Thompson on Hollywood

Best of the Week: Cannes Begins, Interviews, Reviews, News and More

News

The top stories of the week from TOH!

By TOH!
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May 17, 2013 8:24 PM
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End of an Era: Musto Leaves Voice, Is Carter On Way Out of Vanity Fair?

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Editor Graydon Carter, 63, has been a fixture at Vanity Fair since 1992. Keith Kelly reports that he's having a bumpy time renegotiating his contract, which is up in July, with Conde Nast CEO Charles Townsend, rather than S.I. Newhouse.

By Anne Thompson
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May 17, 2013 6:10 PM
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In the Works: David O. Russell to Direct Leonardo DiCaprio's JFK Conspiracy Thriller 'Legacy of Secrecy,' Robert De Niro On Board

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Long-gestating JFK assassination conspiracy film "Legacy of Secrecy" is reportedly finally coming to fruition, with director David O. Russell at the helm. First announced in 2010 by Leonardo DiCaprio's Appian Way banner, the film centers on FBI informant Jack Laningham and on Mafia kingpin Carlos Marcello (to be played by Robert De Niro), who confided to Laningham that he ordered the hit on Kennedy.

By Beth Hanna
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May 17, 2013 2:26 PM
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Cannes News: Music Box Snags Competition Mikkelsen Starrer 'Michael Kohlhaas'

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Ahead of its first Cannes market screening, Chicago-based Music Box Films has picked up all US and Canadian rights to Arnaud des Pallières' competition title "Michael Kohlhaas," starring Mads Mikkelsen and adapted from the 1811 Heinrich von Kleist classic Romantic novel. Films du Losange is selling the film, which is Des Pallières' fourth feature, at Cannes.

By Anne Thompson
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May 17, 2013 2:24 PM
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Drink Like Don Draper and Philip Marlowe (If You Dare) with the Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature

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Popchart Labs is highlighting a ridiculously fun bit of wall decoration: The Cocktail Chart of Film and Literature. The crisp light blue poster features the signature drinks (and recipes!) of some of our favorite literary, film and television (anti-) heroes and heroines. A few highlights include Don Draper's Old Fashioned, Philip Marlowe's Gin Gimlet, Daisy Buchanan's Mint Julep and, er, Hannibal Lechter's Chianti.

By Beth Hanna
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May 17, 2013 1:41 PM
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Casting Watch: Blunt Joins Depp, Streep, Pine and Gyllenhaal for Disney's Sondheim Musical 'Into the Woods' UPDATE

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UPDATE: Emily Blunt has nabbed the lead female role of the Baker's Wife in Broadway musical choreographer-turned-director Rob Marshall's ("Chicago") screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's masterpiece "Into the Woods." She joins a knockout cast of Meryl Streep, who will play the Witch, Johnny Depp as the Wolf, Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine as two princes and James Cordon ("One Man Two Guvnors") as the Baker.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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May 17, 2013 11:51 AM
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Weinstein Co. Green Lights 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' Sequel with Michelle Yeoh

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Without Ang Lee or Sony, the Weinstein Company is starting production on a sequel to the Oscar-winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which earned six Oscar nominations including best picture and grossed $213.5 million worldwide. Its $128 million stateside gross made it the highest grossing foreign-language film in American history. The Weinsteins have done well in the past with such Asian films as "Hero" and "Iron Monkey," which was directed by famed martial arts choreographer and director director Yuen Wo Ping, who will direct a returning Michelle Yeoh and star Donnie Yen (Silent Wolf) in the "Crouching Tiger" sequel.

By Anne Thompson
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May 16, 2013 4:56 PM
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Image Entertainment Snaps Up 'Winnie Mandela' Starring Jennifer Hudson; Up Against Weinsteins' 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'

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Image Entertainment has picked up all US rights to "Winnie Mandela," starring Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson as Nelson Mandela's long-time partner. The film, which is written and directed by Darrell J. Roodt from Anne Marie de Preez Bezdrob's biography, is slated for a fall 2013 release, which puts it up against the Justin Chadwick/William Nicholson biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," starring Idris Elba in the title role and "Skyfall" star Naomie Harris as Winnie (November 29, limited).

By Beth Hanna
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May 16, 2013 1:27 PM
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Cannes: Scarlett Johansson to Direct Adaptation of Truman Capote's Near-Lost Novel 'Summer Crossing'

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Scarlett Johansson has signed on to helm an adaptation of Truman Capote's near-lost novel "Summer Crossing," which centers on a teenage debutante who falls in love with and pursues a Jewish parking attendant instead of traveling to Paris in the summer of 1945. This will be Johansson's first feature as a director.

By Beth Hanna
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May 16, 2013 12:42 PM
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Zach Braff Nabs Millions in Traditional Funding for Kickstarter-Funded 'Wish I Was Here,' Casts Anna Kendrick UPDATE

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UPDATE: Zach Braff's successful if controversial Kickstarter campaign for his next project "Wish I Was Here" -- which has raised over $2.6 million still with days to go -- has now helped the writer-director to land millions of dollars in traditional funding for the project, from Worldview Entertainment. The budget of the film is reportedly less than $10 million, with funds coming from Kickstarter, and gap funds from Worldview and foreign pre-sales from Wild Bunch.