Thompson on Hollywood

Prince of Persia Clips Show Glossy Action and Non-Stars Gyllenhaal and Arterton

Mega-producer Jerry Bruckheimer's M.O. is to throw gazillions of dollars at multiple high-price screenwriters, superb production values, and eye-popping visual effects. That's how an unprepossessing videogame that means nothing outside the male gamer demo winds up as a politically incorrect $200-million summer movie like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This movie may not deliver the summer tentpole goods (despite Disney's saturation marketing blitz) when it opens this Friday--judging from its mild $18-million opening last weekend in 19 countries overseas. Anthony D'Alessandro will file his hard look at Memorial Weekend expectations Wednesday.

By Anne Thompson
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May 25, 2010 10:22 AM
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Sorkin's Facebook Script, Disney Calls Off Miramax-Weinstein Deal, Howard Stark in Tights

- The Daily Beast blogger Choire Sicha got hold of an unofficial copy of Aaron Sorkin's screenplay about Mark Zuckerberg which portrays the Facebook founder as a "selfish, sexist, back-stabber," writes Sicha. Zuckerberg and Facebook are no strangers to user discontent over site changes followed by apologetic reassurances. Sorkin's script follows Zuckerberg from his Harvard dorm days and doesn't make any excuses for him, portraying him as an angry, "maybe-shy but maybe-unfeeling, inhuman, awful, back-stabbing, shallow little code monkey with about as much insight into human relations as a poorly developed friend-recommending algorithm." The David Fincher film will be released in October. There's no need to feel sorry for Zuckerberg. As The Wrap points out, the current privacy issues are "barely a hiccup for Facebook," which will continue to grow, because most users choose to use the service and disregard the fine print anyway.

By Sophia Savage
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May 25, 2010 4:22 AM
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Tamara Drewe Breakout Isn't Arterton: It's Luke Evans

Stephen Frears' bucolic romantic romp Tamara Drewe stars fetching Clash of the Titans star Emma Arterton in short-shorts, but with Frears' leading lady stuck in America promoting Prince of Persia, the breakout star from the film at Cannes was hunky Welsh newcomer Luke Evans. He's made eight movies in the last year, including Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood and the upcoming Jason Statham actioner Blitz. Now he's set to play Aramis in Summit's The Three Musketeers as well as the title role of Vivaldi.

By Anne Thompson
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May 24, 2010 11:46 AM
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Lohan in Court, Monjack found dead, Zuckerberg on Facebook privacy, Scorsese's Sinatra

Entertainment News:- Lindsay Lohan's video denying drug use and claiming to be in full compliance with court orders did not save her from a Beverly Hills judge Monday, who ordered her to refrain from alcohol, undergo weekly blood tests and wear an alcohol detection bracelet. Lohan's lawyer said she had proof that the actress had airline tickets and missed the May 20th hearing due to a lost passport, and declined the judge's offer to spend thirty minutes reading the list of reasons for the sentencing.

By Sophia Savage
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May 24, 2010 6:36 AM
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Girl with Dragon Tattoo Update: Script Due for Pitt to Read June 1

On the eve of the stateside publication of the third installment in the Millenium Trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, which goes on sale Tuesday, this exhaustive Sunday NY Times feature on the late author Stieg Larsson promised new news about the fourth and fifth novels on his laptop--still possessed by his surviving partner, Eva Gabrielsson, who he never married--but it's mostly a compendium of everything we already knew. Charles McGrath does talk to the estranged Gabrielsson, who hints at a strong role in editing Larsson's manuscripts, as well as Larsson's father and brother, who inherited his estate and are estranged from Gabrielsson. One thinks they'll make up, the other doesn't.

By Anne Thompson
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May 24, 2010 6:35 AM
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Trailer Watch: Cannes Palme d'Or Winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

For you who want to know more about the Thai film that won the Palme d'Or, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, here's THR's Q & A with the director, known by most as "Joe" Weerasethakul. This was his fifth film in the Cannes official selection. Time Out London also profiles the director. And Salon's Andrew O'Hehir offers a rave review.

By Anne Thompson
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May 23, 2010 11:39 AM
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Cannes' The Myth of the American Sleepover vs. Shit Year: One Moves, the Other Doesn't

While prepping for an American Pavilion Q & A with Cam Archer and David Robert Mitchell, writer-directors of two micro-budget indies, one film put me to sleep while the other didn't.

By Anne Thompson
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May 23, 2010 10:55 AM
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Cannes: Palme D'Or Winner is Uncle Boonmee, Best Actress Binoche, Best Actor Bardem and Germano

The Cannes Film Festival juries handed out their awards Sunday. Competition jury president Tim Burton announced the winner of the Palme d'Or: the complex critics' fave from Thailand, Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. The runner-up Grand Prix prize went to Of Gods and Men, directed by Xavier Beauvois. In a sign that the jury was not unanimous in support of Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's Biutiful (comme tout le monde), the best actor prize was shared by Biutiful's Javier Bardem and Elio Germano for La Nostra Vita. Mike Leigh's well-reviewed Another Year was shut out of the awards, as best actress went to Cannes poster subject Juliette Binoche for Abbas Kiarostami's Certified Copy, rather than Lesley Manville. Best director was a surprise: French actor-turned-director Mathieu Amalric for his colorful burlesque film, Tournée. Best screenplay went to another well-reviewed film, Lee Chang-dong's Poetry.

By Anne Thompson
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May 23, 2010 6:02 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Shrek 4 Stumbles, MacGruber Flops

In its fourth go-round, DreamWorks Animation's latest Shrek installment stumbled on its opening weekend, grossing an estimated $71.25 million, marking a probable end to the lucrative franchise. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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May 23, 2010 4:32 AM
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Nike Football Spot Directed by Gonzalez Inarritu

For those of you who have not seen this much-lauded Nike soccer spot directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (amores perros, Babel, Biutiful at Cannes) here is is, in all its glory. (And it cost a small fortune.)