Aussie actor Lincoln Lewis 'buzzing' after filming Hollywood flick After Earth

 

 Lincoln Lewis / Pic: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph

 

Briana Domjen, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Despite admitting most of his scenes are on the cutting room floor, Lincoln Lewis is buzzing after working on futuristic sci-flick After Earth.

The former Home and Away actor has a supporting role in Will and Jaden Smith's upcoming movie about a father and his son crash-landing on a deserted Earth.

Lewis took to Instagram and Twitter yesterday to tell his fans how grateful he was to be part of the post-apocalyptic adventure film despite his minimal screen time.

"What an amazing job these 2 blokes did," he posted.

"They brought so much innocence, humour intense action scenes that just kept getting better and better!

"Unfortunately the original start got cut so most of mine & the cadets stuff won't be in film, but I feel so lucky to have this amazing experience & be part of it all."

The New York premiere of After Earth was held at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York on Thursday.

Film pans Aussies on a role

Amy Harris, The Daily Telegraph, reports

An American actor has taken a swipe at Australia's growing dominance in the US TV pilot market by releasing a video spoofing how hard it is for local actors to crack the big time.

Reflecting on what has reportedly become a sore point for struggling US actors, American thespian Brian Guest filmed a short for the comedy video site Funny Or Die where he pretends to be Australian to secure a pilot gig after losing out to Aussie rivals in previous auditions.

The timely video comes as Australian actors have recorded their biggest-ever showing at the annual pilot season in the US, with 25 Aussie actors - including Luke Mitchell, Sophie Lowe, Adelaide Kane and Lincoln Lewis - scoring roles.

Guests' spoof video, which also appeared on the trade website Deadline.com, has attracted some serious feedback from people who claim the influx of Aussies has come at the expense of local talent.

"I'm happy someone is bringing this to light. I've been surprised how many major roles have been going to Aussie (and British) relative unknowns," wrote one Deadline commenter, known as 'Dan'. "We have hundreds of thousands of American relative unknowns here, particularly those actors that come from the theatre world, that for some reason don't get cast."

Another wrote: "The number of lead and key roles being played with faux American accents makes no sense."

Veteran Sydney casting director Faith Martin, who cast Russell Crowe in his first film The Crossing and most recently worked on Spartacus, admits Australians are at their most popular in US casting offices right now.

"I think it's because Australian actors are keen to go the extra distance and it also comes at a time when US (talent) managers are all really looking out for the next big Aussie," Martin told Confidential.

Westside story for our Lincoln Lewis

US TV role ... Australian actor Lincoln Lewis / Pic: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

Lincoln Lewis is growing up fast.

The 25-year-old has gone from Home & Away hunk to Hollywood actor after starting to shoot his first big role in the United States.

The son of rugby league great Wally Lewis was spotted yesterday working on the set of Westside, a modern TV retelling of Romeo and Juliet.

The Brisbane boy, who has been in Tomorrow, When The War Began and Australian dramas SLiDE, Underbelly and Tricky Business since leaving the soap in 2010, plays the lead in the show. It's about two warring families in Venice Beach. Another former Summer Bay resident, Luke Bracey, appears as Lewis' brother.

Although American TV networks commission dozens of pilots at this time of year only to go ahead with a select few, Westside has a lot going for it, including the flamboyant McG, who directed the Charlie's Angels big-screen remakes and Terminator: Salvation.

Lewis will also appear in Will Smith's new flick After Earth, out in June.

Aussie actor Lincoln Lewis scores a role on new US TV series Venice

US TV role ... Australian actor Lincoln Lewis / Pic: Sam Ruttyn Source: The Daily Telegraph

Debbie Schipp, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Lincoln Lewis is the latest Australian actor to have trumps at pilot season in Hollywood, landing a role alongside former Flashdance star Jennifer Beals in ABC pilot Venice.

Lewis will play Shealy Carver, the son of Lisa Carver (Jennifer Beals) in Venice, pitched as a ‘Romeo & Juliet-esque’ style drama about the have-nots of California’s most seductive city, Venice.

The show is centred on two rival families, the Nances and the Carvers, and a forbidden and dangerous romance emerging between them as the families battle for control of Venice.

Lewis’ Shealy is bitterly upset that his brother Chris jeopardised the family by spending six years in prison, and is stewing with poorly suppressed anger when Chris is welcomed home with open arms.

“It’s a brilliant character. He’s dark and he’s bitter, and there are a lot of layers,” an excited Lewis said from LA yesterday, hours after finding out he had scored the role.

A very merry affair for little Bilbo's big premiere

Bilbo Baggins's adventure will span three epic films / Pic: Warner Bros Source: Supplied

Elle Halliwell, The Daily Telegraph, reports

The celebrity set was in holiday mode at the Sydney premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey last night.

With most having begun their Christmas break, there were more than a few glasses of wine taken into the two George St Event Cinema theatres screening the 3D Peter Jackson epic, which opens on Boxing Day.

Sophie Lowe, Lincoln Lewis, Stephanie Rice, Maude Garrett and George Houvardas walked the red carpet in place of the film's Aussie stars Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, who had already made an appearance at the film's world premiere in New Zealand.

"I thought it was great; it was really moving in parts but also funny and I was transported to a different world, which I love doing when I'm watching films," Lowe said.

Lewis said it was just one of the blockbusters he planned to see over the holidays. The Hobbit set a new record for a December release in its opening weekend, pulling in just shy of $100 million in the US as fans flocked to take in the prequel to the Lord Of The Rings saga.

Animated films a hit at the box office, but Gold Coast-made Bait slow to lure audiences

Lincoln Lewis stars as a shark-averter in Bait 3D. Picture: Courtesy of Arclight Films Source: news.com.au

Neala Johnson, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Sharks in a supermarket thriller Bait has put a dampener on Australia's run of locally-made, widely-released movie hits.

After The Sapphires enjoyed a bonzer $2.3 million opening weekend off 279 screens nationwide in August, Kath & Kimderella followed up earlier this month by topping the box office chart with $2 million off 285 screens.

Bait’s opening weekend has landed it at No.10 with $365,187 off 283 screens, at a lacklustre average of $1290 per screen. (In comparison, new release kids’ title Diary of a Wimpy Kid – Dog Days took an average of $4132 off 236 screens for a total gross of $975,087.)

Bait, shot in 3D on the Gold Coast, stars rising young Aussies Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Lincoln Lewis and Phoebe Tonkin, all of whom have career heat in Hollywood.

The high-concept movie had some heat of its own, being selected to premiere at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

Queenslander Lewis was on ground to promote Bait at several pre-release Q&A screenings, but leading man Samuel was unavailable to local distributor Paramount for promotion, busy on set in the US filming Plush with Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke.

The next Aussie film to open wide will be Mental on October 4.

The comedy, which reunites Muriel’s Wedding writer-director PJ Hogan with star Toni Collette, is expected to open on nearly 230 screens.

School holiday flicks ruled this past weekend at the cinemas, with Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted holding on to top spot with $2.6 million and Adam Sandler’s animated comedy Hotel Transylvania opening at No.2 with $1.3 million.

The Sapphires is finally falling after seven weeks of release, down to No.8 with a $441,029 weekend. It has grossed $12.7 million.

Kath & Kimderella also fell, down 49 per cent to take $558,184 on its third weekend, for a total of $4.8 million.

Lincoln's all for some risky business

Young Aussie actor, Lincoln Lewis, is all for some risky business. Picture: Kristi Miller Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

Lincoln Lewis believes the Australian film industry is "playing too safe" when it comes to local productions, saying you have to take risks to make money.

Promoting new shark horror flick Bait 3D yesterday, the young gun said it was time to step outside the box.

"In America they put a lot of money into something and most of the time it pays off," he told Confidential. "That's why I'm really stoked with Bait, because it's a mainstream film and Australia doesn't make a lot of them."

Bait - out September 20 - got a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

Tricky time for drama

Actress Gigi Edgley who stars in Channel Nine drama ''Tricky Business'. Picture: Nigel Lough Source: The Daily Telegraph

Richard Clune, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

It’s tricky business this TV game. Especially for a new drama trying to eat into the thick ratings pie the Packed To The Rafters clan has been serving up since debut.

Last Monday, Nine's aptly titled familial drama Tricky Business secured a national following of just 558,000 viewers. It was a further slide from a week earlier and a dramatic falling away from the buoyant, million plus who tuned in to its debut.

While Nine won't discuss the program's future at this stage, it's fair to suggest the slick-looking drama that starred Gigi Edgley, Lincoln Lewis and Shane Bourne, among others, is destined for the scrapheap.

It's been moved to Wednesdays 10pm from this week, and last Wednesday, Edgley tweeted its demise, signing off her comment with: "onwards and upwards". Interestingly, the tweet has since been removed.

That it didn't work is a shame for all involved, indeed the greater industry and again highlights the extremely fickle nature of the local audience.

As a commercial drama, Tricky Business was harmless and a solid showcase of new(ish) talent, utilising a new location (Wollongong and its mountainous surrounds) and with writing that was, well, acceptable. On that front it will be interesting to witness the audience engagement for Ten's next dramatic effort, Puberty Blues, which is set to debut next month.