Thompson on Hollywood

Review: Coppola's 'The Bling Ring'

Reviews

Confession: going into "The Bling Ring," I was hopeful that I’d find the Sofia Coppola of "Marie Antoinette" rather than the Sofia Coppola of "Somewhere" parked behind the camera. Surely, a true-life Hollywood tale as fundamentally ludicrous as fame-and-celebrity-obsessed hipster teens targeting freebie-laden homes of the rich and famous cried out for the leering (but not sneering) pop-art approach Coppola brought to her portrait of the pampered French queen, rather than the deadpan, going-round-in-circles approach she applied to her tale of an alienated movie star.

By Matt Mueller
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June 13, 2013 12:58 PM
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On Trying to Work in the Name of a Festival Sponsor (Without Compromising One's Journalistic Integrity)

Features

Since I was a teenager, I've wondered why Coke and Pepsi still have to advertise. Is there anyone who knows what a carbonated beverage is who isn't already aware of these two iconic brands of cola? How hard is it to taste both and decide if a personal preference emerges or that either (or neither) one will do?

By Lisa Nesselson
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June 3, 2013 3:52 PM
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Cannes Deal: Drafthouse Films Nabs Dutch Domestic Thriller 'Borgman'

News

Drafthouse Films has picked up rights to domestic thriller "Borgman" from this year's Cannes Film Festival. Helmed by Alex van Warmerdam ("Grimm," "Abel"), and in the tonal vein of Yorgos Lanthimos' "Dogtooth" and Michael Haneke's "Funny Games," it is the first Dutch film to play in competition at the fest in nearly 40 years.

By Beth Hanna
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May 31, 2013 1:00 PM
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Cannes 2013 Wrap: TOH's Complete Coverage of This Year's Fest

Festivals

The 66th Cannes Film Festival wrapped on Sunday, with a rousing win for Abdellatif Kechiche's epic lesbian romance "Blue Is the Warmest Color." Below, our complete coverage of the fest -- all reviews, interviews and festival diary entries, in case you missed anything as the coverage came in fast and furious from the Croisette.

By Anne Thompson and Beth Hanna
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May 29, 2013 1:30 PM
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Review: Douglas and Damon Shine in Soderbergh's Funny, Poignant Melodrama 'Behind the Candelabra'

Reviews

The Cannes Film Festival accorded Steven Soderbergh's lush period melodrama "Behind the Candelabra" a prime competition slot (his fourth) for a reason. While it's not the first time an HBO movie has played in the mainbar (Stephen Hopkins' "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" was in competition in 2004), it will be Soderbergh's last, if he sticks to his planned retirement from making films.

By Anne Thompson
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May 27, 2013 4:34 PM
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Sundance Selects Is Releasing Cannes Winners 'Blue is the Warmest Color' and 'Like Father, Like Son'

Festivals

The folks at Sundance Selects are smiling, as they not only acquired U.S. rights to Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color," a lesbian romance that is sure to be a hot ticket back stateside, but U.S. rights to Japanese writer-director Kore-eda Hirokazu’s Jury Prize Winner "Like Father, Like Son," as well.

By Anne Thompson
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May 27, 2013 4:29 PM
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Cannes Update: Male Dinosaurs Misspeak, Jury and Jarmusch's 'Only Lovers Left Alive' Press Conferences (Videos)

Festivals

The Cannes Film Festival always unveils a few stragglers at the end of the fest, and the 66th installment was no exception. There were quite a few from the likes of Roman Polanski ("Venus in Fur") and Jim Jarmusch ("Only Lovers Left Alive"). While the Cannes jury stepped into the modern world with its rare unanimous choice of a three-hour lesbian romance as this year's winner, ( jury press conference is here), some of the male auteurs and stars at the festival, on the other hand, showed themselves to be politically incorrect dinosaurs.

By Anne Thompson
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May 27, 2013 4:09 PM
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'Blue Is The Warmest Color' Wins Cannes Palme d'Or

Awards

In a twist in Cannes Sunday evening, director Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue is the Warmest Color" not only won the Palme d'Or, but the jury, headed by Steven Spielberg, made the extraordinary gesture of also giving its actresses Adele Exarcholpoulos and Lea Seydoux honorary scrolls for their bravery in the film. The three-hour feature had received terrific word-of-mouth after its initial screening though some speculated its heavy and explicit sexual content, which is based on the French graphic novel Le Bleu est une couleur chaude by Julie Maroh, would possibly hinder a Palme d'Or win.

By Anne Thompson and Brian Brooks
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May 26, 2013 1:05 PM
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Cannes Interview: Mexican Director Amat Escalante Talks Violent Love Story 'Heli'

Interviews

When it screened at Cannes last week, the Mexican film “Heli” raised eyebrows and some hackles for its unsparing evocation of Mexico’s drug-war violence, including torture. A compelling story of one simple family who, through no real fault of their own, stumble into a nightmare, “Heli” is director Amat Escalante’s third film at Cannes, and his first in competition.

By Tom Christie
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May 25, 2013 3:06 PM
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Cannes Un Certain Regard Awards: 'Missing Picture,' 'Omar,' 'Stranger by the Lake,' 'Fruitvale Station'

Awards

The Cannes sidebar Un Certain Regard 2013 presented in competition 17 films from 15 different countries, six of which were first films. Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring" opened the program out of competition. The jury led by Danish director Thomas Vinterberg ("The Hunt") included actresses Zhang Ziyi (China) and Ludivine Sagnier (France) as well as Ilda Santiago, the Head of Festival do Rio, and Enrique Gonzalez Macho, the Spanish producer, distributor, exhibitor.