Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: DGA Noms Analysis

The big news in today's Directors Guild nominations was the selection of Precious director Lee Daniels, the DGA's first African-American nominee, over Invictus' Clint Eastwood.

By Anne Thompson
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January 7, 2010 9:00 AM
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Producers Go Sci-Fi: Avatar, District 9 and Star Trek Make Top Ten

District 9 and Star Trek join awards front-runner Avatar in the Producers Guild of America's top ten for the Darryl F. Zanuck award in theatrical motion pictures.

By Anne Thompson
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January 5, 2010 3:12 AM
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Oscar Talk Episode Sixteen: Top Ten, Nine, Avatar, Up, Picks for 2010

At the new year, Kris Tapley and I ponder the fate of the Oscar Top Ten. We agree that Avatar is now the best picture front-runner, over EW's Oscar Issue Pick, Up in the Air, and that Crazy Heart star Jeff Bridges is overtaking critics-group fave George Clooney.

By Anne Thompson
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January 1, 2010 9:00 AM
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If Critics Ruled the Oscars (They Don't): Avatar Heads for Nine Noms

Time's Richard Corliss has figured out a clever way to write about year-end critics awards and tee up a clickable gallery of Oscar hopefuls, short and sweet. Trouble is, he gives way too much credit to the critics. They do help to clue the Academy voters into what films they should watch on their screener piles. But in the end, what the voters think when they watch the movies is what matters---as well as how passionate they feel as they vote for their top ten best picture candidates. The ones at the top of the list get more weight than the ones at the bottom. Thus, if most voters put The Last Station, Nine, The Messenger, Star Trek and District 9 at the bottom, they won't make it.

By Anne Thompson
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December 28, 2009 7:29 AM
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Oscar Duel: Yes, They're Fun, But Do Golden Globes Influence Oscar?

In this ongoing blog duel, Moviefone's resident Oscarologist Jack Mathews and I discuss the impact of the Golden Globes on the Oscar race. On Golden Globes nominations morning, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Robert Downey, Jr., Julia Roberts and Tobey Maguire were dancing on the ceiling. And Harvey Weinstein thought he had three sure-fire Oscar contenders with Nine, Inglourious Basterds and A Single Man.

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2009 9:45 AM
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Oscar Talk Episode Fifteen: Avatar, Nine, It's Complicated, Crazy Heart, Top Ten

Kris Tapley and I get serious about what's going to happen in the next month. Avatar will gain momentum, we think, while Nine and Invictus could lose it. Which films will make it to the final top ten? We agree on the obvious front-runners. But what could sneak in? Quentin Tarantino likes Star Trek. Kris likes Crazy Heart and The Messenger. I like District 9. Could raucous comedy It's Complicated score some noms? We also slice and dice the best director category, and discuss our fave holiday films, revealing a considerable generational divide: National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation vs. Meet Me in St. Louis.

By Anne Thompson
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December 18, 2009 8:30 AM
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Broadcast Film Critics Give Ten Nominations to Inglourious Basterds and Nine

The Broadcast Film Critics Movie Awards nominations in a whopping 25 categories are dominated by Inglourious Basterds and Nine, with ten nominations each, followed by Avatar, with nine and The Hurt Locker and Up in the Air with eight and The Lovely Bones with six. While not every category will match up with the ultimate Oscar nominations (some have six slots), this list of ten best picture nominees could be close to the final Oscar list--no District 9, The Lovely Bones, Star Trek or The Last Station (which got savaged by At the Movies).

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2009 10:29 AM
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Oscar Watch: The Hurt Locker's Bigelow Heads for Best Director

It's not surprising that the Alliance of Women Film Journalists went with The Hurt Locker and Kathryn Bigelow as best picture and director (they threw a mess of other achievement prizes at her as well--she'd better show up). And gave Jane Campion some props for her Bright Star direction and screenplay. Nor is Manohla Dargis off-base when she complains about the lack of women film directors today. The AWFJ may want to cut back on duplicative awards. They also gave two apiece to Agnes Varda and Mo'Nique.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2009 12:33 AM
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New York Film Critics Online Winners Led by Avatar

Best Picture: AvatarBest Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt LockerBest Actress: Meryl Streep, Julie & JuliaBest Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious BasterdsBest Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious BasterdsBest Foreign Language Film: The White RibbonBest Documentary: The CoveBest Animated Feature: UpBest Cinematography: Robert Richardson, Inglourious BasterdsBest Music: Crazy HeartBest Ensemble: In the Loop

By Anne Thompson
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December 13, 2009 10:37 AM
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Jeremy Renner Talks The Hurt Locker

Jeremy Renner has been breaking out for a long time. The 38-year-old Californian has starred in more than 20 movies, from S.W.A.T. to Dahmer and now, delivers the performance of his career as a fearless, focused dismantler of bombs in Kathryn Bigelow's Iraq thriller The Hurt Locker. There's a good chance that he could land in the fifth slot for the best actor Oscar. My flip cam interview is divided in three parts: