Thompson on Hollywood

Weekly Wrap: Awards Weekend; Guild Nominations, Bond 23 Proceeds; Mara's Salander

AWARDS:

By Sophia Savage
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January 14, 2011 7:00 AM
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LA Film Critics Award-Winner Mazursky Talks Career, Kubrick, Tempest, Hollywood

Paul Mazursky, 80, has always been a one-of-a-kind Hollywood filmmaker. He started out as an actor, wrote (often with a partner), directed and produced his films, and he hasn't stopped. He directed a 2006 documentary about a meeting of Hassidic Jews in the Ukraine (Yippee), directs theater and is prepping a Broadway musical version of Moon Over Parador. The director flourished inside the studio system during the 70s and 80s, a time when execs allowed all sorts of things to happen that they wouldn't today. Movies didn't cost as much. A single exec actually in charge of production could greenlight a movie. We talk about this in the flip cam interview below, as well as starting off his film acting career in 1953 on Stanley Kubrick's first film, Fear and Desire, Mazursky and Julie Taymor's different takes on Shakespeare's The Tempest, and what's wrong with Hollywood today, where it's hard to imagine any studio head greenlighting a film about an old man and his cat.

By Anne Thompson
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January 14, 2011 6:35 AM
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Editors Guild Adds Comedies Scott Pilgrim, Easy A, Dagenham

At this point, we know the list of Guild frontrunners: Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The King's Speech and The Social Network, the five dramas nominated by the America Cinema Editors. Left off are the movies that are vying for inclusion on the Oscar top ten, some of which landed in the comedy or musical category, which was far more enlightened than that of the Golden Globes: Alice in Wonderland, Easy A, The Kids Are All Right, Made in Dagenham and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

By Anne Thompson
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January 14, 2011 4:35 AM
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Relativity to Pact with FilmNation for Foreign Sales

Glen Basner's FilmNation Entertainment and Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media are in final talks toward a long-term exclusive international sales and distribution deal. This will make it easier for Relativity going forward as it looks to acquire more titles at Sundance, Berlin and beyond. FilmNation is set to oversee international sales and distribution of Relativity titles, yet to be announced.

By Anne Thompson
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January 14, 2011 1:28 AM
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Kiefer Sutherland Has "Blast" Starring in Webisode Action Series The Confession

Taking a leap into web entertainment, Kiefer Sutherland (24) is the creator and star of The Confession, an action web-series from Digital Broadcasting Group. Brad Mirman is directing, and John Hurt (V for Vendetta) co-stars. The ten-episode series will be distributed across DBG and on Hulu. The star caliber of The Confession is a huge milestone for the webisodic movement.

By Sophia Savage
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January 13, 2011 9:45 AM
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Paul Haggis Disavows Involvement with Scientology Book Project

While Paul Haggis is the subject of an upcoming New Yorker profile by Lawrence Wright, the writer-director (Crash) insists that he is not collaborating on Wright's book on the Church of Scientology in any way. His interview for the magazine article may be used in the book, however. Haggis, who was a practicing Scientologist but has since left the church, states:"I am a great admirer of Mr. Wright, but he has not asked me to cooperate with him on any book. I am certainly not collaborating with him on one. I have no financial or other interest in any book Mr. Wright may or may not choose to write, now or in the future."

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2011 8:52 AM
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Jodie Foster's The Beaver To Debut at SXSW, Open Wide April 8

Smart move. Summit Entertainment has decided to world premiere Jodie Foster's controversial Mel Gibson drama The Beaver at SXSW (March 11-19), which decided to let the film speak for itself. Said festival director Janet Pierson: "It's an actress/filmmaker carefully and beautifully tackling a heartbreaking subject in her finest work yet." The film starring Gibson as a man who talks to a sock puppet will be a centerpiece premiere on March 16. SXSW is a fest attended by film fans of every stripe who could send good buzz into the blogosphere and help to move the movie beyond Gibson's toxic tabloid history. Foster will attend; no word on Gibson as yet. Summit releases the film limited on March 23, expanding on April 8.

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2011 8:30 AM
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Andrew Garfield Spider-Man Photo Gallery

Check out The Social Network co-star Andrew Garfield as a slim, bountifully-haired Spider-Man, complete with a skin-tight bodysuit. The untitled Columbia Pictures Spider-Man Reboot, directed by Marc Webb, opens July 3, 2012.

By Sophia Savage
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January 13, 2011 8:12 AM
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Production & Development Watch: Hall's Awakening, Greengrass's King Biopic, Russell's 2 Guns

- Rebecca Hall is a total scene stealer. Think Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Please Give, and The Town. She's a rising star; here's a first look at her first leading role in The Awakening, from Brit director Nick Murphy and screenwriter Stephen Volk. Dominic West (The Wire) and Mike Leigh regular Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) co-star. Set in 1921, a bereaved woman (Hall) deploys rational arguments to debunk supernatural myths. A countryside boarding school asks her to come to ease panic caused by a boy's death (and rumors of a ghost). Her beliefs are challenged when she faces her own ghostly encounter. The Studio Canal and BBC films collaboration is in post-production with no release date. - Forget Bourne. Brit writer-director Paul Greengrass is writing Memphis, a Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic that focuses on the events--both personal and professional--that lead to his assassination on April 4, 1968. There are plenty of assassination reports and conspiracy theories to work with. Greengrass's studio relationship is with Universal; Scott Rudin is in discussions to produce the film with Greengrass at the studio's specialty arm, Focus Features.

By Sophia Savage
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January 13, 2011 7:00 AM
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Ron Howard Goes Lowbrow with The Dilemma; Early Reviews

What was Ron Howard thinking? Did this popular A-list Oscar-winning director really want to make a lowbrow comedy that could be summed up in the following tweet from @giteshpandya:9:24pm via WebDilemma: Low on laughs but should sell to fans of formulaic buddy & relationship comedies. Could use some trimming. #mtrv