Thompson on Hollywood

Immersed in Movies: Talking 3-D with 'Men in Black 3' Director Barry Sonnenfeld

Features

I recently sat down for a private 3-D demo of "Men in Black 3" with director Barry Sonnenfeld, and the first thing that dawned on me was that there haven't been any noteworthy 3-D comedies during this current renaissance. It's all been shock and awe so far.

By Bill Desowitz
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April 21, 2012 12:19 PM
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Pulitzer-Prize Winner Cormac McCarthy Sells His First Spec Script: 'The Counselor'

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Cormac McCarthy, the Pulitzer-prize winning author of "The Road" and "No Country for Old Men," has sold his first spec script.

By Maggie Lange
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January 18, 2012 12:01 PM
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Coens' 'Inside Llewyn Davis' Gets Hedlund; Watch Him Sing

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Garrett Hedlund ("TRON: Legacy") has joined the Coen brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," adding to an already stellar cast of Carey Mulligan, Oscar Isaac, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake. Like Mulligan and Timberlake, Hedlund can sing (he was probably the best part of "Country Strong" - see below). "Inside Llewyn Davis" is about the 1960s Greenwich village folk music scene. Isaac played Mulligan's husband in this year's "Drive," and now plays real life folk singer Dave Van Ronk. Shooting is set to kick off this February in New York City.

By Sophia Savage
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January 10, 2012 12:59 PM
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Interview Watch: Brutal Honesty from Jeremy Renner, Streep & Coen Talk Film in China, Knightley on Dangerous Method & Anna Karenina

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Here's some brutal honesty from Jeremy Renner, whose "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol" comes out December 21, followed by "The Avengers" in May 2012. Career comes first: "Even now, any woman would take a No. 2 seat to my job.” No thanks, "Transformers": "Thank God I don’t have to do a monologue to a robot. I don’t know how Shia, God bless him, does that.” As for celebrity attention? “I don’t pay attention to that horseshit." And a touch of film wisdom, via his experience building houses:

By Sophia Savage
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November 22, 2011 1:08 PM
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Coen Brothers Join TV Migration with Detective Comedy

Everybody's going to TV. Even Joel and Ethan Coen have sold an hour-long private detective comedy to Fox, HarveKarbo. With Cedar Rapids writer Phil Johnston on the script, the brothers' single-camera show will trace the life of P.I. Harve Karbo and his noir-like investigations into the seedy underbelly of Hollywood high society. The Coens, along with Johnston, Imagine co-founder Brian Grazer and president Francie Calfo, will executive produce, reports Deadline.

By Anne Thompson and Maggie Lange
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October 5, 2011 4:16 AM
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Oscar Powers Netflix's Top Ten Most-Rented List

Netflix's ten most-rented list of all time (list below) reminds us of the long-tail Power of Oscar. And it should remind Netflix, as it splits its DVD and streaming business and alienates many of its customers who are used to relying on its deep long-tail arcania, that their solid customer base is smart adults, not the great unwashed, something they seem to be in danger of forgetting as they focus on TV and mainstream acquisitions and let smaller movies go.

By Anne Thompson
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October 3, 2011 11:09 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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Coen Brother's Folk Music Project Lands Financing

The Coen brothers' next project, a film about the New York City folk scene in the 1960s, has just received funding from StudioCancal, who promised to co-finance this project.

By Maggie Lange
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August 31, 2011 10:50 AM
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The Big Lebowski Out on Blu-Ray, Available for Rent on Facebook: "Get high and watch"

Yesterday was a huge The Big Lebowski day, with die-hard fans of the 1998 cult classic joining stars Jeff Bridges, Steve Buscemi, John Goodman and Julianne Moore as well as musician T Bone Burnett at New York's Hammerstein Ballroom to celebrate the film's Blu-ray release.

By Jacob Combs
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August 18, 2011 8:29 AM
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Next Coen Brothers' Feature Goes Folk, Moverman Writes Brian Wilson Biopic

The Coen brothers will focus their next feature on the folk music scene in mid-20th century New York via the story of legendary musician Dave Van Ronk. Nicknamed the “Mayor of MacDougal Street,” Van Ronk was known for his musical prowess and captivating storytelling. He presided over Village coffeehouse culture and helped to discover and cultivate such talents as Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Phil Ochs. Last month, at a talk at Lincoln Center, the Coens said their upcoming film would have a heavy music focus and lean toward naturalism.