Thompson on Hollywood

Disney Dumped The Switch, But Aniston Needs Strong Co-Stars

What went wrong with The Switch, and is Jennifer Aniston's anemic marquee value to blame? Anthony D'Alessandro comes up with some surprising answers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 26, 2010 5:57 AM
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Scott Pilgrim vs. Universal and the Matrix

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World's bottom line comes down to the same problem that has faced a long line of Universal projects. It was an indie movie that cost too much to be successful inside the studio paradigm and should have been produced and released on a smaller less ambitious scale at the studio's specialty division Focus Features, which could have nurtured it and sent it into the world on a more limited basis and built on the film's strong word-of-mouth from its narrow base. To them a $12 million gross would have been fine. To Universal, it's less than the film's marketing budget. (A funny mash-up of Scott Pilgrim vs. The Matrix is below.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 23, 2010 11:37 AM
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Box Office: Expendables Holds Off All New Takers on Weak Weekend

It's the dog days of August indeed as the mighty Expendables threw off all new challengers and cheapie Twilight parody Vampires Suck outperformed Eat Pray Love on its second go-round. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers. (UPDATED.)

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 22, 2010 4:26 AM
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Promos: Frank Miller Does Gucci, Funny or Die Does Piranha 3D Oscar Ad

Graphic novelist-turned-filmmaker Frank Miller (Sin City) has directed a new Gucci advertisement for Guilt, a line of penance-pursuing perfume for the Italian luxury goods giant. The ad is so special that they've only released a teaser. The real, full-length commercial premieres at the MTV Movie Awards on September 12, when Miller fans will get to see Rachel Evan Wood drive a flaming car towards Chris Evans. The trailer showcases the iconic Miller/Rodriguez style. Not sure how this will effect the targeted demo, especially Miller fans...

By Cameron Carlson
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August 18, 2010 9:59 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Expendables Pulls Men, Eat Pray Love Gets Women

Both Sylvester Stallone and Julia Roberts marked their best openings in years with a boost from a raft of action stars in The Expendables and femme fans of the Elizabeth Gilbert bestseller Eat Pray Love, respectively. Comic-book youth film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World stumbled out of the starting gate. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 15, 2010 4:19 AM
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Manly Movie Stars: Rodrigue Talks the Evolution of Masculinity in Film

Almost two years ago, Anne Thompson asked "Where have the manly movie stars gone?," and investigated the entertainment industry's ongoing search for traditional male leads that aren't borrowed from the UK, Australia or Europe to commandeer Hollywood's most testosterone-needy films. While America lays claim to the boy-men niche with the likes of Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, Keanu Reeves, Jake Gyllenhaal and any male in a Judd Apatow film, Hollywood's most- masculine male leads are more often than not played by foreigners; Christian Bale (a Brit) and Heath Ledger (an Aussie) were case-in-point as the stars of 2008's highest grossing film, The Dark Knight.

By Sophia Savage
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August 12, 2010 8:28 AM
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21 Comments

Jennifer Lawrence Builds Herself; New Hollywood Formula: Multiple Stars

-W Magazine's September issue features eight young actresses they call "The Brave Ones." The most notable is Winter's Bone 20-year-old breakout Jennifer Lawrence, who tells interviewer Lynn Hirschberg: "I don't feel young." Indeed, compared to her twenty-something peers, she seems wise beyond her years. The New Yorker's David Denby wrote that Sundance jury prize winner Winter's Bone "would be unimaginable with anyone less charismatic playing Ree…She’s more believable as a heroic character than any of the men we’ve seen peacocking through movies recently.” When teenage Lawrence was gunning for the lead role of Ree Dolly, the issue was that she was too pretty. She recalls flying the red-eye (which helped her to look more ragged) to New York to audition a second time: suddenly her prettiness wasn't an issue. She tells Hirschberg, “There are actresses who build themselves, and then there are actresses who are built by others...I want to build myself.”

By Sophia Savage
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August 12, 2010 5:29 AM
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Eat Pray Love Early Review: A Shallow Guilty Pleasure

Ryan Murphy's film adaptation of Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert’s bestseller about the divorced New Yorker's lone odyssey to Italy, India and Bali in search of meaning in her life, delivers an escapist Julia Roberts romance and exotic travelogue. But its pleasures are guilty and skin-deep.

By Anne Thompson
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August 11, 2010 7:23 AM
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Weekend Boxoffice: Finally, The Other Guys Elbows Inception Out of Top Spot

Finally, the Inception juggernaut has slowed enough for a new comedy, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell's The Other Guys, to nab the number one slot at the weekend boxoffice. Anthony D'Alessandro reports. (UPDATED)

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 8, 2010 4:30 AM
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Mid-Summer Box Office Wrap: Top Ten Chart, Studio Report Card

At mid-summer, the box office is lagging just behind last year's pace and ticket sales are flat, reports Anthony D'Alessandro, who charts the season's winners, losers and studio market shares so far (as of last weekend). Will red-hot Inception take the number one box office crown from Toy Story 3? Stay tuned, as numbers and rankings will change by Labor Day.