Thompson on Hollywood

Spielberg Takes On Robopocalypse

Steven Spielberg is committing to direct Daniel H. Wilson's futuristic novel Robopocalypse for DreamWorks. Spielberg plans to begin principal photography in January 2012 for release by Disney’s Touchstone in 2013. DreamWorks acquired the unpublished manuscript in November 2009; Drew Goddard adapted the dystopian story about a robot rebellion against humans. Doubleday plans to publish the novel in June 2011. Spielberg's next two films, War Horse (Touchstone) and The Adventures of Tintin (Sony/Paramount) are both coming out in December.

By Anne Thompson
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October 22, 2010 6:16 AM
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DreamWorks and Disney Update Release Schedule: Spielberg's War Horse Joins Tintin for Holiday 2011

DreamWorks and Disney have finalized release dates for five films on their slate. After a confab in London last week with Disney's international and domestic marketing managers and DreamWorks brass--who showed footage from five films including Steven Spielberg's World War I epic War Horse, which is currently filming in England--Disney moved the DreamWorks slate onto new dates. (DreamWorks' films go out through Disney's Touchstone label.)

By Anne Thompson
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October 13, 2010 5:51 AM
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Del Toro Talks Hobbit, Mountains of Madness, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Julia's Eyes, Biutiful

When Guillermo del Toro left New Zealand after two years prepping Peter Jackson's The Hobbit, he was escaping from a box (MGM's financial issues had frozen the project), but he also didn't know what he was going to do next. Since then, the director/producer has been making up for lost time, making deals all over town: Disney, where he's doing Haunted Mansion, and which is releasing his Miramax horror production Don't Be Afraid of the Dark; DreamWorks Animation; and Fox, where he's excited about returning to big-budget directing with James Cameron's Mountains of Madness. Del Toro talks about his productions Julia's Eyes and Biutiful, which played in Toronto, as well as his other projects, in three flip cam interviews posted below, along with the Julia's Eyes trailer.

By Anne Thompson
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September 28, 2010 10:59 AM
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Del Toro's DreamWorks Deal and Trollhunters, Jackson Fights Unions on Hobbit

- Guillermo del Toro, back from promoting two productions at the Toronto Film Festival--Julia's Eyes and Biutiful (the official Mexican submission for the foreign Oscar)--is now working closely as a consultant and exec producer with DreamWorks Animation. He will help out on Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots and another TBA project as well as Trollhunters, which he will write and direct.

By Sophia Savage
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September 28, 2010 6:21 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Inception Beats Dinner for Schmucks, Charlie St. Cloud

In its third go-round, Inception, buoyed by repeat business, continued to stave off all challengers, including the comedy Dinner for Schmucks, which scored a robust $23.3 million, and the Zac Efron weepy Charlie St. Cloud and animated sequel Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, which were both DOA. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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August 1, 2010 4:08 AM
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Craig Nails Down Girl with Dragon Tattoo and Sequels

As I watched Daniel Craig at Comic-Con and the footage from Jon Favreau's Cowboys and Aliens, I crossed my fingers that he would play Mikael Blomqvist in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And sure enough, Deadline reports that the deal is done.

By Anne Thompson
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July 26, 2010 8:21 AM
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DreamWorks' Katzenberg Packs Animated Pics with Celebs

James Sims reviews Nicole LaPorte's new book The Men Who Would Be King: An almost epic tale of moguls, movies, and a company called DreamWorks and agrees with me that of the founding troica, Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, LaPorte gives the latter the worst appraisal of the three. While Katzenberg came off great just five years ago in James Stewart's book Disney War and in this year's hagiographic insider-documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty which covers the Katzenberg golden Disney years that yielded his career peak, the $700-million-grossing The Lion King, LaPorte and Sims are both more critical. Here's Sims:

By James Sims
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June 4, 2010 6:41 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Shrek 4 Stumbles, MacGruber Flops

In its fourth go-round, DreamWorks Animation's latest Shrek installment stumbled on its opening weekend, grossing an estimated $71.25 million, marking a probable end to the lucrative franchise. Anthony D'Alessandro does the numbers.

By Anthony D'Alessandro
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May 23, 2010 4:32 AM
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News Update: Grand Ole Opry Flooded, Spielberg Picks War Horse, Stone Tours South America

Flood damage to the Grand Ole Opry House was reportedly topic number one in the Nashville music community Monday. At least three feet of water encroached on the historic venue, whose stage is considered hallowed ground in country music. This weekend's shows have been relocated to the Ryman Auditorium downtown, an equally revered venue that fortunately was unaffected. Heavy rains and the rising waters of the Cumberland River devastated middle Tennessee over the weekend.

By Amy Dawes
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May 4, 2010 1:26 AM
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DreamWorks Tell-All Exposes Katzenberg Shrek Bail-Out

Ex-Variety reporter Nicole LaPorte, now writing for The Daily Beast, shares some of what she went through to write her new book about DreamWorks, The Men Who Would Be King. The problem: Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen --three very powerful Hollywood moguls---actively worked against LaPorte, refusing to grant interviews and lobbying others to do the same: