Thompson on Hollywood

Academy Screenings: Missed Opportunity

"It's the best of what's offered," says one member of the Academy Screening Committee. This group of about ten Academy members choose what the membership gets to see every weekend on the fabulous big screen at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on Wilshire Boulevard.

By Anne Thompson
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November 11, 2009 12:37 AM
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Exec News: Martin Marquet Joins Apparition

Press agent Martin Marquet is shutting down his L.A.-based indie praisery M. Link to join Bill Pohlad and Bob Berney's Apparition as managing vice president of publicity. A French citizen, the bilingual Marquet knows both the foreign and domestic universe. Reporting to marketing and publicity chief Jeanne Berney, Marquet joins pub v-p Vicky Eguia at Pohlad's Century City offices. "I am convinced that my new responsibilities at Apparition and my inspirations in the film industry are a great match," writes Marquet in an email.

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2009 7:56 AM
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The Pacific: Hanks, Spielberg talk WW II HBO Action

The ten-part HBO mini-series The Pacific is a follow-up to Band of Brothers from World War II-obsessed exec producers Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Steven Spielberg. It follows a similar m.o.: hire excellent unknown actors to inhabit the characters we follow (Damian Lewis broke out from Band of Brothers). In this featurette, Spielberg describes how the soldiers not only faced a formidable enemy playing by unfamiliar rules, but a hostile natural environment. The series--which boasts a pricetag of more than $200 million, more than double that of 12-parter Rome--is the most expensive in HBO's history. It launches March 2010.

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2009 7:14 AM
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Oscar Watch: Brothers, Vogue on Nine, Leibovitz Video

Upbeat Oscar blogger Pete Hammond wonders if Jim Sheridan's Brothers could be another contender for Lionsgate, which already has Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire well on its way.

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2009 4:37 AM
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Title Quotes Compilation

You forget where these titles came from, until you are reminded.

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2009 4:17 AM
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Avatar Budget, Up in the Air Tweet Chart, Pattinson vs. Kidman, Finke Attacks, Indie Bloodbath Redux

James Cameron's Avatar did not cost $500 million. First of all, the thing was in R & D for years. The negative cost is $300 to 400 million, but no one knows for sure. If you add worldwide marketing to it, maybe it creeps up to $500 million, because it's a huge movie that Fox has already spent a lot to flog, with World Series spots, Avatar Day, Comic-Con and Tokyo Film Fest footage etc. Online folks went nuts over this Michael Cieply NYT story which threw out an "approaching $500 million" figure. Loved this response from @ColeAbaius: "Not what I heard. insider claims that AVATAR will end up at $29 Trillion. And it was actually shot in space."

By Anne Thompson
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November 10, 2009 1:26 AM
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Sheffield Docs: How the Beatles Rocked the Kremlin, Disco and Atomic War

Critic Karina Longworth posts again from Sheffield Doc/Fest on two features and a short dealing with the impact of Western pop culture on the fall of the USSR.

By Karina Longworth
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November 9, 2009 5:44 AM
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David Ansen Named Artistic Director of Los Angeles Film Festival

When Rebecca Yeldham came in to run the Los Angeles Film Festival this year, programming director Rachel Rosen played out her last fest and then moved back to her old stomping grounds, the San Francisco Film Festival. Now Yeldham announces that Newsweek critic David Ansen is joining the LAFF as artistic director. Since he accepted a Newsweek buyout last March, Ansen has been delivering the slimmed-down magazine a reduced number of reviews and features a year. Who better than a critic to make the final picks on the LAFF?

By Anne Thompson
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November 9, 2009 5:21 AM
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Twilight Saga New Moon: Saturday Night Live Spoof Firelight, Pattinson's Next Moves

With Chris Weitz's Twilight Saga: New Moon opening on November 20 (and Twilight reprising in theaters the night before), every media outlet worth their salt is trying to grab a piece of the Twilight fan base. Saturday Night Live is no exception. (See trailer for Firelight, starring Taylor Swift, on the jump.)

By Anne Thompson
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November 8, 2009 3:18 AM
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Sheffield Rock Docs: The Beat is the Law, Taqwacore

Critic Karina Longworth continues her coverage of Doc/Fest in Sheffield with reviews of music docs The Beat is the Law Part One and Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam.