Thompson on Hollywood

Cristian Mungiu Talks Not Cutting Cannes Winner 'Beyond the Hills,' New Poster, EXCLUSIVE VIDEO

Awards

The rare and glorious 35 mm "Beyond the Hills," which won the best actress prize at Cannes for its two non-pro leads, plays too long for many who expect conventional pacing and don't accept Mungiu's rigorous aesthetic, which requires that he not cut within a scene. He can trim the front or the back, but not the middle.

By Anne Thompson
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January 31, 2013 1:49 PM
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'Side Effects': Soderbergh Q & A and Review Roundup [VIDEO]

Interviews

As "Side Effects" co-stars Channing Tatum and Catherine Zeta-Jones were no-shows at Wednesday night’s group Q & A for the twisty new Steven Soderbergh thriller "Side Effects" (February 7), the filmmaker himself was the star of the night. Soderbergh charmed his post-screening audience at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater as thoroughly as he did the entire internet earlier this week in his conversation with Mary Kate Schilling for Vulture.

By Sheerly Avni
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January 31, 2013 1:11 PM
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Casting Watch: Chastain Is 'Miss Julie' with Liv Ullmann at the Helm, Farrell and Morton to Co-Star

News

Jessica Chastain is set to star in the title role of "Miss Julie" in Liv Ullmann's film adaptation of August Strindberg's classic play about a young upper-class woman who finds herself attracted to a senior servant. Colin Farrell and Samantha Morton are attached to co-star.

By Beth Hanna
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January 31, 2013 12:22 PM
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Berlinale Announces Retrospective Lineup, Includes Restorations of 'On the Waterfront,' 'Tokyo Story,' 'Dial M for Murder'

Festivals

The Berlin International Film Festival (February 7-17) has announced the titles in its expanded retrospective lineup, Berlinale Classics. The five films on the slate are all restorations, and include Elia Kazan's "On the Waterfront," Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story" and Alfred Hitchcock's 3-D "Dial M for Murder." Full list below.

By Beth Hanna
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January 31, 2013 12:17 PM
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Cinedigm Takes 'Narco Cultura,' Sundance Documentary on Drug Cartels

News

Cinedigm has picked up North America distribution rights to Israeli photographer and filmmaker Shaul Schwarz' documentary "Narco Cultura," which premiered last week at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. The film looks at the influence of drug cartels on pop culture on both sides of the Mexican-American border, through the eyes of an L.A. narcocorrido singer and a Juarez crime scene investigator.

By Beth Hanna
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January 31, 2013 11:35 AM
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Christopher Nolan's Top Ten Films for Criterion: Lang, Welles, Malick Make the Cut [Video]

Video

Director Christopher Nolan has selected his Top Ten films for Criterion. His choices are varied, and the themes unsurprising: morality, mortality, life-or-death decisions, larger-than-life situations, and characters pushed to their total limits. The films he selected -- from Erich von Stroheim in 1924 and Orson Welles in 1955 to Terrence Malick in 1998 -- share ambition. Watch the trailers and clips from Nolan's selections below. The full list is here, published in the Criterion newsletter.

By Maggie Lange
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January 30, 2013 6:57 PM
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Doc Fixer Monroe Explains Writing Three Sundance Films: 'Summit,' 'Sound City,' 'Who is Dayani Cristal?'

Interviews

Mark Monroe came to this year's Sundance Film Festival as the writer of three distinctly different documentaries--"Sound City," "Who is Dayani Cristal?" and "The Summit." The writer of Oscar-winning "The Cove" and this year's Oscar-shortlisted "Chasing Ice" is proving to be a valuable asset.

By Anne Thompson
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January 30, 2013 4:21 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Talking Disney Animated Short Oscar Nominee 'Paperman,' See Full Video

Reviews

Is Disney's hand-drawn animated legacy dead? Let's hope not. The new "Paperman" short may provide the answer for its survival. (See trailer below.) "Paperman," which just premiered at the Annecy Film Festival and debuts locally this week at the Los Angeles Film Fest (in 3-D), will play in theaters alongside Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" on November 2.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 30, 2013 3:56 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Revisiting 'Frankenweenie' with Tim Burton

Features

If "Frankenweenie" has an edge in the Oscar race for best animated feature, it's because of the Tim Burton factor. He's long overdue for an Academy Award and if it weren't for the continued popularity of "The Nightmare Before Christmas", there likely wouldn't be three stop-motion movies competing for the Oscar this year.

By Bill Desowitz
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January 30, 2013 2:29 PM
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Watch: Anne Hathaway's 'I Dreamed a Dream' Hilariously Skewered, 'I Did It All in One Take, Bitches'

Video

Actress Emma Fitzpatrick ("The Social Network," "The Collection") pokes fun at Anne Hathaway's upcoming sure-bet Oscar win as Fantine in "Les Miserables" with a slightly different rendition of "I Dreamed a Dream." Included in the new lyrics? "I sang a song about my woes/My hopes and fears,..