Thompson on Hollywood

Review: 'Killing Them Softly' Has Bold Style, Skips Heartbeat

Reviews

Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," adapted from George V. Higgins' 1974 crime novel "Cogan's Trade," takes place in an atrophied post-Katrina New Orleans in 2008. Brad Pitt plays Jackie Cogan, a hitman whose preferred method of execution is explained in the film's updated title.

By Beth Hanna
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November 30, 2012 6:44 PM
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Weekend Preview: Slim Pickings Beyond Andrew Dominik's 'Killing Them Softly' -- Unless You're Into Jean-Claude Van Damme

Reviews

This lackluster weekend for movie openings may leave you wanting to catch up on the Thanksgiving releases you missed. That said, Andrew Dominik's "Killing Them Softly," an alternately engrossing and heavy-handed hitman drama starring Brad Pitt, is the strongest of the bunch. Beyond that, the options are disparate: a feminist take on Marilyn Monroe from HBO star Liz Garbus, "Love, Marilyn," wan horror title "The Collection," or Van Damme-Lundgren vehicle "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning," which some critics find worth reckoning with (and some don't).

By Beth Hanna
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November 30, 2012 5:39 PM
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Producers Promise Changes for 2013 Oscar Show, as Host Seth Macfarlane Announces 'Oscar Experience College Search' at mtvU 'Stand In' Series

Awards

The producers of this year's Oscar show, Neil Meron and Craig Zadan, actively pursued TV writer/producer/comedian Seth Macfarlane as the host, they told me. "Of course we wanted Tina Fey," they said, but they knew she was already committed to doing the far less stressful Golden Globes. And they are changing up the Oscarcast considerably. They've been studying shows of Oscar past to see what worked--and didn't.

By Anne Thompson
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November 30, 2012 4:21 PM
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Best of the Week: 'Les Mis' & 'Zero Dark Thirty' Enter the Fray, Awards, Reviews, Interviews & More

News

This week on TOH!, we discuss powerful newcomers "Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty" on Oscar Talk, interview cinematographer Roger Deakins on "Skyfall," look at the awards season challenges faced by the Weinstein Company and much more!

By TOH!
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November 30, 2012 4:09 PM
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Producers Guild Doc Nominees Include Oscar Frontrunners 'Gatekeepers' & 'Searching for Sugar Man'

Awards

The Producers Guild of America has nominated five documentaries in their Documentary Motion Picture category. The documentary field is large and competitive this year, so any spotlight will help Oscar voters make tough choices. Never have so many worthy docs been produced and released into the indie marketplace. The Academy doc branch has already submitted their Oscar short list of 15 which should be announced shortly. The IDA awards will be announced on December 7 (stay tuned for our report).

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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November 30, 2012 3:54 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Composer Patrick Doyle Talks Pixar's 'Brave'

Interviews

Patrick Doyle isn't new to animation but his first taste of working with Pixar on "Brave" brought him even closer to his Scottish roots. Doyle, in fact, was in Scotland when he was first approached to compose the quintessentially ethnic score accentuated by the Highland bagpipes.

By Bill Desowitz
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November 30, 2012 2:25 PM
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David Lynch Talks Digital Transition & Elusiveness of Filmmaking: 'She Is the Idea. You Are in Love.'

Interviews

After receiving his Lifetime Achievement Award from the 20th Plus Camerimage cinematography festival in Poland, David Lynch sat down with the Hollywood Reporter to talk about the ups and downs of the digital transition...

By Beth Hanna
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November 30, 2012 1:11 PM
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In the Works: Witherspoon Recruits Hornby for Memoir Adaptation 'Wild'

News

Brit author and screenwriter Nick Hornby is set to adapt Cheryl Strayed's memoir "Wild," which centers on a woman so broken by her mother's death and the dissolution of her own marriage that she embarks on an 1100-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail as a way to heal. Reese Witherspoon is attached to star in the lead role.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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November 30, 2012 1:06 PM
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New Details Revealed About Netflix Competitor Redbox Instant -- Subscription Costs, Possible Date of Launch UPDATE

News

New details were revealed today about "Redbox Instant by Verizon," Redbox's unwieldy-named, soon-to-be-launched online streaming and DVD service -- and Netflix competitor.

By Beth Hanna
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November 30, 2012 12:43 PM
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Oscar Talk: 'Les Mis' and 'Zero Dark Thirty' Are Powerful Contenders, Whither 'Django Unchained'?

Awards

On this week's Oscar Talk podcast, Kris Tapley and I review the Oscar impact of post-9/11 CIA thriller "Zero Dark Thirty," Kathryn Bigelow's follow-up to Oscar-winner "The Hurt Locker," and soaring musical "Les Miserables," Tom Hooper's follow-up to his Oscar-Winning "The King's Speech."