Fall Preview: Ten Breakout Stars… and the Indies You Can See Them In Now

Don't want to be left out when everyone else is talking about these ten performances?

Anna Kendrick in “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” and “Up in the Air”

“Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer characterizes Bella’s friend Jessica Stanley as a “chatterbox.” Few of the Twilighters knew it at the time, but given that description, young Anna Kendrick was the perfect choice for the role. Jessica didn’t play a big part in the first film, and who knows whether she’ll get much more screen time in this fall’s sequel, but for a glimpse of just how potent an orator Ms. Kendrick can be, Watch Her Now in Jeffrey Blitz’s charming 2007 film “Rocket Science” where, as domineering debate team captain Ginny Ryerson, she talks fast enough to make Rosalind Russell (and her infatuated co-star Reece Thompson) blush. Her garrulous gifts will also be on display as the female foil to George Clooney in this fall’s “Up in the Air,” director Jason Reitman’s follow-up to his own 2007 film about a loquacious teenager.

Michael Jai White, “Black Dynamite”

For whatever reason, Michael Jai White’s career never quite took off after what should have been a breakthrough performance as the title character in “Spawn.” In retrospect, the fact that he spent most of the movie with his face covered in what looked like steak tartare might have been part of the problem. In any event, White must’ve gotten tired of waiting for someone to give him another plum role because he wrote one for himself — the ultimate blaxploitation hero in the ultimate blaxploitation pastiche “Black Dynamite.” That White can kick serious onscreen ass is no surprise, but that he can do it while cracking martini dry jokes is an extremely pleasant surprise. For a rare glimpse of White’s range beyond the world of kung fu, Watch Him Now in Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get Married?” giving a fine supporting performance as the put-upon husband of putdown spouting Tasha Smith.

Jocelin Donahue, “The House of the Devil”

Fans of ‘80s horror are in for a real treat when Magnet releases “The House of the Devil” this October. Director Ti West returns the slasher formula back to its Hitchcockian-Carpenterian roots in this deliciously creepy picture about a babysitter trapped in a house with some unruly Satanists. Bad luck for the imperiled au pair; good luck for West, and for audiences, that the babysitter is played by talented young actress Jocelin Donahue, who strikes just the right note of resourcefulness tinged with terror. And if you want to prime the pump with some more indie horror, you can Watch Her Now in 2008′s “The Burrowers,” one of the coolest discoveries from last year’s Fantastic Fest. Admittedly, Donahue’s role, as the hero’s kidnapped fiancé, is an extremely minor one, a winsome lamb to the literal slaughter. So come for her cameo, and stay for the surprisingly mature blend of Western and horror elements, moody cinematography, and mutant digestive freakouts.

Kodi Smit-McPhee, “The Road”

Playing a major role opposite Viggo Mortensen in the heavily awaited (not to mention long-awaited, since the film was originally slated to debut last fall) adaptation of a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel is an awful lot of pressure for a 12-year-old kid. So how’d he do? Most of us won’t find out until October 16th, but Tom Chiarella, writing about John Hillcoat’s version of Cormac McCarthy’s “The Road” for Esquire called Kodi Smit-McPhee “beautiful and wretched, luminous and somehow smaller than his age as the boy. But he’s full-blown in the part.” Watch Him Now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with another thespionic heavyweight, in “Romulus, My Father” with Eric Bana.

Jess Weixler, “Peter and Vandy”

Starring in the “vagina dentata” movie is a big risk. If your career sputters out, you could wind up forever known as the “The Girl With The Chomping Vagina,” and nobody wants that as the headline of their obituary. So you certainly can Watch Jess Weixler Now in “Teeth,” and she’s the biggest reason to do so; her portrayal of her character’s emotional evolution over the course of the story is the best part of the film. But it’s also nice to know that you’ll be able to see more of Weixler elsewhere; earlier this year at South by Southwest, she made an impression in Joe Swanberg’s latest mumblecorer “Alexander the Last.” And this fall, she plays one half of the title duo in the Sundance ’09 selection “Peter and Vandy” opposite Jason Ritter. Director Jay DiPietro’s one sentence description of the film on Spout.com — “A love story told out of order” — begs comparison to the current Indiewood hit, “(500) Days of Summer.” But something tells me Weixler’s performance will give audiences something different to chew on.

[Additional photos: "An Education," Sony Pictures Classics, 2009; "Ninja Assassin," Warner Bros., 2009; "Bright Star," BBC Films, 2009; "Somersault," Magnolia Pictures, 2004; "Black Dynamite," Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2009; "The House of the Devil," Magnet Releasing, 2009; "The Road," Dimension Films, 2009; "Peter and Vandy," Strand Releasing, 2009]

Pages: 1 2