Summer is the season when movie stars are born. All across Hollywood right now, there are dozens of up-and-coming actors practicing their talk-show banter and picking out their red carpet attire as they nervously count down the weeks until their potential breakout films arrive in theaters. Here’s a handy list of who we think will be riding high this summer:
Everyone from Star Trek: What happened in Austin last week cemented it. Star Trek is going to be the blockbuster to beat this summer. J.J. Abrams already has a near perfect record of discovering stars-in-the-making on his TV shows, so I fully expect that Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Zoe Saldana will be household names by the Fourth of July.
src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/1/7/1/0/14270171-14270173-thumbnail.jpg" alt="Eric Bana" width="104" height="142" border="0" align="left" hspace="6">Eric Bana: You’re probably thinking, “Wait. That guy’s already famous, right?” Yeah, I guess that technically, he is. But he’s never had a huge hit, and this summer he’s got three chances. First, he’ll battle the crew of the Enterprise in Star Trek, then he’ll battle Adam Sandler for the heart of Leslie Mann in Funny People. And he’ll round it all off by engaging in some complex love and time travel issues with Rachel McAdams in The Time Traveler’s Wife. He’s pretty much got all his bases covered. After this summer, I have a feeling we may start seeing Eric Bana in the kind of movies where his name gets put above the title on the posters.
src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/8/8/9/2/17922988-17922989-minithumbnail.jpg" alt="Taylor Kitsch" width="78" height="78" border="0" align="right" hspace="6">Taylor Kitsch: X-Men Origins: Wolverine is currently the most imperiled potential blockbuster of the summer season. Things just aren’t looking good after the leak. But even if it’s a disaster, Kitsch may emerge victorious from its ruins. X-Men fans have been waiting a long time to see Gambit on screen. And fans of Friday Night Lights have been waiting a long time to see their beloved Tim Riggins get his big break (just as long as he returns to Dillon, Texas, in the fall).
Joseph Gordon-Levitt: 500 Days of Summer is this summer’s only shot at a decent rom-com. Mr. Gordon-Levitt is about to graduate from indie star to thinking-woman’s heartthrob. And yes, I know he’s already made it into another Film.com story this week, as an actor who may suffer an embarrassment thanks to the ridiculous-looking G.I. Joe. But I’m not buying it. Transformers was pretty awful, but that certainly didn’t hurt Shia‘s career.
src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/7/4/5/0/25900547-25900548-minithumbnail.jpg" alt="Demetri Martin" width="78" height="78" border="0" align="left" hspace="6">Demetri Martin: The brainy stand-up comedian best known for drawing things on large pads seems like an unlikely choice to star in an Ang Lee drama. But Taking Woodstock is wisely being released in time to capitalize on the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the legendary music festival, and the trailer looks promising. This could be the biggest and best rock nostalgia movie since Almost Famous.
src="http://i.realone.com/assets/rn/img/3/9/0/8/27438093-27438094-medium.jpg" alt="The Hangover" width="162" height="221" border="0" align="right" hspace="6">The dudes from The Hangover: Forget Funny People. This romp through Vegas from the director of Old School is going to be the biggest comedy of the summer. And its impending success couldn’t happen to three more deserving gentlemen. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis are all long overdue for breakouts. Their moments will come this summer.
