Thompson on Hollywood

The Kennedys at the Movies: from Martin Sheen to Matt Damon

We can't seem to get enough of the Kennedys.

By Anne Thompson
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April 26, 2010 12:06 PM
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Howl Finds a Home, Will Smith Looks at Sequels, Live Baseball on PS3, Mags See Uptick

Adam Yauch's Oscilloscope Laboratories has finally acquired U.S. distribution for Sundance opener Howl. O-scope had three nominations at the last Oscars, so the Jeffrey Friedman/Rob Epstein Beat biopic adds a little wind to the distrib's sails. James Franco plays Allen Ginsberg in this historic evocation of the young poet's obscenity trial and off-beat lifestyle.

By Cameron Carlson
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April 22, 2010 7:12 AM
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Oscar Watch: Costume Designer Powell Talks Young Victoria, Shutter Island and The Tempest

Costume designer Sandy Powell has won two Oscars out of eight nominations, for Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and John Madden's Shakespeare in Love. She's known for designing "modern" period costumes for such films as Gangs of New York and has worked repeatedly with Scorsese, Neil Jordan and Todd Haynes. After Shutter Island comes Julie Taymor's Shakespearean The Tempest. In this four-part flip-cam interview, Powell not only talks about her BAFTA and Costume Guild-winning costumes on The Young Victoria (which will likely win her a third Oscar), but ranges over other films in her long career as well.

By Anne Thompson
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February 27, 2010 2:14 AM
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Oscar Momentum: Bright Star vs. Young Victoria

In the Oscar derby, what went wrong with Bright Star, which earned one Oscar nomination (for costume), and right with Young Victoria, which grabbed three?

By Anne Thompson
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February 3, 2010 3:40 AM
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Spielberg Heating Up Gershwin and Quinto

It looks like DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg are heating up on Doug Wright's script for a planned biopic of composer George Gershwin. Several biopics--including Tony Kushner's Lincoln and a still-in-development look at the life of Martin Luther King--are in the works, and there's also the ten-part family adventure The 39 Clues, written by Jeff Nathanson, which Spielberg could decide to take on. But clearly, the DreamWorks filmmaker is excited about Gershwin. The script is set in the 30s during the period when the songwriter, hugely popular, stretched himself by turning to more serious Broadway musicals.

By Anne Thompson
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February 1, 2010 1:06 AM
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Disney's Aviv Exits as Ross Relies on DreamWorks

It's deja vu all over again. A studio in management upheaval. A new studio head recruited from TV being directed to reinvent the wheel by a boss who is a film biz outsider.

By Anne Thompson
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January 13, 2010 12:22 AM
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Holiday Biopics: Young Victoria, Creation, Me and Orson Welles

Three period biopics with awards hopes face some tough going over the holidays.

By Anne Thompson
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December 31, 2009 3:10 AM
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The Long Road to Invictus

Morgan Freeman was born to play Nelson Mandela.

By Anne Thompson
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December 22, 2009 1:45 AM
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Ten Questions for Bright Star's Jane Campion: "I've Never Made a Crap Film"

Bright Star was brilliantly reviewed on the film fest circuit from Cannes to Toronto. But some critics praise its undeniable visual style and directorial panache (the film won a special cinematography prize from the National Board of Review) but find the 19th-century period drama lacking in deep emotion.

By Anne Thompson
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December 10, 2009 6:26 AM
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LFF#: London Fest Closer Nowhere Boy

Amidst a resurgence of affection for The Beatles, London Film Festival closer Nowhere Boy marks a strong debut for Sam Taylor-Wood (a visual artist of some stature in the art world) and a breakout for Brit actor Aaron Johnson as teen John Lennon. But the small-scale 50s period film straddles two genres: musical biopic and family melodrama. The latter completely overwhelms the story.