Thompson on Hollywood

CinemaCon Video: Hugh Jackman & Shawn Levy Talk Real Steel, The Wolverine

At CinemaCon, CinemaBlend chats up Real Steel's director Shawn Levy (Date Night) and star Hugh Jackman on the futuristic boxing sci-fi drama. Jackman also talks about his training for The Wolverine, a character he's prepared to play "for the rest of his life." Disney's Real Steel hits theatres October 7.

By Sophia Savage
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March 31, 2011 6:14 AM
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CinemaCon Update: James Cameron, George Lucas, Jeff Katzenberg Talk Cinema's Digital Future

Stunts, legendary studio executives and name auteurs with an eye on the digital future were de rigueur during Wednesday’s CinemaCon. Anthony D'Alessandro digests the latest news from Las Vegas. In a CinemaCon 3-D powwow with directors George Lucas, James Cameron and DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, the trio continued to tub-thump the visual format, while warning attendees that 3-D shouldn’t be used frivolously by the studios to pad grosses. Cameron soapboxed the same philosophy about wasteful 3-D pics that he has been vocalizing since last summer, when he attacked Weinstein Co.’s Piranha 3D. The Wrap reported Cameron's lament: “I’m concerned about things that erode the market. Bad 3-D is one of them.” Haste leads to waste, Katzenberg further pointed out, using Warner Bros.' last-minute transformation of Clash of the Titans as an example. Good 3-D transformations take from six to eight months, not weeks.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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March 31, 2011 5:31 AM
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CinemaCon: DreamWorks and Disney/Pixar Previews, Fithian Pins B.O. Recovery Hopes on 3-D, Summer

Here's a quick overview of news coming out of CinemaCon, the annual theater owners' convention in Las Vegas, from Anthony D'Alessandro: Following new MPAA Chairman Christopher Dodd’s speech Tuesday, National Association of Theatre Owners President and CEO John Fithian gave his State of the Industry address to CinemaCon attendees, insisting that all exhibitors must convert to digital. He also presented stats about the ever-expanding moviegoing audience--despite 2011’s low admissions. An astonishing 34 3-D films will unspool this year versus 2010's 25, Fithian said:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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March 30, 2011 8:09 AM
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CinemaCon: Paramount's Super 8 and China Hopes Buoy Depressed Exhibs

CinemaCon, the annual exhibitor convention, is under way in Las Vegas, as studios show their summer reels in hopes of reviving theater owners' flagging spirits during a prolonged box office downturn. Anthony D'Alessandro reports:

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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March 29, 2011 12:25 PM
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Oscar Watch: Inception Sweeps Visual Effects Awards with Four Wins, Dragon Beats Toy Story 3

It's no surprise that Chris Nolan's Inception swept the 9th Visual Effects Society Awards with four wins including Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture. The epic visual extravaganza is also expected to score the VFX and other technical awards on Oscar night February 27.

By Anne Thompson
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February 2, 2011 3:39 AM
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Casting Watch: Duplass Joins Pine, Banks, Wilde in Welcome To The People; Odd Life of Timothy Green

- Alex Kurtzman is veering away from his writing roots (M:I 3, Transformers, Star Trek, Cowboys & Aliens) in his directorial debut, Welcome To The People (which he co-wrote with Jody Lambert and long-time writing partner Roberto Orci). In the DreamWorks drama, a young businessman (Chris Pine) loses his father and must deliver an inheritance to his long-lost alcoholic sister (Elizabeth Banks, who nabbed the role Hilary Swank wanted; Amy Adams passed). He discovers that his sister now has a volatile 12-year old son. Rather than deliver the money, Pine reaches out to his sister and nephew without revealing who he truly is. Olivia Wilde joins the cast as Pine's girlfriend, and Michelle Pfeiffer plays his mother. Actor-writer-director Mark Duplass (Cyrus) just signed on to play a neighbor and love interest for Banks' character. The film is set to roll this month.

By Sophia Savage
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January 17, 2011 8:14 AM
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Golden Globes Nominations Led by King's Speech, with Seven

While The Golden Globes nominations have an impact on momentum going into the Oscar race, they are not predictive. That's partly because the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (some 80 foreign correspondents) break their categories into Drama and Comedy or Musical. Thus it becomes easy to dismiss certain titles that the Oscars are likely to ignore, including Frankie & Alice, Burlesque, Barney's Version, Easy A, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Red, Casino Jack, The Tourist, and Love & Other Drugs. (Full list of nominees below.)

By Anne Thompson
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December 14, 2010 1:42 AM
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Spielberg Casts Daniel Day-Lewis as Lincoln

Steven Spielberg has found his Lincoln. Ultra-picky Daniel Day-Lewis, 53, with two Oscars behind him, seems picture-perfect for the role of the iconic 16th president of the United States, who lead the country through the bloody Civil War. Liam Neeson was in line for the role at one point, but dropped out of the running, citing his age, 58 (Lincoln was 56 when he was assassinated). Said Spielberg:

By Anne Thompson
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November 19, 2010 6:54 AM
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Academy Accepts 15 Submissions for Animation Race: Only Three Nomination Slots

Bad news for contenders in the Oscar animation race--unless you happen to be Toy Story 3 or How to Train Your Dragon--now all the 15 submissions accepted by the Academy will be vying for three slots. If there had been 16, there would have been five slots. That did not happen, so the likes of Tangled, Despicable Me, The Illusionist and Megamind will compete for that third slot. Who will land it?

By Anne Thompson
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November 15, 2010 8:11 AM
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Oscar Watch: Animation Deadline Nears, Three or Five?

It's coming down to the wire. Will the animation category be three or five? It all depends on whether the final animated features submitted by the November 1 deadline are eligible--and add up to sixteen, which means there will be five nominations, or less, which yields three. Did the films premiere in cinemas, or on TV? Much is at stake: there's a big difference between three and five. (The visual effects category is now set to five: because there are so many eligible films, it's not an issue any more.) But animation still has to meet the magic number sixteen to yield five slots.