Taylor Lautner to star and produce in new indie film directed by Gus Van Sant

Looking to break out of the teen heartthrob mold

By HitFix Staff Tuesday, Nov 1, 2011 10:38 PM

Taylor Lautner arrives at the premiere of 'Abduction' in Los Angeles

Credit: AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Wow, what exactly is going on today? First we get wind that Amanda Seyfried is in talks to star as '70s porn actress Linda Lovelace, then we hear that Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and Emma Roberts are angling for adult legitimacy in a film written and directed by freaking Harmony Korine, and now - now! - Taylor Lautner is negotiating to star in a new Gus Van Sant movie. Is your head spinning yet?

Anyway, it appears that the recent rumors of a Lautner/Van Sant collaboration are true, as the Hollywood Reporter has broken the news that the "Twilight" actor is "finalizing a deal" to star in an independent movie to be directed by the acclaimed filmmaker, who most recently helmed the little-seen romantic drama "Restless" starring Henry Hopper and Mia Wasikowska. The project, the plot details of which haven't yet been disclosed, is based on a non-fiction article in The New Yorker that Lautner recently optioned via his production shingle Quick Six.

While no screenwriter has yet been announced for the project, it wouldn't be at all surprising if Oscar-winning scribe Dustin Lance Black were to emerge as the lucky pick (not a bad guess, given both Black and Van Sant's previous highly-successful collaboration on "Milk" and the fact that the two were recently spotted dining with Lautner - who was asked about and confirmed the meeting in a recent GQ Australia interview - at a Los Angeles restaurant).

In any case, Lautner is obviously attempting to establish some measure of "respectability" with this new project, reportedly a small-budget affair that looks to veer sharply from his "Twilight" roots. Of course, his first starring effort outside the blockbuster teen-vamp franchise was the recent action-thriller "Abduction", which failed to catch fire with either critics or audiences when it was released in September. It goes without saying that the young thesp can't afford many more clunkers like that if he's going to keep his career afloat once the "Twilight" series - the next entry of which is "Breaking Dawn - Part 1", releasing Nov. 18th - reaches the end of its run next year.

Related Searches: Taylor Lautner, Twilight, Gus Van Sant, Twilight: Breaking Dawn - Part 1, Breaking Dawn

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daveylo

The idea of Lautner starring in a Van Sant film makes me ill.
November 1, 2011 at 11:23PM EST Reply to Comment
Kel

Abduction had a production budget of $35 million but has made $72 million back. Hardly a clucker. I give him credit for challenging himself professionally.
November 2, 2011 at 12:01AM EST Reply to Comment
- Laura Stewart It just proves he's not a leading man. If the film had been well received critically and was still a "flop", we would be having a different discussion. But the fact that he has yet to prove himself in the talent department (the eyebrows and abs can only do so much!) and clearly does not have mass appeal outside of the Twilight franchise, signifies his lack of movie star credentials. Plus, foreign box office did twice as much as domestic, so he clearly does not have a large fan base stateside. And if by "challenging himself" you mean flexing his abs, wiggling his eyebrows, and scrunching his nose- then yes he is an everyday Daniel Day Lewis!
  November 2, 2011 at 12:40AM EST
- Knowledge @Laura,
  
  Did you ever graduate from high school or are you just dumb? A movie making TWICE it's production budget is not a flop. The international market is the where the money is made these days. Get with the program. Johnny Depp makes a billion for Disney due to the "foreign" box office are you saying HE also lacks star power? What about all the blockbuster fanboy movies who make most of their money internationally. Don't be a hater, educate yourself woman.
  November 2, 2011 at 1:39AM EST
- Laura Stewart Why yes Mr. Knowledge, I did graduate high school- in fact I even attended this magical place called college! Thanks for asking! I would ask you the same, but then I realized, I really don't care.
  
  The point is the movie opened to terrible reviews and middling box office. It certainly wasn't the kind of response the studio was hoping for, especially with what they were trying to sell- the next action star. That's the point. Comparing this dude to Johnny Depp is foolish. Depp can recover from a bad film and the fact that he is a respected actor for the most part puts him in a completely different category than Lautner. Abduction is a genre film & Lautner got paid a lot of money to make it (in the 7 million range) so in return it was supposed to make A LOT of money. It wasn't supposed to get beat at the box office by a movie about sea life. If you had "educated" yourself, you would remember that Pattinson's first venture outside the Twilight franchise in 'Remember Me' wasn't a critical darling but fared better than the horrific 4% and ALSO made back half its budget in its opening weekend & tripled its budget at the end of its run. Abduction made about 11 mil its opening weekend.
  November 2, 2011 at 5:05AM EST
- Ben Kabak People like Laura just want to bash the kid. If it made 200 mil they'd find other reasons to trash him. They can't be objective. Abduction did well for him. Eveyrone in the industry knew it was a clunker but they are all happy it made money. He gets the credit.
  November 2, 2011 at 10:16AM EST
Bradley Valentine

Van Sant must need the pay check. Disappointing he would be part of this cynical image intervention or whatever you would call it. I can’t think of a worse, less talented actor to dump in a Van Sant film. I literally can’t unless you count Vanilla Ice from Cool As Ice. This project doesn’t feel any better than that from where I stand. Why not just hook him up in a Merchant Ivory movie?
November 2, 2011 at 2:10AM EST Reply to Comment
Leigh

This kid has some amazing agents and or pr people. They have labeled him the highest paid teen actor and signing him onto project after project. Yet he has only made 1 movie outside of the twilight movies. Anyway good luck to Gus Van Sant.. because Taylor L. seems more suited for soap operas or The CW!
November 2, 2011 at 2:26AM EST Reply to Comment
FRANKLIN

the truth is taylor lautner cant act!!thats the truth.abs and looks will give some fame but talent are thing that gain you respect and attention

only kristen stewart(the runaways,yellow hankerchief,panic room), oscar nominee anna kendrick and dakota fanning are the talented ones from the twilight franchise.pattinson has some potential but i felt he burried his chances to be an actor when he signed for the role edward...he wiil never be seen as a serious actor anymore unless he does some really good film after the twilight movies

November 2, 2011 at 9:39AM EST Reply to Comment
FRANKLIN

as for taylor lautner he can go back home

November 2, 2011 at 9:41AM EST Reply to Comment
FranklynStreet

It's a smart move on his part and his agents' part, since Abduction proved he can't headline a movie. In the interest of doing something different and trying to establish some credibility, and growth as an actor, it's very smart with someone with the financial success he's had to produce, and to find a well-respected director to try to help prove him as an actor. Will Smith took a similar route, the first few movies he did after Fresh Prince were a success were little indies no one expected to be huge successes, as a way of getting his feet wet. The problem is Lautner must now do this AFTER the success of the Twilight franchise and with all of Hollywood watching. Personally, I don't see a lot of talent currently in Lautner, but people can improve tremendously on the job, and he appears to have the tenacity to stick with it. It's doubly interesting that someone like Van Sant would also be interested in the deal, but then again, looks at the abysmal box office of Restless. If he can attach someone with Lautner's drawing power, the film may not do Blockbuster numbers, but it will certainly do more than Restless did. Could be a big win for both parties if Van Sant can help Lautner improve, and a kind of fascinating to see two different sides of Hollywood coming together to try to keep careers afloat in the current Hollywood climate of sequels, remakes, and adaptations.
November 2, 2011 at 10:13AM EST Reply to Comment
Timm S

This news makes me angrier than anything related to entertainment should. I've only seen this spare when he was on SNL, and I think about this what I thought about that: whatever reputation you have left (Van Sant, SNL) you are sullying by doing this. I thought SNL might go the ironic route, but they played it straight. Then again, Van Sant did think Vinny Chase's outtakes were good, so maybe he really has no sense of taste when it comes to casting.
Seriously, this makes me want to pay a midget to punch me in the crotch for 2-7 hours. I hate life.
November 2, 2011 at 10:20AM EST Reply to Comment