Thompson on Hollywood

Women in Hollywood: Best Body Mirren on Being Proactive, Imperfect; Fonda talks Prime Time Love, Sex

Helen Mirren recently won a L.A. Fitness "Best Body" poll. Was she aware, asks Vulture? "I couldn’t very well avoid it, could I?" she says. She beat out the likes of Jennifer Lopez, and thinks it's a beautiful thing: "I think it was recognition of the fact that you don’t have to be perfect." Mirren's youthful attitude can't hurt. She steers clear of cliched older woman characters, preferring "any role that's proactive." That means action roles, as with The Debt and RED. "You get to do stuff. I hate sitting in a corner — I’d much prefer an action role in a popcorn movie rather than pining in a corner not doing anything." And here's 20 male roles Mirren could have rocked. There's a remake or two in that list worth pursuing.

By Sophia Savage
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August 29, 2011 5:08 AM
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Refn Teases Gosling and Malick Pairing; DiCaprio On Gatsby Set; Aykroyd Promises Ghostbusters 3

- According to his Drive director, Nicolas Winding Refn, Ryan Gosling will work on a film with Terrence Malick after the actor completes Refn’s Only God Forgives. Here's ThePlaylist's investigation of this potentially awesome news.

By Maggie Lange
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August 26, 2011 8:25 AM
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Confessions of Conan the Barbarian Writer, Dark Knight Leaves Pittsburgh, Universal Drops Ouija

Christopher Nolan has wrapped filming on The Dark Knight Rises in Pittsburgh; he still has more principal photography in New York and Los Angeles. The film opens July 20, 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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August 24, 2011 8:11 AM
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Gender Watch: Circumstance's Love Under Assault; Sisters in Hollywood

Maryam Keshavarz's Sundance dramatic audience award-winner Circumstance will hit theaters this weekend via Roadside Attractions and Participant. It's one of those movies where the story of getting it made is as compelling as the film itself. The lesbian romance deals with Iran's underground youth culture, teenage girls who adore loud music and each other, and drug use. Filming in Iran wasn't an option, and shooting in Beirut had its own hurdles. Producer Karin Chien tells the NYT that it was the most challenging shoot in her career: "“The political terrain was constantly shifting while we were there,..We went in thinking that explicit sexuality was the thing we were going to have to work around most, but it was the Iranian content, the fact that this was set in Iran, that we had to downplay.”

By Sophia Savage
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August 23, 2011 4:53 AM
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Interview Watch: Wood Calls Gosling James Dean, Pinto Reveals Herself, How Del Toro Chooses Projects

- Evan Rachel Wood's next film, George Clooney's The Ides of March (pictured), sticks to her pattern of choosing gritty roles (think Thirteen, Down in the Valley, Mildred Pierce). Her Ides character is embroiled in a sex scandal. So what does Wood say about politicians in the news? She tells Vulture, "Yeah, politicians are also kinky and some of them cheat on their wives and some of them are gay. Like normal people. It's not really shocking to me." She also admits to loving Justin Bieber "unashamedly" and holds out the possibility of venturing into music. As for her Ides co-star Ryan Gosling: "I get the feeling [when he walks into a room] that that must have been how people felt when James Dean walked into a room. Just like, 'Whoa, what just walked in?' There's something really special here. It's that striking. I think he's the James Dean of now. And he'd better kiss my ass for saying that."

By Sophia Savage
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August 22, 2011 5:29 AM
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TV Watch: Parker Posey on ‘The Good Wife,’ NBC Lands Sarah Silverman Show, Western Wanted

After a bidding war with multiple networks, NBC acquired the pilot for Sarah Silverman’s latest comedic single-camera comedy from Imagine TV and 20th Century Fox Television, according to THR. Silverman, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Francie Calfo have signed on as exec producers. The semi-autobiographical show will star Silverman as a newly single woman emerging from a long-term live-in relationship.

By Maggie Lange
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August 19, 2011 4:24 AM
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Media Watch: LATimes.com Traffic Rises, Facebook Hides Google+ Invites, Netflix targets Kids & Asia

Netflix is creating a Just-for-Kids streaming option, the company reported yesterday. Aimed at the 12-and-unders, it offers content like Dora the Explorer or SpongeBob SquarePants, and groups its elements into categories that operate with total child-logic: "Dinosaurs," "Girl Power," "Princesses," and "Superheroes." Meanwhile, Netflix is also aiming to distribute in select Asian locations, like Japan or South Korea, by the end of 2012.

By Maggie Lange
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August 17, 2011 11:45 AM
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In the Works: Austin Powers 4, One Shot's Leading Lady, Apes Trilogy, Patti Smith's Just Kids

News of several new projects broke over the weekend. The question is, from Austin Powers 4 and Rise of the Planet of the Apes sequels to One Shot and Just Kids, which projects do we actually want to see?

By Sophia Savage
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August 15, 2011 5:34 AM
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TV Roundup: NBC Remakes Munsters, Jeff Garlin's New Show, PBS Clarifies Bert and Ernie’s Status

Confirming that television has officially run out of new ideas, NBC has signed on to remake The Munsters, just after their announcement of a Frankenstein remake and CBS’s new Bewitched. NBC passed on a revamp of the 1960s show last year, but asked Bryan Fuller, the creator of Pushing Daisies, to make a second attempt. The Hollywood Reporter writes that Fuller wants to make his hour-long version of the Munster's edgier, darker, and character-focused.

By Maggie Lange
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August 12, 2011 8:20 AM
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TV Watch: Imagination-Free Networks Are Bewitched, Frankensteined and Nannied

In yet another example of today's brand-oriented, risk-averse thinking, CBS has hired Marc Lawrence, the mind behind Miss Congeniality, to revamp the popular Bewitched series that ran from 1964 to 1972 on ABC. Lawrence also produced 2005’s widely reviled big-screen version of the show, starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell.