Thompson on Hollywood

The Avengers Cover EW; Their Mighty Powers Still Won't Match B.O. Power of Dark Knight Rises

On newsstands tomorrow, EW's The Avengers issue banks on the star power of not just one, but three existing Marvel superhero franchise movies. Iron Man's Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, and Jeremy Renner (Hawkeye), Thor's Chris Hemsworth, and Captain America's Chris Evans join up with new Hulk Mark Ruffalo to defeat uber-villain Loki (Thor's Tom Hiddleston), who told TOH his powers have increased a thousand-fold. It's the superhero franchise movie to end them all.

By Sophia Savage
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September 29, 2011 4:54 AM
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Box Office: What Went Wrong with Critic Faves Drive and Warrior

Aren't rave reviews supposed to push indie films into crossover success? Anthony D'Alessandro investigates what went wrong with Drive and Warrior at the fall box office.While critics did boost ticket sales for such wide appeal films as The Help (74% fresh Tomatometer and $155 million domestic B.O.) and Contagion (84% fresh, $56 million), they weren't able to turn things around for Lionsgate’s Warrior ($12.3 million, 84% fresh) or FilmDistrict’s Drive ($21.9 million, 93%). Why? It's complicated, but one thing's for sure: the films fell short because both distribs took their films out too fast to fine-tune their roll-out for their real audience. And while both films played well for women once they saw them, neither distrib was able to lure them in significant numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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September 28, 2011 4:22 AM
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Weekly Wrap: Oscar Talk, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Moneyball, Gordon-Levitt Interviewed on 50/50

WEEKEND PREVIEW:

By Maggie Lange
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September 23, 2011 10:29 AM
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Film in the Decade Since 9/11: From Superheroes to Westerns, What Came After

This week's “Now and Then” column started out comparing and contrasting two movies about assassins — Hanna (Joe Wright, 2011) and Léon: the Professional (Luc Besson, 1994)—and ended up ruminating on 9/11. Trailers below:Life and culture are too messy to be divided into easy categories like “Before” and “After,” but for all the continuities in the way films are made and viewed, a long view of the last decade reveals some important, if subtle, shifts. Watching the network news coverage of September 11 to prepare for this column, I was reminded of how much we didn’t know that day, how much our fear stemmed from no longer being able to control the course of events.

By Matt Brennan
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September 12, 2011 11:36 AM
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Confessions of Conan the Barbarian Writer, Dark Knight Leaves Pittsburgh, Universal Drops Ouija

Christopher Nolan has wrapped filming on The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh; he still has more principal photography in New York and Los Angeles. The film opens July 20, 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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August 24, 2011 8:11 AM
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Anne Hathaway: A Shockingly Adequate Rapper

Don't worry, she still retains adorability and even a dose of her Oscar-hosting cheekiness. In response to being hounded by the paparazzi after the announcement of her prowling role in The Dark Knight Rises, the Love and Other Drugs and One Day star rapped about her relationship with the camera-toting set on Conan last night (video clip below).

By Maggie Lange
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August 17, 2011 6:30 AM
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Directors Hating on Other Directors: Cronenberg vs. Shyamalan, Burton and Green vs. Smith

Thank you, Flavorwire, for reminding us of the dark side of creative genius. In "The 30 Harshest Filmmaker-on-Filmmaker Insults In History," Flavorwire reveals the competitive, nasty side of many beloved filmmakers. Bigmouth Kevin Smith is a dart magnet: but he gives as good as he gets.

By Sophia Savage
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August 15, 2011 8:25 AM
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Internet Movie Cars Database: A Ticket to Ride, from James Bond to Batman

An iconic set of wheels can be the perfect prop in a film: the right car reveals personality as well as a speedy cut to the chase. And jaw-dropping car design can add just the right tone--from the sexy masculinity of James Bond's Aston Martins and the fantasy futurism of the latest Bat vehicles to the adrenaline rush of the Formula 1 race-car documentary Senna.

By Maggie Lange
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August 12, 2011 8:46 AM
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In the Works: Dark Knight Photos, Eisenberg in Demand, Gleeson vs. IMDb, Soderbergh on Hunger Games

Just when we thought the super-secret Nolan crew on the Pittsburgh set of The Dark Knight Rises were going to succeed at keeping the lid on the production, new stills from the set have leaked out that show Catwoman tearing through some kind of riot on the Bat-pod. These photos come (literally) on the heels of the first official Warner Bros.-sanctioned still of Anne Hathaway as the new character, which was released this morning. And Total Film got Tom Hardy to open up about his masked role as Bane.

By Jacob Combs
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August 5, 2011 7:55 AM
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Dark Knight Rises Filming in Pittsburgh, Two New Biopics, Development Arrested

The Dark Knights Rises moved locations this week to start filming in the latest Gotham City stand-in: Pittsburgh, PA. “When you're making a large-scale action film that has to showcase the vitality and size of a large American city," director Christopher Nolan told The Pittsburgh Business Times, "it also involves a certain amount of disruption to that city in order to make the action credible on screen.” The film will pay homage to some Steel City landmarks with a Heinz Field crowd scene at a football game, where mass destruction will likely take place.