Thompson on Hollywood

Women in Film LA Announces 2011 Crystal + Lucy Awards Honorees, Including Bening and Holmes

Women in Film's 2011 Crystal + Lucy Awards honorees are listed below. WIF LA honors the industry's most "creative, dynamic and forceful" women, and will throw a gala fundraiser on June 16 in their honor and in support of WIF LA's educational and philanthropic programs. Says new WIF LA president, Cathy Shulman: "Each of these women has made a genuine impact. Collectively, as leaders in every aspect of their lives, professionally and philanthropically, they stand as shining examples to men and women throughout the entertainment industry that achieving everything is possible.”

By Sophia Savage
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April 5, 2011 9:24 AM
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Oscar Talk: Final Edition, Oscar Wrap

It's a wrap, as In Contention's Kris Tapley and I analyze Sunday night's Oscar show winners and losers (below). Co-host Anne Hathaway came out ahead of James Franco, who seemed to be either too tired or too bored to do more than phone it in between tweets. (Caryn James' review is here.) Maybe he really was more comfortable at the Spirit Awards.

By Anne Thompson
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February 28, 2011 10:30 AM
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Live From The Indie Spirit Awards: Black Swan Dominates, Winners Talk (UPDATE)

We are live on the beaches of Santa Monica for the 2011 Indie Spirit Awards. It's a sunny but blistering February afternoon. The clouds will likely roll in as the show starts at 2 pm. Winners will be ushered into the press tent to give their last comments before tomorrow's season-finale Oscar showdown. Check back for live updates. Here is the complete list of nominees.

By Sophia Savage
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February 26, 2011 9:43 AM
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Indie Spirits Preview: Back to Beach with Host McHale; Oscar Nominees Favored to Win; Hudson Talks

It's back to the beach in Santa Monica (amid threats of rain) for the 26th edition of the Independent Spirit Awards, which are voted on by some 5000 members of Film Independent, and take place the Saturday before the Oscars. It won't be hard for first-time host Joel McHale (The Soup, Spy Kids 4, see video below) to improve on last year's Eddie Izzard, who phoned in his duties without seeming to have much sense of the smart indies in the room during 2010's one-off move downtown to LA Live. Former R-rated hosts John Waters, Sarah Silverman and Rainn Wilson honed in on the right vibe for this crowd. Here's the list of presenters.

By Anne Thompson
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February 26, 2011 2:42 AM
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Oscar Predicts Chart 2010

Here's my list of predictions for Oscar wins (in italics) in all categories including shorts. (My nominations predictions are here.) Until February 27th!

By Anne Thompson
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February 26, 2011 12:51 AM
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Mark Your Ballots: Anne Thompson Predicts Oscar Winners

The Oscar polls closed on Tuesday at 5 PM. No more campaigning, lobbying or pitches for attention will make a difference now. It's all in the hands of the PriceWaterhousecooper counters, and will be revealed Sunday. Meanwhile the rest of us want to win our respective Oscar pools. This year, I must warn you, is tough to call. As Kris Tapley and I discuss in our latest Oscar Talk, there are plenty of sure-calls, but also several impossible-to-predict categories: documentary and foreign film, which are voted on by small groups who must prove that they've seen all the films, and supporting actress. The shorts are always a bit of a crap shoot too. Warning: I'm going out on a limb in a few categories, so when in doubt, choose the perceived frontrunner.

By Anne Thompson
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February 25, 2011 8:17 AM
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BAFTAs Go to King's Speech, Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, Alice, Dragon Tattoo UPDATED

The BAFTA Awards are under way at the Royal Opera House in London. Safe to say The King's Speech is winning many awards but is not sweeping; Inception and Alice in Wonderland are grabbing many of the technical categories. I predict that the Oscars will follow this trend.

By Anne Thompson
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February 13, 2011 7:48 AM
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Oscar Talk: Bening vs. Portman, Leo's Gaffe, Nominees Lunch, BAFTAs, Inception Surge

We're in the thick of the Oscar race now. In this week's Oscar Talk podcast, In Contention's Kris Tapley and Guy Lodge and I discuss the real contest between Annette Bening and Natalie Portman, whether Melissa Leo's glam ads are opening up the field in supporting actress, and how the Nominees Lunch and the upcoming BAFTAs on Sunday give us a sense of where the races are tipping.

By Anne Thompson
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February 11, 2011 4:59 AM
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Oscar Watch: Bening Could Beat Portman, Exclusive The Kids Are All Right Video, Tribute Q & A

Annette Bening is a classy theater actress who came late to movies--she was almost 30 when she took her first lead role in Milos Forman's Valmont. She went on to work for future husband Warren Beatty on Bugsy and Love Affair, and had three Oscar-nominated roles, in Stephen Frears' The Grifters, Sam Mendes' American Beauty and Istvan Szabo's Being Julia before landing a fourth for Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right.

By Anne Thompson
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February 10, 2011 3:55 AM
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Academy Nominees Luncheon: 2011 Class Photo, Meeting the Coens, Keeping It Short

What becomes a legend most? A diminutive best actress nominee sitting at the center of a group photo on last year's best actor winner's lap. At last year's nominees luncheon, Jeff Bridges was hanging with genuine affection with old pal Sandra Bullock.