Thompson on Hollywood

If Critics Ruled the Oscars (They Don't): Avatar Heads for Nine Noms

Time's Richard Corliss has figured out a clever way to write about year-end critics awards and tee up a clickable gallery of Oscar hopefuls, short and sweet. Trouble is, he gives way too much credit to the critics. They do help to clue the Academy voters into what films they should watch on their screener piles. But in the end, what the voters think when they watch the movies is what matters---as well as how passionate they feel as they vote for their top ten best picture candidates. The ones at the top of the list get more weight than the ones at the bottom. Thus, if most voters put The Last Station, Nine, The Messenger, Star Trek and District 9 at the bottom, they won't make it.

By Anne Thompson
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December 28, 2009 7:29 AM
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Kennedy and the Naked Babes: A Playboy Shoot!

TMZ said it tested this creased 1950s snapshot showing a man who looks a lot like John F. Kennedy hanging on a yacht with naked babes, and found no evidence of tampering.

By Anne Thompson
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December 28, 2009 6:12 AM
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John Waters' Ten Best List of 2009

When John Waters submitted his Guilty Pleasures list to Film Comment, he included movies like Woody Allen's Interiors and Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries. So it's not entirely surprising that his 2009 Ten Best list, published in Art Forum, includes Lars von Trier's Antichrist and Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces. Waters knows what he likes. Here's his top five:1 Import Export (Ulrich Seidl) The most sorrowful movie of the year is also the best. The miserable lives of Ukrainian immigrants in Vienna make this agonizing but brilliantly directed opus the cinematic equivalent of slitting your wrists. A new genre? Depression porn? Hey, I got off.

By Anne Thompson
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December 27, 2009 8:01 AM
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Holiday Movie Wrap: Avatar Beats Sherlock Holmes, Nine Flops

Over the holiday weekend, the two most popular topics on my Twitter feed were Avatar and Sherlock Holmes. While there was debate on Sherlock Holmes's merits, most of my tweeters approved of Cameron's blockbuster (as did critics--it scored 83 on both Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic). Avatar looks to challenge, if not beat, Titanic's box office records, based on its extraordinary performance in North America so far: $75 million over the holiday and $212 million to date. (Here's the LAT's box office report, and David Poland's analysis.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 27, 2009 5:46 AM
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Patton Oswalt: Christmas Shoes

By Anne Thompson
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December 26, 2009 6:17 AM
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The Muppets Ring Christmas Bells

[Hat Tip: Movie Marketing Madness]

By Anne Thompson
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December 26, 2009 6:05 AM
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Happy Domino Holidays

Dominoes Everywhere for the holidays from Jared Lyon on Vimeo.

By Anne Thompson
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December 26, 2009 5:50 AM
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Conan O'Brien's Nativity Scene Goes to the Dogs

By Anne Thompson
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December 26, 2009 5:00 AM
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LA Weekly Hires NY's Karina Longworth as Film Critic

LA Weekly editor Drex Heikes didn't waste any time choosing a replacement for Scott Foundas, who is repairing to NYC to take over Kent Jones' spot as programmer at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and New York Film Festival. Karina Longworth, grad of NYU, Cinematical, Netscape and Spoutblog, has landed the gig, which is a powerful national Voice Media podium. Congrats. She will do a great job and I look forward to her criticism. Yes, the avocation is alive and well--if under severe duress.

By Anne Thompson
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December 24, 2009 9:33 AM
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Avatar's VFX Master: Weta Digital's Joe Letteri

People in Hollywood tend to put film directors up on pedestals, and as far as Avatar is concerned, Jim Cameron deserves to be up there. I'm calling nine Oscar nominations for Avatar. But its one sure-shot win will be Peter Jackson and Joe Letteri's Weta Digital team for Avatar's visual effects. What they accomplished in the The Lords of the Rings trilogy and King Kong changed the way movies are made. And so does Avatar, which will have a huge impact on movie FX to come, from Tintin to Gemini Man. Nothing, it seems, will be impossible to put on film anymore.