Thompson on Hollywood

Tree of Life Debuts in Cannes After All: New Poster, Music

If it was ever in doubt, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life (USA May 27) will in fact debut at Cannes, despite Icon UK's one-time insistence that they would open it ahead of the fest. The distributor admits that they will not be releasing the film, after wrangling with foreign sales company Summit over the deal terms. Spokesman Zak Brilliant of Icon told the Guardian: "[We] will not now be releasing Tree of Life on 4 May. There is a legal issue ongoing for the film which we hoped to resolve but were unable to do so."

By Anne Thompson
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April 27, 2011 6:00 AM
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Hot Cable Series The Killing, The Borgias, Game of Thrones Boost Breakout Stars

Post-Oscar season, there's no question that these days, the best viewing to be found is on cable. Not only are AMC's critically-hailed Danish murder mystery remake The Killing, HBO's Tolkien light fantasy series Game of Thrones (adapted from George R.R. Martin's novels by top Hollywood scribe David Benioff and D.B. Weiss), and Showtime's The Borgias (adapted by writer-director Neil Jordan) compelling, gorgeously-mounted, well-written series, but they are breaking out --and reviving--talent as well.

By Anne Thompson
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April 26, 2011 8:06 AM
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Filmmakers Bewail Twilight: Breaking Dawn Photo Leaks: "Stop Posting"

No leaked photos here. Summit has released a statement from Stephenie Meyer, Bill Condon, Wyck Godfrey and Summit Entertainment regarding leaked images from The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: As some of you may know, pictures and screen grabs of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn as a work in progress have leaked on the internet. We are extremely proud of this film and also extremely heartbroken to see it out there at this stage.

By Anne Thompson
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April 1, 2011 8:08 AM
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Summit Takes Icon UK to a Los Angeles Arbitration Tribunal Over Tree of Life

It just didn't make sense that Icon would release The Tree of Life ahead of all the other distributors before Cannes. There had to be a back story. Summit had told me that there was no way that Icon would release the film before Cannes. What I heard from London sources today is that Icon nabbed the title by paying a typically high minimum guarantee, and after seeing the film, was trying to get out of releasing it. (My queries to Icon have been ignored.) Hence the release date stand-off. The question is, how does Summit protect what is surely a delicate art-house flower that needs serious critical acclaim from starting to look like tainted goods? By bad-mouthing Icon.

By Anne Thompson
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March 31, 2011 12:21 PM
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SXSW Video: Jodie Foster Talks Beaver Stars Gibson and Lawrence's Pain, Her Own Split Personality

Jodie Foster had a problem. After completing production on her third feature film, The Beaver, her old pal Mel Gibson, who she had adored since they first worked together in 1994's Maverick, was in terrible trouble. At the end of reshoots on the film, she watched helplessly as he suffered through a career-destroying tabloid crisis of leaked phone tapes during his break-up battle with model Oksana Grigorieva.

By Anne Thompson
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March 18, 2011 9:15 AM
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SXSW: Jodie Foster Intros The Beaver, Starring "Beloved" Mel Gibson, to Upbeat Response; See Clips

Jodie Foster took Austin's Paramount stage for the Wednesday night premiere of The Beaver, a dark, moving family drama centered on Mel Gibson, who is well-cast as a tortured man in crisis. (See indieWIRE's review; here's Hollywood Wiretap's round-up).

By Anne Thompson
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March 17, 2011 4:24 AM
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SXSW Video: Duncan Jones and Jake Gyllenhaal Talk Source Code

Jake Gyllenhaal was attached to sci-fi script Source Code when he saw Duncan Jones' $5 million space drama Moon, starring Sam Rockwell in a multi-layered performance. He thought Jones was perfectly suited to direct Source Code, which played well as the SXSW Film Fest opener Friday night. Summit will release it April 1.

By Anne Thompson
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March 15, 2011 5:30 AM
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SXSW Day One: Early Buzz, Opener Source Code Plays Well

People keep telling me to see Ti West's horror flick The Innkeepers. So I'll check it out Saturday night. That's what film festivals do. They start buzz on a movie that few have seen or know anything about, and suddenly a career is born--or not.

By Anne Thompson
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March 12, 2011 10:49 AM
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Summit Closes $750 Million Funding; Develops New York Times Article "Deepwater Horizon's Final Hour"

No, James Cameron has not picked up the rights to the December 25 New York Times article Deepwater Horizon's Final Hour, although he might turn up as a character in the final movie that Summit Entertainment and Participant Media are developing about the BP Oil disaster (with backing from Imagenation Abu Dhabi). And Summit confirms that it has finally closed a new $750 million deal, for a $550-million term loan plus a $200-million revolving line of credit, led by banks JP Morgan and UBS AG.

By Anne Thompson
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March 9, 2011 12:04 AM
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Jodie Foster's The Beaver To Debut at SXSW, Open Wide April 8

Smart move. Summit Entertainment has decided to world premiere Jodie Foster's controversial Mel Gibson drama The Beaver at SXSW (March 11-19), which decided to let the film speak for itself. Said festival director Janet Pierson: "It's an actress/filmmaker carefully and beautifully tackling a heartbreaking subject in her finest work yet." The film starring Gibson as a man who talks to a sock puppet will be a centerpiece premiere on March 16. SXSW is a fest attended by film fans of every stripe who could send good buzz into the blogosphere and help to move the movie beyond Gibson's toxic tabloid history. Foster will attend; no word on Gibson as yet. Summit releases the film limited on March 23, expanding on April 8.