Thompson on Hollywood

Weekend Box Office: Mighty Immortals VFX Trounce Sandler Comedy Jack and Jill, DiCaprio as J. Edgar

News

Of three high-profile pictures arriving this 11/11/11 weekend, Relativity’s “Immortals” easily captured the top spot with an estimated $32 million, landing ahead of expectations and marking a company best debut. The stylized VFX-packed R-rated sword-and-sandal actioner from the producers of “300” and director Tarsem Singh was expected to open in the $25 million-to-$30 million range.

By Brian Fuson
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November 13, 2011 1:59 PM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Unmissable Apocalyptic Melancholia, Herzogian Into the Abyss, J Edgar & More

Features

By Sophia Savage
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November 10, 2011 1:29 PM
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J. Edgar DiCaprio Parody Kicks Off Oscar Campaign

On the bright side of Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" receiving mixed reviews (it has its supporters, including ThePlaylist), FunnyOrDie has created this hilarious video for its star, L. DiCaprio. The actor is better than the movie, so he'll forgive us for laughing at this kick-off to his Oscar campaign.

By Sophia Savage
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November 10, 2011 11:49 AM
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Eastwood, DiCaprio, Hammer, Black Talk J. Edgar: DiCaprio Wanted to Gain Weight

Features

The crowd at the Los Angeles County Museum screening of J. Edgar rose to their feet when three tall straight guys—Clint Eastwood, Leonardo DiCaprio and Armie Hammer—joined diminutive gay screenwriter Dustin Lance Black onstage at the Bing for a Q and A moderated by the NYT’s Charles McGrath. While Eastwood grew up with top cop J. Edgar Hoover, Black and his cast did not, and had to pore through reams of research to understand the restrictive mores of a time when to be openly gay was simply not allowed. DiCaprio and Black seemed more critical of Hoover—“he was a political dinosaur at the end of his career,” said DiCaprio, “he was a crockpot of eccentricity…didn’t adapt to civil rights…was obsessed with power”—while Eastwood seemed more admiring of Hoover starting thumbprints and his quest for law and order. That tension is in the movie, for better or worse.

By Anne Thompson
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November 6, 2011 10:13 AM
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Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar: Review and Round-up

All eyes are on the last batch of major year-end movies to be factored into the Oscar zeitgeist. Clint Eastwood's J. Edgar, at least, will play better for the older Academy--many of whom lived through the decades depicted in this ambitious J. Edgar Hoover biopic dominated by Leonardo DiCaprio's moving performance in the title role--than the wider moviegoing public. Eastwood acknowledged this during his intro at Thursday's AFI FEST opening night unveiling at Mann's Chinese, thanking Warner Bros., his home for 41 years, for supporting so many offbeat projects that were not mainstream: "Sometimes they turned out pretty good," he said.

Indeed, Eastwood has delivered a consistent string of quality films, even after his career peaks, the Oscar-winning Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby. Written by Milk's Dustin Lance Black, J. Edgar cross-cuts between the old Hoover, not willing to release his hold on the reins of power after 48 years and eight presidents (many of them afraid of his secret files), and flashbacks to his life from age 19 through his rise to power at the Bureau of Investigation (eventually the FBI). Hoover started out responding vigilantly to terrorist violence and wound up corrupt, paranoid and egomaniacal.

More details and a round-up of early reviews are below.

By Anne Thompson
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November 4, 2011 7:16 PM
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Oscar Talk: DiCaprio vs. Clooney, J. Edgar, Muppet Movie, Young Adult’s Theron, War Horse

On this week’s Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I air our reactions to AFI FEST opener J. Edgar, directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Leonardo DiCaprio in a tour-de-force performance as J. Edgar Hoover, young and old. We agree that DiCaprio could move into the lead in the Best Actor category, and Armie Hammer, Judi Dench and Naomi Watts could be in the running for supporting nominations too. It may not be best picture, although some categories could go with a period film from the respected and popular Eastwood, from art direction and cinematography to makeup. Oscar-winning Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black enters some speculative territory, here; depending on critical reaction, he could be rewarded with a script nod.

By Anne Thompson
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November 4, 2011 10:06 AM
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Oscar Talk: Shame's NC-17 and Fassbender, Whither Clooney, Chastain, Doc Race, Year-End Critics

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I debate the Shame NC-17 issue. Will Fox Searchlight be able to push Michael Fassbender for an Oscar nomination? (I weigh in on this here.)

By Anne Thompson
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October 28, 2011 4:00 AM
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Peter Bart on Clint Eastwood and J. Edgar

Clint Eastwood, the wily old coot, has long been adept at winning friends in influential places, and knows how to work the press better than anyone. His usual early-screening suspects include such critics as Scott Foundas and Todd McCarthy. Perhaps betraying his lack of awareness of how behind-the-pay-wall Variety is, Peter Bart was one of the hand-picked folks tipped to an advance Carmel Film Festival showing of J. Edgar, which opens the AFI Fest November 3 before hitting theaters November 9: At a moment when Hollywood is flailing about with tired remakes, Clint Eastwood, one of its more senior filmmakers, seems more determined than ever to stake new ground. His gripping new film "J. Edgar" is the polar opposite of contemporary studio product -- a searing biopic about a megalomaniacal right-wing ideologue. Under his four-decade reign, J. Edgar Hoover used the FBI to blackmail presidents and manipulate the media to mold his image as the nation's lone protector against gangsters and "Bolsheviks." Top politicians and reporters were scared to reveal that J. Edgar (superbly played by Leonardo DiCaprio) was a mama's boy with a gay lover. Eastwood's picture opens Nov. 9, so I am not going to review it here other than to say that it's consistent with Clint's legacy. His protagonists are a study in surprise -- who else would roam from Dirty Harry to Walt Kowalski (of "Gran Torino"), from Josie Wales to Nelson Mandela, from the troopers of Iwo Jima to a "Million Dollar Baby."

By Anne Thompson
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October 24, 2011 9:40 AM
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AFI FEST Books Polanski's Carnage as Gala Centerpiece, Adds Screenings

Following the lead of Venice and the New York Film Festival, this November's AFI FEST has booked Roman Polanski's four-hander comedy Carnage (December 16) as its gala centerpiece at Mann's Chinese on November 5th. Adapted by Polanski and Yasmina Reza from her hit play God of Carnage, the movie stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly. Here's a round-up of reviews and look at the film's award prospects.

By Anne Thompson
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October 18, 2011 6:10 AM
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And the Nobel Prize for Film Goes To...

Seeing that the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded last week, to Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer, Matt Brennan got to thinking: What if there were a Nobel Prize for Film? This week’s “Now and Then” column revels in some of the possibilities. Check out the trailers and post your own picks in the comments section below: