Thompson on Hollywood

Fincher's Serial Killer Trilogy: Girl with Dragon Tattoo Builds on Se7en and Zodiac's Lone Rangers

Features

"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" opens this week, marking David Fincher's third obsessive film about an intense hunt for a serial killer. What are Fincher's cinematic fixations when dealing with the pathology of murder?

By Beth Hanna
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December 22, 2011 10:29 AM
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Immersed in Movies: 'Avatar' VFX Wiz Letteri Compares 'Apes' and 'Tintin,' Caesar and Haddock

Features

It's been a great year for Joe Letteri, Weta Digital's senior visual effects supervisor, with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" as the front runner for the VFX Oscar and "The Adventures of Tintin" opening today and competing in the animation category.

By Bill Desowitz
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December 21, 2011 12:04 PM
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Immersed in Movies: Spielberg Talks Adventures of Tintin, War Horse

Features

The moment Steven Spielberg stepped onto the motion capture stage in LA and watched James Cameron shooting "Avatar" with the virtual camera, he knew he had found the right medium for "The Adventures of Tintin."

By Bill Desowitz
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December 16, 2011 1:44 PM
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Weekend Preview: Star-Packed Carnage, Mission: Impossible, Sherlock Holmes & More

Box Office

The woeful recent box office should pick up after last weekend's three-year low, as new offerings are packed with headliners and appeal.

By Sophia Savage
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December 15, 2011 1:44 PM
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Video: Gary Oldman Performed 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy''s Smiley in One or Two Takes

Features

Still waters run deep. That's the secret behind John LeCarre's master British spy George Smiley as played by Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." The role marks a sharp turn from wild and crazy character actor ("Dracula," "The Professional," "Air Force One," "Immortal Beloved," "Sid & Nancy" "True Romance") to heroic leading man. "It's a lovely change of pace," Oldman says. When he arrived at the "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" set he'd ask, "Am I sitting down in this scene?"

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2011 3:49 PM
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Hollywood's Most Expensive Pieces of History

Features

Ahead of Profiles in History's "Icons of Hollywood" auction to be held in Beverly Hills this Thursday and Friday, which will put up for auction such items as Bela Lugosi's "Dracula" cape and Dorothy's red slippers from "The Wizard of Oz," THR mounts a retrospective gallery of the priciest pieces of Hollywood history.

By Jacob Combs
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December 13, 2011 5:00 AM
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TOH! Top Tens of 2011

Features

While I shared my top ten on Oscar Talk Friday, here's the actual list, plus an assemblage of ten bests from the TOH! gang of regulars. Like most ten-best listmakers, we range from well-reviewed smart indie fare to mainstream studio pictures to the arcane. The year was strong for docs and foreign films, so I include my top five of both; in a rare departure, no animated film made my ten best this year.

By TOH!
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December 12, 2011 1:44 PM
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Muppets Movie Makes Comeback, Happy Feet 2 Stumbles

Features

When Coca Cola owned Columbia Pictures during the 80s, the beverage giant did research into how to reduce risk in producing and releasing motion pictures. The answer: sequels. Truth is, making movies is more challenging than figuring out how to market products on supermarket shelves. Films involve creative alchemy, huge expense and risk, and can die on their opening weekend. So Hollywood figured out the sequels answer a long time ago, from the days of Andy Hardy, Ma and Pa Kettle and Rin Tin Tin movies.

By Anne Thompson
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December 9, 2011 4:25 PM
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Lady Gaga, Will Smith Go Costa Rica, Which Opens $41 Million New Airport, Lures Production

Features

Costa Rica is getting a spanking new airport. On a rainy and humid November day, reps from JetBlue, the Costa Rican tourism board and the Four Seasons resort in nearby Peninsula Papagayo gathered for a tropical press conference in a giant air hanger at northwest Costa Rica's Liberia Airport. Local school children performed traditional dances to celebrate the airline’s inaugural flight from New York’s JFK as journalists got the grand tour of Costa Rica's $41 million Daniel Oduber Quiros airport, which is preparing to handle some 600,000 visitors a year, with new routes from Europe and North America. Its sleek air-conditioned terminals with modern stores and cafes serving international cuisine is a far cry from the old-school digs and rice and beans next door.

By Liza Foreman
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December 8, 2011 1:45 PM
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Weekend Preview: Young Adult and Tinker Tailor Are Must-Sees

Features

Do check out two brainy offerings this weekend: Charlize Theron's dark comedy character study, "Young Adult," from Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody, and Tomas Alfredson's complex "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." (More at Indiewire's Critical Consensus: Scott Foundas and Stephanie Zacharek on "Tinker Tailor" And "Young Adult.") If you live in NY or LA, catch Tilda Swinton's brilliant performance in another dark and complex drama, "We Need To Talk About Kevin," which is having its one-week qualifying run, as is Madonna's less well-reviewed "W.E." (both will be released early 2012). Both celeb-packed ensemble "New Year's Eve" and "The Sitter" (with Jonah Hill in slacker comedy mode; don't miss his dramatic turn in "Moneyball") are review proof. Indies "I Melt With You" and "London River" will struggle to find audiences in an increasingly crowded specialty box office. Reviews, details and trailers below: