Thompson on Hollywood

Live Chat with Angelina Jolie; Discuss 'In the Land of Blood and Honey' January 12

News

Here's your chance to chat with Angelina Jolie. She will host a 45-minute live online chat through a partnership with Hearst Magazines, focusing on her writing and her directorial debut, "In The Land of Blood and Honey." On January 12, at 5pm PST, you can chat with Jolie via Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Redbook and Woman’s Day. UPDATE: Or you can do it right here: see the widget below.

By Sophia Savage
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January 11, 2012 4:50 PM
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Early Reviews on Late-Breaking War Horse, Extremely Loud, Land of Blood and Honey

Reviews

Early reviews are in on Steven Spielberg's "War Horse," Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," and Anjelina Jolie's "In the Land of Blood and Honey," three of the latest-breaking movies hitting theaters this Christmas. A sampling of reviews of all three movies are below.

By Anne Thompson
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December 19, 2011 7:30 AM
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Producers Guild Gives Jolie's In the Land of Blood and Honey the Stanley Kramer Award

Awards

The problem with all the high-minded praise of Angelina Jolie's feature directing debut "In the Land of Blood and Honey" (December 23) is that audiences are going to avoid it as a dose of medicine. Truth is, the Producers Guild of America is right to award the movie with its 2012 Stanley Kramer Award on January 21. After all, the award was created to "honor a motion picture, producer or other individual, whose achievement or contribution illuminates provocative social issues in an accessible and elevating fashion."

By Anne Thompson
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December 13, 2011 9:12 PM
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Angelina Jolie Talks Blood & Honey on 60 Minutes: Afghanistan Set War Drama is Next, Punching Through Gender Stereotypes & Being Scared in a Good Way

Jolie on the set of "In The Land of Blood and Honey"

Angelina Jolie is promoting her directorial debut, "In The Land of Blood and Honey" (December 23), which means conversation inevitably veers toward Jolie's tabloid existence rather than the work at hand. 60 Minutes' Bob Simon kept his conversation polite but still asked the usual questions necesary for people to pay attention. He met with Jolie several times to put together a profile on Jolie; you can watch the video below. As for her directorial debut, she is "nervous that people are going to not understand it." That's probably because she thinks people don't understand her.

By Sophia Savage
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November 28, 2011 1:45 PM
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Will Roth & Fincher Deliver Jolie's Cleopatra?

Features

Let us count the ways that Sony's "Cleopatra" could go wrong. But hiring Eric Roth to write the script for the Angelina Jolie epic (possibly with David Fincher at the helm) is a good sign. We can thank Roth for "Forrest Gump," "The Insider," "Munich," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and many other fine scripts including the upcoming "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close." Based on Stacy Schiff's sprawling bestseller, this "Cleopatra" is rooted in a complex history and demands a seasoned writer who will not lose sight of the biography's authentic primary sources. Bringing Fincher on board would also set the project on the right course. Exuding the infamous intelligence, charisma and sexuality of Cleopatra will be easy for Jolie, who nonetheless needs a strong director to pull from her a layered and compelling performance. The Egyptian queen--arguably the most powerful woman of all time-- was a master political strategist who deftly manipulated her two life mates, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. (Picking the right two co-stars is also key.) If the movie gods align the elements, this could be Jolie's career-defining role--and her best shot at a Best Actress Oscar.

By Sophia Savage
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November 16, 2011 3:49 PM
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CASTING WATCH: Jolie Gets Agent to Go Indie, U.N.C.L.E. Eyes Tatum, Beatty Picks Felicity Jones

News

By Sophia Savage
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November 15, 2011 1:40 PM
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Why Berneys Left FilmDistrict; What’s Next?

The Rum Diary

As New York indie distributor Bob Berney leaves FilmDistrict, which is consolidating operations in Los Angeles, he and marketing chief Jeanne Berney will be able to do what they should have done all along. Go into business for themselves. Why manage egos, seek credit and deal with others’ production choices and cozy relationships when you should be your own boss? Let the Berneys run with their own taste and judgement.

With their track record and relationships—at FilmDistrict alone they delivered decent numbers for horror flick Insidious ($54 million domestic), producer Guillermo del Toro’s Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark ($24 million) and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive ($34 million)—they should be able to raise money now. “We’re really proud of the success of our initial four films and working with these filmmakers,” Berney told me. “They do stack up against any other independent company that’s ever opened.” (He’s referring to the $116 million gross out of the gate through October 30 for FilmDistrict’s first four films vs. the same period at Overture, Weinstein Co., Relativity and even Summit (before it scored big with Twilight).

By Anne Thompson
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November 4, 2011 6:28 PM
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IN THE WORKS: Independence Day Sequels Want To Take Your Money, Even if They Don't Pay for Smith

Fox will make not one but two Independence Day sequels, fifteen years (and counting) after the original Will Smith pic raked in $800 million across the globe. It's not a new idea -- the studio had wanted to green light a sequel for some time, but both Smith and director Roland Emmerich demanded huge paychecks. So Fox focused on developing scripts and declared that the franchise could proceed with or without them.

By Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:09 AM
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Trailer Watch: Angelina Jolie's In The Land of Blood and Honey

Here's a first look at Angelina Jolie's directorial debut, Graham King-produced In The Land of Blood and Honey, to be released by FilmDistrict December 23. A love story set during the Bosnian War (which caused concern early in the shoot), its plot remains unclear. Love, war, explosions, conflicting feelings: the trailer doesn't offer enough to gauge whether this emotional, European-looking film will be a win for Jolie. The actress-turned-director, who does not appear in the picture, shot her actors in both English and Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian: “I wanted to make it as accessible as possible for people.”