Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: Weinsteins Boast One Great Pick-Up, Two Great Performances in Weak Movies

Awards

It's Oscar season, and Harvey Weinstein is back. He's blogging at HuffPo about how his daughters consider him to be cool, and crowing about "The Artist" in the NYT. Lo and behold, Weinstein's canny pre-Cannes acquisition "The Artist" came out ahead at the New York Film Critics Circle with best picture and director and lead the Indie Spirit field with five nominations, while Meryl Streep won best actress for "The Iron Lady" from the NYFCC and Michelle Williams earned an Indie Spirit actress nod for "My Week with Marilyn."

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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November 29, 2011 3:53 PM
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Gotham Awards + 9

Patton Oswalt and Tributee Charlize Theron at the Gothams

Imagine the culture shock. A few days ago I was in the Amazon, making a short film about the controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam. Afterward, I visited Cabelo Seco, a favela on the tip of Maraba. A Welsh art activist, along with his Brazilian wife, had invited me to see the ‘product’ of work they’re doing in a community of 250, which includes teaching song and dance to young girls and boys with no one else to mentor them. The children treated me to a riveting private jam session in my friend’s cramped flat in the favela. Afterwards, it was suggested I make a donation. I offered $300 toward a basketball hoop, to be installed in the town square in coming weeks. The kids are overjoyed, as am I.

By Charles Lyons
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November 29, 2011 2:51 PM
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Tuesday Awards Wrap-Up: Who Comes Out Ahead?

Awards

By Anne Thompson
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November 29, 2011 1:43 PM
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Gotham Award Winners: What Impact Will They Have?

Awards

So who came out ahead at the Gothams? Tributes offer a boost to potential award contenders by reminding folks of all the films these people have done over the years. "Young Adult"'s Charlize Theron charmed in her acceptance speech, saying, "all I ever wanted was to be able to do this and not have a second job to pay the rent." She graciously thanked Jason Reitman "for giving me the opportunity to play such a bitch." (See the live stream here.) Presenter Patton Oswalt helped his own cause as a supporting actor candidate for "Young Adult" by killing his intro.

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2011 11:06 PM
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Gotham Awards and New York Film Critics Winners, Indie Spirit Nominations

Awards

The awards race is in full swing this week. In New York Monday night The Gothams Awards will name winners, and Tuesday the Indie Spirits will make public their nominations and the New York Film Critics Circle will vote their winners. They're announcing them via Twitter, having pushed back by one day their scheduled November 28 voting in order to see David Fincher's "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" on Monday. (Indiewire assesses these awards here.)

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2011 3:44 PM
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Moneyball is Oscar Dark Horse; Pitt and Hill Are Contenders, Hill Talks How He Made His Dramatic Career Turn

Awards

Yes, my fellow Oscar pundits are talking about the rising fortunes of the top trio in the awards race, "The Artist," "War Horse," and "The Descendants." All along, I have been puzzled by why they aren't taking another Oscar contender more seriously: "Moneyball."

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2011 3:30 PM
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China Resolves Flowers of War Producers vs. Theaters Impasse

News

Tensions between theaters and studios are not only riding high in Hollywood. The Chinese government has intervened to resolve a conflict between the producers of "Flowers of War," the most expensive movie ever made in China, and exhibitors, who fought against a steep ticket price hike, reports Variety.

By Anne Thompson
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November 28, 2011 12:25 PM
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Video: Spielberg Talks War Horse at New York Screening

Awards

DreamWorks put Steven Spielberg onstage in New York with moderator Mark Harris at an advance screening of "War Horse" on Sunday, which was simulcast live via satellite at preview screenings in nine other cities--Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas, Boston, Washington, Seattle, Miami, Atlanta-- and streamed at MSN.com. Adapted by Lee Hall and Richard Curtis from Michael Morpurgo's bestselling children's novel and the hit London and New York stage play, "War Horse" opens in theatres on Christmas Day. Spielberg read the book first, which was told from the POV of the horse Joey and gave him the "spine of the narrative," he said, while the play had "spectacular puppetry" and made him see the material's "emotional potential." A script is a "living organism," he said, which under his watch undergoes constant revisions before and during shooting.

By Anne Thompson
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November 27, 2011 9:28 PM
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Oscar Talk: Verdict on War Horse, Streep as Iron Lady, Theron as Young Adult, Animated Frontrunners

Awards

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2011 8:45 PM
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Media and Industry Get a Gander at Spielberg's War Horse and Streep as The Iron Lady

Awards

Sight unseen, many predicted that with Steven Speilberg at the helm, World War I drama "War Horse" was the film to beat for best picture and Meryl Streep the front runner for Best Actress in Phyllida Lloyd's Margaret Thatcher biopic "The Iron Lady." At last, in advance of the November 29 New York Film Critics voting, both films are being screened for media and industry alike. The verdict? Yes, they are in contention for awards. "War Horse" will win multiple nominations including best picture and director; it could win the big prize because it boasts the epic scale and scope missing in the race so far. And Streep will vie with Viola Davis for best actress, for channeling Thatcher in a weak biopic that is eerily similar to "J. Edgar," as an older public figure looks back on their rise to power.