Thompson on Hollywood

Clooney and Payne Talk at Oscar Nominee Lunch, Measuring Applause

Awards

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is an institution, like many others, trying to stay true to its mission while it transitions for the future. At one table at Monday's Oscar Nominees Luncheon sat Bill Lee, president of ABC, which is demanding high ratings from the Award Show of Shows on February 26, to be hosted by Billy Crystal.

By Anne Thompson
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February 7, 2012 4:37 AM
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Oscar Nominees Luncheon - Best Lead & Supporting Actor Contenders Meet the Press: Clooney, Pitt, Oldman, Bichir, Dujardin & More

Awards

Each of the Lead and Supporting Best Actor nominees, save Christopher Plummer, met the press during the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon at Los Angeles' Beverly Hilton on February 6. Double nominee George Clooney (Best Actor for "The Descendants," Best Adapted Screenplay for "Ides of March") was first up and had the room full of journalists in giggles within seconds. The man knows how to work it. Check out what the nominees had to say:

By Sophia Savage
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February 6, 2012 6:08 PM
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Oscar Nominees Luncheon - Best Lead & Supporting Actress Contenders Meet the Press: Davis, Williams, Close, Mara & More

Awards

Each of the 2012 Oscar-nominated actresses -- save Meryl Streep and Jessica Chastain -- showed up to meet the press at the annual Oscar Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton on February 6. (Streep did attend the lunch and posed for the group picture.) Questions ranged from Oscar dresses and nipple piercings to Marilyn Monroe and honeymooning at George Clooney's Italian villa. Below, what each had to say:

By Sophia Savage
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February 6, 2012 5:21 PM
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'The Artist' Crew Hits Santa Barbara, Cinema Vanguard Awards, Fest Prize Winners

Festivals

With seemingly unstoppable awards momentum behind Michel Hazanavicius’ “The Artist,” the film’s Oscar-nominated stars accepted the Santa Barbara International Film Festival’s annual Cinema Vanguard Award Saturday, thrilling a near-capacity house at the elegant Arlington Theatre on Saturday.

By Justin Lowe
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February 5, 2012 10:00 PM
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Awards Box Office Update: Weinstein Releases Struggle

Box Office

Oscar-nominated films grossed around $21 million this weekend, the lowest total for the second weekend after the nominations announcement in the last few years; the decline from last week was on a par with most of those years. Only “The Descendants” is enjoying clear success on a broad level, as “The Artist” continues to struggle.

By Tom Brueggemann
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February 5, 2012 9:00 PM
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Annies Go to 'Rango,' Art Directors Pick 'Hugo,' 'Dragon Tattoo,' 'Harry Potter'

Awards

It must be Oscar season. On one side of town, the Annies were given out (Oscar front runner "Rango" dominated the evening) while at the interminable Art Directors Guild Awards, for once "The Artist" didn't win anything, even with presenters James Cromwell and Penelope Ann Miller on hand.

By Anne Thompson
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February 5, 2012 3:12 AM
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Immersed in Movies: Production Designer Stuart Craig Talks the Long Road of 'Harry Potter'

Awards

If anyone could rightly be called the face of "Harry Potter," it's production designer Stuart Craig, the architect of this fantastical world of author J.K. Rowling. He was there from the beginning to the end of the most successful franchise in movie history that touched off the millennium—and now beyond,

By Bill Desowitz
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February 3, 2012 12:38 PM
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Oscar Talk: Guild Update, 'The Artist' vs. 'Hugo,' Clooney vs. Dujardin

Awards

On this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I agree that "The Artist" is a runaway train that will not be stopped. While that doesn't mean that it will win everything, George Clooney has reason to be worried.

By Anne Thompson
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February 3, 2012 12:26 PM
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Five Points from Newsweek's Oscar Roundtable: Clooney, Plummer & Davis Joined by Snubbed Fassbender, Theron & Swinton

Awards

For your consideration: Five points made by Newsweek's opinionated Oscar roundtable (which included nominees Christopher Plummer, Viola Davis and George Clooney, as well as snubbed thespians Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton)...