Top 100 Most Anticipated Films of 2011: 10 Names to Remember

Before we unveil our most anticipated film of 2011, I figure we might want to emphasize some of the names that most frequently populated our Top 100 Most Anticipated Films list. Here is our version of 10 movers and shakers for 2011.

Brady Corbet – Actor
An actor who works with both the European filmmaker elite and American Independent helmers, Brady Corbet sees his work in Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene showcased in Sundance, he’ll most likely have a double billing at Cannes for Antonio Campos’ Simon Killer and Lars Von Trier’s Melancholia. You should really look out for him in a mostly non-verbal part in Alistair Banks Griffin’s excellent directorial debut Two Gates of Sleep — which preemed in Cannes and should receive distribution sometime this year. He’ll next appear in Regular Boy (the film adaptation of Coin Locker Babies) to be directed by commercials director Michele Civetta and also stars his wife, Asia Argento.

Lol Crawley – Director of Photography
His work in Ballast, Better Things and Four Lions convinced us that pretty much any filmmaker who works with the cinematographer is furthering the quality of the what’s in the frame. In 2011 we are eagerly anticipating a trio of his works, beginning at the Sundance Film Festival in Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s On the Ice and Braden King’s HERE, and we might potentially see his work in the long awaited Cannes Atelier project, Ilya Khrjanovsky’s Dau.

Judi Dench – Actress
Otherwise known as M, Dame Judi Dench isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. 2012 we’ll likely see her in Bond 23 and Eastwood’s J. Edgar, while 2011 we’ll see her on screen in the latest Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and in a trio of films mentioned in our Top 100 — Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre, Simon Curtis’ My Week with Marilyn and John Madden’s The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Kirsten Dunst – Actress
I can’t think of any bigger year for Kirsten Dunst – and it could all unfold during one film festival in May, as three films, all currently in post-production are all on tap for a possible Cannes premiere. You have sci-fi films Juan Diego Solanas’ Upside Down and Lars von Trier’s Melancholia, and she has a supporting role in Walter Salles’ On the Road. She could have a four release in Derick Martini’s Hick which is currently in pre-production.

Michael Fassbender – Actor
A good percentage of art-house patrons officially took notice of him with his role as the defiant Bobby Sands in 2008’s Hunger and in follow up perfs in another pair of Cannes’ titles such as Andrea Arnolds’s Fish Tank and Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. 2011 we’ll be seeing plenty of him in items such as X-Men: First Class, Haywire and perhaps if finished in time, At Swim-Two-Birds – but the trio of roles we ache in seeing his talents are in Jane Eyre, as Carl Jung in Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method and finally, a reunion with McQueen for Shame – which will further test his comfort zone limits.

Ben Foster – Actor
Ask Nick Cassavetes and Oren Moverman what they both think of thesp Ben Foster. Having previously work with him respectively on Alpha Dog and The Messenger, both directors employed this powerhouse in 2010 and we’ll potentially reap the benefits in 2011 with Cassavetes’ Yellow and Moverman’s Rampart (actually he opened up a prod. Co shingle with Moverman for this project). Depending where you’ll be in January, you’ll either see him in Park City for Braden King’s rom road-movie HERE, or in theaters kicking some teeth in with The Mechanic. He is now working for world filmmakers in Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur on Contraband, and will work for Brazilian Fernando Meirelles’ 360 – both of these films will be set as 2012 items.

Ryan Gosling – Actor
After a stream of distinctly indie films in Blue Valentine, All Good Things, Lars and the Real Girl and 2006’s Half Nelson, Ryan Gosling is taking a step back/forward into studio-financed projects with the distinction of boarding projects where the filmmakers are folks that work in the sort of films we like: from Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s Crazy, Stupid, Love., Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive and finally, will act alongside and be directed by George Clooney’s The Ides of March. 

Sarah Green – Producer
After having been David Mamet’s producer for the longest time, Sarah Green ventured into Terrence Malick territory for The New World and can be credited for getting the recluse filmmaker to up his workload – we might potentially see Malick’s The Tree of Life and The Burial this year, but Green’s next film is as an executive producer on Jeff Nichols’ Take Shelter.

Ted Hope – Producer
Indie mogul Ted Hope has seen something he’s liked in the output of the Borderline Films guys (Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin and Josh Mond). He has climbed on board to executive produce Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene and Antonio Campos’ Simon Killer. He’s an executive producer Lance Weiler’s Sundance-selected short Pandemic 41.410806, -75.654259 and the feature film Collaborator, but he also has the pivotal player backing Todd Solondz’s Dark Horse.

Michael Shannon – Actor 
Heavily sought after lead and supporting actor Michael Shannon has both feet in Hollywood and Indiewood. He’s got titles such as The Broken Tower, Machine Gun Preacher and Premium Rush, but it’s his upcoming roles in indie titles Take Shelter and Liza Johnson’s Return and a highly anticipated The Iceman which could start lensing and be in the can before the end of the year, that we are optimistic about. 

Robin Wright – Actress
Her former husband has two pivotal films coming out this year, but now that she has dropped Penn from her name, Robin Wright has four films of interest that are listed in our top 100. She’s got supporting character in Rudin film productions such as Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Bennett Miller’s Moneyball, and she’s also part of the indie ensemble Rampart and finally, she’s the live-action/animated star for Ari Folman’s The Congress.