Thompson on Hollywood

Gordon-Levitt, Cotillard Confirmed for The Dark Knight Rises

Everyone seems to have already posted that Inception stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard would be starring in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises (Warner Bros., July 20, 2012). We assembled the cast so far. What's with leaving out Inception's Ellen Page if everyone else is on board?

By Anne Thompson
|
April 19, 2011 5:44 AM
|
3 Comments

More:

The Dark Knight Rises Casting: What The Cast Looks Like So Far

Here's the rundown. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises opens in theaters on July 20, 2012. The cast so far, pictured, is listed below, including newly announced Josh Pence, Daniel Sunjata, Burn Gorman, Diego Klattenhoff, and Katie Holmes (says IMDb). ThePlaylist reminds us that this will be an old-fashioned 35 mm 2-D film shot at 24 frames per second. With faces like these, who can complain? Let the plot speculation continue.

By Sophia Savage
|
April 13, 2011 6:15 AM
|
11 Comments

More:

In Development: Akira Remake, Fincher for Jolie's Cleopatra, Agatha Christie and The Fighter 2

- Warner Bros./Legendary Pictures is eyeing several actors for a reworked script of Katsuhiro Ôtomo’s six-volume graphic novel Akira, reports Deadline. Harry Potter franchise screenwriter Steve Kloves (also writer-director of The Fabulous Baker Boys) is working on the rewrite and Albert Hughes (The Book of Eli) is signed on to direct in August. In contention for role #1 ("Tetsuo") are Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and James McAvoy; for role #2 ("Kaneda"), there's Garrett Hedlund, Michael Fassbender, Chris Pine, Justin Timberlake and Joaquin Phoenix. Our picks would be McAvoy and Fassbender, who will likely pass on this retelling.

By Sophia Savage
|
March 22, 2011 5:30 AM
|
9 Comments

Mark Your Ballots: Anne Thompson Predicts Oscar Winners

The Oscar polls closed on Tuesday at 5 PM. No more campaigning, lobbying or pitches for attention will make a difference now. It's all in the hands of the PriceWaterhousecooper counters, and will be revealed Sunday. Meanwhile the rest of us want to win our respective Oscar pools. This year, I must warn you, is tough to call. As Kris Tapley and I discuss in our latest Oscar Talk, there are plenty of sure-calls, but also several impossible-to-predict categories: documentary and foreign film, which are voted on by small groups who must prove that they've seen all the films, and supporting actress. The shorts are always a bit of a crap shoot too. Warning: I'm going out on a limb in a few categories, so when in doubt, choose the perceived frontrunner.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 25, 2011 8:17 AM
|
5 Comments

Old School Action Stars: Few Replacements, Not Expendable

Action heroes come in two categories: New School and Old School. Just last weekend, Liam Neeson, 58, led the box office pack with Unknown, showing 16-year old Justin Bieber and I Am Number Four's 20-year old Alex Pettyfer who's Daddy. Neeson isn't the first, nor will he be the last, older man showing the world how a Hollywood action star should perform, both on screen and in the charts.

By Sophia Savage
|
February 22, 2011 8:39 AM
|
8 Comments

New School of Superheroes: Bale, Cavill, Evans, Garfield, Hemsworth, Reynolds & Palicki in Tights

Entertainment Weekly's latest issue profiles the new generation of superheroes, represented on the cover by new Superman Henry Cavill. As his director Zack Snyder puts it: “Other actors put that suit on and it’s a joke, even if they’re great actors. Henry put it on, and he exuded this kind of crazy-calm confidence that just made me go, ‘Wow. Okay, this is Superman.’ If you can put on that suit and pull it off, that’s an awesome achievement.” An even better achievement? Still having a career after the spandex has lost its stretch. Ryan Reynolds says of his Green Lantern character: “He’s not in the mainstream the way Superman or Spider-Man is.” And he once considered himself a purely comedic actor: “I looked like Dick Van Dyke, so I thought I was going that route.”

By Sophia Savage
|
February 17, 2011 8:56 AM
|
1 Comment

More:

BAFTAs Go to King's Speech, Social Network, Inception, Black Swan, Alice, Dragon Tattoo UPDATED

The BAFTA Awards are under way at the Royal Opera House in London. Safe to say The King's Speech is winning many awards but is not sweeping; Inception and Alice in Wonderland are grabbing many of the technical categories. I predict that the Oscars will follow this trend.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 13, 2011 7:48 AM
|
4 Comments

More:

The Fighter: Russell, Adams, Leo, McGee and Boston Sisters Talk, Swear for SAG Q & A

The Fighter's David O. Russell was joined by fellow Oscar-nominees Amy Adams and Melissa Leo as well as Jack McGee and five of the film's infamous sisters for a SAG Q & A on January 26 at LA's Harmony Gold Theater. (Leo and Christian Bale wound up winning the two supporting categories at the SAG Awards Saturday.) Check it out:

By Anne Thompson
|
February 1, 2011 7:23 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

SAG Awards Go to The King's Speech and Firth, Black Swan's Portman, The Fighter's Bale and Leo

The Screen Actors Guild's best ensemble award is the equivalent of the Oscar best picture. The King's Speech wins it, along with Colin Firth for best actor. The Fighter's Melissa Leo and Christian Bale win the supporting category. And best actress goes to Black Swan's Natalie Portman. It will probably be thus on Oscar night. But the races can shift over time. Firth and Bale can't lose. And The King's Speech is backed by the wily Harvey Weinstein.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 31, 2011 3:11 AM
|
6 Comments

More:

Oscar Nominations Led by King's Speech with 12; Winter's Bone Makes Top Ten, Bardem Lands Actor Nod

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations, momentum shifts toward The King's Speech, which led the fray with twelve nominations, including best picture, actor, supporting actor and actress, director and original screenplay. The Coen brothers western True Grit followed with ten nominations, including picture, actor, supporting actress, director and adapted screenplay. Producer Scott Rudin is grinning as he produced both True Grit and The Social Network, which earned eight nominations, including picture, actor, director, and original screenplay. Chris Nolan's Inception also earned eight, but while the writer-director landed a nomination for original screenplay (his second), he didn't get director, which is a sign that the film was not in the top five of the ten slots, and is unlikely to land best picture. Ben Affleck's The Town was shut out of contention except for Jeremy Renner, last year's discovery for The Hurt Locker, who nabbed his second nomination.