Thompson on Hollywood

Boston's Best Dennis Lehane Adapts Beach-Bum PI Travis McGee for Producer-Star Leonardo DiCaprio

News

John D. MacDonald’s paperback hero Travis McGee was the protagonist of twenty-one Gold Medal Originals, all with color words in their titles, beginning with "The Deep Blue Good-Bye" in 1964. McGee is a six-foot-plus sun-baked blonde hunk with a heart of gold, a lady-killer with a sentimental streak and a houseboat in Fort Lauderdale. He gets around, but he truly is God's gift. His sexual ministrations can be downright therapeutic for the troubled, abandoned women who seek his services as an unlicensed “salvage consultant,” recovering missing or stolen property in exchange for half its value.

By David Chute
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May 21, 2013 10:19 PM
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In the Works: David O. Russell to Direct Leonardo DiCaprio's JFK Conspiracy Thriller 'Legacy of Secrecy,' Robert De Niro On Board

News

Long-gestating JFK assassination conspiracy film "Legacy of Secrecy" is reportedly finally coming to fruition, with director David O. Russell at the helm. First announced in 2010 by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way banner, the film centers on FBI informant Jack Laningham and on Mafia kingpin Carlos Marcello (to be played by Robert De Niro), who confided to Laningham that he ordered the hit on Kennedy.

By Beth Hanna
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May 17, 2013 2:26 PM
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Cannes Virgin Festival Diary 1: From 'Gatsby' to 'Heli' and Back

Festivals

The first indication that things at Cannes weren’t going to be quite as I imagined them to be – red carpet and champagne, rinse and repeat – was the crush trying to get on the express bus from the Nice airport. The bus was 20 minutes late in arriving from Cannes, and there was a lot of jockeying going on, which is a nice way of saying butting in line, except there were no real lines, not to mention not enough seats. As the harried driver pulled away a woman in the back began yelling for him to stop, exclaiming, “You didn’t take my husband or my bags. I need both.” The driver stopped and the woman exited to general laughter.

By Tom Christie
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May 16, 2013 8:56 PM
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'The Great Gatsby' Launches Cannes, Luhrmann Reveals Wrangling with Warners

Festivals

After a solid opening in wide release Stateside, grossing over $50 million in over 3,500 theaters, Baz Luhrmann took his "The Great Gatsby" on the road to officially open the Cannes Film Festival. It is the first film in recent memory to open what is arguably the world's most important film event after a theatrical roll out in the U.S., but judging by the rush of press for the morning screening here and the pile-up to get into the press conference afterwards, enthusiasm for the film has only grown.

By Brian Brooks
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May 15, 2013 11:58 AM
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Review Roundup: 'The Great Gatsby' A Swooning But Excessive Piece of Cinema (TRAILER)

Reviews

The reviews are in for Baz Luhrmann's epically mounted display of bacchanalia "The Great Gatsby," which opens in the US on Friday before premiering again at Cannes on May 15. As expected, the film is incredibly divisive.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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May 6, 2013 1:07 PM
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REVIEW: Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby' Wows with Audacious 3-D Visuals, Sags Dramatically

Reviews

"The Great Gatsby" is a guilty pleasure, a swirling, audacious piece of cinema --in 3-D!--that could prove a crowdpleaser for young audiences. Set during the Roaring Twenties, the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel has been a fave of high school and college kids for decades. It plays young, partly because it's about young people in love--or their idea of love, which judging from this latest take on the story, makes people incredibly stupid.

By Anne Thompson
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May 6, 2013 1:04 AM
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Baz Luhrmann's Despair, Drive and Gamble Behind 'The Great Gatsby'

News

The making of "The Great Gatsby," the opening night film at Cannes, and the struggles and successes that Aussie director Baz Luhrmann faced during production are the subject of THR's latest cover story.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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April 25, 2013 2:41 PM
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In the Works: Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mikhail Gorbachev Teaming for HBO's 'Gorbachev'

News

Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio and former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev will be collaborating on HBO film "Gorbachev," chronicling the last years before the Soviet Union's fall. Hanks and DiCaprio will both be taking on executive producing roles.

By Beth Hanna
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April 5, 2013 12:30 PM
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First Look: Six 'Great Gatsby' Character Posters

News

Warner Bros. is displaying six new character posters for Baz Luhrmann's giddily awaited film, "The Great Gatsby," colorfully adapted from F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel. These jazzy posters feature our golden boy anti-hero (Leonardo DiCaprio), Daisy (Carey Mulligan), Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton), Jordan Baker (Elizabeth Debicki) and her beau Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), and Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson.

By Ryan Lattanzio
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April 2, 2013 4:02 PM
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WATCH: Rare Audition Tapes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Nicole Kidman Air on 'Today'

News

Three anonymous casting directors have put 54 early Hollywood audition tapes on the auction block. On Friday, "The Today Show" aired an amusing reel of these endearingly awkward auditions. Clips include early readings from Leonardo DiCaprio vying for a role in the 1990 TV series "The Outsiders," Brad Pitt auditioning for Ron Howard's 1991 "Backdraft" and Nicole Kidman in a particularly dramatic bid for a part in 1991's "Shattered."