Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: Contenders Like Gotham Winner Hurt Locker Mix Edge with Style

It was predictable that The Hurt Locker would dominate the Gothams, winning best feature and ensemble as well as a tribute to director to Kathryn Bigelow, but the indie film, which came out last June, needed a boost in the more competitive Oscar race. Working with writer Mark Boal, who was embedded in Iraq, Bigelow fashioned a tough rigorous war thriller that is both formally beautiful and superbly acted. The Hurt Locker will also need critics groups to remind people why it's so good.

By Anne Thompson
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December 1, 2009 3:52 AM
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Oscar Watch: New Carpetbagger Hits Award Circuit

Melena Ryzik is the NYT's new "guide on the red carpet to the news and the nonsense of awards season, covering the Golden Globes, the Oscars and more," reads the new "about" section of The Carpetbagger. She's the NYT staffer who replaces the alter-ego of NYT media columnist David Carr, who burned out on Oscar-watching.

By Anne Thompson
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December 1, 2009 3:46 AM
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Area 51 Lands Stateside Distributor

A lot of Hollywood observers couldn't figure out why writer-director Oren Peli's Area 51 couldn't score a U.S. deal.

By Anne Thompson
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November 30, 2009 5:43 AM
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20 Questions for Up in the Air's Jason Reitman

It's hard to believe that a filmmaker as assured as Jason Reitman is 32 and has made just three feature films, including Up in the Air, which is about to open limited December 4 after earning raves from audiences and critics on the international film fest circuit. Here he talks about his airline obsession, pie chart, directing George Clooney as well as 60 non-actors who had been laid off, and why this was the right movie to make at the right time.

By Anne Thompson
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November 29, 2009 8:46 AM
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Oscar Talk Episode Twelve: Nine, Invictus, The Lovely Bones

In Contention's Kris Tapley and I have actually seen most of the Oscar movies now, and even though we're not supposed to write about all of them yet, we do talk about the sexy musical Nine, Clint Eastwood's Invictus and the mixed reaction to Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones. We also get into the rising fortunes of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and the marketing behind the last movie to be unveiled in coming weeks, James Cameron's Avatar.

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2009 4:25 AM
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Must-Sees: Red Cliff, Bad Lieutenant, The Blind Side

All of a sudden, with the Thanksgiving Day weekend, there's more than enough good movies to see.

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2009 2:57 AM
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Oscar Watch: Precious, Up in the Air Lead Pre-Holiday Guru Vote

You can assume that most of the voters on Gurus 'O Gold have seen all the movies at this point except The Lovely Bones, Avatar and It's Complicated. So, these press people believe that Invictus (Newsweek's David Ansen reviews it) and Nine are in the race. Here's the new top ten. Keep in mind that in some ways what this list represents is 1) best marketing to date and 2) voting pre-critics groups, National Board of Review, Gothams, Indie Spirits, BAFTA, Golden Globes and Guild nominations and awards. Also, many Oscar campaigns this year are breaking late, for whatever reason. Screeners are just arriving this week.

By Anne Thompson
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November 26, 2009 2:54 AM
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Superman Franchise on Hold

Needed: A good Superman idea.

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2009 11:20 AM
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Gotham Independent Film Awards Stream Live

This Monday, November 30th the awards season kicks off at 8 PM Eastern time when the 19th Annual Gotham Independent Film Awards stream live around the world. Here's the live Ustream feed. Expected to appear at the awards at Cipriani Wall Street are host comedian Kumail Najiani and presenters Alec Baldwin, Ellen Burstyn, the Coen Brothers, Willem Dafoe, Natalie Portman, Chris Rock, Ryan Reynolds and Meryl Streep. They will be handing out Gotham Awards in six categories including Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance and Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You (full list of nominees on jump) as well as career tribute prizes to director Kathryn Bigelow, actors Natalie Portman and Stanley Tucci, and producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.