Thompson on Hollywood

Spielberg and Daniel Day-Lewis Present 'Lincoln' Screening for the US Senate

News

The United States Senate took a break from their law making (or stalling) to watch how it was done in the old days. Steven Spielberg and his star, Daniel Day-Lewis, attended a screening of "Lincoln" at the Capitol Visitors Center yesterday. Spielberg said that he was honored to see Senators from ”both sides sitting in the same room watching a president put the people out in front of the abyss.”

By Maggie Lange
|
December 20, 2012 1:16 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Immersed in Movies: Production Designer Rick Carter Goes Inside Out with 'Lincoln'

Features

For Rick Carter, "Lincoln" represents the culmination of a decade-long encounter with "the nature of conscience and the Goya-esque disasters of war." It's been a cathartic journey also encompassing "War of the Worlds," "Munich," "Avatar" (for which he won the Academy Award), "Sucker Punch," and "War Horse." But "Lincoln" is special.

By Bill Desowitz
|
December 10, 2012 3:13 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Weekend Box Office Top Ten: 'Twilight,' 'Skyfall' and 'Lincoln' Soar

Box Office

A wide variety of films succeeded this weekend, mostly well-reviewed pictures for adults-- with one franchise finale (“Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2”) and one non-holiday Disney animation hit ("Wreck-It-Ralph") delivering as expected. Business for the Top Ten was up from both last weekend (50%) and last year (12%) – even though fewer films grossed over $4 million for the three days. But last year also saw a “Twilight” opening, so the uptick is impressive.

By Tom Brueggemann
|
November 18, 2012 1:04 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Saturday Box Office Preview: 'Twilight' Finale Soars, 'Lincoln' Solid Wide Break, 'Silver Linings' Builds Buzz

Box Office

The opening of the final "Twilight" film leads all grosses this weekend, but it's not the only box office news. Without taking anything away from its strong $71-million first day and midnight show gross (equalling last year's, as expected), the most interesting figures come from a trio of likely Oscar contenders.

By Tom Brueggemann
|
November 17, 2012 4:16 PM
|
3 Comments

More:

Oscar Watch: Spielberg, Snider and Kushner Talk Finding 'Lincoln'

Interviews

The thing that hits you on first viewing "Lincoln" is how unconventional it is. It's organic, grown from the seeds in Doris Kearns Goodwin's 800-page Lincoln tome "Team of Rivals," nurtured over five years by playwright Tony Kushner, and shaped by Steven Spielberg and actor Daniel Day-Lewis into something we've never seen before. This alchemy of a torrent of words, well-researched history, and the powerful personality of the world's most popular American president has yielded a magical biopic that is the current front-runner in the Oscar race.

By Anne Thompson
|
November 16, 2012 4:20 PM
|
1 Comment

More:

Immersed in Movies: Raising 'Kane' in 'Lincoln'

Features

Steven Spielberg has always shown a reverence for Orson Welles and "Citizen Kane" with his trademark use of light shining through chiaroscuro-style. Not surprisingly, he uses it effectively in "Lincoln." Plus, there's an early nod to "Kane" with a close-up of Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally) through a mirror on the dresser.

By Bill Desowitz
|
November 16, 2012 3:00 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Free iPad App Dives Deeper into History of Spielberg's 'Lincoln'

News

History buffs--want to dig deeper into Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln"? There is a free iPad app available now on iTunes. Lincoln: A Steven Spielberg Film - Discover the Story goes behind the scenes with an interactive look at that crucial time in American history. It includes photos, art, interviews, music and a historical narrative. Take a look at these screen grabs.

By Sophia Savage
|
November 15, 2012 2:36 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Hollywood Rites of Passage, from Redford and Smith to Siegal and Geffen

News

It was an odd day, bookended by two events that drew together an amazing swath of Hollywood's older generation. I saw CAA partner Bryan Lourd, DreamWorks' Marvin Levy, and Sundance's Michelle Satter at both events, and while the Lois Smith memorial in the morning and Peggy Siegal-wrangled PBS documentary "Inventing David Geffen" in the evening were very different affairs, they both marked rites of passage.

By Anne Thompson
|
November 14, 2012 3:47 PM
|
0 Comments

More:

Now and Then: 'Lincoln,' the Movies, and Historical Accuracy

Reviews

"Lincoln" is no dour disquisition, no romance of an imagined past, but a heroic, even thrilling drama of compromise and chicanery in the midst of the Civil War. Indeed, it resolves one of the medium's oldest conundrums: "Lincoln" is that rare thing, good history and great cinema at once.

By Matt Brennan
|
November 13, 2012 1:28 PM
|
2 Comments

More:

Arthouse Audit: 'Lincoln' Makes Triumphant Limited Opening, Beats 'Schindler's List' Initial Numbers

Box Office

Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" opened with the most impressive limited gross of the year, solidifying its status as a rigorous Oscar contender. Though not the top per screen average of the year, it opened wider - 11 theaters in seven cities, not just NY/LA - than those with higher average numbers.