Thompson on Hollywood

TIFF: Brody Day One - 'No,' 'Anna Karenina,' 'Kinshasa Kids,' 'On the Road' & Reitman's 'American Beauty'

Festivals

A leisurely (if lengthy) trip from Telluride to Toronto on Tuesday, intending to get me to the Toronto International Film Festival more than a full day in advance of its Thursday, September 6 opening, hit a snag, after a three-hour van ride to Grand Junction and an hour plane trip to Denver...

By Meredith Brody
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September 7, 2012 12:57 PM
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TIFF: Jason Reitman to Lead Live Reading of 'American Beauty,' with Adam Driver, Sarah Gadon, Bryan Cranston, Christina Hendricks, Woody Harrelson UPDATED

Festivals

Jason Reitman brings his "Live Read" series to the Toronto International Film Festival with a table read of Alan Ball's screenplay for "American Beauty," the Oscar-winner that premiered at TIFF in 1999. The director of "Thank You for Smoking" and "Up in the Air" will announce the cast of the table read via his Twitter account over the next few days leading to the September 6 event. So far, Reitman has cast Adam Driver from "Girls" as Ricky Fitts (played by Wes Bentley in the film) and Sarah Gadon, from "Cosmopolis," as Angela (Mena Suvari's character). He announced that Mae Whitman will play Thora Birch's character and actor Nick Kroll from "Community," will read Peter Gallagher's part. For Lester Burnham, the lead role played by Kevin Spacey, Reitman just added Bryan Cranston. Christina Hendricks is set to play his wife (originally played by Annette Bening), and Woody Harrelson will read the part of his neighbor, Col. Frank Fitts.

By Maggie Lange
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September 5, 2012 2:02 PM
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Now and Then: The Evacuee's Guide to Movies

Reviews

Living in New Orleans sometimes means leaving it. That's why, with Hurricane Isaac bearing down on the city, I hit the highway last Monday for an extended Florida sojourn. And since a film buff's road trip is nothing without a screening schedule, here's a handy guide to movies for your next evacuation...

By Matt Brennan
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September 4, 2012 2:43 PM
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INTERVIEW: Jason Reitman Made Unmakeable Young Adult for $12 Million

Features

Jason Reitman is in a different place than he was during the release of "Up in the Air," when he pushed and pushed to gain entrance into the Oscar club. It crushed him on Oscar night when adapted screenplay went to Geoffrey Fletcher for "Precious." Was Reitman too young, too overexposed? When he jumped into his next feature with "Juno" collaborator Diablo Cody, "Young Adult," he took a witty midwestern plunge to the dark side. Charlize Theron went with him, and could land a Best Actress Oscar nomination. And so could supporting actor Patton Oswalt, the unlikely object of her attention.

By Anne Thompson
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December 5, 2011 1:44 PM
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Watch: Young Adult's Charlize Theron Will Pummel Her Way Into Your Heart

Video

There's nothing quite like a little Mavis Gary to start your day. It's rather fitting that Charlize Theron will be following up Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" (December 9) by playing the Evil Queen in "Snow White and the Huntsman."

By Sophia Savage
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November 29, 2011 11:58 AM
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Oscar Talk: Verdict on War Horse, Streep as Iron Lady, Theron as Young Adult, Animated Frontrunners

Awards

By Anne Thompson
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November 25, 2011 8:45 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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Theron, Reitman, Cody Talk Young Adult: Go-for-Broke Screenwriting, Assholes Don't Change, C Word

After the sixth and final pop-up screening of Jason Reitman's Young Adult Tuesday night at Los Angeles' New Beverly, Reitman, writer Diablo Cody and stars Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Elizabeth Reaser did a Q & A. TOH! guest blogger Beth Hanna reports highlights from the conversation. Paramount is releasing the film December 16.

By Beth Hanna
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November 2, 2011 5:44 AM
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Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody's Young Adult Reviewed from Minnesota: Juno's Wicked Step Sister

Slowly, Jason Reitman is emerging from his cocoon after his bout with extreme overexposure on Up in the Air, which ultimately did not yield an Oscar win. He's staging table reads at LACMA with pal Elvis Mitchell; he's back on Twitter, and now Young Adult (trailer here and below), his latest collaboration with Juno writer Diablo Cody, starring Charlize Theron, has debuted in Edina, Minnesota. Here is the first review. On Wednesday the Landmark Edina Cinema was the site of the first U.S. audience screening of "Young Adult," the new film from the "Juno" team of Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody. The much-anticipated new collaboration shares some stylistic notes with their earlier effort -- a pop-saturated soundtrack, a woman-child stuck between adolescence and adulthood, a droll appreciation of daily life in suburbia. It's also a step in a new direction, both for the creative team and for movies, a mature and humane comedy centered on a misanthropic female antihero.

By Anne Thompson
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October 21, 2011 5:42 AM
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Trailer Watch: Reitman's Young Adult Stars Charlize Theron as A Soulless Bitch You'll Love to Hate

After his over-exposure on the Up In The Air campaign trail -- as he emulated his own leading man's logging of air miles --and having lost the screenwriting Oscar to Precious's Geoffrey Fletcher, director Jason Reitman (and Paramount) have held off as long as they could before unveiling Young Adult, written by Juno's Diablo Cody.