Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Talk: Ides of March's Clooney vs. Gosling vs. Hoffman, Supporting Categories

Now that we've both seen George Clooney's political thriller The Ides of March, Kris Tapley and I dig into not only Oscar prospects for that film, but the list of supporting players in contention for this year. We also debate the respective box office fates of Drive and Warrior as well as how success in theaters impacts a film's awards chances. (CORRECTION: Yes, Clooney won best supporting actor for Syriana and not Good Night, and Good Luck.)

By Anne Thompson
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September 30, 2011 4:15 AM
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Trailer Watch: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Already Makes Us Teary with U2

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock topline Stephen Daldry's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, based on Jonathan Safran Foer's novel. Newcomer Thomas Horn looks to be making a great debut here, and the supporting cast of Max Von Sydow, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright and James Gandofini don't hurt a bit either. Yes, there's plenty of Oscar-baity heart-tugging; the film will finally arrive in theaters nationwide January 20, after a qualifying NY/LA run.

By Sophia Savage
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September 29, 2011 3:23 AM
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Oscar Talk: From The Help, Rise of the Apes and Woody to the Fall Fest Circuit and Beyond

Oscar Talk is back. The first podcast of the fall season with In Contention's Kris Tapley runs for a good hour, so gird your loins, Oscar mavens, listen and weep. We cover the Cannes films, the summer releases, the Fall Festival entries and the end-of-year possibilities. We talk Meryl and Glenn and Malick and Chastain, debate the merits of sleeper Warrior and admit that we both cried over cancer patient Joseph Gordon-Levitt in 50/50. Next week we'll post from Telluride. The award season begins.

By Anne Thompson
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August 26, 2011 4:00 AM
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Oscar Watch: War Horse, Ides of March, The Artist Lead Early Gurus 'O Gold Top Ten

In advance of the coming festival season, the Gurus 'O Gold have made their first picks of the ten top contenders for best picture nominations. Here's my top ten list--with many of the films sight unseen (the Gurus list is on the jump). 1. The Artist2. Jane Eyre3, Midnight in Paris4. The Tree of Life5. War Horse6. Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close7. The Help 8. Moneyball9. The Ides of March10. Carnage

By Anne Thompson
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August 24, 2011 5:45 AM
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4 Comments

The Change-Up Premieres in Westwood: Bateman, Reynolds, Bullock; Early Reviews

The studios get freaked when a movie destined to be commercially mainstream plays better for adults. That's because it's in their interest to play better to dumb young males than to, say, smart older females who can't be counted on to show up on an opening weekend. That's why so many awful movies get made that leave me out of their target demo. This was one topic at Monday night's Universal premiere of The Change-Up (August 5, trailer below), which was better than I was expecting. Universal is nervous because the movie is tracking older and female. (Early reviews are trending rotten; here's Metacritic.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 2, 2011 10:57 AM
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Celebs Sell: 2010 Ten Bestseller Magazine Covers Led by Sandra Bullock, Dr. Oz and Angelina Jolie

News flash: Celebrities sell magazines. AdWeek reports the ten best-selling magazine covers last year: 1. Sandra Bullock (7.4 million copies, People)2. Dr. Oz (7m, Women's World)3. Angelina Jolie (5m, Vanity Fair)4. Bachelor Jake (3.6m, Us)5. Royal Wedding (3.2m, Life & Style)6. Lady Gaga (2.8m, Cosmopolitan)7. Teen Mom (2.75, OK)8. The Kardashians (2.7m, In Touch)9. Jennifer Aniston (2.6m, Bazaar)10. The Twilight Series, including Taylor Lautner and Kellan Lutz (2.4m, Men's Health).

By Sophia Savage and Anne Thompson
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April 25, 2011 4:20 AM
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In The Works: Bullock and Freeman May Chase Somali Pirates, Meg Ryan Directs, Medallion Adds Stars

- Sandra Bullock and Morgan Freeman are wanted for an adaptation of 2010 Somali pirate novel , by 85-year-old writer Elmore Leonard (Justified, 3:10 to Yuma, Get Shorty, Out of Sight). "We're trying to get my new book Djibouti [made as a film]," Leonard told Digital Spy. "Morgan Freeman likes it a lot. In fact, I even thought of him while I was writing it," he said. Apparently Samuel L. Jackson has already turned down a part because he wasn't the star (though Leonard insisted his character would have all the good lines) and Freeman dubbed Bullock as first choice for the female lead. The story follows an award-winning filmmaker and a 72-year old African American seafarer who pair to get footage of Somali pirates in action.

By Sophia Savage
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April 6, 2011 6:23 AM
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Entertainment Industry and Celebs Pledge Aid for Japan Relief

As the full horror of the scale of earthquake and tsunami damage to Japan, and its ongoing nuclear radiation crisis, hits Americans, folks in show business are stepping up. (Our initial report on Japan's earthquake aftermath and Hollywood is here.)

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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March 18, 2011 6:25 AM
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Alliance of Women Film Journalists Nominees

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has posted its nominees for the 2010 AWFJ EDA Awards (full list is below). Nominated for Best Film are Black Swan, Inception, The King's Speech, The Social Network and Winter's Bone. Oddly, The Kids Are All Right received 16 nominations-- but not best picture. Helen Mirren (RED) got five.

By Anne Thompson
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December 22, 2010 11:23 AM
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Production Watch: Wilde and Bana, Clooney and Bullock, Miller and Huston

- Olivia Wilde and Eric Bana are in talks to star as outlawed siblings who cross paths with a troubled ex-boxer (Charlie Hunnam) in Kin, slated to shoot in Canada next March. The script comes from Zach Dean (his first feature) and Stefan Ruzowitzky (Anatomy, Anatomy 2, The Counterfeiters) is directing. Wilde, heating up with a stand-out performance in TRON: Legacy, has five titles lined up for 2011; Cowboys & Aliens, comedies Butter and The Change-Up, Now (a sci-fi thriller with Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried and Cillian Murphy) and Civil War pic Cleburne (rumored). Bana is rumored to star in Sheldon Turner's By Virtue Fall, plays opposite Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in Joe Wright's Hanna (releasing in April), has The Emperor's Children in development with director-writer Noah Baumbach (which co-stars Keira Knightley, Michelle Williams and Richard Gere), and is attached to Armored and Factor X (though neither appear to be going anywhere any time soon).