Thompson on Hollywood

Why 'Life of Pi' Will Win Multiple Oscars Next Weekend

Interviews

Going into the final Oscar stretch, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" has turned out to be a stronger contender--and box office juggernaut, at close to $600 million worldwide--than many had expected. Nominated for eleven Oscars, among the categories the movie is favored to win are best director, cinematography, visual effects and editing. Some weeks back I moderated a lively DGA panel with cinematographer Claudio Miranda (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”), producer David Womark, VFX animator and supervisor Erik Jan De Boer, visual effects supervisor Bill Westenhofer (of beleaguered Rhythm & Hues) and Lee's long-time editor Tim Squyres.

By Anne Thompson
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February 19, 2013 1:32 PM
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Oscar Q & A: Meet Tom Van Avermaet, Director of Darkly Glimmering Short 'Death of a Shadow' (TRAILER)

Interviews

Of all the Oscar-nominated shorts, Tom Van Avermaet's gorgeous "Death of a Shadow" occupies the most complex and entrancing alternative reality. Matthias Schoenaerts ("Rust and Bone") plays Nathan Rijckx, a deceased WWI soldier stuck in a limbo where an intricate steam-punk machine selects each person's moment of death. He has a second chance at life if he agrees to work for a Grim Reaper figure who collects shadow images of the moment that people die. Rijckx agrees to shoot 10,000 shadows in order to return to life and find the woman he fell in love with at the moment he died.

By Maggie Lange
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February 18, 2013 2:56 PM
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'Amour' Auteur Michael Haneke Talks Riva and Trintignant, Death of 35 mm UPDATED

Interviews

Michael Haneke's "Amour" has been nominated for five Oscars: Best Picture, Directing, Actress, Foreign Language Film and Screenplay. This comes after scooping up awards from such year-end critics groups as the New York Film Critics Circle, and tops off a stellar year that began with the film winning the Palme d'Or in Cannes last May.

By Anne Thompson
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February 15, 2013 1:06 PM
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The Hollywood Education of Ben Affleck, from 'Chasing Amy,' 'Armageddon' and 'Shakespeare' to his Second Act and 'Argo' [VIDEO]

News

Before accepting the Santa Barbara Modern Master Award from childhood pal Matt Damon, "Argo" helmer and star Ben Affleck, 40, with graceful help from master interviewer Leonard Maltin, showed his mettle as charming raconteur and ace impressionist. These skills have served "Argo" well in its surging race for Oscars.

By Anne Thompson
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February 13, 2013 2:34 PM
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Interview: 'Lore' Director Cate Shortland Explores World War II Landscape of Identity and Sexuality

Interviews

Australian filmmaker Cate Shortland's "Lore," which was shortlisted for the foreign Oscar, is now playing in limited release. After her 2004 debut "Somersault" broke out Sam Worthington and Abbie Cornish, Shortland took her time coming back to helm another film. Set in vastly different territory, World War II drama "Lore" made its debut in Toronto. It was worth the wait.

By Sophia Savage
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February 12, 2013 4:25 PM
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Berlin: Director David M. Rosenthal Talks Backwoods Noir 'A Single Shot,' Starring Rockwell and Macy

Interviews

“I wasn’t one of these directors who knew at the age of 8 that they wanted to be a director,” said David M. Rosenthal over a large plate of currywurst and fries in the cafe at Berlin’s Grand Hyatt Hotel. “I was a photo geek in high school, the photo editor of the newspaper, and that’s how I kind of started to see the world through a lens.”

By Tom Christie
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February 12, 2013 12:16 PM
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'Before Midnight' Hits Berlin: Delpy, Hawke and Linklater Press Conference

Festivals

"Before Midnight" isn’t just a chick flick, it’s a chick field-goal. About half way through the third Ethan Hawke-Julie Delpy love-hate-love fest, I found myself thinking two words: 'Shut up! Stop talking!! Shut the FUCK up!!!'

By Tom Christie
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February 11, 2013 1:52 PM
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Berlin: Damon on Affleck’s ‘Rough Spot,’ 'Promised Land'’s Bomb, and Berlin’s Airport Debacle

Festivals

At a press conference following the screening of his and Gus Van Sant’s "Promised Land" at the Berlinale today, Matt Damon was asked what the chances of Ben Affleck’s "Argo"winning the Academy Award, and if he was tired of talking about his friend and business partner. “His life is so interesting, I never get tired of talking about him,” said Damon with a smile. “He’s been on a roller coaster for the last fifteen years.”

By Tom Christie
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February 8, 2013 7:23 PM
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Oscar Watch 'How to Survive a Plague': From a Tale of Disease, a Primer for Empowerment

Features

David France didn't set out to make a film about the AIDS crisis. He didn't even set out to be a filmmaker. Speaking to me from Los Angeles on the afternoon before the Directors Guild of America Awards—for which he was nominated for his first documentary, "How to Survive a Plague"—France told me that the project (also nominated for the documentary feature Oscar) grew out of his feeling that a crucial chapter of the history of AIDS in America had been lost. That story, he knew from personal experience, was one of activism and empowerment, one that had changed the United States forever. France wanted to bring it back.

By Jacob Combs
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February 6, 2013 2:53 PM
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Oscar Lunch Nominees Q & A: Chastain, Lawrence, Hathaway, Adams, Washington, Jackman, Cooper and More

Awards

Among the nominated stars stopping by the interview room on their way to the Oscar Nominees Luncheon were Ben Affleck, Tim Burton, Bradley Cooper, Hugh Jackman, Denzel Washington, Jessica Chastain, Jennifer Lawrence, Naomi Watts, Quvenzhane Wallis, Robert De Niro, Christoph Waltz, Amy Adams, Sally Field, Helen Hunt, Anne Hathaway and Jacki Weaver. Absent were Daniel Day Lewis, Joaquin Phoenix, Emmanuelle Riva, Tommy Lee Jones, Alan Arkin and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Check out highlights of what each had to say below.