Thompson on Hollywood

Oscar Predictions

2014 Predictions Chart

Monthly Archives

Oscar Talk: Possible King's Speech Sweep, Santa Barbara Fest, Potential Upsets

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I debate a King's Speech Oscar sweep, possible Oscar upsets and share what we learned in Santa Barbara at various tributes and panels.

By Anne Thompson
|
February 5, 2011 12:42 AM
|
0 Comments

Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan is one of those movies that is creepy, scary, believable and psychologically taut partly because he deploys 250 visual effects shots to such good effect. They aren't obvious, or on a big-budget scale. While we probably figured out that Nina morphing into a Black Swan at the film's finale is a visual effect (the most complex in the film), most of the film's effects are far more subtle.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 19, 2011 9:05 AM
|
0 Comments

Julie Taymor is cheering up these days. Her movie of Shakespeare's The Tempest--which had been in limbo at Miramax-- is now closing night at the Venice Film Fest (here's the new poster) and a centerpiece gala at New York, and is set to open December 10. Meanwhile her long-in-the-works Broadway musical Spider-Man finally has an opening date: December 21.

By Anne Thompson
|
August 11, 2010 12:54 PM
|
1 Comment

Unraveling Inception: Zimmer's Piaf Riff, Clothing Clues, Nolan's Anxiety

One of the great pastimes of summer 2010 is unravelling, explaining and debating Inception. Which is the main reason it is such a big hit: repeat business. (The movie's so good that the Chinese government is allowing it to play there, a rare honor for a Hollywood picture.) Here are some recent popular memes:

By Anne Thompson
|
August 3, 2010 5:27 AM
|
6 Comments

Campion on Bright Star

I sat down with New Zealand director Jane Campion at Cannes to talk about Bright Star a full sixteen years after I first met with her, for The Piano, for which she was the only woman to ever win the Palme d'Or in the 62 year history of the fest. Tragically, she lost the child she was carrying that year. Her daughter Ella was born three years later; spending time with her is the main reason Campion has made only four features since The Piano, and took four years off after In the Cut.