Thompson on Hollywood

Ryan Gosling Promos Blue Valentine, Sings for Jimmy Kimmel

It's not news: Ryan Gosling is talented. Jimmy Kimmel is another story. Gosling has been promoting the socks off Blue Valentine for a while now. Herewith, our video interviews with Gosling and director Derek Cianfrance (a year ago at Sundance) as well as co-star Michelle Williams.

By Sophia Savage
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January 21, 2011 4:39 AM
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Oscar Watch: Costume Guild Nominations and Picks

The Costume Designers Guild has weighed in with their nominations in several categories. The Oscar five usually favor period, musicals and complexity over contemporary. Of this list, likely nominees are: Black Swan (although the actual designers of the ballet costumes are not the recognized designer); Burlesque, The King's Speech, True Grit and Alice in Wonderland. Personally, I'd go for the costumes in Inception over Burlesque--think Ken Watanabe's elegant waistcoat and Marion Cotillard's fabulous dresses--but this is how it will likely go.

By Anne Thompson
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January 21, 2011 4:19 AM
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True Grit iPad App: Through The Lens of Jeff Bridges, The Dude Abides

True Grit has an iPad app, Through The Lens of Jeff Bridges. Not only does this cowboy love to sing and play guitar, but he's a shutter-bug who has been taking on-set photos for years.

By Anne Thompson
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January 21, 2011 1:11 AM
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Sundance Trailer and Poster Exclusive: The Nine Muses

I've always been a sucker for classical mythology; here's an exclusive poster and trailer for The Nine Muses, which played Venice and London (here's a review); it screens Friday morning at Sundance.

By Anne Thompson
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January 21, 2011 12:33 AM
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Willow Smith & Jay-Z's Annie Remake, Pattinson & Knightley for Cosmopolis, Cusack "Bad-Ass" Poe

- The question is, will Willow Smith in a remake of (Little Orphan) Annie turn out to be a box office hit that plays like an extended music video proving that Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith turned out some cute money makers? Or will it be a gritty, creative and inspired re-telling of the outdated musical and 1982 John Huston film? Jay-Z signed Willow Smith (so thank him for "Whip My Hair") and is in talks to do the music on the remake. If Jay-Z's 1998 Annie-theme-song-inspired "It's The Hard Knock Life" is an indication of how the film would feel, we'll support it all the way. If the remake is heading for Whip My Hair Annie we'll pass. Videos of both Jay-Z and Annie's versions of "The Hard Knock Life" are below.

By Sophia Savage
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January 21, 2011 12:00 AM
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Sacha Baron Cohen Follows Up Borat and Bruno with Saddam Hussein Adaptation The Dictator

Sacha Baron Cohen, of Borat and Bruno fame, will next star in Paramount's The Dictator, hitting theaters worldwide on May 11, 2012. Borat (Twentieth Century Fox) and Bruno (Universal) director Larry Charles is re-teaming with Cohen. The Dictator is based on Saddam Hussein best-selling novel, Zabibah and The King, and is described as "the heroic story of a dictator who risked his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed." Brings tears to our eyes already.

By Sophia Savage
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January 20, 2011 4:51 AM
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Oscar Watch Exclusive: Tom Hooper Talks Directing Style in The King's Speech

In a wide-ranging discussion about his directing approach on The King's Speech, Tom Hooper talks (in the video below) about framing star Colin Firth in wide-lens close-ups so that there was "nothing between him and the character." He mentions one of the visual themes in the film was finding "a visual analogue to stammering which became about framing Colin in relationship to negative space."

By Anne Thompson
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January 20, 2011 4:17 AM
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Sundance Preview: Cedar Rapids Is Hilarious, Sundance Pre-Buys, Hot Tickets, Surprise Attendees

While some fest holdovers in the Sundance line-up have distributors, such as juror Susanne Bier's Golden Globe-winning Oscar submission In a Better World (Sony Pictures Classics), about 100 titles are looking for homes. The most commercial ones are being sold by the likes of UTA, CAA, WME, Cinetic, Submarine et al. Some deals have already gone down ahead of time, signaling the fact that with so many titles going into the fray, it may be better to leak screeners to distribs in advance.

By Anne Thompson
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January 20, 2011 3:22 AM
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Chasen Murder: Case Closed

Songwriter Diane Warren dedicated her Golden Globe award to her long-time publicist Ronni Chasen, who was shot and killed in the wee hours of November 16 by a lone bicycle-riding gunman, Harold Martin Smith, on Sunset and Whittier after the premiere of Warren's film, Burlesque. Smith later killed himself with the same gun on December 1. Many friends of Chasen's, Warren included, found it tough to accept the Beverly Hills police accounts of the murder. Why was the lone gunman so far away from his own neighborhood, why did he flee the scene without robbing Chasen, 64, and how did those five bullets shatter the glass and kill her?

By Anne Thompson
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January 20, 2011 2:54 AM
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Oscar Watch: Nominations LiveStream and Ten Episode Best Picture Preview

Early risers (5:30am PT) on January 25 can watch a live stream of the 83rd Annual Academy Awards nominations announcement. The "Road to the Oscars" package features The Bachelor host Chris Harrison and EW's Dave Karger introing brief clips celebrating 2010 films and a discussion of the year's trends. The nominations will be announced at 5:38 am by Academy president Tom Sherak and Mo'Nique, winner of last year's best supporting actress Oscar for Precious.