Khylin Rhambo, who played Dink Meeker in Ender’s Game, has joined the cast of MTV’s Teen Wolf. According to E! Online, he will be playing Mason, a freshman member of the Beacon Hills lacrosse team and is described as “not your stereotypical gay character”.
Rhambo joins the cast with fellow newcomers Dylan Spayberry and Mason Dye. The new season of Teen Wolf debuts later this year.
I mentioned in my Blu-ray review that part of the featurette showed some cool footage of the kids at Space Camp and Just Jared Jr. has a video preview of that part of the featurette. Watch Gavin get in Aramis Knight’s face to show them what it’s like in the military:
At the red carpet premiere for Ender’s Game, we got to chat with several of the cast members and got their thoughts on their favorite scene from the movie, which they’d just seen in a private screening over the weekend!
Nerd Reactor interviewed Khylin Rhambo (Dink Meeker) and talked Ender’s Game, his reaction to learning he’d be acting with Harrison Ford and Ben Kingsley, and his work on First Family.
Nerd Reactor: You’re in a big budget science fiction action movie, Ender’s Game. What’s your excitement level right now?
Khylin Rhambo: I mean my excitement level is probably at 9 billion right now to be honest. I’ve been waiting two years, or about a year and change, basically I’ve been waiting for this whole thing to finally unfold. Soon I get to see the finished product, so that is almost so exciting that I don’t even feel anything; it’s like a surreal moment. That’s what I’m feeling right now.
Nerd Reactor: Can you tell us about your character?
I play this character whose name is Dink Meeker, and he’s like the junior of the Battle School. He’s been there for a while and he comes in contact with Ender. The rules are simple, nobody interacts with the new kids because they ‘are’ the new kids and nobody likes them. But Dink, I liked playing him because he was an honorable character to play and when I say that, I mean he was willing to talk to Ender because he knew that there was something special about him. He’s willing to take one for the team if it means that they win. He’s willing to team up with people that he might not necessarily like, he’s willing to respect his boss’ orders even though his boss may be unorthodox. There’s just so many things about him that I would like to incorporate into my own life, so being able to play a noble character like that was actually an experience that I’ll never forget.
Nerd Reactor: You get to act with some big talent including Ben Kingsley and Harrison Ford. So how was that?
Khylin Rhambo: Man, I’m not even going to lie to you. I was really scared. When I first found out who was going to be in the cast, I was like, “Are you serious? Did they make a mistake? Am I supposed to be in the movie?” It was amazing when I first saw them because these guys, I’ve seen so many of their movies and when I shook their hand I just couldn’t help but feel honored to be part of it. Every actor says that, you know, that it’s an honor to work with this person or it’s an honor to work with that person. But it truly, truly was an honor because these guys are elite. They’re at the top and you can’t help but learn from them. The energy on set, the way they carry themselves, it was great to see them like that, to be so professional and extremely talented. So you can’t help but be better when you’re surrounded by people like that.
Read the full interview at Nerd Reactor.
Hey guys,
it’s been two weeks, and while the cast have not been overly busy on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, we still have tons of news and pretty pictures to share with you.
Let’s start with Hailee Steinfeld, who has been by far the busiest of the young cast, having signed on to not one but two new projects in the last couple of weeks. First, she is going to play teen assasin Megan in Kyle Newman’s Barely Lethal alongsinde Samuel L. Jackson and Jessica Alba. Second, she’s set to appear as Vince Vaughn’s daughter in his adaptation of Term Life, a graphic novel by A.J. Lieberman and Nick Thornborrow. Not to forget all those other projects she’s either currently working on, like Three Days to Kill and The Homesman, or recently finished shooting, like Loveship, Hateship and The Keeping Room. No wonder German GLAMOUR editor Wolfgang Hertel calls her “A Girl for All Occasions.”
Hailee’s latest project, the new adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, just premiered in LA. Here she is on the red carpet with “Romeo” Douglas Booth and BFF Taylor Swift.
I like the dress. It proves again that Hailee Steinfeld is quite the fashionista. Which is probably why she made time to attend several events during New York Fashion Week, such as the Donna Karen 25th Birthday Bash, the Estee Lauder “Modern Muse” Fragrance Launch or the Calvin Klein Spring 2014 After-Party. I don’t know about you, but while I’m not sure about the Donna Karen one I’m partial to the Calvin Klein outfit.
Hailee herself has often admitted that fashion is hugely important for her. So too in the October issue of ASOS, the magazine published by the online fashion shop of the same name. E-Online published five shots ahead of time, along with a little article. Check them out HERE! (Update: More shots and a making-of video HERE at the Daily Mail Online.)
Speaking of fashion magazines: Several pictures of Abigail Breslin appear in digital magazine ContentMode’s current issue #11, together with a video in which Abigail talks about August: Osage County, Ender’s Game, and her fashion philosophy. Check out the photos and the video HERE!
Since then, Abigail has been keeping busy. She did a number of interviews recently to promote her various new and upcoming movies. She talked to ShockTillYouDrop about Haunter and Zombieland, discussed the terrifying experience of being locked in a trunk in The Call with DIY, and chatted to ALLURE about this and that. And according to Comingsoon.net, she has just started working on her newest movie, zombie thriller Maggie with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
While it’s not exactly a new movie, Khylin Rhambo also had news to share. He recently booked a guest role in the cop show Ironside!
Conor Carroll, on the other hand, has been walking down memory lane, sharing THIS awesome little ad with the world. Looks like little Conor already had the bully role down pat. Otherwise he’s been keeping busy getting into boxing and Facebook. Check out his new account HERE!
And since we are speaking of new social media accounts: Moises Arias finally decided to share his awesome photography on Tumblr. Here are a few examples of his work. Go check out his Tumblr 490tx for the rest HERE.
Finally, let’s briefly talk about the older cast: Ben Kingsley has joined the cast of Learning to Drive. Harrison Ford will receive the Hollywood Career Award at the 17th annual Hollywood Film Awards. He’s also keeping up the Han Solo act by angering leading politicians. Viola Davis appears on the cover of the October issue of ESSENCE. You can see a video of the shoot HERE. And while I couldn’t find the entire article online, several online news outlets have published parts of her interview with the magazine: Check them out HERE, HERE and HERE.
Sources: The MarySue, The Wrap, Amazon, German GLAMOUR, JustJared, E-Online, ASOS, ContentMode, ShockTillYouDrop, DIY, ComingSoon.net, HuffingtonPost, People, HipHollywood, ESSENCE, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr
We were sitting in a room waiting for the young cast to come in when the silliest thought popped into my head. We were about to interview the majority of Dragon Army. I felt like a reporter in the Enderverse, chosen to fly up to Battle School to talk to the future heroes of Earth before they headed off to some undisclosed location. And then Academy-award nominated actress Hailee Steinfeld walked into the room and snapped me back to reality.
The first time I’d seen young Hailee was on screen when she was just thirteen years old. I sat in the theater with my husband watching True Grit and thought, “Just who the hell is this girl?” She blew me away. I went home and looked her up and was astounded to learn that she’d been among 15,000 girls that auditioned for the role of Mattie Ross. Watching her stand her ground with the likes of Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon while barely a teenager, I knew she was someone special. An Academy-award nomination would later confirm I wasn’t the only one who thought that.
But while acting with Jeff Bridges would clearly unnerve even an Oscar winner like Jennifer Lawrence, so having time to just be a kid with other kids must be its own breed of cool. And that’s just what she confirmed for us right off the bat. “It’s been so much fun, you know, more fun than I imagined.”
And then, before we knew it, Asa Butterfield had walked into the room. The first thing you notice about Asa (pronounced ay-sah) is how slight he is in stature. So while many of you may be having a hard time with his height, he still has this vulnerability to him because he is so thin. That is, until he stares you in the eyes. A piercing blue, our Ender Wiggin has an intense stare, one that would make any fan somehow comforted by the fact that the person playing him can make you feel intimidated even if he’s less than half your age.
We got right into talking about his audition. How exactly did director Gavin Hood find that one boy in a million to play the boy genius savior of Earth that people had been waiting literally decades for in theaters? Turns out he was in Los Angeles and auditioned for Hood in person. Later, just as he and his mother were to leave for New York to do press for Hugo, his mother walks into the room and tells him to take a deep breath. Right then, he knew he’d gotten the part. “I literally screamed. Like I was flipping out. It was amazing.”
During our interview with the producers, Linda McDonough had related a story to us about a time when the kids just couldn’t stop laughing. Under pressure to keep on schedule, the producers were agitated when the laughing spread to the crew. Hailee and Asa gave us a bit more insight into just what was so funny. Stunt coordinator Garrett Warren had put them into a wheel harness they called the “hamster wheel” that flew them around. At one point the two of them were upside down, wearing their really tight helmets.
“[It] made us look…sort of hamster-ish. Hence the name.” laughed Asa. “Usually around 5:00, 5:15 […] we reach delirious point. At which point anything, if we work together, anything we say, we’ll just be on the floor laughing.”
Off the set, the kids didn’t have much to do in New Orleans since none of them were 21, so they simply hung out together. “I think the weekend is really our time to relax so there’s just kind of going over to each other’s houses or just laying low, really. Just spending time together is, you know, the best.” said Hailee. This included things like Aramis teaching the other boys basketball and Asa teaching Suraj how to beat box.
While we’ve heard that Moises Arias (Bonzo) was intimidating to the background extras, Asa insists they were all like family and had no problems being professional once they came on set. Before they were to do the shower scene, Asa said he and Moises were fantasizing about what they were going to be doing during the fight. “We both were like wondering, “Am I going to do a back flip over you or something?”” he said, grinning. “It’s an amazing scene. [D]ifficult to shoot because they could never show me naked, but yeah, it was an amazing scene.”
When we asked about the pressure of adapting such a classic novel with a longtime fanbase, Steinfeld said she didn’t look at it as pressure so much as an honor. “I told my mom […] one of the main things I want to do in this is still appeal to the massive cult that already follows Ender’s Game.” said Asa.
As we chatted with Asa and Hailee, a monstrous man walked in the door. Being a die-hard Game of Thrones fan since the 1990s, I simply knew him as Xaro Xhoan Daxos. Nonso Anozie, who plays Sergeant Dap, had to bend over to get into the room. He then sat down and crossed his massive arms.
Trained by a real drill sergeant, Anozie admitted he wasn’t sure about something. “A few weeks before we actually started filming […] I was wondering how far I could go, if I could shout at the kids.”
We certainly wanted to know too! “He shouted.” confirmed Asa, and everyone laughed.
“After my initial few scenes I was walking around for a few days with a hoarse throat; I was screaming pretty loud.” said Anozie, chuckling.
Eventually, we were joined by a large group of cast members: the rest of the jeesh. Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Caleb Thaggard, Khylin Rhambo, and Conor Carroll rolled into the room and started telling us what they’d pick to take from the set. Aramis wanted the little compacted mouse they’d used earlier that day. Khylin would keep his flash gun. Caleb and Nonso said they’d definitely keep their desks. “They’re really, really cool. A lot of the stuff is working, a lot of the stuff you can actually hold and pick up. That’s the thing I like about this movie, the things you can actually grab hold of.” said Anozie.
Suraj was thinking a little bigger than the rest of them. “I [w]ould take the whole thing and literally make a museum out of it.”
When talk moved on to the Formics, they had differing opinions about the aliens. Giant ants with claws and teeth. Intimidating. Advanced, like a threat. Conor said he was most afraid of the thought of being a Formic because that’d mean he’d have to be around Formics all the time. Yet they’re not without their own unique beauty. As Suraj put it, “You’re supposed to be grossed out by them but they’ve done a good job with the color, really making them creatures that, once you get to know them, you would love them and you’d want to live in peace with them. It’s really interesting.”
They’ve talked extensively in other interviews about going to Space Camp for training and they were more than excited to tell us about all the muscles they’d developed with all the physical training involved.
Khylin told us one of the things he was most anxious about was how it would turn out, since it was no doubt going to be difficult acting and somersaulting while being in pain. However, with daily practice, it wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d anticipated. There may have been some joking about 6, 12, 18, and 20 packs. One of the most fun stunts they did was their first going into the Battle Room. “It was on a zip line.” recalled Khylin. “And they said, “Let go. Go as fast as you want, run, whatever you want to do and like if you want to flip or you just jump out.” It was amazing.”
While at Space Camp, they even got fly a simulator, though none of them were good at it except for Suraj. “I literally crashed my plane at least 17 times.” admitted Conor.
To get themselves riled up for filming, they’d chant and even gave us a demonstration. “We had a bunch of different chants.
As mentioned in our talk with Christine Bieselin-Clark, the flash suits were fantastic, but when we asked if they were comfortable… “NO. No, no.” they all agreed. “My favorite looking is the flash suits.” joked Khylin.
The way Suraj tells it, getting dressed in their flash suits sounded like the scene in Ender’s Shadow when Bean has to jury rig his suit to fit his small body and it’s in pieces at his feet. “I don’t think that anyone is ever going to realize that to get these things on we had like 4 people on us tugging at the pants, trying to get the jacket over, and trying to zip this up so this is.” And Bean did chime in on the difficulty.
“I remember the first time and all of us tried it on at the same time and I remember all of us were like, “Yeah! We can do this.” Fifteen minutes later: “I can’t do this.” ‘Cause, it’s not like it’s really like… you can move, it just gets tough to breathe after a while because it’s tight and so well-fitted. And it also gets hot cause there were at least nine layers, at least.”
Lucky for them though, there was no strict diet. Just a friendly reminder here and there to stop growing so fast, though the training would make them bulk up enough where the initial fitted suit was too tight. “I almost fainted. It was like getting hugged by Nonso.” said Khylin. Even so, cast-mate Moises would always try his best to keep the rest of them eating right.
“He won’t eat anything unhealthy. He is the most healthy person I’ve ever met.” said Suraj. As if on cue, we suddenly found ourselves talking favorite Pop Tarts, a conversation that no doubt would have had Moises shaking his head. Aramis was bemoaning the fact that he can’t find his favorite Wild Berry type in LA, when someone told him that they’ve spotted those before. He quickly raised his hand to his mom in the back of the room, saying, “Write that down!”
Just as Caleb was telling us about setting a toaster on fire while trying to toast a S’mores Pop Tart, Nonso dropped the bombshell on us. He’d never had one. “They’re like little toasty things with jam inside?” he asked.
As for whether they’re signed on to do more movies? Caleb had the most straightforward answer. “Let’s just say this: Hopefully people buy enough tickets and we’ll all get to find out.”
Hopefully indeed!
Our set visit reports will conclude tomorrow with our interview with stunt coordinator Garrett Warren, set designers Ben Proctor and Sean Haworth, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
I’m sure I speak for most of you that when those leaked character posters came out, we all just kind of reacted like this:
Now we can react like that to this one of Khylin Rhambo as Dink Meeker, which is unofficial, but still amazing for the fun/cool factor.
Khylin posted this to his Instagram today with credit to Ricky Middlesworth. Looks so legit, though I wish some names were on it!
Hey peeps,
I’m a little early this week because I’m leaving tomorrow for a week and a half to visit my family, but there’s plenty to report even now, since the Ender’s Game cast has been busy.
Asa Butterfield continues to film his new movie X Plus Y. The film team just relocated to Taipei/Taiwan, which seems to have made everyone more photo-happy.
There’s probably something in the water in Taipei, something that makes you cross-eyed and paralyzes your tongue. Or maybe it’s those 34 hours without any sleep that Asa Butterfield was talking about on Twitter. Anyway, it looks like tumblr users lovezucks and ceolwaerc, whose stalking abilities far exceed mine, have found the first images of Jo Yang, who plays Asa’s love interest in X Plus Y.
While in Taipei, Asa apparently also got his GCSE results. Not bad. I wonder if he is going to continue to A-levels. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Asa isn’t the only one currently concerned with school stuff. Suraj Partha has been studying for his SATs.
I’m sure he is going to ace that, but if he doesn’t, he could always become a photographer. Look at this beautiful picture he took during a recend road trip.
Meanwhile, Aramis Knight has been enjoying his celebrity status as well as the California sun. Last Thursday, Aramis attended WWE & E! Entertainment’s “Superstars for Hope” event.
More recently, he has been planning spring break with Khylin Rhambo. According to twitter user aramis_bean (as retweeted by Aramis Knight), this is what that’s gonna look like:
(Apropos Kings of Summer, Moises Arias’ Kings of Summer is out in the UK this week, as Moises let us know via Twitter.)
And just today, ETOnline published Aramis Knight’s personal ‘Shredding’ skateboarding playlist. Says Aramis
Skateboarding and music go hand in hand. There’s nothing like jamming out to my favorite tunes while cruising in my neighborhood or local skatepark.
Check out the playlist HERE!
Finally, adult cast members Andrea Powell (Theresa Wiggin) and Han Soto (Graff’s aide) are involved in new projects. Andrea is shooting a Christmas Special with Andy Garcia, while Han is filming a Left Behind remake with Nicholas Cage.
Sources: the cast’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, ETOnline
Hey peeps,
it’s been a while since I did a regular Cast Watch. So let’s cover some ground!
1. TEEN CHOICE AWARDS
Last Sunday (August 11, 2013) the annual Teen Choice Awards were held at Universal Studios LA. Abigail Breslin and Hailee Steinfeld presented an award together, and they looked stunning.
If you really dig Hailee’s outfit and are interested in her nail art, here is a pretty little article about it.
During the presentation, the girls seem to have given it their all.
I had thought that this pose was exclusive to German pseudo-folk singers whose dirndl dresses are made by their mothers, but apparently not. Afterwards, Hailee went to thank her outfitters for her awesome look, while Abigail seemed preoccupied with shoe woes. I commiserate.
Aramis Knight and Khylin Rhambo attended some of the pre- and after-parties of the event. On Thursday, August 8, both went to the Style Lounge/Gifting Suite event held by Red Carpet Events LA in honor of the Teen Choice Awards. Here, Aramis talked to Red Carpet Report about Ender’s Game. We posted his interview earlier HERE.
On Friday, August 9, KIIS-FM held a Teen Choice Awards gifting suite and pre-party in West LA. Aramis met up with his friend Dylan Sprayberry there. Look at the coolness!
On Sunday, August 11, Aramis and Dylan went to the Teen Choice Awards after-party. Nice print!
2. ASA BUTTERFIELD X PLUS Y
While the LA kids were partying, Asa Butterfield was busy shooting a movie. And with busy I mean BUSY! Pick up at 6, working from 7 to 7 – it’s a hard life.
And not only that, the work seems to go on after hours, as some instagram images from during and after filming contest to. For instance, this one’s titled 10:26.
Since the young star is very busy, he doesn’t have much time to tweet. Some of the kids on the film, however, seem to be willing to share the occasional behind-the-scenes/late night rehearsal pic. Tumblr users lovezucks and elinabfb have been tracking down some of those pics to share with the general, Asa Butterfield-obsessed public.
3. MISCELLANEOUS
In other news, Aramis Knight hung out with fellow child actors Danika Yarosh, Mason Cook, and Jadin Gould at Olivia Holt’s Sweet Sixteen, as wells as with his buddy Khylin Rhambo for some knar skateboarding session prior to the Teen Choice Awards.
Khylin Rhambo, after some contemplation (check his Twitter), has apparently decided to go back to a regular high school instead of continuing home schooling. Good Luck!
And finally: Listen Up, New Yorkers! Abigail Breslin is to perform at The Bitter End on Monday, August 13, from 7 pm!
Sources: Zimbio, the cast’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, lovezucks an elinabfb on Tumblr
Totally forgot to post this guys, so this is for those of you who haven’t seen it on Facebook/Twitter/Youtube or/and who’d like to be reminded to listen to the funniest EnderCast episode yet: Episode 26, titled “Shoot Straight, Stay Calm” (uh, I love that line in the trailer).
Crystal and Kelly managed to convice Aramis Knight (Bean) and Khylin Rhambo (Dink) to come on the show to talk about the brand new trailer. Needless to say, hilarity ensues. The guys even agreed to battle it out during Pop Quiz: Fart Eater! I’m still laughing about that one.
Our hosts talk to the guys about
The Pop Quiz, Fart Eater showdown at the end is probably the best part of the episode. Don’t miss it!
Listen to the episode HERE!
Our third and final San Diego Comic Con podcast is up and ready for you to listen to! For this episode, we had an epic cast of guests including:
Things we talked about included:
Listen to the episode HERE.
This week’s cast watch mostly revolves around yesterday’s Variety Power of Youth event. Abigail Breslin was honored as one of five young performers for her involvement in Project Sunshine, a charity for children with disabilities, HIV and other special needs. Here is Abigail with her co-honorees Jake Austin, Quvenzhane Wallis, Nina Dobrev and Tyler Posey.
At the event, Abigail met up with her August: Osage County costar Dermot Mulroney …
… and probably with some of her Ender’s Game buddies, because it seems that Aramis Knight and Khylin Rhambo were also in attendance. Khylin tweeted this “epic” picture of himself with Percy Jackson‘s Brandon T. Jackson and The Maze Runner‘s Dexter Darden.
Aramis met up with some friends and then posed with Tyler Posey (pun intended), tweeting: “Everyone thinks I look like this guy.” I wonder why everyone thinks that … oh wait, BECAUSE YOU DO!
Apparently, Abigail Breslin played matchmaker for Aramis Knight at some point around the time of the event. Hmm, very cryptic.
In other news:
Abigail Breslin did a photoshoot with The Icon Magazine. Looks amazing.
Asa Butterfield is shooting a new movie, modding Skyrim, and letting himself be stung in the lip by wasps. (I’m still waiting for photos.) Hailee Steinfeld is seeing Bruno Mars tonight. And the Jimmy Jax Pinchak Band just started playing at the Venice Beach Summer Fest 2013. Check their WEBSITE for upcoming gigs.
PS: If you are at Venice Beach right now, Jimmy is signing a limited number of Ender’s Game posters after the gig!
Sources: Variety; Twitter, Instagram, Facebook
Last week was pretty much all about Comic Con, and apart from Moises Arias and Abigail Breslin (who was sick and had to cancel only a day before she was scheduled to be on the panel) pretty much every one of the young cast was there. You have probably already seen tons of stuff, but in case you still haven’t had enough, have some more!
To start off, Cameron Gaskins (Pol Slattery) posted an awesome group pic of the minor cast hanging out together after signing autographs for an hour on Saturday.
As I said, pretty much everyone was there.
After the signing, the cast member went around a bit at Comic Con, doing their own thing. Khylin Rhambo‘s thing, it seems, is taking pictures with random cosplayers. I see Batman-girl, Iron Man, and Spidey, and is that Assassin’s Creed? I’m not much of a gamer, so you have to tell me.
Aramis Knight, on the other hand, signed more autographs while he was at it. Someone you don’t see in the group pic, but who was there at the singning as well, is Jimmy Pinchak. He took the time to visit the Ender’s Game Experience, signing up under the name of Peter Wiggin. Looks like Peter made it into battle school after all.
The rest of the cast eventually went to the Experience as well. Aramis Knight met up with Asa Butterfield to reenact the launchie shuttle experience. I kind of doubt, though, that this is what it will look like in the movie.
Speaking of Asa Butterfield, he seems to have enjoyed Comic Con to the fullest. However, in this pic, taken on their first day, he and Hailee Steinfeld seem to still be confused about what’s what at SDCC.
I’m not sure whether this was taken before or after Asa and Hailee did the Ender’s Game Experience press preview, of which you’ve probably seen loads of images. Maybe you’ve even seen that awesome vid in which they walk through the sets, and in which Asa delivers his by now Tumblr-famous line “like a banana.” Wednesday night, he, Hailee and a few others attended a party organized by Summit. Here’s proof:
Yeah, selfies are never quite what you expect them to be. At least they had fun before they had to get back to Hall H-paneling, Interview-giving, photoshoot-posing and all those other tedious things that I’m sure are a big hassle.
After a few days of hard work, Asa got to spend his last day at Comic Con undercover, finally being allowed to release his inner nerd and hang out with the REALLY cool people.
Sources: the stars’ Twitter and Instagram accounts