Thompson on Hollywood

SnagFilms News Update: Semel Joins Board, New Financing Round Closed, 'Kinyarwanda' Acquired

News

Burgeoning digital distributor SnagFilms has been making changes of late. Most recent news is that the digital indie distributor has closed a new, seven-figure financing round, has added ex-Yahoo and Warner Bros. chief Terry Semel to its board and is plunging full steam ahead into distribution of narrative as well as documentary features.

By Anne Thompson
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January 31, 2012 4:58 PM
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Endgame Steps in to Finance Soderbergh's 'Bitter Pill,' Starring Rooney Mara

News

Rooney Mara to the rescue! Steven Soderbergh now has the girl formerly known as "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" (formerly known as the girl from "The Social Network") set to star in "Side Effects."

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 4:32 PM
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Kickstart and Titmouse Announce Production Partnership for Animated TV & Film

News

Live action and animation production company Kickstart and animation studio Titmouse are pooling their resources in order to expand their artist talent pools and production capabilities as they produce animated TV and film fare.

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 2:59 PM
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In The Works: Farmiga and Eckhart to Play Dennis Wilson & Christine McVie in 'The Drummer'

News

Aaron Eckhart and Vera Farmiga will star in "The Drummer," about Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson and Fleetwood Mac singer-songwriter Christine McVie.

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 1:44 PM
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In The Works: Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper Set for Susanne Bier's 'Serena' Adaptation

News

Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, co-stars in the upcoming David O. Russell film, "The Silver Linings Playbook" (November 12), will reteam for "Serena." Based on Ron Rash's 2008 novel, the film is set in 1929 North Carolina and follows George and Serena Pemberton, ambitious newlyweds with their hearts set on a timber empire...

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 1:39 PM
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Chastain, Lawrence, Mara & Wasikowska Star in Vanity Fair's Hollywood Issue

News

Vanity Fair's February Hollywood issue spreads eleven often unrecognizable actresses -- Rooney Mara, Mia Wasikowska, Jennifer Lawrence, Jessica Chastain, Elizabeth Olsen, Adepero Oduye, Shailene Woodley, Paula Patton, Felicity Jones, Lily Collins, and Brit Marling -- across its cover, shot in glammed-up old-Hollywood-style by Mario Testino.

By Sophia Savage
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January 31, 2012 12:18 PM
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Trost Brothers' 'The FP' Premiering February 25 at Cinefamily; Drafthouse to Widen Release March 16

News

Alamo's Drafthouse Films will release "The FP" on March 16, following a February 25 red carpet premiere at Los Angeles' Cinefamily's Silent Movie Theater. "The FP" is a "ferocious nod to big-budget studio action fare and underdog sports dramas of the 1980s.

By Sophia Savage
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January 30, 2012 6:46 PM
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Will Relativity/Hasbro 'Stretch Armstrong' Ever Get Made?

News

Earlier in January, Hasbro was in talks with JP Morgan to get a financial boost toward becoming a rival to Disney's Marvel comics arm. News now drops that Hasbro is teaming with Relativity Media to produce a live-action "Stretch Armstrong" film, set to land in theaters in April 2014. Universal, Taylor Lautner, director Rob Letterman and producer Imagine Entertainment -- all of whom were once attached -- are no longer in the mix.

By Anne Thompson & Sophia Savage
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January 30, 2012 4:26 PM
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WikiLeaks' Julian Assange to Cameo on 'The Simpsons' 500th Episode

Television

Julian Assange, of WikiLeaks fame, will guest star on "The Simpsons." He will appear as himself in the long-running show's 500th episode, airing February 19.

By Sophia Savage
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January 30, 2012 4:17 PM
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Sundance Deal: Ice-T's 'Something From Nothing' Rap & Hip-Hop Doc Goes to Indomina For Worldwide Distribution

News

Indomina has acquired world rights to Ice-T's Sundance documentary "Something From Nothing: The Art of Rap," and intends to release the film in early summer.