January 28, 2006

More details about POTC 2
posted by Jas, 01/28/06
Johnny Depp Zone has posted a report on Dead Man's Chest from the February isssue of Empire magazine (UK) where producer Jerry Bruckheimer reveals more details about POTC 2. Spoilers ahead!

January 27, 2006

Food Network's Behind The Bash Elizabethtown Premiere Party
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
Ginger reports: An episode of "Behind The Bash" is showing the Elizabethtown Premiere Party. It will air on February 1 at 9pm, February 2 at 1am, and February 5 at 5:30pm (I believe all times are Eastern). The program will mostly center on the food preparation, but the previews say it will also include the stars, and Orlando was shown in the preview on the red carpet. I don't know how much he will be shown on the program, but it will be worth watching just to get a couple glimpses of him. The preview showed him with his Pirate's hair, and he looks super hot!

Orlando's wax figure on display
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
The Korean Herald reports that 80 wax figures of celebrities including one of Orlando are being displayed in a wax museum in Korea, don't think I've heard or seen this before, if anybody manage to take a picture please send me a pic.

"The World Wax Museum": More than 80 wax figures of celebrities from the world's largest Movieland Wax Museum and 20 figures from Japanese artisan Satoru Mazusaki are being displayed at the Convention and Exhibition Center in Samseong-dong. Especially, visitors can enjoy more lifelike figures of Hollywood star Tom Cruise and Orlando Bloom from the "Lord of the Rings" because they have a heart device beating inside the chest. The exhibition will be held at Prefunction Area on the first floor of COEX until the end of March. Admission is 16,000 won for adults, 12,000 won for high and middle school students and 10,000 won for elementary students and younger. Open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For tickets, visit www.ticketlink.co.kr. For more information, call (02) 562-8153.

Best ever movie in UK
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
ITN and various sources has a report on Shawshank Redemption being voted the greatest movie of all time in the poll of 20,000 readers of Empire magazine. It also said that Orlando Bloom is the biggest British name in the poll with four mentions for his roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Rosie has typed up this short mention about Orlando from today's Metro London. Thanks Rosie

Orlando Bloom has appeared in four of the worlds's top 50 movies voted for by British film fans - more than any other homegrown actor. The Hollywood star owes much of the success to his roles in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but Pirates of the Caribbean, where he stars opposite Johnny Depp, also makes the list at No.47. The list, compiled by readers of Empire Magazine, underlines the 29-year-old actor's meteoric rise to fame. The Fellowship of the Ring, in which he first plays the part of Legolas, is his highest placing film at No.3. The Return of the King also gets into the top ten at No. 7 and The Two Towers is at No.18. Bloom's first film appearance was as a rent boy in the critically acclaimed Wilde in 1997.

New Haven images
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
Orlando Love board has new images from Haven here and here. Haven will premiere in the Cayman Islands and shown at approximately 500 screens in the top 20 markets in the US this spring.

Orlando's outfit from Elizabethtown on display
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
Darrell reports: Orlando's outfit worn in Elizabethtown to be on view at the Starstruck Entertainment store at Sherway Gardens in Toronto. (outfit worn is where he is carrying Kristen Dunst on his back--see poster) Some of the actual clothes worn by Orlando Bloom, along with various other items from the movie, will be put on display at the store to promote the DVD release of Elizabethtown on Feb 7th. Items will be on display starting Jan 26, 2006.

Win Elizabethtown DVD
posted by Jas, 01/27/06
Times Online is giving their readers a chance to win Elizabethtown DVD, details here. Speaking of DVD, IGN has a review of the special collector's edition of the DVD.

January 26, 2006

11th Annual Moviefone Moviegoer Awards
posted by Jas, 01/26/06
Here's a press release for the 11th Annual Moviefone Moviegoer Awards from Business Wire and Orlando has been nominated for Biggest Badass for his role as Balian in Kingdom of Heaven. Starting today you can go to Moviefone to cast your vote. Voting ends on February 24 and the winners will be announced on February 28.

Video Download: Elizabethtown junket
posted by Jas, 01/26/06
LoisKent captured Orlando at the press junket for Elizabethtown which aired on channel M6 (France) last November. File is available for download at Orlando Love board

January 25, 2006

The unknown factor
posted by Jas, 01/25/06
The Star has an article about what they called a new breed of actors and mention Orlando.

For a while, it looked like Orlando Bloom may follow Cruise's footsteps as a box-office attraction. The British actor who just seemed to appear out of nowhere playing the beautiful Elf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy back in 2001 got bigger and bigger roles with each film. Last year Bloom was paid US$2mil for Kingdom of Heaven and US$3mil for Elizabethtown. However, his name didn't seem to help the films make an impact at the box office. The budget for Kingdom was US$130mil but its returns in the United States were only US$47mil. Similarly, Elizabethtown's budget was US$57mil and its gross in the States was US$27mil. Ouch!

Orlando Bloom: Hybrid Style
posted by Jas, 01/25/06
An article from Men's Flair on Orlando's fashion sense. Thanks to Bilal for the tip

As soon as Orlando Bloom was old enough to know that actors were not really the characters they were playing, he wanted to become an actor. He yearned to use his imagination and have the opportunity to play a range of diverse personalities. This love of make believe and whimsy has defined the acting roles that Orlando Bloom has chosen, and it has most certainly influenced his quirky, lighthearted fashion sense.

Often seen in trendy suits from up and coming London designers, as well as casual jeans, pullover sweaters, and ethnic fabric scarves, England native, Orlando Bloom has a knack for appealing to the ladies, old and young alike. As well, his love of extreme sports, which was well documented during his shooting of the Lord Of The Rings trilogy in New Zealand, gives him a distinctly masculine edge. Full article

January 23, 2006

Orlando interview in The Works
posted by Jas, 01/23/06
February issue of The Works magazine has an interview with Orlando, he's also on the cover. Thanks to ElfLady.com for the tip. Here are excerpts from the interview.

Orlando Bloom returns for two more forays on the high seas

He's one of the hottest actors on the planet, having bagged two blockbuster film trilogies in The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean. With Will Turner returning in Dead Man's Chest in the summer, Orlando Bloom's star remains in the ascendant – although, as he reveals here, maybe it's time to give up the swords and archery…

What's it been like shooting the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels?
We're shooting now, two back-to-back. I'm so happy to be on these movies. That's the best part of entertainment, it's a family entertainment, it's witty, it's intelligent, it's smart.

You've done a lot of epic and action films. Do you have any desire to try something different instead?
I did Elizabethtown which was a romantic, sort of quirky, offbeat, romantic comedy, and Cameron Crowe is a phenomenal director. And I did The Calcium Kid, so I have done other contemporary pieces. I feel like I'm in the first chapter of my life and my career as an actor, and I think there will be a new chapter for me which maybe won't involve so many swords. I'm not looking to do any more sword movies. I am working on Pirates however, and that will be epic.

How do you react to being labelled a major sex symbol? Does the massive worldwide exposure make you uncomfortable?
I don't really let that be a part of my consciousness. I don't make decisions based on anything other than my instinct, and wanting to do good work, and wanting to entertain people as an actor, and wanting to enjoy my life and be happy and feel fulfilled creatively. I said to a friend of mine, 'This is a little bit weird with all the hysterical fan thing happening'. And he said to me, 'Dude, just chill and enjoy'. There will always be The Beatles, there will always be a new boy band and a new young actor, because there will always be young girls, young guys, who want to pin their hopes and dreams on somebody. So it's a small window, enjoy it while it's there. Don't take it seriously and move on.

You've certainly been blessed so far – straight out of drama school into a thriving film career.
I feel very, very, fortunate to be doing what I'm doing, and ultimately I try not to let the praise or criticism of a lot of other people sway the decisions that I make each day. I'm not big on the Internet, I don't read any of those magazines that pop up, and I just try to keep it very low key. I really just keep doing what I'm doing, keep it about the work, and make it about other people as well, so it's not all about you.

LOTR bloopers reel description/Scans from Roadshow and Screen
posted by Jas, 01/23/06
DaynaWayna has posted her report on the OL board about the LOTR blooper reel she saw at the recent ORC 2006 convention. Suzan00 has posted scans of Orlando pictures from March issue of Roadshow and Screen magazines (Japan)

POTC 2 mentions
posted by Jas, 01/23/06
Short articles on Dead Man's Chest from various sources

From Sunday Mail
All eyes are on Johnny Depp as he reprises his role as the shambling captain Jack Sparrow. The 42-year-old superstar was filming the closing scenes the long-awaited sequel to Pirates Of The Caribbean. But it seems an enthusiastic makeup department applied the final touches, with three extra eyes painted on either cheek. Depp wowed audiences playing the chaotic captain alongside Keira Knightley, 20, in the original. In the new film, Dead Man's Chest, released later this year, he teams up with Keira, veteran Bill Nighy, and Lord Of The Rings' Orlando Bloom. The plot revolves around Sparrow facing having his throat cut if he fails to pay a blood debt to Nighy's character Davey Jones.

From Ottawa Sun
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer has a knack for making hit movies including Flashdance, Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, The Rock and Pirates of the Caribbean. Bruckheimer has already filmed two sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean. He insists it wasn't just the first film's $654-million US worldwide box-office that prompted this move. "The writers always envisioned Pirates as a trilogy. We just had to be certain audiences would embrace it," says Bruckheimer, who produced Glory Road.

Pirates close on Melbourne
posted by Jas, 01/23/06
Sail-World reports that Paul Cayard and his Volvo Ocean racer Pirates of the Caribbean crew sailed into Port Phillip Bay, 40 miles from the Leg Two finish of the 2005-2006 race just before 8pm, local time ( 0700 UTC) Monday. There's another report from Melbourne Stopover

January 21, 2006

Celebrity Charity Auction to Benefit Children With Cancer
posted by Jas, 01/21/06
Press release from PR Web about Luketacular Online Celebrity Auction to benefit children with cancer in the US. Orlando is among the celebrities who has donated autographed item for the auction.

Interview with Orlando and Jerry Bruckheimer
posted by Jas, 01/21/06
Entertainment Weekly has a preview of Dead Man's Chest with comments from Orlando and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Orlando Bloom, calling from a barge in the Caribbean, where Disney is simultaneously shooting two sequels to its $305 million-grossing 2003 hit — is jazzed about one particular scene in No. 2. ''There's a huge sword sequence, which, if it isn't the sword sequence that puts all sword sequences to bed, then I can't imagine what anyone could ever pull out of the ether to top it,'' he declares. It's a clash among three characters — including his Will Turner and Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow (pictured) — ''on a big water-mill wheel as it rolls down a hill. And we fight on top of it, and around it, and inside it. It's crazy.'' Sounds it, but we're dying to know: Will Keith Richards cameo as Jack's dad? ''We're trying to work out his tour schedule with our schedule [for No. 3],'' says producer Jerry Bruckheimer. ''We're optimistic.''

POTC 2 set picture
posted by Jas, 01/21/06
Martin Klebba has posted some pictures from the Dead Man's Chest set on his site and there's one of him and Orlando.

Video Download: Film 2005 (UK) - Film Review
posted by Jas, 01/21/06
Catz has captured a clip of Orlando talking about his favourite movie of 2005 on Jonathan Ross' 2005 Film Review. File is available for download at Orlando Love board

January 18, 2006

2006 preview
posted by Jas, 01/18/06
MSN Movies has a preview of the movies coming out this year and at #3 is Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Mark Your Calendar: July 7
Stars: Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Stellan Skarsgard, Bill Nighy
The Story: Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) owes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones -- his soul. Can he save himself from becoming a member of Jones' army of sea-phantoms?
The Lowdown: All the major players return from the original blockbuster and the operative phrase is "bigger is better." "Chest" features bigger sets, more special effects, more action and oh yeah, a gigantic sea monster.
Big Question Mark: Are you kidding? How long do we have to wait until the third one?

And another preview from CTV

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (July 7): Hard to believe that just a couple of years ago, Johnny Depp was that weirdo who was box-office poison. Depp follows up his 2003 blockbuster, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, with the first of two sequels (part three follows in 2007). Depp returns as woozy buccaneer Capt. Jack Sparrow, reunited with co-stars Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley and director Gore Verbinski.

January 17, 2006

The crop of young male actors taking over our screens
posted by Jas, 01/17/06
The Independent has an article about the new young male actors and mention Orlando and Viggo

If you want an English candidate, there is Orlando Bloom, already 29, but very handsome, and a veteran of the three Lord of the Rings pictures, as well as Pirates of the Caribbean, one of the gang in Black Hawk Down, also in Ned Kelly, Paris in Troy and Balian in Kingdom of Heaven. But as soon as one mentions Orlando Bloom, some problems arise in the absolute acceptance of this young gang. Troy and Kingdom of Heaven did no good to anyone's career - there are some films it's simply better to avoid. And though Bloom was there all along in Lord of the Rings, I think there's no doubt but that the trilogy did much more to boost the standing of Viggo Mortensen, who is all of 47! Indeed, Mortensen stands up for a quite different tradition: that of learning your craft gradually; improving over the years; and becoming a very good actor who can hold the screen with simplicity and confidence - as witness his work in A History of Violence.

January 15, 2006

New Captain Jack pic
posted by Jas, 01/15/06
Los Angeles Times has a sneak peek at this year's release with a new picture of Captain Jack Sparrow from POTC: Dead Man's Chest

Pirates deal a treasure
posted by Jas, 01/15/06
Sunday Times reports that an Australian company, Funtastic Limited, has won the exclusive master toy licence for the Pirates Of The Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest. The company will capitalise on the much-anticipated sequel and a later third instalment with the rights for product distribution in Australia and New Zealand. More details

January 13, 2006

Happy Birthday Orlando
posted by Jas, 01/13/06
It's Friday the 13th today and also Orlando's birthday, he turns 29 today. Happy Birthday Orlando.

POTC sequels update
posted by Jas, 01/13/06
Coming Soon did an interview with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and he gave an update on the Pirates sequels

While talking to ComingSoon.net about the film, he also spoke about some of his upcoming projects, and though he didn't have a lot to say about some of them, we asked how things were going specifically on the sequels to Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and National Treasure. "We started filming yesterday in the Carribean, we're in the Bahamas. We're finishing 2 and then doing 3. I think we have about five or six more days left on 'Pirates 2,' and then we're done with it. We'll break in March and edit 2, and then go back at the end of the summer and finish 3.

January 7, 2006

Haven To Premiere This Spring
posted by Jas, 01/11/06
Radio Cayman and Caribbean Net News both report that Cayman Islands premiere of 'Haven' will take place in the Cayman Islands in Spring 2006. Haven will be shown at approximately 500 screens in the top 20 markets in the US in Spring this year.

Directed and written by Caymanian filmmaker Frank E. Flowers, the movie features a big name cast including Bill Paxton, Orlando Bloom, as well as a host of local residents as featured performers and extras. The film takes place over the course of one weekend, chronicling the stories of a shady businessman (Bill Paxton) who flees to the Cayman Islands to avoid federal prosecution, put side by side against a Romeo and Juliet type love story between Orlando Bloom and Zoe Saldana's characters.

Cable & Wireless is helping to bring the preview to Cayman and has continuously supported the production of this movie. During the filming, the Cayman Islands? first telecommunications company donated phone services to the actors and crew. Paul Taylor, VP Sales & Marketing Cable & Wireless Northern Area said as a young Caymanian, Frankie has worked very hard to succeed in the extremely competitive movie industry and Cable & Wireless is proud to support his efforts.

Director and writer of Haven, Frank E. Flowers, commented he is excited to finally be bringing this film to the world. He said the premiere of this film will be done with the same spirit in which they made the picture, as they hope to involve the entire community and especially those who worked so hard, on every level, to make this a reality.

US distribution for the movie has now been confirmed. Haven will be shown at approximately 500 screens in the top 20 markets in Spring this year.

Bruckheimer Says 3 May Not be the End of Pirates
posted by Jas, 01/11/06
IESB reports: According to Jerry Bruckheimer he hopes to continue to stories further. At a recent junket for his upcoming release Glory Road, the story of the 1966 Texas Western Basketball team, Bruckheimer expressed his interest in continuing the Pirates franchise. If it were up to him he would continue doing more.

KOH is Top 5 movies of '05
posted by Jas, 01/11/06
Kingdom of Heaven is on the list of Echo Online's Top 5 Movies of 2005

Kingdom of Heaven
Visually, few films over the last few years have measured up to director Ridley Scott's ("Gladiator") graceful magnum opus, "Kingdom of Heaven." The picture details one man's journey from being an impoverished blacksmith in France to becoming a knight and protector of Jerusalem during the Crusades.

The ensemble cast includes Orlando Bloom as the aforementioned knight, Balian, and a smorgasbord of acting's elite ranging from Edward Norton to Jeremy Irons. All the players intertwine with brilliant excellence, and Balian, although the protagonist, is not the centerpiece of this huge epic.

Scott has a skillful eye and ear for the things that truly make a movie feel real, and the cinematography and editing help heighten Scott's professional touch. The film may lack in some areas, but the sheer epic nature and breathtaking shots reserve a sense of appreciation no viewer can ignore. Scott transcends his previous effort in epic warfare in 2000's hit "Gladiator" by using a more delicate touch and less severe brutality in directing.

The characters are all justified in their own way, and sides are not drawn in preference to anyone. The battle between Christian and Muslim is in no way a political refuge for the screenwriter and/or director's ideas; rather, the confrontation is portrayed in the historical light, drawing no distinction of race, class or creed.

As a whole, "Heaven" is a vibrant and vivid depiction of a time rarely chronicled by filmmakers. Scott and all involved are not only shining some light on a darker period of history, but they also shine that light with delicate yet striking resonance, leaving the audience entrenched in quality storytelling and the screen resonating with the burning images of a lost time.

The film seemed to fall between the cracks last spring when it was released, yet it certainly deserves another chance, for it is a piece of prestige filmmaking that should not be missed by any movie lover.

January 7, 2006

Warner to release Troy HD DVD
posted by Jas, 01/07/06
Yahoo reports that Warner Home Video has announced titles and release dates for HD DVD which include Troy, to be released on May 16, 2006.

Elizabethtown DVD info
posted by Jas, 01/07/06
The Hollywood News reports that Elizabethtown region 2 DVD will be released in UK next month on February 6. Bonus feature and DVD artwork here

January 5, 2006

POTC 2 on Moviefone's Coming Attractions
posted by Jas, 01/05/06
Moviefone inform me that they have an exclusive look behind the scenes of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest in this week's edition of Coming Attractions, they are actually stills that we've seen before. Watch it here

A walk on the dark side
posted by Jas, 01/05/06
Channel News Asia has posted an interview with Orlando and Cameron Crowe where they talked about Elizabethtown which opens in Singapore today.

Ringers DVD trailer and clips
posted by Jas, 01/05/06
Sony Pictures sent me streaming links to the Ringers: Lord of the Fans DVD trailer and clips. The DVD is now available for purchase. The Ringers: Lord of the Fans video blog has officially launched! Over the next few weeks they will be posting video blog entries from the filmmakers themselves where they will discuss the DVD. Click here to learn more about the DVD

David Carradine and fans disucss the role of The Lord of the Rings in the counter-culture of the 60's -- Hippies and Hobbits
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What is Frodo Love? Elijah Wood and fans explain. Frodo Love
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Find out who J.R.R. Tolkien called "my deplorable cultists" in this clip about the history of the book - The Official Paperback Edition
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Did you know Hobbiton really exists? Take a tour of Hobbiton, USA...
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Ringers: Lord of the Fans Trailer
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Orlando Bloom voted Hottie 0f 2005
posted by Jas, 01/05/06
Stephanie reports: Apparently Orlando will be recieving an award via mail from Z100 for being voted the number 1 Hottie of 2005 by Z100 listeners.

January 3, 2006

Video Download: POTC 2 Interview - Disney's Movie Surfers
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
Stephanie has captured an interview with Orlando on the set of POTC 2 that aired on Disney's Movie Surfers this evening. Download clip here (2 mb, wmv) or here (15 mb, mpg with screencaps)

Orlando takes a break
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
Happy New Year to friends, visitors and everyone in the planet, hope everyone will have a happy and prosperous 2006. This year we'll see just one movie release from Orlando, the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on July 7. POTC 3 is set to be released next year. The January 2006 issue of Lime magazine (Singapore) has an interview with Orlando where he talked about Elizabethtown, no new info except that he said he will take a break after the Pirates sequels and that he's not rushing into anything after that.

Elizabethtown screening in Singapore
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
Peiyu reports: Golden Village Marina is screening Etown on 3rd January 2005, Tuesday, as a Ladies Night special (I think it's only for ladies but I could be wrong about this detail) at 7pm. You can book your tickets here

Review of KOH director's cut
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
Ain't It Cool has posted a review of Kingdom of Heaven, the director's cut

POTC preview in Total Film
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
Catz, over at the OL board has posted scans of Orlando article and of POTC 2 preview from the latest issue of Empire and Total Film magazines (UK) respectively.

Orlando Bloom has yet to flourish
posted by Jas, 01/03/06
The New York Times has an article about Orlando where they take an in-depth look at his career in 2005.

It was months before the cameras were set to roll on one of 20th Century Fox's most ambitious projects for 2005, a $140 million historic epic about the Crusades by the director Ridley Scott. And still there was no one to play the leading role of Balian. Scott had at first envisioned Russell Crowe, the scowling, muscled star of his "Gladiator" hit, to play the role of a blacksmith and reluctant Crusader in the Holy Land. But Crowe had other projects on his slate and would not alter them to fit the director's timetable.

It took four more months of searching by casting agents and Scott to settle on Orlando Bloom, the long-haired, doe-eyed young British actor who was high on Hollywood's list of hot new stars in the making. Bloom, who had won a fan base of teenage girls with his performance in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and who was fresh off the set of another historical epic, Warner Brothers' "Troy," was the favored choice of Fox executives. But as it turned out, "Troy" did not catch fire with the audience (not even the teenage girls) or with critics. And Bloom's next major outing, in Scott's "Kingdom of Heaven," was a bust, taking in just $211 million in ticket sales around the world, hardly enough to justify its production and marketing costs.

Next came the lead in Cameron Crowe's comic romance, "Elizabethtown," which pancaked at the box office when Paramount released it in the autumn, and exposed Bloom to a withering verdict by movie critics. Just a month later, moreover, the 28-year-old actor was sued by his former management company, the Firm, for breach of contract and failure to pay management fees, over the defection of his manager to another firm. By the end of 2005, what just a year earlier had looked like the start of an upward climb toward Hollywood stardom began instead to read like a cautionary tale about the difficulty of minting movie superstars from the ranks of a 20-something generation.

Stardom came easier to the young only a decade or two ago. At 23, Tom Cruise grasped it with the release of "Top Gun" in 1986. Julia Roberts was a superstar at 22, after the success of "Pretty Woman" in 1990, and Leonardo DiCaprio was just 23 when "Titanic" turned him into an international screen presence in 1997. All quickly rose into Hollywood's top salary tier - the ranks of the $20 million actor, or thereabouts - and achieved bankable status with nervous executives who were willing to make a costly film because these actors were in it.

That kind of glitter has remained out of reach for Bloom's generation, notwithstanding a new crop of talent in the likes of Jake Gyllenhaal, 25, who was featured in this past season's "Jarhead" and "Brokeback Mountain," or Heath Ledger, who co-starred in "Brokeback" and headlined in the just-released "Casanova." None of these more recent stars have proved their box-office clout with anything close to the certainty of their immediate predecessors.

And the calculus of the $20 million Hollywood equation has eluded them, as they have so far proved incapable of drawing the kinds of audiences that can justify the rising costs of producing and marketing movies. (One exception may be Daniel Radcliffe, the 16-year-old who recently signed on to star in the fifth "Harry Potter" film for a reported $14.4 million). "The comfort level of hiring a star isn't what it used to be," said Jim Gianopulos, Fox's co-chairman. If new stars are born more rarely, it is partly because American audiences have been turning their backs on star-driven pictures. Of last year's top dozen box-office events, only three - "Hitch," with Will Smith; "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; and "Wedding Crashers," with Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson - relied more on celebrities than computer wizardry to achieve their success. And several expensive movies with proven stars fell flat, among them "Bewitched" with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, and "Cinderella Man" with Russell Crowe. "There's a shrinking number of dramatic stars who can guarantee an opening-weekend audience," said Ron Meyer, president of Universal Studios and a former agent for A-list talent including Mr. Cruise and Tom Hanks. "They must be in the right vehicle at the right time."

Agents and managers and a publicist for Mr. Bloom declined to discuss for the record his recent choices and the growing wariness toward stars on the part of audiences and film executives. Mr. Bloom wrote in an e-mail message that he was focused on his craft, rather than on achieving stardom. (He declined to be interviewed further). "I am proud of my two films that came out this year, 'Kingdom of Heaven' and 'Elizabethtown,' " he wrote. "I learned so much from both Ridley Scott and Cameron Crowe, and view both experiences as the opportunities of a lifetime." Still, court documents and interviews with colleagues provide a telling glimpse of a young actor in an era that has a new, more austere take on Hollywood stardom.

Born in Canterbury, England, in 1977, Mr. Bloom came to show business with an unconventional background. His father, Harry Bloom, was a famed political activist who fought for civil rights in South Africa and died when Orlando was 4. The boy was brought up, along with his older sister, by his mother, Sonia, and a family friend, Colin Stone. But when Orlando was a young teenager, his mother revealed that Mr. Stone was actually his biological father. Suffering from dyslexia as a student, Mr. Bloom was drawn to the arts and poetry in school in the English county of Kent. At 16 he moved to London and joined the National Youth Theater, where he had a scholarship to train in a drama academy. He won a few television roles and had a small role in a 1997 movie about Oscar Wilde titled "Wilde."

Mr. Bloom went on to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where his first big break occurred during a student performance one night in 1998. The director Peter Jackson happened to be in the audience, and he came backstage to ask Mr. Bloom to audition for a set of movies he was preparing based on the J. R. R. Tolkien trilogy, "Lord of the Rings." The fledgling actor's career quickly took hold as he gathered the accoutrements of Hollywood's star-making machinery. He was signed by International Creative Management in London, where he worked with Fiona McLoughlin, and in Beverly Hills, with Chris Andrews, both agents for young actors.

He made his Hollywood debut at 24 as the dashing Elvish archer Legolas Greenleaf in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," in December 2001. Mr. Bloom became an instant teenage idol - in 2002 he was chosen one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" - and his following grew through the two Tolkien sequels. In time-honored fashion, Mr. Bloom's entourage grew as well. He hired a manager, Aleen Keshishian, whose management company, the Firm, had just acquired the apparatus and ambitions of the faltering Hollywood powerbroker Michael Ovitz. He also hired a publicist, Robin Baum, from the high-profile company PMK/HBH.

Led by its chairman, Jeff Kwatinetz, the Firm had eyes for creating big stars and was busy building up the careers of performers like Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Cameron Diaz. Mr. Kwatinetz saw Mr. Bloom as a prime candidate to grow into a $20 million player, especially when Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," in which Mr. Bloom played a supporting role with Johnny Depp, became a surprise hit.

When the role of Paris in "Troy" came along, Mr. Kwatinetz clashed with Ms. Keshishian. He felt that the role presented too weak an image for an actor aspiring to the position of virile leading man. Ms. Keshishian felt differently. Mr. Bloom was slowly building a career, she believed, and a prominent part in a major international epic was a smart move.

Ms. Keshishian prevailed. But the dynamics of the star game were already changing. One star vehicle after another was coming up short at the box office - "Troy" with Brad Pitt," "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks, "The Manchurian Candidate" with Denzel Washington, "The Stepford Wives" with Nicole Kidman - and Hollywood was beginning to edge away from its commitment to high-cost talent.

This shift seemed at first to work in Mr. Bloom's favor. When Russell Crowe, a $20 million actor, bowed out of "Kingdom of Heaven," Mr. Bloom was briefly perceived as a bargain: an actor with a huge fan base among teenage girls, and one who would take a cut in his fee in exchange for the opportunity to have a leading role and work with Mr. Scott. He was paid just $2 million.

But when it opened in May, "Kingdom of Heaven" had disastrous ticket sales of just $47 million in the United States. While it did considerably better abroad, the film seemed to prove that Mr. Bloom was not ready to deliver a mass audience, at least not outside the framework of his earlier fantasy films. The downward slide continued in another failed test of Mr. Bloom's drawing power, this time in a romantic comedy. Cameron Crowe, the acclaimed writer-director of "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous," had run into casting troubles with "Elizabethtown," about a young, successful sneaker designer who undergoes an identity crisis when his father dies. Mr. Crowe originally cast the 25-year-old television star Ashton Kutcher in the lead. But as the director said in a recent interview, he "didn't feel the movie coming together" during two months of work on location in Kentucky. The two parted ways, and Mr. Crowe looked for a replacement. He thought of Mr. Bloom, whom he had met three years before when Mr. Crowe wrote and directed a commercial for the Gap in which Mr. Bloom and Kate Beckinsale were chased down the street by fans.

"I needed the same thing from both those actors," said Mr. Crowe, referring to Mr. Kutcher and Mr. Bloom, explaining why he chose a dramatic actor for a comic role. "It was an interior, whimsical thing. It was Bud Cort in 'Harold and Maude.' Ultimately Orlando got me closer." The studio resisted. Sherry Lansing, then chairwoman of Paramount, wanted Owen Wilson. But Cameron Crowe got his choice, and Mr. Bloom was paid $3 million, which his representatives described as another finnancial compromise made for the chance to work with the director.

Cost, it turned out, was the least of the problems with "Elizabethtown." The film was made for about $70 million, but has taken in just $50 million in ticket sales, making it a calamity for the filmmaker, the studio and, most of all, the star, who was perceived by more than a few critics as having gotten in over his head. (In The New York Times, A. O. Scott wrote, "Mr. Bloom distinguishes himself, in this performance as in most of his others, by his steadfast reluctance to explore his range as an actor.")

"You can't blame the actor," Mr. Crowe now says of the movie's failure. "It's not math. It's like catching lightning in a bottle." And he said that he still believed in the possibility of Mr. Bloom's success: "Stars arrive on their own timetable."

That may be true; just a few years ago Mr. Ledger was written off after the double disasters of "The Four Feathers" and "A Knight's Tale." But that timetable is often of Hollywood's own making, as the inner machinery of the entertainment industry - the agents, managers, lawyers, publicists and movie executives - continually seek the stuff of which stardom is made, and on which their livelihoods depend.

As for Mr. Bloom, he is in the Caribbean, trying to recover his footing with roles in back-to-back sequels to "Pirates of the Caribbean," alongside Mr. Depp. At least in this case, Mr. Bloom has seen his salary rise nicely; he is being paid $11.9 million for the pair of movies. But Hollywood is most likely already on the march, hunting for its next new naif. The other day Mr. Cameron Crowe heard from a screenwriter friend whose new script calls for a leading man of 25. "He called me and said, 'I'd love to pick your brain,' " Mr. Crowe recalled. "And I said, 'You better get an ax and start working the hard road, my friend. You've got a long journey ahead.' "