Thompson on Hollywood

Five Star Day Premieres on Facebook and Theaters Day-and-Date

As indie filmmakers continue to try new ways to get their films out--with or without conventional distribution-- Five Star Day, an astrology-themed feature that overemphasizes the significance of place and time, premiered Wednesday November 2 day-and-date in movie theaters and Facebook. Gravitas Ventures and Breaking Glass Pictures claim that it's the first film to open simultaneously on both silver and laptop screens. At the same time that the film is available on Facebook -- $7 gets you access to the film for 48 hours--it will continue to roll out in theaters across the country.

By Maggie Lange
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November 3, 2011 7:30 AM
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Foreign Box Office: Spielberg's Adventures of Tintin Opens Big Overseas

Sony and Paramount's move to open Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin overseas months ahead of its December stateside release --where the Herge comic books are beloved--is paying off. The performance capture film opened overseas with an estimated $55.8 million in 19 markets.

By Anne Thompson
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October 30, 2011 5:20 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Puss In Boots Stomps Timberlake's In Time and Depp's Rum Diary

DreamWorks Animation's Puss in Boots stomped all over weaker rivals In Time and The Rum Diary this weekend, even with topliners Justin Timberlake and Johnny Depp, as Three Musketeers in 3-D and Paranormal Activity 3 both dropped over 60%. Charles Lyons reports on the box office this wintry World Series Halloween weekend.

By Charles Lyons
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October 30, 2011 5:11 AM
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Oscar Talk: Shame's NC-17 and Fassbender, Whither Clooney, Chastain, Doc Race, Year-End Critics

In this week's Oscar Talk, Kris Tapley and I debate the Shame NC-17 issue. Will Fox Searchlight be able to push Michael Fassbender for an Oscar nomination? (I weigh in on this here.)

By Anne Thompson
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October 28, 2011 4:00 AM
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: Like Crazy, Anonymous, Puss in Boots, In Time, The Rum Diary and More

Quite an eclectic mix of films are on offer this weekend, from the charming young love saga Like Crazy, which has been building buzz for stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones ever since director Drake Doremus premiered the intimate romance at Sundance (it's indieWIRE's Pick of the Week), to Roland Emmerich's anti-Shakespeare digital costume drama Anonymous, starring Rhys Ifans and Vanessa Redgrave, to Dreamworks's Puss in Boots -- the new franchise spawned by Shrek-- and Johnny Depp's disappointing return to Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary. Topliners Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried fail to carry In Time, which boasts a strong sci-fi premise that its writer-director, Andrew Niccol, can't adequately serve. Indie releases Janie Jones (think Somewhere meets Crazy Heart) and The Double (think The Recruit, but with Topher Grace and Richard Gere instead of Colin Farrell and Al Pacino) are both coming up rotten on the Tomatometer.

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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October 27, 2011 6:00 AM
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Jackson will Direct Next Tintin Along with The Hobbit; Secret of the Unicorn Opens Abroad October 26

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn opens abroad this week (the U.S. waits until December 21), so what better time to confirm that producer Peter Jackson will direct the second installment of the franchise? Most critics have been pretty high on the commercial-looking performance capture action movie, whether or not they have a history with Hergé‘s comics, so a second Tintin is a safe bet.

By Anne Thompson and Sophia Savage
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October 25, 2011 7:40 AM
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Weekend Box Office: Paranormal Activity 3 Scares Off Three Musketeers, Breaks Horror Record

Horror prequel Paranormal Activity 3 easily frightened off all comers on this World Series weekend with a mighty $54 million take. Charles Lyons reports.Paramount spooked the box-office for an estimated $54 million, with its micro-budget-turned-macro-franchise, Paranormal Activity 3 (72% Tomatometer), slashing competition for the weekend crown, while incredulously becoming the biggest horror opening in history.

By Charles Lyons
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October 23, 2011 4:59 AM
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Fall/Holiday Preview: Four Films to Get Animated About, Especially Tintin

Bill Desowitz considers the Fall/Holiday seasons animated features, The Adventures of Tintin, Puss in Boots, Arthur Christmas and Happy Feet Two. Which have the right stuff to join Rango as an Oscar contender?It's obviously been a terrific week for Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin, given the mostly positive reviews coming out of Europe timed to the October 26 international release. And judging by the stunning new trailer and the footage I've already seen, the experiment seems to have paid off well for Spielberg and producing partner Peter Jackson. In fact, Tintin could very well turn out to be the performance capture game-changer for animation that we've been expecting, feeding off the momentum from Weta's innovative work on Avatar and Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

By Bill Desowitz
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October 21, 2011 5:44 AM
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Weekend Preview: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Le Havre, Margin Call, Three Musketeers & More

IndieWIRE Pick of the Week Martha Marcy May Marlene and Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre are this weekend's best bets, scoring high with critics across the board. JC Chandor's Margin Call -- a showcase for talented actors -- is arriving at a propitious moment, and could Occupy the box office with the same conviction that protesters are sticking it to Wall Street. (Producer-star Zachary Quinto's pitch-perfect coming out was also well-timed.) Brit import Oranges and Sunshine offers earnest true-story TV-level drama; critics cite Norman's always-watchable Richard Jenkins; Paranormal Activity 3 serves up ample scares; and yet another The Three Musketeers proves just how cheesy 3-D profiteering can be.

By Sophia Savage
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October 20, 2011 6:46 AM
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Zachary Quinto Talks Wall Street Drama Margin Call, Star Trek, Comes Out

This week Zachary Quinto came out in New York Magazine, as major studio production Star Trek 2 ramps up for a January start with him on board as Spock, who memorably romances Zoe Saldana in the film. Quinto has also launched indie production company Before the Door Pictures, which started off with film school dropout-turned-commercial director J.C. Chandor's $3.5 million Wall Street drama Margin Call, featuring a strong ensemble including Quinto, Kevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons, Paul Bettany, Stanley Tucci and Demi Moore. The film debuted at Sundance, where U.S. rights sold to Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions for $2 million (here's TOH's Sundance story). The movie couldn't be more timely, with the Occupy Wall Street movement building steam and dominating global headlines.