Thompson on Hollywood

Weekend Box Office: Puss In Boots Stomps Timberlake's In Time and Depp's Rum Diary

DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots stomped all over weaker rivals In Time and The Rum Diary this weekend, even with topliners Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp, as Three Musketeers in 3-D and Paranormal Activity 3 both dropped over 60%. Charles Lyons reports on the box office this wintry World Series Halloween weekend.

By Charles Lyons
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October 30, 2011 5:11 AM
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First Look: Cianfrance's Place Beyond the Pines Stars Badass Ryan Gosling and Cop Bradley Cooper

Check out the leading men of Blue Valentine writer-director Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines, currently in post. Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper co-star as a motorcycle-badass/bank robber and a cop/politician, respectively. Their lady loves are played by Eva Mendes and Rose Byrne. Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) and Ray Liotta also co-star. It almost sounds too good to be true, but Gosling's hair brings us down to reality.

By Sophia Savage
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October 28, 2011 5:00 AM
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Butler, Worthington & McConaughey Set for CG 3-D Thunder Run: True Story from Baghdad Front Lines

As Marc Forster's biopic Machine Gun Preacher stumbles at the box office and Ralph Fiennes' upcoming Shakespeare drama Coriolanus is more likely to play for the Academy crowd than general audiences, Gerard Butler is heading back toward action fare. He's set to star with Sam Worthington and Matthew McConaughey in Iraq war movie Thunder Run, a CG 3-D action-thriller from macho director Simon West (Con Air, Tomb Raider, The Mechanic).

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:21 AM
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IN THE WORKS: Independence Day Sequels Want To Take Your Money, Even if They Don't Pay for Smith

Fox will make not one but two Independence Day sequels, fifteen years (and counting) after the original Will Smith pic raked in $800 million across the globe. It's not a new idea -- the studio had wanted to green light a sequel for some time, but both Smith and director Roland Emmerich demanded huge paychecks. So Fox focused on developing scripts and declared that the franchise could proceed with or without them.

By Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:09 AM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Like Crazy, Anonymous, Puss in Boots, In Time, The Rum Diary and More

Quite an eclectic mix of films are on offer this weekend, from the charming young love saga Like Crazy, which has been building buzz for stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones ever since director Drake Doremus premiered the intimate romance at Sundance (it's indieWIRE's Pick of the Week), to Roland Emmerich's anti-Shakespeare digital costume drama Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave, to Dreamworks's Puss in Boots -- the new franchise spawned by Shrek-- and Johnny Depp's disappointing return to Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary. Topliners Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried fail to carry In Time, which boasts a strong sci-fi premise that its writer-director, Andrew Niccol, can't adequately serve. Indie releases Janie Jones (think Somewhere meets Crazy Heart) and The Double (think The Recruit, but with Topher Grace and Richard Gere instead of Colin Farrell and Al Pacino) are both coming up rotten on the Tomatometer.

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:00 AM
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Hunger Games Character Posters Land, Build Anticipation for Franchise's March 2012 Debut

Check out the new character posters for the upcoming Hunger Games franchise kick-off (the first installment hits theaters March 2012. Full Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) poster below. Here's more details.

By Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 5:56 AM
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CASTING WATCH: John Cusack and Malin Akerman Hop On Board The Numbers Station

John Cusack, who's been busy with James McTeigue's The Raven (March 2012; the goods from Comic-Con), Lee Daniels' The Paperboy (in post; details) and Scott Walker's Frozen Ground (filming) has boarded The Number Station, along with Malin Akerman. Directed by Dane Kasper Barfoed and written by F. Scott Frazier, the action thriller will begin shooting in November.

By Sophia Savage
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October 25, 2011 6:12 AM
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Strike Back, Episode 10 – Season Finale (Spoilers)

David Chute wants you to hoist a few in honor of Strike Back, and it's not just an excuse to drink: this short-spoken Cinemax show actually has a lot to say.The first question for the fans is: Does it add up? Did it make sense? And then: How do we feel about the way the surviving Section 20 team members responded? Lifting a glass to the departed in a case like this, I’d argue in the affirmative on all points, and would go a step further: Understanding why this ending works for Strike Back is to understand what the series, at heart, has always been about.

By David Chute
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October 23, 2011 4:09 AM
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IN THE WORKS: Theron's Career Comeback Includes Horror Remake; The Departed Prequel; Night Train

Don't be surprised if Charlize Theron decides not to interrupt what looks like a promising career revival-- via Young Adult/Prometheus/Snow White and the Huntsman--with an ugly step-sister. It's a remake of Zwart Water, a Dutch horror film about a little girl whose new friend is the ghost of her mother's dead twin, in which Theron (her production company Denver & Delilah bought the rights; they also produced Young Adult) is set to play the mother. Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) will direct. This sounds like the kind of project Hilary Swank would do (see: The Reaping). We're betting that Theron won't end up in the film.

By Sophia Savage
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October 18, 2011 11:25 AM
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Adventures of Tintin Early Reviews are Mixed: Delightful, Dazzling, CG Wizardry, Vidgame Action

Reviews

Despite his stellar review, TOH! London critic Matt Mueller says there are a few drawbacks to Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. An "almost bombastically annoying" John Williams score, for one, creepy close-ups of Tintin are thankfully few, and a "ridiculously frantic and breathless pace" join what some other critics aren't so impressed with. But there are many fans, which should help Tintin reel in an impressive global box office (October 26 overseas, December 21 in the US).