Donald Faison Page 2

Zach Braff returned to the director's chair with Wish I Was Here, as the Scrubs star finally followed up his cult favourite Garden State. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival this week to almost unanimous praise (it currently holds a 9.5 rating on IMdB), with Braff and co-stars Kate Hudson, Josh Gad and Mandy Patinkin sitting down with The Hollywood Reporter to discuss the film before the premiere.

Hudson and Braff in a scene from Wish I Was Here

Whilst Braff discussed the freedom of working independently, having the bulk of production costs paid for through crowd funding via Kickstarter, it was Hudson who seemed the most overwhelmed with the movie as she explained the emotional connection she felt towards the film and not just because she and Braff had wanted to make a film together for some time.

Continue reading: Kate Hudson Felt Compelled To Join Zach Braff's Emotional 'Wish I Was Here'

Lee Thompson Young, the child star of Disney's hit show The Famous Jett Jackson among other shows, tragically passed away in the early hours of Monday (19 August) morning after apparently taking his own life. His death was confirmed later that day by The Wrap upon receiving a statement from Los Angeles police, with the site later confirming via a statement from his manager that the actor had taken his own life.

Lee Thompson Young has since been remembered fondly on sites like Twitter and FaceBook.

"It is with great sadness that I announce that Lee Thompson Young tragically took his own life this morning," Jonathan Baruch, Young's long-standing manager and friend said in a statement. "Lee was more than just a brilliant young actor, he was a wonderful and gentle soul who will be truly missed. We ask that you please respect the privacy of his family and friends at this difficult time."

Continue reading: TV Star Lee Thompson Young Found Dead Following Apparent Suicide

Jim Carrey will next star in the much-anticipated sequel to 2010's Kick-Ass, imaginatively called Kick-Ass 2, which is due out later this summer. While the rest of the cast and crew get ready to promote the film and do their bit to ensure it is a success, Carrey has decided in an act of non-violent protest that he will not be joining his crew-mates as they lobby for the film.

Carrey is a striden campaigner for stricter gun control in the USA and in the wake of the tragic school shootings at Sandy Hook, he has decided not to support the film, announcing his decision on Twitter. On Sunday (June 23) he posted on to his feed; “I did "Kickass" a month b4 Sandy Hook and now in all good conscience I cannot support that level of violence," adding in another Tweet, "my apologies to others involved with the film. I am not ashamed of it but recent events have caused a change in my heart.”

A noble move yes, but Carrey may have accidentally shot himself in the foot because now people are demanding that the star put his money where his mouth is and if he really is as opposed to the movie he says he is, then why not give away the fee he received. Others saw it as a direct attack on the film and should box office takings and intrest in the movie begin to fall, the blame will no doubt be placed squarely on Carrey. Others meanwhile just didn't understand Carrey's logic, including Mark Millar - the writer of the Kick-Ass graphic novel, and how he managed to blur the lines between fiction and reality, as well as questioning why he chose to single out one occurrence as his reason behind denouncing the film.

Continue reading: Has Jim Carrey Shot Himself In The Foot With 'Kick-Ass 2' Renunciation?

So, Wish I Was Here, Zach Braff's follow-up to Garden State looks likely to happen after 20,000 Kickstarter users pledged $1.5 million within 24 hours. The actor and director is looking for $2 million to make the movie, in which he will star as a struggling actor who had to home-school his children. "I want you to be my financiers and my audience so I can make a movie for you with no compromises," Scrubs star Braff said in his appeal to fans.

Big Bang Theory actor Jim Parsons has already agreed to co-star in the movie, while Braff's Scrubs co-star Donald Faison is likely to make a cameo appearance. The actor and writer was inspired to appeal for help for the movie after the Veronica Mars movie received the entirety of its budget from crowd-funding website Kickstarter. "I couldn't help but think maybe there is a new way to finance smaller, personal films that didn't involve signing away all your artistic control," he wrote on his donation page.

The 38-year-old mapped out a detailed plan for how the money would be spent on Wish I Was Here and how the production process would unfold. He placed emphasis on the soundtrack (Garden State's soundtrack went platinum) and said the new movie would use music in the same way. "One of the cool things about being a backer is that you can get access to weekly song picks by me, and be the first group to stream the soundtrack," he noted.

Continue reading: Congratulations Internet, You Just Bought Zach Braff's Garden State Follow-Up