Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Watch: Tarantino and Almodovar to Present at Oscars

Quentin Tarantino's intro to Roger Corman was by far the high point of the Governors Awards, so I was delighted when Oscarcast producer Bill Mechanic told me that filmmakers Tarantino and Pedro Almodovar would be presenting on Oscar night. Sounds like the right direction to me.

By Anne Thompson
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November 16, 2009 6:36 AM
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Ten Things I Learned at the Governors Awards

1. The Governors Awards will not be televised. At the orange Grand Ballroom at Hollywood and Highland Saturday night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences gave out four honorary Oscars at a new annual event on the awards calendar. Academy executive director Bruce Davis, president Tom Sherak, Oscar show producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman, and Oscar-host-to-be Alec Baldwin all attended this relaxed, celebratory black-tie cocktail and dinner party. The ceremony awarding four honorary Oscars to actress Lauren Bacall, producers John Calley and Roger Corman and cinematographer Gordon Willis, punctuated by repeated standing ovations, lasted three hours and 18 minutes, to be exact.

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2009 8:13 AM
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Oscar Watch: Waiting for The Big Four, Invictus, Lovely Bones, Avatar, Nine

As the deadlines for the Hollywood Foreign Press and film critics voting loom, the studios are finally starting to screen the last four big guns. The HFPA is heading to New York this weekend for the Nine junket. And they're seeing The Lovely Bones and Invictus. Avatar will likely be the last to show--not before December 10, says Fox.

By Anne Thompson
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November 11, 2009 9:13 AM
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Girl with Dragon Tattoo Gets U.S. Release

As I speed through the second installment of the late Swedish author Steig Larsson's global bestseller, the Millenium Trilogy, Music Box Films is considering a U.S. release of the Swedish crime thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, which has grossed almost $100 million worldwide to date. (Here's Variety's review. The trailer is on the jump.)

By Anne Thompson
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October 11, 2009 11:13 AM
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Tarantino Reviews There Will Be Blood, Sunshine, Taxi Driver

Brit Sky Movies gave Quentin Tarantino a shot at programming, and he reviews his selections. Not surprising if you've ever spent any time with him, the guy's a perceptive and engaging critic.

By Anne Thompson
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September 1, 2009 5:03 AM
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Critics Faves: Arty or Artful?

In the fall season, as hundreds of movies are launched and weighed at film festivals, critics come into their own. They don't hold much sway with audiences in the summer. But in the fall, suddenly, what they think does matter.

By Anne Thompson
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August 31, 2009 8:58 AM
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Weekend Fires, Festival Watch, New Moon Pics, Battsek Talks

Weekend News:Two Los Angeles County firemen were killed in a vehicle crash as they fought the Station fire near Acton after a long weekend battling fierce blazes in the Angeles National Forest brought on by hot, dry Southland weather. The Mt. Wilson tower-cam continued recording Sunday as wildfires threatened the mountain's radio and TV towers. Thousands of area residents were evacuated and sought shelter at local schools as their homes were endangered.

By Anne Thompson
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August 31, 2009 6:12 AM
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Weekend Box Office: The Horror!

The Final Destination got a major lift from premium 3-D ticket prices as rivals cried foul, "no fair." The Weinstein Co. inexplicably competed with itself as Rob Zombie's Halloween II came in third after strong second-week holdover Inglourious Basterds.

By Anne Thompson
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August 30, 2009 12:53 PM
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Weekly Oscar-Talk Podcast Debut

I am happy to announce the debut of a weekly Friday kudo-podcast with In Contention's Kris Tapley. Here's the first Oscar Talk. We discuss the awards hopefuls so far and likely contenders coming out of upcoming fests; Meryl Streep’s remarkable emergence as a 60-year-old movie star; how the ten best picture slots could effect the Oscar race; new indie distribs Overture, Summit and Apparition; changing trends in Oscar campaigns; Paramount pushing Shutter Island to 2010; how Avatar Day went; and a Toronto preview.