such as The Station Agent and The Hawk Is Dying, "while catching the attention of auteurs like Wim Wenders (Land of Plenty), Todd Haynes (I'm Not There); and Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island (based on the novel it adapts, Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane) - that will also star Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo.

Along with the Scorsese film, she shot four other films in succession. Independent filmmaker Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy was shown on September 27 and 28, 2008 at the New York Film Festival and opened on December 10, 2008. Williams appears "in every scene as a young woman living hand to mouth on the road when her car breaks down and her dog goes missing in a blue-collar Oregon town. She is one of a "vivid ensemble cast orbiting around Philip Seymour Hoffman's harried theater director" in Synecdoche, New York, the first film directed by Charlie Kaufman, the screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Adaptation.

Two other films include director Lukas Moodysson's Mammoth with Gael García Bernal; and Incendiary, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. Williams recently said that she is "going to take a year off" as she "stopped feeling creative a little while ago, and ... [is] just realizing it now," and is also "feeling the strain of being a working single mom" and, the untimely death of her husband, Heath Ledger.

Williams can be seen in the upcoming romance film Blue Valentine with Ryan Gosling; the film is currently in pre-production and has a release date of 2010.

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# 11 - Scarlett Johanson - Some girls have all the luck, but apparently, Lady Luck can change her mind…If that seems ominous, it’s because it relates directly to how Scarlett Johansson has been treating her acting career of late.

Actress-turned-singer Scarlett Johansson's debut album has received a series of scathing reviews from music critics, who have branded the star's recordings "fussy and forgettable." The Lost In Translation star released her album Anywhere I Lay My Head, a collection of Tom Waits covers, this week. But several reviews of the 40-minute-long disc have been lukewarm, with commentators reserving their harshest criticism for Johansson's vocal abilities.

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I still can’t get over her awesome performances in Lost in Translation and Girl with a Pearl Earring. She is such a terrific actress, but it seems her talent manager and those around her are taking her down.

After these two great films, it took three long years before Johansson was able to deliver another great performance courtesy of Match Point, directed by Woody Allen, the same filmmaker who once said that Johansson “will ruin her promising acting career by indulging in the party lifestyle - advising her to take inspiration from Meryl Streep instead.”

Ignoring her "singing aspirations blooper", she should have been ranked higher, perhaps even at the #2 spot. Her performances in Lost in Translation and Match Point are more than enough to satisfy the film critics in us, plus the fact that she's one of the most beautiful young actresses we have today...

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What's on your mind? Oh and yes, there are 10 more names on the list, and if your favorite young actress is not yet here, then perhaps she might be ranked higher or perhaps not at all, so please do tell us who she is and why she ought to be part of the list. Anyway, just fire away!

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JSO - JimSturgessOnline just posted several articles that put the spotlight on Sturgess' next most important film - Heartless, and I quote:

Just announced, Heartless, starring Jim Sturgess, will make it’s world premiere atLondon’s annual Frightfest which takes placefrom August 27 - 31 at Empire Auditorium. The horror film festival has a Heartless webpagewith all the details, as well as a description and some additional images from the film.

And there’s more. For the first time ever in FrightFest’s history, we will be hosting a live music gig. Jim Sturgess, the headliner of Philip Ridley’s astonishing HEARTLESS, (and star of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, 50 DEAD MEN WALKING, THE OTHER BOLEYN GIRL and 21) will be performing a selection of songs from the movie [ read more ]

You can also browse more production stills of the movie here.

From the FrightFest website:

We’ve been waiting for a new movie from visionary artist Philip Ridley since THE PASSION OF DARKLY NOON in 1995. Now, finally, THE REFLECTING SKIN director returns to the celluloid dream world. HEARTLESS is the menacing and magical tale of Jamie (ACROSS THE UNIVERSE star Jim Sturgess) born with a heart-shaped birthmark on his face. Shunned by those who find him repulsive, the photographer’s son lives in a part of London’s East End notorious for gang violence. When his mother is viciously murdered, the media reports it’s by a hoodie wearing a devil mask. But Jamie soon realizes the thugs aren’t wearing disguises at all; they really are demons and hell on earth is beginning to plague the capital city. Yet all is not what it seems in enfant terrible Ridley’s unique horror fantasy landscape ingeniously informed by the current climate of fear running through every strata of modern society.

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I'm not a big fan of Tobey Maguire, but from just watching the trailer, I was simply surprised (and amazed) at the intensity of his acting. There is no Spiderman hype or anything 'artificial' here. Tobey is an angry man who just discovered that his wife is sleeping with his brother, and he explodes!

But Jake and Natalie also gave awesome performances.

If Closer was not 'close' enough for Natalie to grab an Oscar, then perhaps this movie might give her another shot - whether she can deliver a consistent performance throughout the film, we still need to find out, but with Jim Sheridan at the helm, I think she'll be able to deliver an amazing performance. Same with Jake, his approach is quite understated, which is understandable given his role as the guilty brother. It might be another Best Supporting Actor nomination perhaps...

The movie is based on Susanne Bier's 2004 film, Brødre, which garnered more than 10 awards and 20 nominations throughout. Bier is also the writer of the American re-make.

What's on your mind? What do you think about this movie after watching the trailer? Do you think the actors delivered amazing performances? Let us know what you think!

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Before I forget, this post is supposedly about Rob's new movies and which of them would really blow you away - in terms of acting, story, co-stars, box office results, critical acclaim, relevance and more. So let me list down the four you have to consider: a historical drama based on a book - Bel Ami, a modern-day romance-drama with Emilie de Ravin - Remember Me, a western-drama entitled- Unbound Captives where he'll act alongside Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz or the latest Twilight sequel -New Moon.

Oh and yeah, we have a poll (just look to the left and join if you like!).

After the jump, I'm doing detailed analysis of the movies - the stories, the roles, the co-stars, and more!

Bel Ami, George Duroy and Playing with Women: Seriously, playing the role of George Duroy, the main character might be one of his most challenging (and most rewarding) yet. While I do think he took a risk playing Salvador Dali, this new role would only give him nothing but good buzz.

Why is that? Let me quote someone who read the book:

On the surface, the moral of the book is simple: be a complete bastard, treat all the women you meet like dirt and exploit them as much as possible, and you'll be a stunning success. The author stays deadpan thoughout; it's impossible to tell for sure whether he's being ironic, though one strongly suspects he is. Fans of the Flashman series will probably enjoy this too.

Isaiah's comment highlighted for me why the book is so fascinating. Most people don't want to admit to themselves how important the connection is between sex and power, but Maupassant puts it center stage. Another work that does the same thing is the musical Evita. I was reminded of the chorus from "Goodnight and thank you", a duet between Eva and Ché:

There is no one, no one at all
Never has been, and never will be a lover
Male or female
Who hasn't an eye on
In fact they rely on
Tricks they can try on
Their partner
They're hoping their lover will help them or keep them
Support them, promote them, don't blame them
You're the same

Why is Rob chosen to play the role? Is he similar in looks with George Duroy? Let me quote the book itself:

Tall, well-built, fair, with blue eyes, a curled mustache, hair naturally wavy and parted in the middle, he recalled the hero of the popular romances.

Seems like Rob is perfect for the role IMO. Just the mention of 'hero of popular romances' would have me convinced it's more than enough to bring in the goodies.

tMF's Take:

(1.) A really meaty, substantive role for Rob to sink his teeth into. Comments SharedVisions.com:

The second Maupassant's novel was "Bel-Ami", disclosing the society of that time. It can be said that if "Une vie" asks - what is the reason of all the sorrows and misfortunes, then "Bel-Ami" answers - the society.

The society is represented by Georges Duroy, he can be called the main face and representative of the society of that time. Though, I suppose, there are two sides of his character - positive and negative. Of course, the positive side is expressed not so much as the negative one. Positive is that he is purposeful, strong man, he knows his job and knows how to get what he wants. But also we can enumerate all the mistakes of the society in common as his negative features of a character - dishonesty, barbarity, ambition, impudence, greed and etc. This register is endless.

George Duroy is a careerist, he's ready for everything, his goal is to get what he needs. He changes women like gloves, he uses his attraction.

(2.) Bel Ami is to be directed by the award-winning theater director and writer Declan Donnellan, a 4-time Laurence Olivier awardee. Says Variety:

Uberto Pasolini is producing through his shingle Redwave Films. Pic is skedded to shoot in Paris next year with London legit director Declan Donnellan set to make his film debut.

Donnellan is quite an artist himself, and this will be his first movie as director. However, he has extensive experience in theater and he also writes. He has more than 25 theater productions, among which include Great Expectations, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth and The Tempest. He has won the Laurence Olivier award 4 times, one of the most prestigious given to Theater directors and actors. While being a theater director is not an assurance that his film feature will be an award-winner or even break box office records, the fact that he's already much awarded, is certainly a good thing.

The Negative: Historical dramas are not big box office winners, but have made great impressions on members of the Academy (there are exceptions, of course: Gone with the Wind, Chariots of Fire, Atonement, Pride and Prejudice), so if Rob aims for critical success, this might be it. Anyway, the Twilight sequels are more than enough to put him in good stead with producers.

Unknown factor: Rob's leading lady will certainly be of much interest. As of now, no names have been mentioned. I do hope they get some French actresses to play the leading female roles. The book is written by a French anyway, and the story is based in Paris.

I'm not saying they do another Stephen Frears-Christopher Hampton take-over and let the British rule once again (i.e. Cheri and Dangerous Liaisons), I just think they ought to be more loyal to the book than to anything else.

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Remember Me, Emily de Ravin, A Modern-day Romance: When I heard he's no longer interested in Parts Per Billion, I was disappointed and blame his overly ambitious agent (that's just me, of course!). If he's really busy, why is it that he agreed to be attached to other movies like Unbound Captives? Anyway, the casting news on Remember Me, made me forget about PPB.

Once again, here's Variety:

"Remember Me," which Summit Intl. is selling at Cannes, is set to begin lensing in four or five weeks, although the female lead is yet to be cast. "The girl needs to be literally inspirational," said Pattinson of a catalytical element of the film. To be directed by Allen Coulter, film was scripted by Jenny Lumet. "I have no qualms saying that she's a genius," Pattinson laughed, adding that the script really connected with him when he first read it -- even some of the dialogue sounded "the way I speak."

Of course, it will be Emilie de ravin who will join Rob and be his leading lady. de Ravin is one of today's hottest young actress, with such an impressive record on television. She was also quite good in a number of movies, especially in Brick

tMF Take:

Rob's getting into Joe Levitt-Jake Gyllenhaal territory and can he make it? I think he's going to give them quite a competition. The guy can be quite charming and to play a romantic character might be another box office winner for Mr. Patinson. His off-screen "personal relationship" with Ms. de Ravin is driving fans wild, which might be both good and bad for the movie itself.

Allen Coulter, the movie's director, is known more for his work on television and has made only one feature film. But the diversity of his TV work is quite awesome - Sex in the City, The Sopranos, Rome, Damages...

I don't think this movie will be bound for the Oscars ( I maybe wrong here of course!), but certainly fans and ordinary moviegoers will have something to look forward to. I also think both Rob and Emilie's roles are going to be quite awesome, to say the least! Plus, what a cast!

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Unbound Captives, Acting Competition and Rivalry (?), Madeleine Stowe: This is going to be Madeleine Stowe's directorial debut from a script she has written herself. Some good actresses can be good directors too, but sometimes it's the other way around. But Ms. Stowe has enough theoretical background in cinema and journalism, having studied both at the University of Southern California. So, I'm quite positive, she'll make a good impact as director.

The Story: A widowed woman is rescued by a frontiersman and the two search for her kidnapped children.

I remember something quite similar, with Cate Blanchett and Tommy Lee-Jones playing the leads, called The Missing. I don't know if there is similarity at all, but the story sounds similar. lol

Anyway, here's the background from Variety:

The busy thesp is also excited about "Unbound Captives," which Madeleine Stowe directs from her script set in the American frontier of the mid-1800s. Pattinson likes a challenge, and "the script is almost entirely in Comanche," he said.

tMF's Take:

With Rachel Weisz and Hugh Jackman playing the lead roles, I'm not sure this is going to provide the acclaim Rob is aiming for. Although I'm not saying a supporting part is not important, I think it depends on how significant and meaty his role is going to be.

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New Moon and Return to the Twilight Frenzy

Fans who worried that the next installment of "Twilight," "New Moon," won't feature as much Edward as the first film since the book does not, can rest assured: The actor will log screen time as Bella's "hallucinations," according to Pattinson.

That's more than enough to keep me at "peace". I mean, Rob is the main reason why Twilight is a big success. While I'm not discrediting Kristen and the other stars, I just think we need to give credit to where credit is due.

In New Moon, the romance between Edward Cullen and Bella Swan takes a new turn, with the introduction of another character into the scene (courtesy of Taylor Lautner) as Jacob Black. More from IMDb:

At Bella's 18th birthday party at the Cullens' house, she gets a paper cut, and Jasper attempts to attack her. The Cullens decide it would be better for Bella's safety if they left, so they get away from Forks, leaving Bella heartbroken. She finds solace in family friend Jacob Black, who incidentally is a werewolf. But before Edward left, he made Bella promise she wouldn't do anything reckless or stupid but, as he'd already broken his promise to 'be there for as long as she wanted him', she decides to break her promise. She goes cliff-diving, which makes Edward think she has killed herself, although it was purely for recreational purposes. So Edward travels to Italy, to provoke the Volturi so they will kill him. Alice finds Bella, and they begin a race to the Italian city of Volterra to stop him.

tMF's Take:

Definitely another box office hit. I think this is going to be better than Twilight - a new director, a more resourceful and richer film producer and a more rewarded cast. The fact that the Twilight fandom is getting bigger and bigger by the minute is already an assurance that this is going to be huge.

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What's on your mind? Which of the four movies do you look forward to the most and consider the one that will blow you away? Let us know what you think!

Just like our recent Top 50 hottest young actors, we've narrowed down our list from 88 to 50, and set an age limit. If you miss seeing some of your favorites, so do we - including Maggie Gyllenhaal (31 years old) and Amy Adams (34 years old). Definitely some of the names you'll see on the list are emerging talents - the ones you will see getting the big roles in the near future - and some of them already have, with awards and nominations to boot.

Here's the updated Top 30 list! The names are getting more and more "critically-acclaimed", fabulous and wow!

# 30 - Olivia Thirlby - I just love her performance in The Wackness! Even her small role in Juno, she was quite good! I think it must be the charm of this young actress that makes her quite a standout. I also think The Wackness (starring Josh Peck with Thirlby as his love interest) is one of the most underrated movies of 2008. It's about time she'll take the lead role, as she already paid her dues playing supporting parts to the likes of Hilary Duff and Ellen Page - another young actress we admire a lot. Perhaps her role in Parts per Billion might do that soon enough. I just wonder who play the role opposite Ms. Thirlby?

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Reports the San Francisco Chronicle:

The 21-year-old rising star, who had a memorable supporting role in "Juno," appears in two movies opening a week apart, and, according to IMDB.com, she has seven films in various stages of production  - - Tough, smart and sexually curious, Thirlby's character in "The Wackness," shows a surprising amount of subtlety under Jonathan Levine's sensitive direction. Not every young actress could have pulled it off. But then, the only child of a Greenwich Village couple - her father works in construction - has always been mature for her age. At 18, encouraged by her parents, she moved into her own apartment and made another important decision: She skipped college to focus on her acting career.

"I got that advice from an acting teacher," Thirlby said. "The advice that he gave me was, 'If you really want to make this your job, you should try to do it as soon as possible and not take yourself out of the game by going to college.' [ read more ]

A rather heated discussion on Ms. Thirlby's IMDb board has started last year and still rages on.

I have no interest in becoming really famous. It's easy to forget sometimes that it's a fairly stupid profession. It's basically glorified make-believe. It's always been my passion, but let's face it: I'm doing the same thing I was when I was 3 years old and getting tutus.

The quote, I think, was quite true and I even find her views to be honest. While some may think it's her attempt at modesty, I think it's her way of saying, she'll rather do indie movies than concoct ways for the trashy celeb media sites to feast about.

Olivia resides in New York City where she was born and raised. She has trained extensively in classical Shakespearian acting in New York at the American Globe Theatre, and in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

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Malone progressed to professional acting with the 1996 film Bastard Out of Carolina. She was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries for this role. From there, her roles have grown to include several Hollywood features. In 1997, she was nominated for a Golden Globe, Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie, for her role in Hope. After several years of home schooling, she briefly attended the Professional Children's School in New York. In January 2000, Malone won legal emancipation from her mother, to bar maternal interference with her career and earnings; Malone has said that her mother "mismanaged" some of her earnings.

Malone co-produced the 2002 film American Girl, a drama in which she also acted. She had her first starring role in the 2004 film Saved!. In 2006, she made her professional stage debut in the Broadway production of the Tony Award winning play Doubt.

In 2007, it was announced that she was releasing her first single on The Social Registry, a New York City experimental music label. A number of tracks were posted to her MySpace page, and the first single, a 7" vinyl record featuring two tracks, was scheduled for release in 2007. Pitchfork Media has described her music as "pretty out-there-- bedroom electronics, spaced-out keyboards, and Malone's spare vocals."

Malone appeared in the horror film The Ruins, which was released on April 4, 2008 and co-starred Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey, and Jonathan Tucker and played Lavinia in an off-Broadway revival of Mourning Becomes Electra in 2009.

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Smet is the daughter of rock musician Johnny Hallyday and the actress Nathalie Baye. In 1986 Jean-Jacques Goldman wrote the song 'Laura' which Johnny Hallyday recorded. The daughter of such famous parents, she has said that she was unhappy at school, that she changed schools numerous times growing up, and that she was sometimes picked on - for example for the fact that at a time when rap music was the fashion, her father was an old-fashioned rock'n'roller.

She wanted initially to be a theatrical agent like her godfather, Dominique Besnehard. In 1999 she left school and followed theatre classes with Raymond Acquaviva.

In 2002 she began her acting career when Xavier Giannoli, on the recommendation of Olivier Assayas, cast her in the role of Charlotte in ' Les Corps Impatients.' She plays opposite French hearthrob Nicolas Duvauchelle in Les corps impatients, for which she received the Best Female Newcomer at Étoiles d'Or du Cinéma.

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She also played opposite another French star Benoît Magimel in The Bridesmaid (La demoiselle d'honneur), as shown above.

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# 27 - Mia Wasikowska - Growing up she wanted to become a ballet dancer but it seems 'destiny' has other plans for her. She switched to full-time acting only in 2006 and was nominated for a Young Actress AFI Award (Australia's acting award giving body) for her role in Suburban Mayhem.

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American TV audiences will remember her for her performance in HBO's In Treatment, playing Sophie, an aspiring Olympic gymnast who is sent to Gabriel Byrne's psychotherapist following an accident which is suspected to have been a suicide attempt. She followed that up with supporting roles in several films - She played the role of Elinor Smith, a young woman hoping to follow in the footsteps of Amelia Earhart in Amelia, starring Hillary Swank. Wasikowska also appeared in Defiance with Daniel Craig, as well as in the indie film That Evening Sun with Hal Holbrook.

Her role in the new Tim Burton film, Alice in Wonderland, is giving the young actress a lot of buzz. Says the Olivia Smith as the Daily News:

At the center of the director's latest off-kilter universe will be relatively unknown Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, 19. Wasikowska has been picked to play the plumb role of Alice, who is 17 in Burton's realization of the classic fantasy book by Lewis Carroll (the heroine of the book is a younger girl). Burton said of his choice, "We met a lot of people, but she just had that certain kind of emotional toughness, standing her ground in a way that makes her kind of an older person with a younger person's mentality," [ read more ]

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# 26 - Abigail Breslin - the Academy-Award nominated American child actress is also the fourth youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Oscar. Best known for portraying Olive Hoover in the film Little Miss Sunshine, Nim Rusoe in Nim's Island. She also plays the title character in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl and The Ultimate Gift as well as for several supporting roles in other films.

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Says Claudia Puig at Abegail's USA Today profile, highlighting her role in Little Miss Sunshine:

Abigail was 8 when she played the endearing, wide-eyed Olive in Little Miss Sunshine. Co-stars Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin have said they were astounded by her seriousness of purpose during shooting. Olive's dream is encouraged by an eccentric grandpa (Arkin), who coaches her. She's an innocent among a throng of creepily sophisticated little girls vying for a trophy; she conveys the sense of being out of place so capably that our hearts ache for her as she performs her inappropriately suggestive, but hilariously naive, dance number in the finale. [ read more ]

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Written by Joel Stein, it provides a bird's eye view of Dakota's acting career, which I'm quoting below:

She's made for cute: the clear blue eyes, the chipmunk cheeks, the giant smile on the pixie face. And yet Dakota Fanning takes on roles that Max von Sydow would find too dark: the daughter losing her retarded father in I Am Sam with Sean Penn in 2001; a kidnapping victim in last year's Man on Fire with Denzel Washington; a horror story about a girl with an imaginary friend in January's Hide and Seek with Robert De Niro; a kid running from aliens in this summer's Steven Spielberg movie War of the Worlds. It will be six years before the 11-year-old can legally see a large chunk of her films without her parents.

Never has a kid had such a well-planned path to becoming a serious actress. She reportedly took a pay cut from her million-plus fee on Hide and Seek to get her name above the title right next to De Niro's. She took the movie, she told reporters, because she had "never done a psychological thriller before." On Feb. 23 she got a camcorder for her 11th birthday from Spielberg. "I used to say she was 30," says her agent, Cindy Osbrink. "Now, after Hide and Seek, I say she's 105. She gets more mature and thoughtful and expressive."

Today, the question is: Can Dakota Fanning realize her dream and be the young actress she envisioned herself? I'll leave that to our viewers, but in the meantime, Dakota is our 25th ranked young actress.

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Right from the start, Rinko Kikuchi was a surefire crowd pleaser. She has never conformed to the populace and has the uncanny ability to make her roles something more unique than they were intended to be. Rinko Kikuchi has carried her eccentric sense of style over into everything she has done in her acting career.[ read more ]

Enter Hollywood: In 2006, she appeared in the critically-acclaimed Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed film Babel, where she played Chieko Wataya, a deaf teenage girl, in a role for which she was critically acclaimed and nominated for numerous awards, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She won several, such as the National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Female Performance (tying with Jennifer Hudson) and the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough. Kikuchi is also the fifth actress in Academy Award history to be nominated for an award for a role in which they do not speak a word. (The others were Jane Wyman, Patty Duke, Holly Hunter, and Samantha Morton.)

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Her emotionally intense role in Babel has led to her being noticed by many international directors, such as Rian Johnson, auteur director of Brick. She starred in his second film, 2009's The Brothers Bloom, which was her first fully English-language feature. Though she plays a main character, she only speaks three words in the film; her character is said to only know three words of English. Up next for Rinko includes the Japanese remake of Sideways, the John Cusack starrer Shanghai and acclaimed filmmaker Anh Hung Tran's latest feature, Norwegian Wood, where she is playing the lead character, Naoko.

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# 23 - Clemence Poesy - A personal favorite of mine, Mademoiselle Poesy is not only a fabulous fashion model, but a talented actress. I don't think I would get tired of watching her, even in such film as Le grand Meaulnes, which was a critical flop, to say the least.

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Askmen.com explains the reasons why Clemence Poesy is quite succesful today:

Clemence Poesy is fast on her way to becoming a household name. This stunning 26-year-old starlet has already appeared in 18 films and television productions including huge hits like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, as well as smaller, critically acclaimed gems like In Bruges and Sans moi. Despite her remarkable success, she insists it's easy to imagine a life beyond the silver screen. "I don't know if I see myself as an actress for the rest of my life," she admits. "I am interested in costume. Clothes in your daily life are important: your choices say something about you, even if what they're saying is about non-choice. And what you wear in a film is crucial. A film is a great deal about what you see, and the silhouette of a character tells you a lot.

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# 22 - Ludivine Saugnier - Arguably one of France’s most talented, Ludivine Sagnier, has proven her mettle in both period and contemporary films. From François Ozon’s 8 Women and Swimming Pool to Laurent Tirard’s Molière to Christophe Honoré’s Love Songs and Claude Chabrol’s The Girl Cut in Two, Ludivine has these filmmakers as admirers.

It’s interesting to note that when the films starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and Romola Garai were translated into French, it was Saugnier who was sought after to dub their voices.

Says the actress:

I'm much more confident in front of a camera, hidden by a character, enhanced by makeup, so I can go much further than I can in real life. Sexual acting is painful, because even though you're pretending, you have the skin of the person in front of you, and it's not the skin you wish you had. After that you run into the shower to get rid of everything.

Hopefully there will be a chance for the actress to do an English language movie in the near future.

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# 21 - Anna Paquin - As many of you know, the Canadian-born New Zealand actress has her breakthrough performance in Jane Campion's Piano, which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994. It made her the second youngest winner in Oscar history at the age of 11. After such acclaim, it seems she never had another acting vehicle to further explore her acting talents, except for two movies - as young Jane in Jane Eyre and the lead part in Fly Away Home - a choice that was reported to be hers, since her family was quite unprepared to handle her fame after winning the Oscars.

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Many of her fans and ordinary moviegoers were quite ecstatic when she appeared as Rogue in the blockbuster X-Men movie in 2000, its sequel X2 in 2003, and its third installment X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006. While the series will not feature Ms. Paquin in a similar role that gave her such acclaim, it was enough to put her back in the spotlight. Last year, Paquin appeared as Sookie Stackhouse in the HBO series True Blood, her first role in a TV series. The show is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. Paquin won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series for her role in the show, and also won a Satellite Award in a similar category.

Well, I mean, obviously, when you're doing a massive studio film, you can build enormous sets and X-Men jets and all sorts of things, and blow things up if you want to. On smaller films, you're more constrained. I think what's really interesting about independent film, is that sometimes within those constraints, you end up finding more interesting ways to do it, because you don't have the option of wasting time or energy or money. You have to be more focused and more creative, and I personally really enjoy that. I've done a lot of independent films (Laughs). I haven't done that many huge films except for X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand, so (independent film) is where I'm very comfortable.

But her return to the big screen was supposed to be via Margaret. The film is all about a young woman (Paquin)  who witnessed a bus accident, and is caught up in the aftermath, where the question of whether or not it was intentional affects many people's lives. Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo also stars. Unfortunately, the release of the movie is quite uncertain, as it faces a lot of legal issues. Reports IndieWire from an extensive reportage from the LA Times' John Horn:

The Los Angeles Times’ John Horn wrote an extensively informative piece this weekend on Kenneth Lonergan’s “Margaret,” which wrapped production in the fall of 2005 and has yet to see the light of day. The $12.6 million film was developed and financed by Fox Searchlight, and is now the subject of two different lawsuits.  “‘Margaret’ has turned into a nightmarish production that has devolved into a bitter court fight,” Horn said. “Despite ‘Margaret’s’ initial promise, it is now uncertain when Lonergan’s movie, which was filmed more than three years ago, will ever make it to theaters.”

Horn explains that while movie studio shelves are filled with troubled projects that have been on hold for various reasons, the rarity of “Margaret” is its pedigree. Beyond Lonergan himself (who wrote and directed his acclaimed directorial debut “You Can Count On Me”), the film features big-name actors like Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo and Anna Paquin, and an all-star producing team that includes Oscar winners Scott Rudin and the late Sydney Pollack. According to one of the two lawsuits currently being pitted against the film, the reason “Margaret” hasn’t come out yet is that Lonergan can’t finish the film. [ read more ]

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tMF takes a look at some of these winners - from the Oscars to the BAFTA to the Indie Spirit, the European Film Awards and more and asks should younger actors win more awards and why?

Young Oscar Winners and Nominees: The following either won or got nominated and are still not over 30 today: [correction made on Anna Paquin's award]

Jennifer Hudson won the Best Supporting for Dream Girls at 25, while Anna Paquin won the same award for The Piano at 11, one of the youngest ever. Nominees include Natalie Portman (Best Supporting for Closer when she was 24), Soairse Ronan (Best Supporting for Atonement when she was just 13), Keisha Castle-Hughes (Best Actress for Whale Rider when she was just 13),  Ellen Page (Best Actress for Juno at age 20), Abegail Breslin (Best Supporting for Little Miss Sunshine at 10), Rinko Kikuchi (Best Supporting for BABEL at 25, the year Hudson won) and Keira Knightley (Best Actress for Pride and Prejudice at 20) to name a few.

Heath Ledger won the Best Supporting (Posthumous) at 29, but he was 27 when he got the Best Actor nom for Brokeback Mountain. Nominees include Ryan Gosling (Best Actor for Half-Nelson when he was 26), Jake Gyllenhaal (Best Supporting for Brokeback Mountain when he was 25). While he's over 30, Adrien Brody won the Best Actor for The Pianist, when he was 29, the youngest ever to win.

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The International Scene + Indie and Festival Scenes: Young talents who have been recent winners and nominees

Of course, the youngest ever to win the BAFTA Best Actor is Jamie Bell for Billy Elliot, beating Russel Crowe (Gladiator) and Tom Hanks (Castaway) in the process. Andrew Garfield won the award for Boy A while Scarlett Johanson won the BAFTA for Lost in Translation. Those nominated for the lead awards include Ellen Page (Juno), James McAvoy (Atonement) and Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire). McAvoy was also the first recipient of the Orange Rising Star awards, a new category at the BAFTA, awarded to the most promising actor every year.

At the Independent Spirit, we have Shareeka Epps who won the Best Female Lead for Half Nelson in 2006. Ellen Page followed her the next year for Juno. Sienna Miller (Interview), Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) and Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy) also got nominated. Anna Kendrick, on the other hand, got a nom for Best Supporting for her role in Rocket Science.

In 2001, both Ryan Gosling (The Believer) and Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko) were nominated for Best Male Lead and Gosling won the award for Half-Nelson, the same movie he was nominated for at the Oscars. Heath Ledger also got a nom for his role in Brokeback Mountain. Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale), Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine) and Channing Tatum (A Guide to Recognizing your Saints) also got noms for Best Supporting Actor.

At the European Film Awards, Germany's Daniel Brühl (Goodbye Lenin!) won Best Actor in 2003 and he got the People's Choice award for the same category a year later.

At the recent festival scene, Robert Pattinson and Jim Sturgess both made waves for their performances. Pattinson won 2 Best Actor awards for How To Be, while Sturgess got critical acclaim for Fifty Dead Men Walking. Newcomer Carey Mulligan also got a lot of praises for her role in An Education, while Abbie Cornish also got lots of acclaim via Jane Campion's Bright Star, same as her leading man, Ben Whishaw.

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Fast Forward: Looking at the list of upcoming films, I have to say, this might be an exciting year for young talents and their chances to get nominations - not only at the Oscars, but also at other prestigious award-giving bodies like the Independent Film Awards, the Golden Globes and the Critics' awards from major US cities and centers like New York, Los Angeles and Boston.

For Best Actress, I think Saoirse Ronan's leading role in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones makes her a leading contender for an acting award, which is the same feeling I get for Natalie Portman in the upcoming Jim Sheridan film, Brothers, where she plays alongside Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal (another award contender). As mentioned numerous times, Carey Mulligan's performance in An Education, which received a lot of buzz at Sundance makes her another contender. I also find Amanda Seyfried to be such an amazing actress, perhaps her role in Atom Egoyan's Chloe might give her some further acting recognition.

For Best Actor, can Ben Barnes deliver in Dorian Gray? How about Joseph Gordon Levitt in 500 Days of Summer? Oh, it would be quite exciting to see if Gaspard Ulliel, Jeremie Renier and Keisha Castle-Hughes get noticed in Niki Caro's The Vintner's Luck.

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What's on your mind? I agree that the older, the more polished the performance. It takes more than just talent to get an acting award - luck, connection, rapport with the director and scriptwriter and many more factors are necessary but how about those exceptional young actors, should they be 'withheld' from winning because they are young? I don't agree with the idea of having a Best Young Actor award either.

How about you? What do you think? Also, the list above is not complete, it is not even comprehensive, do you have other names that should be mentioned above?

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