Thompson on Hollywood

Weekend Box Office: Jennifer's Body Horror Tweener

As predicted, Jennifer's Body opened soft at the boxoffice. Fox marketed a horror movie aimed at men, who like Megan Fox. Twentieth Century Fox hung the marketing on the Transformers star, but girls don't want to see her. The studio failed to get women to watch Karyn Kusama and Diablo Cody's angry feminist movie. Thus Jennifer's Body is a classic tweener: neither a horror thriller for men, nor a coming-of-age horror-comedy for women. (It didn't earn strong reviews.) If Searchlight had marketed it, they might have been able to target the right smart crowd. (At a low-end cost of $16 million, the movie should come out ahead in any case.)

By Anne Thompson
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September 19, 2009 9:03 AM
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Viggo Mortensen Talks The Road

So many of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars seem like overgrown kids that the studios often turn to Brits and Aussies for their manly men. Viggo Mortensen, however, is that rare American actor who is both muscular and humane, tough and sensitive, fighter and lover. He seduces us with a threat of danger, his chiseled Nordic physique and stunning blue eyes. Never over the top, for Mortensen, less is more. His performances are slow reveals of hidden information and emotion.

By Anne Thompson
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September 19, 2009 7:08 AM
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Oscar Talk, Episode 3

Kris Tapley and I wrap up the Oscar changes post-Toronto Film Fest, from the Coens' A Serious Man to new Weinstein pick-up A Single Man.

By Anne Thompson
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September 18, 2009 10:20 AM
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Fincher's Nike Ad

Check out this David Fincher Nike ad: the art of fiddling with a digital image.

By Anne Thompson
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September 17, 2009 10:33 AM
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Oscars: France Picks A Prophet, Spain Misses Broken Embraces

As expected, France has submitted SPC's Cannes pick-up A Prophet for Oscar consideration. And Spain has not submitted Pedro Almodovar's Broken Embraces. Check out the foreign line-up at The Film Experience, which keeps track of the foreign Oscar race. 21 films have already been submitted.

By Anne Thompson
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September 17, 2009 8:51 AM
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TIFF#: Leaves of Grass Director Nelson Directs Two Nortons

Like many indie films these days, Leaves of Grass (like Men Who Stare at Goats, a stoner comedy) rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of another project. Back in 2006, actor-writer-director Tim Blake Nelson (The Grey Zone), who is the kind of talented, responsible guy who tries to do the right thing and expects other people to do the same, was faced with a movie deal gone south during pre-production on Seasons of Dust. "It was horrible, the worst year of my life," he says.

By Anne Thompson
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September 16, 2009 10:22 AM
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TIFF#: Michael Moore Talks Capitalism: A Love Story

With his latest agit-prop documentary Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore delivers a scathing, entertaining portrait of how America's "greed is good" credo got us to where we are today. As the country heads toward recovery, the movie remains timely and accommodates the new Obama perspective. But the doc, which Overture opens limited in NY and LA on September 23, feels slightly unfocused.

By Anne Thompson
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September 16, 2009 5:05 AM
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TIFF#: The Boys Are Back's Owen Goes Family

Everyone goes into Toronto with a schedule of films to watch. And that list changes with buzz. Some movies fall off due to bad WOM, while others become must-sees. IndieWIRE's in-progress critics' poll of 34 films is indicative of the movies that everyone went to see-- and the ones that nobody did.

By Anne Thompson
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September 16, 2009 2:23 AM
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Reitman Talks Up in the Air, Clooney

Six years ago, Jason Reitman picked up the Walter Kirn novel Up in the Air and showed it to his father Ivan (Ghostbusters), who acquired film rights. Jason took a short stab at a film treatment of the book about a businessman who is obsessed with collecting frequent flier miles.

By Anne Thompson
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September 15, 2009 11:54 AM
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TIFF#: A Single Man Ignites Fest's First Big Sale

I was lining up to see designer Tom Ford's first feature A Single Man this morning as the deal was closing for The Weinstein Co. to release the picture. This acquisition title has generated more heat than anything else so far. (Critical buzz is also strong on Get Low, but buyers seem to be holding back on the Robert Duvall picture.)