2012 Romantic Comedies in Retrospect

We’re looking at the biggest and best romantic movies of 2012, whether it’s about pure love or romantic-comedy.

- FEBRUARY -
The Vow
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Jessica Lange, Scott Speedman, Sam Neill
Director: Michael Sucsy
Out: 10th February 2012 (U.S. Release Dates)



A car accident puts Paige (McAdams) in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo (Tatum) works to win her heart again. This plot has similarities to The Notebook, which also starred McAdams, and that’s no accident given how popular it is. Channing is a bit wooden in the trailer and I get the sense his popularity with the ladies is starting to wane. Early screenings produced a so-so reaction.

Perfect Sense
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Eva Green, Connie Nielsen, Stephen Dillane, Ewen Bremner
Director: David Mackenzie
Out: 10th February 2012



Bleak Glasgow-set romantic drama about a chef (McGregor) and a scientist (Green) who fall in love as an inexplicable epidemic robs people of their senses one by one. Reviews have been mixed, with reaction ranging from “ambitious” and “moving” to “pretentious, with a wholly unnecessary voiceover”. The romantic plot is less significant than the trailer would have you believe.

This Means War
Starring: Tom Hardy, Chris Pine, Reese Witherspoon, Til Schweiger
Director: McG
Out: 14th February 2012



Two spies (Hardy, Pine), lifelong best friends, fall in love with the same woman (Witherspoon) and wage an epic city-wrecking battle against each other to win her. I’m not sure Reese Witherspoon would inspire that kind of behaviour from men. The unfairly maligned McG (Charlie’s Angels, Terminator Salvation) is directing. Good cast, fun concept, but as with any action-romance it may satisfy both genders, or neither.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

TV Shows Overshadowing Romantic Comedies?

This week, we read a great article over at Vulture on the state of the romantic comedy — or more specifically, its rapid decline in recent years. In the article, studio execs and directors throw around possible reasonings (they don’t have enough production values to justify a big-screen viewing, we just don’t care about love as much anymore), but as Vulture’s Claude Brodesser-Akner pointed out, “though the genre is suffering at the box office, it is hard to believe that the very idea of a romantic comedy is completely losing favor. After all, what are sitcoms’ “will-they-won’t-they” arcs other than long romantic comedies?” Indeed.


 How I Met Your Mother

In fact, while there have always been “rom-com” sitcoms (Mad About You, Friends), we feel like we’ve seen an uptick in both the number and quality in recent years. We also tend to care about characters in TV shows more than we do for their film counterparts — after all, when you spend time with the same characters week after week, over months or years, you tend to be more invested in their exploits. After the jump, we take a look at a few TV shows that could be replacing our need to see romantic comedies in the theaters. Do you agree, or do you think that despite the current rocky ground, traditional rom-coms will always have a place in our hearts?

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Top 15 Upcoming Romantic Comedies of 2013

Chick flicks are changing, so women have a lot more to look forward to in 2013 than sappy, soppy romantic comedies about gals who end up falling for the guys that they hate. But don't worry-there's at least one movie aimed at Jane Austen fans looking for their own Mr. Darcy. Beyond the rom-coms, there are movies about gals looking to get laid, female buddy comedies, a "zom-com," and the next "Knocked Up."
Sadly there aren't any male stripper movies like "Magic Mike" coming out in 2013, but there will be a few hotties to drool over in upcoming chick flicks like these:

"Wonderful Tonight"

We'll start with this "Knocked Up" wannabe, which stars everyone's favorite McDreamy doctor/modern-day Prince Charming. But while the ladies love Patrick Dempsey, will they like watching the 46-year-old get 27-year-old Amanda Seyfried pregnant?

Producers are banking on it in "Wonderful Tonight," the romantic tale of a wealthy bachelor who impregnates a "free-spirited" young woman during a one-night stand. The "arrogant" guy has to work hard to win the heart of his baby mama by proving that he can be a good dad, and this will likely involve the new father dealing with the three P's-puke, pee, and poo. There's no release date set for this one yet.

"The To Do List"

Aubrey Plaza is the second-best thing about "Parks & Recreation" (Ron Swanson and his legendary mustache are impossible to beat). The actress who does sardonic so well will get nostalgic for the '90s in "The To Do List" by playing a skort-wearing young woman who makes a list of all of the "sextracurricular" activities that she wants to participate in before going to college. The raunchy movie comes out on Valentine's Day, so it will make a great alternative to the lame, tame romantic comedies that are released at the same time. Just make sure your significant other gets his joke about Aubrey Plaza being on his to do list out of the way long before you go see the movie together.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Exclusive 4 Minute Clip: Warm Bodies

In the four-minute opening scene of "Warm Bodies," released online today, angsty R (Nicholas Hoult) wonders, "Why can't I connect with people?"

"Oh right -- it's because I'm dead."

A zombie, to be exact, roaming aimlessly in a post-apocalyptic America. Like the vampires and werewolves of "The Twilight Saga" (from Summit, also producing "Warm Bodies"), the monster has become the protagonist in this new genre of filmmaking: the zombie romantic comedy. Zom-rom-com?

Julie (Teresa Palmer), R's love interest, isn't introduced until later, but we do get to meet his best friend, M (Rob Corddry): The two share a grunting, almost conversation in the opening minutes of the flick -- which all take place at the airport, home to R and legions of the undead.

Can true love save them all? Find out when "Warm Bodies" hits theaters Feb. 1, 2013.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Toradora! Brings Up the High School Romance

Good high school romantic comedies can be a lot of fun to watch. The bad ones, on the other hand, have the tendency to annoy viewers with tired clichés and are often neither romantic nor funny. Without a doubt, the anime title Toradora! falls into the first category. It not only contains some touching romance and hilarious comedy, but is also beautifully animated and cleverly scripted, making it a highly energetic and entertaining series.

The show starts off only mildly interesting, with the first few episodes serving to introduce the majority of the characters, who may seem like stereotypes initially. Firstly, we have Taiga, whose nickname is 'Palm Top Tiger' because she is petite but fierce. Then there is Ryuji, a young man who looks tough with a pair of "killer's eyes" but is actually an expert in doing domestic chores and a "genius in the kitchen". There are also the very weird and excitable Minorin and the "four-eyed" student council representative Kitamura.

In the early parts of the anime, there are only occasional glimpses of the show's wonderful qualities, and it is not until the gorgeous but manipulative character of Ami is introduced that things get really interesting and the anime starts to reveal its full glory. As viewers learn more about the personalities and backgrounds of each of the five characters in the love pentagon, the story becomes more and more engaging. In no time, the show turns into a completely joyous ride filled with fun, laughs and bittersweet teenage love. 

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Redemption for Romantic Comedies?

It was not that long ago when romantic comedies were a reliable date-night staple at the box office. It was a carefree, frothy time, when Julia, J. Lo, Kate, Katherine, Sandra, and Reese could show up onscreen, meet cute with just about any handsome male specimen, and pull in seven figures. But audiences seem to be falling out of love with the genre: The near-total rejection of Gerard Butler’s Playing for Keeps ($12 million, and fading fast) is only the latest casualty.

Earlier this year, Wanderlust ($17 million) and The Five-Year Engagement ($28 million) fizzled, while the genre’s once-reigning doyenne, Reese Witherspoon, saw her hybrid action/rom-com, This Means War, met with yawning indifference: It grossed just $54 million domestically, ten million less than its explosion-heavy budget. The highest-grossing rom-com of the year was Kevin Hart’s Think Like a Man ($91 million), and that film never truly broke out beyond its predominantly African-American target audience. “It is the hardest time of my 30 years in the business of doing them,” said Lynda Obst, the producer of romantic comedies like Sleepless in Seattle, One Fine Day, and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Vulture asked several top filmmakers, producers, and executives for a heart-to-heart about the reasons why the genre is getting the cold shoulder — and as with most splintering relationships, there’s plenty of blame thrown back and forth: Studio chiefs blame audiences and stars, directors and producers blame studios and audiences, and agents blame their clients.

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Wishing You a Wonderful Holiday Season

 
For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Insight to "This is 40"

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Judd Apatow's "Funny People" starred Adam Sandler as George Simmons, a once-dynamic stand-up whose comic mojo has grown bloated and blunted after starring in a series of hit movies and ensconcing himself in a luxurious mansion.

Apatow's latest, "This Is 40" - about the financial and romantic foibles of a well-off couple hitting a milestone birthday - feels like George might have written it, or at least directed it.

The bawdy wit and crisp dialogue that were the hallmark of Apatow's "Knocked Up" (of which this is a quasi-sequel) and "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" are still very present, but the conflicts feel so cushy, so first-world, that one gets the impression that the filmmaker is losing touch with life as it is lived outside of Brentwood.

Not that the wealthy and the privileged can't have problems of their own, or can't be the subjects of drama, but when characters who drive BMWs, hang pricey contemporary art throughout their spacious house, go on spa weekends, cater lavish parties and have a seemingly endless supply of Sprinkles cupcakes in their kitchen, it's a little hard to be sympathetic when those same characters wail about their money woes.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

2012's Worst-Reviewed Movies

 

Last weekend's Gerard Butler flop Playing for Keeps earned a measly 2 percent positive reviews from critics — but it isn't even the most critically savaged film of 2012.

Over the weekend, Gerard Butler's new romantic comedy Playing for Keeps failed to play well at the box office, debuting in sixth place with a measly $6-million opening weekend gross. But as disappointing as Playing for Keeps' drawing power was, it pales beside the film's stunningly awful critical reception — on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, only 2 percent of critics reviewed it positively. Playing for Keeps may just be the last true critical flop as 2012, with already lauded films such as The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Les Miserables, and Zero Dark Thirty scheduled to bring the cinematic year to a close. Here's a look back at the 10 worst-reviewed movies released in 2012:

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Ben Affleck Backs out of "Focus"

Actor and director Ben Affleck has officially confirmed that he will no longer take part in the upcoming romantic comedy, Focus, opposite Kristen Stewart.

Although news broke weeks ago that Ben Affleck and Kristen Stewart would play on-screen love interests in the upcoming film, Focus, about an experienced con artist who teaches a young female protege the tricks of the trade, Affleck is officially out of the project.

According to Ben Affleck’s representative, the star stated that his schedule was just too busy to fit Focus into his timeline. So far the film’s production team, which includes writers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris), has not announced a replacement.

Affleck will soon be juggling directorial duties on two new films, the thriller Tell No One and an adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s Live By Night.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Parlez-moi de Vous: Awkwardly Charming

Parlez-moi de vous

** 1/2 (two and a half stars)
Starring: Karine Viard, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Nadia Barentin, Catherine Hosmalin
Directed by: Pierre Pinaud
Duration: 89 min.
Parental guidance: for all
Playing at: Beaubien cinema

Talk about all talk no action. Pierre Pinaud’s dramatic comedy Parlez-moi de vous is the sort-of charming tale of a popular radio host who can’t function in the real world.

Slip in a half-baked plot line about recovering the past, and a romance that never quite takes off and you’ve got a cute film that could have been.

On air, Mélina (Karine Viard) is cool, calm and collected, offering a sympathetic ear and reassuring words of wisdom to nightly callers who share their troubles about life and relationships. When the red studio light goes off, however, it’s a different story.

Mélina is not her real name; Claire Martin guards her anonymity carefully, allowing no publicity photos for the show and carrying her mail home from the station herself each week, instead of having it sent.

She lives alone with her dog, and doesn’t get out much. When even her apartment is too big for her, she seeks refuge in her closet. She’s also a neat freak and germophobe. Getting the picture?

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Jackie Chan Looks for a Romantic Role

KUALA LUMPUR: International action superstar Jackie Chan was recently in town to promote his 101th film, CZ12.

Arriving at the movie's press conference with his large entourage, the 58-year-old actor was his usual chatty and energetic self.

Dressed in a casual all-white shirt and cowboy hat, Chan impressed everyone with his witty remarks.

He also shared some insights into the making of the movie.

"When I say CZ12 is probably my last movie, people tend to misunderstand and assume it will definitely be my last action movie.

"It's not.

"I will continue to make action movies, but I will be using a lot more special effects.

"I don't want to get hurt anymore. CZ12 is my 'last big action' film."

Throughout his four decades in the film industry, Chan has had his fair share of highs and lows.

"I don't remember an exact 'pinnacle' moment of my career history. There are too many.

"It's hard to put a finger on a certain moment.

"But being able to leave a handprint on the Walk of Fame in Los Angeles was the most memorable."

Asked what other kinds of movies he wants to make, he revealed: "It's definitely romantic films!"

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Wataru Watari's Youthful Romantic Comedy

Shogakukan's Gagaga Bunko imprint announced the cast and staff of the television anime adaptation of Wataru Watari's Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru. (My youth romantic comedy is wrong as I expected.) light novel series. The anime has the same cast (pictured left to right, top to bottom) as the light novel's earlier drama CD adaptation.

Watari's romantic comedy revolves around an antisocial high school student named Hachiman Hikigaya with a distorted view on life and no friends or girlfriend. When he see his classmates talking excitedly about living their adolescent lives, he mutters, "They're a bunch of liars." When he is asked about his future dreams, he responds, "Not working." A teacher gets Hachiman to join the volunteer "service club," which happens to have the school's prettiest girl, Yukino Yukinoshita.

The anime will premiere next April on the TBS and BS-TBS channels.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

5 Actors/Actresses who Adore Romantic Comedies

While some actors or actresses think Romantic Comedies are the worst kind of work you can do because your not taken seriously for your work, others are drawn to them.

Some just like to try different genres and enjoyed the challenge of a new romantic role, while others love to see if their heart can handle it. While some of these actors are known for regularly playing rom-com roles, others are just dabblers.

 

Kate Hudson openly admits that she loves doing romantic comedies but only if the script is very strong and Drew Barrymore has similar feelings about the genre after becoming known for her multiple romantic roles in the past.



Anne loves to challenge her romantic side: “I love to have my heart challenged. And ripped out. And woken up, in unexpected ways. And the thing I love about romance is the more specific the characters are, the more fun the stories are. So it gives you great opportunities as an actor to draw a character that feels really nuanced.”

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

"Silver Linings Playbook" Scores Satellite Awards

"Silver Linings Playbook" was the big winner at Sunday night's Satellite Awards, a show produced by and voted on by the International Press Academy and held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The David O. Russell comedy, which has been overshadowed in the awards picture by more recent films like "Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty," won five awards, including Best Motion Picture. Rusell won the award for directing, while stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence were named best actor and actress. The film also won for editing.

Supporting actor and actress awards went to Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables" and Javier Bardem for "Skyfall."

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Les Miserables' Cast at SAG Screening

Many of them sang through starvation to better portray their characters. But the cast of Les Misérables looked far from sad as they giddily joined each other onstage at the Writers Guild Theater for a SAG screening and Q&A Saturday evening.

Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, and Eddie Redmayne could not hide their delight as they recalled the drastic weight loss, shaved heads, and other hardships while making the musical film.
 
And the thespians had good reason as the highly-anticipated film, which premieres December 25, was just honored with Golden Globe nominations for best musical and best supporting actress, for Hathaway.
 
The 30-year-old Oscar nominee was literally beaming as she chatted with Hugh and Amanda, while dressed in a cream-coloured cable-knit jumper, orange skinny jeans, and black platforms.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Recollection of Holiday Romantic Comedies

I love ION TV’s Holiday romantic comedies. Despite my cold, cynical, Grinch-like heart, I love Christmas; girly, quirky romantic comedies and films that combine both into one. I’ve always loved ION’s family friendly programming and each year I gather around the TV to catch its romantic comedies. This year, I was lucky enough to preview ION’s December 2012 romantic comedies offering cheesy, quirky, vicarious fun with a dash of hope.

I have to hand it to ION for picking films, Golden Christmas 3 and Anything But Christmas, that highlight the realistic over the idealistic. A perfect, chiseled white knight is fun; but, that isn’t what happens in actuality. Despite the Cinderella fairytales on TV, relationships aren’t meant to be easy. This year, I felt ION focused less on making ‘holiday romantic comedies’ but on romantic comedies that happened to occur on the holidays. I think that’s a good focus. Forcing the holiday theme where it doesn’t work isn’t necessary. I’d rather have a strong, relatable script.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?  

7 Reasons that Make "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" this Year's Romantic Comedy Film

Photo: CBS Films

There had to be one good romantic comedy this year, and "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" proved to be it. The quiet love story about a fishing expert (played by Ewan McGregor) who helps a sheik's personal assistant (played by Emily Blunt) bring the sport of salmon fishing to the Yemen received a surprise Golden Globe nomination this morning for Best Picture, Musical or Comedy.

At first, we were shocked to see this indie-feeling romantic comedy without all the trappings of a big Hollywood production be the film to rise above the rest, but with closer look, we came up with seven reasons why Salmon Fishing in the Yemen should not be overlooked.

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Romantic Comedy Tackles Language Barrier at JCC CenterStage

Steve Levinson

From left, Sammi Cohen, Richard Scooter Rosenthal, and Jamal  Abdunnasir star in the romantic comedy "Handle With Care," opening Saturday at JCC Centerstage, Rochester.
 
ROCHESTER -- For Rochester actress Sammi Cohen, the challenges of performing in "Handle with Care," a new, romantic comedy, opening Saturday at JCC CenterStage, 1200 Edgewood Ave., reach far beyond those of a typical actress. In addition to learning staging, memorizing lines and developing a believable character, she had to learn Hebrew.

The comedy about a young Israeli woman who gets trapped in a snowstorm in rural Virginia on Christmas Eve includes significant passages where she speaks in Hebrew as her American counterparts struggle to understand her.

"It's amazing how much you can convey with body language and a few words of broken English," says Cohen who worked with recordings and coaches to master the complex pronunciations, "but the fun part for the audience is how they experience the same thing the other characters do as we struggle to make connections and be understood."

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Top 50 Worst Romantic Comedies

 
Every man has been dragged to a romantic comedy against his will. Most of us have been lured into multiple nights of romcoms, always believing that they will increase our chances of getting into a woman’s pants, and usually being wrong. There are those lovely times, however, when the movie itself is worth it, regardless of how things play out afterwards. But, we are not here today to talk about anything so enjoyable and hilarious as Annie Hall, Love Actually, and When Harry Met Sally. In fact, we want to explore films that are just the opposite.

These are films that might actually turn off or even repulse the viewer and turn down the heat in any room. There is no chance that these films will put your lady in the mood for love. We’ve taken a bullet for you all and identified the worst chick flicks, so you don’t have to chance sitting through one on your quest to unlock your lady’s chastity belt. These are The 50 Worst Romantic Comedies.

After you read this, you’ve got nothing to complain about if you end up watching one of these on one endlessly inane night your girl, because you have been warned.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do? 

The Dark Knight Reinvented as a Romantic Comedy Trailer

Bruce Wayne is a lovesick billionaire still pining away for a woman he can't have



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"Playing for Keeps" Falls Short According to Movie Critics

Rating: 0.5/5

I have no qualms admitting I love a good romantic comedy just as much as the next girl or sensitive guy.
But there are few things less entertaining than a poorly done “rom-com.”

“Playing For Keeps” tells the story of has-been soccer star George (Gerard Butler) who tries to redeem himself in the eyes of his ex, Stacie (Jessica Biel), by coaching his young son Lewis’ (Noah Lomax) soccer team.

Predictably, the plan goes off-course as George gets distracted by myriad lusty soccer moms (Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Judy Greer) and Stacie gets engaged to the nice guy Matt (James Tupper).

Gerard Butler, starring in films such as The Ugly Truth and The Bounty Hunter, seems to have a knack for truly awful rom-coms and he certainly does not disappoint here.
His stock character is a vaguely gross, immature man-child with an awful attitude that for some inexplicable reason, women just cannot resist.

Admittedly, “Playing for Keeps” is only slightly more misogynistic than the average Hollywood movie, but that does not make it any easier to sit through the stereotypical scheming of sex-crazed middle-aged women.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Romantic Comedy Manga to Light Up the Big Screen

Kazuto Okada's dark romantic comedy manga Ibitsu is getting a live-action film early next year. (Okada's manga is unrelated to Haruto Ryō's manga of the same name.) Hitomi Komatani, a former member of AKB48's sibling idol group SDN48, will star as a high school girl named Madoka Moritaka with sadistic tendencies.

The story revolves around a weak-willed, virgin dollmaker named Keigo Kakiguchi and Madoka, who ends up living with Keigo. Okada launched the manga in Akita Shoten's Young Champion magazine in 2010, and Akita Shoten published the sixth compiled book volume in October. 

The rest of the cast include Masahiro Ishida, Azusa Satō, Shūichi Yamauchi, Sasa Handa, Dandy Sakano, Ryōta Nakanishi, and Yoshie Yamashita. Toshiyuki Morioka is directing. 

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Kirsten Stewart's Romantic Comedy Venture With Ben Affleck

In her first post-"Twilight" franchise casting, Kristen Stewart confirmed on Sunday that she will star in "Focus," a new romantic comedy.

Ben Affleck, 40, will be her co-star and romantic lead in the flick.

Stewart officially broke the news to HuffPost Entertainment, saying, "I can confirm that rumor. It's a comedy. I'm really excited about it. We start shooting in April."

View slideshow: Photos of Kristen Stewart and Ben Affleck

 

Deadline Hollywood reported back on Nov. 2 that Stewart had begun talks to appear in the film as "an inexperienced con artist who hooks up with the more seasoned Affleck."

Later stories claimed that the role would involve Stewart shooting some "passionate" love scenes with Affleck, who said that he hoped she would take the role because she's "terrific."

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?