Thompson on Hollywood

Academy Selects Scientific Achievement Short List

The Motion Picture Academy's scientific and technical awards committee has selected 15 achievements for further awards consideration. Now anyone else with similar devices or prior claims can offer their achievements to the committee, by August 31.

By Anne Thompson
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August 20, 2010 5:36 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

Directors Talk: Vaughn on Super-Hero Movies, Cameron on Avatar 2 and Oil, Murphy on Eat, Pray, Love

- Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake, Kick-Ass) tells Hero Complex that the quality control of super hero movies (which have been "mined to death") is "not what it's supposed to be." Vaughn jumped on the chance to do X-Men: First Class, because people are getting bored of the super-hero frenzy, which can't last forever. After producing, directing and co-writing Kick-Ass, a big budget superhero film is something Vaughn has always wanted to do - and an opportunity that may not be on offer again. He withdrew from the opportunity to direct the third X-Men installment (he didn't feel ready at the time), and it went to Brett Ratner. Now Vaughn says that he would have done a better job (100 times better to be exact). When X-Men: First Class comes out next summer, the box office will be crowded with protagonists in tights, like Captain America, Thor and Green Lantern - what Vaughn calls a too-crowded room.

By Sophia Savage
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August 9, 2010 5:30 AM
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Cameron Talks Avatar Redux

Avatar is coming back on August 27 with nine minutes of new footage, mostly set on Pandora. Hell, I'd see it again in a nano-second. Has anything you've seen since you saw Avatar been nearly as good? The extra footage includes the death of the Na'vi warrior Tsu'tey, Cameron told MTV News (audio on jump), among several outlets he did phoners with late Friday afternoon:

By Anne Thompson
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August 7, 2010 12:45 PM
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3-D Stats are Trending Down

Hollywood would like to think that 3-D cures all ills. But the stats don't lie, as a discerning public picks and chooses the 3-D movies that are clearly worth paying a premium for. Check out The Wrap's analylsis of 3-D performance. The studios may want to reconsider throwing good money after bad when they try to buttress their returns on a bad B-movie with retrofitted 3-D. I quickly started to tune out Step Up 3-D, which actually had some good dancing, which I would much rather have seen in good old-fashioned 2-D. The intrusive 3-D wore out its welcome real fast. (Variety's Justin Chang disagrees.)

By Anne Thompson
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August 4, 2010 7:04 AM
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Families vs. 3-D: Too Pricey

Forbes blogger Dorothy Pomerantz thinks the 3-D craze for families is over.

By Sophia Savage
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July 14, 2010 6:17 AM
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Make Yourself a Scott Pilgrim Avatar

The link to make your own after the jump:

By Sophia Savage
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July 1, 2010 7:29 AM
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Summer Fizzle: Audiences Avoid the Blahs, Inception Pops (Video Featurette)

If Chris Nolan's eagerly awaited Inception scores at the box office this July 18, it's partly because moviegoers are responding to something that they haven't seen before. Check out the new featurette with Nolan and Leonardo DiCaprio below.

By Anne Thompson
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June 9, 2010 1:06 AM
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Cameron Speculation, Bond Stall Releases Craig and Mendes, Perry Loses Carey, Nolan Loves Bond

In the constant push for site traffic, James Cameron provides a reliable news headline, what with the BP "morons" thing, and the lingering impact of the ultimate blockbuster, the 3D Avatar. The tiniest indication of directional change for Cameron's next project is enough to fuel endless speculation.

By Cameron Carlson
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June 4, 2010 9:26 AM
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Cameron Talks Science of Avatar, Sequel

At Caltech this past Tuesday, James Cameron got together with heavy-hitting scientists to discuss the science behind Avatar. Cameron explained his theories behind giant flying dinosaurs, floating rocks, and space travel with assembled specialists. He was quick to acknowledge that the film is science fiction, but the explanatory "reverse-engineering", as he described it, occupies a staggering 400 to 500 pages on the film's wiki.