As it’s January 1st already, I would like to take a second to wish all of our visitors and fellow Isabel fans – as well as Isabel herself – a very Happy New Year! I hope 2012 brings you lots of happiness and success.

2011 was a big and busy year for Isabel – make sure you remind yourself of Isabel’s year by reading our Year In Review post. We’re sure 2012 will see the continued rise of Miss Lucas in Hollywood, and we can’t wait to see what she does! Her new projects are also exciting and varied. Thank you for your support of Isabel Lucas Online in 2011 – I hope you’ve enjoyed the site this year, as I know I have loved working on it for both Isabel and you, her fans.

Be sure that we will continue to be here to cover Isabel’s moves in 2012, and that we will carry on aiming to bring you the latest and greatest, and beyond, on Izzy! As always, don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any suggestions for things you’d like to see here, or any comments regarding the site whatsoever.

We’re at the end of another year, and it’s been a good one for Isabel, and her fans! While remaining typically low key, she has attended several events, filmed a movie or two as well as seeing the release of a couple of projects, and continued to dedicate time to her chosen causes. And then, of course, there was the Immortals hype and promotion running through the year, that culminated in a massive promotional blast and the release of the film itself in the latter part of this year. Continuing our trend of Year In Review posts, for the 3rd year running we take a look back on Isabel’s year and celebrate her continuing rise in Hollywood!

Heath Ziegenfusz has contributed a beautiful drawing he did of Isabel to us, and you can now view it on our new Fanart page in the Media section. It’s a really fantastic portrait, and looks exactly like her. He choose one of my favourite Immortals stills to draw, and has definitely done the photo justice. Big thanks goes to the talented Heath Ziegenfusz for letting us post his drawing here!

With all the success Isabel has been having recently, and the fact that she’s gaining new fans here, there and everywhere, I thought it would be nice to do something to celebrate her birthday, so I have put together a Birthday Project! The idea is that you send in your birthday wishes, whether they be messages, graphics, videos, poems, etc. to wish Isabel a happy birthday. And on top of that, knowing Isabel’s passion for her charities, we thought it would be nice if those who wanted to also made a donation to their chosen charity in honour of Isabel.

Head on over to our special Birthday Project pages to read more. The pretty layout there was made for us by Celyn.

Her birthday is not for almost 2 months, so you have a while to think about what you might like to submit and to put it together to send in. (Which is why this project has been opened quite early!). I hope you like this idea and take part in it … I can’t wait to see your submissions!

Marie Claire have now posted their feature on Isabel on their website, including the photos and short interview. View it on their website here, and find the pics in our Gallery and article on our Press page. And if you’re looking for our scans of the article, check them out here.

Isabel Lucas’ life story sounds like it’s lifted from the plot of Mean Girls: Young girl, raised in the wilds of Australia, lands among Hollywood cliques and must reconcile her upbringing with newfound fame.

Growing up in a peripatetic family (Lucas’ father is a pilot), the 26-year-old’s fondest memories come from living among Aboriginals in Australia’s Kakadu National Park. “I was literally running around barefoot, finding waterfalls with the Aboriginal kids,” she says. “The only things we had to be careful of were snakes and crocodiles.” Unlike so many actresses who champion a cause post-stardom, Lucas found activism first. “Being so close to nature, I learned a lot about living off the land — how to live and nourish yourself. It’s not even hippy-trippy; it just made sense for me to honor and respect Mother Earth.”

» Read the full interview on our Press page

MovieWeb had the chance to sit down with Izzy for a chat, and they’ve just posted the interview on their website. Click here to read it at their website, or follow the link below to find it on our Press page. I love all these new interviews, and reading Isabel talking about her career and working on this movie. I was particularly excited to read (in this interview) Isabel say “there is a lot to talk about, but I’m not allowed yet” about what she has lined up in the near future!! Sounds very promising and as if she’s going to be quite busy!

I was really taken by the costumes here. They were just amazing. When you first read the script, were the costumes that detailed?

Isabel Lucas: No, none of it was in the script when I first read it. It was pretty much when I got to Montreal and met with the costume designer. She just showed us all the pictures for my character’s outfits, and they were just unbelievable and beautiful and gruesome, and just so creative. They were very impractical, physically, to wear, with the corsets and the chain-link skirt was nearly 20 kilograms. It was heavy, and the crown as well, but it was certainly encouraging to embody the character, once you put it all on. It makes you feel very regal.

Are there plans in place for the release of Loft? Are they taking it on the festival circuit?

Isabel Lucas: Yeah, that one comes out, I think, early next year. It’s with James Marsden, Eric Stonestreet, Wentworth Miller. It’s a great cast. I saw the original before I read the script, and I was really drawn to it. When I met Erik (Van Looy), the director, that’s when I was really certain I wanted to do it, because he was just wonderful.

» Read the full interview on our Press page

Several days ago The Daily Telegraph posted a new interview with Izzy, and I added it to our Press page (but forgot to post about it here!). It’s a really good article, and Isabel talks all about her life and plans to move back to Australia — and her reasons for that decision! The Australian press always seem to get more intimate, detailed and natural interviews with Isabel, and are always a very good read.

Isabel Lucas moves back to Australia after making new movie Immortals

WHILE many Aussie actors head for Hollywood seeking fame and fortune, former Home and Away star Isabel Lucas is bucking the trend.

Instead the 26-year-old is homeward bound.

After three years of living in Los Angeles, Lucas tells Insider: “I’m really excited about moving back to Melbourne. I prefer living in Australia. That’s where I feel most comfortable.

“In LA you need to develop a good bullshit radar. It’s rough here. There’s a real harshness to living in LA and I find I have to put on my hard skin and let things slide like water off a duck’s back.”

Securing the much-coveted role of the goddess Athena in the $75 million, upcoming special effects-laden film Immortals has helped to establish the 26-year-old’s career. It has also afforded her the opportunity to live where she chooses.

She can just as easily be Hollywood’s next Aussie star-on-the-rise, living in Melbourne as the US.

“I don’t know about that (title) because it’s all very subjective and fleeting, but I do feel really lucky that now it’s not necessary for me to be based in LA anymore. I can commute back and forth for work for a month here and there when I need to,” she says.

» READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

InterviewMagazine.com have now posted their full interview with Isabel from their November issue. It’s pretty good, covering everything from Isabel’s childhood, playing a goddess, getting the press’s attention, and her time on Home & Away – I thought that bit was particularly interesting to read.

Along with the interview itself, the website have posted the 6 gorgeous photoshoot pictures in HQ! Check them out in our Gallery, and read the interview on our Press page (or at the official Interview website).

MARK JACOBS: I understand you grew up with a lot of animals.

ISABEL LUCAS: We had horses, dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, turtles, lizards, quails, budgies, mice . . . I’m trying to remember everything. I lived for a couple of years when I was 9 years old on beautiful Aboriginal sacred land in a town of a thousand people in northwestern Australia. It’s where the Aborigines are still very connected to their culture, the Dreamtime culture. It was really quite a special experience. I was a barefoot earth child for a couple of years. My best friend was Aboriginal.

Jacobs: What did your parents do that they could offer you that kind of experience?

Lucas: Dad was a farmer, and when my older sister Nina and I were born, he became a pilot. Mom worked with autistic children. We ended up moving for Dad’s work. We spent a lot of time in nature, but we did live in cities like Melbourne as well. When I was 7, I went to school in Switzerland because everyone on my mom’s side of the family lives there. Then we were back in Australia, in Queensland. That’s where we had the chance to have lots of different animals. I spent a lot of time living in nature and building cubby houses in big old trees by the ocean. We had a paddock, and I would take the horses to swim in the creek.

Jacobs: Cut to Michael Bay teaching you to run in high heels.

» READ THE FULL INTERVIEW

Immortals hits cinemas this coming Friday, so we’re continuing the excitement with some Immortals related content updates today! I’ve added some new Icons, Bookmarks & Desktop Icons, some of which are of Athena, others feature recent photoshoots. And in the Extras section we have fun new Immortals Tic Tac Toe and Concentration games!

And in the Gallery, I’ve added some gorgeous new stills of Athena.

• Immortals > Stills x5 more

With all the new interviews and Immortals features we’ve been getting, I thought it was time to update some of our content pages. And so I have updated the Trivia and Quotes pages, as well as our Filmography page for Immortals and Isabel’s other recent movies – The Wedding Party, Red Dawn, and The Loft. I’ll add pages for Knight of Cups and Isabel’s other rumoured upcoming films when they’re officially confirmed. Charity, Style and some fun new media and games are coming next