Rising Star Maika Monroe Joins 'Downton Abbey's' Dan Stevens in 'The Guest' (Exclusive)

By Jeff Sneider

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Up-and-coming actress Maika Monroe has booked the female lead opposite Dan Stevens in "The Guest," a psychological thriller from the filmmaking team behind Lionsgate's upcoming horror movie "You're Next."

Adam Wingard will direct from a script by Simon Barrett, while Keith Calder and Jessica Wu will produce via Snoot Entertainment. Production starts this summer.

Stevens ("Downton Abbey") stars as David, an ex-Marine who returns from a tour of duty a changed man and terrorizes a military family whose eldest son recently died.

Monroe will play Anna, the female lead who is suspicious of David and must protect her younger brother from his cold-blooded wrath.

The 20 year-old actress, who recently starred opposite Zac Efron in "At Any Price," will next be seen as a key character in Jason Reitman's "Labor Day." A former professional kiteboarder, she also appeared briefly in Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring."

A terrifying original horror movie, "You're Next" premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and will finally hit U.S. theaters on August 23 via Lionsgate.

Monroe is repped by WME, Luber Roklin Entertainment and attorney Fred Toczek.

View the original article here

Actor Paul Giamatti joins 'Downton Abbey' as playboy brother

LONDON (Reuters) - American actor Paul Giamatti is joining the cast of the British award-winning stately home drama "Downton Abbey", starting with the Christmas episode, the show's producers said on Monday.

Carnival Films, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal, and British television channel ITV said Giamatti would play Cora Crawley's maverick, playboy brother Harold in the Christmas episode.

Giamatti, known for films including "Sideways" and "Cinderella Man", will be star alongside Shirley MacLaine and the regular cast members in the drama that won a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Television Film in 2011.

He is just one of a list of new cast members to star in an eight-part fourth series that includes New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their staff.

"We're excited that Paul Giamatti will be joining us on Downton to play Cora's brother Harold, the rather free-spirited uncle to Mary and Edith," Carnival Films' Managing Director Gareth Neame said in a statement.

"We can't wait to see him work alongside Shirley MacLaine, who are both sure to upset the Grantham's apple cart in this year's Christmas Day episode."

The new series will see the return of MacLaine as Martha Levinson alongside series regulars Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and Jim Carter.

In Britain, series three of "Downton Abbey" that was created by British screenwriter Julian Fellowes was the most watched drama of 2012, averaging 11.9 million viewers.

In the United States, shown on PBS, "Downton Abbey" was the highest-ranked non-U.S. series.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

Rising Star Maika Monroe Joins 'Downton Abbey's' Dan Stevens in 'The Guest' (Exclusive)

By Jeff Sneider

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Up-and-coming actress Maika Monroe has booked the female lead opposite Dan Stevens in "The Guest," a psychological thriller from the filmmaking team behind Lionsgate's upcoming horror movie "You're Next."

Adam Wingard will direct from a script by Simon Barrett, while Keith Calder and Jessica Wu will produce via Snoot Entertainment. Production starts this summer.

Stevens ("Downton Abbey") stars as David, an ex-Marine who returns from a tour of duty a changed man and terrorizes a military family whose eldest son recently died.

Monroe will play Anna, the female lead who is suspicious of David and must protect her younger brother from his cold-blooded wrath.

The 20 year-old actress, who recently starred opposite Zac Efron in "At Any Price," will next be seen as a key character in Jason Reitman's "Labor Day." A former professional kiteboarder, she also appeared briefly in Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring."

A terrifying original horror movie, "You're Next" premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival and will finally hit U.S. theaters on August 23 via Lionsgate.

Monroe is repped by WME, Luber Roklin Entertainment and attorney Fred Toczek.

View the original article here

'Downton Abbey' Wine Is Happening

Good news for all you wine connoisseurs out there: A collection of "Downton Abbey" wine is being released.

According to Fox News, Wines That Rock -- also responsible for Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones wines -- is releasing a collection of "vintage" wine that is "typical of the clarets and whites are the type of imported by the British aristocracy from France in the early 1900s."

"We are working with The Dulong Grands Vins De Bordeaux vineyards, which have been in the same family for five generations," Bill Zysblat, co-owner of Wines That Rock, said in a statement. "They have over 130 years of experience in creating the world's best wines so these are wines the Crawley family would have been proud to serve at Downton."

The Masterpiece series isn't just inspiring bottles of wine these days. In May, Diddy did a "Downton Abbey" Funny Or Die spoof titled "Downton Diddy" and Paul Giammati hopped on board the "Downton" train on Monday.

"We're excited that Paul Giamatti will be joining us on 'Downton' to play Cora's brother Harold, the rather free-spirited uncle to Mary and Edith," Gareth Neame, managing director of Carnival Films, said in a statement. "We can't wait to see him work alongside Shirley MacLaine, who are both sure to upset the Grantham's apple cart in this year's finale.”

"Downton Abbey" Season 4 premieres on Sun., January 5, 2014 on PBS.

Loading Slideshow

Cullen will play Lord Gillingham, a family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family as a guest at a house party. He's one of Lady Mary's potential suitors, along with ...

Ovenden will play aristocrat Charles Blake, another potential love interest for Lady Mary.

Walter will play Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager Countess.

David will appear in a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil.

Harman will play Green, a valet.

Te Kanawa will play a guest who sings in the house.

Shirley MacLaine will also return for the Season 4 finale.

Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson

View the original article here

Actor Paul Giamatti joins 'Downton Abbey' as playboy brother

LONDON (Reuters) - American actor Paul Giamatti is joining the cast of the British award-winning stately home drama "Downton Abbey", starting with the Christmas episode, the show's producers said on Monday.

Carnival Films, a division of Comcast's NBCUniversal, and British television channel ITV said Giamatti would play Cora Crawley's maverick, playboy brother Harold in the Christmas episode.

Giamatti, known for films including "Sideways" and "Cinderella Man", will be star alongside Shirley MacLaine and the regular cast members in the drama that won a Golden Globe for Best Miniseries or Television Film in 2011.

He is just one of a list of new cast members to star in an eight-part fourth series that includes New Zealand opera singer Kiri Te Kanawa and follows the lives of the aristocratic Crawley family and their staff.

"We're excited that Paul Giamatti will be joining us on Downton to play Cora's brother Harold, the rather free-spirited uncle to Mary and Edith," Carnival Films' Managing Director Gareth Neame said in a statement.

"We can't wait to see him work alongside Shirley MacLaine, who are both sure to upset the Grantham's apple cart in this year's Christmas Day episode."

The new series will see the return of MacLaine as Martha Levinson alongside series regulars Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and Jim Carter.

In Britain, series three of "Downton Abbey" that was created by British screenwriter Julian Fellowes was the most watched drama of 2012, averaging 11.9 million viewers.

In the United States, shown on PBS, "Downton Abbey" was the highest-ranked non-U.S. series.

(Reporting by Belinda Goldsmith, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

'Downton Abbey' Star Sets Ridiculous New Project

Here's something that's real: "Downton Abbey" star Hugh Bonneville is attached to star in a movie version of the "Paddington Bear" book series. TheWrap was the first trade source to break the news of Bonneville's involvement.

Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley on the popular PBS series, would star as the patriarch of the family that adopts Paddington Bear. The film, from "Harry Potter" producer David Heyman, will mix live-action and animation.

“Paddington Bear is a universally loved character, treasured for his optimism, his sense of fair play and his perfect manners -- and of course for his unintentional talent for comic chaos," Heyman said to Variety when the project was announced back in May. "Michael Bond's books offer such wit and wonder, and I am so delighted at this chance to bring Paddington to the big screen."

Bond has written more than 20 "Paddington Bear" books, the first of which was published in 1958.

Bonneville has a good year ahead, as he's set to co-star opposite George Clooney, Matt Damon and Bill Murray among many others in "Monuments Men." For more on the "Paddington Bear" movie, hit TheWrap.

[via TheWrap]

Loading Slideshow

Cullen will play Lord Gillingham, a family friend of the Crawleys who visits the family as a guest at a house party. He's one of Lady Mary's potential suitors, along with ...

Ovenden will play aristocrat Charles Blake, another potential love interest for Lady Mary.

Walter will play Lady Shackleton, an old friend of the Dowager Countess.

David will appear in a guest role as the Duchess of Yeovil.

Harman will play Green, a valet.

Te Kanawa will play a guest who sings in the house.

Shirley MacLaine will also return for the Season 4 finale.

Shirley MacLaine as Martha Levinson

View the original article here