Thompson on Hollywood

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.

By Anne Thompson
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January 25, 2011 2:04 AM
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True Grit iPad App: Through The Lens of Jeff Bridges, The Dude Abides

True Grit has an iPad app, Through The Lens of Jeff Bridges. Not only does this cowboy love to sing and play guitar, but he's a shutter-bug who has been taking on-set photos for years.

By Anne Thompson
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January 21, 2011 1:11 AM
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At the Critics' Choice Awards: Winners Are Social Network, Inception, Firth, Portman, Leo, Bale

Paramount had a good night at the Broadcast Film Critics Associations's Critic's Choice Awards Friday night, winning three prizes for The Fighter, including best ensemble, supporting actress (Melissa Leo) and supporting actor (Christian Bale), a young actress award for Hailee Steinfeld for True Grit and doc prize for Waiting for Superman.

By Anne Thompson
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January 15, 2011 6:18 AM
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4 Comments

Cinematographers Pick Five Nominees, True Grit In, Fighter Out

The American Society of Cinematographers nominees are revealing. Again, the group is rewarding movies that are big and visual:

By Anne Thompson
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January 11, 2011 6:20 AM
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True Grit Surges Past $100 Million at Sleepy Box Office; Cage and Paltrow Pics Are Soft

On its third go-round, True Grit surged on momentum and strong word-of-mouth to finally beat comedy sequel Little Fockers. The Oscar-buzzed Coen brothers western starring Jeff Bridges faced little or no competition, as many studio holiday entries collapsed. (See TOH's year-end box office wrap.) Anthony D'Alessandro reports:It was a ghost town at the cinema this weekend. Paramount’s True Grit continued to hang its B.O. high as it crossed the $100-million mark Sunday and pushed Universal’s family laffer Little Fockers to second place ($13.8 million). Also falling short were two new wide entries, Relativity Media’s Nicolas Cage crusades actioner Season of the Witch ($10.7 million), and Sony/Screen Gems' women's drama Country Strong ($7.3 million), starring Gwenyth Paltrow. Overall box office receipts totaled an estimated $114 million, off 29% from the same frame year ago when Avatar continued to be a phenomenon, grossing $50 million for the weekend.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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January 9, 2011 5:13 AM
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True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld Talks Coens, Learning from Bridges and Damon, Horses and School

grit (noun): firmness of character; indomitable spirit.

By Sophia Savage
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January 8, 2011 1:20 AM
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Oscar Talk: True Grit vs. Social Network, Party Circuit, Vulnerable Contenders, Spoilers, 2011 Picks

During this week's Oscar Talk (on the jump), Kris Tapley and I debate the Hailee Steinfeld category issue for True Grit. He thinks she's best actress material, while I argue that she's a rookie who belongs in supporting. At Thursday night's The Social Network DVD party at Spago, producer Scott Rudin was all smiles (True Grit is also vying for best picture). He opted to compete in the supporting category, he said, because it would seem "brazen" to put a newcomer up for best actress. Besides, he argued, Mattie Ross is the instigator of the plot, not the protagonist. The movie is about Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges); he is the character that changes. (Here's my Rudin interview.)

By Anne Thompson
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January 7, 2011 5:05 AM
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Oscar Race Questions: Nomination Ballots Due January 14

There are several unknowns as we hurtle toward the end of balloting for Oscar nominations January 14. (Here's the schedule.) What we do know: the race for best picture is still between The King's Speech and The Social Network, the popular heart-tugger vs. the more cerebral critics' fave (see the votes at Gurus 'o Gold). Both sides are campaigning hard: both Weinstein Co. and Paramount are throwing Oscar parties this week. (My full Oscar Predicts Chart is here.)

By Anne Thompson
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January 6, 2011 5:00 AM
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USC Scripter Nominations Lift Winter's Bone, Ghost Writer

The USC Scripter Award nominations are in. This award, which is voted on by a jury of industry critics, filmmakers, academics and screenwriters (including me), is given to films that are based on a literary source (anything original is not eligible, nor was Toy Story 3). It is a window into the adapted screenplay Oscar category, in other words.

By Anne Thompson
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January 6, 2011 2:27 AM
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The Coen Brothers Talk True Grit

As western True Grit has taken off as the surprise hit of the Christmas season (topping a field of weak contenders), and has emerged a strong awards contender (with recent PGA and WGA nods), the usually taciturn Joel and Ethan Coen are on the promo trail. Here's a taste of their sound bites from various interviews.