Thompson on Hollywood

Focus Goes On 10th Anniversary Buying Spree, from Bana Thriller to Sundance's 'For a Good Time Call'; Talk Digital Focus World

Features

As Focus Features ramps up for its 10th anniversary, chairman James Schamus and president Andew Karpen are on a buying tear. And with three Oscar nominations in hand for BAFTA front-runner "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," which is scoring at the box office ($42 million worldwide), they're in high spirits. "It's kicking ass," says Schamus. "Remember, Gary Oldman is revered by his peers."

By Anne Thompson
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February 2, 2012 4:28 PM
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Video: Bingham Ray (1954-2012)

Features

As the independent community mourns the loss of art film champion Bingham Ray, here are some video clips of some of his appearances. Also, check out this New York Magazine profile of Ray and his cohorts at the height of October Film's success. See also the tribute from his poker buddies, read by a choked-up John Cooper on Sundance closing night, as well as our obit and coverage of the impromptu Sundance Memorial. for Ray. Here are his NYT and LAT obits.

By Anne Thompson
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January 31, 2012 11:55 AM
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Weekly Wrap: Box Office, Sundance Reviews and Buys, Interviews, Oscar Predictions, In the Works

Features

By TOH!
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January 28, 2012 9:00 AM
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Independent Films Receive 60 Oscar Nominations

Features

This year wasn't just a good year for movies about movies at the Oscars, it was a great year for independent films. The top two Oscar contenders--"Hugo," with 11 nominations, and "The Artist," with 10 nods--were both indy flicks, as were fellow Best Picture nominees "Midnight in Paris" and "The Tree of Life."

By Anne Thompson and Jacob Combs
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January 25, 2012 2:58 PM
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Weekly Wrap: Golden Globes, Lead Up to Sundance, Box Office, Interviews, In the Works

Features

BOX OFFICE, REVIEWS, TRAILERS Weekend Preview: "Haywire," "Extremely Loud," "We Need to Talk about Kevin" Trailer Watch: Millenium Gets "A Little Bit of Heaven," Cinelan's Focus Forward Doc Initiative

By TOH!
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January 20, 2012 5:22 PM
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Weekend Preview: 'Haywire,' 'Extremely Loud,' 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' & More

Box Office

Michael Fassbender is in theaters again, this time with Steven Soderbergh's "Haywire." He may have a smaller part in this film compared to "Shame," "Jane Eyre," "A Dangerous Method" or "X-Men," but the best scene in the movie is still his.

By Sophia Savage
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January 19, 2012 5:01 PM
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Dress Your Walls with Demon Baby Posters: From 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' to 'Rosemary's Baby'

Features

The best birth control? Watching demon baby themed movies. Here are two posters we recommend for dressing your bedroom walls. Revisit Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" and check out Oscar-worthy Tilda Swinton in Lynne Ramsay's "We Need To Talk About Kevin" (currently showing in NYC), which hits L.A. this weekend before a wider release January 27. The film is the LAT critic Kenneth Turan's Pick of the Week.

By Sophia Savage
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January 19, 2012 12:26 PM
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'Justified' Season 3 Starts with 'Gunfighter': Third Time Out is Rarely the Charm

Television

"Justified" began its third season this week on F/X. Third time out is rarely the charm. After a writing staff has gone through two seasons, they’ve exhausted all the great ideas they had when the show was created.

By Terry Curtis Fox
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January 19, 2012 12:22 PM
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Oscar Watch: Profiles of the Nine Shortlisted Foreign Language Oscar Contenders UPDATED

Features

Nine films out of 63 qualified submissions are moving on in the race for the Oscar for Foreign Language Film. The Phase I foreign language committee of several hundred L.A.-based Academy voters screened the films between mid-October and January 13.

By Anne Thompson and Tom Brueggemann
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January 18, 2012 1:38 PM
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Will Baz Luhrmann's 3-D 'Great Gatsby' Find New Intimacy in Film?

Features

When we learned that Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" was going to be done in 3-D, we weren't happy. Now, with the success of Martin Scorsese's 3-D "Hugo," it seems a 3-D "Great Gatsby" would have indeed been much safer in his hands. The New York Times now has a defense piece up for Luhrmann and the film...