Thompson on Hollywood

On The Road: Director Walter Salles' Secret Second Road Trip with Garrett Hedlund

Jerry Cimino, founder and curator of The Beat Museum, delves into the saga that lead to finally getting Jack Kerouac's On The Road adapted to film. His article reveals that after shooting the film from August through December of 2010, director Walter Salles and star Garrett Hedlund went on the road together with the film's '48 Hudson and a crew of five in April 2011. No one else in the cast (which includes Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Steve Buscemi, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams, Alice Braga and Elisabeth Moss) knew about this trip, part of Salles' "quest for authenticity." Here is an excerpt from the article and this photo, courtesy of HuffPost.

By Sophia Savage
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July 14, 2011 8:23 AM
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Oscar Talk Mid-Summer Outlook: New Rules, Midnight in Paris, Streep vs. Close

Kris Tapley and I reconvened over Skype for a mid-summer Oscar Talk (below). We covered quite a bit of ground. New Academy rules affect the top ten best picture ballot, VFX, documentaries and animation, but not foreign eligibility. New members may tip the scale as well on a more mainstream selection.

By Anne Thompson
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July 8, 2011 5:08 AM
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Trailer Watch: Cronenberg's Official Dangerous Method Trailer

Sony Pictures Classics scooped up U.S. rights to David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method last week and now has released the official trailer, below. Produced by Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor), the film, which is in post-production, stars Viggo Mortenson as Sigmund Freud and Keira Knightley as the unbalanced patient of Freud’s protege, ambitious young psychiatrist Karl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Vincent Cassel co-stars as another patient who pushes the rival shrinks apart. More detail below.

By Anne Thompson
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June 21, 2011 7:58 AM
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Sony Pictures Classics Nabs Cronenberg's Dangerous Method

Ahead of an expected fall fest circuit run for David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, Sony Pictures Classics has acquired US rights from UK foreign sales company Hanway Films. Produced by Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor), the film, which is in post-production, stars Viggo Mortenson as Sigmund Freud and Keira Knightley as the unbalanced patient of Freud's protege, ambitious young psychiatrist Karl Jung (Michael Fassbender). Vincent Cassel co-stars as another patient who pushes the rival shrinks apart.

By Anne Thompson
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June 16, 2011 7:36 AM
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Production Watch, Part I: Rapace & Fassbender for Prometheus, Stewart & Mortensen for Snow White

- The Alien prequel now known as Ridley Scott's Prometheus is getting an early summer 2012 release: June 8. Scott is working with Damon Lindelof (Cowboys & Aliens, Lost) on revising the original script by Jon Spaihts from Scott's original concept. Much of the plot in unknown, but Scott has confirmed "Alien DNA" will be in the genome of Prometheus. Noomi Rapace will star with Michael Fassbender (sorry, Snow White and the Huntsman, you lost him).

By Sophia Savage
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January 27, 2011 9:30 AM
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In Development: Knightley and Wright for Anna Karenina, Moses to Rise Again And Again

News to inspire remake support: Keira Knightley could follow in Greta Garbo's footsteps and play the lead in Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. The screenwriter is Tom Stoppard and the director is Joe Wright, who arguably gets the best from Knightley (see Pride and Prejudice and Atonement). It's Working Title's project; they expect the script by Christmas. They will then consider, according to London's Daily Mail: "several scripts destined for Wright, including one by Abi Morgan based on The Little Mermaid fairy tale, ‘and we’ll decide what looks like the most sensible thing to do.’" Let's see both!

By Sophia Savage
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November 19, 2010 5:00 AM
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Vincent Cassel Talks Mesrine, Black Swan, Soderbergh and Cronenberg's Next

The winner of three César Awards including best actor for Vincent Cassel in the title role, Jean-Francois Richet's gangster biopic Mesrine: Killer Instinct, Part One played the Toronto Film festival two years ago. At the time, doomed distrib Senator was set to release the film as well as Part Two, Public Enemy Number 1. Now Music Box is finally releasing the two French hits, adapted by Richet and A Prophet writer Abdel Raouf Dafri from Jacques Mesrine's autobiography, stateside on August 27 and September 3, respectively. (UPDATE: Anthony Lane writes a lovely review.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 9, 2010 8:01 AM
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Viggo Mortensen Talks The Road

So many of Hollywood’s biggest movie stars seem like overgrown kids that the studios often turn to Brits and Aussies for their manly men. Viggo Mortensen, however, is that rare American actor who is both muscular and humane, tough and sensitive, fighter and lover. He seduces us with a threat of danger, his chiseled Nordic physique and stunning blue eyes. Never over the top, for Mortensen, less is more. His performances are slow reveals of hidden information and emotion.

By Anne Thompson
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September 19, 2009 7:08 AM
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The Road Will Open November 25

The Weinstein Co. has been moving around the release date of The Road, trying to figure out what it has. Well, post-Venice and Telluride, where the film earned mostly glowing reviews, it looks like Harvey and Bob Weinstein are going for a holiday play after all on a prime awards season spot, November 25. (The movie carries the Dimension label.) TWC was going to go wide with the movie on October 16.

By Anne Thompson
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September 9, 2009 9:36 AM
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#TIFF: 30 Must-See Movies

It's hard to narrow down the must-see Toronto Film Fest list to 30. After all there are 335 films at TIFF09. (I'm including movies that I've already screened in L.A., Sundance or Cannes.) Some fall openers are launching at TIFF, 100 pictures are available for acquisition, and a select few will emerge with their Oscar hopes intact. Reaction from media and audiences will determine which films earn a full-on Oscar push. And I'm listing the pictures in alphabetical order.