Thompson on Hollywood

Steven Spielberg Talks His Holiday Double Features to Newsweek

Awards

At 65, Steven Spielberg has more energy than most. With two year-end movies about to open ("The Adventures of Tintin" and "War Horse"), he's off in Virginia filming a third, "Lincoln," starring Daniel Day Lewis as the Civil War president. He tells David Ansen at Newsweek:

By Anne Thompson
|
December 12, 2011 1:39 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Los Angeles Film Critics Make Surprise Best Actress Pick, Poetry's Yun Jung-Hee, Actor Fassbender, Director Malick, Picture The Descendants

Awards

While the AFI film jury went mainstream with their top ten picks this year, the LA Film Critics went indie, picking South Korean actress Yun Jung-Hee ("Poetry") as best actress for her performance as a woman facing Alzheimer's.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 11, 2011 4:29 PM
|
3 Comments

More:

American Film Institute Juries Pick Top Ten Movies and TV Shows

Awards

The American Film Institute film and TV juries--a mix of industry professionals, critics and academics-- met Sunday to pick their top ten films and television shows of 2011, below. They limit their choices to American content only, which is often the subject of some debate. While Harvey Weinstein managed to convince the Independent Spirit Awards committee to include "The Artist" as an American film, the AFI gave it a special award instead, along with the "Harry Potter" series.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 11, 2011 3:45 PM
|
1 Comment

More:

Fifteen Pictures Vie for Academy Visual Effects Noms; What Didn't Make the Cut?

Awards

With new rules this year permitting five nominations, the Academy VFX Branch executive committee has picked fifteen films to be checked out at the annual Visual Effects Bakeoff in early January. That's when the committee will narrow the list to ten, and then, five for nominations morning January 25.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 9, 2011 9:11 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

How to Make a Ten Best List

Reviews

'Tis the season when ten best lists start rolling in. I smile when I get my first Christmas card, always from John Waters (Highland, Maryland), whose Ten Best is in Art Forum, natch, and below. Kris Tapley and I delivered ours in this week's Oscar Talk podcast; I'll publish mine and the TOH crew's lists on Monday. Herewith are some early lists, below; Sight & Sound had 101 critics weigh in, and Mubi is collecting lists as well, including the Cahiers du Cinema.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 9, 2011 7:23 PM
|
4 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: 2011 Ten Best Lists

Take Shelter Wins Cannes Critics Week Grand Prix: Shannon Perf "Stuff Bad Dreams Are Made Of "

Awards

For this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I checked our lists and made the tough decisions on what to include as our ten best for 2011. We agreed on one film only: Jeff Nichols' "Take Shelter," starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain. Will it land any Oscar nominations? This week, perhaps refreshingly, that's not our primary focus.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 9, 2011 11:59 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

Immersed in Movies: Cinematographer Bob Richardson Goes Blue for Hugo in 3-D

Awards

The 3-D journey on "Hugo" for Oscar-winning cinematographer Bob Richardson ("The Aviator, " "JFK"), once he got over the growing pains and realized that the digital technology wouldn't hinder his craft, was to confidently embrace it.

By Bill Desowitz
|
December 9, 2011 11:38 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

Oscar Update: Extremely Loud Screens Under Embargo, War Horse Q & A, Albert Brooks, Gurus Vote

Awards

The week is packed as befits the season, with too many things to cover. I missed Wednesday's invitation-only LACMA screening of "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" for Academy voters and critics, which was under strict Scott Rudin embargo. Even the Q & A with Stephen Daldry, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, Eric Roth and Max Von Sydow was off-record, which seems extreme--don't they want people to know about their movie?

By Anne Thompson
|
December 8, 2011 4:29 PM
|
4 Comments

More:

Radcliffe Named EW's Performer of the Year; Plus Fincher on Pitt, Streep on Davis, Carell on Gosling

Awards

The "Harry Potter" finale gets a boost during its last award season push from EW's Entertainers of the Year issue, out December 9, which names Brit Daniel Radcliffe Performer of the Year, for his work in the global blockbuster "Harry Potter" as well as his Broadway musical success, "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." Of facing challenging roles, the actor says: "When it becomes clear to me that something is going to be really hard work, there’s a voice inside my head that says, 'You shouldn’t probably do this, because you probably can’t do this'—but there’s another, much louder voice that becomes bullying and belligerent and wants to prove that other voice wrong."

By Sophia Savage
|
December 8, 2011 12:51 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Watch: The Tree of Life's Likely Nominations, EXCLUSIVE Art Direction Video

Awards

Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" sparks polarized love or hate responses. (See the comments on the NYTimes review.) That doesn't help build consensus within critics' groups (the New York Film Critics Circle gave Brad Pitt Best Actor for "Moneyball" as well as "Tree of Life," and Jessica Chastain supporting actress for three of her films, inluding "Tree of Life"), but it will make it easier for the film to land in the Best Picture race. That's because Oscar voters who feel passionately will give it their number one slot.