First Look at Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult in 'Equals'

Imagine a world where all emotion has been erased. Feelings such as love, hate, and greed are wiped from existence, until one starts to have those emotions again. It may sound a lot like The Giver, but it's actually Equals, the latest love story from Like Crazy and Breathe In director Drake Doremus. The futuristic sci-fi romance stars Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart, guaranteeing it will probably be the indie filmmaker's biggest film yet, and now we have the first shadowy image of his two stars sharing a moment. Here's the synopsis:

A futuristic love story set in a society where emotions have been eradicated. Equals tells the story of Silas (Hoult), who lives in a future society called The Collective. The inhabitants of this modern world are a new breed of humans called Equals. Equals are peaceful, calm, fair and polite. Life in The Collective is perfect; there is no greed, no poverty, no violence and no emotion but a new disease is threatening everyone. SOS, or Switched On Syndrome, is activating in its victims everything they thought they had escaped: depression, sensitivity, fear & love. Once a person is overtaken with SOS, they are sent away to The Den and never seen again. When Silas is infected, he becomes an outcast but he notices one person who seems to understand what he’s going through. Nia (Stewart) has feelings, but she seems to be able to hide them. When he confronts her, they discover a connection that quickly takes over everything. They feel love and intimacy for the first time in their lives but the only way for them to ensure their survival is to escape.

Guy Pearce, who starred in Breathe In for Doremus just a couple of years ago, plays a tracker hunting down the two lovers. For Hoult, he's proven pretty successful with unconventional romances having previously starred in Warm Bodies. Stewart has been working with one auteur after another, and this is just the latest in a string of challenging roles that will hopefully gain her the respectability she deserves.

Kate Lyn Sheil, Auroroa Perrineau, and Jacki Weaver co-star. Equals is filming now and should open some time next year. [Variety]

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Ben Whishaw is 'Paddington'; Jacki Weaver Finds 'Equals'; Steve Carell Circles 'I.Q. 83'

* With trailers for the CG/live-action Paddington movie already in theaters, it was a little odd to learn that Colin Firth had just dropped out of voicing the talking bear. A replacement has now been found and while he's not a big name, it doesn't really matter because we won't see him anyway. Ben Whishaw (Skyfall, Cloud Atlas) has come on to voice Paddington, marmalade sandwich-loving bear U.K. audiences have loved for years. Paul King is directing the film for released in the U.S. on Christmas Day. [DailyMail]

* Oscar-nominee Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom) has joined Drake Doremus' futuristic romance, Equals, alongside Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, and Guy Pearce. Set in a society where there emotions have been wiped out, a new disease has been switching them back on, allowing two people to fall in love. Weaver plays Bess, a doctor who helps Stewart and Hoult's characters after they become afflicted with the disease. [Deadline]

* Steve Carell is said to be in early talks to star in an adaptation of Arthur Herzog's 1978 novel, I.Q. 83, a sci-fi novel about a scientist who must discover the cure for a virus that has lowered the world's intelligence, even though he suffers from it. The film has been making the Hollywood rounds for years and was once at Dreamworks but has now found new life at Paramount. Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) is on board to direct with David Guion and Michael Handelman having written the most recent script. [The Tracking Board]

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Penelope Cruz Boards 'Grimsby'; Aurora Perrineau Joins 'Equals'; 'This is Happening' for Mickey Sumner

 * Last seen in Ridley Scott's grim (but kind of awesome) The Counselor, Penelope Cruz will take on something much lighter in Sacha Baron Cohen's spy parody, Grimsby. She joins Cohen, Mark Strong, Isla Fisher, Gabourey Sidibe, Annabelle Wallis, Rebel Wilson, and Ian McShane in the film about a British secret agent forced to go on the run with his brother, a dim-witted soccer hooligan. Cruz will play the head of a philanthropic organization and possibly more than she appears to be. Fellow agent? Or fellow soccer enthusiast? Grimsby is filming now with Louis Leterrier directing. [THR]

* Aurora Perrineau of the upcoming live-action Jem and the Holograms has joined Nicholas Hoult, Kristen Stewart, Guy Pearce, and Kate Lyn Sheil in Equals, the sci-fi romance directed by Drake Doremus. Set in a future when human emotion is non-existent, two people whose feelings have been turned back on find one another and forge a connection. Perrineau will play a new mother whose child is born crying, a sign that he was born with emotions. [Deadline]

* Mickey Sumner, so good opposite Greta Gerwig in Frances Ha, has joined the indie comedy This is Happening. Also starring Cloris Leachman, James Wolk (Mad Men), Judd Nelson, and Rene Auberjonois (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), the story is "about a people-pleasing brother (Wolk) and pot-dealing sister (Sumner) who embark on a road trip to take their grandmother (Leachman) to an assisted-living facility." Ryan Jaffe, writer on the Rainn Wilson comedy The Rocker, will be making his directorial debut.

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Emily Mortimer Eyes 'Spectral'; John Goodman in Talks for 'Valencia'; Kate Lyn Sheil Finds 'Equals'

* The lovely Emily Mortimer is in talks to board Spectral, joining James Badge Dale in the film which many have boasted is like a supernatural Black Hawk Down. Directed by Nic Mathieu with a script rewritten by George Nolfi and John Gatins, the story centers on a Special Ops team battling supernatural creatures that have taken over a European city. [THR]

* John Goodman is in talks to star in Bad Robots' small-budget thriller, Valencia. The film will be directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the guy who is supposed to be helming the forever-developing Y: The Last Man, and it centers on a girl who wakes up in an underground cellar after going unconscious after a car accident. With her as a man (Goodman) who claims the outside world has been destroyed in a nuclear attack. Filming is set to begin this fall so we should be hearing about a female lead soon. [Variety]

* Kate Lyn Sheil (House of Cards) will join Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult in Equals, the futuristic romance directed by Drake Doremus (Like Crazy) and co-starring Guy Pearce. The story is set in a future society where all human emotion has been eradicated, until a disease starts activating them in certain people. Those with their emotions switched on are banished never to be seen again. Stewart and Holt are Nia and Silas, two outcasts who find a connection with one another, although she is capable of hiding her emotions. Sheil will play their co-worker, Kate.

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Guy Pearce Joins 'Equals'; Marion Cotillard in 'Mal des Pierres'; 'The Disaster Artist' Enlists Dave Franco

* The last time Guy Pearce worked with director Drake Doremus, it was the in the adultery drama Breathe In, a film that deserved better treatment than it received. Hopefully their next pairing will work out better as Pearce has joined Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart in Equals, which Doremus will direct from a Nathan Parker (Moon) script that will tell a future love story set in a time when emotions have been eradicated. Pearce will be seen next in David Michod's The Rover opposite Robert Pattinson. [TheWrap]



* A busy year for Marion Cotillard continues with the Oscar-winning actress joining Mal des Pierres, the next film by director and co-writer Nicole Garcia. The story "spans 20 years, following the destiny of a passionate, free-spirited woman who is in a loveless marriage and falls for another man." Filming begins next spring so we won't see this anytime soon. Cotillard can be seen now in James Gray's The Immigrant, and was showered with praise at Cannes for her performance in the Dardenne's Two Days, One Night.



* James Franco has recruited his brother Dave (seen in this weekend's 22 Jump Street) for his adaptation of The Disaster Artist, a book which takes an inside look at the making of cult film, The Room. James Franco will direct and play The Room's eccentric creator, Tommy Wiseau, with Dave Franco as actor Greg Sestero. [Variety]

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Drake Doremus Eyes Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult for 'Equals'

Through his first two movies, Drake Doremus has shown a keen interest in observing the fragility of relationships. His breakout film Like Crazy covering a young love tested by distance and personal growth; while his follow-up Breathe In centered on a marriage crushed by infidelity. Our review of the latter film from this past Sundance can be found here, since it's still unclear when or if it will ever hit theaters stateside. Whether it was Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin or Jones and Guy Pearce, he's always had an attractive central couple, which is exactly what he's looking for in his next project.

Deadline reports that Doremus is targeting Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult for Equals, a sci-fi film penned by Moon writer, Nathan Parker. Details on it are few but in the past Doremus has referred to it as a film that explores love in the future.

No deals have been made and this sounds a little like wish list material, but we'll see if Doremus can get a deal in place. If he does, filming would begin in early 2014.

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