Thompson on Hollywood

Listen: Bruce Springsteen Interviewed by Ed Norton

Edward Norton interviewed his friend Bruce Springsteen back in September during the Toronto International Film Festival, which you can hear below thanks to NPR's Fresh Air. Their discussion delves deep into Springsteen's motivations, investigates the making of Springsteen's album Darkness on the Edge of Town, and the documentary film which premiered at TIFF, The Promise: The Making of 'Darkness on the Edge of Town'. A box set, The Promise, comes out today, complete with a remastered version of the album, two CDs of songs that were recorded but never included in the original album, the documentary film, and DVDs of live performances.

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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November 16, 2010 9:24 AM
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Terence Davies' "The Deep Blue Sea" Shoots in London with Rachel Weisz

Terence Davies' The Deep Blue Sea will start shooting November 17 in London for five weeks. The romantic drama stars Rachel Weisz, Tom Hiddleston (War Horse, Thor) and Simon Russell Beale (An Ideal Husband). Originally a play by Terence Rattigan, Davies adapted the love story about a privileged woman in 1950s London who walks out on her high court judge husband (Beale) to live with a young pilot (Hiddleston).

By Sophia Savage
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November 16, 2010 9:08 AM
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Career Watch: Harrison Ford

Media folks reveling in the decline of Harrison Ford are missing the point. He was terrific in Morning Glory and he wasn't the star. Rachel McAdams has to take the bullet for not being a ready-for-prime-time player. Supporting actors Ford and Diane Keaton actually pulled in older moviegoers, where McAdams didn't score with her age demo. (WOM could still kick in. Yes, it's a familiar story, and it's no Broadcast News, but it's well-done.) And now that Ford, at age 68, is out of the running for those $20 million leads, he's free! He can do whatever he wants. He doesn't HAVE to carry studio tentpoles anymore. Here's a sample from my latest AOL Moviefone Career Watch column.

By Anne Thompson
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November 16, 2010 8:53 AM
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Hollywood Publicist Ronni Chasen Found Shot to Death

On Saturday night, press agent Ronni Chasen came up to me at the Governor's Ball, kissed me on the cheek, asked me if I had greeted producers Dick and Lili Zanuck and Inception's Hans Zimmer and Chris Nolan, reminded me that she wanted me to interview composer Eliot Goldenthal for Julie Taymor's The Tempest, and told me to save the date for her Christmas party. I've known Chasen since she was a senior press agent at Rogers & Cowan in the 80s. She went on to run her own firm, Chasen & Co., which reps filmmakers and composers. Chasen, who was a diminutive but forceful blonde, kindly tutored me in the ways of Hollywood when I was fresh from New York. Her brother, director Larry Cohen, once shot a film in my upper West Side apartment. Chasen was one of those publicists who knew her job, loved her clients, and was able to suggest without being a nudge. She was, in short, a mensch. I am, like everyone else who knew her, in shock.

By Anne Thompson
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November 16, 2010 6:32 AM
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Production Watch: Cooper's Carancho Remake, Mulligan is Daisy, Jane Eyre Trailer, Wuthering Heights

- The success of Scott Cooper's first film as writer-director, Crazy Heart---an Oscar vehicle for Jeff Bridges---gave him license to play with the big kids. While David Fincher gets flack for remaking the Swedish The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (he's actually adapting the Stieg Larsson novel), Cooper is attached to direct a remake of Argentina's foreign language Oscar submission, Carancho (meaning Vulture, pictured), which played at Cannes and AFI Fest. Ricardo Darin (who starred in last year's Oscar-winning The Secret In Their Eyes) plays a personal injury attorney who helps as well as exploits his clients, and gets embroiled in a larger scheme. Cooper is shopping the rights to remake the film with an adaptation already written by Aaron Stockard (The Town, Gone Baby Gone). The original won't hit American screens until spring.

By Sophia Savage
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November 16, 2010 5:27 AM
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Academy Accepts 15 Submissions for Animation Race: Only Three Nomination Slots

Bad news for contenders in the Oscar animation race--unless you happen to be Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon--now all the 15 submissions accepted by the Academy will be vying for three slots. If there had been 16, there would have been five slots. That did not happen, so the likes of Tangled, Despicable Me, The Illusionist and Megamind will compete for that third slot. Who will land it?

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2010 8:11 AM
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Celeb Watch: Pitt's Plan B for Chilean Miners, Celeb Salaries, Harry Potter's Stars

- Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B Entertainment may bring the recent Chilean miners story to the big screen. Plan B has reportedly made a multi-million dollar offer for the film rights, and several of the rescued miners may negotiate roles for themselves to play. The miners' lawyer confirms that some ten offers come in each day for the miners to consider, but they are holding off on signing a deal until a holding company is established to deal with any proceeds from their harrowing story.

By Sophia Savage
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November 15, 2010 6:44 AM
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Producers Guild To Honor Scott Rudin with David O. Selznick Achievement Award

Love him or hate him, but producer Scott Rudin is fighting the good fight for good movies--at a time when very few have the will or power to win that battle--and thus the 2011 Producers Guild of America's David O. Selznick achievement award for motion pictures is well-deserved.

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2010 5:50 AM
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Christina Aguilera Sings in Burlesque Extended Musical Number Clip

Shooting the strip-tease musical Burlesque was no picnic, according to this LAT expose. Check out this extended number from the film starring Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Kristen Bell, Julianne Hough and Eric Dane, which hits theaters November 24:

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2010 5:37 AM
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AFI Fest Scores Again with Free Screenings and Awards Contenders King's Speech, Fighter, Black Swan

The AFI Fest closed November 11 with the jammed L.A. premiere of Darren Aronofsky's ballet-world thriller Black Swan attended by the director and his cast, Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder and Vincent Cassel. Here's a fest wrap-up from Justin Lowe (the Fest posted videos from some of the galas): Playing to a capacity crowd at the historic Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with all the principal cast attending, Black Swan is a dramatic tour de force, underpinned by Natalie Portman’s staggering portrayal of a lead ballerina battling for her emotional and professional survival.