Thompson on Hollywood

Ebert Named Webby Person of the Year

The Webby Awards have named Roger Ebert their Person of the Year. The Webbys credit the Chicago Sun-Times film critic with raising the bar for the “level of poignancy, thoughtfulness and critique one can achieve on the web” and having an “unparalleled level of engagement with followers and fans.”

By Sophia Savage
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May 4, 2010 6:35 AM
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Oscar Watch: Tarantino vs. Cameron vs. Bigelow vs. Reitman vs. Daniels

On the plane to Salt Lake City, I was listed A 01 on Southwest for the first time, like first class, and got out before they shut down some southern California flights due to high winds.

By Anne Thompson
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January 21, 2010 11:55 AM
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Upsets At the Globes: Reitman, Cameron Beat Tarantino, Bigelow

There were some close races at the Golden Globes, including best screenplay and best director. When Jason Reitman accepted the screenplay prize for Up in the Air, (shared with Sheldon Turner) he said that he thought Quentin Tarantino would be accepting, not him. And when James Cameron accepted the best director award for Avatar, he said, "I thought Kathryn was going to get this, and she richly deserves this. I am very grateful." He went on to thank his stars in Na'vi, and thanked wife Suzy Amis in English: "Baby, you make my dreams possible." That's a far cry from his old Oscar chortle, "I'm King of the World!"

By Anne Thompson
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January 18, 2010 3:17 AM
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Reitman's Up in the Air Press Tour Simulator

Jason Reitman not only put together a pie chart from his Up in the Air media rounds of most frequent questions, but now he's made a video of his endless global press tour that shows what a blur this whole thing must be. I talked to Reitman at the very start in Telluride with a flip cam interview before he had his patter down, and interviewed him again in L.A. at a Sneak Previews Q & A. While I see Peter Sciretta, Kris Tapley, Peter Travers and Rachel Abramowitz in the following montage, I don't think I'm in there:

By Anne Thompson
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January 8, 2010 1:25 AM
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20 Questions for Up in the Air's Jason Reitman

It's hard to believe that a filmmaker as assured as Jason Reitman is 32 and has made just three feature films, including Up in the Air, which is about to open limited December 4 after earning raves from audiences and critics on the international film fest circuit. Here he talks about his airline obsession, pie chart, directing George Clooney as well as 60 non-actors who had been laid off, and why this was the right movie to make at the right time.

By Anne Thompson
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November 29, 2009 8:46 AM
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Reitman Talks Up in the Air, Clooney

Six years ago, Jason Reitman picked up the Walter Kirn novel Up in the Air and showed it to his father Ivan (Ghostbusters), who acquired film rights. Jason took a short stab at a film treatment of the book about a businessman who is obsessed with collecting frequent flier miles.

By Anne Thompson
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September 15, 2009 11:54 AM
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Fox, Cody, Kusama, Reitman Talk Jennifer's Body

The prospects for smart horror comedies are dicey. Audiences tend to get confused when their genres get too mixed up: are they supposed to laugh or be terrified? Look at the lackluster summer b.o. for Sam Raimi's Drag Me to Hell. Mixing sex and horror is also risky, as the feminist thriller comedy Teeth proved.

By Anne Thompson
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August 10, 2009 7:32 AM
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Oscar Watch: Juno

Various Oscar prognosticators suggest that Juno is too much of a teen flick to play to senior Academy voters. Judging from how the pic performed at my class this week, which reps the older demo quite well, that will not be an issue. This movie will build into a huge hit across many demos. Imagine that I served up one serious fall film after another to the class, from Michael Clayton, Reservation Road, Slipstream, Grace is Gone, Lions for Lambs, and The Kite Runner to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly...and then they got Juno.

By Anne Thompson
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December 7, 2007 5:51 AM
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Juno Rocks

While I was an admirer of Jason Reitman's frosh effort Thank You for Smoking, which was a wickedly funny intellectually sharp and well-acted movie, Juno is another matter entirely. One, it is written by ex-midwestern stripper-turned-blogger/screenwriter Diablo Cody, who has an uncommon ear for smart witty edgily contemporary dialogue that while a tad exaggerated, rings true.