Thompson on Hollywood

Fincher's The Social Network to Open New York Film Festival

The 48th annual New York Film Festival will kick off September 24 with the world premiere of David Fincher's The Social Network, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, the youngest billionaire in history. This is bad news for those of us who were hoping to catch the film at the Venice, Telluride or Toronto Festivals, because opening nights are usually exclusives.

By Anne Thompson
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July 8, 2010 5:59 AM
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Casting News: DiCaprio in Wolf, Washington in Safe House, Lost's Pellegrino Goes SyFy

- Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming with Ridley Scott (not Scorsese, as once planned) for the screen adaptation of Jordon Belfort's memoir The Wolf of Wall Street, according to Deadline. The screenplay by Sopranos (and Boardwalk Empire) writer Terry Winter follows a head stockbroker (DiCaprio) as he leads his team in coaching clients to purchase stocks that fund their extravagant lives--until they get caught. Scott and DiCaprio are both busy: Scott's helming 3-D Alien prequel and DiCaprio is prepping a Hoover biopic, so it's unclear when Wolf will land on their schedules.

By Sophia Savage
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July 8, 2010 5:40 AM
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Wright, Working Title Take on Live-Action Little Mermaid

Here's welcome news you've all been waiting for: a live action adaptation of the Little Mermaid is in the works. The script is by Abi Morgan (Brick Lane) and director Joe Wright is partnered with Working Title (who also brought us Wright's Atonement and Pride and Prejudice). This is no Alice In Wonderland, Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella (just to name a few of the fairy tales in development or production). It's the original Hans Christian Anderson Little Mermaid - which is more darkly beautiful adult horror story than children's sing-a-long (a stage play adaptation at Little Angel Theatre Company, founded by Wright's father, was part of the inspiration). Wright may prove the right man to channel the spirit of Anderson's Little Mermaid without the happily-ever-after Disney ending that skews the story's legacy.

By Sophia Savage
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July 8, 2010 5:33 AM
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Sony Attaches Barry Levinson to Direct Brother Jack

Veteran director Barry Levinson (Rain Man and HBO's You Don't Know Jack, nominated for 15 Emmys) is to direct Columbia Pictures' Jack Healey biopic Brother Jack. The coming-of-age story is based on Healey's life as he leaves the priesthood and arrives on the streets, where he fought for and pioneered human rights issues and activism.

By Anne Thompson
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July 8, 2010 5:13 AM
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Emmy Noms Winners: The Pacific, Glee, Mad Men; Snubs for Treme and Leno

The highlights of Thursday morning's nominations for the 62nd annual primetime Emmy Awards are:

By Anne Thompson
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July 8, 2010 4:04 AM
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TOH Poll: Pick Successor to CNN's Larry King

The problem with trying to fill Larry King's slot on CNN, once you look at it, is how few people have the necessary skills. King was so successful because he combined the probing curiosity of a journalist with the safety of a talk-show host. And he could handily interview a wide range of newsworthy folk--from politics, business, the tabloids, the real world and celebrities--without getting into too much hot water. King was known for soft-lobbing questions--not unlike James Lipton--but he was still capable of grilling someone and getting strong reactions and quotes out of them.

By Anne Thompson
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July 7, 2010 10:00 AM
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Trailer Watch: Eat Pray Love and Salt Star Roberts and Jolie

Two leading ladies, two very different films. One puts Angelina Jolie through an identity crisis in Salt's neo-cold war atmosphere, the other stars Julia Roberts in a big-budget adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's bestseller, Eat, Pray, Love. Jolie and Roberts are two of the highest-earning, name-brand A-listers in the business. See the trailers below for these summer movies. Eat Pray Love could prove welcome summer programming for adults, especially women, while Jolie could inject an element of the unexpected in Salt, which was originally set to star Tom Cruise.

By Cameron Carlson
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July 7, 2010 9:15 AM
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Media Watch: Online Journalism Is Heading Straight to Hell

Some online journalists make calls, check facts, report, and look at movies before we review them. Are we dinosaurs?

By Anne Thompson
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July 7, 2010 7:49 AM
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Mad Men Seduction Video

Here's a distraction on a busy work day. Jump in. Why is rampant sexism so...sexy? My only complaint: why wasn't there more of the show's ultra-womanizer, Don Draper?

By Anne Thompson
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July 7, 2010 7:11 AM
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Bigelow, Moore Join Academy Board of Governors

Let's face it. Most of the Hollywood veterans who serve on the Motion Picture Academy board of governors, while august and admirable, are older males. While documentarian/provocateur Michael Moore (Bowling for Columbine) is no spring chicken, in the world of the Academy, being in your 50s counts as young. And fellow Oscar-winners Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and editor Anne Coates (Lawrence of Arabia) are women to boot. The Academy recently elected the three first-time Academy governors, along with nine incumbents and three filmmakers returning after a hiatus.