Thompson on Hollywood

Black Swan Psychology Art vs. Science; Sex vs. Sexy: Which Sells Movies?

- Black Swan offers fuel for an Art vs. Science debate. Consider these professional-opinion-posturings on Black Swan ballerina Nina (Natalie Portman) and her mental state. Nadine Kaslow (Dept. of Psychiatry, Emory University) says: "It was intense and disturbing and fascinating and mysterious…What was a hallucination and what was real? When people are psychotic, it's difficult, even as a therapist, to know what's real and what's not."

By Sophia Savage
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December 21, 2010 4:42 AM
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Trailer Watch: Saorise Ronan Stars as Assassin Hanna

The film tradition of young women killers is long: from Natalie Portman in The Professional and Anne Parillaud and Bridget Fonda as Femme Nikita to Jennifer Garner in Alias and Chloe Moretz in Kick-Ass. Now we have a new entrant in the category: Saorise Ronan in Hanna (April 8), a Focus Features film that reunites the star with her director on Atonement, Joe Wright. The trailer is below. Eric Bana plays her father; Cate Blanchett co-stars.

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2010 4:33 AM
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Exit Through The Gift Shop's Banksy Named Torontoist 2010 Hero; Talks Art, Film To Change The World

Exit Through The Gift Shop's semi-subject and director Banksy has been named one of the Torontoist's 2010 Heros (they've got Villains, too). In May, the mysterious street artist created seven pieces throughout the city (by now most are gone, the inevitable fate of street art). But, as Torontoist's Nick Mount writes, "the main virtue of Banksy's North American tour is simply that it got some of us out of our homes and into what's left of our public spaces on a collective scavenger hunt, searching for Banksy and often finding each other." Torontoist says of the seven gifts to their city, "That Toronto fucked them up was too bad, but what mattered most is that they were ours to find in the first place."

By Sophia Savage
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December 21, 2010 3:11 AM
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The Way Back's Weir: "If I can't make the kind of film that I want to make, then the hell with it"

DIrector Peter Weir sat down for a Q & A with an all-Guild audience at the Arclight in Sherman Oaks. Clearly, making The Way Back over a three-year period was not easy, but he made the movie his way, as an independent, and that's the only way to go right now, he says. That's reality. The studios don't make films like this anymore. The book has been a popular worldwide bestseller for decades, because it is about the human spirit and the desire for freedom. It has been in development, with some 20 scripts written since Lawrence Harvey optioned it in 1960.

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2010 2:19 AM
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THR Directors Round Table: Aronofsky, Weir, Hooper, Cholodenko, Cianfrance, Russell

Award season director contenders Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan), Lisa Cholodenko (The Kids are All Right), David O. Russell (The Fighter), Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), Peter Weir (The Way Back) and Tom Hooper (The King's Speech) talk for 68 minutes, spending time on MPAA ratings and bad behavior on set (Russell).

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2010 9:41 AM
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Jeff Bridges Duets with Cookie Monster on SNL, Raises Star Profile

Jeff Bridges hosted Saturday Night Live (video below), yet another example that his public profile, post-Crazy Heart Oscar and with new releases TRON: Legacy and True Grit, is higher than it's ever been. (He's also been ardently pursuing a music career.) Remember, Bridges is infamous, Star Man and The Big Lebowski excepted, for being a beloved character actor who has never been a movie star. He never put butts in seats. But maybe that has changed. The box office performance of the Coens' True Grit (trailer below) will be a test of that--as will nabbing another Oscar nomination.

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2010 9:20 AM
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The Social Network Leads IndieWIRE Critics, Gold Derby Polls

Yet again, The Social Network is proving itself to be a consensus title among critics. It tops indieWIRE's critics poll. Many also loved Winter's Bone or Black Swan, but they all love The Social Network. It may not be number one on every critic's list, but it's in just about every top five. 71 of the 124 voters in the poll mentioned it on their list. The next most popular film among IW's polled critics was Olivier Assayas’ biopic mini-series Carlos--Assayas led the 2009 list with Summer Hours.

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2010 8:41 AM
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The Fighter's Dicky Eklund HBO Backstory

The Fighter is based on real characters from Lowell, Massachusetts, and the HBO doc on Dicky Eklund (played by Christan Bale), is up on Snagfilms.

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2010 8:11 AM
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Oscar Watch: 248 Films Eligible for Best Picture

The Academy has gone through all the submissions for best picture this year and counts two hundred forty-eight feature films that are eligible. To be eligible for 83rd Academy Awards® consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days. Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format. Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category.

By Anne Thompson
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December 20, 2010 7:11 AM
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Scott's State of Cinema, Firth's King George Speech, Franco Fights Boredom

A year from now, most 2010 releases will be forgotten, to be replaced by sequels and flashy remakes. As the first decade of the twenty-first century closes, the NYT's A.O. Scott explores the themes of 2010 (defining the first year of the new decade, perhaps). He shares thirty examples of films from 2010 that "defy expectations and break patterns." 2010 will only become the "answer to a trivia question" for films that maintain their relevance over time, he asserts. Was 2010 a good year in film? "Who cares?…The movies — good and bad alike — shed a blinking, blurry light on the times, illuminating our collective fears, fantasies and failures of will." Below, a sampling of his postulations on the Cinematic State of Things: