THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK Live-Read Casts Ellen Page As 'Han' & Jessica Alba As 'Leia'
Yes, you read that right. We've brought you the news on who'll be playing Luke and Vader in tonight's live-read of Empire already, but it seems director Jason Reitman is taking a slightly different approach for Han Solo!
Tonight, director Jason Reitman (Juno, Young Adult, Up In The Air) stages his monthly live performance of a popular movie script. What makes this one special is that it's the film many (most?) consider to be the best of the Star Wars saga instalments, The Empire Strikes Back. We found out yesterday that the parts of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader would be filled by Aaron Paul and J.K. Simmons respectively, but and now EW have revealed that Ellen Page (X-Men: Days Of Future Past) will play Han Solo, and Jessica Alba (Fantastic Four) will play his lover, Princess Leia Organa. Easy there tiger! Here's what Reitman had to say about his choices.
"In casting Han, the most important thing is: Who has the most interesting, ironic approach to life? And when I think of that, I think of Ellen Page. She’s a small human being who has the energy to fill Madison Square Garden. For Leia, I just wanted to find an actress who was beautiful and also had the ability to be tough and funny, and I’ve seen Alba do all of that. And I needed somebody who would have chemistry with Ellen.”
The performance will take place tonight at the Ace Hotel Theater in downtown Los Angeles, moving to a larger venue from LACMA (details HERE). Tickets are sold out but apparently there will be some left on standby.
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Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.