The contenders to lead David Fincher’s new thriller are an intriguing collection of unknowns—and speculation is flying as to who will get the job. Gina Piccalo separates fact from fiction.

While every major role in director David Fincher’s hotly anticipated crime thriller The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has been cast in the last two weeks, the title character remains a mystery.

(…)

For instance, Alice in Wonderland star Mia Wasikowska (wearing a Lisbeth-esque pixie haircut) still gets named as a leading contender. As the co-star of Disney’s billion-dollar spring blockbuster opposite Johnny Depp and this summer’s critical hit The Kids Are All Right, she would bring her own burgeoning celebrity to Dragon. But Wasikowska respectfully declined Fincher’s offer to screen test for it and has returned home to Australia. (The 20-year-old star will appear in two indie dramas next year: director Gus Van Sant’s Restless and as the title character in Jane Eyre.)

Source

Six young and promising actresses are contending to land a role in one of the most prestigious Hollywood film parts of 2010, four of which are Australian.
Sophie Lowe from Beautiful Kate, Alice in Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska, Uninvited’s Emily Browning and Sydney stage sensation Sarah Snook are all aiming to grab the role of awkwardly asocial but extremely intelligent Lisbeth Salander. The four actresses flew in to LA this week after being short-listed for the big-budget adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s award-winning crime novel Girl With A Dragon Tattoo.
The women will not only be competing with each other, but also with two other leading ladies, who are both Academy Award and Golden Globe nominees.

English actress Carey Mulligan, from An Education, and Juno’s Ellen Page are also being considered by the director for the role.
According to a film source, the four actresses have good chances for the part, as director David Flincher is said to have specifically requested a “reasonably obscure” talent.
Rumour has it that James Bond actor Daniel Craig will play as the male lead of journalist Mikael Blomkvist, a role that was originally given to Brad Pitt.

Distributor Sony Pictures said the film about reporter Mikael and computer hacker Lisbeth, who are researching a family history for a wealthy recluse, will hit the big screens on December 2011.

Source: IBT

The nominations for this years Teen Choice Awards are out and “Alice in Wonderland” has three nominations in total! Mia herself is up for “Choice Movie Actress: Fantasy”.

Choice Movie: Fantasy
“Alice in Wonderland”
“Clash of the Titans”
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
“Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”

Choice Movie Actor: Fantasy
Johnny Depp, “Alice in Wonderland”
Jake Gyllenhaal, “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
Taylor Lautner, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Robert Pattinson, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Sam Worthington, “Clash of the Titans”

Choice Movie Actress: Fantasy
Gemma Arterton, “Clash of the Titans” / “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time”
Rosario Dawson, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief”
Kristen Stewart, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon”
Mia Wasikowska, “Alice in Wonderland”
Emma Watson, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”

Anne Hathaway, Kristen Stewart and Natalie Portman are in the running to star in the remake of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”. “An Education” actress Carey Mulligan and “Juno” star Ellen Page are also reportedly keen to take on the lead role in the new version of the film, based on the novel by Swedish author Stiegg Larsson, with Keira Knightley, Mia Wasikowska and Scarlett Johansson also said to want the part.

However, director David Fincher is said to be unsure whether he wants to cast an established star or an unknown actress. A source told website Deadline,

“David is not sure if he wants to go with an actress of any note or go with an unknown. David’s process is very specific and private. He’s looking for authenticity and a degree of fierceness and believability capable of delivering the intensity that the part on the page calls for.”

Brad Pitt is believed to have been offered the male lead in the film.

“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, a Swedish version of which was released in cinemas earlier this year, is the first in a trilogy, followed by “The Girl Who Played with Fire” and “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest”.

Not surprising, Mia is nominted to 2010 MTV Movie Awards – Best Female Breakout Star for her role as Alice in “Alice in Wonderland”. Go here and cast your vote to support Mia!

THE breakneck speed with which Mia Wasikowska has become one of Hollywood’s ‘It’ girls hasn’t come as a surprise to anybody who knows her.

Even though the Alice in Wonderland star left Canberra High School in year 10 to pursue her acting career, teachers had already marked her out as a quiet achiever.

‘‘She was always going to succeed in her chosen field, not through over-confidence, but because of her intelligence, focus, work ethic and ability to communicate,’’ says David Whyte, who taught her for three years.

Sydney-based director Peter Carstairs saw between 100 and 200 young actors before casting Wasikowska in the key female role in his coming-of-age film September, shot in 2006.

‘‘She was head and shoulders above anyone else,’’ Carstairs says. ‘‘We offered her the role on the spot.’’

Since then, the 20-year-old has shot seven features opposite such seasoned actors as Daniel Craig, Johnny Depp, Hilary Swank and Julianne Moore.

Directors Tim Burton and Gus Van Sant have become card-carrying fans.

This month, Wasikowska appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair alongside fellow Aussie Abbie Cornish, An Education’s Carey Mulligan and Twilight’s Kristen Stewart.

When she returned home to promote her role as Alice in Burton’s candy-coloured adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, she seemed genuinely modest about her inclusion in the influential US magazine’s ‘‘New Hollywood’’ list.

Read the rest of this entry »

I am so excited to be able to exclusively reveal the upcoming April 2010 cover for Australian Harper’s Bazaar starring Mia Wasikowska entitled Welcome to Wonderland!

Mia was photographed by Paul Jasmin and styled by Jillian Davison. Mia is wearing Burberry Prorsum dress, $7640; Dolce & Gabbana belt, $1850, from Cosmopolitan Shoes; Made Her Think ring, $195, from Cultstatus; and Dior Haute Joaillerie ring. Her hair was styled by Jamal Hammadi and her makeup by Lisa Storey.

You can see a video preview of the upcoming Welcome to Wonderland issue starring a plethora of Aussie celebs including Natalie Imbruglia as Minnie Mouse sitting on top of the Opera House, Teresa Palmer as Alice in Wonderland, Sophie Lowe as Snow White and many more.

An issue to be excited about and hot footing it down to the newsstand on Monday 1st March! Thanks Mn and SassiSam for the tip!

Mia Wasikowska was spotted at the “Alice In Wonderland” press conference at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel on February 20, 2010 in Hollywood, California. So far, I’ve added 10 MQ photos to the gallery.

Congratulations to Mia Wasikowska for her nomination for Best Supporting Female role in That Evening Sun.

In a short amount of time, Mia Wasikowska has established herself as a rising star of the big and small screen. A trained ballerina turned actress, Wasikowska has been challenging herself as a performer since he age of 9. Wasikowska recently received critical praise from prominent national television critics for her portrayal of the tormented and suicidal teen Sophie in HBO’s Series In Treatment. Produced by Mark Wahlberg and directed by Rodrigo Garcia, In Treatment focuses on the relationship between a therapist (Gabriel Byrne) and his patients. In recognition of her performance, Wasikowska was honored by the Los Angeles Based organization Australians In Film (whose Host Committee includes Cate Blanchett, Naomi Watts, NicolKidman, and Hugh Jackman among others) with the Breakthrough Actress Award. The series was also nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Drama Series.

Continue reading…

#50. Alice in Wonderland

Director: Tim Burton
Writer(s): Linda Woolverton
Producers: Joe Roth, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd, Richard D. Zanuck and Burton
Distributor: Disney

The Gist: Based on Lewis Carroll’s beloved “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” (1865) and “Through the Looking-Glass” (1871), this sees Depp star as the Mad Hatter and Mia Wasikowska play 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror…..(more)

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Crispin Glover, Anne Hathaway, Stephen Fry, Christopher Lee, Timothy Spall, Michael Sheen, Alan Rickman, Matt Lucas and Barbara Windsor.

Why is it on the list?: Burton has set the standard for mixing macabre, the highly imaginative and eye candy spectacle but I don’t think “big-budget” and grandiose have served Burton well in the recent past. From what has been shown so far, I don’t think we’ll need to go into this chemically challenged route – let’s hope that this strikes the right balance: with an emphasis on the performances.

Release Date/Status?: A wide release on March 5th.