Thompson on Hollywood

Best Performances of 2012: A Good Year for the Broken, Disturbed and Driven

Features

A great year in film means a great year in acting. We've celebrated our Top Ten Films of 2012, and now it's time to give thanks for some of the performances that moved us this year.

By Sophia Savage
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December 25, 2012 7:00 AM
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Sony Chief Pascal Is Gung Ho on Strong Women, from Salander to Cleopatra

News

Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal is gung-ho on "Zero Dark Thirty." At the film's Hollywood premiere Monday night, the studio chief, who acquired the film from financeer-producer Megan Ellison's Annapurna Pictures, was proud of the film's tough CIA agent heroine, played by SAG nominee Jessica Chastain, who could score big during awards season. The studio is giving the movie a big awards push in advance of its limited holiday and wide January release.

By Anne Thompson
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December 12, 2012 1:01 PM
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'Zero Dark Thirty' CIA Duo Chastain and Clarke Talk Torture Controversy & Bigelow (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO)

Video

Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal's ripped-from-the-headlines "Zero Dark Thirty" (December 19) has been wowing the critics, who are raving about best actress Jessica Chastain, who plays the hard-swearing tough-as-nails CIA agent who doggedly pursues Osama bin Laden.

By Anne Thompson
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December 12, 2012 6:26 AM
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Jessica Chastain on CIA Agents & Actresses, Sex Symbol Status & Redheads in British GQ

Interviews

British GQ got Jessica Chastain to strip down for a bedroom-set photo shoot--often the standard for young actresses breaking into the mainstream with sex-symbol status, whether they want to do it or not (in the THR Actresses roundtable the women share stories). But Chastain seems genuinely happy to be playing the part.

By Sophia Savage
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November 29, 2012 1:20 PM
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Actor Beware As Fassbender Joins Malick's Music Scene Romance; Cutting Room Victims Speak Out

Features

By Sophia Savage
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October 9, 2012 4:34 PM
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Director John Hillcoat and Screenwriter Nick Cave Talk 'Lawless'

Interviews

At Cannes, I sat down with the director and screenwriter of "Lawless," John Hillcoat and Nick Cave, who also wrote "The Proposition." This gorgeously mounted period adaptation of "The Wettest County in the World," which is palying out around the country, about the real-life Virginia rum-runner Bondurants, is more family relationship drama than actioner. Tom Hardy is the standout as a sensitive but violent head of the family who is more protective mother hen than father; the rest of the strong ensemble includes Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Gary Oldman and actresses Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska, who shine in underwritten roles. (Here's more background on how the indie movie got made.) Hillcoat and Cave explain why.

By Anne Thompson
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September 21, 2012 3:17 PM
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Jessica Chastain in New Trailer for Thriller 'Mama,' Presented by Guillermo del Toro

News

Check out Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in "Mama," presented by Guillermo del Toro. From writer-director Andres Muschietti (and based on his own Spanish short film), it looks to be pretty standard horror-thriller fare, complete with creepy little girls and awful haircuts for now-better-than-this-stuff actresses like Chastain.

By Sophia Savage
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September 14, 2012 12:31 PM
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Casting Watch - 'Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby': Huppert, Hurt, Davis & Arianda Join Chastain & McAvoy

News

“The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby," which will be told in two films from "His" and "Hers" perspectives -- those of husband and wife James McAvoy and Jessica Chastain -- has rounded out its casting with Isabelle Huppert, Viola Davis, William Hurt, Nina Arianda, Ciaran Hinds, Bill Hader and Jess Weixler...

By Sophia Savage
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July 16, 2012 3:47 PM
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The TOH! Addendum to E!'s 100 Best Things in Pop Culture

Features

E! has compiled a list of the 100 Best Things in Pop Culture. It's a pretty broad spectrum that includes some things we'd sooner include on a list of the Worst Things About America, Those Responsible for The Degradation of Our Culture, Reasons Why I'm Moving Into a Cave, et cetera. But let's focus on the positive...

By Sophia Savage
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July 10, 2012 4:02 PM
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Bigelow's Likely Oscar-Contender 'Zero Dark Thirty' Adds Unknown Ricky Sekhon as Osama bin Laden

News

Though details on Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow's in-producton project "Zero Dark Thirty" have been scarce, one major piece of news broke today. Ricky Sekhon, a British actor with two IMDB credits to his name, has been cast in the role of mastermind terrorist Osama bin Laden.