Thompson on Hollywood

Production News: Bourne Without Bourne, Mad Max Stalls, Eastern Promises 2

- Writer-director Tony Gilroy is trying to have it both ways. He confirms that The Bourne Legacy will be made without Matt Damon - but he contradicts himself. "This is not a reboot or a recast or a prequel. No one's replacing Matt Damon," Gilroy says. "There will be a whole new hero, a whole new chapter…this is a stand-alone project" that happens to be using the title of Robert Ludlum's book, "but will not use the story":"The easiest way to think of it is an expansion or a reveal…Jason Bourne will not be in this film, but he's very much alive. What happened in the first three films is the trigger for what happens. I'm building a legend and an environment and a wider conspiracy...the world we're making enhances and advances and invites Jason Bourne's return [down the road]…Everything you saw in the first three films actually happened, and everyone who got into them will be rewarded for paying attention. We're going to show you the bigger picture, the bigger canvas. When you see where we're going and see what we're doing it'll be pretty obvious."

By Sophia Savage
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October 11, 2010 12:36 PM
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Studios Pull Out Marketing Stops on Tron: Legacy and Waiting for Superman

Studios Paramount and Disney are kicking marketing into gear for the education doc Waiting for Superman and the 3-D VFX extravaganza Tron: Legacy, respectively.

By Anne Thompson
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October 11, 2010 7:37 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Word-of-Mouth Sells Social Network Over Newbies Life as We Know It, Secretariat

Strong word-of-mouth propelled The Social Network to a strong hold over two openers with femme appeal, the Katharine Heigl rom-com Life as We Know It and the 70s true story sports drama Secretariat, starring Diane Lane. Anthony D'Alessandro reports.A soft Columbus Day weekend frame totaling an estimated $76 million, off 16% from a year ago, slowed moviegoing for new entries this weekend, but kept holdovers alive. Sony’s The Social Network remained online with the masses, hanging onto No. 1 with $15.5 million, off a sweet 31%. The film saw a 32% spike between Friday and Saturday, clearly indicating that word-of-mouth continues to be strong for this potential awards contender.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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October 10, 2010 4:08 AM
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Be a Douchebag With Your iPhone

Drake Doremus' low-brow Sundance comedy Douchebag, which opened in New York over the weekend, is about two brothers, one on the verge of marriage, who go on a wild goose chase to find the other's fifth grade girlfriend. While some big studio films (Tron: Legacy comes to mind) have developed iPhone apps, this is one of the first little-known indies to try to build a following with a free iTunes iPhone app, available for free download at the Apple app store. (Let us know if there are others.)

By Sophia Savage
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October 4, 2010 6:36 AM
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The Social Network's Treatment of Women, Winterbottom's Kercher Murder Mystery to Star Firth

-It's no surprise that David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin's The Social Network is getting Oscar-buzz, zeitgeist hype and debates about what is fact and fiction. Now the role of women in the film is kicking up controversy. The Daily Beast's Rebecca Davis O'Brien argues that the femme roles are props in a film that "not only reflects its era, but will shape it." Stephen Colbert declares that there are no women of substance in the movie except for the small roles of lawyer Rashida Jones and Zuckerberg's scorning girlfriend Rooney Mara. The women in the movie are seen as liabilities, writes Jezebel, if not woefully disrespected.

By Sophia Savage
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October 4, 2010 6:28 AM
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The Social Network Plays Well to Academy

Saturday's Academy screening of The Social Network played well to a full house--the movie also opened at number one this weekend, and scored rave reviews, which won't hurt with Oscar voters.

By Anne Thompson
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October 3, 2010 7:40 AM
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Weekend Box Office: The Social Network Clicks to Top

The most buzzed-about launch of the fall season, The Social Network met (but did not exceed) expectations with a $23-million start, while hard-R vampire thriller Let Me In proved to be a classic tweener: too bloody violent for upscale smart-house crowds and too European for mainstream gore-hounds. Anthony D'Alessandro explains:Sony’s PG-13 Facebook origin myth The Social Network effortlessly clicked its way to the top box office spot with $23 million – a number which was in line with studio estimates, but fell short of crashing any ticket booth’s computer with a fall record. Two R-rated thrillers, Overture’s vampire remake Let Me In and Paramount’s Renee Zellweger-Bradley Cooper vehicle Case 39, each cannibalized their target femme demo, tying with $5.3 million apiece.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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October 3, 2010 4:17 AM
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Social Network Update: Charlie Rose, Wired

It's fascinating to see the dynamic between The Social Network visualist David Fincher (not a wordsmith) and scribe Aaron Sorkin on Charlie Rose. Fincher seems deferential, and Sorkin dominates the space. Not the usual director/writer interaction.

By Anne Thompson
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September 29, 2010 7:03 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps Easily Clips Legend of the Guardians, You Again

There's life yet in the adult drama, as Oliver Stone's Wall Street sequel easily outscored the weekend competition. Anthony D'Alessandro reports.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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September 26, 2010 4:30 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Affleck's The Town Breaks Warners September B.O. Record

With The Town, Ben Affleck proves that he can open a movie--if he directs it. Not only did the Warner/Legendary movie score with critics at Venice and Toronto fests (earning a remarkable 93% on the Tomatometer) but it beat out the weekend boxoffice competition with a $23.8 million estimate. That's a big leap from advance tracking predicting a $15-million opener.