The role was one of the most highly coveted in Hollywood. It was the female lead in the next movie from Jason Reitman (JUNO) and starring George Clooney. Ellen Page and Emily Blunt read for the part. But in the end it was relative unknown Anna Kendrick who got the role after nailing her audition and beating her Oscar-nominated competition. Kendrick will star alongside Clooney in UP IN THE AIR, which follows a bored businessman whose only motivation is to reach one million frequent flier miles. Kendrick’s character is described as being a “young woman who finds herself pulled into the orbit” of Clooney’s Ryan Bingham. There isn’t really a major female character in the book but she could be either the character’s younger sister who’s about to get married or a hotel employee named Laurie (anyone out there read the script?). Reitman, who will direct from a script he adapted from Walter Kirn’s novel, will begin filming AIR early in 2009. Kendrick can be seen this weekend in a small part in TWILIGHT (she plays the human best friend of Bella).
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