Thompson on Hollywood

Alamo Drafthouse To Take Over San Francisco's New Mission Theater

News

Tim League and the Alamo Drafthouse are a force that will not be stopped, from expanding their exhibition reach beyond Austin, Texas to releasing foreign Oscar nominee "Bullhead" (more from the director and star here).

By Anne Thompson
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February 16, 2012 8:43 PM
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Cinedigm Partners with New Video to Buy and Release Indie Films

News

As the many filmmakers at Sundance seek the best distribution they can get, the new partnership between digital exhibitor Cinedigm Entertainment Group and veteran indie distributor New Video to buy and release indie films offers independent directors cross-platform theatrical release as well as digital and physical distribution.

By Anne Thompson
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January 22, 2012 9:00 AM
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Sloan Foundation Teams Up with Coolidge Corner Theatre to Expand Science on Screen Program

News

New York's Alfred P. Sloan Foundation announced yesterday that it had awarded a two-year grant of over $460,000 to the Coolidge Corner Theatre to expand the Science on Screen program, which pairs feature and documentary films with live presentations by scientists and technologists.

By Jacob Combs
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January 18, 2012 11:54 AM
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2011 Attendance Up at Indie Alamo and Landmark Chains; Top Ten Performers

Box Office

While the studios still chase after the increasingly fickle youth audience, indie theater chains successfully pulled filmgoers in 2011--without relying on 3-D premium ticket pricing. In fact, both the Alamo Drafthouse and Landmark indie chains announce that their national box office was up in 2011.

By Anne Thompson
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January 9, 2012 8:50 PM
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Deal Update: Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Woody Allen's 'Nero Fiddled,' 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' Moves Up, 'Outrun' Gets Date

News

With Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris" the year's highest-grossing independent film (almost $60 million domestic) and a strong Oscar contender with four Golden Globe nominations, it's no surprise that Sony Pictures Classics will release his next indie funded film, "Nero Fiddled."

By Anne Thompson
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December 21, 2011 7:52 PM
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LACMA's Michael Govan and Elvis Mitchell Talk to LA Weekly about Star-Centric Film Program

News

LA Weekly critic Karina Longworth carefully examines how the Los Angeles County Museum chief Michael Govan is changing the film program. He explains why Ian Birnie had to go, why he chose to partner with Film Independent and look for patrons such as the NYT. Longworth also interviews FIND's controversial film program host Elvis Mitchell. She is nothing but fair. Here's her hardest-hitting bit:

By Anne Thompson
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November 17, 2011 1:44 PM
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AFM News: Worst Idea Ever, Charlie Chaplin in 3-D

News

Count on German schlockmeister Uwe Boll to endorse the worst idea ever for a movie. Check out the pitch to a major studio (the name is omitted) from his Kinostar colleague Michael Roesch below:

By Anne Thompson
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November 6, 2011 1:04 PM
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Laemmle Passes Sunset 5 to Sundance Cinemas

Say good-bye to the Sunset 5 Theaters in West Hollywood. As venerable Laemmle Theatres is preparing to open a new seven-plex in North Hollywood, after almost two decades, it will close the now-shabby Sunset 5 on December 1. Competition from new complexes took films and moviegoers away from the Sunset. Sundance Cinemas will renovate the space and reopen in late spring 2012.

By Anne Thompson
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November 3, 2011 11:10 AM
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AFM News: Freestyle Digital Media to Focus on Digital, Cable, VOD Distribution

In case you were wondering, VOD distribution is here to stay. Look at JC Chandor's $3.5 million Margin Call, which lured a strong ensemble of name actors led by Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons and Zachary Quinto, and has passed the $1.5 million mark theatrically in limited release, as it was also available day-and-date on VOD. More and more people are learning, as Netflix had hoped, to download and stream movies from their cable companies or through Roku, iTunes, PS3 or TiVo. Several folks I know picked up on the publicity and ad noise surrounding Margin Call and watched it on its second weekend in theaters, at home. It's significant, too, that theater owners are lowering ticket prices for a change.

By Anne Thompson
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November 3, 2011 2:26 AM
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Clip Watch: Classic Tintin Stop-Motion Animation from 1947, En Francais

As a frame of reference for those of you eagerly awaiting the Jackson/Spielberg The Adventures of Tintin, which opened well in Europe this week, here's the first black-and-white stop-motion part of what some folks grew up on in Europe: Tintin and Snowy (or Milou) in Claude Missone's Le crab aux pinces d'or (The Crab with the Golden Claws, 1947). It's frame for frame the same as Herge's comic book of the same name.