Amanda Crew (Final Destination) is starring in another thriller, this time playing a TV actress trying to secretly retrieve a sexually incriminating videotape from a seedy nightclub in the Canadian indie feature Ferocious.

The thriller by writer/director Robert Cuffley also stars Kim Coates and Michael Eklund and is shooting in Saskatoon through mid-December.

Crew just completed the role of a drug-addicted runaway in the Canadian urban thriller Charlie Zone from director Michael Melski.

Ferocious is produced by Calgary-based Chaos and Saskatoon based KarmaFilm.

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Debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival, Sisters & Brothers is a film you want to like thanks to its fleshed-out characters but it devolves into cliches and predictable outcomes, sinking the storylines to an unpalatable level.

Sibling relationships are under the microscope in Sisters & Brothers, the latest film from Canadian director Carl Bessai, who also used the ensemble technique for Mothers & Daughters and Fathers & Sons. If you have a brother or sister, you’ll be able to relate any of the pairs profiled in the film, as the writing is often sharp in the first half.
We meet Jerry (Benjamin Ratner) and Louise (Gabrielle Miller, of Corner Gas fame), a bro and sis with a decidedly tough problem: Jerry suffers from schizophrenia and Louise has to nurse him back to normalcy. She soothes him during his fits and tries to understand why he chooses a homeless man as a lawyer. The tension between the two is displayed perfectly, and you start to sympathize with both Jerry and Louise as they try to find peace with each other.

In another storyline, Justin (Cory Monteith from Glee) is a famous young actor meeting his brother Rory (Dustin Mulligan) at the airport as screaming girls mob them. Rory explains why he’s passionate about helping children in Africa as Justin looks out the limo window absent-mindedly. They don’t vibe as well as they thought they would; Rory complains Justin is obsessed with fame while still remaining lonely and Justin criticizes Rory for not helping their mother. After all, the hotshot actor can afford to send his mom cheques every month. Some of the arguments between the two showcase some of the best dialogue in the film.

We’re then shuttled to two sisters, Nikki (Amanda Crew) and Maggie (Camille Sullivan), and Bessai sticks with the starstruck-actor theme – Nikki wants to make it in Hollywood while Maggie tries to bring her down to earth. When Nikki meets an ambitious but foolhardy producer looking for his leading lady, the three go on a road trip to L.A. destined to either bring them together or shatter their relationships.

Finally, we peek into the lives of a mother and daughter relationship, where teenager Elizabeth (Nicola Anderson) is a single child…until her mom surprises her with a long-lost sister from India. The shock segues to hate and resentment, and Anderson does a fantastic job embodying the frustrated teen angry at how a new element will disrupt her family.
As intriguing as these characters become, the second half of the film is contrived and riddled with cliches. Lest this review reveal too many spoilers, let’s just say you can see where these characters go before we even get there. It’s annoying, especially since Sisters & Brothers had such a promising beginning.

Also, Bessai uses comic-book cutaways and thought-bubbles throughout the film, something we recently saw in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. It works for the latter film but not for this real-life drama. The cartoony technique comes off as immature, even if it breaks apart the many varying plots.

Sisters & Brothers provides some insight into sibling relationships, so it might be worth the ticket price for those who can relate to some of its themes. But to be a truly great film it needs a tighter ending and less predictable outcomes.

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“Hellcats” star Aly Michalka, model-turned-actor Travis Fimmel and “Californication” thesp Madeline Zima have joined the cast of Smokewood Entertainment’s “Long Time Gone.”

“Precious” producer Sarah Siegel-Magness makes her directorial debut with the pic, which stars Meg Ryan as a woman who suffers a nervous breakdown after her cheating husband leaves her. Zach Gilford and Graham Rogers co-star as her two sons who, along with the latter’s live-in girlfriend (Amanda Crew), attempt to comfort Ryan in her time of need.

Michalka will play Janine, a local girl who went to high school with Rogers and finds herself attracted to him despite being a few years older.

Fimmel will play Jeff, an intelligent Grateful Dead fan who sells pot to Rogers, while Zima will play Annie, an earnest hippie who works at a food co-op and gets fixed up with Gilford.

Karen McCullah (“The House Bunny”) wrote the script, which is based on April Stevens’ novel “Angel, Angel.” Scribe will also produce with Bobbi Sue Luther and Gary Magness, while Andrew Sugerman and Seth Jaret will exec produce.

Production will start next month in Los Angeles.

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Amanda Crew posted a new entry on her blog titled Stepping on my soap box where she states that she is NOT on Twitter and the person using the name @IAmandaCrew on there is a FAKE.

Stepping on my soap box

To the person who created and runs http://twitter.com/#!/IAmandaCrew

I’m flattered that you want to make a Twitter account to pretend to be me. I gotta be honest with you, my life isn’t really that exciting, so hopefully you are having a good time living it on the cyber world. I’m all for you having fun playing in fantasy land, however, I don’t want people out there to think that your words, ideas, thoughts and opinions are in fact mine. I realize I can’t stop you. I’m not the Twitter police (I don’t think they exist, although I am down to be on the force). So until then all I can do is give you a shout out and hopefully spread the word that you are not me. You want to pretend to be me? That’s cool. But please don’t link your Twitter account to my personal website. I like to be honest with my peeps, and you are sending out a false image of me…

Thanks!

Sincerely,

that girl that you are pretending to be.

And in case this wasn’t clear — I don’t have a Twitter account. If I ever do get one, I’ll be sure to let you know.

Today, June 5th, is Amanda Crew’s 25th birthday! Amanda Crew Online wants to wish Amanda an amazing day today!

Amanda Crew and her latest film “Repeaters” have been nominated at the 2011 Leo Awards! The nominations are listed below – good luck to Amanda and the film!

Best Feature Length Drama
Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama (Amanda Crew)
Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama
Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama
Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama
Best Picture Editing in a Feature Length Drama
Best Overall Sound in a Feature Length Drama
Best Sound Editing in a Feature Length Drama
Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama (Richard de Klerk)
Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama (Alexia Fast)

The awards will be held Saturday, June 11th in Vancouver!

Halifax writer-director Michael Melski has begun shooting his second feature, a follow-up to his coming-of-age comedy Growing Op, titled Charlie Zone.

Filming on Halifax and Dartmouth locations, Charlie Zone is a dramatic thriller reflecting urban issues like racism, swarmings and the drug trade, following an ex-boxer and a runaway drug addict on a journey through the city’s criminal underbelly.

The cast includes actors Amanda Crew (The Haunting In Connecticut), Mpho Koaho (Get Rich or Die Tryin), and Glen Gould (Cashing In), plus a talented roster of local performers.

With a budget of $1.1 million, the film will shoot through April 13 and appears to have a major Canadian distributor waiting to take it to a national audience.

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Amanda Crew and her “Charlie St. Cloud” co-star Zac Efron are part of a nominee voting list that can possibly be up for a 2011 MTV Movie Award! All us fans have to do is vote at the following link and of course, select Amanda and Zac!

Voting runs from March 22nd – April 5th to nominate! If Amanda and Zac make the list, voting for the winner commences from May 3rd – June 4th.

Best Kiss: Amanda Crew & Zac Efron (‘Charlie St. Cloud’) – VOTE HERE

Great news! Amanda Crew has just set up a blog at Amanda-Crew.com and she has already made a post! Make sure stop by there and check it out.

Thanks to Nikki for the heads up!

Amanda Crew has a new film in the works! Its an indie comedy called, “Miss Dial,” the feature directorial debut of screenwriter David H. Steinberg (“Puss in Boots”).

Steinberg is directing from his own script.

The film stars Robinne Lee (“Hitch”) as a consumer affairs rep who deals with irate customers calling about everything from the availability of the “limited edition” cheddar cheese to whether it’s safe for dogs to drink the blue toilet water. She decides to play hooky by calling random strangers in order to reconnect with the world outside her apartment and meets Sam Jaeger’s character by accident.

Also starring in the film are Jon Huertas, Sara Rue, Sam Jaeger, Gabrielle Union, Josh Cooke, Dule Hill, Samm Levine, Hill Harper and Beth Grant. The film is currently shooting in Los Angeles. “Miss Dial” is produced by Keetgi Kogan, Elizabeth Hughes, Eric Hayes and Lee.

Source and Willian for the heads up